Can you smell it? I can. The MLB All-Star Game is over, as is the ridiculous 4 hour-long Home Run Derby (how many times can Chris Berman say, “back, back, back...” and not realize he’s totally parodying himself?). Wimbledon has come and gone (BORRRR-ing). The British Open concluded with another dominant performance from Tiger, and the MLB trade deadline is upon us. What all this means is that the start of the NFL season for hardcore fans like us is on the doorstep, waiting like a morning newspaper.

For the diehard fans, the moment our favorite teams conduct their first practice in the torrid July heat is when football season begins. For six weeks we get daily updates, and we pray that ACLs, Achilles, and ankles remain intact. We hope that our team’s QB “looks sharp”, and that all the rookies appear as though they will contribute early and often. We watch pre-season games as if we’re studying for a final exam, and analyze each play rewinding our TiVO over and over looking for that subtle move from a rookie Defensive End that will give us hope that we’ve got The Next Derrick Thomas or Lawrence Taylor or Charles Haley to root for every Sunday. We go to message boards and argue with fellow fans over the talents of players, the direction of our team, whether or not the coach should be fired, and the QB benched. We watch NFL Live and NFL Total Access, and hang onto every word that is said about our team. It’s a great time to be a football fan, and The Season is mere moments away. Rejoice!

Despite my jubilation, there are many things that concern me going into the season.

First and foremost among my concerns is the new trend of players with existing contracts holding out for a new (and much better) deal. Luckily no player on my favorite team is currently doing this, but it’s only a matter of time. From Terrell Owens to Javon Walker, players with existing deals that pay them plenty are crying like Latrell Sprewell that they are worth more. It would be one thing if the player in question was making close to the league minimum and had maybe 1-2 years left on a contract, but in Owens’ case, he’s in the first of seven years. Guh? Here’s what it boils down to: Terrell Owens wants a contract similar to what Marvin Harrison received (7 years $67million) because he believes he’s worth as much if not more than Harrison. Owens however, wants a bigger signing bonus than Harrison ($6million) because Owens is 31, and will be 32 before the season is over, and he knows that he has a very, very small window of opportunity to cash in on a big signing bonus. The problem for Owens is, Philadelphia isn’t for one second going to give him anything close to $67 million, and they also aren’t going to trade him for anything less than a future #1 and then some. Philly holds all the power here, and rightly so; they can win with or without Owens. Terrell has made his bed, but it remains to be seen if he will sleep in it. He should just be happy that he’s making $49million over 7 years while playing for the best team in the NFC. But that’s asking a lot of anyone isn’t it?

Another thing I’m concerned with is the NFL coaching lifespan. Owners and fans have become as impatient as a two-year old in the Thomas The Tank Engine section of Toys-R-Us. In the NFC, the most tenured coach is Andy Reid, who’s only going into his 7^th season as head coach. Only Mike Sherman, Mike Martz and Jim Haslett have been with their current teams for 5 seasons, and Haslett has been under fire since the day he took his job (Mike Holmgren technically doesn’t count, because Seattle wasn’t in the NFC until 2002).

Because of free agency, owners, pundits and fans believe the one-year turn around is an axiom instead of the exception. Wrong. Even with free agency, it still takes time to build a real winner. Because of the salary cap, coaches need at least 3 years to get rid of players they don’t want, and bring in ones they do. Then they need at least another year or two to prove they can show improvement and win games with their players. It took Jimmy Johnson 4 years to build a Super Bowl Champion, and that was with more draft picks in two drafts (90, 91) than the Redskins have had in 10 years. But people are giving up on coaches in two years, or even less in some cases, e.g., Ray Rhodes getting a whole year to prove himself in Green Bay in 1999, or Marty Schottenheimer getting one season in Washington in 2001. This will only lead to more failure. Players know that the revolving coaching door establishes nothing but inconsistency, which disrupts progress.

