Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow planned to work out in San Diego this offseason until quarterback Josh Freeman gave him a call.
Freeman was organizing his own practices during the NFL lockout and requested Winslow's presence in Tampa. There would be no pay. There would be no coaches to give instructions. There would be no trainers to tape them up. There would be no cold tub after practice. There would be no facility to watch film.
Winslow's response to Freeman reflected the respect he and other teammates have for their leader.
No problem.
"There is no question he is the leader of this football team," Winslow said.
Freeman began working out in April with running back Cadillac Williams and former Bucs receiver Michael Clayton at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. As the lockout lingered and more team-organized workouts were missed, Freeman took it to another level.
He found a facility in Tampa willing to host his daily workouts, and asked teammates to practice with him. The plan was to lift weights for 90 minutes and then hit the practice field for an hour or two, depending on what Freeman wanted to accomplish that day.
Receiver Micheal Spurlock flew in from Mississippi. Backup quarterback Rudy Carpenter flew in from California. Right tackle Jeremy Trueblood flew in from Indiana. Receiver Arrelious Benn flew in from Washington, D.C.
At times, more than 30 Bucs players have attended Freeman's daily workouts. Even former Bucs tight end Alex Smith, who played with Cleveland last season, usually attends.
"It was definitely necessary," Freeman said. "With a young team, you've got to get together. You've got to get this work in. It's good. It was a great week. We had a couple of guys get in from Cali. We hit the weight room hard and the field hard. It's real good."
Coach Raheem Morris heard about Freeman's practices and was not surprised.
"I'm fired up for Freeman," Morris said. "That's the type of leader we brought here and I had no doubt in my mind he would be doing that type of thing. It's not shocking to me. It's kind of expected from the standpoint of business as usual for that guy."
Freeman was more the type to mind his own business when Tampa Bay made him a first-round draft pick in 2009.
The Bucs already had quarterbacks Byron Leftwich, Luke McCown and Josh Johnson. Leftwich and McCown were battling to be the starter, while Johnson was in his second season. Freeman was the odd man out and forced to follow Tampa Bay's other leaders.
"His first year when he came in, you could tell he was wet behind the ears a little bit," Winslow said. "He was just raw."
After Tampa Bay began the season 0-7, Freeman made his first start in the season's eighth game. He led a surprising 38-28 victory against Green Bay, throwing for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Yet, it was during a loss the next week when he earned Winslow's trust.
Freeman helped erase a 13-point deficit at Miami. He led a go-ahead drive, running for 14 yards on first down and throwing to Winslow four times. Cadillac Williams scored on a 1-yard run to give the Bucs a 23-22 lead with 1:14 to play. The defense collapsed and the Bucs lost, 25-23.
Yet, that loss is when Freeman earned the leadership role on his team.
"We were driving the ball and it was like an 'Any Given Sunday' moment," Winslow said. "He was like, 'This is what I'm talking about. Let's go. It's us or them.' I was like, 'All right, this is the dude right here.' "
Freeman did not fully embrace his leadership role until last offseason. He and Greg Olson, Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator, began watching film daily and the quarterback made it his goal to have an impact in 2010.
"By the time we got to the offseason, I took it upon myself to have no reason not to be a leader," Freeman said. "I wanted to take that role upon myself. You have to step in and do the work. As a leader, you have to clean up your yard before you start talking about other people's yards. I made sure to have all my stuff in order.
"I was hoping to put a good product on the field. Guys followed that. If I'm not playing good football or taking care of business, how can I be a leader? I just feel like it's my job as a quarterback to take care of business."
As Freeman became more comfortable and confident in his abilities, he also learned how to get the most out of each teammate.
"Certain people react to leadership in certain ways," Freeman said. "If somebody busts a route, and I'm just giving you an example, if it's Kellen, he draws motivation from you getting loud and getting in his face and that's good for Kellen.
"You might have a guy like Mike (Williams). He and I are on the same page, so if one of us messes up, there is really nothing that needs to be said. I know that I messed up or Mike knows that he messed up."
Freeman was able to lead effectively in 2010 because he rarely made mistakes. He became the first quarterback younger than 23 to lead his team to a 10-win season since Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Freeman threw for 3,451 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions, and established himself as Tampa Bay's go-to guy because of his late-game heroics.
Seven of Freeman's 13 career victories are fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks, including an NFL-best five last season. With only 25 career starts, he is tied for the most fourth quarter/overtime victories in a player's first two seasons, matching Indianapolis' Peyton Manning (seven in 31 games) and Denver's Jake Plummer (seven in 25 games).
"Leadership for Josh is natural," Bucs fullback Earnest Graham said. "He's a leader because of how poised he is, how talented he is. Respect comes to him. It's not something that he really demands. It just happens by way of him being calm in tough situations.
"To be honest, I've been around for a long time and for us to win as many games as we did last year, we had a team, but we had Josh Freeman on the field, as well. A lot of games are decided in the fourth quarter. There is a lot of parity in the NFL and what you do on those last couple of drives in the NFL will determine it all, and Josh Freeman stepped up. We had other guys, of course, who had to catch balls and run balls, but having Josh Freeman is putting this franchise in good hands for a while."
Freeman plans to call teammates soon and inform them about his next practice. He expects, eventually, to have full participation if the lockout continues. They likely will give their leader the same reply Winslow did.
No problem.
"He's the dude. I'm not leaving him," Winslow said. "If it's my decision, I'm never leaving him. I want to play with him until he retires. I wouldn't want to play with anybody else." This article was written by Anwar S Richardson and appeared in The Tampa Tribune.
viernes, 3 de junio de 2011
jueves, 5 de mayo de 2011
Not fans of Roger - Ingles
Years from now, when I look back on the 2011 NFL draft, I’m guessing that Cam Newton’s(notes) broad smile, Thomas Dimitroff’s bold gamble and Larry Fitzgerald’s(notes) plush open-air living room will likely be among the enduring images.
Most of all, however, I’ll remember the continuous and cacophonous beatings Roger Goodell took atop the Radio City Music Hall stage.
It’s no fun being the NFL commissioner during a work stoppage, and I’m not surprised that many fans embraced the opportunity to take out their frustrations on the easiest and most available target during last Thursday night’s first round. Far more striking were the reactions of numerous players with whom I’ve communicated in recent days and who derived a sadistic pleasure in seeing Goodell squirm.
