De Smith declares “war” against the owners

With the NFL preparing to stage what could be the last conference title games until early 2013 (or, if the Mayans and George Lucas are right, ever), the New York Times has published a profile of NFLPA executive director De Smith.

It reveals a man who is communicating with his players like a football coach, preparing them for an off-field battle similar to the games they play every Sunday in the fall.

“We are at war!” Smith reportedly “yelled” at 20 new player representatives from various NFL teams.

(American soldiers everywhere would love to trade their M-16s for Smith’s pens and three-piece suits.)

“Nobody gets strong without fighting,” Smith said.  “Nobody stays strong without fighting.  Nobody negotiates their way to strength.  Nobody talks their way to a good deal.  Nobody sits down and just has miraculous things happen.”

We realize that Smith needs to create the impression that he’s fighting for the players, while also allowing in very subtle yet tangible fashion the perception to be created that his predecessor, Gene Upshaw, didn’t fight as much as he could or should have.

“When people talked about the model in the past, that Gene and [former Commissioner] Paul [Tagliabue] had such a great relationship so they were able to make these deals work out, well, neither of those guys is here anymore,” Smith told Sridhar Pappu of the Times.

De Smith perhaps has been listening a bit too much to Bryant Gumbel.  Though Upshaw and Tagliabue indeed had a strong relationship, many think the union and the league wouldn’t currently be in this mess if Upshaw hadn’t pulled off such a player-friendly deal in 2006.  And though some may think that the owners are merely calling what was a fair deal a bad deal in the hopes of preying on Upshaw’s inexperienced successor, the truth is that the owners exercised their ability to drop the last two years of the current labor agreement in May 2008, three months before Upshaw’s diagnosis and shockingly fast death from pancreatic cancer.

So, basically, the current storm was coming, with or without Upshaw calling the shots for the players, who’ll eventually have to decide whether to take what the owners are offering or not play football for the kind of money the NFL pays.

Smith told the player reps that the owners ask him, “‘What can you sell to the players?’  Sell to them?  I work for them! . . .  How condescending of a world is it where every time we sit down with these guys they say to us, ‘What do you think you can sell?’”

If Smith is merely trying to create the impression that he’s fighting harder than Upshaw while intending to ultimately do a fair win-win deal, then we understand and agree with the approach.  But if Smith truly intends to carry such aggression and belligerence to the bargaining table and beyond, well, at least I’ll get to go to a few college football games in 2011.

Meanwhile, and with all due respect to the New York Times (translation:  “here comes the insult”), the lengthy article mentions nowhere the concept of decertification, which would allow the union to block a lockout, avoiding the parade of horribles that Smith plans to unleash via P.R. and political efforts, if/when a lockout happens.  Despite spending countless hours and thousands of dollars to meet with players from every team in an effort to secure the ability to decertify if necessary, the NFLPA is skittish about a strategy of shutting down the union and then daring the league to impose across-the-board rules regarding the draft and free agency, because there’s a good chance that a system premised on a college draft and a rookie wage scale and 18 regular-season games and a salary cap funded by revenues after $2 billion per year are reinvested in the sport and true free agency after four or five years of service with only the “franchise player” and “transition player” exception would survive an inevitable antitrust lawsuit from the players, forcing them to eventually re-unionize and strike in order to get a better deal than what the owners want them to take now.

The article also fails to mention the collusion case filed by the NFLPA less than two weeks ago, an action that the union curiously and persistently has failed to publicly acknowledge, either because the case isn’t all that strong or because the union doesn’t want its P.R. and political efforts to be undermined by the perception that the players have spilled coffee all over themselves and now want to sue someone because the coffee was hot.

That said, the bottom line is that the image of Smith as the leader in a critical off-field labor “war” is either very good for the sport, or very bad for it.  We’ll continue to be optimistic, as we continue to search for more (any) tangible reasons for optimism.

Based on the Times article, the best approach may be to simply renew my season tickets for West Virginia football.

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You already know a little bit about Jaguars rookie receiver Justin Blackmon’s Sunday arrest for aggravated DUI. We had the news up at noon, and Florio explained how the arrest may affect Blackmon’s yet-to-be-negotiated rookie contract.

More details have emerged, and we’re going to go in-depth on a slow NFL news day.

