Red Flags From Clifton Smith

July 31st, 2010
Careful, Peanut, don't drop the little girl.

Careful, Peanut, don't drop the little girl. JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett.

Now Joe loves the electrifying play of Clifton Smith the return guy. Undrafted, he started his career fumbling like a madman, but he stuck with it (and Chucky stuck with him) and turned it around.

However, Clifton Smith the running back has always been a fumbler in his limited touches. It is what it is.

At training camp today, twice Smith put the ball on the ground working with the offense.

Now both fumbles were ruled to have occurred after the plays were dead, but both were pretty darn close. The first time the ground likely caused the fumble, and the other time he was stripped (allegedly after the whistle) and rookie defensive end Erik Lorig scooped it up and took off.

Joe knows these were not officially fumbles, but for a guy like Smith with a history of coughing up the ball, it did nothing to soothe Joe’s concerns about Smith getting involved in the offense.

3 Responses to “Red Flags From Clifton Smith”

  1. Gary Says:

    Joe,

    Is it common practice for NFL teams to have refs in training camp? I think its a great idea, just curious if thats the norm.

    Peanut please

  2. Gary Says:

    stop dropping the ball!

  3. Joe Says:

    Gary:

    Yes, it is common at NFL training camps to have referees there. Agreed, it’s a good idea.