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It means that people are tired of Chris Berman giving away the picks before they're announced.

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The new time format was wonderful. BUT . . .

Problems with ESPN:

1. Chris Berman mumbles and bumbles way too much. He's nearly incoherent and needs to be replaced (by Suzy Kolber preferably). On day two, the normally good Trey Wingo often didn't seem to understand what Kiper or the other analysts were talking about and sometimes wrapped up by stating the opposite point someone had just been making.

2. Keyshawn Johnson is worthless as a draft analyst and Mort is completely out of his element behind the desk there.

3. The Tony Reali round table was boring.

4. They spend too much time talking about picks from an hour ago, or, on day two, talking about yesterday's picks. They should spend more time keeping up with current picks. LET KIPER DO HIS THING. Kick everyone off the set except for him and the host (my vote's for Suzy Kolber). Occasionally go to Mort for breaking news or on location reporters like Rachel Nichols and Ed Werder (on second thought forget about Ed just go to Rachel).

What ESPN does well:

1. Kiper's good but he needs more space to do his thing.

2. The "chime" when a pick is made is helpful. They do a great job of keeping up with the picks graphically, even through commercial breaks, though should show the time left on the clock for each time (like NFLN does).

IN SHORT: Keep Kiper, the graphics, and the sound effects. Get a new host. Limit Mort to actual news. Kiper talks about previous pick for a bit and then focuses on the prospects available for the team on the clock. Scatter in a few war room reports when there's actually news to report. A few interviews are ok, too. No fuss, no muss. Keep it clean and simple.


Problems with NFLN:

1. Jamie Dukes and Charles Davis are bad analysts. Dukes comes across as less than bright and Davis kept going on about protecting Tom Brady and how the Pats need to draft a lineman because of the Super Bowl. But watch the tape and you'll see that a lot of the problems were caused by poor blocking by the tight ends (incl. Kyle Brady who was awful) and full backs (what little playing time they got). Another big problem was less than stellar play by Mankins and Koppen - but, duh, these are two of the best players at their positions in the NFL. They just had off games.

2. NFL Network had WAY too many commercial breaks. Worse, they didn't have a way to tell who the selection was when they were at commerical. Showing the time left on the clock is great, but then when the pick is made they don't flash it across the screen at all. They just change the logo to the next team and restart the clock: not good. Show the frickin' pick.

3. Deon Sanders was entertaining but not necessary. Marshall Faulk is good as a color analyst during games, but he didn't add much to the telecast. But these two were not the problem. I liked Mooch's input for the most part.

4. Eisen is coherent, and not so bad I guess, but his opinions add nothing.

5. Adam Scheffer, like Mort, should stick to the news: DON'T ARGUE WITH MAYOCK. He kicks your butt every time, just as he kicks Dukes's butt and Davis's butt.

6. Charley Casserly and co. were ok, but they could have been just a couple of segments each day. We didn't need THAT MUCH superficial "insider GM" input.

What NFLN does well:
1. Mike Mayock is the best draft expert in the business. Kick all those other bung holes off the set and let him do his thing. Like Kiper, when those around him speak before or after he does, you realize how vapid their analyses are.

2. The keep up with the current picks really well for the most part, but too many picks are completely missed to do commercials and poor graphics during commercials.

IN SHORT: Keep Mayock, the time clock, and get better graphics (and a chime!) for during commercial breaks. Keep the interviews short but sweet. Fewer bells and whistles, more meaty analysis and (intelligent) discussion of the upcoming pick.

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Good points Blue Star. For me, I used to sit there with my buds and a fridge full of beer, checking off each name as it's called. I'm not sure when but at some point several years ago I realized most of these guys will never make a significant impact in the NFL. Conventional logic would suggest that a 1st or 2nd round pick should be penciled in as a ProBowler in the near future but it never seems to work out that way. Evaluating one's athletic skills is one thing but evaluating how a kid makes the mental transition to the pro game is another. Throw in a boatload of money and it's a prescription for trouble to many times. Now I'm more like, "ok, that's a nice pick but let's see what we think of him next November." My interest in the pro game has never declined and if anything it's increased over the years. Some kids have "it" and some don't. I completely agree with you about Mayock but even he can't determine that in April. Keep tabs on the draft, yes, but park myself in front of the TV, nah, I'll pass.

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well, let me 'splain it to you.....first of all i wouldn't be watching if i didn't know a little something about the draft and football. Then when i hear the "chime" and my team is about to make a selection, there's kiper running his mouth about a pick that happened 30 minutes ago, we never go to the podium and i miss the pick or the trade....that happened several times. It's time for chris berman to "GO ALL THE WAY" to retirement!!!!!!

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