Random Rabble: July 16

Former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand penned this week's Monday Morning Quarterback at SI.com, filling in for the incomparable Peter King. LeGrand, who suffered a serious spinal cord injury on a kickoff play in 2010, was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this spring. The Bucs are now coached by LeGrand's college coach, Greg Schiano. LeGrand insists he will walk again, and also addresses the issue of player safety on kickoffs. NFL people have at least discussed the idea of removing kickoffs from the sport.

Take it from someone who has gotten injured on a kickoff: I think kickoffs in the NFL should return to the way they used to be, because lots of football players can make a career out of playing on special teams, and the new system takes some of the thrill and excitement of the game out.

Couldn't agree with LeGrand more. Generally, you'd expect someone like LeGrand -- whose life was forever altered by a chance happening on an admittedly dangerous football play -- to at least be on the fence. Instead, LeGrand acknowledges that what happened to him is not something that happens with any kind of regularity.

He's right. A lot of players can make a career out of special teams, and removing kickoff plays from the game would certainly take some excitement away.

Former UMD star Tim Stapleton signed a deal with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League last week. Stapleton talked to the Winnipeg Free Press about his decision.

"It wasn't an easy decision. I even woke up today thinking, 'Man, what did I do?' But it's just something that made sense, especially turning 30 (next week). I've got to look out for life after hockey."

Stapleton posted career highs in goals (11) and points (27) and managed to score three game-winners while working predominantly on the Jets' fourth line.

But with a handful of players/prospects in the system ready to grab his spot, this popular and respected teammate was not atop the priority list of an organization that stressed size as one of its key off-season needs.

"It's too bad. I did everything I possibly could because I wanted to come back but I think their main focus was they wanted to get bigger," said Stapleton.

"I've been dealing with this situation (all) my career as far as getting into the NHL. And then when I get in I'm still dealing with it. I sat down with a lot of people, including my family, and we weighed the pros and cons. I had to look at what is in front of me and all I had was Russia.

"I guess now I get to become a fan now and I'll definitely be following the team and all the guys."

Stapleton did indeed have a good season for Winnipeg, but the lack of interest in an undersized forward pushing 30 is not awfully surprising. I figured a lot of guys would be in the same boat, faced with deciding between an offer to play overseas and the prospect of waiting for the CBA negotiations to play out before getting any serious NHL offers.

I don't know what he's making with Minsk, but it's probably more than he'd make on an NHL deal. With Minsk, Stapleton also has the security of knowing there will be a season, something we can't say in the NHL right now.

Speaking of the ongoing NHL CBA negotiations, if the reports from Friday are at all accurate, we'll be here for a while.

According to RDS Insider Renaud Lavoie's Twitter account, the NHL made its initial proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement to the NHLPA in Toronto today:

NHL proposal to players: 1-reduce players hockey related revenues to 46% from 57 %. 2-10 seasons in NHL before being UFA.

3-contracts limites to 5 years 4-no more salary arbitration. 5- entry-level contract 5 years instead of 3.

To Clarify the initial proposal:

1. Right now it's 57-43 in favor of the players. Owners want it to be 54-46 in favor of the owners

2. In the last CBA negotiations during the 2004-05 season elimination, the NHL agreed to accelerating unrestricted free agency from 10 years to age 27 (or 7 years).

3. There are currently no contract limits, which Wild fans learned last week when Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were given 13-year deals by Minnesota.

4. There's currently player elected and club elected arbitration

5. Is self-explanatory above.

Um.

I tweeted Saturday that the owners should be ashamed of this offer. It's ridiculous. It sends an awfully poor message about where things stand, as well as the chances of the league starting its next season on time.

It's also another sign that ownership wants the players to help save them from themselves. Of course, as we learned in the NBA -- where nearly a third of the season was lost so teams could throw eight-figure salaries at guys like Jeremy Lin -- nothing can save the owners from themselves. They will always find a way to overspend and stretch their resources way too thin.

The only benefit to the players taking this one-sided deal would be getting to watch the owners find a way to keep overspending.

You'll also note in the report that owners want entry-level deals stretched to five years instead of three. Call me crazy, but does anyone else think this would only add to the number of players looking to get away from the teams that drafted them, like Justin Schultz did? You can swallow a three-year commitment to a team you might not want to play for, but five is a ton.

I can see the owners' side on this, because there is a lot of money and time and effort put into the draft, and allowing only three years on the maximum entry-level deal means teams have to spend even more money.

It's totally just a thought, but I'm curious if it is something that could play out. Of course, the CBA negotiation also presents a chance to get rid of the rule that allows drafted players to become free agents, even if the team that drafted the player wants to sign him. If that happens, it doesn't matter what happens to entry-level deals.

NFL Lockout Finally Ending

We saw signs over the last few weeks that the NFL lockout was on the verge of ending, and it appears July 25 is the day.

