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http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/a...but-the-league-has-a-surprising-no-1-concern/
While much of the chatter surrounding the recent NFL owners' meeting in Carolina focused on Mark Davis's dalliances with Las Vegas, and awarding three new Super Bowl host cities, there was plenty of talk once again about London. Chances are you didn't hear about it. But it was going on.
Although it hasn't been receiving much public attention recently, with the owners voting to allow multiple teams to relocate to Los Angeles a few months back and with the stadium situations in Oakland and San Diego still very much in the news, don't be fooled: The movement to London is alive and well.
It was a major topic of conversation among the owners last week, according to numerous league sources. Mark Waller, who heads the NFL's International arm, gave a detailed progress report and presentation to the owners at that meeting that led many teams to come away more convinced than ever that this is something Park Avenue very much wants to happen.
According to those privy to the presentation, there was discussion of some of the obvious potential ongoing hurdles -- how players will be compensated, the ability to recruit players and coaches there -- but those seem like labor issues that can be fairly easily mined. Sources said the NFL continues to fine tune how it will approach these quandaries, but they are not considered to be deal-breakers to any degree. I could see a guy like Tom Coughlin being willing to coach a team in London right now. There are only 32 of these jobs and only 32 of these teams, and there will be enough money over there to get players and coaches to come.
Believe it or not, what the league is most concerned about sorting out lately is how it would handle a London franchise once it inevitably reached a playoff round and faced a team from beyond the Midwest. Yes, that's how far down the line the NFL is in addressing London contingencies, and these are the types of things owners are being asked to consider as further preparations are made toward moving a team to England.
Will the NFL soon have a team in London? USATSI
Nothing is imminent; it's all still years away. But more regular season games being played over there every year, and teams now aren't guaranteed a byewhen they return to the U.S. The games in London are being played within a short frame of time to replicate the feel of a season over there, and more stadiums are becoming involved in hosting the games. It's easy to see the direction the wind is blowing at the league office.
And it remains a riddle how to handle scheduling and broadcasting should a London team hypothetically have to go to somewhere like San Diego or San Francisco during a playoff round. How can you accommodate both clubs in terms of rest and travel during a period of the season in which no bye is possible? Do you build in buffers to play games on a Tuesday or Thursday, say, if the two teams involved prefer that? How amenable would the networks be to such a fluctuating situation?
There would obviously be some significant logistical obstacles for both teams involved, as well as whoever is broadcasting the game, and the NFL is considering how to best sort through that from a competitive standpoint. Let's face it, every extra 12 hours off is a huge factor come the postseason, and the schedule needs to be as fair and balanced as possible.
"That was the thing they seemed to have the most difficulty figuring out," said one team exec who closely watched the session. "They aren't sure how to handle that from a competitive standpoint, but judging from how Waller spoke about, it's definitely something they are spending a fair amount of time working on."
So, yeah, if owners are being briefed on matters that seem as esoteric and potentially remote as this (a London vs. L.A. hypothetical playoff game), then it's safe to assume they are trying to plan for everything as the march across the pond intensifies the deeper we get into this decade. As for how to solve this riddle, maybe you give the road team the option of playing the game a few days sooner or later than the norm? The teams I spoke to guessed maybe something like that eventually carries the day, but rest assured, there will be plenty more work done behind the scenes preparing and planning for it.
While much of the chatter surrounding the recent NFL owners' meeting in Carolina focused on Mark Davis's dalliances with Las Vegas, and awarding three new Super Bowl host cities, there was plenty of talk once again about London. Chances are you didn't hear about it. But it was going on.
Although it hasn't been receiving much public attention recently, with the owners voting to allow multiple teams to relocate to Los Angeles a few months back and with the stadium situations in Oakland and San Diego still very much in the news, don't be fooled: The movement to London is alive and well.
It was a major topic of conversation among the owners last week, according to numerous league sources. Mark Waller, who heads the NFL's International arm, gave a detailed progress report and presentation to the owners at that meeting that led many teams to come away more convinced than ever that this is something Park Avenue very much wants to happen.
According to those privy to the presentation, there was discussion of some of the obvious potential ongoing hurdles -- how players will be compensated, the ability to recruit players and coaches there -- but those seem like labor issues that can be fairly easily mined. Sources said the NFL continues to fine tune how it will approach these quandaries, but they are not considered to be deal-breakers to any degree. I could see a guy like Tom Coughlin being willing to coach a team in London right now. There are only 32 of these jobs and only 32 of these teams, and there will be enough money over there to get players and coaches to come.
Believe it or not, what the league is most concerned about sorting out lately is how it would handle a London franchise once it inevitably reached a playoff round and faced a team from beyond the Midwest. Yes, that's how far down the line the NFL is in addressing London contingencies, and these are the types of things owners are being asked to consider as further preparations are made toward moving a team to England.
Will the NFL soon have a team in London? USATSI
Nothing is imminent; it's all still years away. But more regular season games being played over there every year, and teams now aren't guaranteed a byewhen they return to the U.S. The games in London are being played within a short frame of time to replicate the feel of a season over there, and more stadiums are becoming involved in hosting the games. It's easy to see the direction the wind is blowing at the league office.
And it remains a riddle how to handle scheduling and broadcasting should a London team hypothetically have to go to somewhere like San Diego or San Francisco during a playoff round. How can you accommodate both clubs in terms of rest and travel during a period of the season in which no bye is possible? Do you build in buffers to play games on a Tuesday or Thursday, say, if the two teams involved prefer that? How amenable would the networks be to such a fluctuating situation?
There would obviously be some significant logistical obstacles for both teams involved, as well as whoever is broadcasting the game, and the NFL is considering how to best sort through that from a competitive standpoint. Let's face it, every extra 12 hours off is a huge factor come the postseason, and the schedule needs to be as fair and balanced as possible.
"That was the thing they seemed to have the most difficulty figuring out," said one team exec who closely watched the session. "They aren't sure how to handle that from a competitive standpoint, but judging from how Waller spoke about, it's definitely something they are spending a fair amount of time working on."
So, yeah, if owners are being briefed on matters that seem as esoteric and potentially remote as this (a London vs. L.A. hypothetical playoff game), then it's safe to assume they are trying to plan for everything as the march across the pond intensifies the deeper we get into this decade. As for how to solve this riddle, maybe you give the road team the option of playing the game a few days sooner or later than the norm? The teams I spoke to guessed maybe something like that eventually carries the day, but rest assured, there will be plenty more work done behind the scenes preparing and planning for it.
