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The Football Diner Big Interview:
David Tuckman
interviewed by Brian Davis
6/1/2010
Sky Sports’ David Tuckman drops in to the Diner to discuss the regular season so far, a look at the playoff and Super Bowl teams, the state of NFL UK TV coverage, the NFL at Wembley as well as the possibility of a franchise here in London, as well as touching on his first love, hockey, his New York Jets, acting career and a little NASCAR.
Diner
How would you rank the 2009/10 NFL season in line with other recent seasons?
David
 It’s had an interesting feel to it, certainly been a league of haves and have not’s this year with 7 or 8 Elite teams, a whole bunch of middle of the road teams and then 6 or 7 absolutely awful teams.
The Quarterback play has been disproportionally excellent at the top of the league, with 13 Quarterbacks having a 90+ rating. Brett Favre, Phillip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers have put up MVP like numbers and aren’t even in consideration because of others, it shows the disparity this year.
If you get an elite Quarterback in the NFL, you will win.
If you have a JaMarcus Russell then it’s almost impossible.
It’s been a very exciting year with Chris Johnson getting his 2000 yards rushing and from a personal point of view the development of Mark Sanchez and the Jets defense.
Diner
Who was your biggest surprise of the regular season, Team or player?
David
I’ll give you a player: Brett Favre.
Favre improved the Vikings but it was a big surprise to see him have one of his best years of his career, I thought he’d be similar to how he was for the Jets last year and that the Vikings would go through Adrian Peterson as they have been built to, and Peterson hasn’t really had a great year, he’s been good, but not great. It’s no surprise to see the Vikings at 12-4 though.
Chris Johnson reaching 2000 yards was a surprise. I covered the draft for sky and I called Jamaal Charles and Ray Rice coming out as good NFL players and Brian Brohm as a bust, but I didn’t see Johnson as more than a Reggie Bush type scat back player as a receiver or Running Back. I liked him but thought they might wait until the 3rd round to draft a Running Back given their shortage at Wide Receiver going in to that draft. Thought he may be a little small and tough enough to carry the load as much as he has.
You know what’s amazing? Peyton Manning will win the MVP award, yet 5 quarterbacks have a better passer rating than him. Tom Brady and Eli Manning have both had great years yet nobody is talking about them.
Diner
Who was your biggest disappointment of the regular season, Team or Player?
David
There was no real surprise as a team on the upside for me in 2010. Plenty of disappointments though.
Denver starting 6-0 was a surprise, as was the handling pre-season of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall; I was like, what is Josh McDaniels Doing?? He almost set himself up for failure, but to go from 6-0 to losing 8 of the last 10 was a total failure, it looks like Brandon Marshall has been hounded out of town this week too as they’ve taken his name off his locker and Tony Scheffler could be quickly following behind him, Denver are back on the decline. Belichick disciples always seem to try and come in and give it the Belichick treatment but regularly fail to live up to his high standards, I mean the guy has a hand full of Super Bowl rings. If you are a Free Agent this year and Denver comes calling, are you really going to want to work there?
Diner
Who are your best and worst 8-8 teams and why?
David
Best 8-8 team would be Tennessee. They have a very bright future. Albert Haynesworth was a big loss and they dug themselves such a deep hole in those first 6 games that they were always going to be right up against it to get out of it and ultimately it proved to be too much.
After week 3 they’d suffered 3 really close defeats, losing 2 games by 3 points and put up a 17 point comeback against the Jets before falling short at the death.
They also had injuries in the secondary, which wasn’t actually as good as people made it out to be, as the pass rush was so much better last year with Haynesworth getting double teamed, allowing Kyle Vanden Bosch a free reign from Defensive End. Everybody knows that a secondary’s best friend is a good pass rush and that was exposed this year in Tennessee.
Kerry Collins was also a statue this year, he can’t move anymore, look at Peyton Manning, he barely runs for 80 yards in the year, but he can move up in the pocket and knows where he should be, Kerry Collins doesn’t have that, and maybe never really had it, having Kerry Collins at quarterback took away some of the Chris Johnson threat but once Vince Young took over, all of a sudden you really have to account for Johnson.
The Titans also have a very young exciting trio of Receivers, the best they’ve had in a long time and Bo Scaife is a nice threat too.
Diner
Lavelle Hawkins also is a handy weapon, he was said to have better hands than DeSean Jackson coming out of Cal in 2008.
David
Young has developed a much better pocket presence himself this year and he is a winner.
