Perspectives: The On-going Search for Common Ground
With the start of NFL training camps less than 30 days away, the NFL and NFLPA are still going back and forth regarding certain logistics each side would like to see regarding camps and the preseason—with no apparent resolution on the horizon.
Both sides have made compelling arguments for things they'd like to see happen, but at the end of the day, they're going to have to meet somewhere in the middle as it would seem unlikely that one side is going to get everything on its wish list.
Let's start with preseason games. The one thing that both sides have agreed on is that there will not be a traditional four-game preseason schedule, which would reduce the amount of exposure the players would have via travel and interacting with other camps for meaningless games.
But where the two sides differ is in how many—if any—games should be played at all. The league is believed to want two, whereas the NFLPA would just as soon scrap all the games.
The feeling appears that preseason games are meaningless to the point where it’s just not worth the risk for clubs to come together on the playing field suddenly.
I'm old enough to remember the days when there were six preseason games, that happening in 1978 when the league expanded from 14 to 16 regular-season games. While I personally don't mind preseason games, this notion that coaches need the full preseason slate is probably closer to being a myth.
Any coach who sits there and claims that his roster is wide open, that he doesn't know who will make up the depth chart merely is being diplomatic. In the Giants case, you don't think they know, for example, what the depth chart at quarterback and running back is going to look like? Sure, there might be a few spots down at the bottom of the position units that need to be sorted out, but that usually clears itself up throughout practices and meetings.
Where I think the lack of preseason games could potentially hurt the Giants, who have a new coaching staff, is that it deprives them of a chance to fine-tune game-day operations.
When I recently spoke to head coach Joe Judge, I asked him if he had a preference as to where his coaches worked on game day, the press box, or the field. He told me that he'd leave that up tot he coordinators and where they most feel comfortable as far as their location and their immediate assistants.
Other little nuances generally get ironed out in the preseason, such as pressbox to field communications on when to challenge, clock management, and more. Eventually, all that will get worked out, but it would be nice if the two sides met in the middle and allowed one preseason game to give every team a chance at the dress rehearsal to figure out some of that stuff.
Padded Practices
If the proposed schedule put out by NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero is accurate, that means teams will only be permitted eight padded practices this summer out of the 48 days currently earmarked for training camp/preseason.
That raises the question of how many padded practices are enough?
I don't have the answer. I remember the days of two-a-days when one practice was generally held in pads while the second was usually held in shells.
I've never played football, but I've had people who played the game that it's a lot different moving around with an additional 20 or more pounds of equipment on your body. One person described it as taking the heaviest bowling ball out there and carrying it when working out. It takes time to get used to, and it can slow you down at first until you get acclimated to it.
These days players train with an intensity like each day is their last. But in all those videos that get posted to Twitter and Instagram, I don't recall seeing very many in which the players train wearing their game-day equipment.
In 2013, when the last CBA, which did away with the two-a-day practices and tightened the number of padded practices allowed, was a couple of years old, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick expressed concern about the reduced number of practices.
I’m in favor of total preparation for the players for the season. And I think that’s been changed significantly and, I would say, not necessarily for the better when you look at the injury numbers. I think that’s taking the wrong approach,” he said. “You have a gap between preparation and competition level. And I think that’s where you see a lot of injuries occurring. We get a lot of breakdowns. We get a lot of situations that players aren’t as prepared as they were in previous years, in my experience anyway.
This year, with no off-season program and no supervised strength and conditioning program, I can't imagine that any head coaches out there, be they new or veterans, aren't holding their collective breath about injuries.
Reduced Roster Sizes
The NFLPA reportedly wants to see 90-man rosters trimmed to a maximum 80, a rather unusual request considering unions generally want to see more jobs as opposed to fewer jobs.
That would mean ten players right off the bat would be deprived of getting a chance to impress the coaching staff to make the 53-man roster.
That is unless the ten players who are cut before camp begins (assuming both sides agree to this condition) automatically go to the practice squad, which will reportedly be expanded to upwards of 16 players.
If ten players are cut from training camp rosters (which makes sense if you’re not going to play a full slate of preseason games), the right thing to do is to give those guys a chance to be on the practice squad.
One last thought on this topic. The NFLPA reportedly is asking that no more than 20 players be allowed at the facility at any given time during the first 21 days of the initial acclimation period.
If that’s the case, then does roster size matter?
Opting Out
We’re currently seeing some players in both MLB and the NBA opt-out of the season. But what happens if an NFL player opts out?
Let’s say a player in question has a relative under their roof has a delicate health condition, be it a pregnant spouse or worse yet, a relative who is receiving cancer treatments. If that player decides to opt-out of the 2020 season, will they be penalized or treated as a no-show and fined, or will they be supported?
Moreover, if that player is in the final year of his contract, will his contract tolled (be frozen) until he returns? And if that player hasn’t yet accumulated enough years of service for a pension, is he going to be penalized if he puts his health or the health of his family members before all else?
These are questions that need to be addressed, as I'm sure there are going to be a good handful of players who are facing these situations and who will need to make a decision that's in the best interest of their loved ones.
