Seth Vigdor
ESPN’s football coverage this season will look different, as The Big Lead first reported that Cris Carter and Ray Lewis have been ousted from their roles on Sunday NFL Countdown in favor of Randy Moss. Moss was on FOX Sports last year on a pre-show with Colin Cowherd. It’s not expected that Carter nor Lewis will remain at ESPN. Mike Ditka had already been removed from the show, though he’ll still remains at the network in some capacity. Matt Hasselbeck will replace Ditka on the show. Also, there will be no more Keyshawn Johnson, as he was replaced by Charles Woodson.
I don’t mind this move, or really any of the moves that ESPN has recently made. Carter never seemed believable to me and always was a little extra, while Lewis wasn’t very good at all. All of the guys that they got rid of were all characters and not very good ones. Maybe now I’ll actually be able to tune into Sunday NFL Countdown and watch for more than three minutes.
All in all, let’s face it: These weren’t earth shattering moves by the network. The one move that may come back to haunt them is when Skip Bayless decided to leave ESPN. I loathe Bayless, but I can totally see his career thriving at FOX Sports and bringing them some name value. It’ll be refreshing to see what the new hires bring to the table.