NFL Capsules: Heavy metal band featuring Cowboys puts out EP

DALLAS — Now that the Dallas Cowboys’ season is over, it’s time for some of them to focus on rock ‘n’ roll.

The heavy metal band Free Reign — which includes three Cowboys’ offensive linemen — released its EP "Tragedy" on Tuesday. The five-song EP is available at stores, on music Web sites and on iTunes.

The band is made up of Marc Colombo on guitar and vocals, Cory Procter on drums, Leonard Davis on bass and non-football player Justin Chapman on guitar. The band says its music is heavily influenced by acts such as Metallica and Killswitch Engage.

The EP features the single "Rise Up," which was debuted during a Cowboys game telecast in September.

League News

NFL heads toward labor showdown

NEW YORK — Rich, powerful and more popular than ever, the NFL gets closer to a doomsday scenario every day.

Without a deal in the next five weeks to preserve the labor peace that has lasted since a bad month in 1987 — anybody remember scab football? — next season will have no salary cap. That means richer teams such as the Redskins and Patriots will be able to far outspend clubs such as Jacksonville and Buffalo for free agents, while the Jaguars and Bills might try to pinch pennies to stay in business.

And if no deal can be reached next season, that uncapped, maybe less competitive year will be followed by no NFL at all in 2011. Stay tuned as the nation’s most lucrative and most watched sport heads into the Great Unknown.

"It looks very bleak to get a (deal) done before March of this year or the beginning of the new NFL season," says Titans center Kevin Mawae, president of the players’ union.

"We’re going to continue to try. ... Until we come to some terms of what’s really important and what are the big issues in this deal it’s going to be tough to get something done.

"The players are more united than ever before, and we’re preparing for a lockout."

And getting antsy about the future.

"From our standpoint right now, you not only prepare for the worst, that seems like the direction it’s headed," Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch says. "If players aren’t prepared, if guys are in bad financial situations, it hurts our leverage as players."

The main issue, of course, is money — despite soaring TV ratings, an average franchise value of $1 billion and even a storybook Super Bowl featuring the hard-luck Saints and MVP Peyton Manning’s Colts.

The NFL owners in 2008 opted out of their contract — called the collective bargaining agreement, or CBA — and have asked for significant givebacks from the players, including a reduction in salaries of nearly 20 percent.

That works out to about $800 million; overall NFL revenues are estimated at $6.5 billion. Those owners say the agreement that will expire next year is far too favorable for the players, who get about 60 percent of the revenues actually used to determine the salary cap.

"What we’re trying to accomplish here is to have an economic system ... that will allow us to look back 15 years from now and say that we, meaning the clubs and the players, were creative and thoughtful and laid the groundwork for the game to continue to grow," says NFL executive VP and chief counsel Jeff Pash.

"If we have the right type of structure, it will lead to better salaries and benefits for current and retired players, and a better and healthier game for fans."

The alternative?

A work stoppage similar to 1982 and 1987, when the union went on strike. Under labor law, the union has the right to strike and management has the right to lock out.

"Our focus is on getting a deal and we will have a deal," Pash says. "The only question is when."

For most of those years since the two sides reached the contract that brought the current free agency and salary cap system, mention of an uncapped season was heresy.

Now, it’s nearly upon us. It would mean:

— Players would need six years in the league before becoming unrestricted free agents rather than four. Some veterans with less than six years in the league would become restricted free agents, meaning their current club will have the right to match an offer or be compensated for losing them.

— Each club already has one transition player tag and would get a second. A transition player must be offered at least the average of the top 10 salaries for his position during the previous season, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.

— The eight clubs that made the divisional playoff round this year will have limits on signing unrestricted free agents under what’s called the Final Eight Plan.

— The 32 teams would be relieved of their obligation to fund numerous player benefit programs, including 401Ks, player annuity, severance pay, and tuition assistance. That would be a reduction of more than $7 million per club.

— A supplemental revenue-sharing plan will be scrapped by the league, which says about $100 million is involved; the union claims it’s closer to $200 million. That’s not a huge sum in the scheme of NFL finances, but would still hurt clubs on the financial bottom rung.

— There would be no salary floor or salary ceiling. In 2009, the cap was $128 million and the floor was $111 million.

"I think the fans will see a different system with no limit on the high end or the low end, and on what teams can spend," says Falcons president Rich McKay. "Each team will have to decide how they will operate."

Does that mean the NFL salary structure will resemble baseball’s rich get richer-poor get poorer model — at least for one year?

