Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and the Amazon Prime crew’s Thursday Night Football debut for 2024 featured a few glitches and some curious comments.
Amazon opened its third season of NFL coverage with the Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals matchup, and while it’s always unwise to read too much into a player’s preseason performance, broadcasters and networks are always held to a higher standard. Fans expect flawless coverage even in the preseason, and some fans thought Prime missed the mark in that respect Thursday night.
Michaels got things off to a lighthearted start, concluding the opening by telling Herbstreit, “Back to school. Get your crayons out. Let’s go.”
There were some complaints on social media, especially early in the game, about the on-field audio.
Herbstreit got pressed into action late in the first quarter, when Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson threw a pick-six. It’s unclear what happened on the play, whether Richardson threw to the wrong spot or tight end Kylen Granson ran the wrong route, but Herbstreit seemed to quickly decide that Richardson deserved the blame.
“This is it, really in a nutshell,” Herbstreit said. “That’s the issue with Anthony Richardson. Looks great for a drive and then you have a play like that, a pick-six going the other way.”
Some fans thought Herbstreit got that call wrong.
Later, Herbstreit got called out for some curious comments about Colts backup quarterback Joe Flacco, who played well last season in limited action with the Cleveland Browns but at age 39 is clearly slated for backup duty with the Colts.
Herbstreit broached the possibility of a quarterback controversy this season.
“What if (Richardson) struggles?” he asked. “What if he has a … good game, and then a bad game, a good game and then a bad game. … You’ve got a guy like Joe Flacco, with the roster they have, I just wonder how you handle that, if it goes down that path, if you’re (head coach) Shane Steichen.”
If Richardson does, in fact, struggle this season, Herbstreit looks like Nostradamus, but some thought the analysis was a huge reach.
In the fourth quarter, the broadcast missed a Colts touchdown. After Jason Bean was ruled down on a short run, Indianapolis challenged the play, feeling that he scored.
Amazon went to commercial break during the challenge and missed the officials’ review, which overturned the play.
“While you were out in the kitchen, the Colts scored,” Michaels announced after the break.
Amazon certainly avoided any major gaffes, and as even many fans who pointed out these minor glitches noted, it’s only a preseason game.
Other fans complimented Michaels, Herbstreit and the Amazon crew on a job well done.
The post Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Amazon Prime tested in Colts-Bengals game appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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