Some Things and Other Things: The “Post Draft Hangover” edition
By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online/Pro Football NYC
(Photos By A.F. Chachkes for Football Reporters)
This years’ NFL Draft was so different from the 26 others I have covered because of the continued presence of the labor dispute between the owners and the players. Nowhere was it more present then on the first night of the Draft when most of the fans in the balconies booed Mr. Goodell , and chanted “We want Football” at the top of their lungs for over 5 minutes…
That made for a very unusual draft the rest of the way, which we will chronicle in an upcoming 2 or 3 part series, now that we have had time to “digest” it all (and get our main computer back and get all of our media loaded onto it from our laptops).
Some of the notable and not so notable news the last two weeks ….
The Lockout was lifted, and then re-instated in a little over 1 day’s time. This probably marred this draft for all of history as ”the Lockout Draft.” I’d like to sit here and type this, telling you in three months that it won’t matter, but now that the courts are deeply involved, I can’t tell you where this is going or for how long.
If nothing else, the NFLPA is winning the social media war. They have engaged the public just about every day since late last year, and their “Rookie Debut” party was broadcast live over their “You Tube” Channel. Try telling the NFL Network they have to make room for three guys with a Few Microphones, a 4 channel Mixer and an HD camera.
One commentator with ties to the league was rumored to have been calling around to college coaches telling them to tell their players “if you go to any of the NFLPA events it will hurt your Draft status.” Well Rahim Moore of UCLA was in a Presser with us Friday Morning and he was still drafted by Denver in the second round Friday night….
Lots of players and players to be are trying to get out in front of what is going on by hiring PR firms (or using the ones they already have contracted with via their agents) to get their stories out to the media and fans on what they are doing to cope with the lockout. The Redskins’ TE Chris Cooley found a two year old box of fan mail in his garage and went through it, answering each letter. I asked him about it at the NFLPA Media access event that Friday morning, and he told me he found about a dozen wedding invites, but he has no plans to be in the sequel of “wedding crashers.”
We are already hearing about some teams disregarding the current lockout rules by contacting their drafted players, so it’s only a matter of time before those same teams’ personnel will start having the coaches call players who were under contract to come to “secret” workout locations…The Question is, how many will come in, and how many will stick by the Players Association and stay away.
Several of the teams’ QB’s are running “mini” passing camps, like the Saints Drew Brees, and the Cardinals ‘ Larry Fitzgerald. The Jets’ Mark Sanchez is running his “Jets West” camp in a more advanced state then last off-season, even running film study sessions. Indeed, Dallas Cowboys’ New Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan can’t be too thrilled these days, as he was cited by the league for a violation of the lockout rules. Ryan was accused of contacting his players to get them a copy of his defensive scheme. Next we’ll hear that some team issued pre-paid “Burn Phones” to coaches to make contact with players to give out study Dvd’s.
If nothing else, the NFL lockout has become a plus for other pro leagues, most notably the Arena Football League because they won’t loose nearly as many players to NFL camps this summer, and the United Football League, who continues to show fans the love by keeping the prices to their games low, while putting a high quality product on the field. Several players who would have been Priority Free Agents in the NFL after they weren’t drafted instead were drafted on May 2nd by the UFL.
Several others are actively pursuing UFL tryouts this month as well…
Our last few stories come from the College football ranks…
We hear Blaine Gabbert’s little brother Tyler is fed up with the University of Missouri after getting bumped back to second string after the spring football game. He’s decided to transfer, but to where is the current hanging question of the day…
We’re also told a certain “Training Program Company” for college athletes will no longer be offering it’s trainees a trip to the Bahamas as part of it’s “coursework” for NFL Combine readiness due to “Improper Conduct” of some trainees the last few years. My suggestion: the Marines have several small sandbars just off Paris Island that they no longer use for amphibian training….
This writer is hoping that one of his favorite small college conferences, The Colonial Athletic Association, will be able to come up with some new teams to replace the ending of programs at Northeastern & Hofstra back in 2009, and the defection of UMass to the MAC conference after this season. We also keep hearing unsettling rumors of Villanova leaving for the Big East. One team beginning play in the CAA this year is Old Dominion. Big Ups to ODU’s Ronnie Cameron, a native Long Islander and former Holy Trinity H.S. Standout who this writer saw dominate in the Outback Steakhouse Empire all-star game a few years back before he spent his first few years playing college ball at Hofstra.
With the Pride football program slowly fading into memory these days, that leaves only one Division 1-AA (I know I know, I’m supposed to say FCS) program left on Long Island, Stonybrook, and only one other school on the Island, CW Post (In D-II) playing ball.
I hope in my next Installment of ST&OT I will be able to bring you some better news….
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