Though it was initially reported that Blackmon’s arrest occurred at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, The Oklahoman reports that Blackmon was arrested at 3 a.m. Sunday. It sounds like he was booked into police custody at 10 a.m.

Blackmon posted $1,000 bond and was released from Payne County Jail at 12:45 p.m. this afternoon.

Stillwater police spokesman Capt. Randy Dickerson informed the Associated Press that Blackmon blew a 0.24 on his breathalyzer test. That’s three times the legal limit in the state of Oklahoma.

Blackmon was driving a white Chevy Tahoe. He was the only person in the truck.

Police didn’t need long to determine that Blackmon was drunk. “He was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred, and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot,” Dickerson said. “He admitted to consuming alcohol prior to driving.”

Blackmon’s Sunday arrest was similar to his 2010 DUI arrest at Oklahoma State, in that he was pulled over for speeding before drunken-driving determination was made by police. Whereas in 2010 Blackmon was driving 92 in a 60-mph zone, he was caught driving 60 mph in a zone of 35 on Sunday. The first DUI occurred at 3:45 a.m. The latest at 3 a.m.

Blackmon was also observed “driving left of center” on Sunday morning. Alerted for pullover by police, Blackmon drove about four blocks before stopping in a gas station parking lot.

He will be arraigned on Monday afternoon.

The real-life reality show of a man who’d love nothing more than to star in a perpetual reality show on every major network continues.

Receiver Terrell Owens has demanded $160,000 and a retraction from the Allen Wranglers, according to (who else?) TMZ.com.

Per the report, Owens’ lawyers sent a letter to the team on Friday, seeking payment and an about-face as to the public allegation that he missed an event at a children’s hospital.

The deadline for giving T.O. what he wants is Tuesday at high noon.  Otherwise, he’ll initiate the legal process via the unusual perspective of the person who is seeking a cash payment.

The Wranglers cut Owens several days ago, claiming in a public press release that his failure to attend the event at the children’s hospital was the final straw in a series of actions that proved him to be a bad teammate.

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The Bills conducted three OTA practices last week, the first on Tuesday and the next two on Thursday and Friday. Backup quarterback Tyler Thigpen didn’t participate in the last two, and explained why to the Bills’ website.

“I’ve got a small tear in my abdominal,” Thigpen told Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com. “It’s about a centimeter. I’ve been dealing with it, but we’ve got to rest it and get it right.”

Thigpen’s abdominal tear sure sounds minor, but it could be a bit more significant in terms of his roster security. The Bills signed Vince Young to push Thigpen for their backup quarterback job. Young will get all of the second-team reps as long as Thigpen is sidelined.

The Bills have another OTA practice coming up on Tuesday, June 5. Thigpen’s availability for that session is unknown.

AP

Broncos left tackle Ryan Clady enters the final year of his contract.  The Broncos reportedly have launched talks aimed at getting his deal extended, despite concerns among the media that he has regressed.

But his job will be changing this year.  Gone is the left-handed Tim Tebow.  Right-handed Peyton Manning has arrived.  And so Clady once again will be protecting the blind side of a quarterback.

This quarterback, however, needs more protection than any other quarterback Clady ever had protected.  This quarterback has a history of neck surgeries, which may or may not have cured the underlying problems.

Clady doesn’t see it that way.  ”I’m just going to try to stay to the same spot, run the guy by the quarterback’s zone, or keep the guy inside,” Clady said recently, via Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post.  ”Not too much of a difference.”

As to his performance, he thinks it’s good — and that it’s improving.

“There were a couple of things here and there that could have been better, but overall it was solid,” Clady said.  ”There is always room for improvement, and that’s what I plan on doing this year.”

Manning is planning on it, too.  Actually, Manning is likely expecting it.  And if Clady fails to take care of Manning, the would-be free agent likely will long for the day he can get out of Denver.

AP

It would have been worse for receiver Justin Blackmon to be arrested for aggravated DUI before the draft.  It would have been better for it to happen after he signed his rookie contract.

It would have been best, of course, for it to never happen at all.

But happen it did, and now the question becomes whether it will have an impact on Blackmon’s contract negotiations.  As the fifth overall pick in the draft, Blackmon previously was in line for a fully-guaranteed four-year deal, with a value falling south of Matt Kalil at No. 4 and north of Morris Claiborne at No. 6.

