Davis will continue on as a color analyst on the 49ers radio broadcasts with PBP man, Ted Robinson.
I enjoy Davis and his candid comments. He's a breath of fresh air as most ex-jocks don't really say anything worthy and are merely bland tonsils. They get the gigs because, according to the consultants, if they played the game, that'll provide an "in-depth" angle. Bull. They're hired because that's become the business model. Most jocks are a part of the club and protect their bretheran; even the best rarely go beyond the normal knock because they don't want to get in trouble with their past warriors.
Davis is the exception. First off, he knows the game. And he also knows sports too. Matter of fact, if Davis were allowed to get a word in without the excessive interuptions by class clown, Brandon Tierney, the few folks who listen to The Game would be happy.
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Not sure if Radio is Eric thing, maybe Tierney being narcissistic blow hole does not help much. I like him after the Niner games but not so much on the Game
ReplyDeleteThe one good thing about "The Drive" is now walking out the door. Let's hope they send Tierney back to NY where he can blow his Yankee's freely.
ReplyDeleteI just had a nightmare thought that he will be replaced by the Razor. Of course Ralph won't work for the peanuts paid by 95.7. Not even hawking pizza could get them to bump the salary to his expectations.
ReplyDelete95.7 is backed by Entercom, plus he may give them a huge discount knowing he'll settle out of court with the knob slobbers and he can have his farewell tour on bay area radio, not to mention take their ratings in the process. Im sure he'll take half just to go out with that kind of bang...
DeleteSince the NFL show airs 3am-7am on the west coast, Eric could still handle his 2-6pm radio show here.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the NFL show, plus that would be a very long day.
DeleteThe NFL Network and the new morning show are out of Los Angeles.
DeleteGuess we'll find out at 5pm today. But that means we'll have to actually listen to The Game.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you come around Rich. Early on you didn't like Davis, which most of us just chalked up to your Niner envy.
ReplyDeleteEric Davis obviously studied and prepared for himself after his playing career ended. He does well because he is very well-prepared when he gets on the air and he speaks from a position of experience and authority. He's lived that life that most of us only dream of.
ReplyDeleteI wish him well.
There's no way KNBR will let Davis remain on the 49ers b'casts if he's also working on 95.7.
ReplyDeleteUh where have you been? Eric did 49ers broadcasts on KNBR last fall while also working at KGMZ. He works for the football team...not KNBR.
DeleteGreat analysis Rich. Davis giving genuine insight into the thought process that athletes go through. He does not hide anything. He doesn't exaggerate things. He explains competitive team sports as they really are, good, bad and indifferent. And his championship ring and his All-Pro recognition give him the credibility that few possess. Part of arguably the best defensive backfield unit in 49er history - Davis, McKyer, Neon, Hanks.
ReplyDeleteHe and Steve Young are entertaining, insightful and truthful without hitting you with cliches.
Tierney and his relentless boorishness has made "The Drive" insufferable to the point I won't listen.
Tierney is the message board troll of Bay Area radio, interrupting and blathering at length and at volume; stupidly, and rudely. Every time he opens his mouth, the collective IQ of the Bay Area drops 3 points.
He is the vapid booger-eating smelly fat kid from middle-school, always butting in, making people hate him even more.
No doubt in my mind that Davis will flee 95.7 if the money is right.
For me and many my age, the Niners are personal and emotional for reasons I'll not bore folks with. When Eddie D was forced out, the over-matched John York, the departure of Walsh, McVay, Policy and the end of Rice and Steve Young and Roger Craig. Neon and Eric Davis leaving for F/A. And the horribly sad end, the passing of Bill Walsh at 75 from leukemia.
I was done. They say you can't go back. That you can't go home again. I simply stopped believing anymore. 50 years of 49ers with my dad, my brothers, my kids. Gone. I hadn't watched or listened to a Niner game since the 90s. It was bitter and sad. Which is what happens when you love institutions that simply have no capacity to love you back
And then I caught Davis by accident on a post-game wrap early last year. I remember saying to my better half, "Hey I remember him. He was awesome." And I started regaling her with stories of the 94 team and post-season and on and on, before she finally just threw up her hands and said "Shut-up, and let the man speak, I can't hear him".
And so it was good to see a still-youngish looking familiar face smiling and positive and really smart without any smarmy cliches, just telling it like it is like it was 1981 again. And instead of Wayne Walker, it was Eric Davis this time.
So I just started listening to him on my commute, and hanging onto every word of his during games and later on TV post-game.
He got me fired up again and believing that Jed and Trent and Harbaugh were doing the Bill Walsh John McVay Eddie D 3-step all over again. Maybe they will. Just maybe they can repeat history. I'm too old to believe in that kind of illogic. Or so I thought.
E.D. doesn't lie. Good for him at NFL networks. A solid guy who really does love his fans, loves the Niners and has his priorities in life straight. I sincerely wish for him all the good things in life.
Any Defensive backfield that does not include Ronnie Lott, is NOT the best in 49er's history.
DeleteThat is like saying the best 49er's teams were without Joe Montana.
Agree with your sentiments otherwise.
I know you meant Timmy Mac not McKyer
DeleteThe best defensive backfield in 49er history was Lott, Williamson, Wright and Hicks. Deion was the best shutdown corner ever but he didn't hit and was a marginal tackler.
DeleteIs that the "big announcement" THEGAME is going to make at 5?.
ReplyDeleteIt has to be something bigger then that. Its like telling your audience "We're going to get worse"..and thanks for listening!. Makes no sense.
