The NFL announced that teams can reopen their training facilities beginning Tuesday May 19 as long as they meet state and local guidelines. The analysts of the NFL Network’s popular morning show, Good Morning Football, are glad to have football back in some capacity, but some worry it could also create inequities between the teams.
Former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson says teams should begin preparations for the season in some fashion as soon as possible, while Peter Schrager contends that in the interest of fairness, the NFL should wait until all 32 teams can participate at the same level before activities resume.
“We got to do what we got to do,” Burleson said. “It (opening) allows us as fans something to talk about. Media personalities can report from the facilities and be able to talk to players.”
Burleson admits that the NFL reopening facilities will be more difficult than the NBA doing the same. Burleson then refers to a conversation he had with his brother Kevin Burleson, who is the player development coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I know it’s a little bit of a different dynamic,” Burleson said of comparing the two leagues. “But Kevin says they are going to try to have one-on-one sessions between a player and a couch for an hour. That’s two people on the court at the same time and the next player comes in. It’s a lot easier in the NBA because you only have 12 to 15 guys. In the NFL there are 53 guys just on the roster, not counting the free agents who come in this time of year and then the practice squad. The NBA is trying any way it can just to get people in the building. As long as we (the NFL) can just get people in the building, it is such a good sign that things are headed in the right direction.”
While Schrager agrees that opening NFL facilities is a positive he worries that will create inequities between teams that can meet and those who can’t.
“I think about the inequality of it though,” he argues. “A team in New Jersey can’t get into their facility while a team in Denver might be able to. Are we throwing that (fairness) out the window just to, as Nate said, get bodies in the building?”
Kyle Brandt, co-host of Good Morning Football, agrees with Burleson’s view.
“I’ll take the custodial staff in the building to clean the floors,” he said. “It’s baby steps at this point.”
Brandt also encourages viewers to read Peter King’s Football Morning in America column where he interviews new Carolina Panthers’ head coach Matt Rhule. When asked how he is getting through the current situation, Rhule replied, “We just got to figure it out, bro.”
“He (Rhule) has two new coordinators and a quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater who hasn’t even met his receivers,” Brandt said. “He has to address his team through a six minute video on his IPhone. That’s the world we are living in. They have to play Brady and Gronk in the Bucs’ home opener with all these unknowns. I understand trying to be fair and equal to all 32 teams, but some teams like the Panthers need every advantage they can get whether it’s just doing pushups or having lunch together. Football, God willing, is coming and any (practice) availability whatsoever you have to give them.”
