Giants NFL Opener On Wednesday

An NFL game on Wednesday? Yup! that’s exactly what’s going to happen when the NFL opens it’s 2012 season.

Traditionally, the first game of the season is played on a Thursday and features the defending Super Bowl champions. But the NFL has moved the game back one day, to Wednesday, Sept 5, 2012 @ 8:30 p.m. in Metlife stadium, to accommodate President Obama’s speech to the Democratic National Convention that Thursday evening.

In the 2012 NFL Wednesday opener, the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants willl take on a yet to be determined opponent. According to a statement on the Giants official website (giants.com), “The Giants’ opponent in the game is expected to be announced at the NFL meetings in March. The potential opponents include Green Bay (which would match the two most recent Super Bowl champions), New Orleans (which has played in the league’s opening game each of the last two years), Pittsburgh (a six-time Super Bowl champion) and NFC opponents Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington.”

An NFL Wednesday game is very rare; the last time one was played was Sept. 22. 1948, when the Rams beat the Lions 44-7.

Since 2004, the NFL has made it a tradition to honor the defending Super Bowl champs by featuring them in the first game of the NFL season. The defending Super Bowl champion has won every NFL season opener since.

I bet many of the big name NFL stars with expiring contracts are dreading the beginning of March. That’s when the Franchise tag period begins under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Starting on Monday, March 5, 2012, each NFL team has the option to choose one player with an expiring contract who will receive a one-year deal in lieu of a long-term contract or becoming a free agent.

That sounds like a good thing right? Well, under the new CBA agreement the rules for compensation have changed. No longer will the compensation be based on the average of the five highest-paid players at his position. Franchise players earnings will now be determined by a complex formula that uses various franchise factors over the previous five years. The end result – less compensation for franchise players in 2012.

I wonder if the NFL Players Association took this into consideration, and even informed the players about this stipulation, before agreeing to the new CBA last season.

Regardless, expect at least one potential NFL franchise tag player to consider holding out if he’s locked into a one-year deal.

There’s a lot of different possibilities, and that’s one of the possibilities — not showing up,” said Detroit Lions DE Cliff Avril to the Detroit Free Press. “That’s not the plan, obviously. But there’s a lot of different possibilities, and that’s definitely one of them.”

Some of the big names that could be tagged include the Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice, New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees, Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte, Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch, Cleveland Browns LB D’Qwell Jackson and Arizona Cardinals DE Calais Campbell.

Here is the franchise tag player compensation comparison (2011 vs. 2012)

compensation expressed in millions

manning irsay

What’s really going on between Peyton Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay?  For weeks we’ve been led to believe that Peyton was taking the horseshoe down from above his door and heading elsewhere in the NFL.  I guess we all believed this on the assumption that Irsay wasn’t willing to pay the $28 million bonus to Manning by the March 8 deadline.

But is this assumption wrong?  Do they, themselves, how this will end up? Based on the latest news relating to this subject, I’m sure they do.

Just the other day, the Twitter happy owner stated that he plans to meet with Manning in the next few days, and that’s he hasn’t shut the door to the possibility of Peyton remaining with the Colts.

“We can make it work if he wants to be here,” Irsay said. “We’d be excited to have him back and finish his career with us.

“I want him to be able to make the choice. We would love to have him back here if he can get healthy and we can look at doing a contract that reflects the uncertainty of the . . . healing process with the regeneration of the nerve.” But of course he wasn’t going to welcome him back until Manning accepted a restructuring of his contract.

One day after Irsay’s remarks, Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks reported that Manning underwent four, not three, neck procedures over a 19-month span. That he has bone spurs just above the spot of fusion surgery in September, and that he may require further fusion.  Banks stated that Peyton also tried to play late in the season, although he could throw only 20-25 yards.

What can we take away from the all this.

I think Irsay knew about this all along. That he made his statements to make Peyton look like the bad guy, knowing very well there was no way the two would agree.  I wonder if he had a discussion with Peyton’s reps, threatening to inform the media about Peyton ‘s omission of a fourth surgery.  Or was it just coincidence that the surgery news came one day after Irsay’s comments.

I mean, why on earth would Irsay take the risk of paying him $28 million knowing that even with doctor approval, Peyton’s throwing ability is in question.

By the way, Peyton’s injuries prevent him from removing the horseshoe that’s above his door.  But one thing is for sure, they”ll be no horseshoe in Peyton’s new place.