Carolina also has a good team, they are a Quarterback away from being there, as Josh Delhomme is abysmal, once they can figure out what they’re doing there, they’ll be a good team with a great running game, Good secondary and a good front 4 when Julius Peppers can be bothered to turn up.Although I suspect Peppers has played his last game for Carolina. Look for them to trade him and try to get back into the first rd. I think they should do everything in their power to get Jason Campbell. I also have a lot of time for Coach John Fox.
I actually like your 49ers, if Alex Smith can step up and be more consistent he can do it, but he needs to deliver in this next year and turn into a NFL Quarterback. Crabtree, Morgan, Davis, Gore are all in place for it to happen on the offensive side of the ball.
Diner
We need a big upgrade on the O line in the draft though and the secondary too.
David
Yeah, your front 7 on defense are Fantastic!
49ers need to make it happen with Smith as where do you find a replacement? Shaun Hill isn’t the answer, he’s the opposite to JaMarcus Russell, he can’t throw it over 35 yards stood up and being a winner only gets you so far in this league. Jason Campbell is an interesting proposition if the Redskins look towards Bradford or another Quarterback in the draft, I actually like Campbell a lot, he has no talent at Wide Receiver, Moss is done for, and is constantly running for his life with a poor Offensive line, in 5 seasons, he’s had 5 different Offensive Coordinators.
Diner
Yeah, Alex Smith and the other 49ers Quarterbacks have had the same problem in San Francisco.
David
 Exactly, and that’s why these Quarterbacks aren’t achieving, you just won’t succeed with that much change.
There’s talk of the Jets changing at OC removing Schottenheimer, whilst I’m not a fan of his, if he’s fired and they bring someone else in, Sanchez’s development could be hurt, same with Campbell, he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going season to season, week to week.
The Worst 8-8 Team? Denver. Kyle Orton is an efficient guy, but he’ll never be a Top 10 Quarterback, he’s a bit like Chad Pennington, he’s a nice guy but you need to give him the #1 Running game and the #1 Defense for him to win.
Denver Over-Achieved at the start of the year, no question, in the early schedule they had 2 cup cakes and a fluke win, backed up by two very good wins over Dallas and New England but that’s it.
As for McDaniels, he’s a good coach and he shouldn’t be judged on one season alone, but they MUST draft well to stand any chance in 2010, or they could be void of any talent.
Diner
The best team with a losing record are:
David
This might be a surprise, but I like Oakland, this league is so Quarterback dependable it shows how bad JaMarcus Russell is that they turned to Charlie Frye and Bruce Gradkowski and then Won games!! But winning those games, does say something about that team.
Diner
Russell was all Combine though, throwing the ball 80 yards on his knees
David
Steve Young said it best about JaMarcus Russell, it’s all very well throwing it 80 yards on your knees, but when will you ever need to do that in the NFL?
Being a quarterback is all about being a decision maker, Athletic and being able to make the throws, Montana and Manning aren’t runners but they’re playmakers and they make/made the right decisions, Russell just doesn’t have it and he looks like being a HUGE bust.
I’ll throw Detroit out there to, I like to think that they are on the way up, might be a couple of years away yet, but look at Arizona when they drafted Larry Fitzgerald, they were awful, you start putting players like Calvin Johnson on your team and things start to happen. Brandon Pettigrew and Kevin Smith are both good, young players and I like Louis Delmas on their Defense as well, if they can get their offense on the field for any length of time then it’ll automatically make their Defense better, look at the Rams Greatest Show on Turf, nobody ever speaks about their average defense because the Offense constantly got the job done and put the defense in better position to succeed. It’s a lot easier to play defense when you’re up two touchdowns.
Diner
I like Pettigrew from what I have seen, but I thought the Lions missed a trick by not taking Oher to give Stafford more protection and then trading for a run of the mill Tight End like a Chris Baker
David
Oher was said to have had a few question marks over his ability to contribute immediately though which could be why they skipped him by? But I do agree, you have to build through the lines, look at the draft the Jets made a few years back where they took Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson, I was made up at that draft and, whilst Ferguson may never be the player they thought they were drafting, he’s far from a bust and Mangold is without doubt, one of the top 3 Center’s in the game and a massive part of why the Jets are now playing in the playoffs.
On the back end of that though, a Tight End does add an extra dimension to your offense, so the Pettigrew draft should work out. Look at the success of Heath Miller, Dallas Clark, Jason Witten or Vernon Davis, they’re so difficult to combat and I love a Tight End that blocks, if you can control the line of scrimmage then you’ve won half the battle.
