The NFL wants everything that they do to be big. They're always looking to make things bigger. This willingness to always embrace changes has kept the NFL way ahead of the rest of the professional leagues. It's mostly been a good thing but there are times when the NFL really needs to pump the breaks. They say that their willingness to change is to enhance the enjoyment of the fans. It's really to enhance the profits of the NFL. Everything is done to increase profits. I'd have a lot more respect for commissioner Roger Goodell and his bosses if they were a bit more honest about that.
The recent nugget that popped out of the Scouting Combine was possible changes to the offseason schedule. The plan would be to move everything back about a month. The combine would take place in March. Free Agency would start in April. I've heard mention of some jackass idea of having a free agent signing day similar to college signing days. NFL Network would probably televise the team signings across the NFL landscape. The NFL Draft would be held in May. Finally, all teams would start training camp on the same day in July. I'm sure the coaches will be thrilled with that mandate. I'm not sure how offseason workouts would be impacted by this new schedule. My guess is that the workouts would be condensed. Instead of starting in late April and popping up every few weeks through mid-June, they'd likely be concentrated in June. This would be another slap at the coaches. More significantly, the NFL Players Association should blow a gasket. They just signed a CBA with a defined schedule of offseason workouts and now the owners are bouncing around the idea of hacking up that schedule. There has been much speculation that the schedule changes would be to accommodate an 18-game schedule. Ah, the 18-game schedule. I just love that the people most in favor of playing 18 games don't have to play 18 games. The commissioner and the owners really should listen to the players on this subject. It's seriously irresponsible to do otherwise.
It's not that I'm resistant to changes in football. I embrace any change that is good for the game. I like the pace of the offseason with the current schedule. I think that this free agency "signing day" is a stupid, forced event. I think that if fans had to wait until May for the draft they'd lose their minds. The pre-draft process is long enough for the incoming college players. Each year the NFL offseason gets bigger on it's own. It really doesn't need any pointless, ridiculous changes. Just leave the offseason alone and it will grow on it's own.
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