Will Networks ever get what fans want?

[swede]

I have been reading the latest zone-blocking thread with great interest, some of the posters make insightful observations about what they see on the offensive line.

I feel handicapped in joining in on some of this discussion because of what I feel to be very poor video production in most of the games that I watch.

About the time that I want to see who is on the field and what the formation is I get a close-up of the quarterback barking signals.

When I would love to see a replay of the offensive line play to figure out who blew a blocking assignment and allowed a sack I get a shot of the coach yelling into a headset.

Wouldn't it be nice to have televised football produced in such a way that you could choose your own viewing angles?

Just a rant, but I would like to know if any of the rest of you have felt that TV production is too pretty and not informative enough.

[Fritz]

Yes, I have that fantasy, too. To watch a play in which one group, like the linemen, is focused and a commentator with real knowledge reveals what has happened, instead of telling yet another Brett Favre story.

Yeah, I'm with you.

[Rastak]

I have been reading the latest zone-blocking thread with great interest, some of the posters make insightful observations about what they see on the offensive line.

I feel handicapped in joining in on some of this discussion because of what I feel to be very poor video production in most of the games that I watch.

About the time that I want to see who is on the field and what the formation is I get a close-up of the quarterback barking signals.

When I would love to see a replay of the offensive line play to figure out who blew a blocking assignment and allowed a sack I get a shot of the coach yelling into a headset.

Wouldn't it be nice to have televised football produced in such a way that you could choose your own viewing angles?

Just a rant, but I would like to know if any of the rest of you have felt that TV production is too pretty and not informative enough.


Yea, watching on TV has great advantages because of all the closeups and such but being at the game does allow you to focus on what you want and you can see the reciever packages and coverages much better than on TV.

[mngolf19]

I wouldn't be surprised if that option isn't included in some package in the next decade. They have all that footage, just no good way of allowing people to select per play. But, 10yrs from now....

[GoPackGo]

Yes, I have that fantasy, too. To watch a play in which one group, like the linemen, is focused and a commentator with real knowledge reveals what has happened, instead of telling yet another Brett Favre story.

Yeah, I'm with you.

dude you need some new fantasies

[Merlin]

Although I don't have TiVo, I do have Windows Media Center and I will be recording every Packer's game. That allows you to zoom in, slow-mo and the whole chibata bake! So I will be looking for who blew what block and when. the problem is, with the zone blocking scheme, it can be difficult to say who had what player. Primarily because they won't use it every running play, they have to mix it up or it becomes easy to defend against if not run right, just like straight up assignment blocking. Where the difficulty lies is in watching one game vs another. When in game 1 the guard for example blocks the tackle but in the next game on the same play, the guard blocks the end, given that the defensive alignment is the same. The zone blocking scheme has multiple "schemes" per play. Meaning that the linemen isn't always blocking the same zone on the same play. When the OC calls in a play, the "scheme" to be used is also part of the play call. Therefore it isn't the same everytime unless it's working. It's the same for straight up blocking. Pull Guards and Tackles though will vary with the zone blocking, but they don't with straight up.

[Guiness]

We had that with hockey on the digital channels a couple of years ago - I don't know what happened to it.

Everygame, they'd select a couple of players, and focus a camera on them, whether or not they had the puck. You could select if you wanted the main feed, or the feed for that player. Can't remember what happened when that player wasn't on the ice...

I'd like to see something like that. Line play would be good, but I would like to see what the WR are up to on run plays. Or, when you notice a corner hasn't been thrown at all game, have a look and see how good his coverage is.

[Travbrew]

I agree. The camera is always centered on the ball. You miss the qb anticipating the wr's break and the throw to the area where he's supposed to be going. Watching live games you see their routes develop and can tell when he's going to be open. Occasionally on a longer route and a little wider camera perspective you can see this happen, but not often.
It also makes me laugh when the camera man bites on the playaction and then can't find the ball. The screen gets all squirrelly. I think if they used a wider lens more often and didn't zoom in as much on the ball, the overall experience would be better.