No, says Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based consulting company Sports Corp. Ltd.

"It won’t happen, at least now, because of the competitive balance rules that are in effect during the uncapped year," Ganis says. "You will not see a baseball type of hoarding of the all-stars occur in the NFL, certainly not this coming season."

For one thing, the crop of players available won’t be as substantial as in previous, capped seasons, with the likes of Shawne Merriman, Miles Austin, Elvis Dumervil, Owen Daniels, Brandon Marshall and DeMeco Ryans now becoming restricted free agents. And, as Mawae notes, if NFL owners are looking to save money on player costs, here’s their opportunity.

Agent Tom Condon, who counts both Manning and Saints quarterback Drew Brees among his clients, agrees that that, overall, less money will be available.

"The market has been gutted from not only a large number of players being unrestricted, but some high quality players," Condon says. "There is the Final Eight Plan ... taking 25 percent of the teams and having them not participating totally in free agency.

"Over the past three years, 90 percent or so of the NFL teams have not, on average, spent up to the salary cap. Now you have no floor, so you have teams that were required to spend to the floor who don’t have to participate or can participate on a lower level. I think you may see teams on selected players spend a lot of money and have a lot less participation overall than usual."

Which also might lead to no bidding wars when free agency begins March 5, or to only a few teams participating for a minimum number of free agents.

That’s good news for the low-income teams. With no minimum team salary, no longer are small-market franchises going to be forced to spend close to what every else does. Instead, they will spend what they can afford.

"That is the big issue here," Ganis says. "The NFL has had a mandate through its CBA where they force teams to pay beyond their means — some of these owners are not making money. This last CBA was so unbalanced that you have a meaningful number of teams that in any given year could be on the negative side on a cash basis."

Probably not so in 2010.

And in 2011? Well, ever since DeMaurice Smith was elected NFL Players Association executive director in March, the players have been warned to prepare for a moment when the league stopped playing.

"Until we sign a deal, we have a responsibility to the players of the NFL to provide them with the best counsel for how to prepare for the worst," says George Atallah, Smith’s top assistant. "From our perspective, we want a deal before the uncapped year to avoid any unintended consequences to hurt the overall product."

But time rapidly is running out, and it’s a brave new world the NFL appears to be entering. Condon warns that what comes beyond 2010 is even more critical for the sport than what occurs this year.

"An uncapped season is not as important as what happens after that," he says. "A lockout or decertification by the union? Nobody really knows."

Some effects of an uncapped NFL season in 2010:

— Players would need six years in the league before becoming unrestricted free agents rather than four. This includes plenty of stars among the 212 players who would be impacted, including Shawne Merriman, Miles Austin, Elvis Dumervil, Owen Daniels, Brandon Marshall and DeMeco Ryans. They will become restricted free agents, meaning their current club will have the right to match an offer or be compensated for losing them. Any player with three, four or five years in the league whose contract is up would become a restricted free agent.

— There would be no salary floor or salary ceiling. In 2009, the cap was $128 million and the floor was $111 million.

— Two players on each team, instead of one, would get a transition tag. A transition player must be offered at least the average of the top 10 salaries for his position during the previous season, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.

— The eight clubs that made the divisional round this year (New Orleans, Minnesota, Dallas, Arizona, Indianapolis, San Diego, Baltimore and the New York Jets) will have limits on signing unrestricted free agents. Called the Final Eight Plan, the number of players those teams lose to free agency will determine how many they can sign from other clubs. The Colts, Jets, Vikings and Saints will have other obstructions.

— A supplemental revenue-sharing plan will be scrapped by the league, which says about $100 million is involved; the union claims it’s closer to $200 million. That program involves the top 15 teams by revenue placing funds into a pool from which many of the lower income clubs can draw. It does not include television money or box office revenues. Nine franchises qualified to receive funds last year, although the league has not identified them.

— The 32 teams would be relieved of their obligation to fund numerous player benefit programs, including 401Ks, player annuity, severance pay, and tuition assistance. That would be a cost reduction of more than $7 million per club.

-- Barry Wilner

NFL brain injury committee meets for first time

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood jokes that he can’t remember how many concussions he’s had.

Then he gets serious, recalling the damage he’s absorbed since he first started playing football when he was 12.

"What have I done?" Youngblood said. "I have to ask that question. You just don’t know. We haven’t defined it completely yet. That’s one of the issues we’re talking about here today."

Youngblood spoke during a break from the first meeting of the Mackey-White Traumatic Brain Injury Committee on Tuesday. The committee was formed by the NFL Players Association and includes professional athletes, past and current NFL players, doctors and researchers.

