http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/story/_/id/7202855/nflpa-stage-pre-draft-game-los-angeles If you're into the Draft and the entire draft process then this is huge news. The NFLPA is deciding to hold a college bowl game on January 21st in Los Angeles, featuring 100 of the best draft eligible college players, which includes underclassmen. The first game will be coached by Dick Vermeil and Tom Flores, and there will be a week of practice just like with the Senior Bowl and Shrine Game. I have some reservations about this news. First off, my biggest complaint is that they have decided to hold this on the same weekend as the East-West Shrine Game. They are essentially targeting the Shrine Game to kill it and I do not like that. I've been going to Shrine practices and the game itself for the last two years and the Shriners are a great organization that does what they do purely for charity. Where is this money from the NFLPA going? It had better be going to charity. I would hate for the Shrine Game to get effectively murdered for the sake of lining rich peoples' pockets. Secondly, this game, with the inclusion of underclassmen, will also eventually topple the Senior Bowl. There aren't going to be 100 juniors declaring for the NFL Draft. Last year there were about 50 of them. So the game should end up half underclassmen and have seniors. The juniors that come out each year generally do so because they are elite 1st or 2nd day prospects (1st, 2nd, 3rd round). The top seniors will naturally want to play in the same game as them, to compete against them and show that they're better. You're going to find a lot of seniors that have invites from the Senior Bowl and from this monstrosity of a game, choosing the L.A. monstrosity instead of the traditional game in Mobile, AL. Which again brings me back to the money, because this game is going to attract a lot of it. It's going to murder the Shrine Game, supersede the Senior Bowl, and I would hate for that to happen if the money is just lining some rich peoples' pockets and not going to charity. According to Tony Pauline, his scout sources have informed him that if the NFLPA invites juniors to participate, NFL scouts will not be there. This could make a few top seniors think twice about accepting an invite from the Junior Bowl over the Senior Bowl. However, I have two comments on that. For one thing, I'm calling the NFL's bluff. They may not send people that are officially on payroll (or they may, just incognito), but they'll have eyes on those practices and they'll be scouting those players. For another, I don't think even the official boycott will last very long before the NFL tries to smooth it over with the NCAA to where the NCAA won't throw a sh-t fit if scouts are present. For Barkley fans, the article does talk a bit about how this would give guys like Matt Barkley a chance to show their stuff to the NFL scouts in front of a home crowd. But, remember that Andrew Luck is going to be underclass as well, he's not allowed in the Senior Bowl. He could be in this game and you could have a Barkley-Luck Rematch built up, which would of course attract a lot more money. Personally, I think this NFLPA game should have stipulated that the only underclassmen that are welcome are those that are 4 years out of High School, which would make Barkley ineligible but so be it. I think there would be a better chance of getting the NCAA's approval for scouts to officially be there, if they did that.
I am just calling it right now.....a Draft Eligible Jr will suffer a significant injury and be screwed. Its bound to happen. That would F with their potential draft position, and their ability to return their Sr. year...course could be redshirted, etc....but dang, big risk it seems for something that fails outside of their college program. Kind of like limbo land for these Jr if injured.
Once a player has declared for the NFL Draft and filed his paperwork (which has to happen by January 15th) he can't change his mind and go back to school. It's not a possibility, to my knowledge. Once he files that paperwork he becomes a pro and is no longer eligible according to NCAA rules. Only players that have filed their paperwork can play in this NFLPA game. Of course a junior could get hurt in the game or in practice, but I'm not sure how that would be any different from a senior getting hurt. They're both screwed equally.
I'm not surprised that the NFL isn't exactly going bonkers over the idea. A "junior bowl" will significantly increase the workload of an already understaffed department in an already busy month. And I'm not sure the benefits are all that tangible, either. When you deal with underclassmen, you deal with limited tape quite often, and the 'intel' from a game like this is as likely to leave you between a rock and a hard place as it is to gain valuable insight.
I don't think I agree with that. I think NFL scouts and personnel would absolutely love to see juniors get into this kind of setting, specifically because of the limited tape. I think they'd also like to see the seniors get to go up against guys as physically talented and explosive as the juniors tend to be. But the NFL has long held the stance of not encouraging underclass to come out by giving them these kinds of opportunities because they don't want to piss off the NCAA. I don't know that the personnel departments are overworked or understaffed to be honest. The fact that the Draft is now at the end of April almost gives them too much time for their own good. The hubbub about this one is just going to be the fact that the NFL would normally want all its personnel people down in St. Petersburg for Shrine practices that week and now if Roger Goodell doesn't put a ban in place, they'll have to split up their staffs. But that's just perhaps some misguided thoughts on the part of the Junior Bowl people, who probably should have made Junior Bowl week the week after the Senior Bowl.
Stealing thunder from the Shrine game is bull****. There's no reason that greedy juniors likely going in the top half of the draft should be taking away from the experience and playing stage that seniors who are fighting for a chance to even be drafted are afforded via the Shrine game.
Coaches will attend the game that contains the higher rated draft picks b/c the team's vested interest would be greater. If you're thinking about drafting a specific Junior in round 1, there's no way you opt for the Shrine bowl and a guy you're interested in round 4 or later.
Unless Roger Goodell bans NFL personnel from showing up, which there are strong indications may happen. Teams will have to have indirect presence at those practices.
Long over due in my opinion ... Juniors kind of get shafted in not getting the same kind of exposure that seniors do. Timing of the game/week thought is ******ed
GBN update: Scouts banned from junior star game … The NFL has indicated that league personnel will not be allowed to attend the inaugural NFLPA college all-star game in Los Angeles in January. The Players’ Association game, scheduled for the 21st that month, is the first all-star game to which underclassmen will be invited, but the NFL has a long-standing policy of at least giving the appearance of being hands-off when it comes to underclassmen, although this may be pushing the envelope a tad as the players in question will have already declared for the draft.
