NFL Draft Might Be Shortened (1 Viewer)

[packersfan]

Thank freaking God if this happens. This is LONG overdue. There is no reason for the first round to take 15 minutes. Honestly, you could do it in five and still make the same picks. The NBA isn't often a model for how to do things but they get how to work the draft. If you spend nearly a year watching and evaluating these guys and months deciding what to do with your pick, you don't need to take every last second of the 15 minutes to make your pick in the first round.

Link

 

[ffgiant]

Well, you do need some time to get the trade down. Plus all the suspense built for the TV viewers.

 

[LionsFan78]

First round picks can make or break alot of careers for many of the front office personnel. If they feel they need that extra time, more power to them. Certainly hasn't helped my Lions much over the years though! I personally really don't have a problem with the current time.

That said, I did find this last first round pretty excruciating, much worse than I remember any previous years. Of course...

VRowner:

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

This dovetails perfectly with moving the first round to Friday night. Shortening the clock allows for all the first round picks to happen in a 4-5 hour time frame.

 

[Chaz]

I love the idea of shortening the time. Maybe an idea to consider would be to give each team an additional 10 minutes to use at any point, in 5 minute blocks. When it is anounced that a team is taking additional time, that would be pretty exciting for fans wondering about a trade.

 

[Boston]

This dovetails perfectly with moving the first round to Friday night. Shortening the clock allows for all the first round picks to happen in a 4-5 hour time frame.

At the end of the day that is what is happening here. The NFL is taking the draft to the next level as far as TV is concerned and these are the type of changes that need to occur to make it a success.

 

[Boston]

I love the idea of shortening the time. Maybe an idea to consider would be to give each team an additional 10 minutes to use at any point, in 5 minute blocks. When it is anounced that a team is taking additional time, that would be pretty exciting for fans wondering about a trade.

Nice idea. Would definetly add some intrigue.

 

[Koya]

VIKINGS BEWARE!!!

 

[GroveDiesel]

Would as many people seriously watch the NFL Draft on a Friday night? I'm not sure that that move makes as much sense as the NFL thinks it does.

The shortened pick time definitely makes sense though. I could see teams arguing that they need that full 15 minutes to make trades but there were certainly plenty of trades in Round 2 with less than 15 minutes on the clock.

Ultimately, I just don't see it happening. First rounds picks are so important to teams and cost so much money, that teams are going to want plenty of time to think about their options and test the trade waters. I'm not sure that a .2 tv share increase would be enough for teams to cut their decision making time down so far.

On the other hand, it's pretty obvious that teams are drawing things out too. This past year the Chargers were still on the clock when ESPN showed Olsen getting a phone call, celebrating, and putting on a Bears' hat. The Chargers finally made their pick, and then the Bears used up almost all of their time before announcing that Olsen was their pick. Clearly there was some shenannigans going on there.

 

[Phlash]

To everyone who is saying that teams need to think about who they're picking - don't they have months in advance to build a draft board and talk about trading with other teams? 10 minutes is ideal, lets do it.

 

[Slinger]

teams are going to want plenty of time to think about their options

They have 1/2 a year to figure it out.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

This dovetails perfectly with moving the first round to Friday night. Shortening the clock allows for all the first round picks to happen in a 4-5 hour time frame.

I was just about to post this and Sigs here beat me to it.This definitely works towards that end.Even if the whole clock gets used, that's 5:20.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

I love the idea of shortening the time. Maybe an idea to consider would be to give each team an additional 10 minutes to use at any point, in 5 minute blocks. When it is anounced that a team is taking additional time, that would be pretty exciting for fans wondering about a trade.

Nice idea. Would definetly add some intrigue.

Sounds like C-SPAN..... "The gentle people of the great state of Texas yield 5 minutes to our friends in Minnesota...."

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Would as many people seriously watch the NFL Draft on a Friday night? I'm not sure that that move makes as much sense as the NFL thinks it does. The shortened pick time definitely makes sense though. I could see teams arguing that they need that full 15 minutes to make trades but there were certainly plenty of trades in Round 2 with less than 15 minutes on the clock. Ultimately, I just don't see it happening. First rounds picks are so important to teams and cost so much money, that teams are going to want plenty of time to think about their options and test the trade waters. I'm not sure that a .2 tv share increase would be enough for teams to cut their decision making time down so far.On the other hand, it's pretty obvious that teams are drawing things out too. This past year the Chargers were still on the clock when ESPN showed Olsen getting a phone call, celebrating, and putting on a Bears' hat. The Chargers finally made their pick, and then the Bears used up almost all of their time before announcing that Olsen was their pick. Clearly there was some shenannigans going on there.

They did say the same thing about Saturday afternoon.... Then again, who is to say that Round 1 isn't done on THURSDAY night, and Rounds 2-4 are Saturday?

 

[hutchins929]

I love the idea of shortening the time. Maybe an idea to consider would be to give each team an additional 10 minutes to use at any point, in 5 minute blocks. When it is anounced that a team is taking additional time, that would be pretty exciting for fans wondering about a trade.