The group wants to open a dialogue on brain injuries in professional football, discuss the latest research and begin developing recommendations to keep players safer.

The committee was named in honor of two Hall of Famers — tight end John Mackey, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and defensive lineman Reggie White, who earned the nickname "The Minister of Defense" and died at 43 after retiring from the NFL.

"It’s something very close to my heart," Youngblood said. "I became much more aware of it as I was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and got to know John Mackey more than just a guy at a cocktail party, and to see how ravaging brain injury and brain trauma can be."

Congress recently questioned NFL players and doctors about football head injuries. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell testified in October about his league’s concussion policies.

Since then, the league has instituted stricter return-to-play guidelines for players showing concussion symptoms; required each team to enlist an independent neurologist as an adviser; entered into a partnership with Boston University brain researchers who have been critical of the league’s stance on concussions; and conducted tests on helmets.

"You can never take the collision aspect out of the game," Youngblood said. "There’s just no way, and in fact, that’s something we kind of enjoy."

Dr. Thom Mayer, medical director of the NFL players’ union, is serving as the committee co-chair along with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Sean Morey.

"This committee will serve as a ‘superconductor’ of information in order to drive rapid and meaningful progress in concussions," he said. "We have assembled a world-class group of scientists to facilitate our work, which will benefit not only NFL players, but all those involved in all contact sports."

Chris Nowinski, a former college football player and professional wrestler, knew something was wrong after his sixth concussion, at least that’s how many he could remember.

"I was blacking out in the ring and never was educated enough to know that was a problem," he said. "That led to ongoing memory problems and headaches. ... I wasn’t getting better."

After three years of wrestling, he retired and began learning more about head injuries in professional sports. Nowinski is now president of the Sports Legacy Institute and co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University. He also is serving on the committee.

"We’re just getting everyone’s opinions to what we should be doing and how we should do it," Nowinski said.

Nowinski also has been soliciting athletes to donate their brains to research after their deaths, which will be studied at Boston University. He said 250 professional and amateur athletes have agreed, including 60 retired NFL players and four actives ones.

"The message is really giving back to the game," Nowinski said, "giving back to your former teammates."

-- Brian Skoloff

NFL considers use of echocardiograms

NEW YORK — The NFL’s medical committee is discussing giving players echocardiograms in the wake of Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams’ death this month.

Adams died of an enlarged heart, something an echocardiogram can detect. NFL teams already give extensive physicals to players. Stress testing and echocardiograms are conducted when the results of the physical, an EKG and family history indicate the need.

NFL medical people and outside experts who sit on the league’s cardiovascular health committee previously have discussed making echocardiograms standard. They’re doing so again, pending the final pathologists’ report on Adams.

But some cardiologists warn there could be risks, such as misdiagnoses, to making echocardiograms standard in a physical exam.

Childress says he won’t give Favre a deadline

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Brett Favre hinted he’ll decide about next season sooner rather than later, though with him that’s famously been subject to change.

Even if the Minnesota Vikings must switch quarterbacks again, though, they’re willing to wait for Favre’s word.

Coach Brad Childress said Tuesday he doesn’t have a deadline for Favre’s decision, insisting the team can plan for both possibilities despite an obvious preference for early resolution.

"State of flux is generally not good. It’s usually uncomfortable, but sometimes it pushes you to create as well," Childress said.

Childress spoke in the morning with the 40-year-old quarterback in the training room, where Favre was getting treatment on the left ankle he sprained during a hard hit in Minnesota’s loss in the NFC championship game at New Orleans.

"Pretty beat up after that game," Childress said. "We didn’t really have any meaningful conversation about what’s next."

Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels were supposed to compete for the spot, until Favre came after training camp in mid-August and set the scene for the storybook season for him and the Vikings that ended painfully short of the Super Bowl.

The Vikings won’t pick until 30th in the first round of the draft, so it will again be difficult to find viable alternatives outside the organization.

"We’ll just see what’s there, and I’m sure we’ll ably man that position one way or the other," Childress said.

Rosenfels is still under contract, and Jackson will be a restricted free agent if there’s no new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the union as expected. Assuming that happens, there won’t be a salary cap, either.

"Really, I think our numbers will be just fine if he comes back or he doesn’t come back," Childress said. "I don’t know. It’s up to him, but it’s not a deal where I need to put a gun at his head and say, ‘I need to know in a week, two weeks, two months."’

