NFL Pay Cuts (and Other News)

March 12, 2011

Back in January, Roger Goodell made a promise that if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was not reached by its expiration date, March 3, 2011, he would cut his salary to $1. That deadline was extended by a week in an agreement between the NFL and the Players Association.

That extended deadline was passed yesterday. With a new CBA yet to be reached, the NFLPA declined a final offer by the owners and instead filed for decertification, allowing players to file anti-trust lawsuits now. Without the PA decertifying, players would have to wait to file those lawsuits until six months after the expiration of the CBA.

Today, Roger Goodell made good on his guarantee, cutting his salary to the aforesaid amount. He was scheduled to make $10M this year. League general counsel Jeff Pash also has had his salary cut to $1; he was schedule to earn around $5M this year. In addition to taking the pay cut, Goodell has ordered that all bonus payments to him be delayed until a deal has been reached between the NFL and the Players Association.

Goodell and Pash are not the only league personnel taking pay cuts. Workers with NFL Films, NFLNetwork, and NFL.com are all taking 12% pay cuts. If the work stoppage continues into what would be the NFL Preseason, any management-level employees will also be subject to pay cuts, ranging from 5% for managers to 25% for Executive VP’s.

A few teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets are making pay cuts for team personnel during the work stoppage. Kansas City is reducing personnel salaries by a little under 10% while allowing all employees keep their jobs. Jets employees are taking a hit of one week’s pay each month during the work stoppage. Employees for both teams will be compensated their lost salaries if the entire 2011 season is played.

In other news, some are calling the NFLPA decertification a sham. If it is, they are in some serious trouble, because they did not wait until the CBA had actually expired.

*If the Stipulation and Settlement Agreement is not the same thing as the CBA, could someone share with me some information on what the SSA is?

More information on the decertification ‘sham’ can be found at the following link:

NFLPA Decertification 'Sham'

2011 Offseason: NFC West

Today’s posts are for the teams in the NFC West.

Arizona Cardinals

2011 Offseason: Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers

2011 Offseason: San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

2011 Offseason: Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

2011 Offseason: St. Louis Rams

Thanks for reading my 2011 Offseason series. Check back periodically for more NFL related posts.

2011 Offseason: St. Louis Rams

Former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is the new offensive coordinator in St. Louis. He is a pass first coach, which might be good for Bradford. Sam Bradford threw a lot this season, but with a coach who is used to a pass first offense, he could help Bradford make better decisions on all those passes.

The one issue is that this could leave Steven Jackson out to dry. Jackson has been the heart and soul of the Rams for several years now and McDaniels will need to keep him an integral part of the offensive scheme if the Rams want their improvement to continue.

This is especially important considering who they are playing. They have to play the AFC North and the NFC East, in addition to the past two Super Bowl champions. Not an easy schedule by any means. Because of this, it will be all the more important to keep the offensive attack fairly balanced.

The main upgrading the Rams need to do this offseason will be on the defensive side, especially at linebacker. Steve Spagnuolo took the worst team in football and crafted a very good defense out of it. But they still have some weak spots and that linebacker position hasn’t seemed to generate a lot of pressure in the pass rush. It would be worth looking at that position with their first round draft pick.

The only other issue I saw was at wide receiver. They have some talented players, and they were often getting past opposing cornerbacks. Bradford was consistently getting the ball to them in places only they could catch it. But they didn’t always catch those passes. What’s worse, the absolute worst time for them to not catch those passes was against the Seahawks, and that was exactly when it happened. If the work stoppage lasts for too long, they may have to replace some of these players. Hopefully a new CBA will be reached soon and the team can get some good workouts in with these receivers before the end of the offseason.

2011 Offseason: Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks need to find a way to hold on to Matt Hasselbeck, that’s the biggest key to Seattle’s hopes of success in 2011. Hasselbeck was injured during a few stretches of the season, but when he was in the lineup, he was good. His passes were spot-on against the Saints in the Wild-Card game. His passes were also good against the Bears, but his receivers weren’t hanging on to them until late in the game.

