Angry Pope
All Raider
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
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Cheap shots and medicine balls
Before Wednesday, the last time I had spoken to Nnamdi Asomugha was Sept. 11, in the locker room after the Raiders' dismal loss to San Diego. I approached Asomugha at his locker that evening, but he shook his head and said, "Not tonight."
I figured he was simply depressed about the 27-0 defeat, but it turned out he had another reason - he had sprained his left foot, an injury serious enough to keep him out of the Ravens game in Week 2.
Asomugha has not practiced this week, but he has been running and cutting on the field with a trainer. He looks healthy and says there no chance he'll miss the Browns game on Oct. 1. Wednesday, Asomugha also broke his silence on the injury, claiming he was the victim of dirty deeds in the Chargers game.
"It was a cheap shot," he said. "It was like the fourth play of the game or the fifth play of the game, and we were like 40 yards downfield. Me and (wide receiver Eric) Parker, San Diego. Play's over, guy's tackled, then he comes over and shoots at my leg and sprains my foot."
Asomugha played the rest of the game on adrenaline, and the foot suffered. "The next day," he said, "it was three times as big."
The fourth-year corner noted that some teams are notorious for downfield late hits. San Diego is one of them. So is Cleveland, the Raiders' next opponent, which has Asomugha wary.
Apparently, though, Parker's hit was not entirely random. He and Asomugha have cultivated a nice little on-field skirmish.
"At least the last two games, we've gone at it," Asomugha said. "So I kind of expected something to come from him during the game, but I didn't think he was gonna do it that early or do a cheap shot like that."
If you're wondering whether Parker apologized for the assault, perish the thought. "No way," Asomugha said. "He did the exact opposite. We were going at it for the rest of the game. He's telling the ref about certain things, I'm telling the ref. I don't like that guy."
Keep your eye on this match-up Nov. 26, when the Raiders play at San Diego.
......
Who is best athlete in the Raiders' locker room? There are plenty of candidates - like Randy Moss, who sometimes toys with other NFL defensive backs as if they're high schoolers; Stanford Routt, who stands 6-1 and has world-class speed; and Ronald Curry, a two-sport star at North Carolina.
There is no end to this debate, but an ongoing competition in the team weight room is adding some fuel to the fire.
Early in camp (before everyone knew how deeply he was mired on Art Shell's slime list), wide receiver Jerry Porter was wearing a WWF-style jeweled championship belt. We figured this meant (1) Porter had begun dating Laila Ali, (2) there was a 50% off sale somewhere in the Castro District, or (3) someone decided to crown the world's biggest ego.
I forgot about the belt until Tuesday, when Porter disrupted interviews by stalking through the locker room holding the belt and yelling, "Adriaaaan! Adriaaaaan!" A day later, it had changed hands, and was hanging in the locker of kick returner Chris Carr.
The rumor was that the belt was awarded on the basis of a pound-for-pound weightlifting competition. That wasn't quite right. Carr explained the event Wednesday: You do push-ups while balancing on four medicine balls - one under each hand and foot. Porter had claimed title by cranking out 49 push-ups. Carr got it back by hitting 52.
Just thinking about this competition is enough to twist my abs like fusilli. Clearly, it favors the leaner guys who have a combination of balance and core strength. It's no surprise that Carr and Porter are the two pace-setters; neither seems to have a percentage point of body fat. Carr said he expects heat from cornerback Tyrone Poole and linebacker Thomas Howard, among other. He also said we'd be surprised by who could or could not do the medicine push-ups. Some smaller players had trouble even getting set on the balls, while a couple big men - like Tyler Brayton and Warren Sapp - performed well.
Carr was mid-conversation when he spied Chad Slaughter, the Raiders' massive, awkward offensive tackle, about 15 feet away. "Chad Slaughter knocked out about 40," he said in a stage whisper, drawing laughs from the crowd.
To which Slaughter turned around in mock anger and asked: "What the (bleep) is so funny?"