More From Michael SilverDimitroff takes Falcons on wild ride to Jones May 1, 2011 Sources: Players expect stay of Nelson's ruling Apr 29, 2011 Thanks to the magic of text-messaging technology, I got a real-time sense of that sentiment during the first round. Said one Pro Bowl player in response to Goodell being booed: “As he should. He’s trying to [expletive] us.”
“Will any one of these [draft picks] nut up and ignore the handshake?” asked a veteran player for an AFC North team. “How about him taking a moment of silence in order to stop the boos? I’m all for paying respect to tornado victims, but what do you think his intent was there?”
When Goodell later appeared onstage with a group of U.S. soldiers, a player for an AFC West team said, “So that’s the only way he can get them to stop booing? Shameless.”
While Goodell-bashing may be cathartic for players and fans, I don’t think it’s good for football. For all my criticism of the owners during this labor stare down, I’ve remained relatively positive about Goodell’s role – partly because I’m convinced he’s not driving the bus, and partly because I’ve spoken to the man and looked him in the eye and believe he sincerely wants a deal.
Yet I’ve had a very, very hard time finding a player who shares those views, and however this lockout and the accompanying legal maneuverings are resolved, I’m convinced that the commissioner will have a very real problem with the vast majority of the men who wear “The Shield” of which he speaks so reverently.
“A lot of the players hated him even before this went down, and now they really hate him,” one prominent player for an NFC East team told me last Friday. “He’s not smooth, charming or witty. He never seems honest when he talks to you. And he’s a dope. They should change his name to Roger Goon-dell.”
That’s one nickname you won’t see mentioned on a future NFL Network “Top 10” production.
I’d dismiss this player as an outlier – if I hadn’t heard similar opinions from so many others. Over the past few weeks, Goodell has been called a “joke” and a “fraud” by the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Mason(notes) and the Seattle Seahawks’ Chester Pitts(notes), respectively, and I’ve heard plenty of unprintable insults from other players, too.
And while until a week or so ago I would have thought it crazy, I’m not going to throw something out there that might be worth pondering: Is it possible that, either by his choice or the will of his employers, the fallout from this labor nightmare will cost Goodell his job?
“Zero chance,” one owner insisted Wednesday.
The owner said there is near-unanimous support for the commissioner among the people running the 32 franchises and that Goodell has been “absolutely great” before and during the labor crisis.
“He’s showing the level of comportment and intelligent discourse that you’d expect of someone in his position, and his responses have been specific and thoughtful,” the owner said. “I can’t say that for [NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith]. We feel like Roger is representing our interests and trying hard to get a deal for the good of the game.”
Even if Goodell survives the current labor crisis, however, his standing among the rank and file has clearly taken a massive hit. From glad-handing in locker rooms to meting out discipline, Goodell’s post-settlement interactions with players figure to be awkward at best, and perhaps downright incendiary, for the foreseeable future.
“You think any vet will shake his hand when he’s at a game next year?” asked the AFC North player. “I hope he’s gone.”
While personally fond of Goodell, Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita(notes), a member of the decertified NFLPA’s executive committee, agrees that Goodell’s reputation with players has been compromised.
“Does he have a problem with getting the players’ respect? Absolutely,” Fujita says. “No matter what happens, it might be tough for him to ever get that back. However this is resolved, I can’t say every player, but the overwhelming majority will continue to have a problem with him. And that’s too bad.”
Like me, Fujita believes that much of the players’ anger toward Goodell is misplaced and that the commissioner, as the “face of the lockout,” is a natural and convenient foil. Yet while Fujita may believe that the Goodell-bashing is a tad over-the-top, he doesn’t view it as unjustified, either.
“He’s just in a really unenviable position of having to build consensus among the owners,” Fujita says. “I don’t know that anybody can do that right now. He’s the mouthpiece of the owners, and that’s why he’s getting that type of reaction. I do feel bad for him.
“Ideally, he’s someone who can build consensus among the owners and convince them to do what’s best for the game. I expected him to be that guy who can push those buttons and get them to move, but I’m afraid he might not be. I don’t know that he’ll be able to do that, and that’s disappointing.”
One thing that’s not helping Goodell is his image as a tough, no-nonsense executive, which began with his strengthening of the personal-conduct policy shortly after he succeeded Paul Tagliabue in 2006 and continued with his high-profile suspensions of players like Michael Vick(notes), Pacman Jones and Ben Roethlisberger(notes). In those contexts, Goodell was clearly The Sheriff. In this one, he’s a hired gun doing the bidding of the very wealthy people who technically employ him, and it’s hard for players and fans to appreciate the distinction.
Unlike the robotic, careful Taglibaue, Goodell has been refreshingly candid and edgy from the start of his reign, and his efforts to be inclusive of players and fans have been rightfully well received. However, on the big issues like labor, Tagliabue had a gift for appearing as though he were firmly in charge of the league, even when he nominally wasn’t. Goodell, as Fujita suggests, hasn’t yet come close to mastering that trick.
Goodell has also caused plenty of players to regard him as a hypocrite. Many, like Fujita, have questioned what they perceive to be a double standard when it comes to the application of the personal-conduct policy. For example, then-Raiders coach Tom Cable received no discipline from the league after a 2009 training-camp argument with defensive assistant Randy Hanson during which Hanson sustained a broken jaw (Hanson was never interviewed by Goodell or anyone from his office).
“People believe he’s been disingenuous when it comes to certain things,” Fujita says. “Every issue’s handled differently. He’s talking tough when it comes to player conduct and cracking down on big hits, but then you have things like the Tom Cable situation …”
Last summer, Goodell went on a training-camp tour and met with players to discuss the impending expiration of the collective bargaining agreement and labor issues in general. Grilled by Fujita and others, Goodell provided few satisfactory answers and, said witnesses, experienced a measure of hostility and humiliation.
In March, after negotiations broke down – and, upon the expiration of the CBA, the NFLPA decertified, the players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league and the owners locked out the players – Goodell became the owners’ most visible public advocate. He wrote a letter to each player summarizing the league’s most recent offer and urging players to “encourage your union to return to the bargaining table.”
