The veil of secrecy has been lifted around Ed Reed. The Pro Bowl safety has a shoulder injury, coach John Harbaugh said after Wednesday’s practice.

Reed is on the physically unable to perform list and has yet to practice in training camp. Team officials had declined to comment specifically on Reed’s injury, causing speculation about his status.

During camp, Reed has worked off to the side, running and catching passes.

“It’s a strengthening issue and that takes a little bit of time,” Harbaugh said.

(weblogs.baltimoresun.com)

The offensive linemen got a boost in a drill pitting them against their defensive line counterparts. Left tackle Kwame Harris buried defensive end Kalimba Edwards and knocked him to the turf. Before that Aaron Boone completely dominated William Joseph in back-to-back tries.

Speaking of Joseph, the former first-round draft pick of the Giants hasn’t done much this camp and has been more noticeable for what he hasn’t done than anything else.

(oak.scout.com)

Kelly Jennings played great coverage on a deep pass thrown to Bobby Engram during a seven-on-seven passing drill ...

This caught my eye because I think Jennings is about perfectly suited to shutdown Bobby Engram. Good cover, good reaction, great speed/quickness and enough strength. Obviously, then, it doesn't take much strength. I'll discuss this in greater detail during the podcast, but whatever Engram did last season, he's not who Seattle want to run their passing offense through.

(fieldgulls.com)

Nate Webster is back with the first-team defense, it's not going to be apparent who has won the middle linebacker position until the season begins. Coaches are rotating Webster and Niko Koutouvides every two days it seems, on the first-team as middle linebackers.

(broncos-denver-broncos.blogspot.com)

BOURBONNAIS -- It wasn't too many years ago the Bears were having a meeting involving ownership and coaches and Virginia McCaskey lamented the team's lack of production from the tight end position.

So reported a member of the coaching staff at the time. Ownership, no doubt, is in a much more comfortable place when examining the depth chart now. The case could be made it's the strongest position group on offense. In fact, you would have a hard time arguing otherwise.

While you cannot name the team's starting wide receivers a week into training camp, the tight end position is solid and you've seen more double-tight formations than ever. There are a variety of ways it can be used but one of the dominant ones in the passing game has been the Ace package where Greg Olsen takes the place of fullback Jason McKie.

It's an interesting formation because Olsen has been lining up all over the place, at fullback, in the slot and split wide. He and Desmond Clark are paired with two receivers in a one-back formation and the possibilities are numerous.

The idea is to get a favorable matchup with Clark and Olsen on smaller or slower defenders but to make it work the offense is going to have to prove it is not only willing to run the ball out of the formation, but can run it effectively in the package. In practice, the defense initially was defending Ace with a nickel package, taking strong-side linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer off the field in favor of defensive back Danieal Manning.

The offense ran the defense out of the look and now it's a matter of down and distance. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner expects that is what will happen during the season but Olsen is really a wild card for opponents.

"We've got two real good tight ends," Turner said. "We've got to get them on the field. We're working those guys in a lot of different places and trying to do some different things with them."

They have to be careful how they use Olsen, who struggled blocking last season. He's not a fullback and Turner can't get carried away trying to make him something he's not. Fact is, Olsen fell to the Bears at No. 31 in the 2007 draft in part because he was considered one-dimensional as a pass catcher. But spreading a defense into a nickel look will give the Bears an edge running, and it could become an effective weapon in the red zone also. Clark and Olsen combined for six touchdowns last season. Wide receivers had 11.

"Greg is able to do all that stuff, coming out of the backfield and lining him up at different positions all over the field, lining him up in the slot, out wide and in the backfield," Clark said. "Teams are not going to be able to key on one particular thing he can do and we can create matchups that way."

Olsen might be best utilized split wide. He's got the speed of Muhsin Muhammad and he's a bigger target. There's plenty of shifting and motion and the entire offense remains a work in progress.

"We're expanding the package we touched on last year," Olsen said. "When we did it last year we were successful so I think we are going to try to develop from that and continue to grow. This gives us a lot of different things we can do."

Clark, a model of durability having missed only three games in five seasons, was rewarded with a two-year contract extension worth $5 million in the off-season. He posted 44 receptions for 545 yards and Olsen had 39 grabs for 391 yards despite missing the first two games of the season and then barely playing in the next two. The numbers exceeded those of most rookie tight ends.

"I think I just have to continue to earn time on the field, continue to show that I can do a lot of different things from the run game, blocking out of the backfield, picking up things out of the backfield in pass protection," Olsen said. "I feel I am much better than I was last year in the all-around game. Hopefully it carries through the season."

Position coach Rob Boras doesn't have any goals in mind when it comes to numbers for his room. Rookie Kellen Davis has been one of the pleasant discoveries thus far and things are looking up for the tight ends. At least there's one position on offense that's figured out.

(suburbanchicagonews.com)

SPARTANBURG There was a time when Damione Lewis was expected to dominate at defensive tackle in the NFL, so much so that St. Louis made him its No.1 draft pick (12th overall) out of Miami in 2001.

For whatever reason, it didn't happen. There was a broken foot that rookie year and gradually, he became a sometime starter and then an afterthought. In five seasons with the Rams, he started more than seven games just once. By the time Carolina signed him as a free agent in 2006, Lewis was just another guy, thought of by some as something of a bust. The Panthers brought him in to back up Kris Jenkins and Maake Kemoeatu.

“There's the old saying; if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger,” Lewis said Tuesday outside the Wofford cafeteria. “My life's good; I've got a wife and kids; I'm happy. I love football, but I know I'm not going to be able to do it forever. People can say what they want to say; I've always enjoyed the game and I love the game, and that's the way I look at it.”

And if his St. Louis days weren't what he had hoped …

“Some people are going to be great; you have very few hall of famers compared to the numbers that play the game. I'm not going to worry about it.”

Lewis played better than many expected as a Panther, and now his role has increased. He's become an important cog in a defensive line hoping to reestablish its dominance. Jenkins has been traded. Defensive end Mike Rucker has retired.

Defensive end Julius Peppers is coming off his worst season.

Something had to change, and Lewis is a big part of that.

“He came in and did a good job… he played quite a bit for us,” said coach John Fox. “He's been a starter in the league, he's capable of starting and we think he's capable of starting for us.”

After collecting eight sacks in two years as a reserve, he'll line up next to Kemoeatu.

“I'm playing base (defense) and sub now, where last year I played mostly nickel (passing situations) and came in for Maake a little bit on run downs,” Lewis said. “So I'm doing a little bit of everything now.”

The key, though, might be that the defense is doing less. While no one is being specific, the coaches – with a number of new players to consider – have scaled back the playbook.

“You don't hear (complaints or confusion) on the field as much as we did last year, I think,” Lewis said. “You hear a lot more enthusiasm; guys are being a lot more energetic on the field, and talking to each other more. I think guys are relaxing.”

Lewis said that while things are generally the same for the front four, the defensive calls from the linebackers are coming in faster.

“I think (scaling back is) allowing us to play faster with less thinking from the front and from the linebackers.”

Lewis, who was given Tuesday's practice off after taking a hit to an ankle Monday, feels as if he has a new lease on life.

“In St. Louis, especially in my later years, there was a lot of unsound stuff that we were doing,” he said. “We got a lot criticism up front for it, but actually it wasn't always us. We took it with a smile and just kept going. But there were a lot of things that just weren't right with what we were doing on that defense.

“Here everything is well thought-out. I think coach (John) Fox and coach (Mike) Trgovac do a great job of putting our game plan together. Even in simplifying what we're doing, they're doing a great job with that.”

Lewis, a self-described country boy from Sulphur Springs, Tex., also feels that Carolina is a better fit for him, with everyone from owner Jerry Richardson on down interested in the players as individuals.

“I come from a real small town,” Lewis said. “Hunting and fishing, get out and do what I like to do outdoors. It's a lot easier to do it here than a lot of other places.

“Give me a bass boat and a couple of cold beers and I'm fine.”

(charlotteobserver.com)

Each time Eagles coach Andy Reid barked for the second-team defense during Wednesday's training camp, some guy wearing the number 95 on his uniform trotted onto the field.

95 ... 95 ... who the heck is No. 95?

Turns out, somebody has had that number for the last five years now. It just hasn't been seen much because No. 95 usually gets hurt and spends the rest of the season on the injured list.

It only seemed a matter of time, maybe a few more days in camp, before No. 95 would be released and out looking for a 9-to-5, as in a full-time job in another line of work.

Back in June, during one of the Eagles' minicamps, defensive coordinator Jimmie Johnson rattled off six defensive ends that he figured to be part of his rotation at that position. No. 95's name never came up.

So it figured he would soon be on 95, as in I-95, heading south, back to Miami where he went to school.

It was there, at the University of Miami, where the Eagles found him then made him their No. 1 draft pick in the 2003 draft.

Ring a bell?

That's right, No. 95 was Jerome McDougle. Still is Jerome McDougle.

