Every NFL Player is “Catching On”

Around this time for the past couple of years, I’ve documented the absurdity of NFL training camp. It isn’t the physical aspect or the player holdouts that amaze me, it’s the shear public compliments and praise coaches and NFL executives give to certain players. The lesson to be learned is that regardless of what the team says, you take it everything with a grain of salt.

Last year, Lions rookie Kevin Smith talked about a Super Bowl, Lovie Smith talked about Rasheid Davis having a #1 receiver-caliber camp, the Seahawks bragged about Courtney Taylor and Ben Obamanu (who?) and Mike Martz talked glowingly of J.T. O’Sullivan. No surprises there, nor were there when Martz said Tatum Bell was the new age version of Gale Sayers two years ago …

“Tatum (Bell) right now is a different level.  He’s better than I thought he’d be.  He’s the whole package. … He’s got so much juice to him. He can go. He’s taken our offense and learned it so well. He doesn’t make any mistakes. He’s catching the ball extremely well. He’s playing at such a high level right now.”

While I’m at it, might as well bring back the Jon Kitna praise too.

“Jon’s (Kitna) far enough along, we could start tomorrow.  He’s playing at such a high, high level. We’re trying to be careful with him. When other guys are all (aware) of protections and routes and we’re just working through those things … there’s just nothing you can give him that he can’t do right now.”

So yea, Training Camp allows for nonsensical praise from coaches galore. It’s not like they’re going to talk trash on their players, so at worst you might get a “he needs to put the whole package together” or something.

Training Camp also allows for buzz words. Today’s buzz word is actually a phrase … “Catching on”. For example, “Player A is really catching on. We had no idea he would be this receptive to what we’re trying to teach.”

Just check out these headlines if you don’t believe me. Click the pics for the full column if you wish …

A Bears wideout catching on. Who’d have thunk it? BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO RASHEID DAVIS?!?!?!? HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE STARTING! ###MORE###

You can tell B. Celek is catching on. The look on his face screams CATCHING ON. (Matt Vasgersian wants to know if that’s Donovan McNabb over there, by the way).

Pretty sure any one of us could go back to training camp for the Ravens every year this decade and replace the Harper’s name with any number of free agents or draft picks for Baltimore. Travis Taylor. Mark Clayton. Etc.

With so many players catching on, you have to wonder if there will be enough room on the Pro Bowl roster come Februrary.

At least none of these players are noted for “catching out“. That’d be a sad, tragic, violent tale.

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