I do not expect intellectual integrity from professional football experts in the United States. NFL “analysts” are primarily driven by the network’s constant need to generate traffic at the expense of quality conversations, and are largely made up of take artists who bring no real benefit to the conversation. I am.
Platforms like ESPN and Fox Sports have supply and demand issues. They want to spend 24 hours a day recording, but they don’t have the roster of thoughtful commentators needed to fill those 24 hours with differentiated voices and perspectives. Maintaining an appearance of intellectual integrity.
This reality came to the forefront of the national consciousness after the Buffalo Bills’ 27-25 playoff victory over the Baltimore Ravens. ESPN’s Ryan Clark posted on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s X show last night, telling him the loss was “not your fault” and praising Jackson for showing up in “the most important moments.”
I fought against 8 people! Give your team a chance. In the first half, they continued to push despite facing adversity. In the second half we did everything we had to do to buy extra time. That’s what happens when things are going well. This is not your fault, you showed up at the most important moment @Lj_era8!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) January 20, 2025
A year ago, after the AFC Divisional Playoffs, Clark and colleague Dan Orlovsky discussed the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Buffalo Bills to advance to the AFC Championship Game. At the time, he said Josh Allen was “still not the winner that we always try to make him out to be” and was upset that people “keep making excuses for him.”
Clark said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has played in multiple Super Bowls, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has played in a Super Bowl, and Lamar Jackson has played in a Super Bowl. , said the NFL world has one week left.
“When he does it, he does it” was true for Josh Allen back then, but not for Lamar Jackson now. Clark exclaimed during last season’s playoffs. “What we never did was come here and say, ‘Oh my god, no one could help Lamar!'” Poor Lamar! Poor Lamar! No, it’s ‘Lamar has to win,’ ‘Lamar has to find a way.’ ”
Clark went on to say that Allen “played great, but it wasn’t good enough.” When Orlovsky said he disagreed, Clark interjected, “What’s the score?” He didn’t do enough! ”Until Lamar Jackson lost in the playoffs, wins were a quarterback statistic, at which point you obviously need context.
But there were some pleasant surprises among the responses from visible names in sports commentary. Trey Wingo, former ESPN and current host of the podcast “Alternate Routes,” took issue with Josh Allen’s comments on CBS’ Tracy Wolfson after the game, saying the team “has no talent” and that the team has “no talent.” He said he had been hearing about it all year. “Not enough to complete.”
“Literally no one said Buffalo doesn’t have talent,” Wingo exclaimed at X.
The Burmese mafia kept the receipts.
Fox Sports’ Emmanuel Acho declared just that a few months ago. So while NFL teams are notorious for making up all sorts of nonsense in hopes of being counted out for good (cough, Bengals, cough), Wingo was flooded with the following videos.
Wingo saw the exact words from a national expert and gave the exact response perfect for anyone looking to be honest about their opinions.
Let me be clear: no rational, logical person ever said these things. Then I realized that one of the avid clickbaiters had indeed said this. I don’t hear any apology https://t.co/KkDPXFPn4W
— Trey Wingo (@wingoz) January 20, 2025
Additionally, NFL Network’s own “Good Morning Football” also got in on the action. As Kyle Brandt and Peter Schrager were discussing Mark Andrews’ late two-point conversion that sent the Ravens into overtime, Overreaction Sports Network’s Joe Miller criticized them and accurately said that they still had a chance. With over 90 seconds left, Buffalo still has two timeouts left.
Given that Bills kicker Tyler Bass made a 51-yard field goal against Baltimore, the assumption is that if the Ravens had converted with a two-point conversion, the game would have gone into overtime. is probably presumptuous.
Brant replied:
You’re right, Joe. I got caught up in it. Fixed. Wild energy this morning.
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) January 20, 2025
What we’re seeing now with the Bills’ win over the Ravens is the difference between people who are trying to be intellectually honest and people who are apathetic. Please be careful.
What matters is not whether you are always right. No one is always right, especially in a random sport like American football.
What matters is whether you are trying to be consistent with your output when you have consistent input. People who provide content in good faith should be noticed, whether we agree with it or not, and whether they are right or not.
And those who blindly and illogically provide content that is intellectually dishonest should be condemned. I don’t know if it will change them (probably not), but it certainly helps limit the impact on general consumers.
…This is how the cookies crumble. I’m Bruce Nolan of the Buffalo Rumbles. Find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumbles Cast Network. Check out my LinkTree for more details.
