Posted: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 10:10 AM | 14 comments |
 

Coming soon: NFL Draftapalooza
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As someone who remembers when the NFL draft was sometimes 12 rounds in one-day, an absolute car wreck of a day, the evolution of this thing is nothing short of astounding. And now comes this news, which actually has been coming for a while but which the NFL is now saying out loud:

The league is considering taking the first round to prime time, and turning it into a seven-round, three-day extravaganza.

The confirmation comes from an NFL public relations guy, via Twitter (heaven help us).

Here's what he tweeted:

"We're thinking of taking #nfldraft primetime. 1st rd thurs, 2-3 rds Fri nite, 4-7 Sat. Good/bad idea? What do u think?"

If there is money to be made, they're going to do it -- and, guess what, there's money to be made. By Saturday, other than shut-ins, sportswriters and family members of potential draftees, I'm not exactly sure who is going to watch. But the Thursday night thing would be gigantic -- and now that they have the first round under 3 1/2 hours, it's possible. The Friday night thing would be good, too -- if for no other reason than it would give people a night to chew on what their team did or didn't get in the first round, and what the new imperatives are.

April is already National Draft Month. This will just make it official.
Posted by Rich Hofmann @ 10:10 AM  Permalink | 14 comments
14
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:25 AM, 04/28/2009
    Don't like that Idea at all. Didn't like the fact that it started at 4:00pm this year rather then 12:00pm also.
    — cusoraider
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:49 AM, 04/28/2009
    Bad idea. Three days is ridiculous. No one cares about rounds 4-7 and even 2-3 is a stretch. Didn't like the 4PM start at first but I do now because it gives me most of the day for actual living responsibilities like house chores. Leave it as it is.
    — tpizza
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:29 AM, 04/28/2009
    Craziness. I thought the 4pm start was going to be rough, but I think it actually forced the teams to shorten the 1st round. Start it at 8pm on a Thursday and maybe these clowns will sum it up in 2.5 hrs? That would be nice.
    — rwright611
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:35 AM, 04/28/2009
    I like it. There's no football going on this time of year so I see no harm in stretching it out. The teams would benefit as well. The break between the first and second rounds would give the teams a lot more time to think about how to approach the important 2-3 rounds based on what happened in round 1 and without the stress of managing the picks for rounds 4-7 on the same day.
    — sg021
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:53 AM, 04/28/2009
    They want to put something MORE boring than baseball in prime time??? Two predictions: 1. it will be pay for view; 2. suckers will shell out the money.
    — Joe Funk
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:05 PM, 04/28/2009
    I dig the draft, its alot of fun. Since it is all the football I can get, I'll take as generous an amount as they will give.
    — VicFromLA
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:16 PM, 04/28/2009
    Hate it...go back to all 7 rounds in one day
    — Hammer859
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:08 PM, 04/28/2009
    7 Rounds in a day makes the most sense. 3 days of of one gasbag comment after another? Gads!
    — rtronce
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:47 PM, 04/28/2009
    Yeah strecthing it over 3 days is kinda lame. It's not like there is a clear winner or loser. After all it's the only part of the sport where everybody wins (except Oak). Did you see the grades they gave out LOL? Over half of the league got A's or B's
    — Nothing but the truth
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:49 PM, 04/28/2009
    Terrible idea. I wish they would mix last year and this year. Go back to rounds 1-3 on saturday, but keep the shortened pick time (10mins this yr vs. 15 min last yr). Rounds 4-7 on Sunday afternoon. I have better things to do on a Thursday and Friday night than watch the draft. Saturday afternoon, however, is a different story.
    — woogie
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:10 PM, 04/28/2009
    weeknight beats weekend any day. the top 10 picks are pretty much done instantly, but the teams take 10 minutes to call the player and chat it up. no need for that and the nfl should continue to shave time off the first round.
    — djack10
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:35 PM, 04/29/2009
    No good , it allows teams to recover from blunders they made in previous rounds , the panic button would have less of a chance of being pushed , really , what would the draft be without numerous panic moves ? ...we'd all fall asleep ! ...
    — Talon


14 comments
About Rich Hofmann
Rich Hofmann arrived at the Daily News in 1980 for a job whose status was officially designated as "full-time, temporary." A senior at Penn at the time, he was hired to fill in on the copy desk during a staff illness. The notion of him covering the Eagles or being a columnist did not exist in anyone's imagination. It was supposed to be six weeks and out, but he never left. It is only one of the reasons why so many people have concerns about him as a potential house guest. Rich has blogged the postseasons of the Flyers and Eagles. E-mail Rich at hofmanr@phillynews.com

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