NFL's most indispensable broadcasting talents

9. Rich Russo and Richie Zyontz, FOX:
Russo directed last year's Super Bowl and Zyontz served as the executive producer -- both have worked two Super Bowls for FOX -- but this pick is more of a nod to the top directing and producing teams at each network. You can't replace the best production people in the business easily. A quick example: In 2010, while preparing for a game at the Metrodome, Zyontz left a camera on overnight specifically pointed at the roof. The result the next day was once-in-a-lifetime footage of the Metrodome roof collapsing.

10. Seth Markman, ESPN, Senior Coordinating producer of NFL Programming:

Markman is responsible for all of ESPN's NFL studio content, so feel free to praise or mock him for his propensity to hire ex-coaches and players weekly. He's proved adept at managing egos, and that's not something that can be undervalued at a place like ESPN, where some NFL egos are as large as B.J. Raji. Sure, he caters to (and overvalues) Bill Parcells and Chris Berman, but his under-the-radar moves (hiring Eric Mangini) and trust in his reporters such as Adam Schefter (he could have made my Top 10) and Chris Mortensen has served ESPN well. If he could somehow convince his superiors to make Trey Wingo (call him 10-A on my list) the host of the first day of the NFL Draft -- something most people outside of the Bristol bubble would agree is a smart move -- he may move up this list in the future.

1. Al Michaels, NBC:
There Is No Substitute. The impeccable pro with the unmistakable voice full of energy and urgency could make a game between an 0-15 team and a 1-14 team seem like a playoff thriller -- thanks to his gravitas, broad knowledge and palpable connection to the glory days of booth broadcasting. When Michaels retires, and perish that thought, it's a cinch somebody will use the old James Bond tune "Nobody Does It Better" under his career-highlights montage.

2. Mike Pereira, FOX:
Plays-under-review are an entirely different experience at FOX than on the other nets, mainly because super ref Pereira so fastidiously takes viewers through his analysis and, very often, gets it right. Indeed, he's so good and authoritative that one is tempted to agree with him even on those rare occasions when his verdict, and that of the officiating crew, is in conflict. Pereira knows how to watch and when to talk and when to shut up -- a great value-added hat trick that should never be allowed to expire.

3. Jim Nantz, CBS:
As lead-ins go, there's probably no more important one on the weekly schedule than the-NFL-on-CBS into "60 Minutes," and Nantz's pedigree makes for the perfect match-up with that august news-division broadcast. Yes, there are times you can't help but feel that Nantz is absolutely exasperated with Phil Simms, but CBS needs its top voice on these Sunday evenings. While Mike Tirico probably knows football better and prepares more thoroughly, it was Nantz who, years ago, ESPN tried to lure away from CBS for its Monday night games. No way: Nantz reigns over one of the great trifectas in all of sports broadcasting -- the NFL, the NCAA tournament and The Masters -- and the list of people who could step in and do all three the way Nantz does them is impressively short.

4. Chris Berman and Tom Jackson, ESPN:
During the past three years I've spent living and breathing ESPN, one of the most salient "truths" revealed to me was a simple one: For every person who claims he hates Chris Berman's style, nicknames and gestures, there have to be two or three who simply can't wait to watch him. Berman is "indispensable" to Bristol for the very reason that he sucks up so much oxygen; when faced with that many hours of coverage, and so large a population of reporters and analysts vying for time, you really have to be larger than life to stand out. Berman is. For those who can't tolerate him, Berman's long-time tag-team partner Tom Jackson is there to settle the big guy down now and then.

5. Dan Patrick, NBC:
For years now, Sunday Night Football has been one of the few treasures on the NBC primetime schedule. But people don't wait until kickoff time of 8:20 to tune in. For nearly nine million of them, Appointment Television starts with "Football Night in America" -- quite a feat for NBC since games often run late over on CBS or FOX -- where they get to enjoy Patrick, commentator sans pareil. Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy could be replaced tomorrow and the show wouldn't skip a beat. But it would be downright difficult to find a talent possessing Patrick's knowledge and fluency, the prowess needed to take that show over.

6. Fred Gaudelli and Drew Esocoff, NBC:
There's no one currently producing and directing NFL games who doesn't belong in the truck -- it takes a helluva lot of talent to land one of these gigs -- but producer Gaudelli and director Esocoff manage to deliver on an entirely different level from the rest. They consistently and invariably put The Game first, with information relayed to viewers more clearly and accessibly than on any other network. More than that, the team has brought highly creative touches to the broadcast, like having the players introduce themselves and making shrewd, inventive use of still photography. Dick Ebersol has called Gaudelli & Esocoff "the two best hires I've ever had in my sporting life as a producer and director" -- and for good reason.

7. Pam Oliver, FOX:
No network has done more to diminish the role and visibility of female NFL sideline reporters than ESPN, where it's all about cut-ins for shows leading up to "Monday Night Football" and virtually nothing pertinent to the game at hand (Reason No. 7,111 to hate three-man booths: they leave no room for anyone else). Over at FOX, however, outside-the-booth reporting is still valued, and for a very good reason: Oliver has earned one of the best reputations in TV sports coverage. Coaches trust her, players confide in her, and she always knows whereof (and who of) she speaks. Oliver is doing her best to keep the role of the NFL sideline reporter alive, and lively.

8. Adam Schefter, ESPN:
I once asked this unrelenting, never-sleeping NFL hound if Twitter played a major role in his life, and he said, "I consider it as vital as any of my bodily organs." We can probably mark that down as a "yes." With all due respect to Chris Mortensen and John Clayton, Schefter is ESPN's last line of defense against PFT's Mike Florio and FOX's Jay Glazer, and is an essential force for breaking news in the NFL.