Marshawn Lynch should also remain in Seattle. He may not have had the best regular season, but the Seahawks offensive line wasn’t that impressive in run blocking either. The fact that Lynch had such good games against the Rams and Saints can be looked at from multiple perspectives, but clearly he is talented and if they can get him running like that for 16 games (or 18) they would be in a great position.

The defensive line and pass rush from the linebackers could use some help, and the line may be the direction the Seahawks go in the draft. The secondary cannot be ignored either, but a lot of that upgrading may have to be done through free agency depending on who is on the board in the mid-late rounds of the draft. Remember that despite their losing record the Seahawks have the 25th pick in each round, and they don’t have 3rd, 4th, or 6th round picks, which also puts them at a disadvantage.

2011 Offseason: San Francisco 49ers

Jim Harbaugh could take a page from his brother’s notebook in this year’s draft by picking a quarterback with that 7th pick. Joe Flacco was John Harbaugh’s first draft pick in Baltimore and the Ravens have now made and won a playoff game in three straight seasons.

The defense needs to be next on the 49ers’ agenda. They could use someone like Oakland’s Asomugha. If they can’t get him they may have to wait until the middle rounds of the draft and get a quality corner, but that would take away picks that could help them in other areas.

One of those areas is wide receiver, where Michael Crabtree is the only legitimate weapon San Francisco has. Running back is another position that needs attention. Frank Gore is very talented but can only do so much on his own, and no one else currently with the team seems capable of offering him that help. They should address these positions with their 2nd and 3rd round picks in the draft.

The 49ers run a 3-4 defense, which needs talented, pass rushing outside linebackers, of which San Francisco really doesn’t have any. They have Patrick Willis at the ILB position, but if he gets picked off by a lineman they need their free OLB to be able to find his way to the quarterback. I’m not sure if they should look for an OLB in the draft, simply because by the time their mid-round picks come up, most of the top OLBs will have been taken. This may be a position they need to address in free agency.

2011 Offseason: Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals were 5-11 this season, but only 2 games behind the division winner. Don’t expect the same next season. The Rams will be much better and there’s no doubt Pete Carroll’s Seahawks know that and will be making changes in order to defend their NFC West crown.

If the Cardinals want to have a shot at throwing their name in with those two teams, they need a new quarterback. Derek Anderson had plenty of shots in Cleveland and blew them all. Then Arizona gave him an opportunity at redemption, and again Anderson blew it. Arizona may want to use their early draft pick on a quarterback, but they should look for other options first. They may not have a choice if the new CBA isn’t reached soon, but if it is a trade might come in handy. The Redskins no longer trust Donovan McNabb, so they would likely be open to a trade. He might be a good fit in Arizona, and he’d certainly be better than anyone they have right now.

They also need to improve the other end of their passing game, the receivers. I’m not talking about the wide receivers, though. They actually look pretty solid at that position. But there is no compliment to Fitzgerald and Breaston. They need to get some better receiving tight ends. It is important for the TE position to be able to block, but these days it’s actually more important that he be able to catch. Arizona’s three tight ends combined for just 25 receptions this season, none of which were touchdowns. This is particularly disturbing. With the size of a tight end, he should be targeted more when the team is in the red zone.

Arizona will have to improve that offensive line, especially if they want to trade for someone. No veteran quarterback will want to come anywhere near the team with the offensive line they currently have. Everyone knows the Cardinals’ quarterbacks held on to the ball too long, but an offensive line has to adjust to that and these guys couldn’t. Perhaps a better route to take in the draft than picking a quarterback would be to take an offensive lineman with that first round pick in hopes that they can then get a veteran quarterback to come in.

The defense was also troubling. The secondary could use one or two extra guys, but a lot of pressure would be taken off the weaker defensive backs if the Cardinals could top the run, a statistic in which Arizona finished 30th in the league this season. The defensive line needs a serious tune-up but the linebacker corps is most troubling and will need a lot of attention this offseason.

