Rich Eisen and his Network

The NFL Network may not be all Rich Eisen, but he has redefined the role of the sports host. The NFL gave him an opportunity and he has run with it. I was a little skeptical of his selection initially. He just never stood out to me on ESPN. Perhaps, he just hadn't found his place. I was actually a bit skeptical of the entire NFL Network project. I never understood the November debut. I still don't. It all seems so long ago that it matters little now. The Network relied heavily on NFL Films in the early days. That is a terrific place to start as NFL Films defines high quality. There was just so much redundancy in the programming. It was obvious that they were working out the kinks. 24 hours of football seemed to be made just for me. It took a couple of years before it became the product that I imagined. Much of the credit goes to the work of Rich Eisen. He is outstanding. I have never seen a sports host, with no experience as an athlete, have such a strong rapport with athletes. The Total Access crew includes some of the greatest players of their generation. Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson have recently been elected to the Hall of Fame. Sterling Sharpe would be the with them if injuries hadn't ended his career. Great athletes do not always make great analysts or TV personalities. Fran Tarkenton proved that. The NFL Network athletes have shown their talents extend beyond the playing field. I do think that Rod Woodson's move into coaching was a good move for the NFL Network and the Raiders. Most importantly, all of the hosts and analysts seem to have a blast. They know what they are talking about and they are entertaining. I think that they all deserve credit in the evolution of Mike Mayock. He really seems to be having fun now. As long as the NFL Network has the Sabol's NFL Films and  Rich Eisen as it's backbone, I'll be watching. Especially now. Their draft coverage is excellent.