NFL revising injury report?

[Ursa Majoris]

This will affect the way the Huddle puts it's articles out too, I would think.

 

NFL will revise the way teams report on injuries

Old system is being revamped because coaches didn't trust reports last season.

 

The NFL on Wednesday said it plans to improve its weekly injury reports after several teams, including the Vikings, called into question the existing method and protocol.

 

The new system, Atlanta General Manager Rich McKay said, will require teams to reveal each injured player's practice schedule. If approved by Commissioner Roger Goodell, the new format will de-emphasize the old classifications of probable, questionable and doubtful.

 

"The coaches don't have as good a feel [on injuries] as they should early in the week," said McKay, who is co-chairman of the league's competition committee. "Oftentimes they're subject to a lot of criticism from an integrity standpoint that we don't like. We think also that it would be better to give more detailed information on practice, which quite frankly, goes to the heart of whether a guy's going to play than categorizing the player."

 

Under the new system, teams will list the amount of practice in which each injured player participates on Wednesday and Thursday of a game week. On Friday, the team will designate each player as probable, questionable, doubtful or out.

 

Last season, Vikings coach Brad Childress was one of several coaches who said they did not trust the injury reports by opponents. Goodell is expected to adopt the plan next week at the league's annual meetings in Phoenix.

 

Other items on the meeting's agenda, according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello:

 

• Goodell likely will adopt a stricter personal conduct policy after a rash of player arrests has embarrassed the league.

 

• Owners will vote on adopting instant replay on a permanent basis. As of now, it is set to expire in two years.

 

• Moving the kickoff in overtime from the 35 to the 30-yard line. The proposal is aimed at curbing a growing trend toward teams that win the coin toss in overtime.

[DMD]

Very interesting indeed. Everyone wants information early in the week but now teams will wait until Friday before throwing a tag on a player. The injury report is pretty much just a tool for some teams instead of an honest disclosure of a player's status. New England and Denver are two of the worst violators and I am surprised they have not been fined they are so dishonest with the use of it. When they have to reveal a player's practice schedule, I am assuming they mean stating exactly what they did (team drills, work with a trainer, juggle footballs, etc..) I would suspect this still won't make Belichick into an honest coach but maybe it will go farther to disclose player information. The problem I see with this is that the best players (ie. the ones you are wanting to start on your FF team) are the ones with the least need to practice before playing.

 

It is a step in the right direction but it still focuses not on the likelihood that a player will play on Sunday, just on what he did during the week. As we all know, some practice all week and never play while others rest every day and then play.

[skylive5]

Very interesting indeed. Everyone wants information early in the week but now teams will wait until Friday before throwing a tag on a player. The injury report is pretty much just a tool for some teams instead of an honest disclosure of a player's status. New England and Denver are two of the worst violators and I am surprised they have not been fined they are so dishonest with the use of it. When they have to reveal a player's practice schedule, I am assuming they mean stating exactly what they did (team drills, work with a trainer, juggle footballs, etc..) I would suspect this still won't make Belichick into an honest coach but maybe it will go farther to disclose player information. The problem I see with this is that the best players (ie. the ones you are wanting to start on your FF team) are the ones with the least need to practice before playing.

 

It is a step in the right direction but it still focuses not on the likelihood that a player will play on Sunday, just on what he did during the week. As we all know, some practice all week and never play while others rest every day and then play.

 

 

"I would suspect this still won't make Belichick into an honest coach ....."

 

I am sure he is already making plans to circumvent the new rules and will have it in place prior to training camp.

 

Think you have an excellent point about the practice before playing. Seems there are some big holes in that new proposal.

[Ursa Majoris]

"I would suspect this still won't make Belichick into an honest coach ....."

 

I am sure he is already making plans to circumvent the new rules and will have it in place prior to training camp.

 

Think you have an excellent point about the practice before playing. Seems there are some big holes in that new proposal.

 

I agree with you and DMD. I don't see how this is going to be of any real benefit to FF players or opposing coaches. It may actually muddy the waters even more.

[The Wolf]

Moving the kickoff in overtime from the 35 to the 30-yard line. The proposal is aimed at curbing a growing trend toward teams that win the coin toss in overtime.

 

OK...call me dense but unless I am reading this wrong, how would moving the kickoff back five yards benefit the kicking team? That is giving the team who wins the toss an extra five yards and thus an even greater chance to win the game.

