Cards' Shipp dislocates ankle during scrimmage
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 7, 2004 12:00 AM
FLAGSTAFF - Marcel Shipp's scream of pain echoed through Northern Arizona's Walkup Skydome Friday night bringing to pass coach Dennis Green's greatest fear of scrimmaging on artificial turf.
The initial diagnosis is that Shipp, the backup running back to Emmitt Smith, suffered a dislocated left ankle and will miss eight to 12 weeks, Green said. It looked much worse than that.
"The kid is like a brother to me," said Smith, tears welling. "Watching him go down is like watching my little brother go down."
Just the day before, Green had noted the team had stayed healthy through the first week of camp, adding that he didn't like the idea of scrimmaging.
Shipp took a simple handoff, was hit and then bent back awkwardly over another player. His left foot pointed in an unnatural angle until the Cardinals medical team arrived and popped it back into place.
The crowd of about 4,500 hushed until Shipp was loaded on to a cart and driven off.
"It's the nature of football," Green said. "Fortunately, I don't think he's going to be on (injured reserve)."
With Shipp out, Damien Anderson and Josh Scobey will compete for the backup spot.
Nothing has come easy for Shipp since he entered the NFL. He wasn't drafted and made the Cardinals roster as a rookie free agent in 2001. He led the Cardinals in rushing the past two years and wasn't happy when Green named Smith the starter earlier this summer.
But he didn't complain and continued to work hard.
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