Manne wrote:
It is way past time, NFL. Same goes for you, too, NFL Players Association.
Don't just take a stronger stance against drunk driving. Take a front-line role in a national crusade to eliminate a serious but preventable problem that can devastate lives, as we've seen. Show us real leadership.
There's no question the nation's most popular sports league and the players union, touted as a partner, can have an impact, given its tremendous influence. Millions watch. Millions can be affected. Now is the time to do something. The league and union can begin by changing an alcohol policy that is so weak a player can get arrested for DUI after playing on Monday Night Football, then take his place in the lineup the next Sunday. That happened this season with Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner, a first-time offender, but that's not an aberration with the NFL's policy. It's written to allow that.
This is not a quick-twitch reaction to the tragedy that occurred in Texas, ending the life of Jerry Brown, the Dallas Cowboys practice squad linebacker. But perhaps Brown's death -- a case of NFL-on-NFL crime, with the deadly car driven by Brown's best friend, college roommate and Cowboys teammate Josh Brent -- can add urgency to the need for the NFL and the union to attack drunk driving.
The union should listen to its members, like Steelers linebacker Larry Foote: "We have to get a hold of the alcohol. Guys won't want to hear that. But that's the problem." And Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel: "It needs to be taken seriously. It's a very serious deal. You just pray that sometimes we're going to realize it's not worth it."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell once suspended Adam "Pacman" Jones for an entire season for repeated brushes with the law, but no convictions.He banned Ben Roethlisberger for four games amid allegations of sexual misconduct, with no charges.
But when it comes to DUI, Goodell can ban alcohol from being served on team charter flights, but he can't suspend a first-time DUI offender under the personal conduct policy because the language in the collective bargaining agreement won't let him.
This is not about giving Goodell more power. DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA's executive director, should be just as aggressive in demanding that drunk drivers are benched for a first offense. But if it's true, as the NFL charges, that the players union has been resistant to new language and a tougher policy, then shame on the NFLPA.
A player busted with Adderall in his system will draw a four-game suspension for a first offense. A player found to have an above-legal level of alcohol in his system while driving will pretty much forfeit two game checks as a first-timer (up to a maximum of $50,000), and keep on playing. That's wrong.
Due process is important, but even with a conviction for DUI, a first-time offender won't get a suspension — which, for NFL players, is the best deterrent of all.
Consider the numbers: According to USA TODAY Sports data, 28% of NFL player arrests since 2000 have been for DUI charges. Eighteen players have been arrested for DUI in 2012 — more than double the seven cases in 2011. Since the research was first collected in 2000, the most DUI arrests in a single year, 20, occurred in 2006.
The increasing rate of DUI arrests suggests that support programs by the league and teams are not working, and personal responsibility is being thrown to the wind.
A four-game suspension, similiar to a PED violation, should be the minimum for first-time DUI offenders. A tougher alcohol policy would send the right message. And save lives.
NFL should be ashamed of its weak DUI policy
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2014/03/14
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It typically takes a few years to accurately measure the worth of an NFL draft pick, let alone an entire class. But if you happened to catch wind of the reviews coming out of the NFL Scouting Combine that wrapped up last week in Indianapolis – where the top three quarterback prospects didn't even bother to throw in the passing drills – this year's crop is supposed to be special.
Don't take my word for it.
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert calls it, "The deepest draft I've ever seen."
Colbert, with more than 30 years at his craft, is credible enough. And he's not alone.
Jason Licht, the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM: "Best draft I've seen."
Dennis Hickey, the new Miami Dolphins GM: "This draft class…best in a while."
Meanwhile, Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff surmises, "In my mind, it's a fantastic top 10 draft, and throughout the first round there are some marquee players … they are going to be the impact-type players in this league for a number of years to come."
Well now.
Guess you can't blame the GMs for getting a bit excited. These draft crops tend to run in cycles, and the experts contend that this one is heavy on skilled offensive players – perfect recruits for an increasingly wide open NFL.
