Training Camp Roundup: Aug. 8

Updated: August 8, 2009, 11:45 PM ET

Training Camp Roundup: Aug. 8

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Mort Goes To Camp: Lions

Chris Mortensen stops by the Lions training camp in Allen Park, Michigan and talks to new coach Jim SchwartzTags: NFL, Detroit Lions, Matthew Stafford, Daunte Culpepper

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LIONS DRAW 15,000 HOPEFUL FANS FOR PRACTICE (11:41 p.m. ET)
The Detroit Lions set a record for futility last year in compiling the NFL's first 0-16 season. The team hasn't reached the playoffs in a decade, and has won just once in the postseason since 1957. But their fans still love them.

Thousands of fans stood outside of Ford Field in a line in persistent rain on Saturday to wait to go inside and watch a team that can only improve on last year's dismal season. More than half the players are new, as is the coaching staff and front office. Small numbers of fans have attended practices at the team's training facility, but Saturday's two-hour open practice offered fans their first long look at the team.

"I've got hope," said fan Greg Kowaleski, of Southgate. "There's a new coach and a lot of new players. Things are pretty bad around here so maybe they'll entertain us."

Before practice, coach Jim Schwartz spoke with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who stopped by on his way to Canton, Ohio, for Saturday night's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

-- The Associated Press

GIANTS SCUFFLE, COULD LOSE OL LOUIS (8:35 p.m. ET)
The New York Giants got a little feisty in their evening practice Saturday and it may have cost them a player.

In an evening filled with scuffles, free agent offensive lineman Cliff Louis appeared to hurt his left knee when defensive tackle Dave Tollefson threw offensive tackle William Beatty into Scott's knee.

Coach Tom Coughlin immediately stopped practice and screamed at the team in the wake of the injury and the scuffles that preceded the injury.

Louis was taken off the field on a golf cart. The extent of his injury was not immediately available.

-- The Associated Press

GORE SAYS IT'S TIME FOR DAVIS TO GROW UP (4:19 p.m. ET)
Vernon Davis found out in a hurry that his old antics won't be tolerated with Mike Singletary running the San Francisco 49ers' show.

As if Davis needed a reminder.

After the testy tight end scuffled -- he won't call it a fight, rather just an act of being competitive -- with linebacker Marques Harris during a recent practice, everybody paid. As in all the Niners running enough "gassers," 12 sprints across the width of the field, to make one pass out as Davis so put it.

"A few guys were mad, but like I told them, 'You can't get mad because there will be times you make the rest of us run," Davis said. "I told them they should be happy that I made them run because it's extra work for us and a chance for us to get better, keep our lungs going."

The excitable Davis, a regular fighter during his first three NFL seasons, received a talking-to from Singletary. Star running back Frank Gore spoke up as well. The two have an amicable relationship.

"I wasn't mad about having to run gassers," Gore said Saturday. "I just feel it's his fourth year now, and I told him it shouldn't be him now. Everybody makes mistakes but it shouldn't be him. OK, a rookie, I accept that. It's his fourth year now, now it's time. It's time to be a man and try to do everything right. There are younger guys who probably look up to you on the team."

-- The Associated Press

NINERS' CRABTREE MISSES EIGHTH DAY OF CAMP (4:19 p.m. ET)
New San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye says Michael Crabtree will have no choice but to play catch up in a hurry once he signs.

The holdout receiver and top Niners' draft pick missed his eighth day of training camp Saturday during his contract impasse.

Raye says the 10th overall pick out of Texas Tech will have to find a way to get up to speed because that's what he gets paid to do.

-- The Associated Press

BRONCOS PUT DL PARKER ON IR WITH KNEE INJURY (3:36 p.m. ET)
The Denver Broncos have placed defensive lineman J'Vonne Parker on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Team spokesman Dave Gaylinn said Saturday that Parker was hurt Thursday while the Broncos were practicing at Invesco Field.

Parker was undrafted out of Rutgers in 2005, but the fifth-year pro has made stops in Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. He has six tackles and a fumble recovery in appearances in 11 games.

Parker's injury opens up a roster spot for the Broncos' top draft pick, running back Knowshon Moreno, who agreed to a five-year, $23 million contract Friday. He'll join the team Sunday when it returns from a one-day respite.

