Why Can't NFL Teammates Just Get Along?

by Eric Horowitz, ShakedownSports

It seems that this season there has been a rash of teammate on teammate violence at NFL training camps. The most famous was Vince Young's slap to the face of fellow Titan Donnie Nicky, but have been numerous other training camp scuffles. Dolphins linebacker Robert McCune took a few swings at teammate Rex Hadnot, Larry Allen brawled with 49ers teammate Vernon Davis, and Eagles guard Max Jean-Giles got found himself in a fight on consecutive days.

So why does this keep happening? Well, it's probably just the result of a bunch of physical testosterone-filled men battling for their livelihood, but it's really a window into what NFL games would be like without referees. If this is how many fights there are in practice, can you imagine how many fights there would be in actual games? There would be a brawl after every single play.

In retrospect I think that was the biggest mistake the XFL made. The league should have taken a page from the NHL's rulebook and allowed players to engage in referee supervised, 1 on 1 brawls after plays. With a rule like that the XFL could have made it big.

Alas, fans must resort to watching grainy footage of training camp fights that have become so commonplace, teams honestly seem to have forgotten about them the next day. I guess nowadays fighting with a teammate is just another part of preparing yourself for the upcoming NFL season.