Pitts, the Seahawks’ NFLPA player rep, said in response, “I’ve told my guys to take the letter and set it on fire. We’re not that stupid.”
Players have bristled at subsequent comments by Goodell, including his assertion to San Diego Chargers season-ticket holders that the average-career-length of NFL players is longer than 3.5 years, as is commonly believed.
“He’s lost all credibility with us,” the AFC North player said last Thursday. “Especially with those comments about how the average career really isn’t three years. And telling us the last deal on the table had ” lifetime health insurance. Really? It had lifetime COBRA. He’s basically saying he’s betting we’ll never be employed again after football.”
It’s not particularly noteworthy that a high-stakes labor dispute would trigger heated rhetoric on both sides, and it’s fair to say that many or all of the 32 owners are as embittered toward Smith as some of the 1,800-plus NFL players are toward Goodell. The owner to whom I spoke insisted that Goodell’s efforts to establish a better working relationship with Smith – and to keep the lines of communication going even as the matter plays out in the courts – have not been reciprocated.
“Roger is trying to do business, and De is like a psycho girlfriend who doesn’t know what he wants, doesn’t understand what he’s involved in and [who] you can’t reason with,” the owner said. “With psycho girlfriends, at least you can move on eventually. But Roger is stuck with him right now.”
Two observations: 1. The next time I need to come up with a biting analogy, instead of going for a bike ride to clear my head or consulting with one of my journalistic peers, I should probably call this owner and ask for assistance; 2. plenty of seemingly reasonable people with erratically behaving romantic partners get sullied by association, and right now this appears to be a scenario in which there are no winners.
Labor peace would obviously go a long way toward restoring Goodell’s positive aura. If the lawsuit is settled and a new CBA is achieved before the scheduled start of the regular season – or, at the very least, if the owners lose their appeal of U.S. District Court Judge Susan Nelson’s decision ending the lockout and football continues while the antitrust lawsuit drags on, without any games being missed – I believe Goodell can and will recover.
“I think if everything gets resolved and the games are played on time, fans will be forgiving and will forget very quickly,” Fujita says. “As for his job security with the people who employ him – that depends on the deal that is reached and their opinion of it.”
The owner to whom I spoke conceded that if the lockout continues into September or October, it’s possible some owners will begin to turn on Goodell. For now, he has their unequivocal support – and the privilege of being the most glaring symbol of player and fan discontent.
“He’s the face of this whole problem, the face of the league that locked out the players,” Fujita says. “He is just the face who’s trying to shut down the game and take away our livelihood – and that pisses guys off. It’s as simple as that.”
Once there’s a deal, will the Goodell-bashing simply go away?
Or, more dramatically, will he? (source Mike Silver – Yahoo Sports)
Most of all, however, I’ll remember the continuous and cacophonous beatings Roger Goodell took atop the Radio City Music Hall stage.
It’s no fun being the NFL commissioner during a work stoppage, and I’m not surprised that many fans embraced the opportunity to take out their frustrations on the easiest and most available target during last Thursday night’s first round. Far more striking were the reactions of numerous players with whom I’ve communicated in recent days and who derived a sadistic pleasure in seeing Goodell squirm.
More From Michael SilverDimitroff takes Falcons on wild ride to Jones May 1, 2011 Sources: Players expect stay of Nelson's ruling Apr 29, 2011 Thanks to the magic of text-messaging technology, I got a real-time sense of that sentiment during the first round. Said one Pro Bowl player in response to Goodell being booed: “As he should. He’s trying to [expletive] us.”
“Will any one of these [draft picks] nut up and ignore the handshake?” asked a veteran player for an AFC North team. “How about him taking a moment of silence in order to stop the boos? I’m all for paying respect to tornado victims, but what do you think his intent was there?”
When Goodell later appeared onstage with a group of U.S. soldiers, a player for an AFC West team said, “So that’s the only way he can get them to stop booing? Shameless.”
While Goodell-bashing may be cathartic for players and fans, I don’t think it’s good for football. For all my criticism of the owners during this labor stare down, I’ve remained relatively positive about Goodell’s role – partly because I’m convinced he’s not driving the bus, and partly because I’ve spoken to the man and looked him in the eye and believe he sincerely wants a deal.
Yet I’ve had a very, very hard time finding a player who shares those views, and however this lockout and the accompanying legal maneuverings are resolved, I’m convinced that the commissioner will have a very real problem with the vast majority of the men who wear “The Shield” of which he speaks so reverently.
“A lot of the players hated him even before this went down, and now they really hate him,” one prominent player for an NFC East team told me last Friday. “He’s not smooth, charming or witty. He never seems honest when he talks to you. And he’s a dope. They should change his name to Roger Goon-dell.”
That’s one nickname you won’t see mentioned on a future NFL Network “Top 10” production.
I’d dismiss this player as an outlier – if I hadn’t heard similar opinions from so many others. Over the past few weeks, Goodell has been called a “joke” and a “fraud” by the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Mason(notes) and the Seattle Seahawks’ Chester Pitts(notes), respectively, and I’ve heard plenty of unprintable insults from other players, too.
And while until a week or so ago I would have thought it crazy, I’m not going to throw something out there that might be worth pondering: Is it possible that, either by his choice or the will of his employers, the fallout from this labor nightmare will cost Goodell his job?
“Zero chance,” one owner insisted Wednesday.
The owner said there is near-unanimous support for the commissioner among the people running the 32 franchises and that Goodell has been “absolutely great” before and during the labor crisis.
“He’s showing the level of comportment and intelligent discourse that you’d expect of someone in his position, and his responses have been specific and thoughtful,” the owner said. “I can’t say that for [NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith]. We feel like Roger is representing our interests and trying hard to get a deal for the good of the game.”
Even if Goodell survives the current labor crisis, however, his standing among the rank and file has clearly taken a massive hit. From glad-handing in locker rooms to meting out discipline, Goodell’s post-settlement interactions with players figure to be awkward at best, and perhaps downright incendiary, for the foreseeable future.
“You think any vet will shake his hand when he’s at a game next year?” asked the AFC North player. “I hope he’s gone.”
While personally fond of Goodell, Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita(notes), a member of the decertified NFLPA’s executive committee, agrees that Goodell’s reputation with players has been compromised.
