Can you feel the rumblings? It could be the start of something I have been pondering over for quite some time. Should the NFL create a minor league?
I read a piece over on ProFootballTalk.com the other day claiming that the momentum for an NFL developmental league is growing steadily. In an interview with the Associated Press, The NFL’s new V.P of football operations Troy Vincent was quoted as saying “I got more than 100 proposals, I think that shows it is worth a look.”
This, of course, is music to my ears but I think if the NFL is really serious about this, they need to make sure they do it right.
Before fate decided to lash out and cruelly inflict upon me that most dreaded of sporting injuries (torn ACL) I played a little Tight End for the Belfast Trojans of Northern Ireland. The sport has started growing over here in the UK at a tremendous pace and teams are sprouting up all over the country to compete in the Irish American Football League.
The team is made up predominately of amateur rugby players and quite a few American Ex-pats and we were always getting enquiries from other stateside residents, in the process of moving over. Upon getting to know a few of the American guys I found it crazy that they had no amateur leagues to play in back home. It became apparent that once you finish high school, in all likelihood you will never play another competitive football game again unless you go to college.
We had a Center who used to play college ball for Duke and even though he was about 40 years old, I have never seen a more natural born mauler in all my days. With one hand he would leave poor defensive tackles face down in the dirt while using the other to hold back blitzing linebackers like they were angry cartoon characters. He also served as our offensive co-ordinator and was able to call up some of the most complex trap plays, screen passes and blocking schemes you could ever imagine. He was far too brilliant to be plying his trade in an amateur league like ours but since he chose the academic side of things over the athletic in his younger days, the game had passed him by.
Of all the people that played college ball last year only 256 were drafted into the NFL. Of course many other undrafted free agents will be picked up and given a shot but the journey ends for a great many others as soon as they are finished in college. To me this seems like a monumental waste of talent.
One has only to look at Kurt Warner’s fairy-tale career to see that players can blossom later in life after working on their game and paying their dues in a different environment.
Kurt Warner washed out of the league and ended up taking a job in a grocery store. After clawing his way into the NFL’s old European developmental league he performed well and was promoted back to the “Big Leagues” where he went on to lead the 1999 Rams to a Superbowl title.
How many more Kurt Warner’s have we missed since the death of the developmental league?
I am a huge Denver Broncos fan and yet I know next to nothing about Brock Osweiler. Until recently we did not receive the college football games over here and so I never really got to see him play. It seems very disturbing to me that if the Broncos bluest of the blue chip quarterbacks, Peyton Manning, went down he would be replaced by a young signal caller who hasn’t played a competitive game for over 3 years.
Anyone who knows anything about Major League Baseball is well aware of the farm systems and minor league affiliates each team has, where they can temporarily send players who may be coming off injury or poor performance in an effort for them to recapture their form.
In soccer we’re always talking about match fitness or sharpness. All of the premier league clubs have reserve teams filled with young talent and any time they so desire to send down a superstar (who may have missed a few weeks) they are more than welcome to trot the player out, enabling him to blow off the ring rust.
It is my opinion that NFL teams need minor league affiliates so a young, developing quarterback like Osweiler, Matt Barkley or even Johnny Football can get into meaningful action, reading defenses and evading pass-rushers. Otherwise they will just be throwing the same passes in training over and again with no pressure whatsoever.
Now obviously there is always the worry of injury but wouldn’t coaches be eager to let their backups and third stringers get some playing time, so that when the time to call their number does come around you know the player is 100% ready. To use Denver as an example again, they have a couple players coming off torn ACL’s (Von Miller and Chris Harris Jr. most notably) and the team’s franchise LT Ryan Clady coming off a Lisfranc injury (Broncos Team SIA Profile). If they have been cleared to play then surely it is a good idea to get them into some game action even if it is only for a quarter or two so they can recapture their tenacity.
A league like this would need to happen during the NFL off-season so that we the fans no longer have to sit around starved of competitive football, organizing our fantasy drafts way too early and scouring the internet for any NFL related news, relevant or not.
Our enjoyment aside it would also give teams ample time to sign new players if unfortunate injuries were to strike in the minor leagues.
I think one of the keys for a minor league would be to make it as pass orientated as possible so we would limit any wear and tear for prospective running backs but still provide them with an opportunity to work on their blocking and pass catching.
Finally it would give the NFL the ability to tinker slightly with the rules and see what works and what doesn’t. Want to see what the PAT would be like from the 30? Fine! Try it out in the minors, if it works…bring it to the NFL. The possibilities are endless.
One thing I am certain of is that there are far too few opportunities out there for potential players, coaches, scouts and dare I say referees? Let’s create a league where the high school graduate can shine without lining the pockets of the NCAA, where the late blooming veteran can get a second chance at glory, where we can get our backup players some competitive action and provide a place for players coming off of injury to get some game time. It almost makes too much sense.
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
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