macbob
  • macbob
  • Veteran Member Topic Starter
14 years ago
http://www.cbssports.com/# !/nfl/story/15047151/nfl-players-coaches-keep-contact-in-violation-of-lockout

The workout ended and a small group of players from one NFL team left a practice field, drove to a nearby house of a teammate and went inside. Once there, one of the players put his phone, near the kitchen, on speaker.

A few rings and then a familiar voice answered. It was one of the offensive assistant coaches. "How did practice go?" the assistant asked and a relaxed, 20-minute conversation between coach and players ensued.

It's a normally unremarkable scene except for one problem: it's not supposed to happen.

Over a two-week period, I spoke with a half-dozen players and handful of assistant coaches from both conferences. The picture that emerges is one where coaches and players, despite rules against it, stay in almost weekly contact with one another using a variety of technologies.

While lockout rules are supposed to prevent contact between players and coaches, when it comes to the team workouts, both sides are utilizing Skype, e-mail, text-messaging and good, old-fashioned phone calls to update coaches on the progress of group workouts, what players are doing to stay in shape and even personal issues.

Sometimes, they simply gossip or talk about the lockout. Think of the irony of talking about the lockout when they're not supposed to be talking during the lockout. It's like talking about Fight Club during a fight.

Players privately acknowledge that by engaging with coaches during the lockout they are in a way undermining their own trade association. The players' greatest leverage during the lockout is their particular and unmatched skill set, and if they secretly work with their teams the players are undercutting their own power.

They don't seem to care. What was stated repeatedly in interviews is that whichever team stays the most cohesive during this highly divisive fight with owners will have the biggest advantage once the lockout ends.

"Eventually we'll have football again," one high-profile offensive player said. "All that matters to me is who is ready and who isn't."

Players also say that while they see owners as the enemy, they don't view assistant coaches the same way.

Several players estimated 25 percent of the league's players are in regular contact with assistant coaches. However not one player said he had spoken to a head coach. It seems the head coaches, while aware of the contact, are keeping their distance and allowing subordinates to speak with players on their behalf, several sources stated. Plausible deniability, said one assistant. Any team caught communicating with players is subject to punishment from the league office. Superficially, the league is inactive but underneath there are a great many things happening. After I first reported teams were illicitly contacting undrafted free agents, for example. Pro Football Weekly later stated that six NFL agents had been contacted by clubs about those players, a violation of lockout rules. The Columbia (Mo.) Tribune reported that undrafted center Tim Barnes was contacted by Baltimore, Miami and Cincinnati. An NFL spokesman said such contact would amount to tampering.

As for the workouts themselves, some players believe in them, while others aren't so sure of their effectiveness. Green Bay linebacker A.J. Hawk told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the Super Bowl defending champions are staying in shape without the group sessions.

"The most the defense can do when we get together is seven-on-seven," Hawk said. "I can understand quarterbacks throwing to receivers and stuff like that. I think it's more of a camaraderie thing. I've heard that different guys' workouts from different teams have just been a disaster. They're working out at bad high school fields and equipment and all that kind of stuff."

Hawk seems to be in the minority, however. Most players interviewed seemed to suggest the workouts are a tremendous help. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees recently organized almost 40 Saints players for group sessions at Tulane.

"We would all be working out somewhere anyway, so why not do it together and why not do it in an organized fashion where it's very football-related?" Brees asked. "It's preparing us to have a championship season, and I feel like it's putting us way ahead of other teams around the league, just by the fact that were so organized."

The New York Jets, Giants, Denver, Cleveland, Miami, and Atlanta, among other teams, have held team workouts. Interestingly, players interviewed declined to say if their team was in contact with coaches but did speak about other teams.

Some coaches, players said, have joined players at their home to watch game film and discuss how to better structure the workouts. Coaches are also updated on injuries and how players are recovering from offseason surgeries, players said.

Players and coaches use the Internet phone system Skype. Players describe scenes where coaches first fax copies of certain plays and then players and coaches go over those plays using Skype. Later, players run those plays.

I've heard of conversations between coaches and players using the private direct message function on Twitter as well. Totally untraceable by the NFL.

My guess? This type of contact will continue and no one will ever get caught.

CBSSports wrote:

Formo
14 years ago
Wow. I love seeing players and coaches still maintaining contact despite whoever's rules banning said contact. It shows us fans that there are players that just want to play the game, and how the coaches are kinda in limbo between the player's association and NFL owners.

