Chapter 1
The Landscape of the NFL, from a strike to a revolution, to a simple “We Don’t Need You Anymore”
In 1982, a players strike cut the NFL season to 9 games, not long after that a players strike in 1987 the league resorted to “replacement” players, or scabs to some, for 3 games and the league only missed 1 game. Peace lasted in the NFL for some time until the 2011 season with concerns of rookie pay scales and appropriate practice times loomed the NFL lost the famous “Hall of Fame Game” to these shenanigans. What was believed to be a peaceful union, soon faded. The apparent suicide of NFL great Junior Seau left lingering questions in the minds of NFL players, the pushed effort to identify concussions and its soon to follow strict “concussion protocols” drove fear into the minds of many. The questions lingered on and the prominent was “who will take care of them?” 2014 saw the sudden retirement of Top NFL linebacker Patrick Willis, and not long after him rookie teammate Chris Borland followed suit. Was this mass hysteria or true concern? Then in the spring of 2016 news broke that strike was eminent, with one burning question in mind, “who will protect us, who will take care of us?” Mitigation met the walls of frustration. Where is the middle ground? Where is the compassion? Well after months of arguments and training camp around the corner the think tank of NFL brain trust decided there is no middle ground, there is no compassion, simple stating “but we’re paying you aren’t we”. With fear of missing games a decision was made, in order to fill the rosters with fair an equal talent a draft would disperse the talent among NFL rosters. “Of who?” you may ask. Some players crossed the picket lines, some were rookies whose career would have never been more than a practice squad player and others were wily old veterans who had been cast aside for the rush of youthful talent.
The media laughed, the fans cried and the owners moved on. What would Bill Belichick do? How about dem Cowboys? What is going on? Brian Hoyer and Case Keenum found themselves on the throne of NFL relevancy, while the likes of Paxton Lynch, Brett Hundley and Jacoby Brissett found themselves of youthful influx amongst NFL talent. What lies ahead is a world of unknown. Can the NFL survive on what some would call “second hand talent?” Would the talent disparity be closer or farther apart than it has ever been? We don’t know, but what I do promise is we will find out.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 2
When The Dust Settles
The Landscape of the NFL, from a strike to a revolution, to a simple “We Don’t Need You Anymore”
In 1982, a players strike cut the NFL season to 9 games, not long after that a players strike in 1987 the league resorted to “replacement” players, or scabs to some, for 3 games and the league only missed 1 game. Peace lasted in the NFL for some time until the 2011 season with concerns of rookie pay scales and appropriate practice times loomed the NFL lost the famous “Hall of Fame Game” to these shenanigans. What was believed to be a peaceful union, soon faded. The apparent suicide of NFL great Junior Seau left lingering questions in the minds of NFL players, the pushed effort to identify concussions and its soon to follow strict “concussion protocols” drove fear into the minds of many. The questions lingered on and the prominent was “who will take care of them?” 2014 saw the sudden retirement of Top NFL linebacker Patrick Willis, and not long after him rookie teammate Chris Borland followed suit. Was this mass hysteria or true concern? Then in the spring of 2016 news broke that strike was eminent, with one burning question in mind, “who will protect us, who will take care of us?” Mitigation met the walls of frustration. Where is the middle ground? Where is the compassion? Well after months of arguments and training camp around the corner the think tank of NFL brain trust decided there is no middle ground, there is no compassion, simple stating “but we’re paying you aren’t we”. With fear of missing games a decision was made, in order to fill the rosters with fair an equal talent a draft would disperse the talent among NFL rosters. “Of who?” you may ask. Some players crossed the picket lines, some were rookies whose career would have never been more than a practice squad player and others were wily old veterans who had been cast aside for the rush of youthful talent.
The media laughed, the fans cried and the owners moved on. What would Bill Belichick do? How about dem Cowboys? What is going on? Brian Hoyer and Case Keenum found themselves on the throne of NFL relevancy, while the likes of Paxton Lynch, Brett Hundley and Jacoby Brissett found themselves of youthful influx amongst NFL talent. What lies ahead is a world of unknown. Can the NFL survive on what some would call “second hand talent?” Would the talent disparity be closer or farther apart than it has ever been? We don’t know, but what I do promise is we will find out.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 2
When The Dust Settles
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