“Does he have a problem with getting the players’ respect? Absolutely,” Fujita says. “No matter what happens, it might be tough for him to ever get that back. However this is resolved, I can’t say every player, but the overwhelming majority will continue to have a problem with him. And that’s too bad.”
Like me, Fujita believes that much of the players’ anger toward Goodell is misplaced and that the commissioner, as the “face of the lockout,” is a natural and convenient foil. Yet while Fujita may believe that the Goodell-bashing is a tad over-the-top, he doesn’t view it as unjustified, either.
“He’s just in a really unenviable position of having to build consensus among the owners,” Fujita says. “I don’t know that anybody can do that right now. He’s the mouthpiece of the owners, and that’s why he’s getting that type of reaction. I do feel bad for him.
“Ideally, he’s someone who can build consensus among the owners and convince them to do what’s best for the game. I expected him to be that guy who can push those buttons and get them to move, but I’m afraid he might not be. I don’t know that he’ll be able to do that, and that’s disappointing.”
One thing that’s not helping Goodell is his image as a tough, no-nonsense executive, which began with his strengthening of the personal-conduct policy shortly after he succeeded Paul Tagliabue in 2006 and continued with his high-profile suspensions of players like Michael Vick(notes), Pacman Jones and Ben Roethlisberger(notes). In those contexts, Goodell was clearly The Sheriff. In this one, he’s a hired gun doing the bidding of the very wealthy people who technically employ him, and it’s hard for players and fans to appreciate the distinction.
Unlike the robotic, careful Taglibaue, Goodell has been refreshingly candid and edgy from the start of his reign, and his efforts to be inclusive of players and fans have been rightfully well received. However, on the big issues like labor, Tagliabue had a gift for appearing as though he were firmly in charge of the league, even when he nominally wasn’t. Goodell, as Fujita suggests, hasn’t yet come close to mastering that trick.
Goodell has also caused plenty of players to regard him as a hypocrite. Many, like Fujita, have questioned what they perceive to be a double standard when it comes to the application of the personal-conduct policy. For example, then-Raiders coach Tom Cable received no discipline from the league after a 2009 training-camp argument with defensive assistant Randy Hanson during which Hanson sustained a broken jaw (Hanson was never interviewed by Goodell or anyone from his office).
“People believe he’s been disingenuous when it comes to certain things,” Fujita says. “Every issue’s handled differently. He’s talking tough when it comes to player conduct and cracking down on big hits, but then you have things like the Tom Cable situation …”
Last summer, Goodell went on a training-camp tour and met with players to discuss the impending expiration of the collective bargaining agreement and labor issues in general. Grilled by Fujita and others, Goodell provided few satisfactory answers and, said witnesses, experienced a measure of hostility and humiliation.
In March, after negotiations broke down – and, upon the expiration of the CBA, the NFLPA decertified, the players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league and the owners locked out the players – Goodell became the owners’ most visible public advocate. He wrote a letter to each player summarizing the league’s most recent offer and urging players to “encourage your union to return to the bargaining table.”
Pitts, the Seahawks’ NFLPA player rep, said in response, “I’ve told my guys to take the letter and set it on fire. We’re not that stupid.”
Players have bristled at subsequent comments by Goodell, including his assertion to San Diego Chargers season-ticket holders that the average-career-length of NFL players is longer than 3.5 years, as is commonly believed.
“He’s lost all credibility with us,” the AFC North player said last Thursday. “Especially with those comments about how the average career really isn’t three years. And telling us the last deal on the table had ” lifetime health insurance. Really? It had lifetime COBRA. He’s basically saying he’s betting we’ll never be employed again after football.”
It’s not particularly noteworthy that a high-stakes labor dispute would trigger heated rhetoric on both sides, and it’s fair to say that many or all of the 32 owners are as embittered toward Smith as some of the 1,800-plus NFL players are toward Goodell. The owner to whom I spoke insisted that Goodell’s efforts to establish a better working relationship with Smith – and to keep the lines of communication going even as the matter plays out in the courts – have not been reciprocated.
“Roger is trying to do business, and De is like a psycho girlfriend who doesn’t know what he wants, doesn’t understand what he’s involved in and [who] you can’t reason with,” the owner said. “With psycho girlfriends, at least you can move on eventually. But Roger is stuck with him right now.”
Two observations: 1. The next time I need to come up with a biting analogy, instead of going for a bike ride to clear my head or consulting with one of my journalistic peers, I should probably call this owner and ask for assistance; 2. plenty of seemingly reasonable people with erratically behaving romantic partners get sullied by association, and right now this appears to be a scenario in which there are no winners.
Labor peace would obviously go a long way toward restoring Goodell’s positive aura. If the lawsuit is settled and a new CBA is achieved before the scheduled start of the regular season – or, at the very least, if the owners lose their appeal of U.S. District Court Judge Susan Nelson’s decision ending the lockout and football continues while the antitrust lawsuit drags on, without any games being missed – I believe Goodell can and will recover.
“I think if everything gets resolved and the games are played on time, fans will be forgiving and will forget very quickly,” Fujita says. “As for his job security with the people who employ him – that depends on the deal that is reached and their opinion of it.”
The owner to whom I spoke conceded that if the lockout continues into September or October, it’s possible some owners will begin to turn on Goodell. For now, he has their unequivocal support – and the privilege of being the most glaring symbol of player and fan discontent.
“He’s the face of this whole problem, the face of the league that locked out the players,” Fujita says. “He is just the face who’s trying to shut down the game and take away our livelihood – and that pisses guys off. It’s as simple as that.”
Once there’s a deal, will the Goodell-bashing simply go away?
Or, more dramatically, will he? (source Mike Silver – Yahoo Sports)
NFL is in a league of its own - Ingles
Watching the National Football League's labor problems unfold reminds people in the business world what an alternative universe the two sides of this contractual battle operate in.
This "upside down is right-side up" may be why it seems so hard to pull for either the owners or the players. It's just so hard to relate to when it comes to the normal working world.
· Owners want their employees in a union: Can you imagine Wisconsin Republican lawmakers filing a federal lawsuit to keep the state's teachers union in collective bargaining? NFL owners have countersued the players who voted to decertify their union and to eliminate collective bargaining in order to prevent a lockout and challenge the league's antitrust standing.
