USA TODAY International Edition
Rookies might do just fine in offseason
John Harbaugh discovered quite the control group in gaining a sense of how his players might apply at least one element of the online training occurring this off-season across the NFL: his coaching staff.
While complying with stay- athome mandates during the global pandemic, Baltimore Ravens coaches have engaged in virtual conditioning classes twice a week from their homes using Zoom video conferencing. That’s stretching bands. Dumbbells. Aerobic action.
“You can work up quite a sweat over the course of an hour,” Harbaugh told USA TODAY this week, chatting during a late- afternoon hike with his two daughters. “One week, one of the coaches had to work out in the basement because his wife was doing something upstairs and there was a bad ( Internet) connection. But otherwise, it’s gone pretty well.”
The Ravens began their virtual off-season program for veteran players on Monday, which includes the Zoom meetings to cover classroom material and conditioning sessions. Harbaugh is encouraged, even wondering whether players are more attentive while locked onto their computer screens than they are in meeting rooms at team headquarters.
“As much as anything, it’s the connection,” Harbaugh said. “With all of this isolation, guys appreciate that you can get together on the video conferences.”
The reliance on technology figures to be even more essential for the Ravens and other NFL teams in the coming weeks as they break in a new crop of rookies. NFL teams can hold three- day virtual rookie minicamps this weekend and next ( with a maximum of five hours per day for any combination of instruction and conditioning work, over three days), the first steps in teaching the playbook.
These rookie camps are always on the NFL calendar after the draft. Yet the usual opportunity to see whether, say, the new shutdown cornerback can keep up with the new deep threat will just have to wait. With so much uncertainty amid the novel coronavirus pandemic regarding the timeline for when NFL teams will be allowed to reassemble, it seems increasingly possible that this year’s rookie crop won’t
hit the field until training camp — whenever that is.
Still, Harbaugh, whose rookie minicamp begins May 8, likely echoed the sentiment of peers after the draft when he declared expectations for his new rookie crop. In a league with a salary cap and typically heavy turnover at the end of the roster, projected impact from rookies can be crucial.
“We're not drafting them to redshirt them,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh, disciplined by the NFL in the past for drills during OTAs that had too much contact, doesn't sound as if he's sweating whether rookies will get up to speed for the season. He said his biggest concern is more of a physical nature; the threat of setbacks due to muscle pulls that can occur when the action intensifies during camp. He's less concerned with players absorbing the X's and O's, particularly since coaches can use the learning sessions for tests along the way.
“Young people, they know how to use it,” he said, referring to online features. “They've been doing it all their lives.”
Besides, he added, “As long as we have a full training camp, I'm not worried. A shorter camp would make it tough.”
The scenario is reminiscent of the 2011 offseason, when the calendar of team activities was wiped out by the lockout that stemmed from the labor dispute between NFL owners and players.
“Look, the 2011 season went off smooth and without a hitch and there was no offseason,” New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton recently told USA TODAY. “We had our draft, and there was a lockout. By the time we got started in training camp, we were up and running. The key is, when all 32 teams are doing the same thing, you're going to have competitive balance and you're going to have a good product.”
With stay- at- home mandates applied and eased on a state- by- state basis, the NFL won't allow teams to reopen facilities until all 32 teams can comply. Yet as some states gear up to ease those requirements, it's possible that, say, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady could invite a half- dozen or so of his new receivers and running backs to Montana – or even Florida – for the type of “informal” workouts that were common during the 2011 lockout.
The agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association that outlined rules for the virtual offseason programs for this year did not address informal workouts.
In any event, it's fair to wonder whether this unusual offseason will affect rookies more than veterans. Temper the expectations for quick impact? Maybe not.
Consider the 2011 rookie crop. Several notable players started their careers with a bang in 2011. Von Miller had 11 1⁄
2 sacks. DeMarco Murray had a careerbest 5.5 yards a carry, aided by a fellow rookie in offensive tackle Tyron Smith.
Andy Dalton, throwing to classmate A. J. Green, led the Bengals to the playoffs. Cam Newton – the No. 1 pick overall who worked out during the lockout with star wideout Steve Smith – threw for an NFL- rookie record 432 yards in his debut.
And Richard Sherman, a fifth- round pick, served notice that he possessed Hall of Fame- caliber skill.
Sherman, too, has some words of wisdom for the newest crop of NFL rookies.
“Get straight to it,” Sherman texted to USA TODAY. “My advice would be to come in confident and with open ears. You have to learn from your vets and try to absorb as much as you can. It's just football, so don't make it bigger than what it is. Learning to be a pro and how to work every day is learned from the vets in the room. Don't be too proud to ask questions.”
Whenever the opportunity presents itself. After all, this will hardly be a redshirt year for rookies.