Players on a pitch count: Thirty-five year old CB Antoine Winfield had apparently exhausted his pitch count as he sat out plenty of reps in the Thursday afternoon practice. “Antoine got a little R&R today,” coach Leslie Frazier said. “We’re taking care of him a little bit. We got a long ways to go.”
Frazier said they have done that with Winfield in the past and it has been effective. He said they have also reached that point with the soon-to-be 32-year-old DT Kevin Williams. “We will pull back a little bit (on his reps) and make sure we have him ready to go when we line up against Jacksonville -- so he’s playing at a high speed,” Frazier said.
Swing and a miss on the pitch count: Coach Leslie Frazier on the news that DE Jared Allen said he hadn’t been approached by the coaches about rotating the defensive linemen so they are fresh: “Believe me, we have talked about this subject a number of times, contrary to what Mr. Allen has to say. We talked about it even this morning.”
Childs' play: WR Greg Childs had the play of the day in camp. Covered in the corner of the end zone, Childs jumped and reached over the defender, catching the pass on the defender’s back. Coach Frazier, like the fans in attendance, enjoyed Childs' acrobatics.
“That was a nice play!” Frazier said. “We saw him do that in college, as well. That was great concentration -- that’s what we need. We need a guy to make that hard catch for us even when they are covered.”
Politically correct Ponder: QB Christian Ponder was asked to name one guy who has turned his head in camp, any position, and Ponder proceeded to name just about everyone on the offense that he could think of from Matt Kalil to everyone he’s thrown the ball to. The reporter said, “Very diplomatic not picking just one, right?” Ponder responded: “Exactly, exactly.”
Injury update: OL Patrick Brown had a potential MCL sprain at practice, but Frazier said it didn’t appear as bad as TE John Carlson’s and expected he might be back in a couple days. RB Jordan Todman sprained his ankle, and Frazier said he, too, should be fine after a little ice. He will be day to day. ... S Robert Blanton is in the early stages of a hamstring injury, so he is day to day, but CB Josh Robinson is moving around well and is getting closer to getting back out on the field, Frazier said.
Tough news: MLB Jasper Brinkley is playing with a heavy heart this week as news came out that WR O.J. Murdock, his former teammate at South Carolina, committed suicide on Monday. This is the second former teammate Brinkley has lost to a suicide. In 2010, WR Kenny McKinley also took his own life.
“[Murdock] was another guy that was full of life,” Brinkley said. “When something like that happens, you just never know -- I can’t even sit out here and begin to wonder what went wrong. In life, you never know what someone is going through. You just have to go out live each day like it’s your last.”
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