Official Lockout Thread

[Kazkal]

NFL is Appealing acourse...

From Hobson

The downside for the players is a sixth-year player like Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph would be a restricted free agent and not unrestricted. The upside is there would be no salary cap.

Downside for Joseph,huge boost for the Bengals because they'd keep Joseph for one more year and I think he'd be alot more willing to sign a new deal if he was stuck playing for 1-2million that his RFA tender was.

Report: Judge Nelson lifts lockout

Posted by Mike Florio on April 25, 2011, 5:53 PM EDT

NFL Lockout Football AP

As expected, a ruling on the players’ motion to lift the lockout came Monday.

As expected, the ruling favors the players.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that Judge Nelson has issued a ruling in favor of the players. The NFL reportedly will seek an immediate stay of the implementation of the decision.

If the stay is granted, the lockout would not be lifted until, at the earliest, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issues a ruling in the case. The players surely would request expedited consideration of the appeal.

If Judge Nelson refuses to grant the stay, the NFL surely would seek a stay from the appeals court.

If neither court gives the league the stay, the doors will be forced open, soon.

In the short term, it’s good news for the fans. If the ruling stands, the season will occur as scheduled. And maybe folks will even give a crap about the draft.

Meanwhile, if the ruling stands the NFL will at some point have to come up with rules for 2011 regarding free agency and the salary cap, if any. Those rules likely would then be challenged by the players as antitrust violations.

All that said, there could be important exceptions and details and nuances in Judge Nelson’s written ruling. We’re in the process of getting our hands on it. We’ll then break it all down in order to best understand why the decision was reached, whether it will be susceptible to appeal, and what it all means to you (and us), the fans of football.

[ArmyBengal]

They will appeal and we wil lbe right back where we started from.

I do think it may make the sides sit down and talk things out at a quicker pace.

I could be wrong though.

[COB]

The owners lose in court again? Either they have the worst lawyers in the world, stretching all the way back to getting their asses kicked back when Boomer was lying down in front of buses, or they've engaged in a long unbroken pattern of greed-fueled illegal labor practices. I wonder which.

[ArmyBengal]

I wonder how hard it would be to trade both Carson and Chad before a stay is granted ??

I think they were told not to do anything at all in this area, but I was curious.

[Sea Ray]

The owners lose in court again? Either they have the worst lawyers in the world, stretching all the way back to getting their asses kicked back when Boomer was lying down in front of buses, or they've engaged in a long unbroken pattern of greed-fueled illegal labor practices. I wonder which.

I sure can't figure all this out. Apparently the players won this round because they're no longer a Union. If that's the case then who will the eventual CBA be with? Is it a fair labor practice to decertify just to win a few court judgements?

I agree with the judge that the players have more to lose here than the owners. They do risk irreparable harm but does that mean the owners broke the law?

If the lockout is over then who gets to decide what the rules will be? e.g. waiver wire, roster size, season's length, etc?

I wish the courts would stay out of it but unfortunately just the opposite is happening. It's going to come down to lawyers

[COB]

I don't think it will come down to lawyers. I think it will come down to economic reality. The players can't miss more than one season. They'll fold and take whatever they can get if they miss a whole season. Short careers, mismanagement of finances, self-interest over the interest long term for the class, fear, it all dictates that the players will never last past one season, if they can even take it that long.

The owners know it and are banking on it. They're prepared for at least a full season with no revenue. They started this whole thing with the opt-out, and there is a mountain of evidence that shows they knew it would lead to possible missed season(s) and the exact court activities we are seeing now. They prepared for the missed season and used the players' money to do it!

It's not a sad situation. It's not a sad commentary on sports that the courts are involved. It is a planned course of action by very rich very financially and legally sophisticated men who are out to crush some less rich men who are not financially sophisticated at all.

I don't feel sad when I watch a pod of Orcas snatch seals off the beach or when I see a dead groundhog in the ditch, and I don't feel sad when NFL owners wield their considerable power to pry a larger piece of the pie out of the hands of the players. It is just the nature of things and it's never going to change.

[ArmyBengal]

Nice orca analogy.

Working that into a thread about the CBA ??

Nicely done again !!!

Could we have gone in the direction of dead stripper instead of groundhog though ??

I'm probably just reaching...

[COB]

Could we have gone in the direction of dead stripper instead of groundhog though ??

Now, I would feel sad seeing a dead stripper in a ditch. "Any stripper's death diminishes me," something like that.

[ArmyBengal]

Could we have gone in the direction of dead stripper instead of groundhog though ??

Now, I would feel sad seeing a dead stripper in a ditch. "Any stripper's death diminishes me," something like that.

It's not like strippers have souls or anything.

What if the stripper was a meth head and had a grill full or doo doo brown teeth ??

[Sea Ray]

Unless the owners can grab a win somewhere in court I don't see the players losing anything here.

[Whur CHad At?]

Judge Nelson denies NFL motion to stay...

[COB]

Judge Nelson denies NFL motion to stay...

LMAO.

[membengal]

Judge Nelson denies NFL motion to stay...

LMAO.

