The NFL Network begins televising games Thursday when the Bears travel to play San Francisco. Telling us what's wrong with each team will be color analyst Matt Millen.
You've got to be kidding.
Millen has resurfaced in a big way since single-handedly running the Detroit Lions franchise into the ground as team president and general manager. He is a fixture on ESPN's pregame and postgame coverage of Monday Night Football. Millen also broadcasts Saturday afternoon college games for ABC.
Before going to work for the Lions, Millen was an entertaining broadcaster for CBS and Fox. He brought the same enthusiasm to the booth that he showed on the field as a linebacker while winning four Super Bowl rings for the Raiders, 49ers and Redskins.
Yet Millen lost all credibility with the fans during his disastrous tenure with the Lions. How can this guy be a so-called "expert" when he kept drafting wide receivers almost every year in the first round of the draft? The Lions' record of 31-84 in Millen's regime made him a laughingstock around the NFL.
Millen couldn't put together a decent team despite given ample time - more than seven years - by the Lions. Now he's given free reign to criticize what others are doing on a weekly basis? We've seen what Millen can do. It wasn't pretty.
The Detroit experience seems to have taken away the zest Millen used to show on the air. He isn't the same happy-go-lucky broadcaster he was about 10 years ago. That is to be expected. Maybe working a little less would help him regain that spark.
College FB: Ohio State at Penn State (ABC, Saturday 2:30 p.m.): Iowa has taken some of the luster off this game, which was supposed to be for the Big Ten title ... wonder if anyone told JoePa that?
Horse racing: Breeders' Cup (Saturday, ABC 12:30 p.m., ESPN 2:30 p.m.): This could be the year of the fillies. Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness, and now unbeaten Zenyatta tries to outrun the boys in the Classic.
NFL: Cowboys at Eagles (NBC, Sunday 7:30 p.m.): Always a pleasure to see Jerry Jones squirming (and his face not moving) when his Cowboys are getting throttled. Philly fans are not in a real good mood this week.