Holdouts May Be Giving NFL a New Idea

The enlarged contingent of holdouts in the NFL this season may bring about some new trends. More players are performing with little or no training camp and more clubs are going without key performers.

Seven players--six of whom played out their option last year--remain holdouts. But the absences have done little to aid the individual’s bargaining position or make management decide a drastic negotiating change is needed.

The Bears, the NFL’s top defense in 1984, have been without two starters from that unit, safety Todd Bell and linebacker Al Harris. However, Chicago is off to a 6-0 start and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan has said this is a better group than last year’s.

The Giants, also missing two key performers from last year’s wild-card team, are at the same point as they were in 1984 when they opened with a 3-1 record before falling to 3-3. Earnest Gray, who set a team single-season reception record in 1983, and three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Mark Haynes have not played a down.

But the Giants passing game set an NFL record for most yardage for a two-game period in weeks five and six while their defense entered the last game as the best in the NFL.

Still, at least some members of the young secondary miss Haynes.

“We’re like little Indians without a chief without Mark Haynes here,” second-year cornerback Perry Williams said. “Mark was able to show us the little tricks of the game.”

The remaining three holdouts--running backs Wayne Morris of San Diego and Pete Johnson of Miami and linebacker Joel Williams of Philadelphia--would have little impact with their teams. San Diego and Miami are both pass-conscious teams that would not be heavily affected by Morris or Johnson. Without 1984 starting linebackers Williams and Jerry Robinson, a holdout the Eagles traded to the Raiders, Philadelphia has allowed the second fewest points in the NFC.

The Eagles were the most plagued team by holdout-mania this year, at one point early in training camp having the absence list hit double digits. But this will be remembered as the year of the big-name holdout.

All-Pros like Eric Dickerson, Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Singletary and Marvin Powell all came to terms, but not before missing a good portion of training camp and, in the cases of Dickerson and Powell, regular season games.