ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown boasts new elements

Sunday NFL Countdown went through significant changes in the offseason.

On camera, ESPN’s signature NFL studio program now features a completely new cast of analysts – Trent Dilfer, Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss and Charles Woodson – alongside longtime host Chris Berman.

Off camera, a new duo of producers – Matthew Garrett and Chad Minutillo – is quarterbacking the two-hour show each week.

“This season, our goal is to take our viewers to places they can’t buy a ticket to. Whether that is through our show elements, features, discussions or access-driven content,” said Garrett, who is also in his fifth season as Monday Night Countdown producer. Garrett and Minutillo shared with Front Row their top-five new elements on ESPN’s Sunday NFL pregame show this fall.

New Analysts

Garrett: [Senior coordinating producer] Seth Markman did an excellent job putting together our new team of analysts who, because of how recently they stepped off the field, provide us with invaluable first-hand knowledge of the current NFL. With this group, there is a currency due to the fact two of our four analysts were active players just last season.

Whether it’s Matt Hasselbeck breaking down a defense that he faced last year, Charles Woodson telling us how he would defend a particular quarterback he faced last season, Randy Moss offering his unique viewpoint on the week’s news or Trent Dilfer’s insightful analysis, we are able to take the viewer inside the locker room in a way that we haven’t before. It’s our goal, with this new team, to be having the same discussions that our fans are having each week while featuring the knowledge, perspective and unique humor each member of the group brings to the table.

Graphics Package

Garrett: In an effort to provide an on-screen second-screen option for our viewers, we built a graphic that appears on the bottom of the screen through the duration of Countdown. The goal with our new graphics “belt” is to add context simultaneous to what is being discussed on the show and also provide a constant stream of information on the right side of the bar including: game-time forecasts, fantasy football projections, injury updates, ESPN FPI (Football Power Index) projections, game picks from our analysts, tweets from newsmakers and anything else that can serve our fans as kickoff approaches.

Arrival Art and Open Tease

Minutillo: With our new cast, we also wanted to update the look and feel of the show – beginning with its open. Working with [creative director] Lucas Nickerson and [content producer] Jeremy Anderson, we created an open reflective of the energy and feel of the new crew – a bit more contemporary while also highlighting their careers and personalities. Also, we have placed an emphasis on the production value of the players arriving and warming up on Sunday morning, building rollout style templates with city flavor of the game locations mixed with our freshest arrivals and warmups of the morning.

Countdown Cam

Garrett: Each week, we will feature a different player’s first person account of their Sunday morning preparations – having breakfast with their teammates, picking out their game day outfit, driving to the stadium, and more. The players will turn the camera on themselves to share their game day morning routines. There is no better way to take the viewers behind the curtain of the NFL than to turn the camera over to the players themselves.

Annie Apple

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When this guy was 11 he dreamt of playing in the NFL. Today we got to watch him live his dream. #Blessed @EliApple13 pic.twitter.com/WNBgeOm0uX

— Annie Apple (@SurvivinAmerica) September 12, 2016

Garrett: After Annie Apple’s breakout performance during the NFL Draft, we quickly identified her as someone who could offer a unique voice to Countdown by contributing features that will take the viewer into an entirely new space in their understanding of the NFL player – from a parent’s perspective. Annie’s viewpoint as the mother of a current player and sought-after commentaries on the human experience are unlike anything we have had previously in a contributor to Countdown.