Too many useless analysts, too few good ones

OUR MAN of the Week is Fox’s understated and steady Chris Myers. During Washington-Giants, he risked further employment by eschewing the opportunity to say that Antonio Gibson “is running downhill” to go with “straight ahead.” Imagine!

Myers also took a needed late-game swipe at Giants WR Kenny Golladay for stepping out of bounds after catching a pass with no one near him. Myers’ booth mate, Daryl “Moose” Johnston, who hadn’t stopped speaking all game — often noting that the Giants have no offense — had chosen silence after Golladay’s premature surrender.

That brings us to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, a former plain-talker who has transitioned to genuine pigskin gibberish. Saturday during ChiefsBroncos, he substituted 2-yard and 3-yard “gains” with the long-form vague, “made positive yardage.”

He first explained Patrick Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP: “[Coach] Andy Reid has developed this offense around Patrick Mahomes’ versatility.” Who knew?

After the game, ESPN analyst Randy Moss noted the Chiefs’ goahead touchdown was “a game-changer.”

Two nights later, during the Georgia-Alabama CFP championship,

Herbstreit chose to talk the entire game, rendering anything that might have been worth hearing lost to his own devices.

But there are now more analysts like that than ever before. Why? If I knew, you’d be the second to know!

➤ It’s hard to explain to those unfamiliar with both, but before the Raiders had Fred Biletnikoff, the Jets had Don Maynard. Both were lanky, almost scrawny big-play, deep-end, sure-hands, mostly sideline receivers.

And both had the same style — no style. They just caught the ball. And if you didn’t realize how good they were after that, that wasn’t their problem.

But that was well before TV showed receivers making 6-yard catches, then rising to make firstdown gestures, in slow-mo replays — before TV mindlessly decided to try to destroy the game.