Labor Cloud Hovers Over NFL's Combine

INDIANAPOLIS -- They can all pretend it's business as usual, but those who do are in trouble. Coaches, GMs and draft prospects gathering here for the annual NFL Scouting Combine have largely been shrugging off the potential impact of the league's labor unrest on their individual situations at their own peril. The likelihood remains strong that the NFL is a week away from a lockout, and unless these brave faces are disguising the real plans of teams and players, a lot of people aren't going to know what to do if that happens.

To that end, there was this meeting about which you likely heard. It's an annual meeting, held each February at this very same Westin hotel, in which the league assembles all coaches and GMs for a briefing on league business. It does not, usually, take place with dozens of members of the NFL media assembled just outside the doors. But such in the state of the current NFL. A meeting in which the labor situation is discussed is going to get some attention -- even if it turns out to be real short on details.

"The message, basically, was that everybody's still hoping a deal will get done, but in case it doesn't, these are some of the scenarios that could play out," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said after leaving the one-hour meeting Thursday night. "So, more of an information session, really."

The collective bargaining agreement between NFL owners and players expires at midnight next Thursday, March 3. The sides spent the past week negotiating in the presence of a federal mediator but still remain far apart on a new deal. The players' union has long insisted that the owners are intending to lock out the players March 4 in the absence of a new CBA, and in case that does happen, it's important for the league to keep teams updated on what the rules would be.

"We're just trying to prepare for the draft and go through the normal preparations we would always be going through this time of year."
-- Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio In the event of a lockout, players would not be allowed access to team facilities, coaches or trainers. There would be no minicamps, no OTAs, no chance for the teams with new coaching staffs to install their new systems at a normally critical time of year. There would be no free agency, which means evaluating the draft prospects at this combine may take on even greater importance than usual, since the draft could be the only way teams have of improving their rosters for the next several months.

"Clearly, there are some things that would have to be addressed, but we don't have to address them now," Del Rio said. "We're just trying to prepare for the draft and go through the normal preparations we would always be going through this time of year."

Del Rio's sentiments were common among coaches, execs and draft prospects interviewed on this topic Thursday. But the teams had better hope that the message sent in Thursday night's meeting -- that the lockout is a very real possibility that will require a change in the way business is done -- hit home. Likewise, when the draft prospects begin meeting Friday morning with players' union leadership, they would do well to take this threat seriously. Some freely admit they haven't been paying much attention to the labor situation into which they're being drafted.

"Probably not as much as I should be," said Villanova tackle Ben Ijalana. "Right now I've been concerned about my rehab and finishing my degree."

"It's in the back of my mind a little bit, but I'm just concentrating on one thing at a time, and right now that's the combine," said South Carolina tackle Derek Sherrod. "I have confidence that it will be handled."

It'll be interesting to see to what degree Friday's union briefing shakes Sherrod's confidence. When presented Thursday with the idea that they would be drafted in an environment where they wouldn't be able to sign or attend a post-draft minicamp, most of the players made available to the media reacted with some surprise. A handful sounded more prepared than others.

"Not spend money," Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi quipped when asked what he'd do if drafted into a lockout. "No, but seriously, there's going to be a season next year. It just depends on when. Even if there aren't minicamps, I have a plan and I'm going to be doing my own training to make sure I'm ready when they say it's time to go."

Whoever drafts Carimi, assuming the draft happens during a lockout, will be happy to know they've picked a man who was thinking ahead and will do the best he can to get ready without their coaches' help. In fact, since teams wouldn't legally be able to have any contact with their players during a lockout, they more or less have to rely on their players' ability and motivation to keep themselves prepared.

"You just have to respond to the situation that's in front of you, and that's the same for everybody," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "Hopefully, you have the kind of players who understand we're going to play football next year and they've got to get ready to do it."

Lots of 'hopefullys' are flying around this place, though some teams sound like they've given more thought that others to the potential facts of a prolonged off-season work stoppage.

"We're dealing with hypotheticals, but we have a plan for every scenario," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. "We feel comfortable about all of our plans, and we're not going to have any excuses."

It could just be normal tough Rex Ryan talk, but if he's right, the Jets sound as if they're approaching the coming mess the right way. Those teams -- and players -- who aren't taking the threat of a lockout seriously could soon be in for an ugly awakening.