-- The Associated Press

PANTHERS SCRIMMAGE, BUT WITHOUT THEIR STARS (2:47 p.m. ET)
The Carolina Panthers held their annual Fan Fest without their regular stars.

Panthers coach John Fox held out most of the top players during a short intrasquad scrimmage Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

The 15,549 fans didn't see running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart or wide receivers Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad. Defensive stalwart Julius Peppers also didn't play.

Fox says he withheld the top players because the Panthers reported to training camp a few days later than normal. The Panthers open the preseason Aug. 17 on the road against the New York Giants.

The Panthers have Sunday off and resume practice Monday in Spartanburg, S.C.

-- The Associated Press

COLTS' SORGI OUT TWO TO THREE WEEKS WITH HAMSTRING (2:39 p.m. ET)
The Indianapolis Colts will be without backup quarterback Jim Sorgi for at least a couple of weeks, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Sorgi strained his right hamstring Friday afternoon during practice.

"Sorgi has got a pretty good strain,'' coach Jim Caldwell said Saturday after the team's Blue and White controlled scrimmage at Rose-Hulman. "Not quite certain how long it's going to take him to get back, maybe two to three weeks.''

Sorgi's absence leaves the Colts with only two quarterbacks -- Peyton Manning and rookie Curtis Painter.

-- ESPN.com news services

HARGROVE MAKING A NEW START WITH SAINTS (8:55 a.m. ET)
Anthony Hargrove's friends thought he was asking for trouble -- yet again -- when he rejoined the NFL in New Orleans, of all places.

Hargrove doesn't hide that he is a recovering alcoholic, and he recently served a yearlong NFL suspension for being a three-time violator of the league's substance abuse policy. So when the 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive lineman resumed his football career in the home of Mardi Gras revelry, French Quarter bars that stay open all night and drive-through daiquiri stands, some saw it as a dubious decision.

"This is the last place you'd think I'd want to go," Hargrove said. "People were like, 'Man, you could get alcohol anywhere.' And I'm like, 'I don't have to drink it.'"

From a professional standpoint, Hargrove had practical reasons to choose New Orleans. For one, defensive line coach Bill Johnson had confidence in him, having worked him out back when Hargrove was leaving Georgia Tech and Johnson was still an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons.

Then there's the possibility of starting defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant being forced to serve four-game suspensions because they tested positive last year for a banned diuretic that can be used to mask steroids. If Smith and Grant are out for the first four regular-season games, Hargrove could find himself playing a major role right away at end or tackle.

-- ESPN.com news services

BATTLE MAKING BEST OF CHANCE TO MAKE CHIEFS (8:49 a.m. ET)
The theme for the Kansas City Chiefs in their first year under coach Todd Haley has been competition. Never give up in drills. Always try to be first in conditioning. Every job is open to whoever works the hardest.

It's been the perfect atmosphere for running back Jackie Battle, an undrafted free agent out of Houston who has bounced around in his three years in the NFL. After all those ups and downs, Battle finally feels like this is his chance.

The third-year running back has thrived in Haley's never-let-down approach, giving himself a shot at making the 53-man roster, though he's got little chance of knocking Larry Johnson out of the starter's role.

"Todd said it was open this year and he's actually having his open competition," Battle said. "He's giving everybody a shot. All I could do is ask for a shot and I'm finally getting it.

"As of right now I'm just trying to prove I can play special teams -- I think that's the best way to get on," Battle said. "After that, I want to try to get some carries this year. I mean, I'm a running back -- I want to carry the ball some."

-- ESPN.com news services

KITNA ACCEPTS ROLE AS ROMO'S BACKUP (8:41 a.m. ET)
Sometimes the challenge of the day is completing the most passes in 7-on-7 drills. Sometimes it's being more accurate on a particular route.

Every day, though, Jon Kitna is challenging Tony Romo to something.

Their competitions are friendly but serious, an attempt to make each other better. The one thing they're not competing for is to be the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

Kitna understands that is Romo's job. As the backup, Kitna figures one of his duties is keeping Romo as sharp as possible, which is why he's always finding ways to spice up practice.

"That's what I was taught when I came into the league, from John Friesz and Warren Moon," said Kitna, who has been in the NFL since 1996. "You had to compete with each other to make each other better, even though you're not competing for playing time. You want to be the guy to perform at the highest level at practice."

-- The Associated Press