THREE AND A HALF ***/

	John Madden, left, and Al Michaels switched from ABC to NBC this season. James D. Smith/WireImage
	MAILBAG Dr. Z will answer select user questions each week in his NFL mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

John Madden and Al Michaels, NBC
Part of the ranking here goes into the production, which had lots of cameras and angles and stuff. Part of it goes to the fact that John had his old buddy, John Robinson, in the booth with him, acting as a spotter. I found that out only recently; I had wondered why Madden seemed sharper on his identifications.

Also it seemed that the boys at NBC were dedicated to making sure that the M&M's kept their focus on what was happening on the field. It had been a problem at ABC.

But then, around the 16th week (Philly 23, Dallas 7) storm warnings were sounded, a reversion to the old ways, which used to happen when the game started getting unclose. Interesting anecdotes began to creep into Michaels' conversation, talk of old times. "He's drifting," I told the Redhead. "The riptide's got him." Now a play or two was missed. Not nice to watch. A couple of weeks later, in the wild-card playoffs (Seattle-Dallas), all of a sudden, in a tense part of the contest, they launched into a discussion of whether or not Bill Parcells was coming back. But the tightness of the game brought them back to it, thank God. Who knows what lies ahead?

THREE ***

Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon,CBS
Harlan is the reason for this presentable ranking. Ninth week, Giants-Houston. He nailed the fact that the Texans came out in three backs on their first play, and then switched to three wides, and the fact that the Giants didn't change their defense. And so it went, the guy practically taking it as a challenge to tell you exactly how people were lined up on the field, which, if you really are into the game and not just running a popcorn shuttle from the kitchen, means an awful lot.

And the Redhead asked me the question I'm always asking, "Why don't they all do that?" Why? You ask why? Because such is not for the A team, the No. 1 crew. They don't have to bother with such mundane affairs.

Yes, Kevin's my man. Always has been. Gannon can break down the pass-catch game, but lacks an overview. And when he takes a shot at line play, it's a joke. His evaluation of the Texans top draft choice, Mario Williams, was a typical ex-quarterback trying to evaluate a D-lineman. Oh, we learned about his agility and his ability to play the run, and this was while the Giants' Luke Petitgout was eating him alive, and even TE Jeremy Shockey was pushing him around. So Petitgout goes down and Williams collects a sack off 93-year old Bob Whitfield and it was, see, didn't we tell you how great he was? Well, in spite of everything, Gannon seems to be improving, all around. I guess.

Dick Enberg and Randy Cross, CBS
Cross played on a four-star team last year when he was with Harlan, but the split-up has hurt both of them. Enberg's a nice guy, and he adds a certain comfort level to the show, but Cross seems to be taking the easy slide now and then, falling into the "offensive line really did a good job on that play," type of analysis. Sorry, Randy, but you were a guard for many years. We want to hear which lineman did a good job on whom. It's not impossible. If Vermeil can do it, you can.

Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots, CBS
This has been one of my favorite teams for a long time, but I want to be fair. In the first week they were missing small things, such as a holding penalty that nullified a TD. It took them a while to catch up to it. By Week 4 they were back on their game. Wilcots did a nice job catching Moss loafing on what appeared to be an overthrow. In Week 5, KC-Arizona, Wilcots, who is very good on defensive backs' play, floundered mightily, trying to break down a key sack by Jared Allen. And so it went, ups and downs. Maybe I'm being too critical. Maybe I just expect more from this team.

Ron Pitts and ?, FOX
Oh, Pittsie, what are they doing to you? I wasn't happy when they turned you into a play-by-play man (at one time you were the only analyst who actually used to identify the blockers on kickoffs) but even the play-by-play bit worked OK last year when they paired you with Tim Ryan. Now they've got you into some kind of change-your-partners deal, and personally, I don't like it. OK, Pitts and J.C. Pearson in Week 5 was Hype the Stars. Pitts and Baldinger a week later was a pleasure to listen to. Pitts' partner, Terry Donahue, during the New Orleans-Green Bay game in Week 2, had been Johnny one-note for Donahue ... "Gotta keep getting the ball to Donald Driver, their best player." All right, already.

The team seemed better next time I saw them, but by Week 7 (Minnesota-Seattle) it was plug Steve Hutchinson week. The hole could have been on the other side of the line, but it didn't matter, Hutchinson got the credit. And Pittsie was missing stuff. And I hated to see it because at one time I think I had him close to five stars. Finally in Week 12, I saw him do the San Francisco-St. Louis game with Jesse Palmer, and that put the lid on it. He had gone corporate and had given up. Frank Gore broke a 12-yard run without making a cut, through a big hole, and it was "fantastic unbelievable." In the old days Pitts would have called it right ... that no one touched him. So I'm dropping three stars on him for old times' sake. Give him a break, Fox ... one good solid guy to work with, OK? He'll be good again, I promise.