Overnight, NFL Network/Fox Sports ace Jay Glazer reported that NFL owners and players had reached agreement on a ten-year deal, pending a player vote that Glazer labeled a "formality."

As noted by ESPN ...

Just as the NFL would not have called a vote Thursday in Atlanta without knowing it would pass in the way it did -- 31-0 with one abstention -- the NFLPA would also not be going forward without that assurance.

It makes sense. No one wants that kind of egg on their face, unless it's fried and tastes really good.

The league and its players have embarrassed themselves, and potentially stained the 2011 season, by grandstanding when they should have been talking, and not working nearly hard enough to reach an agreement before the pressure started to percolate.

Now, we're sitting in front of a situation full of uncertainty. If free agency won't begin until Friday, as reported by many, players will be signing contracts left and right while teams are going through the first practices of training camp. Rookies are immeasurably behind, as there have been no minicamps or team-organized workouts. Will even the first-round picks be able to pick up schemes and terminology fast enough to make an impact this season?

It seems that teams like Carolina and Buffalo and Denver -- who were really bad last season -- might be at a disadvantage compared to other seasons. The NFL prides itself on its parity, but a big part of that has been the way free agency and all the offseason workout time allows lesser teams to catch up quickly. Assimilate the rookies, get them used to your way of doing things, bring in some quality free agents who want to lead and show the kids how to win, and you have a dangerous situation.

Now, you don't get the time to bring a large-turnover team together during the long offseason. Teams will be putting themselves together as they go through the preseason. It's not ideal for anyone, unless you're a veteran team like Pittsburgh or Green Bay that -- generally speaking -- won't be expecting much out of the rookies and won't need to overhaul schemes on either side of the ball because of the success you've experienced in the past.

I mentioned this on KQ Monday morning, but I think you'll see 2010's bad teams leaning more and more on their coaches this year. Take Minnesota for example. There is apparently a new rule in this new CBA that expands game day rosters from 45 to 46 players, with the third quarterback on each team no longer listed as inactive.

If Leslie Frazier and Bill Musgrave play their cards right, this could be a tremendous edge for the Vikings. Assuming they sign a veteran quarterback to mentor/back up/hold down rookie Christian Ponder, Joe Webb will likely be the team's No. 3. In past years, Webb couldn't come into the game unless Ponder and the new guy were both hurt. Now, Webb can come and go as he pleases. That means the Vikings would be smart to concoct an offensive package of plays (Wild Norseman?) for Webb to engineer. Get him on the field and take advantage of his athleticism, instead of letting it all go to waste on the sideline.

2011 NFL Draft: Where is the Interest?

I've been cramming over some free time the last few days, because I realized it was NFL Draft week, and I had done virtually no prep since the college football season ended.

Why?

A few reasons ...

• My overall interest is a bit low, largely because I don't think the draft can be top of mind when we still don't know for sure if we're going to have a season that starts on time.
• The UMD hockey season elongated into April, and my focus through the national championship game was on those games and making sure I at least came as close as I could to doing a good job. The draft prep suffered as a result.
• Anytime your favorite team is picking at the end of the first round, it makes everything else a little underwhelming. Don't be looking for the Packers to move up in the first round. If anything, they're more likely to move out of the first round.

It's a team effort.

Anyway, through the run-up to Thursday night's first round, it's come to my attention that the draft just doesn't have the juice it's had in the past.

I don't know if it's all lockout-related, or if it's because we don't have any real clear-cut franchise players in the top five of the draft, or if it's simply a cyclical thing resulting from the NFL and its partners hyping this to the point that everyone realized how stupid it was and got sick of it.

(NOTE: I don't think the draft is stupid, and I think it's still a watchable, newsworthy event. However, people were doing segments on the draft before the NFL playoffs even ended, and that seems a little -- er, a lot -- ridiculous.)

It was bound to happen, especially with this lockout drama. The league has ticked off a lot of its hardcore fans with this garbage, and the players have played a role in it, too.

Fans -- many of whom are experiencing their own economic struggles and still finding ways to buy tickets and merchandise for their favorite team -- don't like watching owners and players fight over a pot of money so big that no one can really fathom how big it really is.

That's not news to anyone, but yet the NFL seems caught off-guard by everything that doesn't go their way.

That alone infuriates me as a fan, because it's a clear sign that fans are being taken for granted by the league. We're not the only ones. The league seems to assume they're going to win every legal battle, and they probably assume that the players will give in and sign a deal on the owners' preferred terms.

The draft ends up suffering. Fans are going to watch, because that's just what they do. But in the end, the casual fans will watch something else Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The NFL is an afterthought to so many, because so many feel the NFL thinks they're an afterthought.

I guess it beats the hell out of thinking you have to work for the fans' support, huh?