In theory, the Jags could decide to stand firm on the requisite one-year tender offer for the rookie minimum of $390,000, offering nothing more until Blackmon proves himself, on and off the field.  That approach, however, inevitably would prompt Blackmon to hold out for the entire season and re-enter the draft in 2013.

The problem for both sides is that there’s not much the Jaguars can do to set the stage for the recovery of money, if Blackmon has additional issues in the future.  The CBA provides for a partial forfeiture of a player’s signing bonus, if he is suspended for violating the substance-abuse policy (which covers DUI convictions).  But the days of recovering large chunks of money in the event of an isolated act of misbehavior are long gone.

Given that the extent to which a rookie contract is guaranteed represents the only real item for negotiation in the fully-slotted first-round deals, it could be that the Jaguars insist on language that would extinguish any remaining salary guarantees, in the event that (for example) Blackmon has any future arrests or other violations of the substance-abuse policy.  Article 4, Section 9(g) of the CBA expressly permits teams and players to “negotiate the circumstances under which the guarantee of any unearned Salary . . . may be voided.”

So while the top 16 players now each receive fully-guaranteed four-year deals, Blackmon may have to agree to language that permits future guarantees to go away, which in turn would give the Jaguars flexibility if they decide to move on from Blackmon before he finishes four full NFL seasons with the team.

Still, apart from recovering money already paid or erasing the guaranteed nature of money to be paid in the future, the Jaguars have a much greater interest in nurturing Blackmon into a great player and an even better citizen, especially since they moved up in round one to get him.  They need to make their next decisions regarding Blackmon with that important overriding objective in mind.

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Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski played Super Bowl XLVI through multiple torn ligaments in his left ankle. The injury rendered Gronkowski largely ineffective, as he managed two catches for 26 yards and was on the field for only eight of the Pats’ final nine snaps against the Giants.

On Friday, February 10, Gronkowski underwent surgery to fix the joint. While he is missing Organized Team Activities, Gronkowski is no longer walking with a limp and says he’s making steady progress.

“Just taking it day by day,” Gronk told the Boston Herald. “Everything is going well, just feeling better every single week.”

According the Herald, “no one on the team appears particularly concerned” with Gronkowski’s recovery. The Patriots wrap up OTAs this week, and will convene again for a mandatory minicamp on June 12.

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University of Oklahoma receivers coach Jay Norvell knows a thing or two about Marvin Harrison. Norvell was Harrison’s position coach with the Indianapolis Colts from 1998 through 2001, a time period during which Harrison made three Pro Bowls.

Norvell also knows about Lions second-round pick Ryan Broyles. Broyles was a wide receiver at Oklahoma from 2007 through 2011, and Norvell coached the Sooners’ wideouts in Broyles’ final four seasons.

Norvell sees a similarity between the two players.

“[Broyles] is very similar to Marvin in his intellect and the way that he sees the game,” Norvell told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “His mind is always racing at 100 mph, trying to evaluate the next step, the next play, the next opportunity. And that’s the way Marvin was. He was always surveying the field and making split-second decisions before they happened. That’s an ability.”

The Lions’ biggest initial concern for Broyles is his recovery from a torn ACL. While that kind of injury can cost a player explosiveness and playing time, Norvell hinted that toughness and the ability to overcome injuries are two of Broyles’ strengths.

“He broke his scapula two years ago against Miami and he came back in like two weeks and played against Texas and really played his tail off,” Norvell explained. “Had a huge play, about 60 yards, and he was really out there with one arm playing. But it just shows his competitiveness and toughness. He’s highly, highly competitive.”

Reuters

Receiver Donald Driver recently has dubbed himself a “Packer for life.”  His quarterback has that same aspiration.

“I want to be a Packer for life and I don’t see myself going anywhere else,” Rodgers said in an interview with the Green Bay Press-Gazette.  (MDS previously noted Rodgers’ candid — but spot-on — comments on the Pro Bowl, from that same interview.)

Of course, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning likely would have said the same thing after seven NFL seasons.  Tom Brady likely would say the same thing now.

While it’s impossible to rule out the potential impact of an injury on the team’s desire to keep Rodgers around until he’s ready to retire, it’s clear that the Packers and their fans won’t have to deal (again) with the wishy-washiness that comes from a guy who is addicted to the spotlight, but who has lost his desire to do what he needs to do when no one is paying attention.

