Throughout the lockout, coaches, personnel people too, simply sat around passing time as productively as possible. They had little to do. What little they had to do, they did over and over again. While the coaches were kept from the bargaining table, the players and owners overhauled their jobs with the new CBA. No more two-a-day practices. If there is a practice in pads in the morning, the most that can be done in the afternoon is a walk through. During the 17 week regular season, teams are now limited to a total of 14 padded practices, 11 of which must be in the first 11 weeks. As a result, only three are allowed in the final six weeks. One padded practice per week is allowed in the postseason. Offseason workouts were cut as well. High school and college practices may now be more physical than a typical NFL practice. And high schools and colleges can have two of those brutal practices in one day. Notorious task master and frequently fired Eric Mangini would lose his mind with these breezy practices, but he was fired again.
I just find it more than a little unfair that this collective bargaining changed the job of a person not at the table. The heavy hitting in football practices was never really necessary. Some coaches, like Mangini, certainly saw things differently. These coaches use brutal practices as a tool, a punishment. Maybe even football coaches and players can evolve. Lose the barbarian. Gain the gentleman. Hopefully we'll keep the pads in the games.
No comments:
Post a Comment