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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
NFL draft moving to May

The first Saturday in May has always belonged to horse racing. Next year, though, the ponies might have to share the spotlight.

Though actual dates are not firm, the 2010 NFL draft is scheduled for early May. If the league maintains its traditional time frame of conducting the draft 12 weeks after the Super Bowl, the draft would be held May 1-2. The Kentucky Derby, the first jewel in racing's Triple Crown, is Saturday, May 1.

"It's a function of the way the calendar falls," pointed out Greg Aiello, the NFL's senior vice president of public relations. "The Super Bowl is late this year . . . February 7, 2010.

"We are currently listing next year's draft as 'early May.' We have not set the specific dates yet."

The league also is exploring the expansion of the regular season from 16 games to 18. All indications, however, are that two of the four exhibition games would be eliminated, thus leaving the length of the 20-week season intact.

 

Posted by Ed Barkowitz @ 8:30 AM  Permalink | 9 comments
9
Comments   
Posted 09:20 AM, 06/17/2009
P Even
If they go to 18 games, the injuries will pile up.
Posted 09:28 AM, 06/17/2009
dseidman
Also, if they go to 18 games, things like 1000 yard rushers and 4000 yard quaterbacks will not have the same meaning. A running only has to get arounf 50yards a game to break 1000 yards. So it will be kinda screwed up a little. Plus the injuries will mount too.
Posted 09:43 AM, 06/17/2009
HandNik
Also, it allows free agents rookies and training camp bodies have two good weeks in a row (though usually only a half or one quarter), maybe make the team, and not be able to produce. Terrible idea.
Posted 09:53 AM, 06/17/2009
gordy
Most injuries come from training camp and pre-season anyway. In many instances a player is playing not to get hurt, which is exactly what happens too them. regular season injuries % are less then preseason. Also, a May draft is a terrible idea
Posted 09:55 AM, 06/17/2009
baxter81
You guys are crazy. More football is not a bad thing.
Posted 11:14 AM, 06/17/2009
libertyof76
No YOU are crazy. It will be more football with CRAPPIER players. Added two more full speed games will only lead to way more injuries. And it will just lead to more games where teams mail it in because they either suck or already have their playoff spot locked up. Its a horrible idea!
Posted 11:15 AM, 06/17/2009
knighn
In this case: yes, more football IS a bad thing. I think this dilutes the quality of the overall product. It is tough enough for STARTERS to get up and stay healthy week-in week-out for a full regular season (plus post-season games). The only way they should allow this is if they also expand the team roster by 7 (from 53 to 60) and expand the game-day roster from 45 to 50. Of course, they won't do this, so they also shouldn't expand the regular season from 16 to 18 games.
Posted 11:25 AM, 06/17/2009
knighn
To put it another way: this will effectively further shorten the careers of the players we would prefer to have longer careers. It won't be a 1:1 ratio, either. While it may seem like 8 years should only equal 9 years, the increased chances of injuries may make it seem more like 8 years = 10 years or more. The NFLPA shouldn't agree to this in the next CBA.
Posted 04:48 PM, 06/18/2009
jeffreyg61
The guys over at NFLDraftDayCountdown.com broke the news about the 2010 NFL Draft moving to mid-May on their website and Twitter feed on Monday morning. Then the Philly Daily News then "broke" this story 72 hours later without giving proper credit.
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Les BowenLes Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.

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Paul DomowitchPaul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.

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