NFLPA thinking about holding players out of combine, draft a poor ploy

Jason La Canfora of NFL Network is reporting that “union officials and player agents are discussing the possibility of withholding players from the NFL Scouting Combine and 2011 NFL Draft activities.”
Essentially this is NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith saying it’s the players who make the league and not the opposite.
The impact of players being at the draft is negligible. Watching a player put on a hat and shake Roger Goodell’s hand isn’t what makes draft weekend.
To hold players out of the combine, however, is foolish. By not allowing his players to showcase themselves, Smith could conceivably be taking rookie contract money out their pocket.
Think about how many players have benefited from the combine process. It’s become a popular joke to knock on Al Davis for taking a player early based on his 40-yard dash. Ask that Raider rookie with a fat contract if he thinks it’s a joke.
It’s easy to see the point Smith is trying to make here. But in the messy CBA situation, this would be a poor ploy by the players association.