 |
| Chuck Noll would not approve of me taking a break right now. |
When the Steelers won their first Super Bowl on January 12th, 1975, it took coach Chuck Noll all of ten minutes to look ahead to next season. In his postgame speech to his players, he challenged them to be "Tomorrow People." As safety Mike Wagner explains, "if you're satisfied with what you're doing now or what you did yesterday, then you're gonna fail...Be a Tomorrow Person." The Steelers went on to win three more Super Bowls in the next five seasons, and many of those players are now in the Hall of Fame along with their coach.
After over 100 posts during the 2011 NFL season, I'm tempted to take a break for a couple of weeks to recharge. But with the Scouting Combine kicking off next Wednesday and free agency less than a month away, now is no time to rest on my laurels. Plus, I still have plenty of loyal readers to entertain. (There are dozens of them. Dozens!) It's time to be a Tomorrow Person.
I'll post a couple of items each week, starting next Tuesday when I review how I did in my 2011 predictions (let's just say Vince Young wasn't the only one enamored with the Dream Team). I also plan to dive deeper into each team's offseason needs and will have a couple of mock drafts leading up to the big event at the end of April. After that, I'll make some changes to the site leading into next season, including better navigation and a possible name change ("Eternal Sunshine of the Football Mind" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue). Suggestions, as always, are welcome.
I'll post a couple of items each week, starting next Tuesday when I review how I did in my 2011 predictions (let's just say Vince Young wasn't the only one enamored with the Dream Team). I also plan to dive deeper into each team's offseason needs and will have a couple of mock drafts leading up to the big event at the end of April. After that, I'll make some changes to the site leading into next season, including better navigation and a possible name change ("Eternal Sunshine of the Football Mind" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue). Suggestions, as always, are welcome.
As a quick reference guide, here are the key dates to keep an eye on over the next two months. And they call this an offseason?
Wednesday, Feb. 22 - Tues, Feb. 28th - NFL Scouting Combine, Indianapolis
March 1 - April 6 - Colleges hold pro days for draft prospects
Monday, March 5 - Deadline for teams to apply the franchise tag
Tuesday, March 13 - Free agency begins
Tuesday, April 17* - 2012 NFL Schedule announced
Thursday, April 26 - Saturday, April 28 - NFL Draft, New York City
*The NFL hasn't announced this yet, but it would fit their M.O. of the past few years.
*The NFL hasn't announced this yet, but it would fit their M.O. of the past few years.
Coaches will then hold mini camps in May and finally take a break (or spend two months praying that their star player doesn't get a DUI) until training camps open the last week of July.
Here's some more video about the 1974 Steelers, courtesy of NFL Films' brilliant series, America's Game:
Follow me here at @BostonGiant.
Have a suggestion for an article? Email me at eternalsunshinepete@gmail.com.
Have a suggestion for an article? Email me at eternalsunshinepete@gmail.com.
I'm already having football withdrawals! I need some football lovin soon!
ReplyDelete