For a guy who tried out for football in high school only at his cousin’s urging, Jermaine Phillips has had quite a career.
The Georgia and Roswell High School star won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 season. He replaced Hall of Fame candidate John Lynch at safety in 2004. Now he’s taking over at weakside linebacker for 11-time Pro Bowler Derrick Brooks, another likely Hall of Fame player, who was released by the team over the offseason but hasn’t retired yet.
Phillips, a 2002 fifth-round draft pick who has started 71 games over seven seasons, has been working at the new spot since the beginning of the offseason, when first-year coach Raheem Morris called Phillips into his office. He showed him some film clips of Phillips playing close to the line, making linebacker-type plays, and asked him what he thought of making the switch.
Said Phillips, “I was like, You know what, Coach? I’m not going to know until I try. I’m willing to try anything.”
The development has been gradual. In addition to a new position, Phillips is learning a new defense, as Jim Bates has replaced Monte Kiffin as the Bucs’ defensive coordinator. But over mini-camp practices, offseason workouts and now training camp, it’s slowly beginning to make sense.
“He took it on head-on like everything he’s ever done,” said linebackers coach Joe Barry. “When you make a drastic move like this, you have to have that mentality.”
The big differences are the speed at which Phillips has to make decisions and the more physical level of play closer to the line of scrimmage.
“Physical play has never been something ‘Flip’ hasn’t been able to do,” Barry said. “He’s been one of the most violent safeties in the league, in my opinion.”
As for replacing Brooks, Phillips jokingly wondered if perhaps his position-changing days aren’t over.
“I’m a safety-slash-linebacker,” he said. “I’m a little athlete. Maybe if we need a [defensive] end, I’ll put on a few pounds and play there. I’m just going where needed.”
Ex-UGA TE Watson fighting for starting job
New England Patriots tight end Ben Watson, once a cog in the team’s offense, is in a fight for his starting job. Over the offseason, New England signed tight end Chris Baker to a five-year contract and made a trade for another tight end, Alex Smith. Further, Watson, a former Georgia star, missed nine days of camp with an unspecified injury.
Now in the last year of his rookie contract, Watson is coming off of his least productive year since his 2004 rookie season, which was lost after one game to a knee injury.
“I don’t think it really matters what any of us did last year or any other year,” coach Bill Belichick said in response to a question about Watson missing time in camp. “We’re into a new season, and that goes for everybody — coaches, players, veteran players, rookie players, guys that were on this team last year, guys that were on another team last year. We’re starting a new process. We all need to get ourselves ready.”
Protecting Peyton Manning's blind side
Perhaps the most important NFL player you know little or nothing about is Charlie Johnson. The Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle made his first training-camp practice last week after tearing his pectoral muscle in the spring, and was put in at starting left tackle. He replaced Tony Ugoh, who started the past two seasons but has not lived up to the expectations held for him when he was drafted in the second round in 2007.
If Ugoh holds onto the job — it’s possible the Colts are trying to motivate him – he’ll be responsible for protecting quarterback Peyton Manning’s blind side. That job was filled ably by Tarik Glenn for Manning’s first nine seasons. Ugoh, drafted to eventually replace Glenn, became the starter as a rookie when Glenn unexpectedly retired just before training camp in 2007.
Johnson was drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 draft out of Oklahoma State.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, the third overall pick of the 2006 draft, might lose the No. 2 job behind starter Kerry Collins to veteran Patrick Ramsey. Young needs to prove that he’s worth keeping around as quarterback of the future material. He will count more than $14 million against the salary cap if he’s on the roster for the 2010 season, though his agent reportedly has said that Young might be agreeable to re-working the contract.
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