· Employees organized to decertify the union: In maybe one of the fastest union decertifications in the history of large, organized labor, the NFL players union orchestrated a team-by-team vote to disband, something most business owners and corporations pray for. This clears the way for class-action lawsuits against the NFL. The lawsuits will target the league's policies on the draft, salary cap and free agent restrictions such as franchise-player tags as being in violation of antitrust, according to ESPN.
· New workers get paid more than valuable veterans: Last season the St. Louis Rams made Oklahoma
· University quarterback Sam Bradford the No. 1 draft pick and signed him to a $50 million guaranteed contract before he ever took a single snap. Bradford instantly became the highest paid player on the team and one of the highest in the league. For more on this, google "JaMarcus Russell."
· The average player makes $1.8 million a year: When you see what rookies are paid, especially first round draft picks, and discover that the average player salary is $1.8 million to play a children's game, you wonder how the union can claim it is getting the short end of the yardstick.
· Half the NFL owners are billionaires: Led by Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen of Microsoft fame with $13 billion or so, 16 of the 31 NFL individual owners are worth $1 billion or more. The Green Bay Packers are publicly owned. So if you are looking to take a side, ask yourself: "Do I root for millionaires or billionaires?"
· Owners would have to work very hard to lose money: The NFL's 2010 TV contract paid each owner roughly $125 million, which adequately covers the league's salary cap of $123 million per team, imposed to maintain competition. Owners also keep revenue from tickets, luxury boxes, concessions and parking ($30 for a Raider game).
· Employees care more about safety than owners: If you want to clear out the cafeteria at work, loudly announce that the room will host a company safety awareness meeting in 10 minutes. NFL players are fighting a longer regular season on health and safety grounds, which has only recently been a serious topic of discussion for the league.
· Labor strife comes amid wild success: Most businesses encounter their worst labor problems during poor economic and/or industry times. The NFL is coming off its most successful season ever. February's Super Bowl between the Packers and Steelers was the most watched television program in the history of America. The league will have incredible leverage during the next TV contract negotiations. This article was written by Drew Voros and appeared in The Oakland Tribune.
This "upside down is right-side up" may be why it seems so hard to pull for either the owners or the players. It's just so hard to relate to when it comes to the normal working world.
· Owners want their employees in a union: Can you imagine Wisconsin Republican lawmakers filing a federal lawsuit to keep the state's teachers union in collective bargaining? NFL owners have countersued the players who voted to decertify their union and to eliminate collective bargaining in order to prevent a lockout and challenge the league's antitrust standing.
· Employees organized to decertify the union: In maybe one of the fastest union decertifications in the history of large, organized labor, the NFL players union orchestrated a team-by-team vote to disband, something most business owners and corporations pray for. This clears the way for class-action lawsuits against the NFL. The lawsuits will target the league's policies on the draft, salary cap and free agent restrictions such as franchise-player tags as being in violation of antitrust, according to ESPN.
· New workers get paid more than valuable veterans: Last season the St. Louis Rams made Oklahoma
· University quarterback Sam Bradford the No. 1 draft pick and signed him to a $50 million guaranteed contract before he ever took a single snap. Bradford instantly became the highest paid player on the team and one of the highest in the league. For more on this, google "JaMarcus Russell."
· The average player makes $1.8 million a year: When you see what rookies are paid, especially first round draft picks, and discover that the average player salary is $1.8 million to play a children's game, you wonder how the union can claim it is getting the short end of the yardstick.
· Half the NFL owners are billionaires: Led by Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen of Microsoft fame with $13 billion or so, 16 of the 31 NFL individual owners are worth $1 billion or more. The Green Bay Packers are publicly owned. So if you are looking to take a side, ask yourself: "Do I root for millionaires or billionaires?"
· Owners would have to work very hard to lose money: The NFL's 2010 TV contract paid each owner roughly $125 million, which adequately covers the league's salary cap of $123 million per team, imposed to maintain competition. Owners also keep revenue from tickets, luxury boxes, concessions and parking ($30 for a Raider game).
· Employees care more about safety than owners: If you want to clear out the cafeteria at work, loudly announce that the room will host a company safety awareness meeting in 10 minutes. NFL players are fighting a longer regular season on health and safety grounds, which has only recently been a serious topic of discussion for the league.
· Labor strife comes amid wild success: Most businesses encounter their worst labor problems during poor economic and/or industry times. The NFL is coming off its most successful season ever. February's Super Bowl between the Packers and Steelers was the most watched television program in the history of America. The league will have incredible leverage during the next TV contract negotiations. This article was written by Drew Voros and appeared in The Oakland Tribune.
miércoles, 4 de mayo de 2011
Arguments in NFL appeal scheduled for June 3 in St. Louis - Ingles
The NFL's motion for an expedited appeal was granted by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, with the date for oral arguments set for June 3 at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis.
The NFL's opening brief is due May 9, with the players' response brief due on May 20, and the league's response to that due May 26.
The case will be heard by Judges Kermit Bye, Steven Colloton and William Duane Benton. Bye, a President Clinton appointee, was the dissenting judge of the three when the NFL was granted a temporary stay of the injunction Judge Susan Nelson granted to lift the NFL lockout. Colloton and Benton are President George W. Bush appointees.
The judges still have yet to rule on the full stay of the injunction, which would allow the owners to maintain the lockout -- keeping players from working out at team complexes, free agents from being signed or trades from happening -- until the judges rule on the appeal.
The order said that on June 3 each side will have 30 minutes to present their oral argument.
This hearing schedule is extremely swift for the 8th Circuit, and the date for oral arguments is one that’s not on the normal hearing schedule -- a concession made to move things along. Clerk Michael Gans said that a case taken now “normally wouldn’t be heard until October or November and, for a Court of Appeals, that’s pretty quick.”
Expediting the hearing is all-encompassing, meaning the ruling will be made as quickly as possible -- maybe as early as mid-June. Gans said that when the ruling actually comes is “anyone’s guess,” but “my understanding is we’re giving every aspect of this priority.” (source NFL.com)
The NFL's opening brief is due May 9, with the players' response brief due on May 20, and the league's response to that due May 26.
