No quiet time

THERE’S no quiet time on the gridiron – as American Football enthusiasts look forward to the start of a new season locally, the NFL Europe kick off and the frenetic activity in advance of free agent transfers and the NFL draft.

Locally the Irish American Football League kicks off on March 12th, while NFL Europe gets under way a week later, with teams aiming to reach World Bowl XIV in Dusseldorf, Germany on May 27th.

Training camps for the teams are underway throughout Florida – and almost all are open to the public – details for fans who are holidaying in the area can be found at http://www.nfleurope.com/news/story/9206201.

And the German teams will be looking at an intense period in which to try to overturn the Amsterdam success of last season.

The Admirals secured their first World Bowl with a 27-21 victory over the Berlin Thunder, and will be eager to retain that crown in a league that is less and less NFL Europe and more and more NFL Germany, with one Dutch team added on.

While the criticism may hold valid there can be no doubt that the NFL’s European experiment is proving valuable in identifying players whose potential may have been missed, as well as offering a way for players who don’t quite make the grade another opportunity.

The NFL draft takes place on April 29th and 30th in New York, and even for those players who make it to the draft, and are allocated to a team, there’s no guarantee of making it to the NFL.

By September 2nd each team must cut its roster down to 53 players – and when it comes to trimming away players, coaches tend to go with what they know, rather than rookies.

For some the door to NFL Europe will be opened – for others their NFL dream will be over.

ENDS