Ryan Clark gonzo @ ESPN?

[SuperBigFan69]

Not quite what I said. Criticizing is different than acting like you could do better or acting as if you have any clue what he is responsible for or does on a daily basis based on your experience coaching 9th grade B team football. The comment was in reply to someone stating that coaching P4 football in 2026 is the same as coaching P5 football in 1990 whatever it was.

Oh man, you got the word possible "like" on this post.

 

[Big bo fan]

This and I’m sure Schraeger played sports at some level. Just because it wasn’t the NFL doesn’t mean he has no concept of what it’s like to be a player.

Just because you played HS you know and can talk about being an NFl player That’s the most ridiculous take I have ever heard.

 

[Poster FKA schuele]

I don't watch much baseball on ESPN, but I will miss Karl Ravech. He was really good on the College World Series, and was probably their best MLB voice since Dan Shulman left to be full-time with the Blue Jays.

 

[HBK4life_rivals100467]

 

[Kcopsker]

Just because you played HS you know and can talk about being an NFl player That’s the most ridiculous take I have ever heard.

What is so complex about being an NFL player that people who are around players and football all the time can’t understand? So much so that they shouldn’t even talk about it. We’re talking about Peter Schrager who eats breathes and sleeps football. Serious question.

 

[Kakdawg]

ESPN is paying Stephen A. Smith $20 million a year and Pat McAfee $30 million a year with a $30 million raise being negotiated. They might cut guys like this but they are overpaying the high end guys.

ESPN knows who butters their bread and it's definitely those two guys whether you like them or not.



Holla

 

[Kakdawg]

I don't watch ESPN but I'm familiar with Ryan Clark from his Steelers days. He's always been a talk first, think (maybe) second guy. I think he only got into ESPN to begin with because he played next to Troy Palamalu. Troy did it all and made everyone else around him look good. Otherwise, Clark is just a journeyman safety and those guys don't get network analyst jobs.

Clark was already working on his second career while he was still a safety on the Steelers. He participated in an NFL draft and it was widely known this was gonna be his next move.

I just laughed at how playing next to Troy helped get him a job at ESPN. Like him or not he got there in his own merits.


Holla

 

[Kakdawg]

Just because you played HS you know and can talk about being an NFl player That’s the most ridiculous take I have ever heard.

Your wasting your time buddy. Guys are clearly determined to not understand your very valid point. I think sometimes guys take a take like your personal and deep down have inserted themselves into a similar situation.

Not saying this is the case here of course. But fwiw I absolutely agree with you. As much as a fan of a reporter may "know" the game. He can't tell you what is going through a players mind at a certain point in the game. Or what it's like to go through something ON THE FIELD that a player has clearly gone through.

It's levels ...



Holla

 

[SuperBigFan69]

Your wasting your time buddy. Guys are clearly determined to not understand your very valid point. I think sometimes guys take a take like your personal and deep down have inserted themselves into a similar situation.

Not saying this is the case here of course. But fwiw I absolutely agree with you. As much as a fan of a reporter may "know" the game. He can't tell you what is going through a players mind at a certain point in the game. Or what it's like to go through something ON THE FIELD that a player has clearly gone through.

It's levels ...



Holla

While I agree...isn't that true for every single job and every single situation ever?

 

[Kakdawg]

While I agree...isn't that true for every single job and every single situation ever?

On some level absolutely. Some more than others but yes.



Holla

 

[Claud-Henry Smoot]

Feel like the majority of these talking heads are interchangeable. I read he had been at ESPN for over a decade so he certainly was making some decent money. Suppose he will be replaced by someone a tad cheaper. Someone at the network clearly had it out for him by leaking his firing to Outkick of all outlets. That was dirty

 

[Big bo fan]

Your wasting your time buddy. Guys are clearly determined to not understand your very valid point. I think sometimes guys take a take like your personal and deep down have inserted themselves into a similar situation.

Not saying this is the case here of course. But fwiw I absolutely agree with you. As much as a fan of a reporter may "know" the game. He can't tell you what is going through a players mind at a certain point in the game. Or what it's like to go through something ON THE FIELD that a player has clearly gone through.

It's levels ...



Holla

That’s all I am saying playing The
game at HS level is not the same as the College level and and the college level is not the same as an NFL level. I think the OP and others would be amazed how many of these reporters never played a sport.

 

[Big bo fan]

Your wasting your time buddy. Guys are clearly determined to not understand your very valid point. I think sometimes guys take a take like your personal and deep down have inserted themselves into a similar situation.

Not saying this is the case here of course. But fwiw I absolutely agree with you. As much as a fan of a reporter may "know" the game. He can't tell you what is going through a players mind at a certain point in the game. Or what it's like to go through something ON THE FIELD that a player has clearly gone through.

It's levels ...



Holla

Adam Shefter is a perfect example. He is arguably the most knowledgeable NFL fan there is in reporting of the game . But he would have no clue what is going through a player head at some point.

 

[RealTucoSalamanca]

Adam Shefter is a perfect example. He is arguably the most knowledgeable NFL fan there is in reporting of the game . But he would have no clue what is going through a player head at some point.

If this is true, as someone who didn't play in the NFL, if I have no clue what is going through a player's head at a certain point in a game, how does Ryan Clark explaining it to me help me understand it? So what value does he bring to the common fan? Sounds like only a select few viewers could ever understand what is going through his head.

However,

After I hear Ryan Clark or Tom Brady or Tony Romo explain what they see, can I not then take that knowledge and apply it to a situation? If Romo explains why a QB make the read to hit the RB on a check down rather than throw to the receiver running a skinny post based on the particular coverage the defense was in, do I really need to have played to understand that when I see a QB throw a pick when he threw to the receiver Romo said not to throw it to??

I don't have to have NFL experience reading defenses nor do I have the experience in making split second decisions to watch film and say, wow that is exactly what Romo was talking about, against that coverage he should have thrown to the ball to the check down and not try to hit the skinny post.

 

[dinglefritz]

But you need to have played the game if you are going to analyze a player’s play like he did with CC Lamb in the segment in this thread. And that’s what I am talking about. There are certain things you can’t talk about unless you played the game.

speed of the game and the physical pounding you take eludes the non-players. That said, there are some doofus ex-players doing analysis.

 

[Big bo fan]

If this is true, as someone who didn't play in the NFL, if I have no clue what is going through a player's head at a certain point in a game, how does Ryan Clark explaining it to me help me understand it? So what value does he bring to the common fan? Sounds like only a select few viewers could ever understand what is going through his head.

However,

After I hear Ryan Clark or Tom Brady or Tony Romo explain what they see, can I not then take that knowledge and apply it to a situation? If Romo explains why a QB make the read to hit the RB on a check down rather than throw to the receiver running a skinny post based on the particular coverage the defense was in, do I really need to have played to understand that when I see a QB throw a pick when he threw to the receiver Romo said not to throw it to??

I don't have to have NFL experience reading defenses nor do I have the experience in making split second decisions to watch film and say, wow that is exactly what Romo was talking about, against that coverage he should have thrown to the ball to the check down and not try to hit the skinny post.

If Tony Romo or whoever would sit face to face and try to explain to you a situation you would have no clue what he is talking about. Now he could show you a film and tell you the same thing and you could say Oh I get it now . My Point of all of this is a non player has no clue without a player showing them on film what exactly they ate talking about. A non player could not watch a film on his own for the most part and know what a certain player is supposed to do on that particular play .

 

[dinglefritz]

Just because you played HS you know and can talk about being an NFl player That’s the most ridiculous take I have ever heard.

A few things translate. F=MA doesn’t. The level of detail and technique is in no way similar either.