FITZ and BROOKS Cancelled??..did you hear anything about that Rich?
ReplyDeleteIf that happen it would be like winning the lotto, put Damon in that slot.
DeleteWhat makes you think Fitz & Brooks have been cancelled?
DeleteDid someone say Fitz and Brooks has been cancelled?
DeleteTime for celebration!
So Rich, your best guess is that he'll leave. Or stay. Clears that up.
ReplyDeleteEric has been doing a fine job since he started working at Comcast Sportsnet in 2009.
ReplyDeleteEric 'gets it.' He's personable, well spoken, but has strong opinions and is not afraid to speak his mind. Eric's bias toward the Niners sometimes is very evident, but the guy won a ring as he was a member of the 1994 team, and he's now working along Ted Robinson in the Niners radio booth, so he has to be a bit biased toward his old team.
After all, once you bleed scarlet and gold...
On another topic, it sounds like Santa Clara doesn't have some of that money they were going to kick in to help build the Niners their new playpen across the street from their practice facility in the south bay.
That's no surprise, given the cutbacks that every California city is facing in this woeful economy. Maybe Jed York shouldn't have put that shovel in the dirt to start the ceremonial digging so soon!
Perhaps the Niners will stay at Candlestick for a few extra years? That would be nice for good old SF!
Yep- Davis is leaving THEGAME. I guess deep down..he just wants to talk football. His expertise in that goes unquestioned(usually) but in other sports Eric can flounder..so to the NFL network he goes.
ReplyDeleteAnd Tim mccyer wasn't the other DB on 94 teAm it was Tim McDonald and the nickel back package had tyrone drakeford and poole Btw the greatest db unit was 4 all pros in 1 year Dwight hot licks Carlton Williamson Ronnie Lott and Eric wright that was what enabled that huge surprise jump in 1981 Walsh said so himself. Also the famous catch was only sealed when Eric wright horsecollared the great Dallas wr Drew Pearson the next play was a forced fumble sack which clinched it
ReplyDeleteButcherboy
Davis does a solid job and has a big upside...nice to see an ex-player prepare himself for after his playing days and do so well.
ReplyDeleteYou think the people at cumulus don't know what they're doing? This guy Jason Barrett is probably the dumbest person with power in radio in a Top 10 city in America. I am not kidding around, he really is not a smart guy at all. He's just someone who has stuck around the industry through his personal connections and found a way to parlay questionable success elsewhere into a Bay Area job. He's trying to connect to SF, Oakland, and San Jose, so he hires a 2nd tier New York City radio guy and teams him with Eric Davis? Davis has talent but the guy was green! As soon as he developed he jumped ship! That should tell you all you need to know about the game.
ReplyDeleteThey put that guy Drew Hoffer on the air in Indianapolis buy himself, if I recall correctly. What was his background that he has the talent to work the Superbowl?
This won't end well for Barrett even if 95.7 ends up succeeding as a sports station.
They hired people one day and fired them a few days later.
Bunch of morons steering that ship.
Ugh...I was so hoping that Eric Davis would be on the NFL Network 24/7....He is such a "company" guy for the 49ers...I like objectivity when viewing a 49er game...
ReplyDeleteI was hoping he'd leave the 49er color commentary gig too. His cheerleading on the Vernon Davis' TD catch against N.O. was rank amateur. WOO HOO!
ReplyDeleteYou have NO clue if you think Eric Davis is not good. Robinson and ED are professionals.
ReplyDeleteGo back and listen to Starkey. He held the 49ers captive by flying in on game day hours before the game, culminating with the famous I am too horse to talk ---- Joe Fonzi day.
And then there was the Plummer fiasco --- sex internet nonsense.
ED and TR are good.
Here's the deal; Rich hates everyone while they are working here but once they leave, they were great.
ReplyDeleteIt's like Rich on Ralph, oh he's horrible, he's go to go. Once he's fired, oh poor Ralph, what a shame, things used to be so much better when he was on the air...
Now I have no reason to listen to "The Game." Davis is the only reason I ever listened.
ReplyDeleteSadly, 'The Game' has no chance to succeeding in the bay area for a number of reasons: 1.) They have the A's who are not at all popular at the moment (even though Korach is a very good announcer).
ReplyDelete2.) They pander to the 'lowest common denominator by going after the 'young demographic' that doesn't exist anymore. They're absolutely clueless that people under 35, by and large, DO NOT LISTEN to the radio.
3.) The talent that they've hired is second tier at best, and no one knows any of them with the exception of Greg Papa, and perhaps Roxy Bernstein (although he's nothing special either).
4.) They're on FM and no one associates FM radio with news, talk or sports talk. It's music and entertainment.
6.) Their signal is weak and you can't even hear the programs clearly half the time.
7.) They bring on Comcast TV guys to host shows on the weekends. I'm sorry, but TV guys do not make good talk show hosts. I was appalled when I listened to some of the crap these guys were putting on the air the other day.
And finally 8.) As badly as KNBR has fallen in recent years (thank you Cumulus, and that clueless dolt Lee Hammer!) they are still the powerhouse station that everyone in Northern California associates with sports.
They have that huge 50,000 watt clear channel signal, they carry the Giants, 49ers and Warriors (the three most popular teams in these parts), and when they're not carrying local programming, they have ESPN radio, which may not be great but is a far cry better than Yahoo sports radio (what a joke!)
From what I've heard, Entercom is pretty upset at the poor ratings
(not even a 1.0!) and they're going cheap anyway....what chance does 'the Game" have ...NONE!
Eric Davis is an asshole.
ReplyDelete