 

It doesn't make the playing field more level at all. It increases the chances that what they want not to happen, will happen.

[Ursa Majoris]

Moving the kickoff in overtime from the 35 to the 30-yard line. The proposal is aimed at curbing a growing trend toward teams that win the coin toss in overtime.

 

OK...call me dense but unless I am reading this wrong, how would moving the kickoff back five yards benefit the kicking team? That is giving the team who wins the toss an extra five yards and thus an even greater chance to win the game.

 

It doesn't make the playing field more level at all. It increases the chances that what they want not to happen, will happen.

 

Good catch. Not only that, shifting the kick is not really tackling the problem at all, however it moves. The isue is caused by the single possession that can win the game with no chance to come back.

[Bill Swerski]

"I would suspect this still won't make Belichick into an honest coach ....."

 

I am sure he is already making plans to circumvent the new rules and will have it in place prior to training camp.

 

As long as Belichick acts within the rules, I see no point in bashing him. He'd be stupid to not use an imperfect system to his advantage. It's pretty much his job to gain any sort of advantage that he possibly can.

[Big John]

Moving the kickoff in overtime from the 35 to the 30-yard line. The proposal is aimed at curbing a growing trend toward teams that win the coin toss in overtime.

 

OK...call me dense but unless I am reading this wrong, how would moving the kickoff back five yards benefit the kicking team? That is giving the team who wins the toss an extra five yards and thus an even greater chance to win the game.

 

It doesn't make the playing field more level at all. It increases the chances that what they want not to happen, will happen.

 

He had it reversed. All kickoffs are now from the 30, except for penalties.

[DMD]

As long as Belichick acts within the rules, I see no point in bashing him. He'd be stupid to not use an imperfect system to his advantage. It's pretty much his job to gain any sort of advantage that he possibly can.

 

 

Perhaps, but it is exactly his gaming and bastardizing the reporting rules that has led to the NFL wanting to implement something more accurate and less "played loose with". You could almost call it the Belichick Rule Change. Most teams adhere to the letter and the spirit of the rule. Belichick only adheres to the letter of the rule as minimally as he possibly can until there is absolutely no reliance on anything the Pats put on an injury report. If all teams acted like NE, then seriously there should not even be an injury report because it is a mockery of what it is supposed to be. Fortunately, not all teams do and evidently enough of them that follow the spirit of fair disclosure are wanting to reign him and his ilk in on the matter.

[SteelerMurf]

Why the NFL wants to be the only professional sport (or probably even amature sport) that thinks it is fair to allow one team to play offense and if they score...games over.

 

It's like playing only the top of the 10th inning and if you score one run the game is over. It's like having a shootout in hockey where if you score first, games over the other team cannot even attempt their shot. And in both cases a simple coin flip will be the determining factor who gets to go on offense.

[Bill Swerski]

Perhaps, but it is exactly his gaming and bastardizing the reporting rules that has led to the NFL wanting to implement something more accurate and less "played loose with". You could almost call it the Belichick Rule Change. Most teams adhere to the letter and the spirit of the rule. Belichick only adheres to the letter of the rule as minimally as he possibly can until there is absolutely no reliance on anything the Pats put on an injury report. If all teams acted like NE, then seriously there should not even be an injury report because it is a mockery of what it is supposed to be. Fortunately, not all teams do and evidently enough of them that follow the spirit of fair disclosure are wanting to reign him and his ilk in on the matter.

 

The way I see it, NFL coaches need to do whatever they can to gain an advantage. And it's not like other teams couldn't have done the same thing that Belichick had been doing. If there's a problem with adherence to the "spirit of the rule", the NFL can change the rule to circumvent the problem.

 

I agree that Belichick's tactics are questionable at times, but they're all technically legal. And it's not really his job to care what you or I think.

[Ursa Majoris]

So, why is there an injury report in the first place? It seems to me the only requirement should be to declare a player out when he definitely won't play. All this probable, questionable, etc is so much hooey anyway. Why are teams required to give their opponents this declaration?

[godtomsatan]

I agree with you and DMD. I don't see how this is going to be of any real benefit to FF players or opposing coaches. It may actually muddy the waters even more.

 

 

It totally opens the door to muddying the waters.

 

And why is Bellichek considered so flagrantly abusive of the rules? Because he muddies up the P/Q/D waters?

[godtomsatan]

So, why is there an injury report in the first place? It seems to me the only requirement should be to declare a player out when he definitely won't play. All this probable, questionable, etc is so much hooey anyway. Why are teams required to give their opponents this declaration?