Before Wednesday, the last time I had spoken to Nnamdi Asomugha was Sept. 11, in the locker room after the Raiders' dismal loss to San Diego. I approached Asomugha at his locker that evening, but he shook his head and said, "Not tonight."
I figured he was simply depressed about the 27-0 defeat, but it turned out he had another reason - he had sprained his left foot, an injury serious enough to keep him out of the Ravens game in Week 2.
Asomugha has not practiced this week, but he has been running and cutting on the field with a trainer. He looks healthy and says there no chance he'll miss the Browns game on Oct. 1. Wednesday, Asomugha also broke his silence on the injury, claiming he was the victim of dirty deeds in the Chargers game.
"It was a cheap shot," he said. "It was like the fourth play of the game or the fifth play of the game, and we were like 40 yards downfield. Me and (wide receiver Eric) Parker, San Diego. Play's over, guy's tackled, then he comes over and shoots at my leg and sprains my foot."
Asomugha played the rest of the game on adrenaline, and the foot suffered. "The next day," he said, "it was three times as big."
The fourth-year corner noted that some teams are notorious for downfield late hits. San Diego is one of them. So is Cleveland, the Raiders' next opponent, which has Asomugha wary.
Apparently, though, Parker's hit was not entirely random. He and Asomugha have cultivated a nice little on-field skirmish.
"At least the last two games, we've gone at it," Asomugha said. "So I kind of expected something to come from him during the game, but I didn't think he was gonna do it that early or do a cheap shot like that."
If you're wondering whether Parker apologized for the assault, perish the thought. "No way," Asomugha said. "He did the exact opposite. We were going at it for the rest of the game. He's telling the ref about certain things, I'm telling the ref. I don't like that guy."
Keep your eye on this match-up Nov. 26, when the Raiders play at San Diego.
......
Who is best athlete in the Raiders' locker room? There are plenty of candidates - like Randy Moss, who sometimes toys with other NFL defensive backs as if they're high schoolers; Stanford Routt, who stands 6-1 and has world-class speed; and Ronald Curry, a two-sport star at North Carolina.
There is no end to this debate, but an ongoing competition in the team weight room is adding some fuel to the fire.
Early in camp (before everyone knew how deeply he was mired on Art Shell's slime list), wide receiver Jerry Porter was wearing a WWF-style jeweled championship belt. We figured this meant (1) Porter had begun dating Laila Ali, (2) there was a 50% off sale somewhere in the Castro District, or (3) someone decided to crown the world's biggest ego.
I forgot about the belt until Tuesday, when Porter disrupted interviews by stalking through the locker room holding the belt and yelling, "Adriaaaan! Adriaaaaan!" A day later, it had changed hands, and was hanging in the locker of kick returner Chris Carr.
The rumor was that the belt was awarded on the basis of a pound-for-pound weightlifting competition. That wasn't quite right. Carr explained the event Wednesday: You do push-ups while balancing on four medicine balls - one under each hand and foot. Porter had claimed title by cranking out 49 push-ups. Carr got it back by hitting 52.
Just thinking about this competition is enough to twist my abs like fusilli. Clearly, it favors the leaner guys who have a combination of balance and core strength. It's no surprise that Carr and Porter are the two pace-setters; neither seems to have a percentage point of body fat. Carr said he expects heat from cornerback Tyrone Poole and linebacker Thomas Howard, among other. He also said we'd be surprised by who could or could not do the medicine push-ups. Some smaller players had trouble even getting set on the balls, while a couple big men - like Tyler Brayton and Warren Sapp - performed well.
Carr was mid-conversation when he spied Chad Slaughter, the Raiders' massive, awkward offensive tackle, about 15 feet away. "Chad Slaughter knocked out about 40," he said in a stage whisper, drawing laughs from the crowd.
To which Slaughter turned around in mock anger and asked: "What the (bleep) is so funny?"
