Shawne Merriman?

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[incognito_man]

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[incognito_man]

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I'm assuming that you're referring to the pair of Florio articles that analyze De Smith's comments, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't agree with parts of his analysis, though. The evidence that less teams are spending at the per-team limit doesn't provide any context - how far are teams under the cap, does this include the LTBE loophole, or any reasoning to explain that discrepency. The 2010 offseason isn't going to be a spending spree because there are restrictions put into place, and have been in place since 2006, that prevent teams from being able to take advantage of the uncapped year. This includes the 30% Rule, the Final Eight Plan, the change in the availability of tenders, and the allocation of guaranteed monies during uncapped years to capped years. There is even a restriction in the CBA - agreed upon by the owners and the Union - that allows the owners to opt out of two capped seasons, which they exercised.

Even though the players may have been ignorant to the workings of the CBA they have been playing under doesn't mean that the Union or the owners are as well. Florio spun the "lock-in" proposal to be the result of players putting pressure on the Union. But, if the Union was really that desperate, then why has the league (owners, really) rejected their proposal to negotiate a new CBA a year earlier than necessary? That tells me that the owners don't view January 2010 negotiations as a white flag, but instead as a tactical move in favor of the Union. The owners are much, much better prepared for a 2011 lockout than the players, and both sides know this. The rejection of negotiations now tells me that the owners think that they can get a better deal in 2011 before the drop-dead date than they can get now... which, if that's the case, doesn't signal to me that the Union is as desperate as Florio claims.

There is a big X-factor in here, though, that could change everything. The lawsuit against the NFL that is being allowed to go to the Supreme Court could change the negotiating power of the owners. But, if that were more than a low-risk, high-reward gamble by the NFL, I would think that Florio would have mentioned it in his analysis

[Boltstrikes]

I think one will be reached but it will be following the 2010 uncapped year. I think the owners are looking at a uncapped year like someone mentioned to fix some of the disparities in the cap rules and then come back with a hard rookie cap.
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On LT's Stiffarm;

[incognito_man]

Here's what a guy from our forum said:

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