Fights at practice

Ratt Mhule

Ratt Mhule

Heisman Trophy Winner
With all the reports of players fighting at practice, just wanted to get everyone's opinion on the topic. Do fights between offense and defense help build team chemistry or tear a team apart? Kind of reminds me of Remember the Titans a little bit but that stuff ended bringing them closer together. I guess my opinion is how well the coaches handle it. If the coaches handle it well, it can bring the team closer, but if it keeps happening on a regular basis it can tear the players apart and create animosity towards eachother. Thoughts?

 
Po Belini said:
With all the reports of players fighting at practice, just wanted to get everyone's opinion on the topic. Do fights between offense and defense help build team chemistry or tear a team apart? Kind of reminds me of Remember the Titans a little bit but that stuff ended bringing them closer together. I guess my opinion is how well the coaches handle it. If the coaches handle it well, it can bring the team closer, but if it keeps happening on a regular basis it can tear the players apart and create animosity towards eachother. Thoughts?
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I think it's pretty normal this time of year for all football teams.

Does anyone have any details on yesterday's fight?

 
I was a trainer at Clemson, and the players fought on a regular basis. As long as they had helmets, pads, etc on, the coaches let them go at it, then broke it up as soon as that stuff came off.

No big deal. Many times they'd go and shake hands with each other not long after the fight, just got caught up in the moment. It's not always a bad thing to see some fire out of your players, and they're getting tired of hitting the same people over and over.

 
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From the players I knew, fighting seems to be a regular occurrence. A player once told me that Riola(sp) was in a fight nearly every day at practice. They all have on helmets and pads, so how bad can they really hurt one another?

 
It's not a big deal. Football is a physical and emotional sport. When you're going against a guy, even in practice, emotions can spill over. You get in fights with friends and are still friends after, right?

 
As someone who has played the game their whole life, I can say that fights happen all the time and it's not necessarily a bad thing. As mentioned above, people get caught up in the moment and go at it....it happens to any team that is stocked full of 100 testosterone filled guys playing a contact sport.

Personally, I feel like it brings a team closer and it's always good to see passion and fire out of your players.

 
I'd say that it's a good thing. Not from the standpoint of pulling a team together, but it shows that the guys are practicing with emotion and like the saying goes practice how you play.

My Dad used to officiate scrimmages through the 90's and into the Solich era until they stopped doing that with Billy C. But he used to tell me under McBride the defense was always fired up and scuffles/fights were almost a daily occurrence. The price was always running stadium steps if it disrupted practice and I think guys like Jason Peter got to know those steps pretty intricatley. At the end of the day though they still have to respect their teammates since they all have a common goal.

 
ZRod said:
I'd say that it's a good thing. Not from the standpoint of pulling a team together, but it shows that the guys are practicing with emotion and like the saying goes practice how you play.

My Dad used to officiate scrimmages through the 90's and into the Solich era until they stopped doing that with Billy C. But he used to tell me under McBride the defense was always fired up and scuffles/fights were almost a daily occurrence. The price was always running stadium steps if it disrupted practice and I think guys like Jason Peter got to know those steps pretty intricatley. At the end of the day though they still have to respect their teammates since they all have a common goal.
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not a problem, boys will be boys. Battle for positions brings this out!!

 
Very normal thing that happens at practice, doesn't bother me as long as the coaches keep it controlled and not let it get too serious.

 
I think it depends. Someone whips a knife out of their sock and its way past time to put a stop to it. But if you're playing a game as physical as football in 90 degree heat and you're two hours into your second practice of the day, tensions run high. It's only natural.

Heard there was hell to pay for it yesterday, though.

 
Hardly ever is there fights within the the offense or defensive sides, and its usually during inside drills between the OL/DL units. Its the trenches!

 
Agreed.^ It's usually a unit that fights like if the linebackers are doing drills they'll get into it or the d-backs etc.

 
I bet the defense is getting used to not having their way with the offense anymore and are not liking that a whole lot. Or at least I hope so.

 
I read a book once that talked about "wacky" sports happenings. Apparently, Nebraska played a team sometime in the 1950s and was losing at half-time. The coach at the time only said that the first 11 guys out the door would start the second half. Apparently a brawl ensued but 11 guys made it out. Nebraska won (13-9 I think).

That being said, I guess fights can be good!

 
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