As they cleaned out their cubicles in the locker room on Monday, the consensus from players was that Favre can take his time too.

"He’s had his share of training camps," defensive tackle Kevin Williams said, asked whether he would care if Favre were to skip the two-a-day grind again. "He still came out and had a great year, and it wasn’t even a factor. So it really won’t matter at all to me."

Childress said he wouldn’t be surprised by Favre’s decision either way, whether retirement or a return for a 20th NFL season.

"He’s earned his time to be able to step away from it and talk to his family and figure out what he wants to do," the coach said. "You have to heal mentally and you have to heal physically. That’s a process for all of us, stepping away from it."

Childress also took responsibility for the costly too-many-men-in-the-huddle penalty following a timeout that preceded Favre’s interception in the fourth quarter against the Saints, with the Vikings driving for the go-ahead field goal. Fullback Naufahu Tahi was the extra player, originally told he’d be in. The coaches were considering two different formations, but the final decision to go with a three-wide set didn’t reach Tahi.

"It’s an error in communication, and it all comes back to me not having it over communicated," Childress said.

Once a psychology major, Childress has been using that degree this week to try to lift sagging spirits, following Sunday’s loss to the Saints that ranks near or at the top of the list of this franchise’s storied history of devastating defeats.

"It’s a bitter pill to swallow," Childress said. "I don’t know that it completely goes away right away. As the leader of this football team, it’s important from my standpoint to point out to our guys all the positive things that we accomplished this year."

On other subjects:

— Childress said the team will likely conduct an in-depth study of running back Adrian Peterson’s fumbling problem to see if there are mechanical changes that can be made with his arm position.

— Childress said the Saints switched from man-to-man to a two-safety-deep zone coverage at the last second before Favre’s fateful interception. He said Favre’s intended receiver, Sidney Rice, was the third or fourth option on that play.

Vikings CB Griffin needs major knee surgery

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin will have surgery to repair an injured left knee and might not be ready for the start of next season.

Griffin was hurt covering the overtime kickoff in Minnesota’s loss at New Orleans in the NFC championship game. Coach Brad Childress said Tuesday that Griffin will have surgery within the next week, once some of the strength and range of motion returns in his knee.

Griffin led the Vikings with four interceptions this season and helped stabilize the secondary while fellow starting cornerback Antoine Winfield missed nearly two months with a broken right foot.

Childress didn’t offer specific details of the injury, but said Griffin faces a recovery time of six to nine months. That puts his availability for training camp and the early part of next season in doubt.

"Everybody heals a little bit differently, so he’ll be right on the edge I’m sure," Childress said.

Another defensive starter, middle linebacker E.J. Henderson, is uncertain for next season as well. Henderson badly broke his left thigh bone on Dec. 6, and he’s still on crutches.

Raiders hire Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders hired Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator on Tuesday, hoping the man who helped develop Joe Flacco in Baltimore can do the same for JaMarcus Russell.

Jackson is the second new assistant hired by the Raiders since the end of the season, joining defensive line coach Mike Waufle. While owner Al Davis has not yet committed to bringing Tom Cable back as head coach in 2010, he has hired two assistants with ties to Cable.

Jackson and Cable worked together on the staff at Cal-State Fullerton in 1990 and at the University of California in 1996. Waufle and Cable also worked together at Cal in the 1990s.

The Raiders have pointed out Cable’s ties with the new coaches in their news releases announcing the hires. Cable is also at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week, although no final decision has been made on his status.

"We continue to evaluate the staff and make changes to get better achievement," senior executive John Herrera said. "It’s still an ongoing process."

Jackson is expected to take over the play-calling duties from Cable, who did not have an offensive coordinator in his first full season as coach. Cable also coached the offensive line and admitted after the season that he might have been overextended.

"I’m hired as the offensive coordinator, and I’ll be the primary play-caller," Jackson told the Ravens team Web site. "That’s my role. It’s a chance to go out and assist the head coach and be the best offense we can be."

Cable endorsed the move to bring Jackson on board.

"I think it’s a good decision by the organization," Cable told National Football Post from the Senior Bowl. "It’s someone that I’m familiar with. It’s someone that I think can help us take the next step, so we’re all pretty excited about it."

The Raiders had one of the worst offenses in the league during a 5-11 campaign last season. They were second-to-last in the league in scoring with 197 points and gained the second-fewest yards on the way to their record seventh straight season with at least 11 losses.

The team showed some improvement after Cable benched Russell midway through the season, scoring 5.8 more points and gaining more than 100 additional yards of offense per game in the final seven contests started by Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye.

