By ROGER MILLS and TONI L. SANDYS
Published August 14, 2003
It started with a simple discussion between two members of the secondary, and now it's a ritual. A rather painful ritual.
Safeties Jermaine Phillips and Dwayne Stukes decided months ago that there is no such thing as too much exercise. So during practices, the players do sets of push-ups.
Lots and lots of push-ups.
"It's something me and Jermaine started in minicamps," Stukes said. "We wanted to condition our muscles. Now, when I was in (NFL) Europe I started doing push-ups whenever I dropped a pick, but right now it's become just something between Jermaine and I."
Stukes said the ritual is not a penalty for being in the wrong place or dropping an interception. He said at the beginning of the day, he and Phillips pick a number and vow to do that many push-ups before the end of practice.
"For (Wednesday), we did 300," Stukes said. "What we do is get them done in intervals, 30 or 40 or 50 at a time, and we keep going like that. (Tuesday) I don't think I did that many. I cheated."
Stukes said the idea is to work different parts of the upper body by changing the angles of the hands.
Phillips, in his second year out of Georgia, said they do about 300 a day, although Stukes has done 500 in one practice.
"He started it, and now I'm just trying to stay with him," Phillips said. "We don't have an actual pattern or format. We just do them when we have time, but the point is to get to that number. Some days I just lose count."
And if secondary coach Mike Tomlin says "Drop and give me 10"?
