THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
TROY AIKMAN is an anomaly. Not only was he one of a select group of NFL players to win three Super Bowls, Aikman made a seamless transition to the broadcast booth almost immediately after his playing days ended.
For the rest of the players looking to make the same move - none with as big a name as Aikman's - the NFL's competitive, 4-day Broadcast Boot Camp is a place to start.
Last week, 23 current or newly retired running backs, quarterbacks, kickers and linemen gathered at NFL Films in Mount Laurel, N.J., to practice in front of the best in the business. More than 100 players applied to the third annual Boot Camp. A confident camera demeanor and willingness to improve and work with local media set these players apart.
The Daily News was a fly on the wall during Day 2. Here is what we saw:
Former Green Bay Packers fullback William Henderson is still asleep. The players were given homework the night before and he says he was up late doing research. Last Monday - shortly after checking into the hotel - players were asked to spend the rest of the night combing through the Internet and newspapers to get caught up on current events around the league. There is a good chance Henderson made a late-night trip across the bridge for a cheesesteak. Soon, he asks about creating chemistry during the radio information session.
"You don't try to create chemistry," Westwood One Sports vice president Howard Deneroff tells him. "The more you do it, the more it happens. You can't force it. And you can't step on each other's toes."
Someone already mentions Brett Favre. It took only 11 minutes.
The players receive their first assignment of the day: interview each other in 3-minute segments live on Sirius NFL Radio later in the afternoon. The word "live" has a certain ring to it that these wannabe broadcasters aren't yet used to. "If you mess up, keep going," Deneroff says.
On the way to Show Prep, Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew laments about losing his fantasy football league this past year. He probably didn't draft himself.
Fox NFL studio host Curt Menefee explains to the group that while the serious show preparation is done on Thursday or Friday of an NFL week, work starts at 5:30 a.m. on Sundays. Henderson would never make it. Menefee explains to the players that while opinions and statements aren't scripted, Show Prep is a time for players to formulate thoughts so they aren't completely winging it on air.
Brian Baldinger, a former Eagle and current Fox analyst, says that "you're not allowed to talk Show Prep without talking about Brett Favre."
"There is nothing easier than putting the tee in the ground and hitting Brett Favre," Baldinger says.
That is the 23rd time Brett Favre is mentioned in this session alone. Yikes.
Baldinger asks six-time Pro Bowler LaRoi Glover - who officially retired from the St. Louis Rams the day before boot camp - if he is a Brett Favre, and is actually retired.
The room explodes into laughter when current free-agent cornerback Terry Cousin explains that he "would love to have Favre come back. He threw me my first pick."
That's almost as funny as Buffalo Bills backup quarterback Gibran Hamdan's rainbow socks.
Moving over to Tape Study, most of the players feel at home in Ron Jaworski's NFL Films office. The players regularly spend hours breaking down film with their coaches.
"This is where I get my juices flowing," Jaworski says.
"I have always said that Ron has worked harder in this business than he did as a player," NFL Films producer Greg Cosell says. "You have to have that attitude. Players need to know more than their position and reach a point where they are consciously confident and it just flows."
Jaws says that players regularly learn something from his "NFL Matchup" show on ESPN with Merrill Hoge. "Trent Dilfer came up to me one time at a driving range and told me that he learned how to view the secondary differently because of the show," Jaworski says. "I was like, 'Wow, you should know this stuff, you're in the NFL!' "
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