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Everyone has reason to celebrate new CBA
With the NFL's agreement with its players to end the nearly five-monthlong lockout Monday, the 2011-12 NFL season officially begins today.
And what a beginning it promises to be.
Around the league, general managers, scouts and money men won't be getting a lot of sleep this week as the league crams five months of work into four days.
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Wednesday, training camps will begin to open around the league. The Steelers report Thursday and hold their first practice Friday.
Also Friday, teams may begin to report free-agent signings to the league office starting at 6 p.m.
It's going to be a busy, bumpy ride.
"It's safe to say we're in uncharted territory," Steelers president Art Rooney II said Monday. "It will be different, but every team is in the same boat."
Not exactly.
The Steelers are one of a handful of teams who are already over the new salary cap of $120.3 million. But thanks to some last-minute finagling, that won't be the problem it appeared to be several weeks ago.
Under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, those over the cap will be given an exemption - though they may have to do some creative accounting if they hope to sign a free agent from another team.
For the Steelers, that means getting a deal done with free agent cornerback Ike Taylor quickly is a must.
The owners and players have come out winners with the new deal, with both sides getting concessions they coveted. But count Taylor among the biggest winners in this long process.
The Steelers almost have to pay him what he wants or risk losing him, leaving a gaping hole in their secondary.
With a veteran team and coaching staff that returns intact, the Steelers are poised to take advantage of teams that have a lot of turnover or are starting over with a new coaching staff.
Pity, for example, the Cleveland Browns, who are changing both their offensive and defensive schemes under new coach Pat Shurmur.
But if Taylor is not re-signed, some of that advantage could be lost as the Steelers would be forced to go with an untested player or free agent in his spot.
Fans won't notice much of a difference at training camp. While two-a-day practices in pads are no longer permitted, teams can still practice twice per day, with the second practice being a walk-through. Because of that, the Steelers' afternoon practices will continue to be open to the public.
It will be like the NFL never went away, mostly because it never did.
Outside of the Hall of Fame game, nothing has been canceled or missed other than mini-camps and organized offseason workouts.
While many a fan may have spent time gnashing teeth over the extended negotiations involved with getting a new CBA in place, we avoided missing any real football action, as happened twice in the '80s.
That makes the fans the biggest winners of all in this latest labor battle.
F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com
take some lessons : 7/26/2011
maybe congress senate and white house should take some lessons from these rich owners and dumb jocks and learn how to COMPROMISE!
lockout winners : 7/26/2011
Maybe I missed it. Tell me again how the fans win. Are we making money off this deal?
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