Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)

Kelce, others gain networking skills

NFL workshop offers players media practice

- By Joe Reedy

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jason Kelce has excelled as one of the NFL’S best offensive linemen for his ability to quickly adjust blocking schemes and make split-second decisions to ensure his quarterbac­k has a clean pocket.

The Philadelph­ia Eagles center has discovered that translatin­g that to a television or radio audience is more challengin­g than it seems.

Kelce was one of 25 current and former players who participat­ed last week in the league’s Broadcasti­ng and Media Workshop, which used to be known as the Broadcast Bootcamp.

This was the 16th time the event was held. For the past two years, it has taken place at the NFL Media headquarte­rs, which opened in 2021 and is a 30-yard pass from Sofi Stadium, the home of the Rams and Chargers. “This is all new territory for me. I have even more respect for it now,” Kelce said. “It’s very hard to do something live, reactive of stimulus that just happened and having something clever and meaningful to say.”

The three-day session allows participan­ts to call a game on radio or television and work in the studio as an analyst.

Nine of last year’s 24 participan­ts worked in some media capacity. The two biggest names were Richard Sherman, who was part of the coverage on Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football,” and Jason Mccourty, who was an analyst for Westwood One radio and is a co-host on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”

Each participan­t did a 10-minute portion from the first half of last season’s Indianapol­is Colts-minnesota Vikings game during the television analyst portion. After receiving feedback from directors from Fox and NBC, they returned and did another 10-minute segment from later in the game.

“I think every time you see automatic improvemen­t and how much more comfortabl­e they are. There’s a lot of little things that even though they know the game, they have to learn how to fit their thought in between snaps the best way they can,” said Fox play-by-play announcer Chris Myers, who was part of the TV sessions. “They’re going to pick the best thing, but they also have to play to what’s on the monitor and what people at home see on replays. And they have to have a little personalit­y.”

Kelce also said the other tricky thing could be rememberin­g to pronounce someone’s name correctly.

“It’s a lot easier when you’re sitting on the couch or have heard the name over and over. Certainly some of the names are difficult to remember on the spot,” Kelce said.

While Kelce, who will be going into his 13th season with the Eagles, is considerin­g getting into broadcasti­ng down the line, there may be immediate opportunit­ies for Ndamukong Suh and Ryan Shazier.

Suh, a 13-year NFL vet, is assessing all his options for the upcoming season after he was a midseason signing by the Eagles last year.

“It was a great experience to dive into and put myself in an uncomforta­ble position to see what it will look like,” Suh said about the workshop. “The biggest thing that I learned probably came from (NFL Network reporter) Steve Wyche. He said to my group that mental stamina will be the biggest thing here. You not only have to study different things you might encounter while calling a game but also give a perspectiv­e. If you don’t have a strong mental ability to retain a lot of informatio­n, it can be very difficult to be successful.”

Shazier, the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker who suffered a career-ending spinal injury in 2017, is known by most fans for his inspiratio­nal comeback following the injury that left him briefly paralyzed. But Shazier has worked as a college football analyst for the past couple of seasons and has hosted his podcast.

“It has been awesome to get to talk to the different networks and understand their perspectiv­e compared to just the perspectiv­e of the hometown that I live in,” he said. “All those things can help you improve, and I’m always trying to learn.”

 ?? Kyusung Gong AP Images for NFL ?? NFL players Jason Kelce, left, and Ndamukong Suh attend the league’s Broadcast Bootcamp earlier this month in Inglewood, Calif.
Kyusung Gong AP Images for NFL NFL players Jason Kelce, left, and Ndamukong Suh attend the league’s Broadcast Bootcamp earlier this month in Inglewood, Calif.

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