Da dum. Daaa dum, da dum. Dum-dum dum-dum....

-- Like the eponymous shark from Jaws (Not strictly true but you get the gist), there is a dangerous force lurking in the waters of the NFL. It is the dreaded, the beastly, the unforgiving..... Holdout. Yes, the pampered superstars of everyones favourite game (except baseball fans, basketball fans, etc...) are on the warpath. They have pools that need to be built and summer vacation homes that need to be purchased. Their last Ferrari is already a year old and needs to be replaced with the latest model. Enter, the holdout zone!! First off, we're talking holdouts from mandatory mini camps. This is where then men are sifted from the boys, where we separate the posers from the players. So who are the latest wanderers in this void of pointlessness? Reggie Wayne, Robert Mathis, Albert Haynesworth and Darrelle Revis. It's believed that all of the above will holdout from mandatory mini camps scheduled for later this year. Haynesworth might as well not bother. Granted his is the only potential holdout not motivated by money, but more by a disaffection with scheme. But given the large amounts of cash handed over by the Redskins already, it's unlikely Haynesworth is going anywhere but the bench. Which is a shame. I like Haynesworth and I'm a 4-3 defense fan myself, so if I was out there in the coaching world of the NFL I'd be after him. And I kind of understand his perspective. He came to Washington mainly for money, but also to be a tackle in a 4-3. Had he been told about the potential move to Nose Tackle, it's certainly possible he would have just taken a hefty deal from somewhere else. Regardless, Albert will be a Redskin this season. Next is Robert Mathis. Uhm, sorry Mathis, but you're not Dwight Freeney, so you wont be getting paid like him either. Next! Reggie Wayne. Give me a break Reg. Take a look around the Colts locker room and what do you see? Lots of things I know, but one of them is Wide Receivers. Lots of wide receivers. Lots of good wide receivers. Pierre Garcon announced his presence to the world in style last year. Oh and then there's Anthony Gonzalez to come back from injury and Austin Collie who caused a lot of eyebrows to raise in admiration. Reggie will probably not get a huge pay rise, if he gets one at all. This is a definite case of over estimating your value. Unlike Darrelle Revis. Revis was without doubt on of the best defensive players last year. There are not many (read: none) other corners who can be left in single coverage against the likes of Andre Johnson and Randy Moss all game. "Revis Island" got the job done last year and he does have a legitimate claim to a pay rise, especially when you look at some of the better paid defensive backs in the league like Nnamdi Asomugha (try spelling that in a drunk, 3am text message) who apparently earns way above what Revis does. How much of a pay rise would Revis get? I imagine quite a bit. Personally I'd be quite tight. I'm very much a believer that when you sign a contract, that's that. Unless the contract is being breached or you were forced into signing it, there's nothing to really complain about. This is why I hate holdouts. Don't wanna be in the NFL? Don't sign up. No part of any contract says "we will pay you $X million per year, unless of course you have an outstanding season in which case your value rises to $Y million". Maybe I'm just a scrooge, but I don't believe the teams are helping themselves with the way they go about prematurely negotiating contracts. Enough of that though. I'm off to watch the 1988 NFC Playoff game between the Vikings and the 49ers that someone kindly posted on YouTube. Link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqbK-gOu7Fg I'll probably be around tomorrow night, but Saturday Night is up in the air right now as it's likely I'll be away from my computer, chopping down trees. Yes, chopping down trees. Don't ask. Have a great day everyone.