Two- and three-year-olds at day care centers this week will hone their hand-eye motor skills and, among other things, learn the fundamental concepts behind catching a ball …
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National Football League owners met this week in Florida to discuss, among other things, the fundamental concepts behind catching a ball. Eight years after tinkering with the interpretation of a legal pass reception, the league is still grappling with its convoluted definition.
Specifically, what is a football move? How does it differ from an Andy Frain usher move, or a fan who has to run to the washroom move? Has a football player on a football field ever made a baseball move?
They will get to the bottom of such mysteries yet. In the meantime, the league is increasing penalties for lowering the head to initiate contact, which will no doubt be a clear and easy infraction to enforce with no gray areas or inconsistencies whatsoever.
Another issue the owners were said to have addressed at the meeting was the national anthem, and how to deal with another possible round of protests from the players.
NFL television ratings dropped almost 10 percent last year, with one of the reasons being fans’ disapproval of players using the field as a forum to air societal grievances.
This issue probably wasn’t talked about much because actions speak louder than words, and the die is cast. Former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose refusal to stand for the national anthem during the 2016 preseason games started the protest movement, is still out of a job. Protest all you want, seems to be the message, at the risk of your own future.
Another former 49er feeling the heat of unemployment reality is free agent Eric Reid, a five-year starting safety who made the Pro Bowl in his 2013 rookie season.
Reid, who can play both safety positions as well as cornerback and linebacker, is someone the Green Bay Packers could use. Given his versatility, he might be exactly what the Packers are looking for.
But now he has to navigate the choppy waters of staying true to his principles while convincing those who will sign his paycheck that he won’t be a distraction. Reid, who was one of the first players to sit or kneel with Kaepernick, said that this time around he will stand for the national anthem.
“I’m not saying I’m going to stop being active, because I won’t,” Reid said. “I’m just going to consider different ways of being active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country to improve on.”
Reid’s awareness that he could be on the outside looking in has already been raised. As of today, the fish aren’t biting; he is a 26-year-old Pro Bowl safety without a team.
If the Packers do sign Reid, it will be their second good addition to the defensive secondary, along with free agent cornerback Tramon Williams, who the Packers signed last week.
Williams played the first eight of his 11 NFL seasons with the Packers, and had his best year — when he made the Pro Bowl — in the 2010 Super Bowl season.
At 35 years old, Williams was considered by some to be Paleozoic timber, too old to risk $10 million on for two years.
But Williams takes immaculate care of his body, and his yoga-intensive workout regimen has allowed him to stiff-arm Father Time and maintain a high level of play. He was one of Arizona’s most reliable DBs last season.
Apart from making plays, Williams’ value lies in the experience he’ll share with his teammates, and in the positive atmosphere he will help bring to the locker room.
The Packers’ off-season moves thus far elicit an all-in feeling for the 2018 season, inspire confidence in the new general manager, Brian Gutekunst, and turn up the dial anticipating what’s in store next month.