He's still here, sweating away on the practice fields of Lehigh University and cashing paychecks, still with one more year left on a six-year, $9.5 million deal inked in '03.

Now get this, McDougle is running with the second team.

The fact that he is with the second team is due to a couple of dominoes that have fallen in his favor since he began this year's camp more bystander than 3-point-stancer. Those dominoes were Victor Abiamiri, Chris Clemons and Bryan Smith, three defensive ends who have been shelved with injury — and, in Clemons' case, dehydration.

“When guys go down, I know how it feels to work your butt off all through the off-season and come out and get hurt,” McDougle said. “I feel for them, and my prayers are with them.”

Everybody should remember McDougle's story by now.

It's a short story where nothing much happens, and even that always ends prematurely due to injury.

The most spectacular incident came in 2005 when he was shot in the stomach while being robbed in Miami. He had been anointed the starter after Derrick Burgess departed for the Raiders in free agency, but never played a down. Not that football mattered much as he fought for his life.

The one year he was fully healthy, 2006, he never did much, appearing in 14 games, none of them starts, and recording 17 tackles and one sack.
Given his do-little resume, it can't be a good thing for the Eagles' Super Bowl aspirations that McDougle is one of the team's top four defensive ends in camp at this point.

Or can it?

“Jerome is a very capable defensive end,” said defensive lineman Darren Howard, who turned in a strong practice Wednesday. “He's been in the league for a long time for a reason, and that's because he can play the position.

“We have some guys going down, and he's getting some extra reps right now. The only thing holding McDougle back is he's had some bad luck and a lot of injuries. That doesn't take away from the kind of player he is. He's out here working really hard, and he's pushing really hard to make the squad. My hat's off to a guy like that who can put a lot of things behind him and just keep working.”

Really, if the expectations that go along with being a No. 1 draft pick weren't there, McDougle would be an easy player to root for.

He works with kids in juvenile detention centers, is on the board of Broward County's Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, holds football clinics in conjunction with the Miami Police Athletic League, and, in 2006, he received the Ed Block Courage Award.

“Football is a bonus for me,” said McDougle. “I'm happy to be alive. Each day I can come out here is a blessing. I want to come out here and get better. For me, it's just staying healthy. My goal is to just try to stay healthy. My biggest goal is to stay out here, because it's out of sight, out of mind.”

McDougle will turn 30 when the Cleveland Browns visit Lincoln Financial Field for a Monday Night game Dec. 15.

If he is still here and healthy, it could be a birthday worth celebrating.

If not, then he'll likely just be some guy. And he won't be wearing No. 95 anymore.

(phillyburbs.com)

A week into camp, the battle for the starting center’s spot — arguably the stiffest competition of the Rams’ preseason — is no closer to resolution. Brett Romberg has the edge, as he did coming into camp, but Richie Incognito still is very much in the picture.

Romberg has a bruised hand, which makes snapping the ball painful. So Incognito has been working with the first team for a couple of days.

“It’s too early” to make a determination, coach Scott Linehan said. “I think a lot of that is going to be determined in games, but I think it’s a very, very good competition. They’re outstanding individuals, which makes it very pleasant even though they’re battling for a job. You couldn’t find two better guys to compete against each other, because they help each other.”

(stltoday.com)

Linebacker Rocky McIntosh has maintained a low profile during training camp at Redskins Park, having repeatedly declined to speak with reporters.

All subjects are off-limits with McIntosh, who has been especially reluctant to discuss his progress in rehabilitation from reconstructive knee surgery. But after practice yesterday, McIntosh, in a rare interview since a season-ending knee injury in December, said it is nothing personal, but that he is busy.

"I'm just trying to be a guy, man," McIntosh said. "I'm just out here trying to help the team out, get better. Anytime you step between those white lines, you've got to give 100 percent, and that's what I do. That's what I'm doing out there. Right now, that's all I have time for. You know what I mean?"

McIntosh, who is beginning his third season, tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in a 22-10 victory over the New York Giants on Dec. 16. He had surgery after the swelling subsided and has been working "as hard as I can" since to return to the starting lineup.

McIntosh, who had a history of right knee problems while at the University of Miami, fared well in his offseason rehab, the Redskins said, and is considered to be further along than cornerback Carlos Rogers, who tore his right anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in a 52-7 loss to the New England Patriots on Oct. 28.

McIntosh and Rogers are not participating in 11-on-11 drills and have been ruled out of Sunday's Hall of Fame preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts in Canton, Ohio.

But McIntosh is optimistic about rejoining the first-team defense soon.

"I don't see no bad stuff" on the practice film, McIntosh said. "So you just have to take it from there and see where it goes."

McIntosh finished second on the team in tackles last season with 105, including 70 unassisted. Because of his current physical limitations, McIntosh, who was in his first season as a starter in 2007, has focused on becoming a smarter player, he said.

"Last year, I just came out there and wanted to pound everybody," he said. "From last year to this year, I know this game is more mental. I've been working on the mental game. Just forget all that physical stuff. Just be where you're supposed to be and you're going to make plays."

(washingtonpost.com)

Vernon Carey looks great in pass protection, especially his footwork. Charlie Anderson has no chance when the two go head-to-head.




(phinsreport.com)

The Tampa Tribune reports while Buccaneers first-round draft pick CB Aqib Talib is off to a good start in training camp, flashing good speed and instincts, incumbent starting CB Phillip Buchanon is enjoying an even better camp. Talib has done a nice job picking up the intricacies of DC Monte Kiffin's Cover 2 scheme and Tampa Bay coaches are happy with his progress, but if the season started today, Talib would be the nickel back behind CB Ronde Barber and Buchanon, who has solidified his starting job with a strong commitment to getting better with each practice. If Talib fails to unseat Buchanon as a starter, he still figures to factor heavily into Tampa Bay's secondary, beginning with the Sept. 7 opener at New Orleans. The Bucs utilize a third corner on almost 50 percent of their defensive snaps. With Barber manning the slot in the nickel, Talib will have every opportunity to show he can handle receivers that are flanked out wide.

(ffmastermind.com)

After watching punt returner Roscoe Parrish stop on a dime and spring backwards three feet to avoid a would-be tackler, and then spring forward and be back up to top speed in an instant earned a doffing of the cap from April. It was a pretty amazing display of athleticism as Parrish seemed to almost hover for a second before darting forward again.

(buffalobills.com)

Watkins Glen, NY (July 30, 2008) – Former Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will serve as the Grand Marshal for the Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, August 9. Everett will have the prestigious responsibility of saying the four most famous words in racing – “Gentlemen, start your engines!” – to complete the pre-race ceremonies. The green flag will drop on the Zippo 200 at 3:00 PM EST and will air live on ABC.

“We are pleased to welcome Kevin Everett as the grand marshal of the Zippo 200,” said Zippo president and CEO Greg Booth. “His story has inspired people all across the country, especially those of us in this area who followed it so closely. To have him here to start the race is a testament to his courage and determination, and a real honor for us.”

Everett will also take time during the Centurion Boats at The Glen weekend to meet his fans during a book signing. Standing Tall, the Kevin Everett Story will be on sale for fans to purchase and have Everett sign. The book signing will be at the Pyramid on Saturday, August 9.

Everett was a reserve tight end for the Buffalo Bills when he suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury during the first game of the 2007 NFL season. Despite a grim prognosis, Everett recovered from his injury and has since used his experience to raise awareness and help those with new spinal cord injuries. His remarkable recovery put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated and on Wednesday, July 20th, Everett was presented with the 2008 Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance. The award is named after former North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano who passed away after an extended and courageous battle with cancer in 1993.

Every 49 minutes, an American sustains a spinal cord injury. Average expenses incurred during the first year after an injury are $329,000, and only half of all spinal cord injury patients have health insurance at the time of their accident. The Kevin Everett Spinal Cord Foundation is committed to helping newly injured patients with their transition from hospital to rehabilitation to home, which includes reducing the financial burden on those gravely affected by their injuries.

Tickets for the historic 60th Anniversary of racing in Watkins Glen are on-sale now! The action continues at Watkins Glen International, August 7-10, when the stars and cars of NASCAR take to the track. The Centurion Boats at The Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be on Sunday, August 10 at 2:00 PM, and Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series event will be on Saturday, August 9 at 3:00 PM. Both races will broadcast live on TV. Don’t miss the return of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series during Friday night’s Crown Royal 200 at The Glen starting after Sprint Cup qualifying at 6:00 PM. Tickets are going fast! For more information and ticket orders, please contact the Watkins Glen International ticket office at 866-461-RACE or log on to the official website at www.TheGlen.com.

(rochesterhomepage.net)

TE Kellen Winslow II might have actually had a better week catching the ball than Edwards did. There's little reason to believe these guys won't pick up where they left off and even raise that bar this fall.



(ffmastermind.com)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Kenny Phillips sized up Sinorice Moss and got ready to whack him. Then he remembered: He's not supposed to.

