Defensive radios in helmets approved. Hair length pushed back until May
[h1]Hair length proposal delayed until May; defensive helmet radios approved[/h1]
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
(
Archive)
Updated: April 1, 2008, 1:52 PM ET
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The
Kansas City Chiefs' proposal calling for all players to tuck orcut long hair so it doesn't hang below the nameplate on their uniform was tabled until the next NFL owners meeting in May.
In delaying any vote on the hair issue, the NFL will have time to listen to feedback from the players association.
"We had a pretty good feeling it was going to get tabled," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said at the NFL owners meetings. "We have to take it tothe union to consider. That's OK. I think as long as the players know they can discuss it. Basically what we're looking at is a discussion. In ouropinion, it's a violation of the dress code."
In a separate move, the competition committee picked up three more votes this year and passed the "coach-to-defense" signal-calling system25-7.
Defensive coaches now will have the ability to put radio speakers in two helmets, but only one of those helmets will be allowed on the field on a givenplay.
Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said passing this measure a year ago might haveprevented the recent Spygate controversy from happening.
"They were filming signals," Phillips said of the Patriots. "If you didn't have any signals, it wouldn't have happened. I'm justhappy to get something passed. That way you don't have to worry about it. People were putting towels up in front of people. You shouldn't have to playfootball that way."
A year ago, the committee, which has been pushing the system for three years, had 22 votes, two shy of passing. At an NFL owners meeting, it takes ninevotes to defeat a proposal.
The
Green Bay Packers,
OaklandRaiders,
Philadelphia Eagles,
St.Louis Rams,
Seattle Seahawks,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and
WashingtonRedskins voted against defensive radio helmets.
Buffalo Bills coach @#*+ Jauron, a longtime supporter of the idea, believes it will balancethe ledgers as far as coordination of the offenses and defenses. He believed the offense had an edge by having a way to communicate plays to a quarterback,while the defense had to react by making just hand signals.
Although the defensive radio helmet issue was a great story for the coaches, the bigger, more controversial story involved hair. Many players who have longhair are believed to be upset with the idea being pushed by the Chiefs. It's created a national discussion.
"It's like a fish story," Edwards said. "It started as a guppy. When it got to New York, it was a whale. Everyone kept adding to thestory."
The idea came from within the Chiefs organization, which believed excessive hair was a dress code violation.
The Chiefs' proposal was submitted in early March, and players had not had a chance to discuss the issue before this week's NFL meetings.
"There is a certain way we feel the uniform should be portrayed," Edwards said. "That's why we brought it up. I think we are all naïve ifwe don't know who those guys are. We are talking about uniform violations in our opinions. There were a lot of years players didn't have names on thebacks of their jerseys. All of a sudden, you get it, and you cover it up. When I was growing up playing football, you looked at pro football players and said,'I can't wait to get my name on the jersey.' Now, you get it on the back and you cover it up."
At least in the eyes of the Chiefs, they made their case. The league will listen to the players and reopen the dialogue in the May meeting in Atlanta.
John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
