Another week, another Manningcast without an active NFL player. Omaha Productions revealed the latest guest lineup for the Week 11 broadcast. The guests for this clash between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants are Bill Parcells, Kevin Hart, Condoleeza Rice, and Julian Edelman.
That marks back-to-back Manningcasts without an active NFL player. Edelman is the closest of the bunch to his playing days, having just retired from the New England Patriots in the offseason. It will be intriguing to watch Edelman commentate as his old quarterback, Tom Brady, plays out the fourth quarter against New York.
Condoleeza Rice may seem like a curious choice for a football broadcast, but she is an avid fan of the game. The former U.S. secretary of state called the NFL commissioner role her dream job and was even mentioned briefly by Adam Schefter as a Cleveland Browns head coaching candidate a few years ago.
Alas, there hasn’t been an active player on the Manningcast in weeks now after Travis Kelce, Russell Wilson, Rob Gronkowski, Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady, and Josh Allen all lost following their appearances. Allen’s stumble came out of nowhere after his Bills were heavy favorites in a 9-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“If somebody at ESPN said, ‘well the Madden curse, players kept doing it no matter what.’ I said, ‘That’s because they were getting paid.’ If you get paid, you don’t care about a curse. Last time I checked, we are not paying anyone to come on the show. Obviously, I hope it is not true. Right now, it is what it is,” Manning said on the Steam Room podcast.
The rough part about this dilemma is that to stomp out any thinking around a curse, another NFL player has to come on first. All of this could wash away if an active player joins the brothers over the next couple of weeks. Until then, who knows what other Cleveland Browns head coaching candidate will join the show.