Another reason why Lions suck

Lions players file grievance against Marinelli

According to sources close to the situation, the Detroit Lions will lose two Organized Team Activities practices during the off-season because they were in violation of minicamp rules. A couple of Lions players filed the grievance against head coach Rod Marinelli because they believed the minicamp practices were too physical.

An official announcement is expected to be made sometime today.

According to sources, the players were upset at the high intensity and aggressiveness demanded in the team drills and believed the coaching staff was going over the line.




The Collective Bargaining Agreement forbids contact work during minicamps. Under Article XXXVI, Section 4 reads: Contact: There will be no contact work (e.g., “liveՉۈ ¢â€žÂ¢ blocking, tackling, pass rushing, bump-and-run) or use of pads (helmets permitted) at minicamps.

According to a Lions player, the team drills were very physical even to the point where, on at least one occasion, an offensive lineman and defensive line lineman got into a scuffle over the heavy contact.

Unlike previous head coaches, Marinelli refused to allow the media to watch any of the team drills, which is where the bulk of the excessive contact allegedly took place. On the first day of minicamp on April 11, Marinelli told the media: “It was the first day and I wanted to give the coaches a chance to be themselves. I want (the players) to understand the tempo. The most important thing was to get things established.’’



What ever players are doing this shoould be removed from the team what a joke.

Where's a link? I can't find any info on this.

In all fairness though, you don't want to get hurt in minicamp because of illegal contact drills only to get cut because you can't be ready for training camp.

someone needs to remind Marinelli he is coaching the LIONS, not some contender

"ItalianStallion" wrote:

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In all fairness though, you don't want to get hurt in minicamp because of illegal contact drills only to get cut because you can't be ready for training camp.

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Ditto

It is all about getting hurt more so for the vets. You don't want some young punk coming in all gung ho and breaking some vets leg. CBA is protecting the players. You can't go after the players filing the complaint, because they are put in an unfair position. They are protected by the CBA, which is put in place for the reason of protecting the players well being.

The workouts are to familiarize the players with the offense and defense to give them a mental awareness of what is going on.

I can see where the FIRST year coach wants to see more, to evaluate his players and see what level everyone is at. But he should've know he couldn't get away with this, BUSTED!

HA HA HA HA. I agree that physical contact at this point is not neccesary but it's funny that the players are doing this because it seperates the players from the coaches...never a good thing.

So what do they get if they win?
A free "get out of practice" card?

The ONLY good thing about Detroit:

It's the home of MOTOWN!!!!

"Json" wrote:

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HA HA HA HA. I agree that physical contact at this point is not neccesary but it's funny that the players are doing this because it seperates the players from the coaches...never a good thing.

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Not the first time something like this has happened....

"Still, some of the Giants complained to the players union after some were forced to put in longer days during the offseason program than are stipulated in the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. In an unrelated matter, the team was docked two days of workouts because Coughlin's minicamp schedule was 15 minutes too long, the result of a mandatory breakfast. "

http://archive.sportingnews.com/exclusives/20041108/578484.html

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Please post link and give credit to the source next time.