If there's a big crackdown on players/coaches for having this type of contact, I'll be more than happy to boycott the No Football League. Forever.
UserPostedImage
Thanks to TheViking88 for the sig!!
Methodikal
14 years ago
punch them in the ding ding
Something funny.
UserPostedImage
Fan Shout
Mucky Tundra (27-Jul) : Golden with two TDs in red zone drills today
Mucky Tundra (27-Jul) : @JacobMorley Shoutout to Quinn Ewers for allowing Matthew Golden to be available when Green Bay picked.
Zero2Cool (27-Jul) : The menu you expanded to log in, it's the first icon under "PackersHome" .. maybe i should add text to it
dfosterf (27-Jul) : Feelin' pfowish can't find the sun. No big deal, will drag a laptop out when the time comes
Zero2Cool (27-Jul) : if you're on mobile, open the menu and its the "sun" icon
dfosterf (27-Jul) : Can't find the toggle, lol
dfosterf (27-Jul) : I can find that the Microsoft lady rep for Titletown Tech is the philanthropy boss for the entire Microsoft corporation, but. .
Zero2Cool (27-Jul) : There's a toggle for light/dark theme. Super easy.
dfosterf (27-Jul) : The white background beta was hard to read, especially the quotes
dfosterf (27-Jul) : Hopefully the color scheme remains the same
dfosterf (27-Jul) : *Friday*
dfosterf (27-Jul) : 100 million would be 539 million as of Fridsy
dfosterf (27-Jul) : Heck, they could have taken a hundred milliion and invested in DAVE inc. last year (semi random, humor, but real)
dfosterf (27-Jul) : Beer brat and ticket is where the money comes from
dfosterf (27-Jul) : The 40th is Titletown Tech itself. This is a pet project of both Ed Policy and Mark Murphy
Zero2Cool (27-Jul) : New site coming along nicely. The editor is better than what we have here. Oh yeah!
dfosterf (27-Jul) : No profit that I know of. 0 for 40
dfosterf (27-Jul) : The woke reference has to do with the makeup and oftentimes objectives of the companies they invested in
packerfanoutwest (27-Jul) : beer and brats woke? say whom?
beast (27-Jul) : I don't want to get into politics, but how is, beers and brats considered to be "woke"? Food is food...
beast (27-Jul) : That being said, I'm not saying all 100% should be that way, but not surprised if majority are Wisconsin based
beast (27-Jul) : And if everyone has heard of them, then it it probably has less growth potential and less community based
beast (27-Jul) : Well isn't the investing person supposed to invest the money?
dfosterf (27-Jul) : I swear if I were to discover that one of them has invented a virtue signalling transmitter I will not be surprised, lol
dfosterf (27-Jul) : 39 companies so far that I bet no one has ever heard of.
dfosterf (27-Jul) : -Not saying woke, but should- borderline philanthopist venture capital excercise
dfosterf (27-Jul) : Well for one, they are pouring resources into Title Town Tech. Investing beer, brat, hot dog, ticket money into what is pretty much...
beast (27-Jul) : Wow, 95% drop in investment revenue? Would be interesting to hear the details of why...
dfosterf (25-Jul) : It's my one day deal complaint dept. on shareholder meeting day
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Probably a homer access credential intimidation kinda thing
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Meathead "journalists" skip this, concentrating on operational revenue when convenient. They switch when net revenue is more favorable.
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Resulting in an actual drop of net revenue of 12.5%. She is from Minnesota. Just sayin'
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Any plans to hold Maureen Smith (CFO) accountable for a 95% drop in investment revenue?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : In your face, HBO!
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @ByRyanWood Mark Murphy: “A great source of pride of mine is that we were never on Hard Knocks.”
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : *years
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @mattschneidman Mark Murphy says he anticipates “many Packers games” being played in Germany, Ireland and/or the U.K. over the next 5-10 yea
dfosterf (25-Jul) : *cafeteria* I have hit my head also, so I sympathize
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Possibly hit his head leaning into the glass protecting the food in the cafateria
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Maybe a low flying drone
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Did Savion Williams run into a goalpost or something?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : also, no bueno when a guy starts getting concussions right off the bat in his career
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Concussion is worse. Banks probably vet off day via back booboo claim
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @AndyHermanNFL Jordy Nelson out at camp today. No word if he’s in play for one of the two open roster spots ; )
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Is that better or worse than Banks bad back?
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Savion concussion ... not good.
packerfanoutwest (24-Jul) : Aaron Rodgers’s first pass of first team period was picked off
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : tbh I didn't hear of his passing
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Cosby Show. Malcom Jamal Warner I think is real name
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : I was thinking of Ozzy and Hulk
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2025 Packers Schedule
Sunday, Sep 7 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Thursday, Sep 11 @ 7:15 PM
COMMANDERS
Sunday, Sep 21 @ 12:00 PM
Browns
Sunday, Sep 28 @ 7:20 PM
Cowboys
Sunday, Oct 12 @ 3:25 PM
BENGALS
Sunday, Oct 19 @ 3:25 PM
Cardinals
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 7:20 PM
Steelers
Sunday, Nov 2 @ 12:00 PM
PANTHERS
Monday, Nov 10 @ 7:15 PM
EAGLES
Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00 PM
Giants
Sunday, Nov 23 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Thursday, Nov 27 @ 12:00 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 7 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Dec 14 @ 3:25 PM
Broncos
Friday, Dec 19 @ 11:00 PM
Bears
Friday, Dec 26 @ 11:00 PM
RAVENS
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 11:00 PM
Vikings
Recent Topics
10h / Random Babble / Zero2Cool

11h / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

11h / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

27-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

27-Jul / Feedback, Suggestions and Issues / Zero2Cool

27-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

25-Jul / Around The NFL / Mucky Tundra

25-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

25-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / TheKanataThrilla

25-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / dfosterf

25-Jul / Around The NFL / beast

24-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Martha Careful

24-Jul / Around The NFL / beast

24-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

23-Jul / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

Headlines
Copyright © 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.