Great Idea Chaz!!! Hopefully that Idea will make its way to the NFL office. You should Email it to them.

 

[LHUCKS]

I wonder if Cleveland would have been able to pull their trade off with Dallas with a 10 minute timer?

If this limits trades that would kind of suck.

 

[Twilight]

It will be interesting to see the jockeying for the top of the 2nd with a full night of negotiating possible.

 

[posty]

The draft would be worth watching if each round was 2 minutes...

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Each team should have a 40-minute chess clock.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

The draft would be worth watching if each round was 2 minutes...

So just under four seconds per pick?

 

[GroveDiesel]

To everyone who is saying that teams need to think about who they're picking - don't they have months in advance to build a draft board and talk about trading with other teams? 10 minutes is ideal, lets do it.

teams are going to want plenty of time to think about their options

They have 1/2 a year to figure it out.

How many mock drafts were there before the NFL draft this year? How many of them got it exactly right? How many of them had Bady Quinn going to the Browns at 22? How many had Branch falling completely out of the 1st round? How many had Ted Ginn, Jr. going #9 overall? Crazy things happen in the draft and it can completely change how a draft plays out. If you're picking in the second half of the draft, things can look completely different than you expected them to before the draft started.This especially becomes big when you're talking trades. Like LHUCKS said, would the Cowboys and Browns been able to work something out if there were just 10 minutes? When one or two guys start slipping, that presents a great opportunity to start making trades. If teams didn't think that they needed all the time, then they wouldn't all be using it. But they are. And if they are, what makes anyone think that they would vote to reduce the time for the picks?

 

[grind]

Thank freaking God if this happens. This is LONG overdue. There is no reason for the first round to take 15 minutes. Honestly, you could do it in five and still make the same picks. The NBA isn't often a model for how to do things but they get how to work the draft. If you spend nearly a year watching and evaluating these guys and months deciding what to do with your pick, you don't need to take every last second of the 15 minutes to make your pick in the first round.

Link

I agree. The NFL draft is a joke because of how long each team has between picks. This will go a long way toward making it actually watchable.

 

[packersfan]

If teams didn't think that they needed all the time, then they wouldn't all be using it. But they are. And if they are, what makes anyone think that they would vote to reduce the time for the picks?

It's often paralysis by analysis. Teams have all that time so they think they NEED to use all that time when the chances are they could get it done in 10 minutes or less. If 10 minutes becomes the rule then the teams will adjust, just like they adjusted to having far fewer rounds in the draft.And Goodall doesn't need the teams' approval for this. He can institute a new rule on his own if he chooses to. If the teams resist, I hope that's what he does.

 

[grind]

I wonder if Cleveland would have been able to pull their trade off with Dallas with a 10 minute timer?If this limits trades that would kind of suck.

I'm not in these "war rooms", but I think this is like everything else (politics, NFL signings, Labor Contract renegotions, etc). If you give a team 15 minutes, they'll take it. If you give them 10 minutes, they'll take it. Either way, deals will get done. Why don't players sign their contracts now? Why would they when training camp doesn't start until late July/early August. I don't even think many teams start negotiating until mid July. If training camps started July 1st, teams would start negotiating mid to late June. Same can be said about the draft. Instead of waiting until the 13 minute mark to start serious trade talks after the cat and mouse games are over, they would start at about he 8 minute mark. As far as I'm concerned, they can move the time to 5 minutes. That'd work all the same. Phones would start ringing at 2 minutes, if teams are interested in dealing rather then the 13 minute mark.

 

[grind]

To everyone who is saying that teams need to think about who they're picking - don't they have months in advance to build a draft board and talk about trading with other teams? 10 minutes is ideal, lets do it.

teams are going to want plenty of time to think about their options

They have 1/2 a year to figure it out.

How many mock drafts were there before the NFL draft this year? How many of them got it exactly right? How many of them had Bady Quinn going to the Browns at 22? How many had Branch falling completely out of the 1st round? How many had Ted Ginn, Jr. going #9 overall? Crazy things happen in the draft and it can completely change how a draft plays out. If you're picking in the second half of the draft, things can look completely different than you expected them to before the draft started.This especially becomes big when you're talking trades. Like LHUCKS said, would the Cowboys and Browns been able to work something out if there were just 10 minutes? When one or two guys start slipping, that presents a great opportunity to start making trades. If teams didn't think that they needed all the time, then they wouldn't all be using it. But they are. And if they are, what makes anyone think that they would vote to reduce the time for the picks?

I agree that things can change as the draft goes along, but I have a hard time beleiving teams can't make the adjustments as it goes. How hard is it to cross a name off a list. I'd imagine all teams have prospects ranked by each position as well as overall. This is where the work is done and this would get done well before the draft even starts. If a player gets selected, they cross the name off the list. Then when they're on the clock, they can look at the remianing players on their overall list as well as each position and make the pick accordingly. It just doesn't seem to difficult after the months of player evaluations are complete and an draft chart is created. That seems like the hard part. Not the actual draft itself.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I agree that things can change as the draft goes along, but I have a hard time beleiving teams can't make the adjustments as it goes. How hard is it to cross a name off a list. I'd imagine all teams have prospects ranked by each position as well as overall.

