First off, Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there. Sports is one of those things that is intricately entwined within fathers and sons. Today is a perfect day for fathers and sons to spend together as well. You've got the US Open, the College World Series, and some Major League Baseball. It's your basic All-American day.
Now back to the ugly underbelly of sports, labor disputes! Well actually, this is more about what happens if the NFL labor dispute is resolved in time for football this season. Even if the labor dispute was resolved tomorrow, teams are behind in their organized training activities and minicamps, free agents have yet to sign with new teams and view new playbooks, and rookies are light years behind the curve given what they'd already be doing at this point.
For the 49ers, is it safe to say Aldon Smith will be the biggest "loser" in this lockout? I suppose he will battle another A. Smith for that distinction, but seeing as the defensive players don't even have a playbook, it seems like the rookie Smith will find himself fighting an uphill battle in his rookie season. The National Football Post had some comments today about Aldon Smith's role as a rookie. They pointed to starting him as a nickel rush end initially and slowly expanding his role.
Given the lack of practice time and ability to learn the playbook, this would seem to be the best starting point given his knowledge of the defensive end position. Given the truncated schedule that will already be in place in terms of offseason activities, what do people expect from Aldon Smith his rookie year?