Love it or hate it, Sky Sports NFL coverage is a prime reason for the growth of the NFL in the UK. Their Sunday night coverage has been a staple of UK fans viewing for years and they've supplemented it with programmes such as Total Access and America's Game. Of course, the likes of ESPN, Channel 4 and the Beeb have dipped their toes, but it's Sky that have led the way in broadcasting the NFL in this country.
The Sunday night set up has been largely the same since I started watching the NFL 6 years ago. The only major change has been Neil Reynolds replacing Nick Halling as lead analyst. The Halling-Reynolds switch didn't go down too well with a lot of fans who missed Halling's infectious enthusiasm and found Reynolds a bit too drab for their liking. I do miss Halling and can't really take to him as a boxing commentator, but I've no real problem with Reynolds. My Sunday night twitter feed is full of people disagreeing with his opinions, but that doesn't make him a bad pundit. Reynolds isn't an ex-player so is limited in his "insight", but he does stick his neck out and if I don't agree with a lot of what he says then that's fine. It's preferable to the non committal analysis that blights coverage of soccer in this country.
The Reynolds-Halling switch aside, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching coverage from 2006 most of the time. Even the rota of studio guests is largely the same, some of them are very good (Cecil Martin) and some don't really offer much (David Tuckman)., the format of the show is unflinching and at the head of it all is Kevin Cadle.I like Cadle, in the same way that I liked Richard Whiteley on Countdown. He's clearly not going to win any awards for his presenting style, but despite the frequent factual errors, missing of cues and stumbles, I do find him entertaining. Or maybe it's because of those errors!
Sky have a difficult task in pitching their coverage at the right level for a sport that is growing in the UK. Make it too analytical and people new to the game switch off. Make it too simple and long term fans get bored. In this regard, Sky get it about right. We get some technical analysis, but in the main it's easy enough to understand for even the newest of NFL followers.
However, I do feel that Sky could do with revamping the coverage a bit. A new studio, a couple of fresh faces, maybe even a change of style. As the sport grows in the UK, then surely the coverage should develop. Use the 30 minutes prior to kick off for some in depth analysis of the upcoming game, the midweek show that currently features highlights from 2 matches could be extended into a "Match of the Day" type programme with all the touchdowns and some analysis of the key moments. Also, it'd be good to have more features - probably at half time - on the development of the sport in the UK. They sometimes cover the BritBowl, but what about the various fan clubs for franchises and the links they have developed, or the work that goes into making the International Series such a big event. And for new fans, a short feature focusing on an aspect of the game - eg blitzes or draw plays. It's not a radical upheaval, but just a few things to keep the programming fresh and relevant for all fans.
Anyway, back to Week 5 and Michael Vick was - deservedly! - getting a pummelling from the studio for a couple of fumbles early on. I do think that the Eagles are a steady QB away from being a SuperBowl contender. They don't even need an elite talent there, just a Schaub, Smith or Flacco type to run the offence and not turn the ball over. Luckily, Vick's fumbles weren't being capitalized on and the Eagles defence were holding firm. This meant a pretty drab first half and most of the studio chat revolved around other games. Usually this is a bit annoying as I feel that they should be focusing on the game in hand (after all, it's easy enough for fans of other teams to keep track of their sides score), however, Vick aside, there really was nothing much to discuss.
Things picked up in the second half and the Eagles finally got some drives together, but the slow starts are blighting the season. There was a crushing inevitability about the Steelers game winning drive, and in truth we didn't deserve to win. At the final whistle, it was back to the studio for the expert views. Except that it was time for Brady v Manning so the Eagles and Steelers were quickly put on the shelf.
This is a bit of a tricky one for Sky, as the NFL scheduling means that there is hardly ever any time between the early and late games. The late game finishes at around the same time as the Channel 4 game game starts, so the window for detailed post game analysis is very small. Another reason why a more detailed midweek show what be a good idea. The game is growing in the UK, and the fans deserve coverage that mirrors that growth.
And if anybody from Sky TV is reading this, I am available at a very reasonable rate!
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