NFL... Training Camp & the Pre-Season

well, i can't wait for an official NFL season thread to start, so we'll start with this, so we can talk about status for various teams, etc. something completely random that i saw on espn.com (since the saints used to be my home team) was this picture of reggie bush from training camp.



holy CRAP do you see that bicep?!? and it's in full flex carrying a TOWEL. with arms like that, i can't imagine him ever fumbling... ever.

my bucs didn't do a heck of a lot on first-string offense, BUT a.) they never do in the first game and b.) the real story is how their 1st and 2nd round draft choices fare on the offensive line. O-line ineptitude has KILLED the bucs the last two years. two years ago, i started nicknaming kenyatta walker "kenyatta 'texas hold-'em' walker" for his ability to have at least one holding penalty EVERY GAME. if they work out, they could be rocks on the O-line like webb and sims were for the dolphins (though they were brought in to protect marino, so they excelled more at pass blocking, which, admittedly, is harder than run blocking, since you're on the defensive and backpedaling more in pass blocking schemes).

anyway, the bucs have all of the signs of a good offense, but my big concern is that they are REALLY beginning to get old on defense. derrick brooks will be great, as will ronde barber, but the bucs need to keep their fingers crossed that they don't get hit by injuries on defense, or it'll be gruden-raiders all over again: every game a track meet and you just hope the games end when you're leading. it actually kinda sucks that they were southern champs last year but didn't DO anything with it, because now they drew a tougher schedule, and with the saints and bush now not as laughable, the champ of the division may be only 9-7 or 10-6 at best and be bloodied by the playoffs.

gonna be fun to watch, though.

p.s. one thing i have learned about preseason: don't get too bummed over losses or too excited about wins. if your team is undefeated in preseason, it generally means they kept starters in too long against 2nd and 3rd stringers, because they needed the timing work, which means bad things for the season. also, if your team oes winless, i found it means the coaching staff never really got a good feel for when to swap out players, and make winning plays, etc. to get something good under the belt. this comes from TWNETY YEARS of watching very bad football in southern florida, by the way. generally, it's best if the team splits 'em. you're then coming out of the gates with some balance, good review of talent, without killing yourself to win ultimately meaningless games and risk injuries.

sigh, just listened to deion's ragging on parcell's wanting t.o. in camp practicing. now this isn't a post about t.o. or parcells, but about deion unable to keep his trap shut and see the bigger picture. then again, i guess that's why t.o. is deion v2.0. deion says t.o. doesn't need the practice. that's something i would expect an "all about me" player to say, since a qb needs to get timing down with ANY new acquisition. hey, maybe this means bledsoe leads him too much or not enough because he's never played with him, but that'll give t.o. the opportunity to claim it was drew's fault (or whomever is unlucky enough to throw t.o. passes) for any incompletes. heck, i credit the manning/harrison combo for putting up such insane stats more because of their playing time together than anything else. they've played so long together (and yes, talent is there too, of course), they're like two sides of the same brain.

oh well, maybe it's just my anti-florida-state bias coming out (go gators!).