Thread: Davis confident Bears will be in camp on time

Originally Posted by The Benjamin

Davis confident Bears will be in camp on time

Hillenmeyer casts doubt NFL lockout will end soon: 'We are not on the cusp of a deal'

By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter 5:05 p.m. CDT, July 9, 2011

A group of players from Brooks College Prep on the South Side surrounded Rashied Davis at the conclusion of a football camp Saturday afternoon at Northwestern.

"Are we going to have football on Sunday?" one of them inquired

Davis joked that a reporter must have put him up to the question.

"Yes, Davis replied. "You're going to have football on Sundays."

When football will start remains to be seen. Davis, a free-agent wide receiver who expects to re-sign with the Bears, believes it's still possible for NFL owners and players to reach a labor agreement in order for the team to report to training camp on time July 22. But time is running out.

Former Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer helped put on the free camp with Position Tech that more than 200 kids attended. Charles Tillman, Corey Wootton and Davis volunteered as coaches. Davis was most optimistic about a timely deal being done for the Bears to head to Bourbonnais, Ill., as scheduled.

"Both sides have made progress," he said. "It would take a deal getting done next week. I don't know if it's going to happen. I think it's possible."

Even though Davis and Hillenmeyer are not under contract to the Bears, they're serving as alternate player representatives. Hillenmeyer casts doubt on camp starting in time for the Bears to play the Rams in the Hall of Fame Game Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio, asking the practical question what is the minimum amount of time needed for a free agency period?

A labor agreement isn't going to be followed by training camps the next day. There are going to be more than 400 free agents and teams are going to sign close to 400 undrafted college free agents while also needing to get 256 draft picks under contract. This won't happen in a flash.

Hillenmeyer, who has been intricately involved in NFLPA matters at various points, has kept his former teammates informed with regular emails.

"The last email I sent the guys, and it was reflected in an email (player rep) Robbie (Gould) sent out (Friday), was 'Don't believe what you see on television,'" Hillenmeyer said. "We are not on the cusp of a deal. The sides have gotten closer and we're continuing to talk and we're taking less breaks between talks.

"All of those things are good signs, but we don't want guys to think, 'Good, a deal is going to get done next week so I can start spending money like I would if I was going to be getting a paycheck in a month.' The biggest thing that could undermine the players, in terms of us not sticking together, is if guys got themselves in situations where they simply had to cave just to get a paycheck."

bmbiggs@tribune.com

Twitter @BradBiggs

I think Hilly makes a real good point here. Just because there's finally some progress after months of none doesn't mean they're any closer than they were in March to settling this thing. What's been reported as being on the table now is very similar to the numbers which were on the table in March. What we aren't hearing about though, primarily due to the NFL propaganda machine, is about the few hardline owners who don't want any part of giving the players a percentage of revenue as opposed to agreeing to a set dollar amount to be devoted to player salaries and benefits. If this group has enough support to block any agreement that does include percentages we may still be in for a lengthy delay before anything gets resolved.