Diner
The worst team with a winning record are:
David
The Bengals, I just don’t think they’re that good. Carson Palmer always pads out his stats by having the odd big game where he throws for 5 or 6 Touchdowns. He makes too many bad decisions. Everyone thought he was going to be the next great Quarterback and has never really filled his potential, he’s adequate. He’s in a run first team now though and even Cedric Benson isn’t all that special.
They have a solid Defense but overall nothing great, but nothing bad. Losing Odom hurt their pass rush, although they do have two fairly strong corners. On offense, If you can eliminate Chad Johnson or Ochocinco or whatever you want to call him these days and play solid Defense you can expose them.
Atlanta are another over-rated team, they had a lot of trouble in their secondary after Ryan Williams got injured and he’s not really that great a player, their front 4 are very undersized and easily over powered.
On offense, Roddy White is solid, Matt Ryan and Turner are both good, but how long can Gonzalez go on for? The Offensive line is ok. They had lots of expectation after last year’s winning season and haven’t delivered.
Diner
The AFC Championship game will be:
David
I can’t see how it can’t be the Chargers against the Colts.
I will say this though about a potential Colts Jets matchup if the Jets beat the Bengals, the Colts will not want to face the Jets again, the Jets matchup well to the Colts. The Colts best players on defense are Mathis and Freeney – two of the best pass rushers in the game, but Sanchez won’t be passing the ball much.
The Colts have a great passing game but the Jets have Revis and the #1 Defense overall, look at time management of two similar ball controlling teams to the Jets, the Dolphins and the Jaguars, the Colts almost lost both of those games having considerably less time on the field.
There’s no way that I’d take the Jets, but if Jets do establish their running game it’ll be tight. The Colts have also had no competitive games for 3-4 weeks now, the Jets D will be ball hawking, Revis could shut down Reggie Wayne, leaving the Jets to try and contain Clark, Garcon and Collie. At the end of the day, if the Jets can run the ball and keep Peyton off the field, they’ll have a chance.
San Diego has been playing great lately and you can argue that no team is hotter, but they have no pass rush and if they come out blitzing heavily then Peyton will take them apart, the Chargers do historically have the Colts number, but that all changes here.
Diner
The NFC Championship game will be:
David
 It’s not going to be Minnesota, nor will it be New Orleans, they’ll both lose their first playoff games and are both now moving in the wrong direction. Momentum is key. It’s no good being good in Week 4 if you can’t be good in weeks, 15, 16 and 17, I would not be shocked if the NFC Championship game is Dallas against Arizona. Dallas are currently playing the best football in the NFC and are the team to beat. Cornerback Mike Jenkins is playing really well, not quite to Revis level, but he’s one of the best around and Ware, Brooking and Ratliff are Wreaking havoc on offences right now. In the last two games they’ve shut out a Redskins team who have been playing well recently and an Eagles team with a lot of fire power.
Miles Austin has emerged as a genuine deep threat to replace T.O. and if teams double Austin, they then have to contend with Witten, Crayton and a strong running game with Barber and Felix Jones, who is a real special player when he’s fit.
Roy Williams is a monumental bust though, but it’s not the first time Jerry has paid top dollar of first round picks for bad Wide Receivers, He gave up 2 first rounder’s for Joey Galloway once, so effectively he’s given up 3 First round picks for both Galloway and Williams and what makes that even more funny is, he got Austin for free!
Diner
The Super Bowl and Super Bowl winner will be.
David
Indianapolis Colts
Diner
You’re a keen Jets fan, how do you rate Mark Sanchez’s first season in the NFL?
David
If you looked at Sanchez’s stats you’d think, wow, he must be on a 4-12 team.
If you then look at the #1 Defense and #1 Running game, you’d think, they must be better than 9-7.
It’s all good experience for him here though, 16 games and a playoff appearance, 2 games playoff experience if he can beat Cincinnati.
Diner
He came out of the traps on fire though
David
Yeah, and then Defensive Coordinators started looking at his tape!
Jeff Blake, Scott Mitchell, Derek Anderson, Matt Cassel, have all come in and played well as DC’s may not have had tape of them and they have performed well for one season and people aren’t aware of their weaknesses, then when the DC’s see the tapes, they can easily see the giveaways these guys give, players now also look at as much tape as Coordinators.
Matt Ryan is another example of this, he needs to adjust his game, take it to the next level.
DC’s will now know what Sanchez can and can’t do, it’s up to him now to sit in the film room, work with his receivers and get to that next level.
