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MMQB Mailbag (cont.)Posted: Tuesday March 18, 2008 11:50AM; Updated: Tuesday March 18, 2008 5:24PM
THE COLLEGES TRY TO DISCOURAGE UNDERCLASSMEN PINING FOR THE NFL. From Matt, of Gainesville, Fla.: "I was wondering if non-draft eligible players work out for NFL teams at the schools pro day. I believe (former Titans general manager and current ESPN.com contributor) Floyd Reese wrote about the difficulty of gathering enough information on eligible juniors in a short time period. I wondered if including sophomores in pro days would put the teams a step ahead. The first year would be doubly tough, but lessen the load each year after that. Wouldn't it?'' Very interesting concept, Matt. You wouldn't get an argument from NFL teams on this. But college coaches would fight it to the death. They're already waging an uphill battle to get their third-year players to stay in college. But if you took, say, the top five sophomores on each Division I team and had them work out on the school's pro day, I'd think those sophomores clearly would be more tempted to turn pro after their next season. I don't think the NCAA or its coaches would ever permit it. By the way, it's true that teams cant get quite as good a look at juniors as they'd like. But every NFL team, when it scouts the big schools, has its ear to the ground on campus and is on the lookout for kids likely to bypass their final season of eligibility. GREAT IDEA, BUT ... From Ralph Webber, of Ellington, Conn.: "Wouldn't the NFL Network be the perfect place for Inside the NFL or at least something like it in collaboration with NFL Films?'' Absolutely, but remember this is a money game too. HBO paid between $8 million and $9 million last year to NFL Films for the rights to the highlights packages we aired on the show. Imagine if NFL Films czar Steve Sabol stands in front of the owners at the league meetings in two weeks and says something like this. "Gentlemen, you all know HBO has dropped Inside the NFL, and I've heard from people around the league how much they'll miss the show and our highlights. It's not too late to save the show. If every man in this room kicks in $300,000, we'll have the show on our air next fall.'' I can tell you that a few owners would say, "Well, OK, good idea.'' But the majority would say, "I'm not paying $300K so America can have one more cool highlight show on NFL Network.'' I'm not sure the show's extinct yet, but I think I'd be hearing a few rumbles if there was a good chance it would surface on someone's air next year. And it was not a good sign that NFL Films laid off 8 percent of its workforce last week. That's directly attributable to HBO dropping the show and NFL Network continuing to be at war with Big Cable. LUCKILY, I AM NOT A ONE-MAN WEB SITE. From Michael, of Lewisville, Texas: "Do you read all the questions submitted from the Web site or do you have a screener?'' Since this Tuesday column started, I've had three screeners -- Andrew Perloff, Bobby Clay and Dom Bonvissuto, my guy now -- who sift through 1,000 to 1,500 e-mails on Mondays and pick out 20 to 25 for me to answer. I pick the ones I like and voila: Tuesday magic! We may eventually shift to a system in which I try to read all the e-mail (if not by Monday night, then at least by week's end) because I feel bad when I run into people who say, "Hey, you get my e-mail about Matt Millen?'' YOU MAKE SOME GOOD POINTS. From Bob Williams, of Phoenixville, Pa.: "I'm not quite sure how you can portray being in the middle of a war zone as if it's some kind of fantasy camp experience. How can you recommend that people experience one if they can? War zones are not pretty places and wars are not good things. You were very carefully watched over and had very tight security around you. The soldiers out there fighting don't enjoy those benefits. You might want to ask the relatives of the soldiers what it's like to live without their loved ones for 12-15 months, not knowing if they will see them again. Let us know if they give the same recommendation. Or interview soldiers who have been injured or suffering from post-traumatic stress related illnesses and see what they have to say. "I admire you and the NFL players who went with you for the morale boosting trip, but instead of suggesting that people try to visit a war zone, try suggesting that people do their best to make sure we don't have any more need for them.'' Excellent e-mail. I deserved that. YOU GOT THAT RIGHT. From Tony Bianco, of Dayton, Ohio: "With the NFL Draft approaching and based on your trip, any chance you can lead an effort to get the sports media to stop insulting our troops by referring to NFL draft rooms as 'war rooms?''' Funny you mention that. I asked a couple of soldiers about just that thing, and I think they're actually honored to have all those comparisons between the NFL and the war. I went in thinking the exact same thing as you -- that soldiers would be offended by that. Maybe a lot of them are. But the ones I talked to were not.
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