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NFL ConfidentialHow a one-man Web site became the best source for pro football news.

By Robert Weintraub
Posted Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007, at 5:38 PM ET

(Continued from page 1)

You can choose to believe it or not, but Florio told me that a number of people in the NFL told him that nothing would have come of the case if PFT didn't push the issue. ("I don't believe that," he cautions.) If nothing else, that sort of rhetoric is a testament to the perceived power of the site within league circles. Florio says that "90 percent of the league reads the site, and the other 10 percent are lying." I've talked to a number of NFL front office types and media people recently, and all of them copped to being regular readers.

Bob Moore, the public relations director for the Kansas City Chiefs, disputes the notion that the site is devoured by NFL execs. "[Chiefs general manager] Carl Peterson doesn't read it, and I have only glanced at it once or twice," he says. "But I can assure you that everyone in Kansas City media circles reads it every day." Moore believes that Pro Football Talk has had a profound affect on conventional media. He gets calls from reporters all the time, he says, following up on rumors floated by PFT. "When I knock it down and ask where it came from, everyone says, That's the buzz." In other words, PFT and other gossipy blogs like Deadspin and the Big Lead have had the same influence on the sports world that the Drudge Report has had on politics. Michael Vick, meet Monica Lewinsky.

Before he launched Pro Football Talk, Florio worked briefly for ESPN.com; he left because he was frustrated by the level of editorial oversight. Florio, who now acts as both writer and editor, is not infallible. The concept of the site allows for a handy loophole. He can report "rumors" of an impending trade or suspension; should it never happen, well, that doesn't mean the rumors weren't out there. After reporting erroneously that Terry Bradshaw had died in a car accident, the site has become a lot more reliable—more like an insider's guide to the NFL than a salacious tabloid.

A better analogy: Pro Football Talk treats the NFL like Spy treated the New York power structure in the 1980s, with the proper blend of scorn for the powerful and fondness for the game. The site also had good timing. Written by a lawyer, it got rolling just as a seemingly endless number of players brushed against the criminal code. Pro Football Talk concentrates much of its energy on cataloguing rap sheets rather than game plans. A calendar keeps track of the number of days since a player was arrested (currently 18), and PFT has crafted a points system to determine the team that's most in trouble with the law. (No, it's not the Bengals—Miami currently tops the "Turd Watch.")

The Rumor Mill is much more than just Law & Order: NFL. Click over right now, and you'll find Florio casting doubt on Jerome Bettis' claim that he faked an injury while with the Steelers, reports on a possible locker room revolt in Philly over the release of popular linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, criticism of a piece on the NFLPA by ESPN.com's Howard Bryant, and, inevitably, fantasy football tips. PFT is weakest when it comes to pure game analysis, but that's not why I click there. Indeed, Florio says the site's best numbers come in the offseason, when players have free time to find trouble.

How has a one-man Web site become the best source for NFL news? There is an inside-the-Beltway feel to most pro football coverage, with the league and the teams ruthlessly controlling the message and the messengers. This has worked to Florio's advantage. Veteran reporters like Peter King and Chris Mortensen have a symbiotic relationship with the NFL and can't afford to jeopardize their positions by publishing stories that will hurt the league. Florio can always return to his day job or just throw up his hands and insist, "I'm just a blogger!" He can also post three paragraphs on any subject in real-time without having to jump through the same hoops as a newspaper columnist or a TV reporter. This isn't merely journalistic jujitsu. It's how more and more fans, if not Carl Peterson, are following sports.

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Robert Weintraub, a freelance TV producer/writer based in Atlanta, writes about sports media for Slate.
Photograph of Michael Vick by Marc Serota/Getty Images.
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Remarks from the Fray:

Praise for ProFootballTalk.com is overblown. This is the same web site that reported that Fox Sports personality Terry Bradshaw was dead, and that Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre was going to retire.

People I know who cover pro football for a living, instead of a hobby, say the site is often wrong and consistently reports rumor and gossip that isn't true. If a fan wants to read that, good for them.

But an indispensable web site? Give me a break.

--dwalker

(To reply, click here.)

Isn't an important question, What did the NFL know?

It seems to me that a league with each team having a "Head of Security" employed, many of whom served in the FBI or Secret Service, would have known what was going on with Vick.

Doesn't the league have a head of security that checks the background and credit history of each official?

With at least 33 security experts, wouldn't they have looked into their premier players before handing over "the face of the NFL" to him?

But then again, this is the league that allowed known organized crime figure, Ed Debartolo, to own a team.

I think the NFL really could have a stink on itself if people really started to look into who knew what and when in the Vick case.

One last thing. ProFootballTalk.com is a great web page.

--Go Zips

(To reply, click here.)

(8/24)

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