Fri May 14, 2010 10:56 am EDT
Aaron Rodgers wants Todd McShay to show his work
By Doug Farrar
ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay is a polarizing figure, and it isn't just readers who take exception with his opinions. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently revealed that there are those in the scouting community who think McShay is blowing smoke. And while the gap between the people who put rosters together and those who write about them has always been considerable, the invective against McShay seems a bit over the top. He may not be Mike Mayock, but he's no worse than some other draftniks whose only qualification seems to be that they rolled out of bed this morning.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers(notes) has a very interesting idea, and one I fully support. From his Twitter account today:
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to watch film with some of Espn's experts and hear them explain why teams play 2 slide behind...
less than a minute ago via Twitterrific
Aaron Rodgers
AaronRodgers12
A storm blitz, and other fun conversations like that. Invitation is out there Todd mcshay
less than a minute ago via Twitterrific
Aaron Rodgers
AaronRodgers12
Personally, I love this idea - in fact, I smell reality TV gold. Who wouldn't love to see NFL players grilling [insert the name of the "football blowhard" you hate the most] on trap plays and the Cover-2? "Hey there, Zippy - if you don't even know what Cloud coverage is, how is it that you insist I can't read a defense, and you make a living doing it?"
Seriously, I do think that it's a good idea to make sure that all NFL analysts of any renown know at least the basics of the game. Most do (and believe me, as much as we cap on Jon Gruden's broadcasting style in a good-natured way, we are well aware that he would totally demolish us at the whiteboard), but it would be good to know who's talking out their pieholes without a clue as to what's really happening on the field. I'm not saying that every analyst should be able to immediately identify "Strong Right F' Short 400 Jet X' Slant", but without the knowledge of basic on-field concepts, it would be tough to be taken seriously on an every-day level. That goes for anyone, in any business.
And here's a good idea to reward the scribes and broadcasters with the highest scores - better access to actual game tape, and more time with assistant coaches. It's a win-win, and I'm sure Aaron Rodgers would agree. Example: Matt Bowen(notes), who writes for our friends at the National Football Post and can correctly identify a Storm Blitz, would probably place in the top percentile.
H/T: Cheesehead TV