Hope everyone had a happy Memorial Day weekend with their friends and relatives. Today it is back to the daily grind for most of us around the country, but NFL players have a different agenda these days: the Sit and Wait Campaign. In this edition of Four Down Territory, Dizzle and I will examine the intentions of the NFLPA’s visit to the Raiders and Falcons in Atlanta, take a closer look at the band “Elway,” discuss why the NFL lockout is hurting the Wisniewski family, and answer the question on Hard Knocks watchers’ minds: Are the Raiders the most dramatic team in the NFL?
1st Down – John Elway not cool with the band “Elway” in Denver
From USAToday.com: “Elway” has been asked through a letter to change the group’s name after the Hall of Fame quarterback’s representatives caught wind of its act.
BA’s take: Hey, it’s his name. But I’m not sure it’s like his registered trademark. I’d be willing to bet the band is grateful to the Broncos’ Hall of Famer for all the exposure. On the other hand, the man did respectfully ask that you not make use of his name. It’s kind of screwed up, but it’s almost like John Elway’s public stance to let people know that the band is not associated with him in any way. It would be different if the band was founded by John Elway’s son or whatever, but Elway should be flattered. They say any press is good press and Elway has been like a poster boy for the NFL during the lockout, though the team blew Donkey Dick last season. Now Elway says that he hopes Tim Tebow becomes a Hall of Famer. Next week it will be: “Tebow changing his number to seven, Elway buys jerseys with his old number.”
Dizzle’s take: This is only slightly Raider related but it is one of those things you just shake your head at. What John Elway could really be upset about is beyond me. This is just some locals paying respect to a Denver sports legend by naming their band after him. John’s people have sent a letter to them trying to strong-arm them into changing their name, and it has not yielded the desired effect. The band is now more popular than ever. A funny little kicker is the lead singer’s name is Tim Browne. John doesn’t hold the patent on his last name and can’t sue them to change it any more than Emmitt Smith can sue The Smiths or Charles Barkley can sue Gnarles Barkley. With this kind of stupidity, I would expect some pretty boneheaded moves by the Broncos during his tenure.
2nd Down – NFLPA visits Raiders and Falcons in Atlanta practice sessions — Richard Seymour says conversations have been informative and that reps came to workouts due to sizable gathering of players
Dizzle’s take: DeMaurice Smith saw this as a good opportunity to gain the ear of a large number of NFL players at once. The Raiders had 34 players in attendance and the Falcon players used the same field to practice immediately following the Raider workouts. There are few opportunities to get 70+ players in one place. The Raider leaders, with the exception of player rep Zach Miller, were in attendance. In the end, the Raiders and Falcons in attendance became among the most prepared players in the league. First they prepared for the NFL season, then they prepared for the possibility of there not being a season. Now that’s what I call informative.
BA’s take: You’ve got to take into consideration that finding a meeting place where the NFLPA can address the entire league worth of players is a little out of the capabilities of modern technology. That’s right, I said it: There is still one thing that is not humanly possible. But what did they need to see such a large gathering of players? Was it just to catch the eye of the public, or was there a message that could not be sent via email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc? Maybe they wanted to say that they have actually agreed to terms with the NFL but they’d be drawing it out for more publicity. I wouldn’t put that past this group of individuals. And now, a few things we can nearly officially declare for the deal:
– a 50-50 split of the profit
– shorter OTA’s and mini-camp
– a 16-game schedule
– Rookie Wage Scale
It’s not perfect but it’s something to go on. They will go back into meetings and court dates at the beginning of June and there is almost no doubt in my mind that they will have some type of agreement in mid to late July so teams can start training camp.
3rd Down – Steve and Stefen Wisniewski not talking due to the lockout
BA’s take: I have made it clear that I think it’s total beeswax that the players and coaches can’t talk to each other. The NFL most certainly should make concessions for situations that are uncommon such as an uncle and his nephew. Granted, you know that the two would be getting together to work out if they found out that they could indeed have contact. The pair says that they haven’t even tried to contact each other during this “weird time” in the NFL. More power to them, but if my uncle was a coach that I could learn things from, I would be having secret meetings with him in obscure places. Like where they take the president when the country is in danger.
Dizzle’s Take: I don’t believe this for a second and here’s why. You know how everyone in the media have been talking about how Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has been practicing with 49ers new rookie QB Colin Kaepernick? And since Luck’s former coach is the 49ers new coach Jim Harbaugh they can legally relay messages from Harbaugh to Kaepernick through Luck? Yeah, well Stefen’s dad also played football and there is no way there isn’t a one degree of separation message delivery system going on there. And it would also be completely within the rules.
4th Down – Are Raiders the most dramatic team in the NFL?
Dizzle’s Take: That really depends on the criteria. Al Davis’ press conferences can be pretty dramatic and make some damn fine theatre. Some of the incidents in coaching the last few years have been pretty dramatic — the reported resignation letter placed on Lane Kiffin’s desk and later the Tom Cable incident with assistant Randy Hanson that had Hanson in the hospital. As far as the players are concerned, there hasn’t been much drama for a while. JaMarcus Russell stirred up a lot of drama but mainly because he was a colossal bust at the #1 overall pick. Prior to that Randy Moss is the last real drama and he didn’t last long in Oakland. He was the Vikings drama before that and then the problem of the Patriots, Vikings again, and Titans. Those three teams alone have had their drama issues. Pats with Spygate, Vikings with Brett Favre, and Titans with Vince Young. The Steelers hold the label as the dirtiest team in the NFL and have a QB in Ben Roethlisberger who has twice been accused of sexual assault. The Redskins have been a free-spending train wreck for the better part of this decade — Albert Haynesworth being just the latest bust. Then there’s the feud with Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb. The Eagles have signed both Terrell Owens and Michael Vick in this decade as well as having Freddie “The People’s Champion” Mitchell and reality star Hank Baskett on the team. The Raiders are the most intriguing team in sports but have not been any more dramatic than several other NFL teams.
BA’s Take: I really can’t say that the Raiders are the most dramatic team in the league right now, because have you seen the New York Jets lately? They have a tendency under Rex Ryan of calling out other players, and even some staff members. How about the Cincinnati Bengals? Can you even say the word drama without mentioning Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens? That’s enough drama for a soap opera, or reality television. The fact that Carson Palmer is making his business public knowledge doesn’t help the fact that the Bengals are right up there in terms of the most drama. Unlike those two teams, the Raiders have been relatively down to earth in terms of player/personnel conduct for the past few seasons. The Raiders of the 2000’s may have been the most dramatic team in the NFL with Randy Moss, JaMarcus Russell, and those types of players. Maybe the current squad is in the top ten, because apparently they belong on episodes of Cops. If the question was: Is Al Davis the most dramatic owner in the NFL, I’d say no to that too. Two NFC East teams come to mind in the lead in that race.
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