2011 Offseason: NFC South

Today’s posts are for the teams in the NFC South.

Atlanta Falcons

2011 Offseason: Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

2011 Offseason: Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints

2011 Offseason: New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2011 Offseason: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for posts on the NFC West teams.

2011 Offseason: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I realized that Josh Freeman had an incredible year in his second season out of Kansas State. But when I saw that he had only thrown six interceptions all season, my eyes bugged out a little. When you play 16 games and you’re throwing INT numbers similar to those of Brady and Cassel, there at the top of the NFL, that’s saying something. When it’s just you’re second year, it’s a wonder his name wasn’t considered with Brady and Vick as possible MVP candidates.

Freeman will continue to improve, though it shouldn’t be surprising if he throws a handful more picks next year (6 is a hard number to back up). Carnell Williams will hopefully be back, which would help the Bucs big time in terms of stability in the backfield. The main concern on offense will be the front line. They aren’t in any dire need of talent on the offensive line, but if they can get a really good lineman in the draft it would help.

Here’s the thing with Tampa Bay. The team is very young. In some ways, it’s better for the players to be younger when you have a young coach like Raheem Morris. But at the same time, for a young coach to have to enforce the level of structure needed for a young team to be successful is very difficult and sometimes proves to be too much to ask. They Buccaneers had a lot of success this season, but their schedule wasn’t of a particularly high difficulty outside of the Saints and Falcons. Their wins will come much less easily next year so the players will have to help Morris out by being motivated without his constant attention.

Because of this, I think that their needs on defense should be addressed through free agency. It isn’t bad to have older, veteran players. It is only bad when that’s all you have and there is no youth available to supplement it. The draft will be key for the Buccaneers, no doubt. But Tampa Bay is in a fantastic position to start using the draft as a tool to add depth. They don’t need to be getting guys who can start as rookies at this point.

I like the Buccaneers in 2011. They just have to get a group of guys in who can compete as well with the playoff caliber teams as with the teams lower on the food chain. I’m not convinced that they will be a playoff team next season, but I have little doubt that they will be competitive in all of their games next year. It won’t be an easy task to keep them out of the postseason.

2011 Offseason: New Orleans Saints

The Saints are not a young team, but they need to become more of one. They have a lot of older guys on the roster and many of them did not play particularly well this season. The defense played pretty well, as defenses generally do for Gregg Williams. But they weren’t the unit they were in 2009, and with age creeping up on many of them it is time to look for some young talent at several of those positions, including the secondary.

Brees is not getting any younger, meaning that the more hits he sustains the more prone to injury he is. That offensive line needs work, and fast. They also need to clear up their running back situation. Brees is forced to pass a lot more than he should because none of the running backs on the Saints’ roster were consistently available. They had five backs shuffling on and off the field during the season. This creates a lot of problems because the offensive line can’t keep track of the tendencies of all five backs. They need to find a way to have all the carries be taken by at most two people. Whether those backs are on the roster already remains to be seen. But I think they should go to either the draft or free agency to find at least one of them.

The defense is going to be the main thing to work on this offseason. Gregg Williams has a knack for getting the most out of his squad, but he has to have the right pieces. That needs to be at the top of the agenda for Mickey Loomis, the Saints GM.

Outside of the players, I did see an issue with the coaching. Sean Payton is a terrific coach, but his players weren’t playing very disciplined early in the season. They got better as the season progressed but there were times when it looked like they were on the verge of a major collapse that could have left out of the postseason all-together. Payton will have to find a way to instill that focus his team had in 2009. If he can do that, the Saints should be in a good position on the field next year.

2011 Offseason: Carolina Panthers

The Panthers were pretty sorry in 2010, but with Ron Rivera in house as the new head coach, things shouldn’t be as dismal in 2011.

Unfortunately, just a month after hiring Rivera, Jerry Richardson, Carolina’s owner, made himself seem less fit as an owner by bad-mouthing both Peyton Manning and Drew Brees when they were talking about player safety.

All that aside, the Panthers have some serious concerns to face this offseason. Right now it appears the Panthers are prepared to stick with Jimmy Clausen since Stanford’s Andrew Luck opted not to declare for the 2011 NFL Draft. However, I won’t be too surprised if the Panthers choose to take a QB with that first pick anyway. I like Clausen but don’t think he’s the kind of player who can be expected to do much early in his career. Brady Quinn comes to mind as a good comparison to Clausen.

A huge problem for the Panthers was turnovers; they had a (-8) T.O. ratio. In addition, their defense was atrocious. While their offense scored seven rushing touchdowns and nine passing touchdown, their defense gave up 20 on the ground and 19 through the air.

Despite the high number of rushing touchdowns allowed, their run defense wasn’t too terrible during the season. They gave up fewer than 2000 rushing yards, which is a pretty decent mark to aim for. But they gave up a lot of passing yards. Their secondary needs a serious overhaul.

Nearly every mock draft I’ve seen has Carolina picking a defensive lineman. I think they need to go cornerback with that top pick. It’s a dangerous position to go after in the draft, especially in the first round because cornerbacks are perhaps the commonest position to become a draft bust, especially if they are placed in a scheme that doesn’t fit them. But they have plenty of time, and a luxury no one else has, they can have any player they want. They don’t have to worry about another team picking the guy at the top of their board. Take advantage of that, and next year could be much better than 2010. An unwise pick, on the other hand, could put the Panthers in a deeper hole than they are already in.

2011 Offseason: Atlanta Falcons

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Matt Ryan and consider him something of a young Peyton Manning. While he is not there yet, remember that Manning was far from phenomenal early in his career, so I argue that the time has not yet come to question Ryan’s abilities in the pocket.

Ryan works very hard and will continue to improve; few people doubt that. But he could use a fast wide receiver who can beat the defense down field. Roddy White has that ability, but not against every cornerback. Matt Ryan’s arm is not exceptionally strong, but it is accurate and he puts the ball right on the money more often than not. Most of his interceptions come on passes where he just can’t zip the ball to his receiver quickly enough, like the one going into halftime against the Packers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Atlanta needs to figure out where their defense is. They have some very good players, but they also have some players who are unknowns because they haven’t been healthy for enough games. The Falcons’ coaches have to find away to judge which players are keepers and which need to go. As hard as their schedule was at times this season, it will be harder next year and they can’t afford to have a lackluster defense if they hope to have a fourth consecutive winning season.

2011 Offseason: NFC North

Today’s posts are for the teams in the NFC North.

Chicago Bears

2011 Offseason: Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

2011 Offseason: Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

2011 Offseason: Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

2011 Offseason: Minnesota Vikings

Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for posts on the NFC South teams.

2011 Offseason: Minnesota Vikings

Brett Favre is finally done. There has been no talk about ‘Favre Watch: 2011,’ and it’s a relief. However, the Vikings do need to get on their feet and figure out what to do at quarterback. Rookie Joe Webb looked pretty good to me, especially in that late-season game against the Eagles that the Vikings won 24-14. I think it would be a very reasonable idea to start him next season, but it seems many experts disagree. It will be interesting to see in what direction Minnesota chooses to go. There will certainly be plenty of good quarterbacks to look at through free agency and trading.

Minnesota will likely be losing several players that could be considered ‘keys to success.’ But of the names listed in the ‘Exit Interview” on NFL.com, no one really struck me as being even moderately irreplaceable. Leslie Frazier took a really bad-looking team and turned them around fairly well in the final part of the season. Obviously he knows this team and its needs well enough that he will be able to make good decisions during the offseason.

Until that quarterback situation is resolved, there is no way of knowing how well, or poorly, the Vikings will perform in 2011, but I don’t think they will be any worse than the 6-10 mark they hit this year.

2011 Offseason: Green Bay Packers

I don’t like picking postseason teams or Super Bowl teams before the start of preseason, but the Packers have to be the favorites on just about everyone’s lists to play for the Lombardi again in 2011.

They have so much depth at nearly every position. They won the Super Bowl with 16 players on injured reserve, several of whom were starters at the beginning of the season. Many of those players and their replacements will be back next season, which puts the Packers in an amazing position if the Super Bowl hype doesn’t stick with them through August and into September.

The biggest issue the Packers will have to deal with has not come up yet. I think if they can keep as many players as they can, they will be fine. They don’t really have any areas particularly lacking. Aaron Rodgers has more than enough weapons, they have two talented running backs who will compete for the starting job but should share the backfield, and an incredible amount of talent on the defensive side.

The only issue that could arise will be if they lose too many players at a given position to free agency. Obviously the Packers need to make wise draft decisions, but don’t expect next year’s rookie of the year on either side of the ball to come out of Green Bay. The Packers will be looking for players to come in and learn and then step in a few years down the road as their current players either get too old or leave for other reasons. This is a team that has a foundation of young players to keep the older guys trying hard and they need to keep it that way.

2011 Offseason: Detroit Lions

The Lions are an interesting story. They went 6-10 this season, but of those ten losses, six were by less than a touchdown. Not only that, they did it without Matthew Stafford for most of the season. Is that a call for Stafford to be let go? In a word, no. The Lions will be better off with him in the line-up, if all parties involved can keep him healthy.

Shaun Hill, a Maryland grad (sorry, had to bring that up), did very well in Stafford’s absence. But it was tough for him at times because their running back was playing with two turf toes throughout the season (both of Jahvid Best’s big toes were affected). The Lions need to make improvements on the offensive line before they look at any of their other problems. They have to protect their running back. They also need to protect their quarterback. Stafford has never started more than six consecutive games in his young career, but he looked really good early in the 2010 season. He still has a little way to go, but he’ll never get there if every hit he takes is uncontested by his linemen.

Once they get that situation squared away, the defense will need some attention. They have a very young secondary that is prone to mistakes. What’s worse, they might be losing their more talented coverage players to free agency. Even with the Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most talented defensive lines in the league, Detroit’s defense will be doomed if they can’t find a good route to take in fixing up that defense before next season starts.

2011 Offseason: Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler is at the center of everything in Chicago. He has some improving to do, especially in terms of his holding on to the ball too long. He was sacked nearly 60 times this season, and it wasn’t all because of poor offensive line play.

However, the Bears do need to bring in one or two offensive linemen to help out. The line will be especially important moving forward with a few very talented defensive linemen in their division, especially the Defensive Rookie of the Year, Ndamukong Suh.

The Bears’ secondary on the defensive side could also use a tune-up. It wasn’t terrible, but there were some very poor performances, including that shootout against the Jets, that need to be addressed, whether it’s with new players or just fixing their schemes.

Another issue is Lovie Smith’s contract. There is no doubt he deserves an extension (his contract ends after the 2011 season). But fans don’t seem to love and respect him the way his players do. Right now it seems Chicago is close to an extension with Smith, but it isn’t finalized. Even if he does get it, the Bears will be keeping an eye on him. Remember that after that Super Bowl appearance against the Colts he failed to bring Chicago back to the playoffs for three seasons. Chicago has the potential to drop off the map in the NFC North again, even after winning the division this year.

One other word of advice, keep Caleb Hanie. He could provide Cutler some competition and help him develop. More importantly, you don’t want another team getting a hold of one of the better backups in the league, which could happen with the way his name just appeared out of thin air during their loss to the Packers.

2011 Offseason: NFC East

Today’s posts are for the teams in the NFC East.

Dallas Cowboys

2011 Offseason: Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

2011 Offseason: New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

2011 Offseason: Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

2011 Offseason: Washington Redskins

Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for posts on the NFC North teams.

2011 Offseason: Washington Redskins

I wrote something for the Redskins a couple of days ago, but I realized that my attempt at humor also made it rather obvious of my biases concerning Washington. I will say, however, that my idea in that other write-up, one about the Skins needing to switch their uniforms back to the early 70’s one full-time, was a good idea.

The Redskins have a lot to do and nearly nothing to work with. In the past they spent too much time trying to get big-name players and, in doing so, lost many of their draft picks. That hit will still be felt for the next few years. They finally got away from that, for the most part, this past offseason. But because Washington still didn’t have much success in 2010, the concern is that they will go right back to their old ways.

Rest assured that will not happen. If it does, it won’t be because of Dan Snyder (first time I’ve been able to say that). He’s kept true to his word that Allen and Shanahan are running the show, at least so far. The Redskins are already looking to get a start on free agency, hosting Oshiomogho (O.J.) Atogwe, a former safety for the Rams. Having him in that free safety position could be the piece the Redskins’ secondary has been missing for several years now.

Clearly the biggest concern for Washington right now is at quarterback. I think they are in a good place at wide receiver and at running back (assuming they start Ryan Torain next season). But clearly Donovan McNabb doesn’t have the full trust of the coaches, and if Rex Grossman does then there are bigger problems in D.C. than I can begin to address.

I’ve seen a few mock drafts so far, and I like some of the guys experts are putting with the Redskins. In the most recent one I saw it was Prince Amukamara, a cornerback from Nebraska. I saw one of his workouts today on SportsCenter; very impressive I have to say. Another guy I liked seeing next to the Redskins logo is Blaine Gabbert, a quarterback from Missouri.

I don’t want to like the idea of the Redskins drafting a quarterback. They pick up and drop off quarterbacks like it’s their job. But Gabbert’s was another workout I’ve seen and he’s sharp. He is very accurate, he has a very crisp, fluid motion when he throws, and he can make some nice throws on the run, something the Redskins will need if they can’t address another issue that’s been hung out to dry for several years now: the offensive line.

The Redskins have a lot of issues, unfortunately, but those are the most pressing in my opinion. If they can clear all those problems up, they actually might not be half bad next year.

2011 Offseason: Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles gave up 49 sacks this season. Even when you have a guy who likes to run around behind the line of scrimmage, that is a very high number, especially when ‘that guy running around’ is as athletic as Michael Vick.

The Eagles should not be particularly worried about their offense, even with the possible departure of Marty Mornhinweg. Brad Childress could likely step right in if Mornhinweg does leave, and the Eagles have a lot of solid pieces in place for 2011. The offensive line, however, is a concern, as seen by those 49 sacks they allowed this season, so a tune-up is in store for Philly’s O-line.

Philadelphia’s defense looked pretty bad for much of the season, especially in the latter stages of it. However, the poor defensive play can be partially attributed to injuries on that side of the ball. Once the Eagles have their whole defense back to square one, there should just be a few little things to take care of and they should be set to defend their NFC East crown next year.

2011 Offseason: New York Giants

The Giants were one of two teams, both from the NFC, to win 10 games but miss the postseason. Everyone is pointing fingers at their late-game meltdown against the Eagles as the reason they missed the playoffs. But they had a shot to make punch their ticket in any week following and continually made it more and more difficult on themselves. The leading cause of their unfortunate season result was their inability to protect the ball.

Eli Manning led the league in interceptions, despite his big brother’s mid-season slide. Ahmad Bradshaw couldn’t protect the ball much better, losing six of his seven fumbles during the season. After counting up all of the Giants’ turnovers this season, the grand total is 42, the most by any team in the NFL this season.

Their secondary, like that of Dallas, needs some work. Though the did not give up as many big plays as the Cowboys did, they looked pretty pitiful in the final quarter of the season, including against the Redskins who had Rex Grossman starting.

Tom Coughlin is the oldest coach in the NFL and some players don’t seem to think he’s the right man to get them motivated properly anymore. But Coughlin is a very smart coach. He led the Giants to a Super Bowl victory against the undefeated New England Patriots just a few years ago. The only thing that has changed has been the players’ attitudes. Whether the Giants will get to the postseason next year remains to be seen, but I have little doubt that as long as Coughlin stays in New York, the Giants will continue to have plenty of success on the field.