Again, I use the example of the Redskins, which under owner Daniel Snyder has had five coaches since the 2000 season. Five! Norv Turner, Terry Robiskie, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs. Is it a coincidence that the Skins have gone 33-46 in that time? In fact, it’s kind of amazing they haven’t had a worse record. It shows that team has had talent. Unfortunately, a lot of that talent has left, and some like Champ Bailey have said that the constant change in coaching staffs was why (yes, Bailey was traded, but he had no intention of signing with the Redskins). Owners, sportswriters, talk radio hosts, and fans need to be more patient with coaches, and until teams have consistent leadership in place, it is very unlikely they are going to have sustained success.

But my biggest concern, and it’s been an issue for me for quite some time is the Pass-Interference Penalty. Nothing is called more inconsistently or as ambiguously as pass-interference, and it drives players, coaches and fans positively bananas. Major League strike zones have defined standards compared to how pass-interference is called. Even with the rule enhancement last year, there were still tons of bad calls; especially on deep balls, which affect a game more than any other penalty. How many times did you see a pass-interference call on a long sideline route, and then to see that on the replay it should have been a no-call?

Part of the problem is that the linesmen who make the calls are middle-aged or older, and are running at full speed and trying to keep up with the likes of Randy Moss and Chris McCallister. Then, as his hear-rate soars to a judgment inhibiting 170bpm, he’s expected to tell whether or not a pass-interference is called? This makes absolutely no sense. How many of us could make an accurate judgment while running at full speed? I know I couldn’t, and don’t tell me the refs are in great physical condition. True, some are, like that one ref who’s obsessed with showing his guns every time he gets on camera like he’s some sort of Reality TV Wannabe, but most refs are not nearly in the same phenomenal condition of the athletes they’re trying keep up with, and make determinations on. It became so common for refs to make bad calls that coaches started calling deep passes based solely on the fact that there was a good chance that pass interference would be called. It’s like playing poker at a tight table, and taking chances with bad cards because you know it’s going to pay off from time to time.

So what’s the solution? My first instinct is to add it on to the Instant Replay workload, but that takes even more of the human element out of the game. I emailed noted NFL writer Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News with my suggestion that PI be a reviewable play, and he was flat against it. I trust his opinion, because he’s the best NFL writer out there, and knows more about the game, and the players who play it than anyone else. So how about a line-judge whose sole responsibility is watching for pass-interference? Put one on each side of the field about 30 yards off the line of scrimmage prior to the snap, that way when Randy Moss or Tory Holt blast down the sideline, the ref already has a 30 yard cushion, and they won’t have to kill themselves to get into position. I don’t know where current line judges line up at the start of a play, but I’m pretty sure it’s not as far back as 30 yards. And I’m not advocating moving the current line judges, I’m saying add two more. So what if the NFL has to employ an extra 64+ referees. They can afford it, and it wouldn’t make a dent in their revenue. Maybe it wouldn’t work, and we’d still end up with the same horrid calls, but they have to try something.

I have a lot of other concerns, but for now those are the big three. I think I’ll watch a baseball game tonight and take solace in the fact that in only one week, my favorite team will be hitting the practice field with the hopes of becoming a champion.

(Each column will now include some random suggestions).

Erik’s Suggestions:

Book: Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down. If you liked any of Hornby’s other works (High Fidelity, About a Boy, and How to Be Good) you’ll love his most recent book.

Movie Rental: The Machinist. Pi meets Fight Club meets Memento.

Theatrical Release: The Wedding Crashers. It doesn’t break any new ground, and isn’t innovative, but Vaughn and Wilson are at the top of their game. It has several laugh out loud moments, and a cameo that is just awesome.

Poker Tip: Whether you’re playing Hold Em, Omaha or Stud, when the cards are dealt (including the community cards) watch the players, and not the cards. Your cards will stay the same, and you’ll have plenty of time to look at them, but you only get one chance to see your opponents’ reactions.