There are a lot of one season wonders in the NFL that don’t know how to adjust and get to that next level.
How about Wes Welker?
Diner
It’s tragic, I really feel for the guy, I have no inkling towards the Patriots and don’t particularly root for them in any shape or form, but when somebody of Welker’s ilk goes down to a season ender and possibly worse, it’s really sad, he’s not a Diva, he’s just a real honest Receiver who comes to work on a Sunday, gets his 9 or 10 catches for 100+ yards and a score and disappears again, not constantly hogging the headlines, just a real honest guy who’s a real hard-worker, I hope he can bounce back from it.
David
Yeah, there was a lot of talk about him being too small and not good enough and he was passed over so many times, yet he’s produced wherever he’s been in all conditions.
Diner
With the First pick of the 2010 draft, the St Louis Rams select…
David
Ndamukong Suh. This guy, is one of the top 5 prospects of the last 10 years, he’s a simply can’t miss guy, he can be the next Warren Sapp, it seems funny that the Rams keep taking Defensive linemen and getting no better, Chris Long hasn’t been as good as they would have hoped, but with Suh there, Everyone on their Defense will immediately be better.
If I were the Lions, I’d try and trade up, heck, If I’m the Jets I’ll give up 5 picks to get there.
Diner
I don’t think you have 5 picks left after last year!!
David
Ha-ha yeah!! There are no sure fire Quarterbacks in this draft though, I’m not even sure if there are any skill players worthy of a top ten place at this moment.
Diner
Clausen and Bradford could go through necessity and how about Spiller too, if he has a Chris Johnson type combine?
David
He could do, but for every Chris Johnson in Round one, you can get a Darren Sproles in round 5 or Ray Rice, or Leon Washington in lower rounds.
Diner
Dez Bryant could have been up there were it not for his suspension
David
Yeah, Bryant’s an interesting one, but then you look at a DeSean Jackson falling into the 2nd round; or Anquan Boldin in the 3rd, the same applies, for every 1st Round Receiver that’s good, you’ll find an equal from the 3rd, 4th or 5th round in every draft.
Crabtree will be a great player, may not be on the Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald level, but he’ll be a really good player for the 49ers.
Diner
I’ve enjoyed watching the NASCAR on Sky Sports and enjoy the healthy banter in the Sky Sports studio; will we be seeing a return to the screens for NASCAR in 2010?
David
Unfortunately not, sky haven’t picked up the contract and I’m upset about it, people at sky also have jobs because of the NASCAR, but unfortunately, we just didn’t have the numbers watching it.
Diner
That’s a real shame as I’d just got in to it myself and know a few others that have started watching occasionally.
David
 You know, I actually said that to some of the guys higher up at Sky about that, a lot of people say, I’ve just got in to it and that through word of mouth the popularity seemed to be growing and that it would catch on, but unfortunately for sky, it’s all about the numbers.
We only picked up the deal on a 2 year basis anyway, which seemed a bit pointless, 5 years would have been better and if still nobody was watching, then dump it, but these things need time, can you imagine Channel 4 dumping the NFL in the 80’s after just 2 seasons and where you’d all be right now. Some sports take a while to get into and to watch, pick up the rules and find somebody to follow and support, you don’t just want to jump on a winning bandwagon of say a Jimmie Johnson or Colts or Patriots. Obviously, I’m disappointed by Sky’s decision, but it’s hard to blame them. They run a business and if a sport isn’t making money for them, why keep it? I just wish they gave it a couple more years to catch on.
It’s fun to grow up and associate yourself with a team or driver in sports, it takes time.
Diner
You were a soldier in the film; A perfect storm can you explain a little more for us about that?
David
Oh yeah, when I was in LA doing journalism and I got this agent who got me some acting roles, I actually spent 7 days on the set of a Perfect Storm filming, only for the scene to eventually be cut, so I didn’t actually appear in the film!
Diner
Ahh, that’s lucky, I nearly got the film out last night and watched it to try and find you in it!
David
HAHA! You should have asked before, I could have told you not to waste your time then! 2 weeks before the film Premiere, we all got called to the studio for a screening and it was then that they told me my scene had been cut; my parents were really looking forward to seeing it too!
It was a great week though. I’m a big Wolfgang Peterson fan, so it was great working for him for a week. I was also actually filming on the set of Buffy that week too!!!
The acting really helped me in my background of presenting though.
Diner
You were a Hockey player at University and describe Hockey as you can’t breathe without it who is your team and who wins the Stanley Cup this year.
