08-10-2007, 10:54 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Momma McNabb
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Jeffy's house
Posts: 12,476
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Vernon Davis and Larry Allen brawl on same side of ball
Inside Bay Area - Allen, Davis brawl on same side of ball
Quote:
Tight end Vernon Davis and guard Larry Allen brawled on the sideline and had to be pulled a part by 49ers teammates and coaches in the midst of an intrasquad scrimmage that drew about 4,000 fans to the team's practice facility Saturday.
Davis and Allen got into the scrape, which was largely out of view from the fans, after the first-team offense failed to score against the second-team defense during a 12-play possession.
Neither Allen nor Davis was made available after the practice.
Coach Mike Nolan said frustration over the offense's initial failure to score was at the center of the unusual dustup between offensive teammates. Fights are fairly common on the practice field but usually occur between players on opposite sides of the ball.
Nolan said he planned to address the matter with Davis, Allen and the rest of the team.
"I don't like guys fighting for someone to get hurt, but let me put it this way, if you're fighting about something, it means something to you, and that's really important," Nolan said. "A lot of times, you'll find teams, and it's all warm and fuzzy all the time, and those teams in my opinion typically struggle to win games, because something is not important to them."
Defensive end Bryant Young, who was held out of the scrimmage, was among the players who helped lead Davis away from Allen.
"We all get in scuffles now and then. It happens. I've been in a few of them myself," Young said. "We all want
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to do well in this game, and emotions fly high. You just have to stay under control."
Though both Allen and Davis went at each other furiously, Young said he didn't anticipate any future problems between the two.
"It's not a concern. I wouldn't make more of it than it is," Young said.
Team spokesman Aaron Salkin said that team chaplain Earl Smith got Davis and Allen together after the scrimmage, and the two exchanged conciliatory words.
COACHES NEED PRACTICE, TOO: Offensive coordinator Jim Hostler and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky are both first-time play-callers at the NFL level. On Saturday, they got a chance to test-drive their play-calling skills through the course of the approximately 75-play scrimmage.
On a rotating basis, the first-team offense went against the second-team defense and the first-team defense went against the second-team offense, then the third-team units finished up by going against each other.
"Not only was this scrimmage for the players, but from the coaching standpoint, I wanted to get Jim Hostler and Greg Manusky both in as many different situations as I could get them into," Nolan said. "That's why when I got in red zone, I tried to stay in there a little bit longer and to move the ball around, for the players and coaches. Greg and Jim will both evaluate their own calls."
Nolan said he was leaning toward having both Hostler and Manusky call plays from the press box rather than be based on the sideline, though he has not made a final decision.
During the exhibition season, Hostler and Manusky will be down on the sideline for two games and up in the press box for another.
SCRIMMAGE HIGHLIGHTS: The first-team defense was unscored upon. Cornerback Nate Clements outjumped Ashley Lelie to make an interception in the end zone, and linebacker Manny Lawson intercepted a Shaun Hill pass and returned it for a touchdown.
Alex Smith led a touchdown drive that was set up by three completions to Darrell Jackson. During one sequence, Smith also threw consecutive 20-yard touchdown passes to Bryan Gilmore and Davis, who lobbed the ball to a fan in the stands. The ball boy went into the stands to get the ball back, and the fan gave it back. The boos rained down from the crowd, and moments later, the ball boy returned the ball to the fan.
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Vernon Davis and Larry Allen brawl on same side of ball
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