Coverage of the NFL Draft on ESPN has grown from humble beginnings during the infancy of the network to a two-day affair each spring featuring a host of talking mouths. I admit to keeping an eye on the proceedings, although I tend to focus solely on the picks of my Giants.
That said, the great need for ESPN to evaluate college players during the college season largely in terms of their future draft worth is unsettling. Within minutes of reporting the suspension of Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount earlier this season, the network trotted out of their draft experts, Todd McShay, to tell us that he then considered Blount a second round talent. When Dez Bryant was suspended in mid-season for lying to the NCAA (don't get me started) we found out that he was considered the top WR prospect in the junior class. Sam Bradford? Still a top 10 talent. His teammate Jermaine Gresham, also out for the year with an injury? The top TE.
Who cares? The draft is months away and except for fans of the Browns, Lions, Chiefs, Rams, Buccaneers, etc of the NFL (I will not put the Raiders in this category as fans of the Silver and Black must no longer care about a draft that never seems to help their club), hardly the focus in the fall of a fan of the NFL. I would not mind so much if this discussion of the draft futures of injured and suspended players was part of a large picture of analysis regarding the loss of these players to their teams. But no, they do not discuss the talent and experience of the guy's replacing this unfortunate crew, except for Landry Jones as he is now the Oklahoma QB. There is no discussion of changes to the playbook with these replacement players in the lineup. No analysis of the potential of opposing teams to exploit the absence of the players. Nope. There is no time for that but plenty of time to promote an event airing in five months. And this is despite the fact that these artificial rankings will change myriad times between now and April after huge factors such as the rest of the regular season, bowl games, all-star games, combines and workouts.
While most of this issue is simply annoying there is one aspect of it that is particularly troubling. When ESPN continually mentions that an underclassman is projected to go high in the draft that player may decide to go out even if he is not ready. Or that player may play differently knowing that he has NFL money waiting for him. The more they discuss the draft during the season the tougher it is for programs to keep their kids focused on the game at hand.
There is something else too that sticks in my craw. Discussing a player's worth to the NFL treats his college play as just a set-up to his future pro career. It hammers home the notion that college play is inferior to the pro game. I find that both college football and pro football are great sports. College football has so much going for it that considering it secondary to anything is ridiculous. ESPN, which has been airing college football games for a very long time, should know better.
No comments:
Post a Comment