the buzz log
NFL Draft Goes Deep
Fans of the 20 NFL teams not bound for the playoffs have turned their attention to the draft. Searches on "complete 2008 nfl draft order" are up a whopping 3,249% over the past week.
Off-field activity is paramount in cities where gridiron hopes were dashed too soon. Kansas City, St. Louis, and Philadelphia lead the nation when it comes to searches on the April draft.
Beaten-down backers are also busy looking for 2008's top prospects. Searches on "2008 nfl draft prospects," "2008 nfl mock draft," and "2008 nfl draft projections" all soared after the curtain closed on the regular season.
From BMOC to Backup?
They met as the field generals of their respective teams in this year's BCS Championship Game. Quarterback Chris Leak of the Florida Gators helped to engineer a thorough thrashing of Ohio State and their star QB Troy Smith. But since their paths crossed in college football's biggest game, searches on the two pro prospects have dwindled as faster, taller, and flashier names jumped in the draft pool.
As they prepped for the NFL Draft, the men who were BMOC's last fall found themselves shunned by draft pundits and relegated to afterthoughts by most NFL squads. However, the terrific twosome never left the minds of searchers who watched them lead their squads to victory in 2006. As day two of the Draft unfolded, the fates of the two big name QB's spiraled through Search.
Smith finally heard his name called at the tail end of the 5th round, but curious Buckeye fans had already been busy searching on "troy smith draft status," "troy smith draft," and "who drafted troy smith." With a bump of 159% in searches, the newly minted Baltimore Raven and former Heisman winner was the standout of the Draft's snooze-worthy day two.
Leak wasn't among the 255 players drafted, which spurred a flurry of searches from fans wondering where the Gator QB would wind up. Queries on "chris leak nfl draft" and "chris leak draft" soared as Leak pondered the fate of an undrafted quarterback trying to make his way in the NFL. However, he didn't ponder too long—the buzz-worthy signal caller signed a deal with the Chicago Bears and will try to pass muster in the Windy City.
NFL Draft Madness
To some, sitting through the NFL draft is akin to torture. To others, it's pure bliss. But no matter what your opinion, you can't argue with the event's popularity in Search. This baby's a monster.
Queries on the draft are up 104% over the last seven days. Both "nfl" and "nfl draft" are among our top 700 searches. Top pick candidates JaMarcus Russell of LSU and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame are seeing major gains as well. Interestingly, as of Friday afternoon, Quinn is about four times as popular in the Buzz. We assume that's due to his sizable female fanbase (he's particularly popular with teen girls).
Of course, a player's pretty boy looks don't necessarily translate to his position in the draft. For that reason, folks are searching on "nfl mock draft" and "2007 nfl mock draft." These sneak peaks are usually at least semi-accurate, but if you wanna know the real outcome, you gotta hunker down and watch the madness live. Godspeed.
The Draft Blows In
With no Reggie Bush to covet, you might think this year's NFL Draft might be a buzz-less affair. Fat chance. You're more likely to hear Brett Favre make a definitive career decision than to see the Draft slip on the Search charts.
Interest in the Draft jumped over 200% this week as the NFL season came to a halt for 20 unlucky squads. Teams with their faces pressed against the glass door of postseason play have to turn their attention to April and the next wave of hot prospects. Queries on "2007 nfl draft prospects" and "2007 nfl draft projections" took off as gridiron gurus attempted to divine who'll be there when their team picks.
Fans also searched on "nfl draft order" to get a sense of where their favorite squad was slotted on the big board. Once the draft order was determined by Sunday's games, searches on "mock drafts" soared. We saw dramatic increases in "updated 2007 nfl mock draft" (+171%), "2007 nfl mock drafts" (+142%), and "2007 mock draft" (+124%).
With such advance hype already in place, we wondered about the team on the clock. The Oakland Raiders earned that ignominious honor with a 2-14 season and their fans aren't flocking to the Web. Searches on the Raiders were down 8% after they finished off yet another offensive performance against the Jets.
Searches on draft maven Mel Kiper jumped 123% as curious football followers looked for the lowdown. We also saw interest spike on quarterbacks Brady Quinn (+103%) and JaMarcus Russell (+66%), two players near the top of every mock. As April draws closer, we'll continue to monitor as draft news blitzes the buzz.
Troubled QB Tackles Buzz
Though his name never rang out from the podium, former Virginia Tech QB Marcus Vick emerged from the NFL Draft the player with the most buzz. Searches on the troubled thrower jumped 525% Sunday after he was passed over during draft picks.
Curious football fans wondering where Vick will end up searched on "marcus vick drafted" and "marcus vick draft status." Marcus wound up in our top 10 sports searches, but that's little consolation, because as of press time, he has yet to sign a free-agent deal with a squad.
In terms of sheer athleticism, Marcus is often compared to older brother Michael—the Falcons' main man, whose bold runs and rocket arm have made him one of the buzzin'-est players in the league. Searches on the elder Vick jumped 55% following his sibling's disappointing draft results.
According to Buzz, the NFL metro markets most interested in Marcus are Baltimore, Atlanta, and Miami. But if Deadspin's correct, the young Vick might be relegated to the Arena League unless he can prove he's finally gotten his act together.
Filed under: Sports, Football, NFL, NFL Draft, Marcus Vick
Draft Blows Through Buzz
The NFL Draft, April's unofficial holiday for sports fans, is almost upon us. As fans load up on pizza (+15%) and caffeine (+11%) in preparation, let's take a look at the top-rated searches on our draft board...
The NFL Draft is loaded with intrigue as teams feint, maneuver, and whisper white lies in order to grab the player they really want. We sized up the potential first round draftees in Charles Robinson's mock draft and came up with the 10 hottest prospects in Search...
The USC Trojans boast three of the top five Search prospects (Bush, Leinart, and White). Bush sits in the top seat both in Search and in the projected draft, despite some reluctance on the part of the Texans to take him on.
Leinart entered the 2005 college season as the consensus #1 pick, but he was surpassed by his teammate Bush at the end of the season. Buzz on the studly Leinart slipped a bit more after the Rose Bowl, and now two rival QBs—Vince Young (Texas) and Jay Cutler (Vanderbilt)—have sacked him in Search. Hot related searches on Leinart include: "matt leinart girlfriend," "matt leinart pictures," and "matt leinart pro day."
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lin Chi Ling | Breakout! |
| 2 | Gloria Diaz | Breakout! |
| 3 | Freida Pinto | 27459% |
| 4 | Gloria Estefan | 9975% |
| 5 | Gloria Velez | 6463% |
| 6 | Gloria Trevi | 3878% |
| 7 | Faith Hill | 2081% |
| 8 | 60 Minutes | 1114% |
| 9 | Alexis Denisof | 994% |
| 10 | Lee Ann Womack | 987% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NFL | +464 | 575 |
| 2 | Britney Spears | +194 | 316 |
| 3 | Hi-5 | -11 | 244 |
| 4 | Black Friday | +23 | 212 |
| 5 | Freida Pinto | +198 | 199 |
| 6 | UFC | -24 | 194 |
| 7 | Club Penguin | -30 | 161 |
| 8 | Gloria Estefan | +149 | 150 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.