FOX commentator Greg Olsen has clapped back at an ESPN personality who suggested he and other NFL play-by-play announcers were “lazy” for running with the analytics following a recent string of events from the Buccaneers-Lions playoff game.
Speaking on ‘Pardon the Interruption’ this week, ESPN’s Mike Wilbon offered an impassioned take on Bucs head coach Todd Bowles choosing to go for two with his team down 31-23 in the fourth quarter of said contest, lashing out at the use of analytics.
“The analytics say go for it. Do the analytics say go for it no matter who’s going for it?” Wilbon asked. “So if you and I were on the field, the analytics say go for it?
“It’s the stupidest, laziest, lamest thing I’ve heard for reasoning in competition. And I hate when announcers just buy it without questioning it.”
Olsen and FOX weren’t broadcasting this particular game (NBC’s Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth were on the call), but that didn’t stop him from taking to social media to offer his opinion on the matter.
“This is just further proof how vital it is that announcers continue to educate the viewers on the current approach to NFL football,” he wrote. “It isn’t announcers being ‘lazy.’ It’s the way the game is being played and is here to stay. The game evolves. Not sure why people push back?”
Be that as it may, there’s always been a large section of folks who hate that analytics have been introduced to the game. While many broadcasters do an excellent job of mixing traditional commentary with the numbers, Olsen included, some people simply don’t care for it.
