Good morning, I’m Tyler Lauletta, filling in one more day for your usual host, Dan Gartland, who will be back in your inbox on Monday. Thanks for the invite to cover for you this week, Dan. I had a blast. Hopefully the readers enjoyed it as well.
Onto the newsletter.
In today’s SI:AM:
The NFL’s report cards come home
This week, general managers, coaches and scouts from across the NFL spent time in Indianapolis grading the incoming draft class at the NFL combine. While watches were stopped, benches were pressed and three cones were drilled in Indy, a different set of grades made a splash on Thursday night.
ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler reported the results of this year’s NFLPA report cards, which asked players across the league to grade their team on categories like coaching, locker room amenities and treatment of families.
Over the past few years, the results of the NFLPA player survey have been made public by the players’ union itself. In August the league filed a grievance, which argued the publication of the grades constituted a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. In response, the NFLPA said the surveys would continue even if the results could not be published. And now here we are.
The NFL responded with a statement decrying the release of the report cards, saying they were “neither reliable nor scientifically valid.”
I get it. We’ve all had a report card that we didn’t want others to see at some point in our lives. But in my experience, whichever set of eyes I was most committed to hiding that report card from always found a way to see it. The NFL should have expected no less.
On one hand, the league’s frustration with the report cards is understandable. The survey can make team leadership and ownership look bad, and that is not what the NFL believes is good for business.
But, the report cards also offer something that these teams likely aren’t getting anywhere else—honest assessments of how things are from players who aren’t worried that their answer might affect their next contract negotiation. NFL teams should want to know what players think of their stadiums, food, coaching staff and travel accommodations. If any of them are not up to snuff, owners should take it upon themselves to improve.
We’ve already seen the positive results that the report cards can have in the few short years they’ve been around. Last year, the Jaguars received an F grade for “treatment of families,” with players specifically citing the lack of a family room at the stadium and limited access to sideline passes for their families before the game. Those suggestions are pretty simple fixes—make some room for families, print some more passes—and the Jaguars jumped all the way up to a B+ in the category this year.
The NFL would prefer such changes be made without players publicly disclosing their displeasure. At the same time, the league is missing out on the benefits of the NFLPA directly releasing the report cards rather than the press.
In previous years, the report cards provided context to their grades. When the Jaguars received an F in treatment of families, the report card cited specific reasons why players felt the team was falling short. For this year’s report cards, only grades are provided. While there’s still some information to be gleaned from it—like which areas require improvement and which are succeeding—information that provides clear steps to teams on a way to improve that grade in the future is lacking.
It feels like where the league landed is the worst of both worlds: the grades are still being made public, but teams don’t have a clear path to improving in areas where they received low marks.
Yes, there are still embarrassing details that have come out. This year, Kahler reported that the Steelers’ locker room apparently only had five bathroom stalls for use by the entire roster. That does not seem like enough. Notes like that reflect the real experience of players who work in those conditions day in and day out. It isn’t blind criticism.
NFL front offices always like to talk about how they are getting better—through the draft, through free agency, through developing players with their coaching staff. The report cards present another opportunity to get better. For the teams that embrace them, the payoff is clear. Not only do they look better on the report cards, but they also get a locker room of happier players, too.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Why can’t the Lakers’ star power carry the team in critical situations? Chris Mannix writes about Los Angeles’slatest loss as the team faces the possibility of falling into the play-in mix.
- Where will Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III play next season? Albert Breer breaks down the Super Bowl MVP’s market.
- Conor Orr evaluates the winners and losers at the NFL Combine.
- Matt Verderame identifies the six storylines to monitor ahead of free agency and the draft.
- Gilberto Manzano reports on what he saw and heard during Day 3 of the NFL combine, including a strong endorsement for Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and each top cornerback’s reason for why they’re the best at their position in the draft
- Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles wowed everybody at Lucas Oil Stadium, but he wasn't the only one whose draft stock changed dramatically. Daniel Flick pinpoints the NFL combine's biggest risers and fallers.
- The Champions League knockout phase has been set, and there are some huge clashes in store. Tom Gott breaks down the round of 16.
- Jon Arnold explains why coach Mauricio Pochettino needs to get the most out of USMNT Swiss Army knife Weston McKennie.
The top five…
… basketball things I saw last night:
5. Anthony Edwards going sicko mode.
4. This ridiculous move from Luka.
3. Bobby Portis and the never-ending rock, paper, scissors game.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | The Most Important NFL Grades.
