Some observations after two days of watching the NFL:

        • CBS' NFL Today pregame show is infinitely better than it was two years ago.

        Mike Ditka, Randy Cross, Craig James and Jerry Glanville have pumped life into a show that once had the wooden panel of George Seifert, Brent Jones and Marcus Allen. (Although Jim Nantz still makes Al Gore look like Robin Williams when it comes to being animated).

        That said, there is no reason to watch Today instead of Fox's NFL Sunday. CBS has been playing catch-up since it got the NFL back two years ago. The network is trying to get what Fox has: a mix of personalities who give a funny, spontaneous and in
formative take on the games.

        That seems to come naturally to Cris Collinsworth, Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw and James Brown. With CBS, it's a bit forced. The most annoying thing is that every time one of the panelists says something intended to be funny, the others guffaw wildly.

        The outdoor studio might work if it were at the site of a game, but midtown Manhattan isn't where football crazies hang out on Sunday morning.

        The disparity in the quality of shows is reflected in the ratings. Last week, Fox drew a 3.7 rating and a 10 share. CBS got a 2.8/7.

        • Steve Tasker, CBS' designated Bengals analyst, is too hesitant to rip the Bengals. Go ahead, Steve; their own fans do it.

        • Dennis Miller is growing nicely into his role on Monday Night Football. He's staying away from the obvious football stuff and the scripted lines. Instead, he's firing wacky things off the top of his head. Like this:

        “The Bengals took out Akili Smith Sunday,” he said, “and brought in Red Klotz of the Washington Generals.”

        Overall, MNF is better this year than it was last year with the two-man booth of Boomer Esiason and Al Michaels. Part of that is Dan Fouts. He's a first-rate analyst. And there seems to be a genuine chemistry between Miller, Michaels and Fouts.

        ABC also has been getting good games. Next week's Miami-New York Jets matchup is an example.

        • Solomon Wilcots should be one of the sideline reporters on MNF. Eric Dickerson still struggles. He noted an argument on the Jacksonville bench Monday: “But I don't know what they were yelling about.” Nice reporting.

        • The Bengals, dreadful as they are, are still attracting huge numbers in the ratings. Sunday's game with Pittsburgh on Channel 12 got an 18.3 rating and a 41 share.

        The alternative game on Channel 19 drew a 2.3/5, and it was a terrific game. The NFL's best team, St. Louis, was playing Atlanta in a game that came down to the final minutes.

        Baseball doesn't stand a chance versus the NFL. The Green Bay-San Francisco game Sunday pulled an 8.2/18, while the American League Championship Series — televised at the same time — got a 6.0/12.

        • Fox's Matt Millen has developed into one of the top analysts. Millen does what the great ones do. He tells what's going to happen on a play before it happens. During the Atlanta-St.Louis game, he said, “Tim Dwight is open in the corner of the end zone.” A second later, Chris Chandler hit Dwight for a touchdown.

        • Suzy Kolber's feature on Eddie George on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown was very nice. It worked especially well because George had a big game (165 yards rushing, one TD).

        John Fay covers radio/TV sports for The Enquirer. He can be reached at 768-8445.
       

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