All this in a matter of about a second, during which Phillips decided to throw his hands up and show the coaches he wasn't trying to hit anybody -- an act he later found out was also a safety hazard for the oncoming wide receivers. The coaches didn't want anyone getting poked in the eye inadvertently either.

Good thing for the Giants' offensive players these rules are in place during training camp because they might be missing teeth or have worse marks on their body than the cut on Brandon London's arm after he was hit by Phillips on Monday.

Bad thing for Phillips these rules are in place because the rookie safety keeps getting in trouble.

"I hate when that stuff happens because Coach (Tom) Coughlin calls me over every few minutes. Every time I do something, I know he's coming (and saying), 'Try not to do ...'" Phillips, the team's first-round pick, said Tuesday. " 'All right, coach. I'm sorry.' And I'm really trying not to do it, but it's part of the game."

It is now for Phillips, who spent the better part of three years "in the box" for the Miami Hurricanes in college. The "box" is the area almost immediately in front of the offensive line that includes the defensive line, the linebackers and any run-stopping safeties. Phillips was often asked to play six or seven yards off the ball and help out down low.

Now, though, he's roaming freely through the Giants' defensive backfield as a second-team safety in Cover-2 and Cover-3 formations. And that's been a dangerous problem for the Giants' receivers through the first couple of days of training camp. Phillips has been making contact with them -- in non-contact drills -- and establishing himself as a potential big hitter.

Phillips has been putting himself in perfect position to dislodge the ball from the receiver's hands (or perhaps the receiver's head from his shoulders) on many plays.

And the scary part is he's doing it solely on speed, not smarts.

"Right now, I don't know where the ball's going to be just because I'm just trying to learn my position," Phillips said. "I don't really have time to watch what the offense is doing and scheme them. It's basically just reacting to the ball right now."

When asked if it excites him to think what will happen once he improves his awareness, Phillips said, "It does and that's why I feel like I'll be successful once the preseason starts, even if I'm not a starter. When I get in, I feel I'll be able to make plays and help the team."

Phillips' closing speed has been somewhat of a surprise so far for the Giants' coaching staff. They knew he could run well (he ran a 4.54 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine), but they weren't quite sure how fast he could be on the field until he made a terrific play in minicamp when he came from one side of the field to intercept a pass on the other side. The diving play was one the coaches were still gushing over when they arrived here last week.

The 6-2, 208-pound Phillips is now using his speed to put himself in perfect position for a big hit.

"He has both (long-striding speed and quick patter speed)," safeties coach Dave Merritt said. "And the thing is that his size ... he has the height, he has the long arms, the long wingspan. This kid has a bunch of potential and that's what it is right now."

Phillips clearly has the potential to develop a reputation as a big hitter, which could be his way into the starting lineup in place of either James Butler or Michael Johnson, who have been working with the first team to this point.

"That's why he's here," Coughlin said.

Said Phillips, "When I go out there in the preseason, I'm definitely going to try to do what I've been doing in practice -- getting in position to take someone's head off. I'm not trying to hurt them intentionally, but I'm just doing my job.

"If that reputation comes, then cool. I'll take it."

But he'd better be careful because that reputation also comes with potential fines for an illegal hit.

"I'm going to try not to get any of those," Phillips said. "But if it happens, I'll pay for it."

Perhaps not as much as the player who feels the hit.

(nj.com)

Aubrey Huff had four RBIs as the Baltimore Orioles held off the New York Yankees 7-6 Tuesday night for their third straight win.

Huff hit an 0-2 pitch into the gap with the bases loaded in left-center to make it 5-1. Huff hit his second homer in two days and 22nd of the season in the ninth to make it 7-3. He tied a career high with four hits and is 17-for-34 in an eight-game hitting streak.

(espn.com)

SI.com has tabbed Greg Olsen as a breakout candidate. Over the weekend "Olsen got the most consistent cheers. Without a proven bunch of receivers, OC Ron Turner says he'll lean more heavily on the second-year tight end, who came on strong around midseason last year after essentially missing the first four games to a knee injury. Olsen has been a beast at camp, snatching balls in traffic and exhibiting acrobatic abilities on one particular deep ball Saturday -- that he barely managed to fingertip to himself while staying in bounds. Tellingly, that pass came from Grossman, which Bears fans have to like if he wins the job. Olsen and Grossman never seemed to click last year. Most of his balls came from Orton or the departed Brian Griese."

(nooffseason.com)

SPARTANBURG, S.C.: When the Carolina Panthers opened training camp last year, rookie Jon Beason skipped workouts in a contract dispute, safety Chris Harris played for the Chicago Bears and Damione Lewis was a backup defensive tackle.

When the team took the field for Tuesday's workout, the three players were clearly the leaders at their position, barking instructions, encouraging teammates and leading drills.

After the retirement of veterans Mike Minter, Mike Rucker and Dan Morgan in the past 12 months, Beason, Harris and Lewis have become the face of Carolina's new-look, young defense.

"We're the most vocal guys, but the defense is really new," Beason said Tuesday. "There are a lot of new faces. I think we enjoy each other, we trust each other and we know we could be as good as we want to. I think everyone has taken that challenge."

The 23-year-old Beason overcame missing the first eight days of camp last year to set a team-record 160 tackles. Moving to middle linebacker after Morgan's season-ending Achilles' tendon injury, he quickly earned the respect of his teammates. His leadership role was cemented late in the season when coach John Fox asked him to give the pregame speech before a game against Dallas.

Beason responded with a stirring talk about his love for the game and the significance of facing the storied Cowboys.

"Since I have been in the league, and that's seven years, he gave a speech from a player or a coach I have never heard before," cornerback Ken Lucas said. "It's one of those Martin Luther King Jr. type of speeches when he got done. It had that feel. Everybody looked at each other like man, that was a powerful speech. He gives that type of energy. He's a natural leader."

The 30-year-old Lewis, a former first-round pick of St. Louis, became a starter when the Panthers traded three-time Pro Bowl pick Kris Jenkins in February. Lewis, whose three sacks topped the dismal 2007 team, has clearly been the most vocal on the defensive line.

"You hear a lot more enthusiasm and guys being a lot more energetic on the field," Lewis said. "Guys are talking more. I think guys are relaxing."

The transformation of the defense comes after the Panthers lost a combined 26 years of experience with the departures of Minter, Rucker and Morgan. Beason said it was clear they left a leadership void.

"This year I want to do my job, do it well and lead by example," Beason said. "Hopefully, the defense follows me."

With a much younger lineup, Fox has simplified the defense, allowing players to act more on instinct.

"You've got to have guys step in," Fox said. "That's the landscape in this league now. There is just more turnover. Back a long time ago, you had guys for their whole careers, and it's a little bit more of a junior college-college rotation now as far as people coming through with all of the changes in free agency.

"So it makes it a little bit more difficult. But you need to find those guys, identify them as part of your evaluation and develop them."

(iht.com)

FLAGSTAFF - Did the Cardinals get the 2008 draft right?

The answer may well lie in the progress of the two defensive ends they picked in Rounds 2 and 4.

The Cardinals were trying to plug holes in a defensive unit that wore down because of late-season injuries. Adding “depth” means finding players who can fill in for the starters without losing much impact.

But if you listen to one of those picks, Calais Campbell, the second-round pick out of Miami (No. 50 overall), he won’t be a backup for long.
“I plan on not only being a starter but one of the premier players in the league,” Campbell said.

If looks count for anything, he could do it.

Campbell has the body of a Greek god and can run all day long. He easily outran all the other linemen in his conditioning test (300 yards, twice).

“I’ve always been able to run pretty good. It was good to get out here at the altitude and still be able to run.”

He doesn’t think he embarrassed the older players.

“I think they just know to get through it and get their times. I wanted to push myself, try to challenge myself, so I pushed myself to the limit.”
If Campbell does that on the field, he should be pretty good.

He enjoyed an outstanding sophomore season at Miami (10.5 sacks, 20 tackles for loss), then tailed off as a junior before turning pro.
Why the downturn?

Offensive linemen concentrated on him more and, “Our defense struggled. … And I think I got kind of comfortable with my routine in my workouts.

“I didn’t work on the little things as much as I should have, my footwork and hand placement — the things that make you a dominant player instead of just a good player.

“I learned from my mistakes. I used everything I learned from those years to become a better pro.”

Coach Ken Whisenhunt acknowledged that Campbell is impressive physically.

“The big test … will be how he holds up against those big guards and tackles, especially when he’s double-teamed,” Whisenhunt said. “Can he win one-on-one when he’s got the pass rush? That’s going to be the transition.”

Cardinals defensive line coach Ron Aiken said Campbell’s upside is “unbelievable.” After watching him in pads for a couple of days, Aiken said: “He’s physical. That’s the key thing you don’t know about defensive linemen until you put the pads on.”

For now, Campbell is playing on the left side of the line, Iwebema the right.

(eastvalleytribune.com)

DAVIE - Lifelong South Florida resident Vernon Carey is proud to admit he has always been a Dolphins fan. But that doesn't mean the Dolphins' starting tackle plans to end his career with his hometown team.

Unlike most NFL players entering the final year of their contacts, Carey plans to play out this season without pushing the organization for a new contract.

Even though there's plenty of salary-cap space to get a deal done, the Dolphins have not approached Carey or his agent about renegotiating his contract. And that doesn't bother the former first-round pick one bit.

In fact, the 27-year-old from the University of Miami seems intrigued about the prospects of hitting the open market in 2009.

"It doesn't matter," Carey said when asked about pursuing a new deal. "That's not important to me right now. What's important to me is winning. I want to be part of a winning team. Winning!

"Of course I'd love to stay here. I'm from Miami and love the Dolphins. I admit I think about it, but I don't like to think about [my contract] because I can't control it. That's out of my hands. It's in [managements] hands. All I want to do is win."

Carey is scheduled to make a little more than $2.5 million this season in the final year of the five-year contract he signed in 2004.

Offensive tackles are the fourth highest paid position in the NFL behind quarterbacks, defensive ends and cornerback, but most of that money goes to left tackles because they protect a quarterback's blindside. Right tackles like Carey, who did start all of last season on the left side before getting displaced by Jake Long, are paid slightly less.

The Dolphins have little depth at tackle behind Carey and Long - the first pick of the 2007 draft - after cutting second-year player Julius Wilson and rookie free agent Dan Gore because they failed their conditioning re-check last Friday.

Ikechuku Ndukwe, a guard who spent a portion of last season on the Dolphins practice squad, and Daren Heerspink, an undrafted rookie free agent, are serving as the lone backup tackles. The Dolphins front office will likely address their tackle shortage by signing a few veterans once teams trim down their training camp rosters.

(sun-sentinel.com)

ALBANY, N.Y. - Kenny Phillips really doesn't want to hurt his teammates. And he's trying not to even hit them. But at times he just can't help himself.

"It's kind of hard. I feel like I'm not doing my job if I can't finish the play," the Giants' rookie safety said today at lunch. "But I guess they see I'm capable of getting there, so that's enough."

Phillips came up and slammed into RB Reuben Droughns yesterday morning, knocking Droughns to the ground. He later walloped WR Brandon London on a leaping catch near the sideline. Last night, he would have clocked WR Sinorice Moss on one play and finally showed some restraint by putting his throwing his hands up to show the coaching staff he was there and would have made the play in a real game.

"I hate when that stuff happens because Coach Coughlin calls me over every few minutes. Every time I do something, I know he's coming (and saying), 'Try not to do...'" Phillips said. "'All right, coach. I'm sorry.' And I'm really trying not to do it, but it's part of the game."

It's part of Phillips' game now. But in college, he was more of an in-the-box guy. So he's still learning how to be the roaming safety who will get a chance to make a play on the ball or the receiver. That's scary to think he's simply relying on pure speed right now and has been in position to whack a couple of guys already.

If he gets a chance to finish these plays in games, he might start developing a nice reputation for himself.

"That's what I'm hoping for," he said. "When I go out there in the preseason, I'm definitely going to try to do what I've been doing in practice - getting in position to take someone's head off. I'm not trying to hurt them intentionally, but I'm just doing my job. If that reputation comes, then cool. I'll take it."

But he'd better be careful because that reputation also comes with a target for the folks in the league office, who will be looking to see if any of those hits are illegal.

"I'm going to try not to get any of those," Phillips said of potential fines. "But if it happens, I'll pay for it."

Not as much as the hittee will.

(nj.com)

Penn State might be known as Linebacker U, but Miami has also had its share of stars at that position. And the Carolina Panthers' Jon Beason is taking advantage of the part he's played in that Hurricanes lineage.

Beason, the Panthers' second-year middle linebacker and one of the NFL's rising stars at that position, said Tuesday he stays in touch and talks football with other former Miami linebackers, most notably Ray Lewis and former Panther Dan Morgan.

Beason said he'd love to see Morgan, who retired this year after a career plagued by concussions, return.

"He is so far beyond, so much better than everybody else with speed, knowledge, being athletic -- he could take three years off and still be better than anybody else," Beason said.

Beason said he spoke with Morgan on Monday and was planning on talking to him again Tuesday afternoon. "He's doing great," said Beason. "He wants to know what's going on. That's understandable. If he's injured or healthy, he'd want to be with us here right now."

The Panthers practice once today, at 3:10 p.m. We'll have more updates after that.

(blogs.charlotte.com)

Tavares Gooden, the rookie and third-round pick out of Miami, has drawn a lot of praise, and rightfully so. This morning during a pass rushing drill, he ran over fullback Le'Ron McClain, no easy task, and also trucked running back Allen Patrick. Gooden has good strength, and is able to work low under the running back's pads. He excels through a hit.

(weblogs.baltimoresun.com)

The Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi Likes Leggett: Grossi commented on how wide receiver Lance Leggett has been making some nice catches in camp, including during the morning session. Leggett was another player who I gave zero credit to in my training camp preview.


(dawgsbynature.com)

Each week in the Times-Picayune this summer, new Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma will let fans get behind the scenes with a first-person journal about his experiences.

The fifth-year veteran, who arrived in a late-February trade from the New York Jets, is expected to give the Saints a dynamic athletic presence in the middle of their defense, assuming he can bounce back from last year's knee surgery and beat out veteran Mark Simoneau for the starting job.

When I first got traded, the transition actually went very smoothly, and it's been that way from then on. I think it was in part because I had real good teammates. When I got down to New Orleans, a lot of guys helped me out, let me know where are some good spots to live and what to look out for in the city as a whole. They've really been supportive of me, not just as a player but as a person, so that's great. Of course, I'm spending more time with my defensive teammates, but I want to build a great rapport with everybody here.

I decided to get a place in the warehouse district. A lot of guys recommended that for me, being 26 and single with no kids. There are some great restaurants, some great eating around there and some good nightlife. At the same time, I felt being in New York that I always took great pride in knowing when to go out and when to stay in. I know where to draw the line. I went back to Miami for the last month before camp started, so I'm still just getting settled.

The first three or four days of camp have actually felt really good. My knee has been holding up well. It's been about 10 months since the last time I was really running around in pads and running around out there hitting people. I was curious how it would hold up, and I'm glad it's held up so well. I never really had any doubt. Maybe I would have more doubt if I would have had more setbacks in my rehab, but I didn't have any, and that was really encouraging. I was really able to move and move well in the minicamps, and that was very exciting for me. Now I've been getting some of the rust off and I'm learning the new defense more and more, and I'm really getting comfortable out there.

And actually, this heat does-n't really bother me. I was born and raised in Miami, and I went through training camps with the (University of Miami) Hurricanes down in the heat as well. It's been about five years since

I've really been in the sweltering, intense heat. But it hasn't been too bad."

(blog.nola.com)

“He was a big asset last year. He and Aqib [Talib] and Ronde Barber are very good players and Eugene Wilson is doing some excellent things at the corner position too. Phillip is having an outstanding camp to this point.”



(community.abcactionnews.com)

Willis McGahee is being held out of Ravens practices with a lower leg injury. Coach John Harbaugh says "I don’t know what the term is on him."
Although he made it through most of last year unscathed, minor nagging injuries are nothing new for McGahee, who sometimes seems to lack pain tolerance. This will give Ray Rice a chance to take quality reps with the first unit.

(rotoworld.com)

LB Rocky McIntosh (knee) hasn't done a whole lot lately, coming back from major knee surgery, and Zorn said that indeed "right now we're holding him back, but he's getting better." Zorn said overall he's not overly concerned with the injury situation, considering most are minor, but does not like the fact that rookies are losing valuable learning days in practice.

(ffmastermind.com)

Broncos WLB D.J. Williams will wear the defensive headset to relay in play calls from the sideline this season.
While Williams is no longer at the MIKE, he is playing for a contract and won't come off the field on third down, keeping him highly intriguing as an IDP. He will have the chance to make plays in coverage and should get 100 tackles.

(rotoworld.com)

Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed has been reduced to bystander at the Ravens' training camp. He works out on his own at McDaniel College, running and catching balls daily. But he has yet to be cleared for practice for an unspecified injury or condition.

Today is the fifth day of practice Reed has missed. Asked about Reed's return, defensive coordinator gave no timetable.

"You'd have to ask [John Harbaugh] that and Bill [Tessendorf, team trainer]," Ryan said. "I really don't know. I know one thing is that Ed is working his tail off out here. He took [cornerback] David Pittman under his wing and he's working him out and getting him right, and he's working just as hard as he can possibly work.

"But whenever we get him, Ed will be ready. Mentally, in the meeting rooms he's really taking that leadership over. He's making all the calls and he's sharp. It's just about when he can return due to physical play."

