Thursday night game’s first six minutes delightfully quiet

by | Nov 12, 2009 | NFL Media

When I first tuned into the San Francisco-Chicago game on the NFL Network tonight something seemed different. I heard the crowd noise but the broadcast otherwise was devoid of noise.

I asked my wife, a non-football fan, if she noticed. It took her a minute – she guessed two or three times and couldn’t come up with it.

Then the NFL Network folks fixed whatever the problem was and the announcers and their constant babble were back. But the announcer-free six or seven minutes that started the game were among the most pleasant football viewing I’ve done in awhile. Not that all announcers are bad – but many of them do talk a lot more than they need to in order to make the game entertaining.

Maybe this is something they could learn from.

Fascination with Favre gets further out of hand

by | Oct 30, 2009 | NFL Media, NFL Random Thoughts

Fox and the NFL moved kickoff of the Minnesota-Green Bay game Sunday to 3:15 central time because it’s a big game and because it’s Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field. No problem – I get that.

Television’s fascination with Favre jumps to yet another level, however, as Fox has announced plans for a Favre-cam.

Yes, Fox will have one of its cameras set to do nothing but follow Favre’s every move from the time he exits the tunnel until the time he returns to the locker room – who knows, maybe they’ll even follow him to the shower. Whatever footage they get will be streamed live on NFL.com.

Really?

I get that it’s a big game and that Favre’s return to the stadium he called home for 16 years is a big deal. But isn’t this taking it a step too far?

There are 53 guys on each team. There’s going to be roughly half the game where Favre is either watching the Vikings’ defense or, more likely, dissecting coaching photos.

Unreal. I didn’t think television’s love affair with the aging quarterback could get any more ridiculous. Clearly I’m wrong.

Al Sharpton: NFL Expert

by | Oct 12, 2009 | Business of Football, NFL Media

The Reverend Al Sharpton has a reputation for sticking his nose in places it doesn’t belong, and raising racial issues where they may or may not be warranted, just to see his name in the papers again.

The NFL is no stranger to Sharpton, who has been critical of hiring practices for coaches, assistant coaches and general managers in the past.

Now, Sharpton is targeting another level of the NFL–ownership. And he isn’t just claiming racism–he’s declaring that a potential owner is…”Anti-NFL?”

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Note to the Raiders: Gannon is right

by | Sep 28, 2009 | NFL Media, NFL Random Thoughts

The Oakland Raiders last week made clear they didn’t want Rich Gannon showing his face at their headquarters in preparation for calling the team’s game for CBS-TV.

John Herrera, a “senior executive” for the team, told the press Gannon wasn’t welcome because of “incendiary” comments the Raiders’ one-time quarterback has made about the Raiders’ organization since he became a broadcaster.

The Raiders gave in because they basically don’t have the right to keep a network broadcaster away. But when Gannon wasn’t able to catch a flight to Oakland in time to spend time with team officials heading into the game, Herrera apparently told the Oakland Tribune it “was a win-win situation for us.”

Newsflash for the Raiders: That would be the first multiple win situation this team has had in quite awhile.
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NFL Players on Twitter

by | Sep 4, 2009 | NFL Media

We’ve written a couple of posts regarding Twitter and the NFL now, a topic that given that my day job requires a certain amount of knowledge of the platform, continues to amaze me.  I’ve grown from someone who thought Twitter was a complete waste of time to someone who…thinks that it’s still largely a waste of time, but is strangely useful and entertaining for certain things.

For instance, during the NFL draft this past spring, I was watching the draft and following along on Twitter at the same time, gauging reaction from fans (and in a couple cases communicating directly with them) around the country (globe?) in real time, as the picks rolled in.

Further, as we’ve built our list of people we follow, we now occasionally find news tidbits that we will write about, or explore further on Zoneblitz.

More recently, we’ve started following a lot of NFL players, teams, and league employees (and even Drew Rosenhaus…although we still feel kind of dirty about that), watching for their opinions and comments on league happenings.  A lot of it is crap, but again, at times it’s entertaining.

To that end, we’ve started putting together a list of all of the official NFL team, player, and media profiles that we’ve found, so that anyone who’s into Twitter can find their favorite team’s players, and start following them as well.

We’ll do our best to finish the list (we’re probably not even half way there yet), and keep it updated–but feel free to contact us if you see something that we’ve failed to catch.

Wiley takes shot at Eli on ESPN

by | Aug 6, 2009 | Business of Football, NFL Media

RACINE, Wis. – We’re off on our journey to Canton for the Hall of Fame induction Saturday.

Before we left I had seen the news of Eli Manning signing a $97 million contract with New York that makes him an even more highly-paid quarterback than brother Peyton.

But I didn’t catch until we got off the road in Racine, Wis. that former Buffalo Bill, San Diego Charger, Jacksonville Jaguar, Dallas Cowboy defensive end Marcellus Wiley ripped him during a commentary on ESPN.

He faced the cameras and asked, as though talking directly to Eli, if the quarterback truly thought he was worth all that money?

“I don’t think so,” Wiley then replied. He then spent a few minutes discussing how Manning didn’t play well in the playoffs last year, helping cost the Giants in their playoff loss.

Wiley did leave out that Manning was playing with a less than stellar group of wide receivers, minus Plaxico Burress, in that game and he did later acknowledge that Manning had a Super Bowl ring from the year before.

I share Wiley’s concerns that Manning’s contract might be outpacing his true value to the team, though I don’t begrudge him the money. Heck, the Giants offered it – there’s no reason he has to say “Thanks, but I think that’s too much.”

I thought Wiley’s comments might have been a tad more harsh than they needed to be. But I’ll say this – I like that Wiley is willing to give a real opinion.

There are always concerns when retired athletes move into broadcasting careers that they’re going to give their athletic brethren the benefit of the doubt and be afraid to criticize.

Prior to making his Eli Manning comments, Wiley has mixed it up with some of the greats, including former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton and Kansas City Star scribe Jason Whitlock.

Wiley could run the risk of alienating some current and former players with his outspoken-ness. But I hope he’s able to maintain his willingness to give a real opinion. In an era of political correctness and clone-like commentators, both on ESPN and in general, I think for the most part it’s a much needed breath of fresh air.