Russell completed 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 50.0 passer rating that was the lowest in the league since 1998. But Davis still believes in Russell, saying during the season that people needed to have patience.

Jackson helped Flacco make it to the playoffs in his first two seasons in the NFL with the Ravens and also worked with Carson Palmer as the offensive coordinator at Southern California. Now he wants to develop Russell.

"This guy was the first player drafted. It’s going to be fun to see if we can get him up and playing the way we all wish that he can perform," Jackson told ESPN 1000 in Chicago. "It’s not just about JaMarcus. The quarterback takes on a whole life by itself but it’s the team, the whole offensive unit has to perform well around the quarterback."

Jackson spent time in California last week, meeting mostly with Davis but also with Cable. He was also mentioned as a possible candidate to be offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears but chose the Raiders instead.

He told Ravens.com that the opportunity to work with Davis was part of the attraction in Oakland.

"What a man," Jackson said. "He’s one of the guys in this profession that you would like to have an opportunity to sit down and talk with, let alone work for. My conversations with him led me there. Hopefully, things will work as planned, and I think we’re capable of doing it."

Along with coaching quarterbacks, Jackson also has experience as a running backs and receivers coach in the NFL. He worked with a talented receiving corps in Cincinnati with Chad Ochocinco, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chris Henry.

The Raiders got almost no production out of their wideouts last season, getting only 99 catches from the entire unit. Darrius Heyward-Bey had a difficult rookie season marred by drops and a foot injury that sidelined him for the final five games. Heyward-Bey had only nine catches before the injury.

-- Josh Dubow

Falcons hire Tim Lewis to coach defensive backs

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons, looking for an improved pass defense, have hired Tim Lewis as the team’s secondary coach.

Lewis coached the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive backs this season and is a former defensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants. He was Carolina’s secondary coach in 2007-08.

Lewis replaces Emmitt Thomas, who was not retained after the Falcons ranked 28th in pass defense.

Lewis’ hire, first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was confirmed by the team on Tuesday.

The former Pittsburgh star played four seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Ravens hire Dean Pees to coach LBs

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens have hired former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees as their new linebackers coach.

The 60-year-old Pees ran New England’s defense over the past four years after serving for two seasons as the Patriots’ linebackers coach.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh announced the hiring Tuesday. Pees was Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator during the 1983 season at Miami of Ohio, where Harbaugh played defensive back.

New England allowed fewer than 20 points per game in every season under Pees’ guidance. This season New England ranked 11th in the NFL in total defense and fifth in scoring defense.

San Francisco DL Justin Smith added to Pro Bowl

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith has been added to the NFL Pro Bowl roster in place of injured Kevin Williams of Minnesota.

The Niners made the announcement Tuesday that Smith would play in his first Pro Bowl. Smith is the fifth 49ers player on the roster, joining running back Frank Gore, tight end Vernon Davis, linebacker Patrick Willis and punter Andy Lee. Gore was also a replacement pick.

These are the most Pro Bowlers for the Niners since the team had six in 2002.

Smith started all 16 games for the 49ers this season and ranked second on the team with six sacks. He had 90 tackles, 78 quarterback pressures and 52 quarterback hits.

Former San Francisco punter Tom Wittum dead at 60

ANTIOCH, Ill. — Former San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowl punter Tom Wittum has died at age 60.

Wittum’s son, Matt Wittum, said his father died of cancer Friday at his home in this northern Chicago suburb.

A Chicago-area native, Tom Wittum was a three-year letter winner as a place kicker and punter at Northern Illinois University, where he also lettered in baseball. Wittum set 10 NIU kicking records, including the school’s career, single-season and single-game records for punts, punting yards and punting average.

Wittum was a two-time Pro Bowler with the 49ers from 1973-77. He played in 70 games, kicking 380 punts for 15,494 yards and a 40.8-yard gross average. After his NFL retirement, he spent more than 30 years as a teacher and coach.

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, four children and four grandchildren.

Arena Football

Blaze name AFL veteran new coach

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — The Utah Blaze of the new Arena Football One league have hired Ernesto Purnsley to be the team’s first coach.

Purnsley spent 10 years coaching in the Arena Football League, which folded before the 2009 season. He spent five years as defensive coordinator for the Colorado Crush and was the Chicago Rush’s defensive coordinator in the AFL’s final season. Purnsley was also an assistant at Albany and Indiana.

The Blaze are scheduled to open the season April 9 against Spokane at the E Center.