Simmering Rams, Titans boil over
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Camp Day 13/early report)
The heat was up on the field and under the collar Wednesday morning, when the Rams and Titans practiced together. It didn’t take long for the unpleasantries to begin.
Cheap shots by Tennessee defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (shown below, with shaved head) and defensive tackle Antonio Johnson set the tone early in what amounted to a full-scale scrimmage. When safety Calvin Lowry hit Torry Holt high, knocking off Holt’s helmet after a 15-yard catch, the intensity picked up even more.
Associated Press photo
And sure enough, skirmishes soon began breaking out. Rams wideout Reche Caldwell tangled with cornerback Cortland Finnegan and Rams tackle Mark LeVoir squared off with defensive end Sean Conover.
In the main event, Rams offensive lineman Adam Goldberg, having seen enough of Vanden Bosch’s tactics, decided to take action after Vanden Bosch clubbed Rams rookie guard Roy Schuening on the back of the head. They went to the ground, but no damage was done, and the battle was ruled a draw.
Afterward, Goldberg played down the set-to — at first denying (with tongue in cheek) that it even occurred.
“Oh, you have misinformation,” Goldberg said. “Just a lot of friendly competition. Things get heated; it’s hot out there and everyone’s trying to protect their own guys. Nothing serious. . . . Ninety-nine percent of the time (fights) are a waste of time. But you never know when that one percent is going to happen.”
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Coach Scott Linehan was diplomatic after the scuffles. “We can’t get to where we lose our cool out here; we’ll get rid of the extracurricular stuff,” he promised.
But he also understood, and seemed to like the way his troops responded. “It’s that time of year. Guys aren’t in very good moods out here,” Linehan said. “Tempers flare when you’re competing sometimes . . . and I like the way we competed.”
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Wednesday morning’s practice reportedly is the only one of the four the teams will share in full pads. So, Goldberg was asked, will that cut down on the acrimony. “No,” he said. “I really don’t think it will.”
We hear Ring magazine is hustling a reporter here.
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Wednesday’s second practice starts at 3:30. Two more workouts are planned for Thursday, at 8:15 a.m. (special teams only) and 3:30 p.m. All are free and open to the public.
All for now . . . more following the afternoon practice.
It’s for hotter down hear (where the Titans hold “their” training camp) than far up north in the “frozen tundra” of Wis. Go Titans…ya’ll
Can’t wait for Saturday.
Can we spell…overpaid redneck violence prone babies?>
Titans STILL can’t get over being NUMBER 2 in 2000. What goes around …
Go RAMS!!!
I think that it’s time that we get Lundy, Greer, Olsen and Jones to come to town and emphasize to the present Horns how to take care of business. The Titans have had a chip on their shoulder pads ever since Mike Jones stopped them short in XXXIV.
KS, yes it did inhale voluminously to come that close to winning Super Bowl 34 and it’s in the past, except for the fans, as I beleive the rosters have totally turned over from that game (w/ the exceptions of Kearse coming back, Pace, and Leonard Little I beleive). And it was worse for me as I hail from both places (growing up in STL and being born and making a living now in Nashville). And by the way, there are as many redneck’s there in STL as there are here so I wouldn’t necessarily being throwing those stones either. I know having been a resident of both places.
And the Rams would be better prepared physically if they held camp in the Missouri humidity instead of Wisconsin IMO (which is actually worse than the mid-south being at a conference there at Union Station last week). Heat is a bitter adversary when you aren’t conditioned to it and players, like Vander Bosch, are getting reads on how far they can get away w/ things as there are NFL officials on hand getting themselves ready for the season. I always like the slant of St. Louis sportswriters charging players from Nashville as cheap-shot artists. My head coach at Parkway Central always told us to instigate and not retaliate because those who retaliate are the ones that get calls on them. I would dare say that that is what happened there as well.
Anyway…. glad to be getting close to Fall/Winter sports like football and hockey!!! Go TITANS!!! Go PREDATORS!!!!
To A. Patriot: I just got back from catching a Cards game (Go Cards!) in St. Louis this past weekend and from what I could see, we don’t have a monopoly on
rednecks.
We prefer the phraseology hoosiers instead of rednecks in StL.
I’ve also lived in both places and can affirm that neither should be claiming the other has more rednecks.
Now as far as STL Sports Writers and their local slants on what happens on the field. No matter what the SO CALLED sports writers say, the agression was on both sides. I was there for the practice this morning and stayed for the whole thing. This was nothing more unusual than you would see out on the football field except it looked like the STL Rams weren’t very used to practicing in the heat. This is a physically demanding sport and if any player goes into this business thinking its going to be full of pleasantry then they need to rethink their career goals.
Missed the morning practice but got the opportunity to catch the 3:30 show. Rams offense looked quite well against the (is this suppose to be practice) TN. Defense. I am a born native of STL and I now reside in TN. I’ve been a Ram fan since their arrival to STL. Titan fans have a stong hatred for the Rams and it shows by their player representation. I can’t wait till Saturday when we suit up and let our second string do in their 1st string defense because like the two pre-season games in the past, the Titans will treat it like it’s Superbowl 34’s repeat! Just keep our composure and run up the score the way we should have in the first half of that Superbowl. And, I’m tired of that phrase,”We were just one yard away”! Bull, Eddie George crawled into the end zone previously. Bling, Bling! Go mighty Rams!