Bledsoe, Parcells together again
Drew Bledsoe was one of the first players on the field in Oxnard, Calif., for the Dallas Cowboys’ first practice of training camp Saturday.
While he was eager to be back on the field again as coach Bill Parcells’ starting quarterback, Bledsoe had another reason for his early arrival.
“I’m just a little old, man. It takes me a little longer to get warmed up than some of these other guys,” said the 33-year-old Bledsoe, who is going into his 13th season.
Still, Bledsoe is eight years younger than Vinny Testaverde, the quarterback who reunited with Parcells last year and started 15 games.
Bledsoe’s about to be treated much like he was as a rookie in 1993 after Parcells took him with the No. 1 overall pick for New England.
When Bledsoe started talking this summer to Parcells about old times, the coach reminded him of the “leash” he was on early in his career to keep his impulses from taking over. That leash got longer during those four seasons until their last game together in the Super Bowl.
“I’m certain after that, it was even extended out by other coaches. I told him now it has come full circle,” Parcells said. “We want to go back and be a good game manager, try to avoid the bad plays, be a good decision-maker, and just reiterate the same things I reiterated to you when you were a rookie player. That’s really what I said to him.”
Bledsoe is the third starting quarterback for Parcells in his three camps with the Cowboys.
The constraints Parcells is putting on him aren’t really a reflection of Bledsoe, who signed a three-year contract with Dallas after being released by Buffalo.
“He’s a different guy than he was then,” Parcells said. “He is a much more mature adult. He’s in tremendous condition now.”
Parcells hopes that Bledsoe won’t have to be trying to win games on his own, and instead will get plenty of help from second-year running back Julius Jones, an offensive line that added Pro Bowl guard Marco Rivera, tight ends Jason Witten and Dan Campbell and receivers Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn, a former teammate of Bledsoe’s in New England.
Also, nine-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Larry Allen was placed on the physically unable to perform list after failing a conditioning test.
Packers sign Cal’s Rodgers
The Green Bay Packers signed first-round draft pick Aaron Rodgers.
The 6-foot-2, 223-pound quarterback out of California missed the first two days of camp, leaving backup quarterbacks Craig Nall and J.T. O’Sullivan doing extra reps behind starter Brett Favre.
Rodgers is the first quarterback selected in the first round by the Packers since 1981. He went 17-5 in two years as a starter at Cal.
Burress hurt in first practice
The New York Giants got a scare when Plaxico Burress, one of their main off-season acquisitions, injured a knee 30 minutes into the team’s first preseason practice.
Fortunately for the Giants and Burress, that’s all it was – a scare.
Coach Tom Coughlin said the initial diagnosis was a hyperextended knee and added: “If that’s what it is, then he’ll make good progress coming back.” He was back for the afternoon practice.
Burress, who spent his first five NFL seasons with Pittsburgh before signing a six-year, $25 million deal with New York, was one of several major free agent signings the Giants made in the off-season in hopes of improving on a 10-22 record the past two seasons.
Texans’ first-round pick signs
The Houston Texans signed first-round pick Travis Johnson.
Johnson, a defensive end out of Florida State, signed a five-year contract reportedly for around $10.2 million and was in camp to watch the second of two-a-day practices.
Davis can’t practice with Panthers
Stephen Davis, recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee, was unable to practice when the Panthers opened training camp.
“Age has nothing to do with it,” the 31-year-old running back repeated four times when asked about it.
On Friday, the Panthers placed Davis on the physically unable to perform list, saying he failed his physical and was not ready to practice. But he quickly disputed that, claiming he was never really examined because it had already been determined that he would slowly continue to rehab.
Jones tests Titans’ patience
Tennessee top draft pick Adam “Pacman” Jones missed a second straight day of training camp and the team is starting to get impatient.
The Titans have publicly said they are determined to protect themselves in negotiating their contract with the cornerback picked sixth overall, the first defensive player taken in the draft.
Jones was arrested July 13 after turning himself in after an incident at a Nashville night club, and Robert Gaddy, a friend of Titans quarterback Steve McNair, has said he is thinking of dropping the charges. Coach Jeff Fisher said general manager Floyd Reese seems frustrated.
“It appears he has a right to be frustrated,” Fisher said. “In his mind, he’s done his part, and the ball’s in their court, so we hope that we get something done quick. This is valuable time that he’s missing.”
McDougle will miss at least month
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Jerome McDougle is expected to miss at least four weeks while recovering from a gunshot wound, the team said.
McDougle was shot in the stomach by armed robbers late Thursday night in southwest Miami, police said Friday.
The Eagles said he will remain in the hospital for another five to seven days after undergoing surgery. McDougle, a first-round pick in 2003 who was plagued by injuries in his first two seasons, was projected to be a starter this season.
Wright returns to Dolphins
Miami Dolphins rookie defensive tackle Manuel Wright returned to practice, four days after he was publicly scolded by coach Nick Saban and left the field in tears.
Saban ripped into the 6-foot-6, 329-pound Wright as players were warming up Tuesday. Wright left the field wiping his eyes.
Wright missed subsequent practices with a sore back.
“It was a tough week, but that’s part of being a professional,” Wright said.
Wright, who played on Southern Cal’s national championship team last year, was taken in the fifth round of last month’s NFL supplemental draft.