6/5/2007 3:54:19 PM
Camp underway;

The first two days of camp are pretty much the sizing up phase. While you’re trying to make your own impression and stand out by your own play, your eyes can’t help but to wonder and marvel at the caliber of athletes that you’re in the company of. From my perspective, I’ve played against many of these guys on other teams so I’ve got the game time assessment of them, but it’s a different thing to see them in a day in day out competitive camp situation. And this IS a competitive camp situation! The depth at many of the positions promotes a very cutthroat free-for-all in ever practice period, which in turn makes for some great viewing if you like football and can recognize what it takes for some of these plays to be made by the athletes involved. Not to mention the class of young guns that we’ve brought in hungry to earn a job and to make any play that comes their way, this team is certainly not short on talent. The re-acclimation to football itself, (the pounding and impact, as well as the constant, running and leg strain from cutting all of the time, the back strain from wearing cleats on artificial turf) is really the easy part of the camp itself, it’s the mental aspects...the 30-40 plays that get entered nightly, the mental strain to battle fatigue and injury, as well as the sleep deprivation, and lest we forget the fact that most of us are miles and miles away from all friends and loved ones during this time which can be the hardest thing for some. ©

KP8