NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No one is tuning into Monday Night Football because Jason Witten is in the broadcast booth.

Tony Romo was a huge hit in his first year as a CBS analyst. While some felt he talked too much, his ability to forecast what was coming and tell us why was different, and better, than anybody else.MNF

And so in a copycat world, ESPN’s Monday Night Football’s fix post-Jon Gruden is Jason Witten, another ex-Cowboy going straight from the field to the broadcast booth.

He might be good, he might not.

But it’s another remarkable example of how star-struck ESPN and NFL broadcast partners continue to be, despite the constant failures of the approach.

When’s the last time you decided whether to watch a game or not based on who was on the call?

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Paul Kuharsky has covered the Tennessee Titans since 1996, first for The Tennessean, then ESPN.com and now independently at paulkuharsky.com. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee and one of the longest-tenured Titans beat reporters in the franchise's history.

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