The NFL wants to cut the 2020 preseason in half, from four games to two. This comes after a nearly two-month closure of the team’s facilities and the cancellation of organized team activities in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, no one knows for sure what training camp, which will begin later this month, will involve.
The regular season is slated to begin in 10 weeks, beginning September 10, with players less prepared than ever (old-school preseason used to feature two-day full contact weeks and six exhibition games).
However, at the same time, the players are being reprimanded by the league and its own union for conducting informal trainings on the high school fields or in the parks.
“Sports leaders have put NFL players in a difficult situation,” agent Donald Yee, who represents Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo and Julian Edelman, among others in the league, told Yahoo Sports. “Neither the union nor the league have agreed to any mandatory COVID and preseason preparation protocols.”
It is a distinction worth mentioning. The union does not officially prohibit men from training together. Legally, the NFL itself probably couldn’t even if it wanted to. In the absence of real rules, there are only suggestions, which many ignore. Small groups of players band together to run routes, throw passes, and work on conditioning. For that, there is backtracking.
“Those practices are not conducive to player safety,” NFLPA chief executive DeMaurice Smith told USA Today. “They are not in the best interest of protecting our players who are going to the training ground. And I don’t think it is in our best interest to spend an entire season. ”
In an ideal world, Smith is not wrong. This is not an ideal world at the moment. The NFL and NFLPA have good intentions, but quarterbacks who throw soccer balls at wide receivers don’t appear to be a high-risk activity. Meanwhile, the pressure of the season is approaching.
“The players, who have to act in front of millions, have to prepare in some way, especially since the game itself is fast, dangerous and violent,” said Yee. “If they hibernate 100 percent, they will be less secure.”
They will also face significant criticism if they are not sharp. Professional football is a ruthless, zero-sum business. Someone wins and someone loses. There is always someone after your work. That even includes a star like Brady, who has been videotaped working with his new players in Tampa Bay. (Almost all, if not all, of the league’s quarterbacks are believed to be doing the same.) Brady’s only response came through an Instagram post in which he quoted Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” said Brady’s post.
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Almost all Brady is afraid of is losing. Among the NFL players, he is not alone. Fans fear it too. When football returns, they will wait for it to play at the level they are used to seeing.
When Americans dined for the first time after months of quarantine, they could have been understanding if they were offered a limited menu or the place was left without a certain item. No reasonable person could hope for perfection considering the circumstances. Most were happy that the place survived.
No one qualifies the NFL in a corner. If Brady doesn’t have his downtime with, say, Mike Evans, and a stalled Tampa Bay pass attack results in losses early in the season, the union-approved summer social distancing practices won’t calm the masses.
“Any rusty performance will be criticized,” Yee said. “[Yet] if they try to prepare even a little bit, they are criticized. “
No one is going to shed a tear for the NFL players. There are far greater difficulties than being called upon to try to do your well-paying job to the best of your ability. However, in a turbulent year when the NFL could provide maximum distraction, these are not the villains. The NFL has hung them up to dry a bit here.
Last month, the NHL opened team practice facilities for “small group training, volunteering, and on and off the ice.” Full training camps are scheduled to start this month. Hockey players are essentially allowed to take their time and broadcast in the same way that the NFL and NFLPA oppose, except that they do it on indoor rinks, not on outdoor fields.
Players don’t have a lot of options. With each offseason limitation and preseason reduction, the motivation for players to prepare themselves is greater. Voluntary training will continue, if not grow.
That’s just human nature, no matter what the league or union wants.
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