fordfixer
06-13-2008, 11:56 PM
By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 13, 2008
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 72492.html (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_572492.html)
He has achieved star status, but Willie Parker still has the sensibilities of someone who went undrafted.
Consider what the Pro Bowl running back said Thursday after the Steelers' final offseason practice of the year:
"I'm not like a lot of other athletes in the league who are just blessed and gifted or are just born with a lot of talent," said Parker, who has rushed for more than 1,300 yards in each of the past two seasons. "I feel I have to work for it to be the best."
Parker sees the time between the end of offseason practices and the beginning of training camp as anything but time off.
To that end, he will work out with personal trainers in Florida in the six weeks before the Steelers report to training camp, and he will adhere to a regimen similar to the one he did a year ago when he admittedly pushed himself to the brink physically.
That Parker won't take an opportunity to recharge before the start of training camp may raise some eyebrows, considering the 5-foot-10, 209-pounder has averaged 329 carries the past two seasons and is coming off a broken leg that ended his 2007 season last December. He is expected to be 100 percent for the start of training camp.
"That's Willie Parker. He's a ridiculous worker," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "That's what's made him what he is. You can't tell him not to be him.
"He's become a veteran player, and he understands what he needs to do to get ready. But he also understands the battle that awaits him in the fall and in the winter. I'll trust his judgment in that regard."
How hard players should push themselves during the offseason came into question Wednesday, when Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes said he skipped some organized team activity practices this year so he could rest.
Holmes said he thought there were too many OTA practices -- the Steelers scheduled 14 of them, but Tomlin gave the team the day off Tuesday and sent the players bowling.
"I would prefer if they cut down on some of them," Holmes said. "But being a young guy in the league, I really don't know what to expect from the outcome of me saying that right now. I will leave that up to the veterans to say, 'Look, coach, over the course of the year, we get a little bit too much wear and tear on the body. If you want to preserve these young guys to continue to play for a number of years in this program, then there should be something done about it.' "
Parker, who is entering his sixth NFL season, isn't likely to say such a thing. Especially since he will split what is considered down time between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Tampa working on his conditioning as well as honing his pass-catching and blocking skills.
"I only know one way to go," said Parker, who made the Steelers in 2004 as an undrafted rookie, "and that's to go hard and work hard
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 13, 2008
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 72492.html (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_572492.html)
He has achieved star status, but Willie Parker still has the sensibilities of someone who went undrafted.
Consider what the Pro Bowl running back said Thursday after the Steelers' final offseason practice of the year:
"I'm not like a lot of other athletes in the league who are just blessed and gifted or are just born with a lot of talent," said Parker, who has rushed for more than 1,300 yards in each of the past two seasons. "I feel I have to work for it to be the best."
Parker sees the time between the end of offseason practices and the beginning of training camp as anything but time off.
To that end, he will work out with personal trainers in Florida in the six weeks before the Steelers report to training camp, and he will adhere to a regimen similar to the one he did a year ago when he admittedly pushed himself to the brink physically.
That Parker won't take an opportunity to recharge before the start of training camp may raise some eyebrows, considering the 5-foot-10, 209-pounder has averaged 329 carries the past two seasons and is coming off a broken leg that ended his 2007 season last December. He is expected to be 100 percent for the start of training camp.
"That's Willie Parker. He's a ridiculous worker," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "That's what's made him what he is. You can't tell him not to be him.
"He's become a veteran player, and he understands what he needs to do to get ready. But he also understands the battle that awaits him in the fall and in the winter. I'll trust his judgment in that regard."
How hard players should push themselves during the offseason came into question Wednesday, when Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes said he skipped some organized team activity practices this year so he could rest.
Holmes said he thought there were too many OTA practices -- the Steelers scheduled 14 of them, but Tomlin gave the team the day off Tuesday and sent the players bowling.
"I would prefer if they cut down on some of them," Holmes said. "But being a young guy in the league, I really don't know what to expect from the outcome of me saying that right now. I will leave that up to the veterans to say, 'Look, coach, over the course of the year, we get a little bit too much wear and tear on the body. If you want to preserve these young guys to continue to play for a number of years in this program, then there should be something done about it.' "
Parker, who is entering his sixth NFL season, isn't likely to say such a thing. Especially since he will split what is considered down time between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Tampa working on his conditioning as well as honing his pass-catching and blocking skills.
"I only know one way to go," said Parker, who made the Steelers in 2004 as an undrafted rookie, "and that's to go hard and work hard