Bill Polian 'very imprecise' on schedule

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts president Bill Polian says he was "very imprecise" when he described an 18-game schedule as a done deal.

Two days after saying a longer schedule is a "fait accompli" on his local radio show, Polian returned to the airways Wednesday and told ESPN's "Mike and Mike In The Morning" program what he meant was that the Colts are preparing as if the 18-game season is going to happen.

On Tuesday, NFL Players Association representatives and league officials met in Washington to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement. The expanded season was one of the topics.

Polian explained that the competition committee, which he serves on, is still discussing how to make it work. A proposal would still have to be discussed with the union and approved by league owners.

"I created a headline that was 180 degrees from what was right," Polian said. "Bad job by me in answering the question."

NFLPA president Kevin Mawae took offense to Polian's original comments.

"My knee-jerk reaction is that I didn't know [Polian] had the authority to make announcements on his own,'' Mawae told The Boston Globe in a telephone interview. "But the way I understand it -- and I had meetings all day -- he said he wasn't in favor of it."

Mawae told the newspaper that adding two more regular-season games is a huge sticking point with the players.

"From a players' perspective, this is not a done deal," Mawae told The Globe. "We spent three hours in the bargaining session talking about this and, as players, the thing that concerns us the most is the toll this will take on a player's body. Look at someone like me, a 16-year vet -- that'd be 32 more games.

"Of all the things we're trying to sell to other players, the 18-game season is the hardest thing to sell."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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