Fast Five: When the Lockout Ends...

1. No. New guys will push the old as they always have making the game competitive.
2. Think back to baseball in the 80’s. Yes it will. I personally will not go see a game this year nor am I paying for my NFL package this year in my own form of mini protest.
3. Yes…but they’ll go away pretty quickly.
4. Who cares!!!! And if they do, please leave De-Morales Smith out of the mix.
5. Not a damn thing!
 

1. No.
2. No and No, but only if no games are missed.
3. Yes.
4. There will always be animosity.
5. The only “positive” I can think of with a lock-out is that it won’t happen again for some time.

1. Yes, and the longer this lingers, the greater the negative effect. OTA’s, pre-season games, etc. matter.
2. It will cause a brief & temporary decrease, but it won’t matter longterm. Keep in mind, in the long run we’ll all be dead.
3. Hard feelings will continue. They’ve always been there (labor vs. management), just not as well publicized.
4. Yes It’s in the best interests of the players to have a union.
5. The most positve effect could be that more people will see how rediculous and damaging greed can be. Maybe it can re-kindle an appreciation for the fable, The Goose Who Laid the Golden Egg.

1
2
3
No change
4 Of course the NFLPA will become a union again, win or lose. The dissolution was just a tactic.
5 The only positive thing to come out of this, hopefully, will be a multiple year collective bargaining agreement, so we don’t have to endure this again anytime soon.

1. Yes, especially for the teams with new coaches.
2. Fan support will decrease temporarily, but there will not be any longterm effects.
3. I doubt the hard feelings will ever go away. Labor issues are always going to pop up in pro sports.
4. Probably
5. Difficult question. Perhaps they can come up with an agreement that will last a long time, but I doubt it.

1. Yes. I don’t see how it wouldn’t, unless it is all resolved amicably before July. But veterans falling out of routine, newly acquired players having less time to get accustomed to a new system, and coaches losing time to develop and implement said system, has to have some cumulative bad effect on “product” quality.

2. Maybe, and probably. Fan support will be fine after a year if the players and teams work everything out and get to the business of putting on their show. Time heals all wounds, especially in America when discussing an issue related to the attention span of a group of fans regarding their chosen entertainment.

I don’t see how the overall “image” of the NFL or it’s wealthier players won’t be damaged at least somewhat by this pissing match. Wether you sympathize with one side or the other, or don’t care and just want to see some football happen, a disagreement over money between a small group of extremely wealthy state welfare recipients and a large group of predominantly very well-paid minor celebrities is not something the cash-strapped masses will look kindly on in years to come. Or that attention span thing will kick back in, and no one will care. But football has to start happening for that to begin taking effect.

3. No. This is a combination of business and theater as it is now. While I’m sure there will be some exceptions(ex-players who can’t afford their massive medical expenses down the road, or Jerry Jones, for not being as rich as he could be, or DeMaurice Smith, for being fired immediately following this debacle), I I think, in general, there will be little love lost between players and management, since there was no love to begin with.

4. Sure. Maybe they will have a new name, if they continue to look only slightly less a-hole-ish than their evil empire counterparts, but why would they leave such a powerful bargaining position? At the risk of exposing my own political position, I don’t know why anyone who works for any large company would prefer free agency over a union. The vast majority of organized labor organizations are not the Hoffa-slaying worst-case stereotypes we are instructed to fear. I can tell you with as much certainty about an alternate reality as possible that the players looking for reasonable and useful retirement benefits and greater protection from physical harm would not be better off fighting for their cause alone than they are when represented by their greedy union benefactors.

5. My hope is that this cheap theater between the privileged few and the earth-ruling fewer will eventually guide the invisible hand of football fan money toward competing sports entertainment, which will make a reasonable split of the rarified massive pile of profit seem like a good idea to all parties involved. The players can accept a rookie pay scale(great idea), and can play an 18 game season with 2 preseason games(fine by me), and the owners can pay out healthcare and retirement benefits sufficient to care for the freaks of nature who kill themselves for a decade or less of their youth to keep the robber barons flush with money while the rest of the world is drowning in debt. They can also stand to survive without the billion dollar extortion they apparently requested, since they don’t deem it necessary to provide any evidence that the refund is warranted by hardship.

I also hope the salary cap remains or rises only marginally, while the roster cap definitely rises. Teams need to be able to secure a larger talent pool through contract, while also reducing individual salary expectations. Very, VERY few people are worth $15 million a year, regardless of their profession. I think all of these players deserve good health and retirement benefits available to them, but almost none of them need the straight cash paycheck the skill starters and linemen demand.

The two sides should be able to compromise, and get back to doing what they do for a living. If they can’t, then LSU!!, LSU!!, and geaux VooDoo, and so on, and let the Republic of Texas v. Jones lawsuits begin.

1. Do you think the lockout will have an overall effect on the quality of the on-field product next season?
Depends on how long it lasts. Generally speaking, not enough of one for the casual football fan to detect.

2. Will the lockout cause a decrease in overall fan support? Will it hurt the league’s public image longterm?
I sure hope so. Fewer fans = more elbow room for me. No. I don’t hear anyone bellyaching about the 1987 strike.

3. Will hard feelings linger between players and owners after the lockout?
Sure, but they’ll sugar coat it in the name of comraderie.

4. Will the trade association formerly known as the NFLPA re-unionize when the lockout ends?
Of course.

5. What will be the most positive result of the NFL lockout?
Less chance of major injury due to fewer full contact practice sessions, fresher legs going into the regular season and hopefully some sort of disability compensation for the older players who truly need it.

