Matt Millen - lead football analyst for the Big Ten Network

Submitted by Millen2014 on

Matt Millen is leaving ESPN to return to Fox Sports, the media company where he rose to be the No. 2 NFL announcer at the turn of the century, according to several sources.

The longtime football analyst will become the lead football analyst for the Big Ten Network, paired with Kevin Kugler. Glen Mason was paired with Kugler as the network’s top game analyst last season.

xtramelanin

May 25th, 2015 at 3:50 PM ^

has any job above, say, pop warner coach when he engineered one of the single most epic team failures since custer tried his hand at little big horn. 

wolverine1987

May 25th, 2015 at 6:04 PM ^

knowing and describing what is happening during a game, because you played the game at a high level yourself, and being able to run a pro football team. The two things are not connected in any way. His failure in Detroit does not take away his ability to describe and analyze action on the field. His failures at were management, drafting properly, and hiring the right coach, none of those things are relevant to knowing that a team is running cover zero on this series and telling us why.

AeonBlue

May 25th, 2015 at 7:33 PM ^

I have to partially disagree here. He's not just talking about what's happening on the field and why. There's going to be sound-bites of "this kid is X" and "I've studied film on this guy and I think he's Y." It's those bites that I can't take seriously because of his history with evaluating talent and that will have me cringing every time I hear it. 

Chris Collinsworth knows X's and O's but that doesn't mean I don't want to chew on nails every time I hear him talk.

LBSS

May 26th, 2015 at 10:10 AM ^

F'real? I like Collinsworth, think he's the best NFL color guy after Mayock. He's like the Jeff Van Gundy of football: knows his shit backwards and front, minimal filter, wrong sometimes but for good or at least consistent reasons. Maybe the competition is just really bad.

Muttley

May 26th, 2015 at 2:43 PM ^

 

 

Jeb Stuart’s Cavalry on the Third Day

On the morning of July 3, 1863, (Confederate) General Stuart led more than 5,000 mounted men out of the town of Gettysburg, heading northeast along the York Road. From Union positions on hilltops near the town, the movement was noticed. The maneuvering would have been impossible to hide, as that many horses would raise a large cloud of dust.

The Confederate cavalry seemed to be covering the left flank of the army, but they went farther out than would be necessary, and then turned to the right, to head southward. The intent seemed to be to hit the Union rear areas, but as they came over a ridge they spotted Union cavalry units just south of them, ready to block their way.

If Stuart was planning to strike the Union rear, that would depend on speed and surprise. And at that point he had lost both. Though the federal cavalry force facing him was outnumbered, they were well positioned to block any movement toward the rear positions of the Union Army.

 

Cavalry Battle on the Rummel Farm

A farm belonging to a local family named Rummel suddenly became the site of a cavalry skirmish as Union cavalrymen, off their horses and fighting dismounted, began to exchange fire with Confederate counterparts. And then the Union commander on the scene, General David Gregg, ordered Custer to attack on horseback.

Placing himself at the head of a Michigan cavalry regiment, Custer raised his saber and screamed, “Come on, you wolverines!” And he charged.

What had been a standoff and then a skirmish quickly escalated into one of the biggest cavalry battles of the entire war. Custer’s men charged, were beaten back, and charged again. The scene turned into a gigantic melee of men shooting at close quarters with pistols and slashing with sabers.

In the end, Custer and the federal cavalry had held off Stuart’s advance. By nightfall Stuart’s men were still positioned on the ridge from which they had first spotted the Union cavalry. And after dark Stuart withdrew his men and returned to the west side of Gettysburg to report to Lee.

 

Significance of the Cavalry Battle at Gettysburg

The cavalry engagement at Gettysburg has often been overlooked. In newspaper reports at the time the massive carnage elsewhere during the battle overshadowed the cavalry fight. And in modern times few tourists even visit the site, called East Cavalry Field, though it is a part of the official battlefield administered by the National Park Service.

Yet the cavalry clash was significant. It is apparent that Stuart’s cavalry could have provided, at the very least, a considerable diversion that might have confused the Union commanders. And one theory of the battle holds that Stuart could have unleashed a major surprise attack in the middle of the rear of the Union line.

The road network in the immediate area may have made such an attack possible. And had Stuart and his men managed to race up those roads, and meet up with the Confederate infantry brigades marching forward in Pickett’s Charge, the Union Army could have been cut in two and perhaps defeated.

Robert E. Lee never explained Stuart’s actions that day. And Stuart, who was killed later in the war, also never wrote any explanation of what he was doing three miles from Gettysburg that day.

http://history1800s.about.com/od/civilwar/ss/Cavalry-Fight-at-Gettysburg.htm

 

San Diego Mick

May 25th, 2015 at 3:57 PM ^

For the Stadium rededication and I recorded the game and was really excited to watch it again when I got home and then discovered Millen was the analyst, with an emphasis on the anal part, I was not thrilled to say the least.

LSAClassOf2000

May 25th, 2015 at 3:57 PM ^

Sports Business Daily has a short writeup here - LINK. This might be the one the OP is referencing, but I did want to at least put the article in the thread.

As for having to look at Millen on BTN, all I can say is that this will be emotionally difficult for me as a Lions fan even though I could use a break from Glen Mason. 

 

M-Dog

May 25th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^

If you are not a Lions fan, he's not that bad.  A lot of the visceral hate for him is because of his time with the Lions.  But if you were not following any of that, he's just another announcer.

He doesn't move the needle for me one way or another.

That being said, you would think the BTN would use some of that wad of cash to upgrade their announcers and their production values.  

The BTN still looks like the evening news sports segment on small-market local TV.

 

BlueCube

May 25th, 2015 at 4:21 PM ^

the game as much as I hate to admit it but I ignore anything as far as player evaluation that comes out of his mouth or assume the opposite is true.

Magnus

May 25th, 2015 at 5:38 PM ^

I agree with those people who are saying he's not a bad announcer.

But even aside from the Lions thing, I have had a personal run-in with Millen that left me with a bad taste in my mouth about the guy. Not a fan.