The case will be heard by Judges Kermit Bye, Steven Colloton and William Duane Benton. Bye, a President Clinton appointee, was the dissenting judge of the three when the NFL was granted a temporary stay of the injunction Judge Susan Nelson granted to lift the NFL lockout. Colloton and Benton are President George W. Bush appointees.
The judges still have yet to rule on the full stay of the injunction, which would allow the owners to maintain the lockout -- keeping players from working out at team complexes, free agents from being signed or trades from happening -- until the judges rule on the appeal.
The order said that on June 3 each side will have 30 minutes to present their oral argument.
This hearing schedule is extremely swift for the 8th Circuit, and the date for oral arguments is one that’s not on the normal hearing schedule -- a concession made to move things along. Clerk Michael Gans said that a case taken now “normally wouldn’t be heard until October or November and, for a Court of Appeals, that’s pretty quick.”
Expediting the hearing is all-encompassing, meaning the ruling will be made as quickly as possible -- maybe as early as mid-June. Gans said that when the ruling actually comes is “anyone’s guess,” but “my understanding is we’re giving every aspect of this priority.” (source NFL.com)
lunes, 2 de mayo de 2011
Draftees are on their own - Ingles
Now what?
After a few days chock-full of legal decisions and labor maneuvers, the NFL managed to squeeze in a draft, which ended Saturday and put everyone back in a holding pattern when it was over.
The league officially shuttered its doors after the final player was picked. Now everyone has to wait for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on the NFL's appeal of a lower-court ruling that lifted the lockout last week.
"I think everyone's frustrated across the board," Lions linebackers coach Matt Burke said.
During the three days of the draft, teams were permitted to have contact with draft-eligible players. But now everyone goes back into super-secret, double-hush-hush silent mode.
And silence isn't a good thing for the Lions' newest draft picks. They are young players concerned about missing valuable time and falling behind at the beginning of their careers.
"Right now we would have came in and probably started getting ready for the rookie minicamp," said defensive tackle Nick Fairley, the Lions' 13th overall pick. "So now that we probably won't have that -- it means a lot. Basically, like I said, I've just got to stay in shape so when camp rolls around I won't have to worry about getting in shape."
Fairley plans to work out at an athletic performance center in Houston. Running back Mikel Leshoure, a second-round pick from Illinois, plans to work out his alma mater or in Chicago.
"As a running back, fortunately for us I feel like that's one of the positions that you can get thrown in and be productive," Leshoure said. "I mean, you definitely need to know your plays and your blocking scheme and how to pick up protection. But as far as being able to step up and play on the next level, I feel like running back is probably one of the more easier positions. It's definitely going to be a setback for all rookies, especially."
Lions coach Jim Schwartz expressed more patience than panic about losing contact with his players.
"It's a concern for everybody, but we have to deal with it," he said.
Schwartz almost exuded a Zen-like calmness about the situation. He said playbooks haven't even been printed, and he didn't feel pressure to cram his draftees full of game film and notes without any follow-up.
"Our blood pressure's pretty low on that," Schwartz said. "We don't want to rush things. You can give somebody a set of instructions without being able to communicate with them. It really might not do a whole lot of good. We haven't done a whole lot."
Schwartz said the best thing draftees could do would be to stay in shape so that they can concentrate on football when they return. As for coaches, Schwartz's staff will begin their normal early season preparation.
"We have a schedule," he said. "We open with Tampa Bay. We have Kansas City right after that. We're a little bit familiar with Tampa Bay from playing them late in the season. But Kansas City's a new opponent for us.
"We'll work on some teams from early in the year. You generally do that this time of year anyway. That'll be something that we can put our focus on." This article was written by Carlos Monarrez and appeared in The Detroit Free Press.
After a few days chock-full of legal decisions and labor maneuvers, the NFL managed to squeeze in a draft, which ended Saturday and put everyone back in a holding pattern when it was over.
The league officially shuttered its doors after the final player was picked. Now everyone has to wait for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on the NFL's appeal of a lower-court ruling that lifted the lockout last week.
"I think everyone's frustrated across the board," Lions linebackers coach Matt Burke said.
During the three days of the draft, teams were permitted to have contact with draft-eligible players. But now everyone goes back into super-secret, double-hush-hush silent mode.
And silence isn't a good thing for the Lions' newest draft picks. They are young players concerned about missing valuable time and falling behind at the beginning of their careers.
"Right now we would have came in and probably started getting ready for the rookie minicamp," said defensive tackle Nick Fairley, the Lions' 13th overall pick. "So now that we probably won't have that -- it means a lot. Basically, like I said, I've just got to stay in shape so when camp rolls around I won't have to worry about getting in shape."
Fairley plans to work out at an athletic performance center in Houston. Running back Mikel Leshoure, a second-round pick from Illinois, plans to work out his alma mater or in Chicago.
"As a running back, fortunately for us I feel like that's one of the positions that you can get thrown in and be productive," Leshoure said. "I mean, you definitely need to know your plays and your blocking scheme and how to pick up protection. But as far as being able to step up and play on the next level, I feel like running back is probably one of the more easier positions. It's definitely going to be a setback for all rookies, especially."
Lions coach Jim Schwartz expressed more patience than panic about losing contact with his players.
"It's a concern for everybody, but we have to deal with it," he said.
Schwartz almost exuded a Zen-like calmness about the situation. He said playbooks haven't even been printed, and he didn't feel pressure to cram his draftees full of game film and notes without any follow-up.
"Our blood pressure's pretty low on that," Schwartz said. "We don't want to rush things. You can give somebody a set of instructions without being able to communicate with them. It really might not do a whole lot of good. We haven't done a whole lot."
Schwartz said the best thing draftees could do would be to stay in shape so that they can concentrate on football when they return. As for coaches, Schwartz's staff will begin their normal early season preparation.
"We have a schedule," he said. "We open with Tampa Bay. We have Kansas City right after that. We're a little bit familiar with Tampa Bay from playing them late in the season. But Kansas City's a new opponent for us.
"We'll work on some teams from early in the year. You generally do that this time of year anyway. That'll be something that we can put our focus on." This article was written by Carlos Monarrez and appeared in The Detroit Free Press.
Lockout status updated today - Ingles
If these are not fun times for football fans, they are captivating days for lawyers.
The NFL lockout is back in force after a short hiatus last week. A St. Louis appeals court could determine as early as Monday whether the league deserves a permanent stay of an injunction granted to the players in Minnesota to block the lockout.
