Knock-knock-knock- a sound players do not want to hear the next 48 hours. I can’t imagine the anxiety and fear many players are feeling right now. Imagine being Shorter or Isabella, Cam Lewis, and every other bubble player.
Beware of 'TheTurk.'Across NFL lockerrooms, cafeterias and weight rooms today, 'The Turk' is lurking. The Turk isthe nickname given to the staff member -- usually someone from the personneldepartment -- who tells players they are to go visit with the head coach andgeneral manager.
The Turk has amessage that, in so many words, goes like this: "Coach wants to see you.Bring your playbook."That can onlymean one thing: You are being cut.
"Down in thecafeteria and I see the Turks lurking," the Ravens official site tweetedFriday morning. "Kenny Sanders from the scouting dept. sends players tosee HarbsOzzie. Not a fun job."An anonymous NFL personnel executive summed up how difficult the jobof the Turk is:
"One of mysaddest experiences was when we had two young backs in camp who had reallyworked hard. Each one knew only one was going to make it. They sat next to eachother in the locker room. So, I have to go down and get the one we are cutting.I walk in and both are looking at me. Who's going to the gallows and who'sgoing to the castle? I tell him. The other kid works hard to control himself.The kid that walks with me is devastated. That is a tough one when they areside-by-side like that."It's the Turkthat essentially taps the player on the shoulder, but with the Ravens, Harbaugh is the one that meets with them. And it's one of the more difficult aspects ofthe job.
"Sittingdown with those guys face-to-face is very challenging, because you develop a relationshipwith them, and you really care about them and they care about the program andeverything," Harbaugh said after practice last week.
"Everybody dealswith it differently. Some guys are mad, some guys are sad. Its all different;every single guy faces it in a different way. They are all good guys, and thatprobably makes it that much tougher."
https://www.nbcsportswashington.com/baltimore-ravens/beware-of-the-turk/340383/