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St. Louis Post-Dispatch Dan Caesar column: Draft telecast to pick up pace(St. Louis Post-Dispatch (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Apr. 26--Teams will be looking for speed today in the NFL draft -- not only with the players selected, but with the pace of announcing their selections. After a marathon first round last year that droned on for more than six hours, the league has cut the time teams have to make their first-round picks from 15 minutes to 10, and reduced the clock in the second round from seven minutes to five. That should make for a faster-paced telecast on ESPN and NFL Network, which show the proceedings from Radio City Music Hall in New York. The draft begins at 2 p.m. (St. Louis time). That's three hours later than in recent years. Mel Kiper Jr., the ESPN draft guru who filled much of that extra time with his commentary about the player just selected and who can be expected to be picked next, is all for the hurry-up attack. "They don't need 15 minutes to make a move," Kiper said on a conference call. "Most of those 15 minutes were spent just saying, 'OK, we have 15 minutes of publicity. We have 15 minutes of everybody talking about our team and (the networks showing) highlights of our team and discussing our particular organization.'" But another change makes more impact on guys such as Kiper. Only two rounds are being conducted on the first day, instead of three, with the third round being shifted to Sunday -- which now will have the final five rounds. "You used to be able to say, 'He was a Day 2 guy,'" Kiper said, meaning he wasn't the cream of the crop. "... Now a third-round player, (if) you say Day 2 -- there is a fine line between a late (round) one and an early (round) three. I can tell you that from past history. That term 'Day 2,' 'Day 1' is almost out the window now. "For my own selfish reasons, I would have liked to keep it the way it was. But they don't think it will have any impact at all." NFL Network executive producer Eric Weinberger said he thinks the quicker tempo will improve the product for viewers. "It will add crispness, there's no doubt," he said on another conference call. "It's going to add an energy to the pace." But there also is the reduction in the amount of time to gab about and show highlights of the player just selected. "We've had to make some adjustments with the amount of tape we use between picks, especially the deep analysis tape that our fans look for on our network," Weinberger said. "We're going to need to be tighter but we're going to keep the same elements, they just might be a little bit shorter." Former Lions and 49ers coach Steve Mariucci again will be providing commentary for NFL Network, and he welcomes the shorter draft. "Last year was a marathon. I sat in that chair for 13 hours and didn't get up," he said. "I didn't move, I was hooked up and that was it. I was turning blue." So he applauds the new approach, even if it means less air time for those on the telecasts. "We try to be as thorough and as concise as we can," Mariucci said. "We're going to have to get our information expressed quickly." NUTS AND BOLTS ESPN and NFL Network start with four-hour preview shows at 10 a.m. Then when the picks start rolling in shortly after 2, both networks have a small army of people set to be on the air. On ESPN, Chris Berman and Kiper anchor the coverage with commentary from Keyshawn Johnson, Steve Young, Chris Mortensen, Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Kirk Herbstreit. Suzy Kolber will interview players on hand. ESPN also has dispatched reporters to several team sites, but not St. Louis, where the Rams are set to pick No. 2. ESPN's coverage today moves to ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Former St. Louisan Trey Wingo will anchor ESPN's second-day coverage, as well as the draft preview show today. On NFL Network, Rich Eisen is the host with analysis from former Rams running back Marshall Faulk as well as Mike Mayock (its version of Kiper) and Mariucci. On a separate set will be Brian Billick, Charles Davis and Jamie Dukes. Deion Sanders will interview players, and Adam Schefter will be an on-floor reporter. There also will be a set in Los Angeles, with 1986 John Burroughs High graduate Fran Charles co-anchoring the coverage there with Alex Flanagan. Among the analysts in LA is former NFL personnel executive Charlie Casserly. NFL Network also will have reporters at some teams' headquarters, but, as with ESPN, not at the Rams. NFL.com will carry the NFL Network's programming throughout the weekend. CARDS' UPS, DOWNS The Cardinals are off to a better-than-expected start on the field, but their television ratings have shown mixed results in the early returns. FSN Midwest's first 16 telecasts were seen in an average of 8.6 percent of homes in the market with a TV, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's up 15 percent from the same point last year, when the rating was 7.4. KSDK (Channel 5) has had three Redbirds telecasts so far this spring and has drawn a 12.8 rating -- down 8 percent from the 14 figure at the same stage in 2007. [email protected] -- 314-340-8175 To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com. Copyright (c) 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |