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Monday, March 31, 2008
Falcons get additional third-round pick
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PALM BEACH, Fl. — Compensatory draft picks were awarded by the NFL today and Atlanta received one of the highest selections allotted.
The Falcons got the 35th pick of the third round - the third compensatory pick after the first 32 selections. That will essentially give them two picks in the third round, increasing their three-round total to six, and 11 picks overall. There might not be a team that wields more desirable draft picks than Atlanta, which has four selection in the top 48, including the No. 3 overall selection, for the April 26-27 draft.
As for what compensatory picks are, teams are awarded draft picks based on the caliber of free agents they lost compared to the caliber of free agents they acquired the year before. The Falcons got such a lofty pick because if lost free agents Patick Kerney (Seattle), Justin Griffith (Oakland) and Ashley Lelie (San Francisco) and signed Ovie Mughelli and Lewis Sanders.
In other developments, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell just held a media briefing and touched on several issues that are being discussed at the league’s annual meetings this week. None of them have been voted upon or ratified but most will be over the next few days.
The most interesting news revolved around suspended cornerback Adam “Pac Man” Jones, who is from Atlanta. With Dallas and Tennessee discussing a trade that would make Jones a member of the Cowboys, Goodell was asked if he had decided to lift his indefinite suspension of Jones, whose array of personal conduct violations prompted Goodell to suspend him for all of last season. “I have made no…promises,” Goodell said. Goodell said there is no prohibition of teams trading the rights to suspended players, as long as the team receiving the suspended player knows that player could remain suspended until the commissioner lifts the ban. Goodell said he would render a decision on Jones before training camp in the fall.
Goodell said he’s also following the status of suspended Cincinnati Bengals and former Georgia linebacker Odell Thurman, who Goodell disciplined last season after a series of off-field violations. Goodell sounded positive about Thurman’s progress although he gave no indication if he would lift the ban. Like Jones, he cited training camp as the timetable to render a decision.
An issue that has brought about tremendous discussion but could be tabled to a later date, is a proposal by the K.C. Chiefs that players hair can not be so long that it covers their name or numerals on the back of their jerseys.
Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said players would not be asked to cut their hair but to cap it or tuck it in. He said the impetus for the proposal was not safety related but image related. Goodell said that he spoke with NFL Players Association head Gene Upshaw about the proposal and said that he would speak to him again before a final decision is rendered. Thus, it is unlikely this issue will come up for vote at these meetings, which end Thursday.
Regarding the potential labor standoff that could be sparked by owners opting out of the current collective bargaining agreement in November, Goodell said that he hoped things wouldn’t get ugly. However, owners are having a harder time meeting all the economic demands because of increased compensation to players and the economic downturn, which has made operating a franchise and stadiums far most costly, Goodell said.
If the labor pact is broken, the possibility that the 2010 season could be played without a salary cap is possible. That could result in a baseball like structure, where some teams could spend with little regard while others could run their operations on a shoestring budget. That could make things competitively imbalanced, which is something the NFL doesn’t want.
One thing that has been discussed regarding the labor pact is trying to implement a cap on rookie salaries. Goodell said that not only could limit costs to paying unproven players but the bigger salaries could go to veterans that have earned the money.
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NFL meetings underway; new GM in demand
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PALM BEACH, Fl. - I’m here at the NFL’s annual meetings, where just about every league official and coach is in attendance - including New England coach Bill Belichick.
The interesting thing about Belichick’s presence is the theme for most of these meetings is integrity and establishing trust in the league - a theme that was spurred in large part by Spygate, in which Belichick’s Patriots were punished for video taping the Jets defensive signals.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank, coach Mike Smith, GM Thomas Dimitroff and president Rich McKay are representing the local team. Dimitroff has been in high demand by the national media, in part because with four draft picks in the top 48, Atlanta could be a major navigator in shaping the April 26-27 draft.
I’ll be spending some time with Dimitroff in the next few days and will provide updates on some of the topics we’ll discuss, which hopefully will include Jason Elam, the quarterback situation, replacing D-Hall and the draft.
I spent Sunday hanging with Smith, who in his new role as head coach got put through the coaching gauntlet - a 2 1/2-hour, 7-station drill in which he had to model league apparel for its fashion catalog, interview with NFL Films and shoot commercials for NFL Network. My story and Jason Getz’s great photo display will appear in the AJC and AJC.com on Wednesday, I believe.
I’ll be blogging through these meetings to update you on some of the rules and policy changes being discussed. The key topics - players’ hair length, a sideline-to-helmet communication device and playoff re-seeding (wild card teams with better records than division champs could be allowed to host first-round playoff games).
There also will be a wealth of talk about labor harmony/disharmony between NFL owners and the NFL Players Association. The owners have given indications that, in November, they will opt out of the collective bargaining agreement that they reached with the union at the 11th hour in 2006. If discord arises, there will be no salary cap starting in 2010 if there is a season. The typical labor banter of lockouts and strikes could arise.
To continue this conversation, click here for Steve Wyche’s updated blog.