“[W]hen I’m not committed to being a 100 percent offseason guy, then that’s probably when I should step away from the game because these guys deserve 100 percent of my effort and time,” Rodgers said.

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Lost in the many stories and wrinkles and layers of intrigue regarding the Saints bounty scandal is the fact that former Saints special-teams standout Steve Gleason now suffers from ALS.

Recently, Gleason and former teammate Scott Fujita appeared at the United Nations Social Innovation Summit 2012.  Gleason’s foundation — Team Gleason — received a $25,000 Chase Community Giving Award grant during the three-day event.

Gleason and Fujita spoke about the important role of technology for patients who are dealing with the progressively degenerative impact of the disease.  ”To cure ALS medically is not economical,” Gleason said, via Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.  ”The realities are that it’s difficult to find funding for research for a medical cure.  I believe in developing technology as opposed to medical research.  Technology can be economical.”

“What ALS takes away, technology can give back,” added Fujita, who lost an uncle to ALS in the 1990s.

The remarks from Gleason and Fujita can be seen at the United Nations website, starting at roughly 1:10 into Part 2 of the video.

Support for Team Gleason can be expressed via its website, which now includes one of the ways in which Steve is using technology to aid in his fight — the development of his synthetic voice.

AP

We’ve got plenty of time to go before teams have to decide on franchise tags for the 2013 season, but the Dolphins are reportedly thinking ahead.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins will use the franchise tag on left tackle Jake Long if they can’t reach agreement on a long-term extension. There are no contract talks currently underway as Long enters the final year of his rookie contract which will pay him $11.2 million this season.

Long, the first overall pick of the 2008 Draft, will likely be looking for a contract in the neighborhood of the seven-year, $84 million extension that Joe Thomas signed with the Browns in 2011. Long hasn’t been quite as good as Thomas and he’s had some nagging injuries over the last few years, which could complicate that pursuit. The Dolphins aren’t going to have an easy time finding a replacement of Long’s caliber, though, so there should be interest in finding a number that works on the team’s end.

Jackson also reports that the team has not opened talks with defensive end Randy Starks, running back Reggie Bush or tight end Anthony Fasano either. All three players are entering the final year of their contracts, as are cornerback Sean Smith and wide receiver Brian Hartline.

AP

The Tulsa World reports that Jaguars rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon was arrested on a complaint of aggravated DUI early Sunday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Details are scant at this point, though Blackmon was booked into Payne County Jail at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Per Oklahoma law, an “aggravated” DUI occurs when the driver has a blood-alcohol content of .15 or greater.

Blackmon was also charged with a DUI at Oklahoma State.

In April, the Jaguars traded up to select Blackmon with the fifth overall pick in the draft.

Safety Brian Dawkins, who retired earlier this year after 16 seasons of pro football, played most of his career before the NFL became sensitive to the long-term consequences of concussions.

With a lifetime of hits to the head in his rear-view mirror, Dawkins says he’s not worried about what may come.

“Concerns?  I have some concerns, but worry?  No,” Dawkins said on the Cover Two podcast with Steve Wyche and Jason Smith.  ”I don’t worry about that.  Down the road at some point, later on in life, if I do have to deal with some things at that time, then I have to deal with them.  As of right now, I’m going to continue to enjoy life, continue to have a great time with my family and help those who I can help, ministry-wise, along the way.”

Even if health problems arise, Dawkins seems to acknowledge that it goes with the 100-by-53-yard territory he patrolled with reckless abandon and heartfelt zeal.

“I played this game a certain way,” Dawkins said.  ”I played it with a passion, with fervor.  I played with an aggression.  I would not change those things.  The only thing I would change is the helmet I wore.  Technology is better.”

Current players would be wise to heed Dawkins on that point.  For reasons ranging from weight to look to a stubborn resistance to anything different, guys fail to embrace new and improved ways to protect the contents of their craniums.  That’s a significant part of the culture that the NFL must change.

And while Dawkins didn’t quit the game in order to protect himself from further harm, he seems to be relieved by the fact that he won’t have to think about where and how he’s hitting offensive players.

“I’m not going to say it’s one of the reasons, but . . . to be stepping away from the game now, not having to deal with that stuff, is a good thing,” Dawkins said. “Guys today [are] trying to play that way and trying to understand that you still have to be able to control these territories but you know you’re probably going to get fined or get a flag because refs are told to err on the side of throwing the flag.  You’re asking guys to play in the gray.”

