Tuesday, June 9, 2009
“4th and Long” Recap: Episode 4
In this episode of "4th and Long", it was all about the end zone. The first drill the players were run through was a jump ball drill in which one wide receiver and one defensive back each had to fight it out in the end zone for a ball thrown high. The guest was former Cowboy, five-time Pro Bowler, and three-time Super Bowl champ Darren Woodson. The DBs dominated the drill and as a reward received their cell phones back to call someone of their choosing (as you'll recall, all the competitors electronics were taken away from them in the first episode). WR Luke Swan was held out of the day's activities for a groin injury he incurred in the previous episode.
In week four of "Joe Avezzano genitalia reference" watch, the WR coach didn't call anyone a "slapdick" this episode, but he did tell his players that they were running as though their "(Bleep) is stuck in the mud."
During the second session the coaches ran the 2-Minute Drill, in which the offense has two minutes to find the end zone from some set distance. The DBs struggled, Donte Gamble in particular, which pissed off Michael Irvin. As a result, he set the final distance to 99 yards. After gaining a few yards on the first down, the stand-in quarterback suggested a Hook and Ladder play, which befuddled the defense and gained the remaining 85 or so yards for a touchdown. Irvin chastised the defense for falling for a "high school Harry" play, before puling everyone together and congratulating them on a good session.
The following morning the group ran through some basic drills without pads, in which Swan attempted to rejoin but once again tweaked his groin muscle. His trainer didn't hold back in explaining how she disagreed with his decision to practice.
Swan and Gamble were called into the War Room and Swan was eventually cut for being injury prone despite an otherwide good performance and attitude. "Stepping back and looking at the circumstances, I can't blame them at all for the decision they made," said Swan following the cut. "I've been injured quite a few times and I have to sit down and seriously think about possibly putting the cleats up."
To watch: WR Andrew Hawkins, who was told he's too small for the position, was one of the top performers in this episode with creative play and a knack for juking the DBs. Consistently doing well, he's one of the front-runners in this competition.
Posted by Erin
