July 21st is the new target date to end the NFL lockout

[travisduncan]

DeMaurice "De" Smith is the Executive Director of the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA) talks to a couple Buccaneers during the Buccaneers Mini Camp at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida. ICON Sports Media

The NFL and the powers that be are clearly taking their time, but the new date for a final deal is Thursday July 21st, according to multiple reports.

If that date passes, training camps could be cut short and preseason games could be missed, including the Hall of Fame game Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio. Week 1 of the preseason schedule continues with games on Thursday Aug. 11, and through the weekend.

Allegedly the NFL collectively would lose $200 million for every preseason week which is not played-and that includes not only the owners but players as well.

As the negotiations stands now, the only holdup is the rookie wage scale according to insiders. But an agreement appears to have been done essentially for a few weeks. So why the wait? Can it be that hard to figure out how to pay the rooks?

It is not hard to believe that both the owners and players have discussed scenarios and timetables for getting the 2011 season started, and that all is going as planned. As much as the delay would indicate other wise, neither side wants to miss significant time, i.e. the regular season.

Training Camps were scheduled to start around the 22nd of July or the 23rd which is a Saturday or in full force on Monday July 25th. So a deal could be done and only a few days of camp could be missed-that would not be detrimental.

For fans and teams alike, one real concern is the risk of injury by trying to do too much too fast. That's always the case as some players begin their conditioning on day one of training camp-and with a shortened training camp, that could exacerbate the problem, when the drills and conditioning begin.

Ultimately what this is all leading up to is a free-agent frenzy which will be like no offseason in the league's history. Media outlets, especially ESPN, are gearing up for around the clock coverage of the free-agency bonnanza of 2011 akin the the Gold Rushers of 1849. We'll see if Carroll can find gold.

-ESPN's Mel Kiper, recently gave this assessment of the the Seahawks draft "Overall, (right tackle James) Carpenter and (offensive guard John) Moffitt comprise the new-look right-side of the O-Line. The rest of the Seahawks' picks I view as depth guys. No team got a worse grade for me, but it was mainly on value. So many picks, so few assurances of quality."

Get used to it, Carroll appears to be the ultimate moneyball personal man in Seattle, trying to find a diamond in the rough, build a system not dependent on superstars, and not going for the home run every time, especially in the draft. Maybe bring in a guy who has tremendous potential but hasn't achieved as much as he could because of one reason or another, and is a guy who could make it work within the confines of Carroll's positive thinking rich environment. One such guys is Marshawn Lynch.

Lynch says his trade to Seattle last season has helped him take steps in a positive direction towards rebuilding his image.

Lynch tells Monte Poole of the Bay Area Newsgroup "It gave me a chance to rebuild myself. I feel it was a blessing."

Lynch and his cousin Josh Johnson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are opening a Youth Center and starting the "Fam 1st Family Foundation" for underprivileged youth.

He adds, "We want to show kids in Oakland that there's more than what's between the 580 and the 880.' There's a lot more beyond that, but sometimes you can't see it."

Without a doubt, the move for Lynch to the Seahawks has been a positive one. And there isn't a person in the NFL who does as much for charity as Carroll who remains committed to his "A Better L.A." foundation.

-Matt Williamson of Scout's Inc. ranks Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons as the 5th best player in the NFC West, behind Larry Fitzgerald, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Vernon Davis. Sounds like Williamson a fever for the bay area club.

Russell Okung is ranked 8th, while Seahawks linebacker David Hawthorne rounds out the Top 15.