"We are in uncharted but fascinating legal territory," agent and attorney Ralph Cindrich said as he examined the short-term reinstatement of the lockout by three judges from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "The owners' lockout is temporary now; it can become permanent after the same three judges do a detailed review. If the lockout is reinstated, it puts the players down on points big."
If it's not, something Cindrich predicts, league business could resume almost immediately, even as more NFL appeals are filed. Cindrich believes that even though those judges voted 2-1 Friday to review the matter, they won't overturn Judge Susan Richard Nelson's original determination that the lockout was preventing the players from earning a living.
With the draft behind them, the 32 teams can't have contact with any players. That includes veterans along with rookies just selected. It also means undrafted free agents, who usually sign contracts hours after the seventh round concludes or the next day.
"You just do what you do and abide by the guidelines the league puts out as we go along," Rams general manager Billy Devaney said. "Everybody's in the same boat; we're not stressing out or anything. It'll eventually get settled and you just go with it."
Going with it for the players means training on their own. For first-round picks, it means devouring the playbooks they were able to get from their teams during Friday's short break in the lockout.
"The quarterbacks and offensive linemen and wide receivers, these young guys, can you imagine? With no mini-camps and no OTAs, if they show up Aug. 1 to training camp, they're going to be so lost," Montana-based agent Ken Staninger said. "It may be a lost draft, other than the elite-elite."
For coaches, it means evaluating how they addressed their needs in the draft, and which undrafted players they might approach when allowed to do so.
Dallas coach Jason Garrett has all his plans organized for offseason workouts and minicamps.
"What we did is we laid out the entire calendar for the offseason assuming there was no lockout," Garrett said. "So all of those dates were in place soon after the season ended. But obviously we had to be responsive to the lockout and when the players came back, and we'll continue to do that based on what the new rules are."
Those rules are uncertain even if the players win the next round in the appeals court. Among the league's options is reinstating the 2010 guidelines, which featured more limited free agency and no salary cap. And no minimum for spending, which could come into play more than ever with some owners who fear profits will continue to decline.
"It's a chaotic time," said Ben Dogra, agent for Sam Bradford and Patrick Willis, among many other players. "There are a lot of moving points, and it means daily uncertainty."
Amid the uncertainty, one message rang clear at Radio City Music Hall during the draft. It was delivered by the fans, who repeatedly booed Commissioner Roger Goodell and also chanted "we want football."
Goodell responded, "So do I."
For now, getting football back is in the hands of the judges. This article was written by Barry Wilner and appeared in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The NFL lockout is back in force after a short hiatus last week. A St. Louis appeals court could determine as early as Monday whether the league deserves a permanent stay of an injunction granted to the players in Minnesota to block the lockout.
"We are in uncharted but fascinating legal territory," agent and attorney Ralph Cindrich said as he examined the short-term reinstatement of the lockout by three judges from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "The owners' lockout is temporary now; it can become permanent after the same three judges do a detailed review. If the lockout is reinstated, it puts the players down on points big."
If it's not, something Cindrich predicts, league business could resume almost immediately, even as more NFL appeals are filed. Cindrich believes that even though those judges voted 2-1 Friday to review the matter, they won't overturn Judge Susan Richard Nelson's original determination that the lockout was preventing the players from earning a living.
With the draft behind them, the 32 teams can't have contact with any players. That includes veterans along with rookies just selected. It also means undrafted free agents, who usually sign contracts hours after the seventh round concludes or the next day.
"You just do what you do and abide by the guidelines the league puts out as we go along," Rams general manager Billy Devaney said. "Everybody's in the same boat; we're not stressing out or anything. It'll eventually get settled and you just go with it."
Going with it for the players means training on their own. For first-round picks, it means devouring the playbooks they were able to get from their teams during Friday's short break in the lockout.
"The quarterbacks and offensive linemen and wide receivers, these young guys, can you imagine? With no mini-camps and no OTAs, if they show up Aug. 1 to training camp, they're going to be so lost," Montana-based agent Ken Staninger said. "It may be a lost draft, other than the elite-elite."
For coaches, it means evaluating how they addressed their needs in the draft, and which undrafted players they might approach when allowed to do so.
Dallas coach Jason Garrett has all his plans organized for offseason workouts and minicamps.
"What we did is we laid out the entire calendar for the offseason assuming there was no lockout," Garrett said. "So all of those dates were in place soon after the season ended. But obviously we had to be responsive to the lockout and when the players came back, and we'll continue to do that based on what the new rules are."
Those rules are uncertain even if the players win the next round in the appeals court. Among the league's options is reinstating the 2010 guidelines, which featured more limited free agency and no salary cap. And no minimum for spending, which could come into play more than ever with some owners who fear profits will continue to decline.
"It's a chaotic time," said Ben Dogra, agent for Sam Bradford and Patrick Willis, among many other players. "There are a lot of moving points, and it means daily uncertainty."
Amid the uncertainty, one message rang clear at Radio City Music Hall during the draft. It was delivered by the fans, who repeatedly booed Commissioner Roger Goodell and also chanted "we want football."
Goodell responded, "So do I."
For now, getting football back is in the hands of the judges. This article was written by Barry Wilner and appeared in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Send in the clowns - Ingles
They held the NFL draft in New York City this week, the whole sport trying to run behind or hide behind the old players reading off the picks. Afterward we heard about how great the television ratings were. They were tremendous for the Royal Wedding, too. But when the wedding was over, Prince William and his bride didn't go back to Buckingham Palace and find the doors padlocked.
They booed Commissioner Roger Goodell at the draft, because that was a way of booing the whole sport. To do more damage to the NFL brand than this lockout and un-lockout and re-lockout have done you'd have to be Donald Trump giving a speech in Vegas, now that Donald apparently thinks that being a candidate for President is the same as an f-bomb Comedy Central roast.
The boos weren't about the real courts where the NFL finds itself these days, just the court of public opinion.
And as long as there is a game between the Packers and Saints on Thursday night, Sept. 8, as long as the doors are back open on the night the NFL is supposed to officially open back up for business, they don't care. Neither side.
