FLOWERY BRANCH — Braves play-by-play announcer Brandon Gaudin is versatile.
He’ll also call the Texans at Falcons NFL game for Fox on Sunday.
Here’s what Gaudin had to say about the NFL game and the Braves chances of winning the World Series:
Q: How have your preparations for this Texans at Falcons game been going?
A: “It’s good. Gosh, I’m trying to think, this is the fifth year I believe that I’ve done some NFL games for Fox. Now, I’ve never done a full slate. But I’ve done a handful roughly every year for the last five seasons. So, I kind of now, at this point in my career, have the cadence down. Obviously (it) helps with the Falcons just being in this market for the last decade. I have become increasingly familiar with them year in and year out. So, I kind of know the general storylines of the players and the flow of the team and who the coaches are. So, I’ve had to do a little bit of a deeper dive on the Texans because I don’t think I’ve had the Texans in a few seasons. But yeah, so far so good.”
Q: What are your thoughts on Houston’s rookie quarterback, C.J. Stroud?
A: “I saw him quite a few times at Ohio State. I was impressed with him there. When (I saw) him though, at Ohio State, with some of the games that I had, when the defenses are so overmatched you never quite know how that’s going to translate to the NFL when things even out a little bit. But I was always impressed with him in a Buckeye uniform. And certainly, you know, I remember watching him and Mercedes-Benz, gosh, what about nine months ago, in that amazing game. Even though Ohio State lost that game, he was incredible. I think that was the game for me with Stroud against that defense. That really woke everybody up. They said if this guy can do that against that defense, then he can be can probably do it at the next level. It certainly showed that. He’s the early front-runner, right there with (Falcons running back) Bijan (Robinson) for offensive rookie of the year. So, that’s one to me, I haven’t talked to our crew yet, but I would think when we come on camera to start the broadcast on Sunday, that storyline of Stroud and Bijan as the top two rookies right now, offensively. That makes for a pretty intriguing matchup.”
Q: How do you handle the other side of things, with the quarterback who’s having some struggles here, in Desmond Ridder? The first time starter and trying to find his way in the league?
A: “It’s kind of interesting. I had the Falcons last year in Cincinnati early in the season. I remember that. I remember at that time, there were already people calling for Desmond Ridder. I saw ... the quote from Taylor Hienicke yesterday, or the day before, where he’s basically saying, Hey, I’ve been on both sides of this, too. Then sometimes you feel for these quarterbacks. Everybody wants to win now, but you got to be careful to pull the chute a little too quickly...The numbers haven’t been good for Desmond … have not been great. He’s going to have to increase his production if he wants to hang on to that starting position. I just think we’ve gotten into a point with quarterbacks this day in age that we are so quick to pull that chute on them. I think maybe a little patience would be a good idea and trusting Arthur Smith. (He’s) a brilliant offensive mind who knows what he’s doing. If he wants to give Desmond another game or two to see if he can prove himself, then that’s probably the best course of action.”
Q: How do approach the defenses in this matchup?
A: “I love DeMeco Ryans. I have never met him, but just from the outside and hearing people talk about him, he’s incredibly well liked. He’s 39 like me, so I also like that. I’m excited to talk with him. We’re going to go up to the Falcons’ facility (Friday) and meet with the players and coaches. Then we will go to the Texans’ hotel on Saturday and meet with their players and coaches. He’s a guy that when this game was assigned I was excited to meet DeMeco Ryans. He seems like, obviously (he) went through it as a player, and he just kind of has that charisma and that presence on the sidelines that you like to have. He’s got them playing well. When they started 0-2 everybody in Houston was kind of saying, ‘Oh boy, here we go again.’ They’ve had so many injuries on the offensive line, but give them credit. those wins the last couple of weeks .. .impressive the way that they won those games, especially against the Steelers to beat them, 30-6. Yeah, it’s just been really impressive to watch them on both sides of the ball. With that that defense to hold the Steelers to two field goals, that was impressive. DeMeco Ryans, that’s someone that a lot of people talked about last year is kind of a riser in the business. Now, you’re kind of seeing that there was truth behind (the hype). That there was a reason that he was highly touted as a future head coach in this league.”
ON TO THE BRAVES
Q: What was it like calling the 104-win season?
A: “Oh gosh, even though I grew up in Southern Indiana, I grew up as a TBS kid. A superstation kid. Through the ‘90s, I was a huge Braves fan. I was as big of a Braves fan as there was. I was a Braves fan to the point that in 1998 when they lost in Game 6 of the NLCS to the Padres, I locked myself in my room and would not come down for dinner. It was an afternoon game, and they were eliminated around 6 o’clock in Game 6. I would not come out of my bedroom for dinner that night. My mother was not very happy. But I was ride or die with the Braves for the ‘90s. So, you fast forward all these years later, I initially moved to Atlanta to take the job at Georgia Tech in 2013 as their radio voice. I left there three years later to get into television, but I always stayed in Atlanta because I had an affinity for this city.
“That really all dated back to my time in Indiana as a Braves fan as a kid. So, when that job opened up ... your eyes light up like a Christmas tree. It was, oh my goodness. I never thought this job would be open. I thought Chip (Caray) would have been here for the entirety of his career. But when it did open, I knew that it was one that I wanted to pursue. When I got the job and I said to somebody the other day, I knew the storylines of the team, right. I knew that they had a lot of players locked up in contracts. Of course, they’d won the World Series a couple years ago. So, I figured it would be a good time on the field and it was a tremendous team to watch. But even if this team had struggled this year, for me, it still would have been a sensational season filled with joy and appreciation. It’s just that when you get that kind of on-the-field product, it brings you even more joy and appreciation.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
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