The NFL’s “Broadcast Boot Camp” enters its final day tomorrow.  This year the program is only available to former players due to the ongoing labor strife.  That means former Denver Broncos Nick Ferguson and Maurice Williams will be among the 16 participants at the fifth annual tutorial/seminar/crash course in talking football for a living.  The top performer at this year’s event will serve as a studio analyst for NFL Network’s U.K. presence on Sky News.

Certainly, it’s worth wishing Ferguson and Williams the best of luck in a potentially new career surrounding football.  A number of former Denver Broncos have done extremely well for themselves as commentators.  Tom Jackson, Mark Schlereth, Shannon Sharpe, John Lynch, and Dave Logan are among those that made the transition, and with the exception of Lynch, who now has one season under his belt, have thrived for multiple years.

Frankly, the train from the field to the booth is a lot more crowded than it used to be.  Twenty years ago, it was pretty easy to find game analysts who didn’t play the game at the professional level.  That’s not the case today as basically every color commentator used to be a star on the field.  While that may seem like a welcome sign for former players looking to join broadcast teams, it is really an indicator that the odds aren’t in their favor unless they don’t mind starting small.  Figure it this way: in non-bye weeks there are only 14 games played on CBS and FOX.  Take five of those games off the board as Nantz/Simms, Buck/Aikman, Gumbel/Dierdorf,  Stockton/Davis/Mora, and Albert/Johnston/Siragusa are all pretty locked down teams.  So now you have nine game analyst spots left.

Up next for Nick Ferguson, the broadcast booth? (Courtesy Jeffrey Beall)

Some of the names filling those seats last season: Brian Billick, Steve Tasker, Kurt Warner, Dan Fouts, Rich Gannon, Solomon Wilcots, and the aforementioned Lynch.  No offense to Ferguson or Williams, but all those guys carry a lot more name recognition.  Let’s also not forget the star-power occupying the various sets of pre and post-game studio shows.  In the end it adds up to a whole bunch of former players vying for what in reality is a handful of seats in front of the camera.

However, should Ferguson, Williams, or some of the other participants at this year’s Broadcast Boot Camp (Antonio Freeman and Amani Toomer are notable names) find themselves in a TV gig, there are a few key things to remember.  As someone who has personally spent  the better part of a decade in television broadcasting, here are a few tips on style.

Stick with what you know

The most recent edition of Real Sports on HBO codifies this point with Tiki Barber who is now banking on an NFL comeback after a failed television foray.  Tiki’s problem is he tried to go “all in” as a newsman.  There’s a reason it takes journalism degrees and several decades in small markets for people like Matt Lauer to make it onto Today.  Actual journalism is difficult work believe it or not.  Just because you have the “look” or the “voice” doesn’t mean you are a journalist capable of functioning on national television.  Stick to the X’s and O’s of football.  A perfect example of this is Michael Strahan.  The guy was getting buzz as a great TV personality years before he left the league.  He didn’t try to exceed those expectations by pursuing a full-on reporting gig…he just met them by talking about football in a fun, articulate, and natural way.  That’s allowed him the opportunity to avoid a somewhat odd retun-to-the-glory-days quest.  If you were known as having a magnetic personality in the locker room, it’s okay to keep that magnet focused on football once you enter television.

Good Mentors: Michael Strahan, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Lynn Swann

» Continue reading “Broncos in the Booth”

While the Horse Force extended the holiday weekend by an extra day, others barely missed a beat working right up until, and right after Memorial Day.  You can include Tim Tebow on that list.

Jabar Gaffney was one of three Broncos wide receivers to practice with Tim Tebow over the weekend. (courtesy Jeffrey Beall)

The 2nd year quarterback had a big day Tuesday as his autobiography, “Though My Eyes” hit bookstore shelves.  ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tebow spent part of his Memorial Day on the clock, signing copies of his book at an event in Jacksonville, Florida.

Speaking of Jacksonville, that’s where a trio of Broncos receivers found themselves shortly before the holiday.  Tebow footed the bill to bring the three out to northern Florida so they could workout together.  Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, and Britt Davis all made the trip.  Tebow invited the entire receiving corps, but Eric Decker had a schedule conflict, and Demaryius Thomas and Eddie Royal are still recovering from injuries.

Tebow put the trio up in a nearby hotel, and then spent considerable time working with them on conditioning, and timing.  ESPN reports the receivers who attended considered it such a success that they’ve already made plans to get the band back together very soon for two weeks of intensive workouts in Arizona.

Semi-Symposium

Newly minted NFL rookies have yet to even start work, let alone get back to it.  Luckily, for all those new to the league, there will be a chance to start learning how to become a professional.  The NFLPA announced it will hold its on rookie symposium June 28-29th, in Washington, DC.  Wonder if those rookies will get a crash course in federal mediation while they’re there?

Aside from providing Cris Carter with a soapbox to continue proclaiming the NFL “our league,” the symposium is an important event for rookies each year.  Learning how to manage your money better than Rocket Ismail, protect yourself better than Plaxico Burress (who’s set to be released from prison in just days), and be more professional than Ryan Leaf (who’s recovering from brain surgery) is crucial to every rookie.  The symposium is normally run by the NFL, but with a labor dispute still highly unresolved, the league canceled its event.  That paved the way for the NFLPA to step in and put together the event on its own dime.

The NFL said it cancelled the symposium because the event requires coordination among a number of professionals, and with a lockout barring the league from having contact with the players, the NFL thought it unfair to keep so many people’s schedules on hold.

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