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Charlotte – As has been the case in the past, there have been a lot of fights in joint practices around the league this summer.
There were two fights on the card on Thursday in Charlotte.
Panther Terrence Marshall (pictured above) caught a TD on a fade route over CB D.J. Reed on the left side of the end zone, and after catching the pass, the wide receiver flipped the ball at Reed.
Some might consider that poor sportsmanship.
Reed was livid at what Marshall did, so he picked up the football, ran to where Marshall was on the Panthers’ sideline, and threw the ball at him full speed, and a melee broke out between the two teams.
Some might find it surprising that neither player was pulled for the next play, to cool down or to get a talking too, and they faced off again, but no follow-up fight ensued.
Some coaches would have pulled the players for a play or two. Some wouldn’t. Different strokes for different folks.
But something Marshall said after practice about the incident was kind of eye-opening.
“I would definitely not do that in a game and hurt the team,” Marshall said.
But he would do it in practice.
I just think some players, who are clearly not on the bubble, will indulge themselves, and do things like Marshall did today, or Giants WR Malik Nabors did in the Giants-Lions brawl last week, because they feel like it, knowing there is really no price to pay.
The Giants and Lions were fined $200,000 by the NFL for the brawl, but they didn’t fine Nabors.
How much does he care that the team was fined?
Ironically, Nabors and Marshall are both receivers out of LSU.
The second fight was between Panthers RB Mike Boone, and Michael Clemens, after the Jets defensive wrapped up the running back on a running play.
Clemens has a proclivity to get into fights, like one last year with a Miami Dolphins offensive lineman, that got the defensive end thrown out of game for blooding an official, trying to break up the brawl.
After the practice fight, I saw Clemens and Boone jawing at each other in the next drill, kind of like Clemens was jawing at Browns fans in Cleveland last year in the stands dropping f-bombs at them.
But when it comes to Clemens, Jets coach Robert Saleh believes the man is misunderstood.
Asked about Clemens behavior late last season including the incidents with Buffalo, Miami and Cleveland, Saleh said, “If you knew him, you wouldn’t have a problem with anything he did.”
So in some regards, this player is beyond reproach.
“I’ll say this about Micheal. Sometimes we take a small snippet of someone’s life and try to portray that person as that,” Saleh said late last season. “He’d be one of the first ones I’d call to watch my kids and I mean that. I mean that sincerely. One, because I know they’ll be safe. He’s an incredibly thoughtful and kind person, believe it or not.” . . .
Another impressive play today by edge-rusher Takk McKinley, beating Panthers franchise left tackle Ickey Ekwanu to sack Bryce Young.
I’m not sure it’s possible for a defensive end to play any harder than McKinley has in practice the last week after returning from a leg injury early in camp. His motor right now is sensational . . .
The acclimation process for Olu Fashanu at right tackle continues.
The officials didn’t see it, but on a pass completion from Aaron Rodgers to Tyler Conklin, Fashanu held defensive end Eku Leota.
This isn’t meant as a criticism of Fashanu, who has played well at left tackle in camp, but just to show you how hard it is for a tackle to switch sides. It’s like going from writing left-handed to right-handed. . .
August 15, 2024
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