SI

Cary Williams-Riley Cooper scuffle suggests larger issues in Philadelphia

Fights during practice don't usually mean much -- it's just guys blowing their tops for a minute during rehearsals that can be physical, whether the NFL likes

Doug Farrar

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Fights during practice don't usually mean much -- it's just guys blowing their tops for a minute during rehearsals that can be physical, whether the NFL likes it or not. However, the Thursday scuffle between two Philadelphia Eagles -- receiver Riley Cooper and cornerback Cary Williams -- might be indicative of larger issues. Quarterback Michael Vick was the one breaking up the fracas, which started after Williams batted a ball that Vick threw to Cooper. Williams and Cooper went at it for a few seconds, were separated, and Williams then started walking after Cooper, jawing all the way. At that point, Vick physically restrained Williams, and gave him a good talking-to.

After practice, Vick was congratulated by one reporter for being a peacemaker, according to Philly.com's Les Bowen. Vick's response? "I try to be the peacemaker, but these young dudes don't respect me."

"Our maturity level's gotta be on a whole different plane. Regardless of who the catalyst was for the whole fight, that doesn't matter. We've gotta be men. We're not guys who are out on the street, fighting one another. We're teammates ... It's game week. We don't have time for that. I don't. It's a distraction."

Cooper said that the fight was not related to the racist remarks he made at a concert earlier this year, which caused turmoil in the Eagles' locker room. Cooper left the team for a short time before returning.

“Just one-on-ones," he said. "Both being super competitive, going for the ball, and we were tangled.”

But according to Jeff McClane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it was about more than that.

Williams, signed to a three-year, $17 million contract in March, missed most of the preseason with injuries, and missed OTAs for more interesting reasons -- home construction, dental work and his daughter's dance recital. He was kicked off the field for fighting with New England Patriots receiver Aaron Dobson during joint practices in August, and said after the Patriots' beatdown of the Eagles' defense that none of this would have happened if Williams were still with the Ravens and the Ravens were playing the Patriots.

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Doug Farrar
DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009,  Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine.  He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.

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