Trumaine Johnson shoved Morgan Moses after a play
John Riggins Jersey , defense and within seconds the multiplayer melee spilled into the crowd.And that was just Day One
of the joint workouts between the New York Jets and Washington Redskins.Tempers
have flared at times between Jets and Redskins players, though things were
calmer Monday after a couple of fights and a handful of skirmishes marred their
first practice together. But a day of being on their best behavior could be more
of an anomaly than a Kumbaya trend leading up to their third and final practice
Tuesday and preseason matchup Thursday."A bunch of young guys. It's to be
expected," veteran Redskins tight end Vernon Davis said. "We can't control what
the Jets are doing. They have to be on the same wavelength when it comes to
going out there and practicing smart and practicing better. And if they're not,
then someone from our side is going to respond. It could get out of control."The
majority of players and coaches were annoyed that fights overshadowed the
benefits the joint workouts: getting to see action against another team outside
of games. Washington running back Chris Thompson and some teammates, who were
around when fights broke out with the Houston Texans at training camp in 2015,
even questioned the wisdom of bringing another team in — which the Redskins
didn't do either of the past two years."I think you ask around the league, I
think a lot of guys will probably say they don't really care for the joint
practices just because of things like this happening," Thompson said. "There's
not many joint practices where you don't have fights."Knowing the Jets were
coming to town, linebacker Zach Brown said former Redskins teammate Terrelle
Pryor should watch out if he makes one-handed catches. Brown said over the
weekend the situation would be fine but cast doubt on Pryor practicing, which he
wasn't wrong about because the receiver revealed he broke his ankle in May and
is still working to be 100 percent.Pryor, whose operation was previously
referred to as a cleanup, flashed a smile and said it's a miracle — "it's
amazing" — he's on the field. He doesn't think it's a miracle that the Jets and
Redskins managed to cool down after pushing, shoving and swinging at each other
Sunday."We're all trying to get to Week 1 healthy to help our respective teams,"
said Pryor, who won't play Thursday at Washington. "We're handling it
professionally and we can take care of that on the field on Thursday
Russ Grimm Jersey , the hitting and all that. But right now let's get better. Let's make each other better."Football-wise, the Jets' focus seems to be on
getting rookie quarterback Sam Darnold more work with the first team after the
third overall pick's stellar preseason debut. On the Redskins' side, coach Jay
Gruden has to sort out his running back situation after rookie and presumptive
starter Derrius Guice tore the ACL in his left knee and was ruled out for the
season.Fighting Sunday got in the way of that and ticked off Gruden and New York
counterpart Todd Bowles because it took time for their players to cool down and
wasted practice time."They're not going to get any better fighting us and we're
not going to get any better fighting them," Bowles said. "We're not trying to
fight them. They're not trying to fight us. If they wanted to be boxers and
wrestlers, they probably would be in another sport."That doesn't mean fights
won't flare up. Johnson called it "friendly competition" and didn't seem to
think it was so bad."Competition at its finest," Johnson said. "It's one of
those days in camp where guys start fights. When you practice against a new team
for the first time during camp, I guess that's what happens. It's a little
competition that got heated up."Moses was so heated Sunday afternoon that Gruden
escorted him off the field to calm him down. He wasn't injured and was back
Monday, but Williams didn't take kindly to what he and the Redskins perceived to
be a cheap shot."We reacted how we reacted," Williams said. "There's no
repercussions out here, so stuff can go a little further."Referee Carl Cheffers
and his crew are supervising the workouts, but he said he's letting coaches
break things up rather than the officials policing the field. That'll change
when the Jets and Redskins meet in each team's second preseason game
Thursday."If that happens in a game, there's multiple ejections and penalties
that will cost our football team," Gruden said. "And that's the most important
thing we got to make sure we get across."NOTES: Bowles wouldn't say if Darnold
will start Thursday, sticking to his line that "all three quarterbacks need to
be ready." ... Redskins WR Josh Doctson was among those who did not practice,
but the team did not say why. It was news to Case Keenum that Colt McCoy landed
higher on the quarterback depth chart in Washington. But Keenum got the first
start of preseason on Thursday night
Sam Huff Jersey , with McCoy not playing.The well-traveled Keenum, who nearly led the Vikings to the Super Bowl two years ago, led the Washington
offense to a touchdown in three drives in his debut with his latest team. He
capped the second drive with a 46-yard touchdown pass to receiver Robert Davis,
who was wide open after rookie cornerback Greedy Williams hit Davis at the line
of scrimmage but didn’t follow Davis, with Williams assuming he’d have help over
the top.He didn’t. Keenum spotted the wide-ass open Davis, and it gave Keenum a
stat line of seven passes, three completions, 55 yards, and a touchdown.In two
other drives (one before, one after the touchdown), Washington punted. For the
night, Keenum completed four of nine passes for 60 yards and a touchdown, adding
10 yards rushing.
