Denver Native (Carol)
06-09-2010, 02:28 PM
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_15255727
It may be the oddest word in the NFL's day-to-day dictionary.
Offseason.
As in off and season, pinched together to make something that most players and coaches in the league may not really believe exists any longer.
"I don't think so, not like you'd think," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "I've always said I'm not always excited for it, but they pay me a lot of money to do my job and right now it's part of the job."
How that part of the job will look in the coming years, should the league and the NFL Players Association hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement in the coming months, is uncertain.
Coaches and personnel executives consider time spent on the field in the offseason invaluable. Players wonder if it's all necessary.
While the majority of the workouts are classified as "voluntary," most players assume they need to attend or risk losing their jobs.
"Here we haven't had any issues, but you do get those questions a lot from mostly younger players," said quarterback Kyle Orton, the Broncos' player representative for the NFLPA. "It is important that everybody knows and certainly the rules are there for our protection. The season is a long one, and the longer the offseason goes, the longer it gets. I don't know what's going to get done in the CBA, but we talked about it a lot at our (union) meetings and the offseason workouts were a big discussion point."
For now, a team's offseason program is basically a three-tier schedule.
There is the offseason conditioning program, in which players can work out, run and go through drills that enhance conditioning. There are no full offense vs. defense practices in this program. They have to conclude 10 days before training camp.
Then there are organized team activities, known as OTAs. This includes 14 full-team practices without pads, with no tackling and no full-contact drills allowed.
And there is a three-day minicamp, the only part of an offseason program that can be made mandatory by a team. Players can be fined for missing it. Teams must designate to the league which three days of the offseason program will be mandatory.
"I think more guys show up now than when I first came into the league," said Broncos linebacker Akin Ayodele, who is set to begin his ninth season. "Over time coaches have made it so that structurally it's not just one way. They've opened up what they're doing more.
"(For) a lot of old-school strength coaches, it's just one way and that's it. I think we see more strength coaches doing more things, actually think outside of the box and I think that's some of why more guys participate now. And I think that will only grow and increase, that variety, as we go down the road."
The Broncos wrap up the most intense part of their offseason program Friday, Saturday and Sunday with their three-day mandatory minicamp. Their conditioning program will continue after that.
This year, as part of the evaluation that came from the Broncos' 2-8 limp down the stretch last season, head coach Josh McDaniels and strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten have tried to adapt the workouts to specific position groups so, for example, defensive backs were not training the same way as offensive linemen.
Many people in the league believe, with the risk of injury always hanging over practices, future offseason workouts will likely emphasize conditioning more and contact drills less.
"It's all been discussed in some way," Orton said. "It's an important time for everybody, I think, because the league is so competitive. What it all will look like, I don't know. I'm not sure anybody does right now."
It may be the oddest word in the NFL's day-to-day dictionary.
Offseason.
As in off and season, pinched together to make something that most players and coaches in the league may not really believe exists any longer.
"I don't think so, not like you'd think," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "I've always said I'm not always excited for it, but they pay me a lot of money to do my job and right now it's part of the job."
How that part of the job will look in the coming years, should the league and the NFL Players Association hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement in the coming months, is uncertain.
Coaches and personnel executives consider time spent on the field in the offseason invaluable. Players wonder if it's all necessary.
While the majority of the workouts are classified as "voluntary," most players assume they need to attend or risk losing their jobs.
"Here we haven't had any issues, but you do get those questions a lot from mostly younger players," said quarterback Kyle Orton, the Broncos' player representative for the NFLPA. "It is important that everybody knows and certainly the rules are there for our protection. The season is a long one, and the longer the offseason goes, the longer it gets. I don't know what's going to get done in the CBA, but we talked about it a lot at our (union) meetings and the offseason workouts were a big discussion point."
For now, a team's offseason program is basically a three-tier schedule.
There is the offseason conditioning program, in which players can work out, run and go through drills that enhance conditioning. There are no full offense vs. defense practices in this program. They have to conclude 10 days before training camp.
Then there are organized team activities, known as OTAs. This includes 14 full-team practices without pads, with no tackling and no full-contact drills allowed.
And there is a three-day minicamp, the only part of an offseason program that can be made mandatory by a team. Players can be fined for missing it. Teams must designate to the league which three days of the offseason program will be mandatory.
"I think more guys show up now than when I first came into the league," said Broncos linebacker Akin Ayodele, who is set to begin his ninth season. "Over time coaches have made it so that structurally it's not just one way. They've opened up what they're doing more.
"(For) a lot of old-school strength coaches, it's just one way and that's it. I think we see more strength coaches doing more things, actually think outside of the box and I think that's some of why more guys participate now. And I think that will only grow and increase, that variety, as we go down the road."
The Broncos wrap up the most intense part of their offseason program Friday, Saturday and Sunday with their three-day mandatory minicamp. Their conditioning program will continue after that.
This year, as part of the evaluation that came from the Broncos' 2-8 limp down the stretch last season, head coach Josh McDaniels and strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten have tried to adapt the workouts to specific position groups so, for example, defensive backs were not training the same way as offensive linemen.
Many people in the league believe, with the risk of injury always hanging over practices, future offseason workouts will likely emphasize conditioning more and contact drills less.
"It's all been discussed in some way," Orton said. "It's an important time for everybody, I think, because the league is so competitive. What it all will look like, I don't know. I'm not sure anybody does right now."