Traina Thoughts: Al Michaels And Cris Collinsworth Did Not Have Their Finest Performance During Super Bowl LII
1. It pains me to say this, but Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth had a very rough night. Cris much more so than Al. My only complaint about Al was his call of the final play. A little emotion or excitement would've been nice. I don't really care about Al saying Mike Trout was from the "California" Angels, which seemed to get the Twitter Police very angry. That's just a harmless mistake. Harmless mistakes are going to be made during a four-hour telecast. Al's highlight was his line after it was revealed Patriots cornerback, Malcolm Butler, had been benched: "Of course it was easier to get information out of East Germany, before the wall went down, then to get any information from New England."
Collinsworth, though, was brutal from start to finish. He strongly questioned Doug Pederson's decision to go for it on 4th-and-goal from the 1 with the Eagles up 15-12 and 34 seconds remaining in the half. Going for it was the only call there. You're playing the Patriots and an unstoppable Tom Brady. What does kicking a field goal to go up 6 in the first half do for you? Nothing.
Of course, the Eagles, scored a TD on a crazy play that saw Nick Foles catch a pass and then Collinsworth spent the rest of the game praising the decision. It was not a difficult decision in any way, shape or form.
Where Pederson needed to be criticized was for his insane decision to for a 2-point conversion with 8:48 left in the second quarter. But Collinsworth barely said a word about that.
Cris also said a play that took place in the FIRST HALF could be the biggest play of the game. Nothing done in the first half when you're playing the Patriots can be considered the biggest play of the game.
Where Collinsworth struggled the most, though, was trying to figure out instant replay. He was adamant Zach Ertz's touchdown was going to be overturned, even though, Ertz became a runner after the catch, took two steps and then clearly broke the plane of the end zone. Before the play went to review, Michaels and Collinsworth admitted they no longer know what a catch is, like the rest of America, and said they would not try to figure out what decision the booth would hand down. However, Collinsworth then went on to insist over and over that Ertz did not make the catch. He was relentless. And wrong.
Michaels and Collinsworth are a great tandem, but Super Bowl LII was not one of the highlights of their careers.
2. Everyone's abuzz over Jason Kelce's emotional postgame interview last night, and rightfully so.
However, it was the WWE-like promo he cut on the field right after the game that I preferred.
3. So, how did Tom Brady's ex-girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan, feel about the game?
4. Eli Manning and Odell Beckham won the non-game portion of the night for their commercial spoofing Dirty Dancing.
This led to a classic New York Post cover today.
5. Here are your 2018 Super Bowl odds:
New England Patriots5/1
Philadelphia Eagles8/1
Pittsburgh Steelers10/1
Green Bay Packers10/1
Minnesota Vikings12/1
Dallas Cowboys20/1
Atlanta Falcons20/1
Los Angeles Rams20/1
New Orleans Saints20/1
Houston Texans20/1
San Francisco 49ers25/1
Jacksonville Jaguars27/1
Kansas City Chiefs27/1
Carolina Panthers30/1
Oakland Raiders30/1
Seattle Seahawks30/1
Indianapolis Colts35/1
Denver Broncos40/1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers40/1
Los Angeles Chargers40/1
Washington Redskins50/1
Arizona Cardinals50/1
Detroit Lions50/1
Baltimore Ravens50/1
Tennessee Titans50/1
Miami Dolphins75/1
New York Giants75/1
Buffalo Bills100/1
Cincinnati Bengals125/1
Chicago Bears150/1
Cleveland Browns150/1
New York Jets150/1
6. Kobe has to put money in the curse jar.
7. Somebody at Doritos will be losing their job soon.
Traina Thoughts is the best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts right here. And check out Jimmy Traina's weekly podcast, "Off The Board."
Subscribe: iTunes | SoundCloud | Stitcher
BONUS ITEM: Maybe I'm just a party pooper, but do we really have to make a star out of the kid who took a selfie with Justin Timberlake last night?
