2/7/20Fox redesigns its NFL graphics for the point-your-phone-at-the-TV eraEveryone has their own focal point on Super Bowl Sunday. Some viewers are there for the halftime show. Others watch…ByJohn TetiPublishedFebruary 7, 2020
1/31/20The annual football detox is upon usThe plan was coming together for the Teti family last weekend. “You take the kids to gymnastics class in the…ByJohn TetiPublishedJanuary 31, 2020
1/17/20Jim Nantz’s two scoops, Chris Myers’ family jewels, and more NFL postseason delicaciesThe underdog Houston Texans came into Arrowhead Stadium brimming with confidence for their contest against the…ByJohn TetiPublishedJanuary 17, 2020
1/10/20Reviewing the TV graphics of the NFL playoffs, from the banal to the bizarreThe NFL playoffs are not just a showcase for the players. The postseason, with its gigantic TV audiences, also…ByJohn TetiPublishedJanuary 10, 2020
1/3/20The NFL playoffs are here! Who will win a fancy hat?The original plan was that football would simply continue forever. Every Sunday, the men would dress up in colorful…ByJohn TetiPublishedJanuary 3, 2020
12/20/19Last-minute gifts for last-place NFL fansThey are the eight most generous teams in football. The Dolphins, Bengals, Jaguars, Chargers, Washingtons, Lions,…ByJohn TetiPublishedDecember 20, 2019
12/13/19A Block & Tackle treasury of NFL announcing ticsIf you watch football for any length of time, you will hear announcers parrot the same familiar phrases. Clichés are…ByJohn TetiPublishedDecember 13, 2019
12/6/19Fox’s oooonnne weeeeirrrrd trrrriiccck to make any football game seem eppppppicNo technological trick has done more to shape our experience of TV football than the slow motion instant replay.…ByJohn TetiPublishedDecember 6, 2019
11/22/19The peculiar public privacy of NFL locker roomsThe New England Patriots were exhausted yet exultant. They had faced down the Philadelphia Eagles in a tense Week 11…ByJohn TetiPublishedNovember 22, 2019
11/15/19Tony Romo springs eternalSince his 2017 debut, CBS football analyst Tony Romo has been the crown prince of the NFL announcing world. Upon his…ByJohn TetiPublishedNovember 15, 2019
11/8/19Why Chevy loves those “real people” ads even if viewers hate themAd Man X is an award-winning creative executive at a major national agency in Chicago. He has overseen TV ad…ByJohn TetiPublishedNovember 8, 2019
11/1/19A mediocre football coach and the primal screams that haunt himAs the fourth quarter drew to a close in the Chicago Bears’ Week 8 home game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the …ByJohn TetiPublishedNovember 1, 2019
10/25/19The deep insecurity of Monday Night FootballComing back from commercial late in the second half of Week 7’s Patriots-Jets contest, ABC showed a clip of four…ByJohn TetiPublishedOctober 25, 2019
10/18/19“Clear and obvious” is how the NFL says “shut up”In the third quarter of the Cleveland Browns’ 28-32 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland quarterback Baker…ByJohn TetiPublishedOctober 18, 2019
10/11/19An NFL long snapper tells Block & Tackle about life in football’s least-appreciated positionSpecialists—athletes who are good at one particular thing—are not unique to the sport of football, but the gridiron…ByJohn TetiPublishedOctober 11, 2019
10/4/19“Welcome, my little lost kitty cat”: When the NFL and anime overlapNBC’s Sunday Night Football uses a standard set of visual effects to spotlight key players in that evening’s…ByJohn TetiPublishedOctober 4, 2019
9/27/19Block & Tackle’s NFL quiz tests your knowledge of announcers, Steely McBeam, and moreIt’s Week 4 of the NFL year, which means that by Monday night, we will already be 23.529% of the way through the…ByJohn TetiPublishedSeptember 27, 2019
9/20/19Is your favorite NFL referee more of a Judge Judy or a Judge Wapner?Scorn them if you must, but football would not be the same without its officials. NFL fans watch 22 men crumple each…ByJohn TetiPublishedSeptember 20, 2019
9/13/19Antonio Brown exposes the “asshole glitch” in our otherwise perfect information societyAntonio Brown is a person who catches a football. He does not put the ball in the air—another man does that. But…ByJohn TetiPublishedSeptember 13, 2019
9/6/19NFL football returns, and so does the flapper look“Football seems like the worst sport,” my friend Anna said to me as we shared drinks on a hot evening in August.…ByJohn TetiPublishedSeptember 6, 2019