NFL Training Camp Update

Ah, the lads start getting a little hot under the collar (and helmet) as training camp nears its sweaty end.

The New York Jets and Washington Redskins brawled at a joint practice, with fans behind the fences joining in.

Now the Cleveland Browns are blowing up at each other – and it’s the coaches, not the players.

You can see a good portion of this bark-fest between offensive coordinator Todd Haley and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on HBO’s Hard Knocks on Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET. HBO gets total access when it puts this show together, so you can sense the real and raw emotion of what takes place on the field and behind the scenes.

Know this: In a Mr. Popularity contest in which only Haley and Williams were entered, neither would win. Neither would finish second. Of course, when a team goes winless, as the Browns did last year, and wins only one game in the season before that, maybe a dash of hot sauce can’t hurt.

In this scenario, Haley took exception to a defensive player hitting quarterback Baker Mayfield, the overall No. 1 pick in the draft and the Heisman Trophy winner, a bit late during a drill. QBs are off limits in practice. So Haley expressed himself colorfully. Williams told Haley that perhaps his line should block better. This exchange included lots of words you can hear on HBO but not on network TV.

Coach Hue Jackson said he settled both of his feisty coordinators down and actually likes that they showed this sort of fire (not that Williams doesn’t every day).

“You have to play this game that way,” Jackson said. “You better have a fire in your belly to play. This is a hard-driving business. Everybody can’t do it. It’s tough. I think that’s the way football is played and I’m glad both of those guys are here. They do a good job.”

After his team went 1-31 in his first two seasons, Jackson can only hope that fire burns others and not him.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman