Three fights in three days have put a Saints rookie out of practice

I know football is a physical sport, but when you’re new to OTAs and trying to make an impression that will keep you on an NFL roster for years, it doesn’t seem like you get along with your teammates beat the best course of action.

A fight? Okay, maybe it was just a misunderstanding or a misunderstanding of the team’s training culture. Two fights? Now you’re entering tricky territory. Three fights? Now you’re in good standing and you’re asking to be reprimanded by your team. That’s exactly what the Saints’ first-round rookie tackle Trevor Penning did, however. Worse, Penning got caught in those fights for three consecutive days. It became a Saints tradition: stretching, calisthenics, positional exercises, setting up for scrimmage, fighting Penning. Saints head coach Dennis Allen likely added it to the team’s practice schedule this morning.

https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1554880461633212416

Penning is known for being an aggressive guy in the trenches. He has even publicly stated that his favorite part of football is “attacking the person across from you”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCMvC3M5fJE

That doesn’t look good for someone who’s “total shit” and “overly aggressive.”

Surprisingly, many people came to Penning’s defense in the comments section of the tweet I was referring to. Several people claimed that Penning was just “playing through the whistle” or “playing hard”. Others claimed Penning did not start some of the fights.

In the video we can see punches being thrown in Penning’s direction before Penning makes a non-football move towards the other player. On those defenses, I ask, “Would it still be ‘hard to play’ if one of Penning’s teammates got injured?” and “Obviously Penning has a good reputation, so I doubt this is the first kerfuffle he’s been in.” located. If the opposing player thinks Penning might start fighting them at any moment, I would also throw in a punch to try and stop it before it starts.” There’s a difference between playing hard and playing hard to hurt someone. The saints know the difference all too good. Penning doesn’t stick to the line. For years he hopped on the wrong side, probably only getting away with it because he was too talented to be scolded in college.

Penning has had this problem with aggressiveness for some time. Even at the Senior Bowl, Penning, who played for Northern Iowa, was seen consistently chasing some of his opponents a little too hard.

https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1555212211034853376

From the reactions of the people Penning acted against, you can see that Penning’s so-called “aggression” was not normal. You could argue that all of these guys were just upset that Penning beat them, but with so many players upset you have to look at the common denominator. If a man has multiple ex-girlfriends talking shit about him, it probably means he was the problem and vice versa.

Nor are these aggressive tendencies indicative of greatness in the NFL. Most of the time, they just bring unwanted attention and/or trouble. Penning will replace Terron Armstead as the starting right for the Saints next season. Armstead was and still is one of the best left tackles in the game. From 2018 to 2020, he received three consecutive Pro Bowl nominations. Has Armstead ever been an issue in Saints training? no Is David Bakhtiari a problem in Packers practice? Sure, Trent Williams had that whole holdout situation with the commanders and once beat Richard Sherman in the face, but at least the two didn’t have to share the same dressing room. Quenton Nelson? Corey Linsey? Creed Humphrey? Joel Bitonio? Ryan Ramczyk? Joe Thuney? Orlando Brown Jr? Ronny Stanley? Did any of them have a history of violence against teammates? No, but they’re all considered some of the best offensive linemen in the NFL today. Shocking I know. How could they become great without starting any fights in training? It’s an unsolvable mystery that science may never be able to answer.

While every NFL team would rather have an offensive lineman who needs to tone things down rather than build his physicality, teams also really appreciate a guy who knows when to turn off that aggression and how to be a good teammate who doesn’t does danger of hurting other players. When even the team’s head coach says, “We don’t have time for [Penning’s actions]’, you know something is wrong.

https://twitter.com/MikeTriplett/status/1554864622800457731

There have been a multitude of great NFL players who struggled with attitude adjustments early in their NFL careers. Vernon Davis is the first person that comes to mind. He needed Mike Singletary to attack him before he was ready to hit the stratosphere of the NFL’s tight end elite. There are other examples as well, but more often than not, if the player’s attitude is not checked, they can never fully commit to their team and become more of a disadvantage than an advantage. So, yes, the Saints should be worried about Penning’s antics. They picked him in the first round and expect him to be a key part of the team’s offensive line as it moves forward. He better damn clear his head.