(weblogs.baltimoresun.com)

BETHLEHEM, Pa. At this point of training camp, any prediction about how the Eagles' season will go down would be a bit premature.

If there is one certainty, it would be the agonizing decisions coach Andy Reid and his staff will have to make to trim the roster to the league-mandated 53 by the start of the regular season.

Most starting spots and many of the backup assignments already are known. However, the competition for the non-starting linebacking and defensive end positions figures to be particularly healthy, based on what the players jostling for those spots have shown through the first two full contact days of camp.

We start with the man the public forgot 2003 first-round draft pick Jerome McDougle, who's as fit and agile as ever and who certainly hasn't been forgotten by the coaching staff or his teammates.

McDougle was very active in Sunday's live sessions, looking especially sharp when sacking A.J. Feeley on one play and getting off a block to make a good tackle in the run game on the next snap during the second live scrimmage.

"All the ends that I go up against right now can be starters," left tackle Tra Thomas said. "McDougle can definitely be a starter, easy. Darren Howard is a starter. So I'm not going out there and seeing backup ends. I mean, we are stacked (at defensive end). We are really stacked."

Howard, who so far has failed to live up to the reputation he developed in New Orleans after being signed as a free agent in 2006, drew praise from defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

"I think this is going to be a good year for him," Johnson said. "I anticipate a good year. I see a player who is in much better shape. His weight is down and he looks quick to me. I think he had a great offseason, as far as working on it and being around the complex, also.

"He was a good role player for us last year. We expect more out of him this year. He made some big plays toward the end right there. We hope he continues. He just looks like a different player to me right now."

Considering there only will be room for five ends, at the most, with Trent Cole, Juqua Parker and Victor Abiamiri being considered locks, it means McDougle, Howard, Bryan Smith and Chris Clemons are essentially battling for two spots.

This will come down to the wire.

(nj.com)

Did I say no hitting? Rookie S Kenny Phillips must have missed the memo. He leveled RB Reuben Droughns on one run up the middle. He also gave WR Brandon London a little-too-hard shove on a sideline route, though London managed to hold on to the ball.


(nydailynews.com)

Wide receiver Lance Leggett got off to a slow start during the first few days of camp, but by the time the second practice of Day 4 rolled around he started to flourish. The undrafted free agent receiver out of the University of Miami made a couple of outstanding grabs during practice. He beat the D-backs deep in zone coverage for a touchdown on one play and made a nice acrobatic one-handed catch on a pass thrown behind him on another.

Leggett was tabbed coming out of college as a player who doesn't consistently play to his ability or potential. That was blatantly obvious at times. He and rookie sixth-round draft pick Paul Hubbard both had some trouble hanging onto the ball.

(springfieldnewssun.com)

Reports coming out of Jets camp say that Kareem Brown is looking very good in the 3-4 defense. Let's see if he can keep it up. there was never a lack of talent with Kareem, just a lack of effort. Hopefully he can turn things around and be a solid contributor to the Jets this season. Keep it up Kareem.

The Associated Press reports Baltimore Ravens FS Ed Reed (undisclosed) was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list and did not practice with the team Sunday, July 27.



(ap.com)

FLAGSTAFF - There's one thing you don't expect after you enjoy one of the greatest games ever for a defensive back:

A position switch.

That's not only what has happened to the Cardinals' Antrel Rolle. It's actually what he asked to do.

Rolle returned three interceptions for touchdowns - two that actually counted - Nov. 18 at Cincinnati playing as a third cornerback against the pass-happy Bengals. He ended up leading the NFL with three such returns in 2007.

Now, he's making the switch to free safety.

The reason: Rolle had enough of a roller coaster ride at corner since being picked in the first round in 2005 (No. 6 overall) that he was losing playing time.

He lost his starting job last year in training camp when free agent Rod Hood and holdover Eric Green outplayed him.

That made everyone question why he was drafted so high. But his huge game vs. the Bengals showed he should be on the field somewhere.

So Rolle figured he needed to make the switch.

"Last year was the first time I'd ever not been a starter in my life. I took that hard. I took that personal. I told myself no matter what happens from this point on, I'm never going to be on the sideline again.

"Toward the end of last season, I just gave it a lot of thought. I felt that position would best suit me. I was able to see the whole field, see the formations, see everything and make a good break on the ball."

Rolle joins Adrian Wilson at safety with Green and Hood remaining at corner, backed up by rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

"Antrel moving to safety really helps us a lot," Green said. "Being a corner, he knows what it's like to be out there on the island. With his ball skills, his ability to run and cover a lot of ground, will help us out a lot."

The Cardinals are hoping he's an upgrade over the departed Terrence Holt, who struggled, especially after Wilson went down with a season-ending heel injury.

As a safety, "You have to have cover skills," Rolle said. "You have to be able to hit. You have to be able to read the defense."

That means much learning in training camp and in exhibition games.

"As of right now, where I am I feel very good about it," Rolle said.

Rolle's roll will be particularly important considering the Cardinals like to use Wilson up near the line of scrimmage, where he can rattle opposing quarterbacks.

"As a free safety, you're the deepest guy on the field," Rolle said. "You can't let anything get past you."

Rolle still figures to play a corner's role when the Cardinals put an extra defensive back on the field.

That's what happened Nov. 18, when he enjoyed the kind of game even Hall of Famers only dream about.

"We used three corners pretty much the entire game," Rolle recalled.

Rolle said he studied Carson Palmer and the Bengals extensively. The result: interceptions that resulted in scoring returns of 55 and 54 yards.

"A game like that is surprising. At the same time, I knew I could do it because I prepared well."

In addition, in the game's waning moments, Rolle made another interception near midfield to preserve a big Cards' win.

What's more, he again danced down the field and into the end zone for what should have been a third score, a would-be first for an NFL defensive player.

But teammate Antonio Smith was called for a penalty for blocking Palmer; players are not supposed to hit a quarterback unless he's in a defensive position.

That's what the Cardinals believe was the case; the Cardinals interpreted the fact that the NFL declined to fine Smith as an admission that the penalty was a bad call.

Rolle can't help but be disappointed.

"You can't win 'em all. But I wish I'd won that one.

"It's still going in my record books. It might not be in the NFL record books, but it's still going in my record books."

(eastvalleytribune.com)

Nate Webster apparently is in peak physical condition.

He's not in bad shape, either, when it comes to his position battle.

On Sunday, Webster ran with the first team at middle linebacker after Niko Koutouvides was No. 1 the first two days of practice. That revolving pattern should continue until one of the players establishes a firm grip on the starting job.

"That's fair to me," Webster noted. "As far as competing for the position, it's better than staying with the 'twos,' and you get a chance to switch up tempo."

Webster started last season at strong-side linebacker. But he's a more natural fit in the center of the defense as a between- the-tackles defender.

"I call it home. That's what I've played all my life . . . ," he said. "I'm real excited about it."

The staff also is pleased with Webster's offseason participation, which has resulted in him being "in the best shape I've ever seen him in," according to coach Mike Shanahan. When Webster first came to Denver in 2006, he still was feeling the aftereffects of a torn right patella tendon.

"I had to damn near start over again. But that's not even a question anymore," he said. "And last year, I finished the season healthy and didn't miss any games, so that was one of my first goals I did reach. My next goal was to stay healthy and play hard."

Webster finished 2007 second on the team in tackles, with 100 (77 solo), playing on the strong side. Both numbers were career bests.

"Nate did some good things even at the strong-side linebacker spot last year," defensive coordinator Bob Slowik said. "He flashed some talent in the run game and was physical and explosive. But we thought him being inside in the middle would be the most natural position, and having those two compete is good. And it's tight. They've both been doing really good things."

(rockymountainnews.com)

MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie knows he might not face a tougher pass-rushing defensive end this season than he does every day of training camp in Jared Allen.

That's why McKinnie said he's trying to learn as much as possible from Allen, who had an NFL-best 15{ sacks last season.

"I think he will help me as far as moves that I might struggle with," McKinnie said Sunday. "He has some moves that (other defensive ends) have that I want to learn how to stop."

The two have gone head-to-head a number of times through the first three days of camp; Allen got the best of the matchup in team drills Saturday. Allen's speed off the edge clearly has been a challenge for McKinnie, who has picked Allen's brain about different moves.

"It helps me more, because defensive ends come up with different techniques to try and get around offensive linemen, so we share information with each other," McKinnie said. "It will help in the long run."

Allen said he also benefits from facing McKinnie because of his size (6-8, 335 pounds).

"He's a big dude," Allen said. "I told Coach, 'Another week and a half of this, I might have to take a little break. Pushing 350 around all day (is hard). For me and Bryant to be working together, it's going to make us both better."

(theplympian.com)

Veteran running back Frank Gore will check in throughout the 2008 Training Camp with his Camp Diary. Enjoy finding out how things of gone for the 49ers starting back in his first entry!

