BRISTOL, CT—Viewers of the nation’s leading sports network were treated to a brilliant display of analysis Monday when ESPN NFL Live spent a full 10-minute segment meticulously breaking down a player running in a straight line for three yards. “Two yards in, [DeVonta] Smith is already got his body positioned to continue running downfield, and is anticipating the movements of the cornerback covering him,” said analyst Dan Orlovsky four minutes into the segment, where he and co-analyst Andrew Hawkins stood in front of a large screen to ensure that the short run by the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver would be comprehensively displayed for all ESPN viewers to see, before turning the broadcast over to several more analysts to expound upon what wide receiver DeVonta Smith running several yards forward meant for the Eagles’ offense. “You see here that the corner, [Zyon] McCollum, isn’t getting as good of a jump on the wideout here, which puts him in perfect position as the play progresses. Zooming out, you can see the area that I’ve circled here on the field shows that the linebackers are playing in and the safeties are straying toward the other side of the field, which gives Smith a lot of open field to work with. Now we’ll check in with Sam Acho and Tedy Bruschi for more on what this three feet of yardage means for the Eagles’ season.” Orlovsky concluded the full 10-minute segment on the three-yard route by saying that the receiver would have put himself in great position for a catch if it hadn’t been a designated run play.
ESPN’S ‘NFL Live’ Spends Full 10-Minute Segment Meticulously Breaking Down Player Running In A Straight Line For 3 Yards
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