 1. Do you think the lockout will have an overall effect on the quality of the on-field product next season?

Of course it will. There most likely won’t be a training camp, defenses will be severely behind offenses making for exciting games for the casual fan to watch but poor quality of football overall. Rookies will be behind the 8 ball the entire year and teams that are switching major schemes will be largely ineffective for probably half the season or more.

2. Will the lockout cause a decrease in overall fan support? Will it hurt the league’s public image longterm?

Potentially. CP mentions that there’s no bellyaching about the 1987 strike…a major difference, however, is the explosion of multimedia. If the NHL and Baseball strikes, which happened much more recently, are to be taken as examples…it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see fan support drop off significantly in the form of ticket sales, especially with the continuing economic downturn. Much cheaper to cheer a team at home on Direct TV or simply walk down to a local watering hole and watch the game.

3. Will hard feelings linger between players and owners after the lockout?

In a word….yes.

4. * Will the trade association formerly known as the NFLPA re-unionize when the lockout ends?*

Without a doubt.

5. * What will be the most positive result of the NFL lockout?*

Absolutely nothing. Poor football….poor public relations…not good at all. The only thing anyone could ever point to would be a guarantee on football not being interrupted for a set amount of years after it’s signed.

1.Do you think the lockout will have an overall effect on the quality of the on-field product next season?
2.Will the lockout cause a decrease in overall fan support? Will it hurt the league’s public image longterm?
3.Will hard feelings linger between players and owners after the lockout?
4.Will the trade association formerly known as the NFLPA re-unionize when the lockout ends?
5.What will be the most positive result of the NFL lockout?

1.Not really as long as they don’t just jump back into things.
2.It will hurt fans at first and some won’t come back but I think that it won’t last for too long for most.
3.Yes but winning solves everything
4.Yes
5.Besides the lost wages of both parties for messing up a billion dollar empire? People might watch other sports.

1. Some teams will be affected more than others. The Saints are ahead of the curve right now because of Drew’s workouts.
2. This depends on when it ends. If it shortens or eliminates the season, I’m gonna be pissed at somebody.
3. Again, this depends on how long it drags on.
4. Most definitely the NFLPA will reform. The players would be crazy to walk onto the practice field, much less a regular season game, without representation.
5. At this point, I really can’t see any positives.

Do you think the lockout will have an overall effect on the quality of the on-field product next season?
As long as things get resolved before August, I don’t think it will have a negative effect. We may not see as many rookies taking the field in week one as we have in the past, I suppose, but frankly I don’t think anyone will notice. There may also be a slight uptick in injuries to young players to begin the season, but that will be offset by less injuries to older ones.

Will the lockout cause a decrease in overall fan support? Will it hurt the league’s public image longterm?
As long as the actual season isn’t affected, everyone will forget about this come Monday night of week one. Casual fans pay very little attention to the offseason anyway, so losing some of it makes little difference to them. Hardcore fans who pay very much attention to the offseason love the game too much to be driven off by a labor dispute, though they will whine and moan about it to no end.

Will hard feelings linger between players and owners after the lockout?
Only as long as it takes for the first game check to clear. Fake smiles and uncomfortable silences will abound once again after this is all settled. Business as usual as far as player/owner interaction is concerned.

Will the trade association formerly known as the NFLPA re-unionize when the lockout ends?
Yes, but as a union between men, it will only be recognized in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Rhode Island, and Maryland.

What will be the most positive result of the NFL lockout?
Having the opportunity to monitor Reggie Bush’s tweets has been invaluable to me, and is a time I will always look back on with much fondness.

What will be the most positive result of the NFL lockout?

Not overpaying for Reggie’s services in the interim.

1.Do you think the lockout will have an overall effect on the quality of the on-field product next season?
To be determined. Depends on when the lockout ends and teams get to work out. Will definitely hurt the teams with new Coaches and staffs if it is later rather than sooner.
2. Will the lockout cause a decrease in overall fan support? Will it hurt the league’s public image long-term?
Fan support, probably already has. How much will depend on how much of the season we lose.
League’s public image. It sucked to begin with and this surely isn’t helping. Long term it shouldn’t make much difference because we have short term memory problems. That being said My parents still haven’t gone back to baseball after their last strike. My self just can’t stay away from my beloved Saints.
3.Will hard feelings linger between players and owners after the lockout?
On our team I don’t see that as an issue. Teams like the Panthers, with owners like Richardson and JJ I can see it, although it will be well disguised. Players like Brees will move on and strive to move above it. Others will be like petulant children.
4.Will the trade association formerly known as the NFLPA re-unionize when the lockout ends?
Yes, and I feel it must, for the good of the game. Some of the League’s points about keeping teams competitive, can only be maintained thru CBA and the Player’s union will be a necessary part of that. Will it be called NFLPA, and will Smith be in charge, who knows or really cares, from the fans perspective anyway?
5.What will be the most positive result of the NFL lockout?
Nothing! in fact if it doesn’t end fairly quickly it can only hurt the people, other than owners and players, whose lively-hoods are intertwined with the teams and dependent on the NFL season. Only going to do more damage to an already fragile economy.
If anything positive can come out of this may it be that a new CBA helps former players who need it because of the damage done them under less strict safety regulations. Also perhaps it will help control the escalating cost to fans by limiting the Rookies pay demands.