We started camp on Friday and for that first practice, I was very tired, but since then, it’s been good. I feel the more you learn and the more you know, the better camp is for you.
We are all still learning this offense, but I think it's coming along and I feel that I’m picking it up pretty good so far. We just have to keep working at it and following the captain of our boat in Mike Martz. I think if we do just what he says and keep studying and staying in the books, we’ll be one of the best teams in the league.

The first couple of days everybody is always happy and flying around and that’s good to see. For me, I’m very happy this year just to be out there with my guys. Last year I was frustrated because I broke my hand and then my mom was in the hospital. It was a frustrating year for everyone, but for me it was that way from the start because of the injury in camp and everything else.

I try not to think too much about last year though. I trained very hard this off-season and I’m at my fighting weight, and just happy to be out there with my guys, and happy that my body feels good.

I’ve made mistakes here and there but so far I feel like I’m coming along and that I’m doing what I need to so that I’ll be ready for the season. The line is doing a good job for me. Everybody is learning, but they’re pretty good.

I am doing new things this year, but one play that is my favorite is where I’m running a route out of the slot. I usually have a linebacker who comes over top on me and then I just read off what they do to figure out which way I want to go. Sometimes it’s Patrick Willis, sometimes it’s Jeff Ulbrich covering me, it all depends on the defense, and I feel like I should be able to beat a linebacker every time. That’s just me.

If I do mess up in practice, I try to figure out how to do better the next time. I’ll talk to Coach Nate (Tony Nathan) and find out what he thinks I should do. I’m more familiar with him now, and so I am starting to ask him more questions. I also go ask DeShaun Foster to see what he thought I should have done because he’s been in this league for a while. We’ve got a bunch of great guys in our room and they all help out.

Speaking of my guys, MRob went down in practice today and he’s a big player on our team, so of course you worry for a minute. We need him. In the NFL, the healthier teams are, the better they are. I think he was just more scared when it happened, but I think he’ll be alright.

I think I’m a bit different than some guys when it comes to camp. A lot of guys rush home to sleep, but I can’t ever take naps between practices. I don’t know why, but I just can’t. It works for me though because I always feel better in the afternoon practice than I do in the morning for some reason. By the afternoon I always have more of that “I’m ready to go.”

The fans also help give me that excitement about practice when they are here watching, because they really make you want to go out there and practice hard. I think about all of the struggles since I’ve been here, and they’ve still been true fans. So, when they call your name during practice I try to nod and wave at them to let them know I hear them and I appreciate it. It’s been three rough years since I have been here with the losing and they have still been here with us. You’ve got to try and give things back to them.

I don’t really like to get in the cold tub much either. I haven’t gotten in at all yet, although I did get in the hot tub this morning finally. I kind of wait until I feel that my legs aren’t fresh at all. That’s when I get in the cold tub. But, I’ve been feeling good so far. You know, I’m a young guy.

My routine usually after the morning practice is to take a shower here, weigh myself, go home, look over the plays, come back and watch film up until the second practice. After the second practice I run on the treadmill. Coach Carlisle has me doing a bunch of different  things in there to get some extra cardio. I talked to Marshall Faulk and that’s one of the things he told me – just to stay in the best shape so that I can be ready for this offense and do more.

It’s a lot of longs day during training camp. We start early and don’t usually wrap up our meetings until about 9:45 at night. After that I study my playbook back in my room, watch television until it’s time to go to bed, usually by midnight.

My television habits are basically ESPN only. It’s all basically been about Brett Favre lately, and that’s about it. But I like to know what’s going on in the NFL.

Coach cancelled practice this afternoon which took us by surprise. We signed autographs instead, which was another chance to give back to the fans.

We’ve got meetings now tonight and then tomorrow morning we’ll be in pads. As long as I touch the rock and get my reads down pat and get the feel with my o-linemen, I will be alright for the season, and with pads on, you get a better read for running the ball out there. So, I’ll be looking forward to it in the morning.

You can’t tell for sure yet, but so far Edgerrin James doesn’t look like he’s lost anything.
“Edge looks good,” said Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, who called James’ 1,222-yard season last year “solid.”

He hopes the running game will be better this season because “We’ll all be a little better.

“Our line will be a little bit better. We know what Edge does well. We know what our line does well.

“If we blend those things, we hope we’ll be a little better running team than we were last year.”

The Cardinals ranked only 29th in rushing last season, with 90 yards per game.

Whether James has slowed down a bit, he cautioned, can’t be seen definitively in practice where breaking tackles and running in the open field aren’t the issues they are in games.

The scrutiny will be ramped up because James turns 30 on Friday.

That’s the time running backs are considered eligible for their AARP card.

“That’s like a cliché,” James responded. “After all I’ve done and the way I take care of my body, I’m not even concerned with that.”

“I see guys who haven’t played as long as I have, they’re missing practice and not able to play every game … the past couple years, I’ve been there every day for practice, I’ve been out there every week for the games.”

James ranks No. 13 all time with 11,607 rushing yards. If he runs for 1,200 this season, he’ll rank No. 7 all time.

(eastvalleytribune.com)

Two-Time Pro Bowl Receiver Wayne Focused Again on Improving
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – This time, Reggie Wayne opted not to change a thing.

Wayne, the Colts’ eight-year veteran wide receiver, has improved statistically in each of his seven NFL seasons, and has done so with what he considers a simple – although not easy – formula.

Each offseason, he has worked harder than the last.

Sometimes, he said, that has meant altering his offseason workout schedule, starting earlier than the year before, or working longer. This past February, in Honolulu, Hawaii, for a second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, he joked that perhaps the only way to improve on his first 100-plus reception season was awaken for offseason workouts a half hour earlier than normal.

Wayne reconsidered. With reason.

The past few off-seasons, Wayne has arisen at 5 a.m. for his workouts.

The idea of waking at 4:30 seemed a tad unnecessary, he said.

“I kind of stayed to the same regimen,” Wayne said this week during the first week of Colts 2008 Training Camp, which will continue through August 15 at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

“They say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ I did the same thing, just did it harder. You just find ways to make it even more challenging for myself.
Wayne added with a smile, “It’s already a challenge getting up at five in the morning. That’s a start.”

As far as Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy sees it, Wayne needn’t change a thing.

Since Dungy’s arrival in 2002, Wayne never has missed a game, and has improved steadily each season, emerging as one of the NFL’s elite receivers.

“Probably the biggest thing about Reggie, the biggest compliment, is he is one of those guys you don’t worry about,” Dungy said. ‘You kind of pencil in 85-to-90 catches, 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns and you don’t even really think about it. Then you think about those numbers and realize that’s a lot to take for granted, but that’s what we expect and that’s what he has delivered.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we don’t even think about it too much.”

Whether or not Wayne has been taken for granted at times, what he also has been throughout his career his productive in strikingly steady and improving fashion.

Each season he has been in the NFL, Wayne – the Colts’ first-round selection in the 2001 NFL Draft – has set a goal to catch at least one more pass than he did the previous season.

So far, he has attained that goal.

After catching 27 passes in his rookie season, he caught 49 passes for 716 yards and four touchdowns in 2002. He followed that with 68 receptions for 838 yards and seven touchdowns in 2003 before recording his first 1,000-yard season in 2004, when he caught 77 passes for 1,210 yards and 12 touchdowns.

In 2005, he caught 83 passes for 1,055 yards and five touchdowns, then set career-highs in receptions and yards in 2006 with 86 receptions for 1,310 yards and nine touchdowns.

This past season, he surpassed his previous career-high by 18 receptions, catching 104 passes for 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns despite the absence of eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

“It’s the same,” Wayne said. “I’m still on the same track that I’m normally on. I try to get better each year. Now, it’s made everything harder. I’ve got to have a whole total different mind frame of going out there grinding, trying to get it and beat the numbers I had the previous year.

“One more doesn’t sound like much, but when you line up out there between the sidelines, it’s a lot harder than you think. One more can be the difference between the Super Bowl and an AFC Championship loss. It’s going to be a challenge, but if – knock on wood – I just keep healthy and playing football, I should be all right.”

Remaining healthy hasn’t been a huge issue for Wayne in his first seven NFL seasons. He hasn’t missed a game since his rookie season, 2001, and he is the only Colts player aside from quarterback Peyton Manning to start every game the last five seasons.

Driving him each season, in addition to division titles and Super Bowls, has been his personal goal of improvement. And while that might seem particularly daunting this season, Wayne said in fact it doesn’t seem too different.

“I do that every off-season; it’s just that this year is going to be even tougher,” Wayne said. “You’ve got a healthy (wide receiver) Marv(in) Harrison out there, so I’m not going to get as many balls as normal. There are no asterisks. I still have to go out there and do what I have to do to make it happen.

“Like I say, if I just stay healthy, who knows? Something may happen.”

And while Wayne said he is motivated by the same goals as before, he also said he is well aware he is no longer a young player by NFL standards. Late this week, he was asked if he could believe he was entering his eighth NFL season.

He laughed at the question.

“It feels like 18 years,” he said. “On my way here (to Terre Haute), normally, I’m getting it. I think I drove all the way up here at 55 miles per hour. But it’s the same. It’s the same thing. I’m blessed to have the same coaching staff and the same routine, so that’s always good. It’s nothing different.

“It’s the same thing, coming out here, knowing what to do, getting the rust off and hopefully, when you get about three or four practices under your belt you won’t have any problem.”

(colts.com)

MEQUON, WIS. — Last year at this time it was Andy McCollum. This spring it was Mark Setterstrom. And now, as the Rams settle in at training camp, it's Richie Incognito.

The Rams have done everything shy of calling for volunteers from the stands to make sure Brett Romberg has competition at the center spot.

"Yeah, there's always going to be somebody," Romberg said, grinning. "I pretty much have a plan that it's going to be an uphill battle every year. You're always going to fight for your job. If you get lackadaisical, then somebody comes in and snatches you from behind."

The twist this time is that the competition is coming from perhaps his best friend on the team in Incognito.

"I've been friends with Richie ever since I got here," Romberg said. "He was my first guy — my 'road dog' — that I used to hang with all the time when I first got here."

But Romberg is rooming with wide receiver Drew Bennett — not Incognito — this camp. And that has made it easier for some teammates and even coaches to tease Romberg and Incognito about their competition at center.

"You can tell that there's a little bit of an 'atmosphere' going on about it," Romberg said. "We just sit and laugh about it. There's no hard feelings whatsoever. It's just that he's going to try to be the starter, and I'm going to try to be the starter."

Because of a season-ending injury to McCollum, Incognito started 12 games at center in 2006, a year in which Romberg was a backup until the very end of the year. Guard is a more natural position for Incognito. He was slated to open 2007 as the Rams' starting right guard, but ankle and knee injuries limited him to four starts there.

Not unlike Romberg, Incognito still feels he has plenty to prove.

"There's a lot more for me to do," Incognito said. "I want to have a long career in this league. Injuries and things like that are just major setbacks. It's just time to step up to the plate."

Whether it's center or guard, Incognito says he's comfortable.

"It's just (that) they've got to let me know," he said. "I don't want to be jumping around — at the last second going to guard and going back to center. If they want me to play center, then leave me at center."

In the early going at training camp, that's exactly what the Rams have done. Incognito has worked strictly at center. But so far, it has been strictly with the second team.

Listed at 318 pounds, Incognito provides more of a physical presence than Romberg, who's listed at 296. But Romberg has much more experience at center over the course of his college and NFL careers. After winning the starting job last season in a mild upset over McCollum, ankle injuries limited Romberg to nine starts.

"They're in an extremely competitive situation right now," coach Scott Linehan said Sunday. "Brett's been good. He's one of the guys who has really showed up as being very, very consistent."

And at the end of the day, Incognito could end up back at right guard, where Setterstrom currently is working with the first unit.

"I've told them it doesn't make any sense to have one of the five best offensive linemen standing on the sideline with me," Loney said. "So we will find a way of having the five best offensive linemen start against Philadelphia (in the regular-season opener). That's all in the evaluation."

(stltoday.com)

Kenard Lang had a try out with New Orleans on Thursday. The veteran defensive end was cut by Denver on Sunday.

(denverpost.com)

Martin Bibla of the Philadelphia Soul won his first Arena Football Championship Ring. Jason Geathers started at linebacker and in a losing effort had five touchdown receptions on eight receptions for 101 yards. The Soul won 59-56. Congrats to both Bibla and Geathers. Hopefully because of the great seasons they had they get a call from an NFL team.

FOXBORO - Brandon Meriweather was a first-round pick by the Patriots [team stats] in 2007 who had the advantage last year of learning the ins and outs of playing NFL defense from veterans including cornerback Asante Samuel [stats].

But Samuel has moved on as a free agent to Philadelphia, and it was only natural that Meriweather, a second-year defensive back, was asked yesterday if he would miss his former teammate.

Meriweather looks at Samuel’s departure philosophically. As a friend, yes, absolutely, Meriweather was going to miss Samuel. But in the ever-evolving world of the NFL, it was stretching things to suggest he was going to “miss” a guy who signed for big money with the Eagles.

“It’s going to be a little different, but at the same time we have new players and every year on every team there are new players,” he said. “That’s really it.”

But substitute “player” with “friend,” and Meriweather takes a different attitude.

“Asante’s a good friend of mine,” he said. “We’re both from South Florida. He’s a great player and all, but he’s also a great person . . . of course I miss him as a person. But this is a job, and he had to go handle his business.”

During his talk with the media yesterday, Meriweather was asked if he agreed with Pats coach Bill Belichick’s assessment that players often show their greatest improvement in their second season. Meriweather responded by making a run at the world record for most usages of the term “opportunity knocking” without stopping for air.

“Opportunity is knocking,” he said. “It’s not just because I’m a second-year player I feel like opportunity is knocking. Last year, opportunity was knocking. Year before that . . . whenever you’re a part of something, opportunity is knocking.”

Asked if he has watched a tape of the Patriots’ 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, he replied, “Not yet,” then he added, “I think that’s a good game to learn from. But right now, the primary focus is on this year, and the focus is on getting better.”

Talking a bit more about the Super Bowl loss, Meriweather said one thing he learned was “capitalize on mistakes. I think me, myself, personally that’s something I need to do better . . . the little things, the details, and capitalize on other mistakes.”

“Right now,” he said, “my challenge is to learn my playbook and get good chemistry with my teammates.”

(bostonherald.com)

FOXBORO - Vince Wilfork [stats] felt like a new man at training camp last year after embarking on a diet that left him leaner and meaner.

The result was his first trip to Honolulu for what any objective observer would have to assume is the first of many Pro Bowls.

And when this offseason rolled around, Wilfork wasn’t content merely to repeat last year’s regimen. He wanted to top it.

So in addition to featuring a diet heavy on almonds, blueberries and lean meats like turkey, Wilfork added a couple of wrinkles after returning to his offseason home in Florida.

For one, he lifted weights, which he normally doesn’t do outside of Gillette Stadium. For another, he committed himself to 30 minutes a day of running of all types, expanding on his usual conditioning work.

“Distance, sprint work, conditioning, on sand, up hills, stairs,” Wilfork said. “You name it, I’ve done it. I put my body through hell just to come to camp in shape, to make sure I’m the way I need to be conditioning-wise.”

The fruits of Wilfork’s labor won’t be felt until September and beyond, but right now he once again looks like he’s ready to be a force in the middle of the Patriots [team stats]’ defense.

A freakish athlete at 6-foot-2, 325 pounds, Wilfork is one of the most unique players in the league, impossible to move at the point of attack and quite possibly the best 3-4 nose tackle in the game.

Football is a year-round commitment for Wilfork, which is why he continues to tweak his offseason workouts. He spoke yesterday, soaked in sweat after a grueling morning workout in mid-80s heat.

“My thing is, when you strap on this helmet, it’s time to go to work,” Wilfork said. “I never feel sorry for myself. You’ll never see me taking any days off. When I’m out on the field, you’re guaranteed to get 100 percent of me. That’s how I was raised, and I don’t care how long I’m in this game - it’s always going to be true.”

In the past, Wilfork’s month back home in Florida has been spent solely on conditioning. He gets all the lifting he needs during the team’s offseason conditioning program. This time around, he decided to add some strength work to his typical cardio routine, with the result being a player who could be even stronger and quicker this year.

“I’m a true believer in coming into camp in good shape,” Wilfork said. “Conditioning is the key. If you’ve got that, everything else that comes after is easy.”

As for his running workouts, Wilfork said he set aside 30 minutes every day for them, no matter what.

“I don’t care if I’m just jogging for cardio or doing sprint work or hills - it adds up to 30 minutes,” Wilfork said. “And trust me, those 30 minutes are work. Coming into camp, I can feel the difference in two-a-days, even in this heat. I can feel the difference in my conditioning.”

Wilfork joked he draws the line at running in the sand with a parachute or a weight dragging behind him, a la Randy Moss.

“I don’t need to be running with no parachutes,” he said with a laugh, “but pretty much anything else is fair game.”

Who knows what new wrinkles next year will bring?

“It’s been working for me, it’s been paying off for me,” Wilfork said. “I’m going to continue it. Every year I’m going to add to it more and more. I’m not turning back from it.”

(bostonherald.com)

WESTMINSTER, Md. — Thirteen seasons later, Ray Lewis isn't much different from the 21-year-old rookie who played middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens with his own brand of passion and enthusiasm.

At the first full-team practice Friday under Ravens first-year coach John Harbaugh, Lewis directed the defence and sprinted toward running backs as if it was the middle of October. He even took the time to offer some fatherly advice to rookie running back Ray Rice, who dared try to juke a tackle before Lewis planted him in the ground.

