If it seems like the Giants and Jets are getting a late start on their offseason programs that begin tomorrow, it’s nomind trick.
The entire NFL is on a reduced schedule beginning this year, thanks to a quiet revolt by the players against what they saw as a schedule creeping into year-round territory that didn’t seem to take their health or safety into account.
That displeasure showed itself openly in last summer’s labor talks, with the result in the collective bargaining agreement being a dramatically reduced offseason slate, which players say will result in fresher bodies and a better product on the field this fall.
These changes were made to ensure that players have a true chance to rest in the offseason,” NFL Players Association chief
DeMaurice Smith said at February scouting combine. “You’re talking about a very taxing and physically demanding profession.”
The most obvious change is in the voluntary offseason workout program, which has been slashed almost in half to nine weeks from the previous 14. On-field practices during the offseason, known as Organized Team Activities (OTAs) in NFL parlance, also have been reduced to 10 workouts from the previous 14.
And if the slimmer workout schedule doesn’t dramatically lessen injuries, the players expect the ban on hitting in the offseason will do so, after they saw positive results from heavy cutbacks on contact during training camp and the regular season last year.
Ironically, the players’ push for more down time in the offseason could end up resulting in a longer regular season. That’s because the owners, despite their supposed devotion to increasing player safety and reducing concussions, continue to float the idea of expanding the regular-season schedule to 18 games from the current 16.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at the league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., last month that the league will pay close attention to the results of the reduced offseason schedule. If injuries fall dramatically, it appears owners will be emboldened to demand more regular-season games. “We’re going to have to go through this offseason cycle and try to see what
the negotiated offseason cycle is like, the impact it has on the game, the impact it has on the individual players,” Goodell said.
The pushback from the league’s coaches appears to be minimal, although Giants coach TomCoughlin admitted recently that itwas
“killing him” not to be able to be around the bulk of his team until mid-April after previously doing so in early
March.
Teams with new coaches, quarterbacks or offensive systems—or all three, in some cases — also are feeling the effects of the
new rules because players are now prohibited from meeting with their coaches before the start of the offseason program. layers can work out at their team’s facility, but going over the scheme or holding supervised workouts are verboten.
On the flip side, the players say that much of the argument in favor of long, involvedoffseason programs was rendered silly last fall.
Despite having the entire spring slate wiped out by the lockout, passing records fell at a furious pace, TV ratings went
through the roof and several rookies — say hello, Cam Newton and Andy Dalton — thrived without so much as a snap of onfield
work in April or May.
“I’ll never be in favor of less preparation time with my players, but you adapt,” Coughlin said. “What other choice do you have?”