I know football is a physical sport, but when it’s your first time in OTAs and you’re trying to make an impression that will keep you on the NFL roster for years to come, brawling with fellow Your team doesn’t seem to be the best way of acting.
A fight? Okay, maybe it’s just a miscommunication or misunderstanding of the team’s practice culture. Two wars? Now, you’re entering dice territory. Three wars? You now have a reputation and you are asking to be reprimanded by your team. That’s exactly what the first rookie of the Saints faced Trevor Penning. Even worse, Penning got into a fight for three days in a row. It has become a tradition of the Saints: Stretching, retreats, poses, line-ups for scripts, Penning fights. Saints head coach Dennis Allen probably made it into the team’s training schedule that morning.
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1554880461633212416
Penning was known to be a belligerent in the trenches. He even openly stated that his favorite part of football is “attacking the person opposite you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCMvC3M5fJE
That’s not a good look for someone who has been called “total injections” and “too aggressive. ”
G/O Media may receive a commission
28% Off
Apple AirPods Pro Wireless Earbuds
Music+
These are the pinnacle of Apple AirPod design, and feature active noise cancelling, a transparency mode for when you need to hear what’s around you, spatial audio for accuracy, adaptive EQ, and are even sweat resistant.
Surprisingly, a lot of people came to Penning’s defense in the comment section of the tweet I referenced. Several people were claiming that Penning was just “playing through the whistle” or “playing hard.” Others claimed that Penning didn’t start some of the fights.
In the video, we can see punches being thrown in Penning’s direction before Penning makes any non-football-related move toward the other player. To those defenses, I ask “Would it still be ‘playing hard’ if one of Penning’s teammates ended up getting injured?” and “Clearly, Penning has a reputation so I doubt this is the first kerfuffle he’s found himself in. If the opposing player believes Penning could start fighting them at any moment, I’d throw a punch too to try to end it before it starts.” There’s a difference between playing hard and playing to hurt someone. Saints know the difference all too good. Penning does not crop. For years he was on the wrong track, possibly just walking away because he was too talented to be reprimanded in college.
Penning has had this problem with aggression for a while. Even at the Senior Bowl, Penning, who plays for Northern Iowa, was consistently struggling behind some of his opponents.
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1555212211034853376
You may know the reaction of those to whom Penning goes against that Penning’s so-called “aggression” is unusual. You could make the argument that all of these guys were just upset when Penning beat them, but with so many players getting upset, you have to look at the common denominator. When some of a man’s ex-girlfriends talk nonsense about him, it could mean he’s the one with the problem and vice versa.
These belligerent tendencies are no sign of greatness in the NFL either. More often than not, they just cause unwanted attention and/or trouble. Penning will replace Terron Armstead as the Saints’ starting tackler for the upcoming season. Armstead was, and still is, one of the best left saves in the game. He won three consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2018 to 2020. Was Armstead ever an issue in Saints reality? No. Is David Bakhtiari a problem in Packers practice? Sure enough, Trent Williams had that whole holding situation with the Commanders and once punch Richard Sherman face-to-face, but at least the two are not in the same dressing room. Quenton Nelson? Corey Linsley? Creed Humphrey? Joel Bitonio? Ryan Ramczyk? Joe Thuney? Orlando Brown Jr.? Ronnie Stanley? Did any of them have a history of violence against teammates? No, they’re all considered one of the best offensive lineups in the NFL right now. I know. How can they become great without starting any battles while training? It’s a hard-to-solve mystery that science may never be able to solve.
While any NFL team would love to have a top laner who needs to calm things down rather than improve his fitness, teams also greatly appreciate a guy who knows when to turn off that aggressiveness and How to be a good teammate who doesn’t risk 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 countless great NFL players who have struggled with attitude adjustment early in their NFL careers. Vernon Davis was the first to come to mind. He needs Mike Singletary to lie on him before he’s ready to plunge into the stratosphere of the NFL’s tight last elite. There are other examples as well, but more often than not, when a player’s attitude is said to be unchecked, they can never fully commit to their team and they become a disadvantage. rather than an asset. So yes, the Saints should be alarmed by Penning’s antics. They have given him first choice and expect him to be an important part of the team’s attack going forward. He’d better stand up straight.
