Tribal Warfare
04-01-2011, 11:22 PM
Chiefs players to have informational meeting (http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/01/2769703/chiefs-players-to-have-informational.html)
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The NFL’s last work stoppage in 1987 happened before some of the current Chiefs players were born. Even for those who were alive back then, the owner-imposed lockout is uncharted territory.
With that in mind, some veterans have called the players to Kansas City on Tuesday for an informational meeting on the labor situation and other matters.
The group is led by offensive linemen Rudy Niswanger and Brian Waters and linebacker Mike Vrabel.
“We want to make sure guys have an understanding of what the future weeks and months could look like,” Niswanger said.
“We’ll go through the options of what’s going on, talk about our plans as players during this time, address the issues guys are having, get some information to the guys about the specifics of what went on in (labor negotiations).”
It’s unclear how many players would attend the meetings, but organizers are expecting most of the Chiefs who live year-round in Kansas City plus some who don’t.
“So far, the response has been good,” Vrabel said. “We’ll know Tuesday. I don’t think we’re going to get 100 percent. I can promise you we’re not. I think we’ll get between 50 and 75 percent. That’s pretty good.
“I think it will be productive. I think as many guys as can make it will come. We’ll see what guys’ questions are, what concerns they have. We’ll try to get them answered.”
The Chiefs’ organized offseason conditioning program was to begin last week, but that’s become a casualty of the lockout. The meeting’s organizers will present some plans for group conditioning sessions.
“It would be nice to sit face to face and talk about the situation we’re in, why we are where we are and where we’re going,” said linebacker Andy Studebaker. “It’s just to give some guys a realistic look at what’s going on.
“We also want to be training together. We’re going to try to figure out a way to keep guys getting ready to play football. I think this will be good for us. We’ve already started making connections, getting guys training in the same place. Some groups of that are already happening, and hopefully we can get that bigger.”
The Chiefs may stop short of holding anything resembling a practice. Players lost their health insurance when the lockout began.
“It’s good to get guys together,” Vrabel said. “I don’t think we should be doing any kind of field work. If guys want to run and lift, that’s good. But when you put guys on the field unsupervised … that’s like walking a tightrope without a net. The running and the lifting is great, but when you get out there and start throwing and covering receivers, you’re really taking a lot of risk.
“Unfortunately, we’re not protected (with health insurance). We have to be careful. We have to work out smart. We want to maintain competitive balance with the rest of the league but also be careful in what we do.”
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The NFL’s last work stoppage in 1987 happened before some of the current Chiefs players were born. Even for those who were alive back then, the owner-imposed lockout is uncharted territory.
With that in mind, some veterans have called the players to Kansas City on Tuesday for an informational meeting on the labor situation and other matters.
The group is led by offensive linemen Rudy Niswanger and Brian Waters and linebacker Mike Vrabel.
“We want to make sure guys have an understanding of what the future weeks and months could look like,” Niswanger said.
“We’ll go through the options of what’s going on, talk about our plans as players during this time, address the issues guys are having, get some information to the guys about the specifics of what went on in (labor negotiations).”
It’s unclear how many players would attend the meetings, but organizers are expecting most of the Chiefs who live year-round in Kansas City plus some who don’t.
“So far, the response has been good,” Vrabel said. “We’ll know Tuesday. I don’t think we’re going to get 100 percent. I can promise you we’re not. I think we’ll get between 50 and 75 percent. That’s pretty good.
“I think it will be productive. I think as many guys as can make it will come. We’ll see what guys’ questions are, what concerns they have. We’ll try to get them answered.”
The Chiefs’ organized offseason conditioning program was to begin last week, but that’s become a casualty of the lockout. The meeting’s organizers will present some plans for group conditioning sessions.
“It would be nice to sit face to face and talk about the situation we’re in, why we are where we are and where we’re going,” said linebacker Andy Studebaker. “It’s just to give some guys a realistic look at what’s going on.
“We also want to be training together. We’re going to try to figure out a way to keep guys getting ready to play football. I think this will be good for us. We’ve already started making connections, getting guys training in the same place. Some groups of that are already happening, and hopefully we can get that bigger.”
The Chiefs may stop short of holding anything resembling a practice. Players lost their health insurance when the lockout began.
“It’s good to get guys together,” Vrabel said. “I don’t think we should be doing any kind of field work. If guys want to run and lift, that’s good. But when you put guys on the field unsupervised … that’s like walking a tightrope without a net. The running and the lifting is great, but when you get out there and start throwing and covering receivers, you’re really taking a lot of risk.
“Unfortunately, we’re not protected (with health insurance). We have to be careful. We have to work out smart. We want to maintain competitive balance with the rest of the league but also be careful in what we do.”