It is Day 13 of training camp and the dog days of summer in Napa are causing things to heat up in practice.
Competition is heating up with Kirk Morrison and Chris Johnson taking reps with the second team. Although Cable says he is just switching things up to engender competition.
Some veterans were not playing. Some were injured and others were getting scheduled days off. Most injuries are minor and could mean that some young hopefulls get more opportunities on Thursday to prove what they can do.
Javon Walker continues to make mouths water while he prepares to return fully from his offseason surgery. A return that could happen as early as this week.
And Darrius Heyward-Bey continues to look like he has gotten over his case of the drops and impress coaches, teammates and everyone in attendance.
Here are the bigger stories:
unmentionable cancer receiver of whom a rolling stone would not gather.
Murphy’s Law; meet Mitchell’s Law
Apparently on reporting day, Louis Murphy (who came out of Florida) was talking trash about Ohio to Mike Mitchell. And Mitchell has never forgotten. Today that dicontent got physical. About half way through an extremely hot practice day in Napa, Murphy and Mitchell had words, Murphy punched Mitchell along the side of his helmet and Mitchell took Murphy down in a bear hug, knocking Murphy’s helmet off in the process.
David White said, “That’s a three point near fall for real wrestling fans” and since I was a REAL wrestler, I know just what he is talking about. Kudos for anyone else who understands what that means. Mitchell seems to know a bit about the sport: “I should win in a wrestling match. He is a receiver, so…” he said later.
Murphy could offer no plausible reason for the incident. All he said was “Yeah, it was a little hot out.”
Sure, offensive and defensive teammates get into scuffles all the time in practice. But this is a subject that I have made mention of many times. These players take so much pride in their Alma Maters that they forget that they are part of a new team now and they need to leave their previous loyalties behind. So often we see on Monday Night Football, when the players introduce themselves, they will say things like, “THE Ohio State University” or “The U” in reference to University of Miami. This has always seemed to me as an outright disrespect to every other player on their team that did not attend the same college. It screams of self importance and a “me” attitude.
After the incident between Mitchell and Murphy, Tom Cable had a few words for Louis Murphy. When asked about what Cable said to him, Murphy said “Just staying focused, the dog days of two-a-days, make sure everybody just come out and just continue to stay focused on the goal at hand.”
All Cable would reveal was that the conversation was “About a route”.
I am sure neither of those statements were completely what was said. Afterall, there are some things are are kept between players and coaches. But I would like to believe that Cable really said something to this effect: Take pride in where you came from and represent your university…and then, leave it behind you because now you are a RAIDER. Don’t ever talk trash about the college where a TEAMMATE went or think that your road to the NFL was any more important than theirs.
Otherwise, you may just end up getting your stupid ass bear hugged and force fed some grass. Not a smart move by Louis Murphy. Hopefully he will learn from it and know his place on this football team.
After practice everything was “hugs” and love between the two competitors. Mitchell even joked that he was going to get Murphy “one of those Ohio flags” to put up in his room. Murphy claims, as the players always do, that there is no bad blood between them whatsoever.
“Yeah, man, we just got into a heated moment. Mitch is the kind of player that you run that play, you’re blocking, but me and Mitch, we’re good friends. We quarrel just like close friends. We get into it on the field but after that, it’s the end of it.”
And Mitchell even went a step further when he was asked, “Louis is one of my best friends, actually, in life. We bonded over the summer and he’s definitely one of my guys. It was hot out there today. I don’t know, things happen, but we talked about it afterwards. He’s going through some stuff right now so it’s all good.”
And Cable went even a step further, “Them having little quarrels is good, remember that. This is football and they’re men. If you have a brother you know that it’s OK to settle some things once in a while.”
So from one moment to the next they go from being rivals, to sparring partners, to scrapping, to good friends, to BEST friends, to brothers. Sounds like a season of “Days of Our Lives”.
Hopefully, this experience has only serves to strengthen their bond as “brothers”.
“For he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother” –King Harry, “Henry V” William Shakespeare.
Bowie is “Under Pressure”
John Bowie is hurt…again. This time Cable says it is a “sore groin”. Man this guy is more fragile than David Bowie.
Just a little history for you on JOHN Bowie, in case you may not have known.
He was a track star out of Cincinatti drafted in the 4th round in the 2007 draft due to a pick given to the Oakland Raiders from the Patriots in return for the
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