Oh, nobody wants to have a league this rich and this popular look like clown school in front of the world. Nobody would want that. But the owners care a lot more about Sept. 8, and how much more money they get to keep, than they do about getting banged around by fans at Radio City.
The NFL once looked like the league that runs the best. Now it looks like the opposite of that. It starts with the same lack of trust between owners and players that there used to be in baseball. Baseball has its own problems, you bet, from the Dodgers to the Mets to attendance that has taken a dip over the past few years. It still runs so much better than pro football, and in pro basketball right now there is nothing to discuss.
In February, we got that wonderful old-school Super Bowl between the Packers and the Steelers. Now, less than three months later, the only game that matters in the NFL, at least in the current ridiculous state of the NFL, is this one:
Minnesota vs. St. Louis.
Not the Vikings against the Rams. No, the Minnesota judges against the St. Louis judges. That was the whole ballgame this week, for now, anyway. Because making lasting judgments about this fight between football owners and players makes about as much sense as deciding who is going to win an NBA playoff game after watching the first two minutes.
So the real action, despite those big TV ratings, in the NFL this week wasn't all the quarterbacks drafted, starting with Cam (Where's Mine?) Newton, a No. 1 pick who sometimes makes Tim Tebow look like a more accurate thrower in comparison. The real action started with a judge in Minnesota lifting the 45-day NFL lockout last Monday and then the owners running to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to get a stay on that.
I never like to talk about gambling in this column, but I have to tell you, I took St. Louis and gave the judge-and-a-half.
In between, of course, there was an embarrassment to the league as big as the money both sides are fighting about: The pictures of NFL players, some of them NFL stars, being told to leave their own practice facilities.
The league lost one to Susan Richard Nelson, District Judge for the United States District Court in Minnesota, appointed to that position by President Obama himself.
Then the league won one in St. Louis by a 2-to-1 vote, two judges appointed by George W. Bush supporting the temporary stay and one judge Kermit Bye (he didn't invent the bye week in professional football, though the way things are going anything is possible) appointed by Bill Clinton, being the lone dissenter.
Bye wrote that he didn't consider the NFL to be in a state of emergency, and immediately sounded like the smartest guy in the room and maybe the whole sport because Alabama is an actual state of emergency, and the NFL is just a state of clowns these days, which is a little bit insulting to the circus, but there you have it.
The state of emergency, NFL version, will come in the summer if the doors to training camps are closed the way the doors to the training facilities were closed this week. For now, Goodell and the owners, especially the ones who have accumulated more debt than they dreamed possible when the economy was still flush, will let you keep hitting them with pies to the face as they try desperately to get out of court and back to the negotiating table.
Boo all you want about the doors being closed right now. You don't matter. All that matters is the doors being opened the night of Sept. 8. The day the start of the season is in actual jeopardy is the day they all get out of District Courts and Appeals Courts and make a deal. (source Mike Luipica – New York Daily News)
They booed Commissioner Roger Goodell at the draft, because that was a way of booing the whole sport. To do more damage to the NFL brand than this lockout and un-lockout and re-lockout have done you'd have to be Donald Trump giving a speech in Vegas, now that Donald apparently thinks that being a candidate for President is the same as an f-bomb Comedy Central roast.
The boos weren't about the real courts where the NFL finds itself these days, just the court of public opinion.
And as long as there is a game between the Packers and Saints on Thursday night, Sept. 8, as long as the doors are back open on the night the NFL is supposed to officially open back up for business, they don't care. Neither side.
Oh, nobody wants to have a league this rich and this popular look like clown school in front of the world. Nobody would want that. But the owners care a lot more about Sept. 8, and how much more money they get to keep, than they do about getting banged around by fans at Radio City.
The NFL once looked like the league that runs the best. Now it looks like the opposite of that. It starts with the same lack of trust between owners and players that there used to be in baseball. Baseball has its own problems, you bet, from the Dodgers to the Mets to attendance that has taken a dip over the past few years. It still runs so much better than pro football, and in pro basketball right now there is nothing to discuss.
In February, we got that wonderful old-school Super Bowl between the Packers and the Steelers. Now, less than three months later, the only game that matters in the NFL, at least in the current ridiculous state of the NFL, is this one:
Minnesota vs. St. Louis.
Not the Vikings against the Rams. No, the Minnesota judges against the St. Louis judges. That was the whole ballgame this week, for now, anyway. Because making lasting judgments about this fight between football owners and players makes about as much sense as deciding who is going to win an NBA playoff game after watching the first two minutes.
So the real action, despite those big TV ratings, in the NFL this week wasn't all the quarterbacks drafted, starting with Cam (Where's Mine?) Newton, a No. 1 pick who sometimes makes Tim Tebow look like a more accurate thrower in comparison. The real action started with a judge in Minnesota lifting the 45-day NFL lockout last Monday and then the owners running to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to get a stay on that.
I never like to talk about gambling in this column, but I have to tell you, I took St. Louis and gave the judge-and-a-half.
In between, of course, there was an embarrassment to the league as big as the money both sides are fighting about: The pictures of NFL players, some of them NFL stars, being told to leave their own practice facilities.
The league lost one to Susan Richard Nelson, District Judge for the United States District Court in Minnesota, appointed to that position by President Obama himself.
Then the league won one in St. Louis by a 2-to-1 vote, two judges appointed by George W. Bush supporting the temporary stay and one judge Kermit Bye (he didn't invent the bye week in professional football, though the way things are going anything is possible) appointed by Bill Clinton, being the lone dissenter.
Bye wrote that he didn't consider the NFL to be in a state of emergency, and immediately sounded like the smartest guy in the room and maybe the whole sport because Alabama is an actual state of emergency, and the NFL is just a state of clowns these days, which is a little bit insulting to the circus, but there you have it.
The state of emergency, NFL version, will come in the summer if the doors to training camps are closed the way the doors to the training facilities were closed this week. For now, Goodell and the owners, especially the ones who have accumulated more debt than they dreamed possible when the economy was still flush, will let you keep hitting them with pies to the face as they try desperately to get out of court and back to the negotiating table.
Boo all you want about the doors being closed right now. You don't matter. All that matters is the doors being opened the night of Sept. 8. The day the start of the season is in actual jeopardy is the day they all get out of District Courts and Appeals Courts and make a deal. (source Mike Luipica – New York Daily News)
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