Yup. NOW I am interested in what comes next, as the owners cannot safely do nothing or they are facing massive issues with the court, even as they appeal. They pretty much have to put something in place to allow free agency and other normal off-season moves.

[COB]

What if the stripper was a meth head and had a grill full or doo doo brown teeth ??

I'm sure her requisite heart of gold would override any addiction induced grotesqueries. But just a safety moment here, if you swerve to miss a stripper you could drive into oncoming traffic, or hit a tree. So just stay in your own lane and apply the brakes.

[HoosierCat]

Yup. NOW I am interested in what comes next, as the owners cannot safely do nothing or they are facing massive issues with the court, even as they appeal. They pretty much have to put something in place to allow free agency and other normal off-season moves.

They'll have a little time, I think. Even if Nelson is inclined to hold them in contempt for not obeying her order to end the lockout, contempt actions usually result in fines first before they get to actually jailing folks (Mike Brown perp walked...isn't that a pleasant image?).

However, judges tend to stick together and the longer the NFL tries to weasel out of doing what Nelson told them to do, the dimmer the view of any appeals court judges is likely to get.

[Kazkal]

...I just hope we don't lose Salary Cap and draft :< would kill alot of what I love about football.

[HoosierCat]

...I just hope we don't lose Salary Cap and draft :< would kill alot of what I love about football.

You wouldn't even notice the loss of the salary cap. For all intents and purposes, the league has been uncapped for years as far as the top-tier teams are concerned, since they have enough unshared revenues to game the system to avoid cap jail. If anything, it would level the playing field for the rest of the teams, since they could at least dump bad deals without being screwed by the cap hit.

As for the draft, it's become an overblown spectacle anyhow, and just because there's no draft doesn't mean that teams are any better judges of talent. No draft would just mean a bigger free agency pool (and certainly a bigger signing period) so there would still be plenty to obsess over.

[ArmyBengal]

...I just hope we don't lose Salary Cap and draft :< would kill alot of what I love about football.

No draft would just mean a bigger free agency pool (and certainly a bigger signing period) so there would still be plenty to obsess over.

There better be something to obsess over if there's no draft.

I mean what the hell would I do ??

**Waiting patiently with blade to wrist**

[COB]

As for the draft, it's become an overblown spectacle anyhow, and just because there's no draft doesn't mean that teams are any better judges of talent. No draft would just mean a bigger free agency pool (and certainly a bigger signing period) so there would still be plenty to obsess over.

If no draft does that mean college players can just go sign with whoever they want? If that were to be the case for several years, which I don't believe will happen, it would turn the NFL into the NCAA, with the best players all lining up to play for the top tier teams, and the rest of the teams getting what's leftover. If that happens, Bengals = Indiana Hoosiers, and Steelers and Patriots = Oklahoma and Ohio State.

One season with no draft would have minimal impact, I believe, other than to pit Jerra against Dan Snyder in a bidding war for the top 3 or 4 players.

[HoosierCat]

If no draft does that mean college players can just go sign with whoever they want? If that were to be the case for several years, which I don't believe will happen, it would turn the NFL into the NCAA, with the best players all lining up to play for the top tier teams, and the rest of the teams getting what's leftover. If that happens, Bengals = Indiana Hoosiers, and Steelers and Patriots = Oklahoma and Ohio State.

But who are the "best players?" Just because it becomes a free agency process instead of a draft process doesn't make it any easier to figure out who's a future pro bowler and who's a bust.

I do agree the lack of a draft would make it harder for the Bengals, but that's because they're a crappy organization no one is eager to play for. It's even conceivable that the end of the draft could force the front office to get a little more professional and put a bit more urgency into winning in order to effectively compete for fresh talent.

[HoosierCat]

Back on track...

The NFL told teams today to unbar the doors. Unless the 8th circuit grants the league's request for a stay today (and apparently it's possible they could rule this afternoon), team facilities will open at 8 am tomorrow. Players can come in and work out, check in with team medical staff, and coaches and players can talk and start setting up OTAs.

Still no free agency or trades, tho.

Official statement from the NFL on what teams can do here:

/>http://nfllabor.com/2011/04/28/nfl-statement-on-post-injunction-operations/

Says info on the start of the league year, free agency and player transactions forthcoming, possibly tomorrow.

[ArmyBengal]

UPDATE:

Owners got their stay and the lockout is STILL in effect...

At least for a little longer.

/>http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/29/report-owners-get-stay-of-injunction-lockout-back-on/

[HoosierCat]

Ahem...I would just like to say, in my best ArmyBengal voice...

f**k YOU OWNERS!!!!

[membengal]

it was fun while it lasted.

I hope Gruden got the playbook to runpee or Lefeavor before the stay was put back in place.

[ArmyBengal]

Ahem...I would just like to say, in my best ArmyBengal voice...

f**k YOU OWNERS!!!!

Nicely done and I concur.

it was fun while it lasted.

I hope Gruden got the playbook to runpee or Lefeavor before the stay was put back in place.

I have thought about that and can't envision ANY scenario where any player on any team DOESN'T get the playbook to their teams new rookies.

It's not allowed, but c'mon...