David
I grew up an Islanders fan who have been pretty bad lately, but again, look on it all objectively when presenting, If I think somebody sucks, I’ll say, regardless of my loyalties, but I’ll always back it up with why.
I’m a strictly, Jets/Mets/Knicks/Islanders/Syracuse Orangemen fan, my sister also went to Syracuse, so I’m a die-hard and look up to Donovan McNabb and Marvin Harrison. They’ve got a pretty good Basketball team there right now. The football programme is atrocious though.
As for the Stanley Cup; San Jose are looking pretty good right now, as are the Blackhawks and you can’t rule out Pittsburgh. It’s still quite early on, but if I have to pick one, then I’ll say Blackhawks.
Diner
We’ve seen a lot of new faces and old faces returning on this year’s NFL coverage on sky, but who is the most knowledgeable and best to work with and will we be seeing you again this season on the football?
David
Jeff Reinebold is very good, he knows it all and is very articulate which as a coach, you would expect. He’s one of the guests that I really, really enjoy.
Tony McGee is a good guy who I enjoy working with, same goes for Kev, Nick and Keith Heuwen in the NASCAR programmes. They’re all nice guys. I have worked with Jonnie Mitchell and Gerry Anderson this season too. I bring what I can to the table and I’ll call it as I see it. The worst guys are those that will just say well yeah, we’ll just have to see what happens, or let’s see what the coach calls. I don’t want to see a guy say that, I’m watching because I want your opinion, give me your opinion. I’m American and bit brash, but I have an opinion and if given the opportunity, I’ll share it. Put yourself you there. Right or wrong, at least you’ve made your stand.
I like watching former NFL players that are good, someone like Chris Collinsworth, but I’m a journalist and I come from a place where just because some players have played the game before, doesn’t make them good.
Most of the guys work hard and try hard, Nick is very prepared for every show and he works his ass off every week.
Diner
With two games scheduled for the UK this year and less coverage of the sport on TV; (No MNF in 2009, potentially no SNF on FIVE in 2010, no red Button games, no Total Access or Game-day due to advertising) The paying public appear to have been a little poorly treated by advertising rules, the NFL and television companies on both sides of the Atlantic, how do we move forward with TV to maintain that interest here, could no terrestrial coverage and lack of daily programmes potentially damage the interest here?
David
I have 2 theories on this.
It’s a joke though. I don’t understand what the NFL is doing to not make all the games available, it’s an atrocity. The vast majority of the nation needs to see the NFL. How do you expect to grow a sport when people can’t see the games. It’s a compliment to the league that people want to see the NFL – allow them to. Make it easy for those of us in the UK to become and stay fans.
The second; is that the NFL can build support through Game Pass, after all, you can just about watch anything on the internet these days but they’ll charge you 150.00 a season to watch it. It pays for itself then. When they can charge you that to watch it online, who needs to make an effort of showing it on TV to a foreign country right? They’re playing a dangerous game right now, it’s clear that the fan base is there but more games need to be available to get more fans. It’s in the NFL’s best interest to get coverage here. The loss of the red button was big, if a game is 28-0 at half time and I have no red button, then I’m flicking channels, or I’ll start reading or writing instead of watching, they have to make more and more available. It’s 2010, is it really that hard to make the NFL available? If I’m in LA on a Saturday and I want to watch Arsenal or Man Utd, I can, on demand and on my television set.
Another big part of the growth here and in the US is through fantasy football, that way, every game becomes interesting and you want to track them.
The NFL really has to take a look at it and ask if they really care or not. Obviously, they do. But I think they need to make a real committment.
The running of British TV is screwed though, when I first come over here and watched football (soccer), I was like who’s Samsung v AIG, I didn’t have a clue who was who, little did I know it was Chelsea v Man Utd, yet if I’m on set on sky, I can’t drink a can of coke and have my can on the desk in case viewers see it. It makes it very difficult for the companies to make money and stya afloat.
Sky dropped NASCAR and MNF because they don’t make money too, as we discussed earlier, it’s a numbers game with not only Sky, but all of TV – if the ratings are good, the game is on. Simple. If more people watched football here and watched overnight football, then you’d see MNF back on TV. I just wish “they” would make it easier for the companies to advertise and make money. Is there really anything offensive about a can of coke on the desk? Or awarding the Guiness player of the game award?
I ask you this would you really complain if we had a small banner under the game sign on TV or on the desk or on the screen behind us?