No doubt, there's more buzz at the top of the draft than we saw last year, when a pair of big uglies, offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel, went 1-2.
This time, the Radio City Music Hall stage will be set for maybe three quarterbacks – Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles – to fly off the board within the top five picks. And in addition to a few soaring (and big) receivers, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (6-5, 266) is in the mix with freakish athletic skills supported by his electric 4.53-second blur in the 40-yard dash.
Yet for all of that, and for this NFL hype machine that will steamroll toward May 8, when the three-day draft begins, it's a bit early to draw conclusions.
When it comes to evaluating a draft, snap judgments can be hazardous to reality. Take Manziel. Johnny Football is an alluring playmaker who makes things happen. Brett Favre said he reminds him of a young Brett Favre – which can be interpreted in more ways than one. A young Favre threw a lot of picks. At Texas A&M, a young Manziel sometimes held onto the football too long. And I'm wondering if some of those scrambling college throws Manziel made will be completions in the NFL.
Time will tell.
Clowney comes with so many questions, too. To post his blazing time, he dropped 20 pounds. He had just 21 reps in the 225-pound bench press, which may raise issues about his strength. And he didn't participate in drills, opting to show that at his pro day. Clowney would have likely gone No. 1 overall had he been able to enter last year's draft, and many still rate him as the best player in this draft.
Yet with his dip in sack production (from 13 in 2012 to 3 last season), there are so many theories in play. He's surely a top-5 pick, but the comparisons against himself will persist.
Which Clowney is the real deal? Then there's Bridgewater, the Louisville quarterback. Mike Mayock has called Bridgewater the most "NFL-ready" passer in the draft. Yet that hardly means the quarterback-starved Houston Texans, picking No. 1 pick, will hitch their wagon to a prospect whose stock is slipping in some eyes while Bortles, the Central Florida quarterback, continues to rise.
The stocks on the top-rated quarterbacks could fluctuate for the next two months. Yet the comments last week – from a couple of well-respected, former quarterbacks-turned-analysts – resonated.
ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski declared that Manziel isn't even a first-rounder.
Ouch. Jaws can be hard in breaking down quarterbacks, but a third-round grade on Manziel? CBS analyst Phil Simms, meanwhile, opined that if Geno Smith were in this draft, he would be the top-rated quarterback. Smith, remember, slid to the second round of last year's draft – and had an uneven rookie season with the New York Jets – yet Simms would take him over Manziel, Bridgewater and Bortles.
How hot does the draft look if Simms' take is on point?
They say it's deep, which includes three stud offensive tackles expected to go in the top 15 and a bevy of receivers. It's a deeper draft, too, because there are more juniors than ever, 98, and when the best of the underclassmen take first-round slots, it pushes some talented seniors down the board.
And the drafts in this salary cap era often seem deeper because more rookies make the team than would have during the non-cap era, given the youngsters provide cheap, cap-friendly labor.
Still, just how deep this draft is – or how top-heavy – remains to be seen. For top-heavy drafts, the gold standard is 1989, when four Hall of Famers – Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders – were drafted among the first five picks. I'm not sure how "deep" that draft was, but it got off to a rousing start. Conversely, the draft slots for quarterbacks guarantees very little. In 1999, Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith went 1-2-3…and two were busts. Three years ago, four quarterbacks, led by Cam Newton, went among the top 12 picks – and the teams that picked Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder are still looking for their franchise quarterbacks.
Then again, within the top 11 choices, the 2011 draft also produced: A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, J.J. Watt, Julio Jones, Aldon Smith, Von Miller and Tyron Smith. Colin Kaepernick was picked in Round 2.
Even with the quarterback busts, the 2011 draft might provide a barometer for a comparison.
Let's just wait awhile before comparing. That's only fair.
Yet in this quick-twitch environment, someone already is projecting the 2015 draft.
"If this one is this deep, what are we thinking next year is gonna be like?" St. Louis Rams GM Les Snead said. "Is it gonna be like really