In my opinion Pro Football Talk was a quality site for football information when it first started. However, in the last 12 - 18 months it has changed quite a bit. Rather than focusing on real inside football information, it's almost all gossip now. Whether that is because, as Lombardi claims, that Florio has burnt too many bridges and no longer has access to as many sources - or because Florio figured out he can make more money playing the contrarian and throwing out wild speculation in order to fuel emotions and generate interest - regardless, the 2008 version of PFT is different from the one I read a few years ago. "Truth and Rumors" should be renamed "Speculation and Gossip", while Florio constantly flip flops on topics he rehashes to see which side will spark more debate and page views.
It's ironic that Florio left ESPN because he didn't care for the editorial control - which was all about ratings and profits rather than integrity and unbiased quality - and now he has turned around and sacrificed substance for style in the name of profits with PFT. It's even more ironic that PFT has followed the same path as ESPN: gone from a high quality niche sports product, to a more profitable, high-volume, mediocre product geared to the lowest common denominator.
Florio is a hard working, smart business man - he's constantly on national radio and television shows, as well as local radio shows across the country - but he no longer ofers anything of any substance.
Give me Reiss' Pieces, National Football Post, and a handful of other sites, thank you. They may not ever be the biggest, but biggest is not always the best.
