Gore's Diary, Camp Breaks

It was a great trip to Chicago, especially going up there and getting a W. The offense moved the ball very well against what is supposed to be a very good defense, and I felt good about that.

My legs felt a bit tired in the game, a little heavy. I don’t know if it was the quick trip and all of the flying but I was a bit tired. I felt that my eyes were good. I was seeing things well and my linemen were blocking very well and I was getting the rock and getting some runs. I just want to get my legs fresh this week. I might have to get in the cold tub some this week.

We got to our hotel about 10 on Wednesday night. Vernon, Delanie, Moran, Thomas and I went a few blocks over to get something quick to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. On Thursday I slept in and then hit the Louis Vuitton store and picked out some shoes, got me a little nap, ate the pregame meal and got ready for the game. It was a quick trip.

I went straight to the hotel when we landed from Chicago. Coach cancelled the meetings we were going to have on Friday and since it was the day we got to break camp, some guys just went on home. Since we didn’t get there until after 4am, I figured I’d just go ahead and sleep there for a few hours because I was so tired. So, I got up around 11 and then went ahead and moved my stuff home at that point.

I am very happy to break camp. Camp is the same all the time, you go to work, come back to the hotel for lunch and a short break, go back to work, eat dinner, go to meetings and then maybe have an hour left before curfew. You get very small windows to be out in the real world, and other than that, it’s all football and all of your time is planned out for you. 

This training camp was a whole lot better for me, on the field and off the field. Last year I didn’t get to do anything because I broke my hand. That was frustrating, plus everything with my mom was so tough. So, this year was much better. I came in at a great weight, had a good camp, and am excited about the offense.

The highlight of camp for me was messing with Vernon. From his hair falling out to just messing with him if he got frustrated over making a mistake on the field, it was funny. You can get him mad to where he wants to fight you, but then you start laughing and he knows you are just giving him a hard time. That’s my boy right there. That dude is funny.

So it’s good to be out of camp, and to be back home. Plus, it means the season is almost here, which is the best part for me. I’m excited about the season, especially after the way we played the last two weeks. The offense has put up a lot of points and I’m excited about the way we have moved the ball up and down the field.

Friday afternoon I watched one of the football games – Dallas and Houston – and I saw it come across the ticker that J.T. O’Sullivan was our starter. I kind of figured that just because he had started all three preseason games, and the third game is always a key one. So, that’s when you pretty much knew who it was going to be. I felt like all three quarterbacks competed very hard, but I think J.T. had a little jump on them because he had been with Coach Martz the year before. So, whoever Martz and the coaches feel is the best guy, I’m with it. But I definitely think that with any of them, we’ve got a great chance to win because I think they can all do the job.

We came back in on Saturday for a walk-thru, meetings and then an afternoon practice. It was a good day and nice to have the quarterback situation settled. I decided to go out on Santana Row last night and cheat on my diet and eat whatever I wanted to eat, but it’s right back on today. I’ve got a chef who drops off healthy food for me, so that’s what I’ll eat on this day off.

I was hoping to get to watch the Raiders/Cardinals game but I guess it was blacked out. Hopefully they’ll have it on sometime today. Otherwise, I’m sure we’ll get the film soon so we can start checking out Arizona since that’s our first game.

We have today off, so I’m just going to relax most of the day and get ready for Monday and another week of preseason play. I don’t know how much they’ll let me play this last game against San Diego. I’ll work hard during the week and be ready and if they don’t let me go, I’ll run a bunch of sprints before the game and get some good work in. It’s always good to talk to LaDainian Tomlinson. I’m always competing against other guys in the league so I’m sure we’ll challenge each other this year to see who does the best. I think if you are a true competitor you should always do that. And, I believe I’m a true competitor.

Thanks for reading my camp diaries. I’ll have one more next week to wrap up the preseason, so check it out.

(49ers.com)