Diner
Absolutely not, they can advertise what the heck they want if it means more coverage
David
However, people here do complain, and don’t like it that you’ve sold out and the advertising laws here wouldn’t allow it anyway, they need to figure out a way to making it work though.
Diner
How do you feel about a possible franchise being based here in the UK? 3 years of selling out Wembley would suggest the interest is still here, but can it seriously work?
David
 Can a team be supported here for 10 games a year? Will Wembley sell out ten times?
When I was in LA and we didn’t have the Raiders or Rams, I would make it my business to go up to SF or down to SD to watch a game. I’m a Jet fan, but if LA got an expansion team , I would have supported a new team. Same here…I’d love a London team. You?
Diner
I wouldn’t drop the 49ers as my team, probably wouldn’t go to all ten games, but they’d be my second team
David
The jet lag is the real killer, LA to NY is only 4.5 hours, the reverse is 5.5 hours, London to New York is 7, but it’s only around 5 coming back due to the winds, it’s 8.5 to Miami. Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego is a HUGE difference, they’d have to work it where the team would go to America for two weeks at a time, play two road games, and then back for two home games, the NFL doesn’t like taking risks and isn’t a risk taking organisation, however, a Franchise in London is a Huge risk, if it didn’t work out there’s no easy out for them, if they could speed up the travel part of it, it’s more feasible.
Diner
We need Concorde back
David
Yeah, if there was a way of getting to NY in 3 hours and LA in 5 it’s be easy, these are the major issues we’re looking at.
You could pretty much write off any SNF or MNF here too, you’d be almost strictly 6pm games and then you have all the transport of fans late at night on a Sunday in London.
There is a market here that loves the sport and hopefully the NFL stay committed to it.
Diner
I’m a big fan of having a 17th fixture introduced (eventually 18 with a shortened exhibition series) to have an international week series for every team, therefore, every 2nd year, a team loses a home game, regardless of status in the league (12th man, new stadium (Jerry land) etc) Do you think this is the way for the NFL to go with these series’ to avoid teams losing out?
David
The commissioner is talking 18 games, but 18 is a mistake, what happens in weeks 15-18 if say the Colts have wrapped up their division by Week 14, the games those weeks become a joke, what’s in it for them then? On top of that, I’m not sure the players could hold up for an 18 game season.
The 17th game as an international week though is a great idea, base it in the middle of the season from around weeks 4-8 with every team having its bye week following an international fixture on neutral soil, no home games or loss of home games then.
You can have 2 games in Germany, London, Ireland, Spain, Mexico, Canada etc
The loss of a home game doesn’t just mean venue though, it’s the locker rooms, field conditions, crowd, there’s so much more than just location.
Diner
That’s my concern, the loss of home-field advantage for season ticket holders and for the team, especially those who may lose that something from their crowd, I also don’t see teams like Dallas or those with new stadiums giving up games now.
David
I can see where you’re coming from and understand fully, however, if I’m in London and the 49ers are playing the Eagles as rumoured, then what do I do? I’m not going to make it a home crowd for myself and jump around creating noise screaming my lungs out, when McNabb’s going to be under Center.
Diner
However, I shall be making as much noise as possible! Ha-ha!
David
The way it’ll also work is to knock down pre-season to 3 games, my plan would be:
Week 1 Rookies and First year players only, almost like a scrimmage
Week 2 and 3 normal pre-season games then go into the 17 game seasons.
Then between say weeks 3-7 we go travelling across the world!
I’m not so sure the US fans actually care too much for losing a home game, for what is, predominantly a TV sport, if I’m a fan of a team and I have the chance to see my team play Internationally, then I’m going to embrace it and make an effort to go. I don’t feel for the fans in the US at all, they’ll watch it on TV anyway and go to the other 7 games, it’s only once at this moment. The only way it doesn’t work is that teams may lose their competitive edge when they only have 7 home games.
Numerate games here for now though are the answer if the NFL is to find out if the appetite is here
Diner
What does 2010 have in store for David Tuckman in terms of on and off the TV screens?
David
Hopefully, I’ll be on Sky Sports for the Super Bowl as Nick will be in the States which will be great.
I have a couple of poker events coming up soon and you can see my presenting and commentating on poker stars TV, you can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Tuckonsports
I also have a column that I write for Auto Sport Magazine and a bunch of gigs lined up back in the States for around 10 weeks and a trip to Latin America, so I’ll be back and forth between there and here in that time.
Diner
Many thanks for taking time out to speak to us here at the Diner and we hope to speak with you again soon, safe travels.
David
Thank you to you too, it’s been great.
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