Verner Loses Floppy Hat; Dons Helmet
August 10th, 2014
Cornerback Alterraun Verner, seen here guarding Chris Owusu in a previous practice, returned to full pads this afternoon. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.
It got to the point that Bucs cornerback Alterraun Verner had missed so many practices (out since July 27) that his seemingly ever-present Bucs floppy hat was his uniform. Verner, who the Bucs grabbed to replace All-World corner Darrelle Revis, tweaked his hamstring since the underwear football days of training camp.
Since, Verner has been nothing but a spectator, yes, wearing his trademark floppy hat. About the best workout he got in was signing dozens of autographs after each and every practice.
Today, the first practice since the initial preseason game at Jacksonville Friday, Verner returned, albeit in limited form.
“It felt real good just to have some pads on and just doing some movement with the team,” Verner said. “I just did individuals today, I’m just taking it back slowly and seeing how I feel.
“One thing that I’m able to do these past couple of weeks and days is just get a lot of mental reps, just visualizing what they’re asking us to do, how I can play certain situations before every snap during the preseason game and even here I just always run through what I’m thinking, ‘What the offense might be doing or how can they attack the down and distance?,’ situations like that. I’m getting a lot mental reps, which I feel is going to help me out coming back, just visualizing what I can do or what I can’t do in this defense.”
Joe has been adamant that the Bucs defense shouldn’t worry fans one iota. Tt should be the strength of the team. Naturally, if Verner recovers from his hamstring, that would bolster the defense.
Verner is one of the prize finds of the free agent shopping spree of Bucs coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht this spring. To have him not be able to go when the Stinking Panthers come to town, that’s not good.
“He’s been making progress throughout,” Lovie said of Verner. “He’s not ready to be thrown out there full speed ahead, but he is in position to start getting some individual work, which we were able to do today. He needs work too, just like everyone else. With hamstrings, you have to be careful with them – can’t have a relapse or anything like that. Feels good to start the process of getting him back out on the football field.”
August 10th, 2014 at 7:23 pm
Ever since the league cut practice and full contact it seems like these hamstring and Achilles injuries have gotten worse.
August 10th, 2014 at 8:04 pm
Sure hope it is not a lingering problem.
August 10th, 2014 at 8:47 pm
Shifting gears but defense related. I don’t understand the AC hate. He has been disappointing sine his return from injury but I saw him as a bright spot.
August 10th, 2014 at 9:02 pm
Joe has a thing against Verner
August 10th, 2014 at 10:09 pm
Joe has a thing against INACTIVES!
–And rightfully so.
August 11th, 2014 at 7:44 am
Kevin Says:
August 10th, 2014 at 7:23 pm
Ever since the league cut practice and full contact it seems like these hamstring and Achilles injuries have gotten worse.
———————-
Two years ago people were talking about Achilles injuries as some sort of growing epidemic (Bowers, Terrell Suggs, and Michael Crabtree among a few others). I can assure you that hamstring and Achilles injuries have nothing to do with shorter practices, if anything you should see less of them.
There are three ways to more easily injure soft (muscle, tendon) tissue. To go out and perform exercises while not properly warmed up (increasing core muscle temperature has nothing to do with static old school stretching), overuse injuries occur when a muscle (muscle fatigue is far different than cardiovascular fatigue) is fatigued but performance is continued past fatigue. The third way is when the muscle is forced to stretch past it’s normal range of motion and the muscle or tendon snaps from the trauma.
A hamstring tweak, they didn’t even call it a pull, is hardly a real injury, that’s what they call in the sports world a “hurt”. Are you hurt or are you injured? If you tweak a hamstring, it hurts but you can still play with it even though you are more susceptible to actual injury. Verner was held out as a precaution, from what I gather. He probably would’ve/could’ve played if a real game had taken place on Friday.