FOX NFL analyst Daryl Johnston apparently doesn't think Steelers history started until Chuck Noll was named head coach in 1969. While Johnston may be right about that, the Steelers were in existence for decades before Noll started patrolling the sideline, and had many different head coaches.
Too bad Johnston couldn't consult Wikipedia before appearing on camera.
Chris Myers and Johnston were as mediocre as the game they were calling, with each broadcaster spouting cliches and filling space with verbal white noise. At times, they seemed to be working off a Mad Libs template for NFL announcers, such as when Johnston said the Steelers "can't let a team like Detroit think they are in this game."
Perhaps he meant to save that line for a team with a winning record, or a win, period.
But Johnston's most egregious error came in the second half, when he wrongly said the Steelers have had three head coaches in the "entire history of the organization." Um, not quite. The Steelers had 16 different head coaches between 1933-68, before hiring Noll the following year. As we know, they've employed just three different head coaches since then.
At least it's easy to follow Johnston's apparent thought pattern, given Pittsburgh's reputation for stability. Still, the former fullback and longtime analyst should know when the Steelers were founded. It was a confounding mistake.
Johnston also struggled to pronounce the last names of each team's running back, which is unfortunate, since he said they were "running downhill" no less than 250 times. For the most of the day, Lions running back DeAndre Swift was DeAndre "Smith," and Najee Harris was "Na-jay" or "Na-ghay."
No, it was not a good football game, and no, neither team was content going into overtime.
Unfortunately, one of the hallmarks of NFL broadcasts is most announcers' penchants for misidentifying game situations and getting simple facts wrong. Johnston hit both of those futile markers Sunday.
Since FOX mostly carries NFC games, we'll give Myers and Johnston a pass for not knowing the Steelers intricately. But as one of FOX's bottom pairings, they certainly know the Lions. Yet, they continued to talk Detroit up, seemingly ignorant of its 0-8 start.
His verbal missteps was the perfect soundtrack for a joyless slog.