White, black, gray, or any other shade, men like Dawkins will continue to find their way to the gridiron.  And they’ll play hard.  And they’ll accept the risks, of injury or fines or suspensions.  And they’ll recognize that, once their careers end, any problems they may encounter later in life are part of the price they paid for their moments in the sun.

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The post-Peyton Colts have 3,000 season tickets available, even after going through their waiting list.  Which gives the term “waiting” a far different meaning.

After a 2-14 season in 2011 and in recognition of the reality that the Colts were 3-13 in Peyton Manning’s rookie season, Colts fans aren’t waiting for the ability to buy tickets.  They’re waiting for a team that gives them a reason to.

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star is “shocked” (and possibly perplexed) by the availability of season tickets, and he thinks those who are choosing to wait for a winner will regret their decision, in time.

“We’re not a football town or a basketball town; we’re a winners town,” Kravitz writes.  ”More specifically, a Peyton Manning town.  You win, people show.  You lose, people go to the movies instead.”

Or maybe watch the Broncos game.

“My guess is that the people who gave up their Colts tickets are going to rue the day they made that decision, one I’m guessing was more emotional than economic,” Kravitz concludes.

He could be right, but the dynamics in Indy aren’t uncommon.  Other than Green Bay, where fans gladly will invest thousands per year to participate in an open-air religious experience at Lambeau Field even if the team is 0-16 every season, fans want to believe that there’s a chance they’ll experience the thrill of victory, more often than not.  If the odds point more heavily toward defeat, it makes more sense to watch the home team from the man cave, while also keeping an eye on the Red Zone channel and whatever games come before and/or after the game that otherwise would be witnessed in person.

Those who are choosing to take a respite from renewal notices are also taking a calculated risk.  If Andrew Luck becomes Peyton Manning, the only part of Lucas Oil Stadium they’ll see is the brick façade.

Until the next time the team is transitioning from one franchise quarterback to another.

AP

Nick Fairley has heard from both his coach and the guy who pays his check about how disappointed they are with the defensive tackle for his two arrests this offseason.

According to Fairley’s agent, the message is getting through to his client. Brian Overstreet told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that Fairley has been humbled — he’ll likely have a suspension to provide a bit more humbling this season — by arrests for marijuana possession and DUI.

“He’s learned from this,” Overstreet said. “That won’t happen again, but that’s one of those things you just don’t say, you just kind of let your play and your behavior kind of speak for itself. I would say it, but I would tell him not to say it. Just show it. Just show who you are.”

Overstreet is right that it doesn’t matter whether or not Fairley says anything about this not happening again. He needs to prove to the Lions and the rest of the league that this offseason has been an aberration in order to take the tarnish off his reputation.

Birkett digs into Fairley’s past by speaking to neighbors and high school teammates to see if this is out of step for Fairley. It’s an interesting read, but ultimately doesn’t provide any substantive answer to the question. That will come from Fairley over the next few years.

AP

The physical therapist working with Adrian Peterson in Houston says that the Vikings running back has a “different protoplasm than the rest of the world.”

Perhaps that’s why Peterson is convinced that he will be on the field September 9th when the Vikings open their season against the Jaguars. Ever since Peterson tore his left ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve, he has been determined to be on the field for the season opener. Reports of Peterson’s progress have been uniformly positive and Peterson remains locked in on that date.

“What I envision is to be suited up and ready to roll. Full strength,” Peterson said, via Dan Wiederer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Anything else? I would be cheating myself.”

Those working with Peterson are trying to balance that goal with making sure Peterson doesn’t push himself too far too fast. Russ Paine, Peterson’s physical therapist, says that he still needs to strengthen his left quadriceps and get his knee back into balance with the rest of his body. Neither Paine nor the Vikings medical staff is doubting that Peterson will be able to pull it off, but they are more open to the possibility than Peterson himself.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” Peterson said. “And I struggle to even entertain it. Because that’s not the way my mind is tuned in. I can’t let that negativity seep in. My mindset is that I will be there. I want to be playing. Forget what everyone else says.”

No list of training camp storylines to watch will be complete without including Peterson’s attempt at a rapid comeback right at the top of the list.