They should use the Draft Dominator.

 

[Da Guru]

The Raiders used the full 15 minutes to take Russell?? What a waste of time.

 

[bostonfred]

If teams didn't think that they needed all the time, then they wouldn't all be using it. But they are. And if they are, what makes anyone think that they would vote to reduce the time for the picks?

It's often paralysis by analysis. Teams have all that time so they think they NEED to use all that time when the chances are they could get it done in 10 minutes or less. If 10 minutes becomes the rule then the teams will adjust, just like they adjusted to having far fewer rounds in the draft.

The adjustment will be fewer trades overall, and more ripoff trades when a player slips.

 

[Slinger]

This is what these guys do for a living. They should have every possible scenerio documented and what to do in case something weird happens.

When Brady Quinn started to do a free fall the Browns probably had an idea as what to do. Sure maybe they haven't talked to Baltimore prior, but they knew what their limit was as far as trading for a pick in order to get Quinn. Taking 5 minutes away won't hurt teams IMO.

 

[roadkill1292]

I agree that things can change as the draft goes along, but I have a hard time beleiving teams can't make the adjustments as it goes. How hard is it to cross a name off a list. I'd imagine all teams have prospects ranked by each position as well as overall.

They should use the Draft Dominator.

Or go to an auction.

 

[Marc Faletti]

I agree that things can change as the draft goes along, but I have a hard time beleiving teams can't make the adjustments as it goes. How hard is it to cross a name off a list. I'd imagine all teams have prospects ranked by each position as well as overall.

They should use the Draft Dominator.

Or go to an auction.

Ohhhhhhh, snap. Talk about ratcheting up the difficulty level. Can you imagine a guy like Charlie Casserly in an NFL rookie auction draft? That's great TV.Casserly: "Mario Williams for $41!" [The room pauses.]Auctioneer: "Anyone? Anyone? Sold!"[The room bursts out laughing.]

 

[roadkill1292]

I agree that things can change as the draft goes along, but I have a hard time beleiving teams can't make the adjustments as it goes. How hard is it to cross a name off a list. I'd imagine all teams have prospects ranked by each position as well as overall.

They should use the Draft Dominator.

Or go to an auction.

Ohhhhhhh, snap. Talk about ratcheting up the difficulty level. Can you imagine a guy like Charlie Casserly in an NFL rookie auction draft? That's great TV.Casserly: "Mario Williams for $41!" [The room pauses.]Auctioneer: "Anyone? Anyone? Sold!"[The room bursts out laughing.]

High drama and amusement indeed. Tell me you wouldn't want to watch that. But, seriously, in addition to the added level of difficulty in decision making, I can see lots of benefits to doing things this way. Just one of many improvements is that it would end this ridiculous slotting of contracts per draft position, which makes the basic assumption that the No. 1 pick is worth the same in any given year. I could go on and on.

 

[dparker713]

How many mock drafts were there before the NFL draft this year? How many of them got it exactly right? How many of them had Bady Quinn going to the Browns at 22? How many had Branch falling completely out of the 1st round? How many had Ted Ginn, Jr. going #9 overall? Crazy things happen in the draft and it can completely change how a draft plays out. If you're picking in the second half of the draft, things can look completely different than you expected them to before the draft started.

You act like teams are sitting in a black hole waiting for their pick. They have plenty of time to adjust to everything except the pick immediately prior to them. 10 minutes is more than enough time to adjust to whoever the pick in front of you is. They really need to do this, the draft is ridiculously long in the first round. But I do prefer MT idea. I think a chess clock would be great.

 

[posty]

The draft would be worth watching if each round was 2 minutes...

So just under four seconds per pick?

I meant per team...

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I guess I'm pretty much alone here, but the first round of the NFL draft is something I look forward to all year so I don't mind it lasting a little longer (15 minutes per pick).

 

[Despyzer]

Even if the whole clock gets used, that's 5:20.

As compared to a little over 6 hours this year. They really aren't saving themselves that much time. I think it should be even shorter.

 

[BeaverCleaver]

I wonder if Cleveland would have been able to pull their trade off with Dallas with a 10 minute timer?If this limits trades that would kind of suck.

Teams do trades in the draft all the time when the timer is shorter than the first round. Even if the first round was 5 minutes per pick teams would find a way to make trades.

 

[Despyzer]

I wonder if Cleveland would have been able to pull their trade off with Dallas with a 10 minute timer?If this limits trades that would kind of suck.

Teams do trades in the draft all the time when the timer is shorter than the first round. Even if the first round was 5 minutes per pick teams would find a way to make trades.

Exactly, teams have trades lined up way before a certain team is on the clock, depending on different scenarios. A shorter clock wouldn't mean the end of trades.