 

 

Having the Patriots -3.5 is a lot more interesting than having the Patriots -3.

[Bill Swerski]

So, why is there an injury report in the first place? It seems to me the only requirement should be to declare a player out when he definitely won't play. All this probable, questionable, etc is so much hooey anyway. Why are teams required to give their opponents this declaration?

 

 

Good question.

 

BTW, I'm sure that many of you remember Eddie DeBartolo's salary-cap gymnastics back in the early '90s. That wasn't exactly within the "spirit" of the cap, either.

[DMD]

Good question.

 

BTW, I'm sure that many of you remember Eddie DeBartolo's salary-cap gymnastics back in the early '90s. That wasn't exactly within the "spirit" of the cap, either.

 

 

No, Bartolo alone is the biggest individual reason why there was a salary cap instituted in the first place and once it was there, Bartolo could not stop his free spending ways and put the 49ers into hock by mortgaging the future. You could argue that the 49ers still have not recovered over ten years later.

 

The "spirit" of the injury disclosure rules was clearly to make public the injury situations of all players on all teams. Most comply pretty well and a few thumb their nose at what it was created for and make it into a joke at the expense of other teams that comply with the "spirit". If all teams acted like that, no one would even bother to look at an injury report because it would be pure fiction. And when teams jerk around with the rules in a manner other teams deem unfairly, then the other teams get together to try to fix the rules so that no one can skirt them.

[Bill Swerski]

No, Bartolo alone is the biggest individual reason why there was a salary cap instituted in the first place and once it was there, Bartolo could not stop his free spending ways and put the 49ers into hock by mortgaging the future. You could argue that the 49ers still have not recovered over ten years later.

 

Of course, it also doesn't help that the 49ers went from Walsh/Siefert and Montana/Young/Rice/Owens to Erickson/Nolan and Rattay/Smith/Lloyd/Bryant. Nor does it help that the oranization is currently run by the Yorks.

 

The "spirit" of the injury disclosure rules was clearly to make public the injury situations of all players on all teams. Most comply pretty well and a few thumb their nose at what it was created for and make it into a joke at the expense of other teams that comply with the "spirit". If all teams acted like that, no one would even bother to look at an injury report because it would be pure fiction. And when teams jerk around with the rules in a manner other teams deem unfairly, then the other teams get together to try to fix the rules so that no one can skirt them.

 

 

Agreed with the last sentence. But as long as a HC is acting within the rules, I don't care if he's ambiguous with the injury report becasue I expect a good HC do everything possible within the rules to gain a minor advantage over his next opponent. And because it's the freaking injury report and is of minimal importance at most. This isn't Eddie DeBartolo gaining a massive advantage over his opponents by manipulating the salary cap.

 

EDIT: Same thing with "poison pill" clauses. Are those within the "spirit" of the RFA guildelines? No. But, if you were a Vikings fan, would you be happy if your team's GM pulled off something like that and snagged the best guard in the NFL? Hells yes. Instead of being upset at a coach or a GM for exploiting a loophole, shouldn't we be more upset with the Commissioner's Office and Owners for allowing such exploitation to go on for years before doing anything about it?

Edited March 22, 2007 by Bill Swerski

[piratesownninjas]

Why the NFL wants to be the only professional sport (or probably even amature sport) that thinks it is fair to allow one team to play offense and if they score...games over.

 

It's like playing only the top of the 10th inning and if you score one run the game is over. It's like having a shootout in hockey where if you score first, games over the other team cannot even attempt their shot. And in both cases a simple coin flip will be the determining factor who gets to go on offense.

 

I dont have a problem with it at all. They had four quarters to win the game, and failed to do so.

[SteelerMurf]

I dont have a problem with it at all. They had four quarters to win the game, and failed to do so.

 

BOTH teams had a chance to win it in regulation, yet a clear advantage is given only to ONE team. It's simply not fair. Picture your team in the Superbowl, it goes to evertime. Your team loses on a 54 yard field goal while your offense never even got to put on a helmet. I think that is the only way this rule is finally gonna get changed.

Edited March 22, 2007 by SteelerMurf

[bushwacked]

I dont have a problem with it at all. They had four quarters to win the game, and failed to do so.

 

 

Aggred. They should just flip a coin to determine the winner.

[SteelerMurf]

Aggred. They should just flip a coin to determine the winner.