NFL crews for 2004

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Usually there is some shuffling to accommodate new or relatively new guys who might need some special mentoring. There is also some movement necessary when people change positions. But it will be an interesting dilemma for the NFL this season. As a result of going to a crew format for assigning the playoffs last season, some qualifying crews went into their playoff game "undermanned" since they had members who didn't meet the tenure requirements for playoff participation (witness Hochuli's Super Bowl crew -- four replacements, I think) while some very qualified guys were overlooked because of their crews' overall performance. Should they shuffle crews to try and minimize these problems or should they just let the chips fall where they may?