October 21, 2002
On the way to the Browns-Texans game Sunday (lengthy football-related post to follow) we watched an old game to pass time -- the '89 divisional playoff against Buffalo. I noticed that even though NBC's graphics were much more primitive they told the viewer more.
Since the lineups were done as text overlayed on the screen, everyone on the field could be taken care of in two plays. Also, they were able to show the substitutions that happen when an offense or defense changes schemes (say, going to four wide receivers or using the dime defense).
Now that every player's name has to be mentioned and there are nifty graphics that accompany the players' mug shots (insert your own Dallas Cowboys remark here) it often takes several plays to get to everyone, and people can get missed if the drive is short.
Yay progress.