"I told him, 'If you see me in the hole, bouncing around sometimes works. But in this business it doesn't. North and south wins, never go east and west,"' Lewis said.

Who can blame Rice for trying to avoid Lewis, a nine-time Pro Bowler and one of the best linebackers in the NFL?

"Not one of the best. The best," insisted defensive co-ordinator Rex Ryan, now in his 10th season with Baltimore. "I just know he was the best when I got here and he's the best now. Still."

The Ravens went 5-11 last season, but it sure wasn't Lewis's fault. He led the team in tackles for the 10th time and was the focal point on the only defence in the league that did not allow a 100-yard rusher. He missed the last two games with a finger injury, but says his 33-year-old body has never felt better and that the experience he's gained over the past 12 years have only served to make him better.

"Old is a lot of wisdom and a lot of knowledge, and if you take care of your body the way I take care of my body, you can play as long as you want," he said.

Opposing quarterbacks and running backs who believe Lewis might have lost a step after playing in 162 games have been extended an open invitation to venture into the middle of the Baltimore defence.

"Most of the time they're trying to get away from me," Lewis said with a chuckle.

Lewis was drafted in the first round by the Ravens in 1996, the team's first year of existence, along with offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden. While Ogden watched from the sideline Friday after announcing his retirement last month, Lewis zipped through the two-hour practice with the zeal of a kid trying to make the team.

Not that it came as any surprise to his coaches and teammates. Lewis loves playing football, and will never take it easy on the field - even during a seven-on-seven drill under the hot summer sun. Because if he doesn't try his hardest, then Lewis won't maintain the high standard he sets for himself.

"The amazing thing is, he keeps coming out here every single year trying to get better," Ryan said. "I think that's why he maintains such a high level of play."

Lewis long ago earned the respect of his teammates. He is the unquestioned leader of the defence, and not merely through leading by example. His feet are always in motion, and so is his mouth.

"He's still the same guy who tells us whether to look for a run or a pass, still the same guy who talks it up before the snap," tackle Kelly Gregg said. "You'd think in your 13th training camp you'd sort of slow down, but not Ray. He runs the show."

Harbaugh, a former assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles, got a taste of Lewis' enthusiasm during minicamp. Seeing the linebacker in shoulder pads at training camp made Harbaugh appreciate how sweet it is to have Lewis on his side.

"It's great to have an opportunity to coach a football team that Ray Lewis is on," he said. "Just watching practice today, you can see why he's one of the all-time greats and a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and why he believes he's got of football left in him. Because he does."

It seems hard to imagine that someone who has played in all those games for all those years can still be effective at a position that requires speed, agility and a rock-hard body. Then again, who says there's an age limit for an athlete to play like a champion?

"They said Michael Strahan was old, but he beat every tackle in front of him and won a Super Bowl. That's what I appreciate about me and all the other guys I see, whether it's Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen (of the NBA champion Boston Celtics)," Lewis said. "I think age is for everybody else who's done it before and still wants to do it - or someone who doesn't want to pay you a whole lot of money."

Lewis is signed through the 2008 season. If the Ravens expect to bring up his advancing years when negotiating a new contract, Lewis will simply tell them that he's a better player now than when he accepted his last deal in 2003.

"Anytime you can be healthy at this point in your career, you're like, 'I don't ever want to be 25 or 26 because I know too much right now and I'm way past where I was,"' he said. "So now, coming into camp is more fun for you because you're in the best shape of your life and know how to take care of your body way better than when you were younger.

"Now you can really appreciate the game."

(ap.com)

Texans WR Andre Johnson said Thursday that he is running at "full speed" on his surgically repaired left knee, and it appears he will be ready to play when the Texans begin training camp on Friday.

"I was out running routes (Wednesday)," Johnson told Houston reporters, "and I haven’t had anything since I have been out running or anything."

Johnson missed seven games because of an injury to the knee last season, and pain in the knee was an issue even after his return. Nonetheless, he caught 60 passes for 851 yards and seven TDs. He had arthroscopic knee surgery in May.

Texans QB Matt Schaub said Johnson looks good to him.

"We have been throwing here for a couple of weeks. He says he is good and feels great, so, you know, it’s great to have everyone back and healthy,” Schaub said.

(pfw.com)

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (AP) -- Kick returner Devin Hester has signed a new four-year contract with the Chicago Bears.

The team announced the deal Sunday. Hester skipped the first two days of training camp because he wanted to renegotiate his contract, which had two years left. Hester returned to camp Friday, saying there was progress in the negotiations.

He said he skipped practices to make a statement that he was serious about a new deal.

Hester's previous contract was for $445,000 for the 2008 season.

The terms of the new deal have not yet been announced. Hester is scheduled to speak to the media Sunday afternoon.

(ap.com)

On the Panthers defensive line, Damione Lewis is anything but a silent partner. The veteran defensive tackle with the high-octane motor stands out among the jovial but soft-spoken Maake Kemoeatu and a stoic pair of defensive ends, Julius Peppers and Tyler Brayton.

The former Miami Hurricane provides constant chatter during defensive line drills in his distinctive Texas drawl. On the first day of training camp, Lewis set the tone as the defensive line made a statement with aggressive play in one-on-one run and pass-rush drills.

Entering his eighth NFL season and third with the Panthers, Lewis is anxious to provide more than comic relief. One goal is to provide leadership to a group that has been challenged by the loss of two long-time starters this off-season, Mike Rucker and Kris Jenkins.

The obvious conclusion is that Lewis will fill the spot vacated by Jenkins, but defensive line coach Sal Sunseri begs to differ, citing that the two are completely different players.

"It wasn't Jenkins' system," Sunseri said. "It wasn't Rucker's system. He's filling a role in our system."

Sunseri added that Lewis has all the tools to step into his new role.

"He has the respect of his teammates. When you do the right things, making the right calls, people will follow."

(panther.com)

ASHBURN, Va. — No matter the playbook, no matter his role, no matter his stats, Santana Moss sees himself as a playmaker and a game-changer.

It's why the wide receiver wants the Washington Redskins to throw the football to him as much as possible this season. "Early and often," is how Moss put it.

It's why he wants to go back to occasionally returning punts, something he didn't do once in 2006 or 2007. "I haven't forgotten how," Moss noted.

It's why he is sure he can thrive in new Redskins coach Jim Zorn's West Coast system.

"To be honest with you, I never look at anything and say, 'It's not going to be a good fit,"' Moss said. "Looking at this offense, I've got high expectations."

So do his teammates and Washington's fans, who were hootin' and hollerin' when Moss touched the ball at training camp Friday.

As for Zorn? Well, it's hard to imagine the former NFL quarterback coming up with a higher compliment than a comparison to his own favorite target, Steve Largent. Asked about Moss, Zorn immediately raised the name of the Hall of Fame receiver who was his teammate with the Seattle Seahawks.

"Steve Largent didn't have (Moss') acceleration or speed, but (Moss has) a very low center of gravity, and Steve did as well, so he's able to make very high-speed breaks," Zorn said, "and it's very difficult for him to be covered."

That was certainly the case in 2005, Moss' first year with the Redskins: He broke the franchise record with 1,483 yards receiving on a career-best 84 catches and went to the Pro Bowl.

One might think that was a season to remember, to look back upon with pride. Not quite so. Actually, Moss gets tired of hearing about it.

As in: Why haven't you matched that production? Why did your yardage slip to 790 in 2006, then 808 in 2007? Why haven't you gone to the Pro Bowl again?

"That's the only thing that ticks me off at times - when people say, 'Well, why didn't he do the 1,400 yards again?' Well, go back and watch the offense. Was I doing the same things the offense allowed me to do the first time?" he asked, then provided the answer: "No."

"But," Moss continued, "I understand that all I can be is what my team allows me to be."

This is no ball hog, mind you.

More like someone who wants to help and knows he can.

"I don't go into this thing saying, 'I'm the No. 1 man.' I feel like that's given to you by your coaching staff and by your team," Moss said. "I'm out here to do my job, and whatever they call me - No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - it don't make me less than the other guys. ... If you go out there and work as a core, we all can be No. 1."

Keep in mind that Moss led Washington's receivers in catches, touchdown catches and yards every season he's been in town.

Teammates back up Moss' contention that his numbers were suppressed by a stop-and-start-and-stop offense the past two seasons.
The team ranked 15th of 32 NFL teams in net yards in 2007, 13th in 2006.

"We never got going in either of those seasons like we really wanted to," receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "When you have an offense like that, you can't expect those big numbers."

Randle El figures the changes under Zorn can only be an improvement - and he figures his running mate should thrive.

"You could put 'Tana' in any system, because of his breakdown ability. He can run routes, run them with speed and change direction at the same speed," Randle El said. "You really put him anywhere, stick him in any spot, and watch him work."

It's a combination of moves, pure sprint speed - "Fastest guy on the team, no doubt," according to cornerback Fred Smoot - and a knack for making a tough catch.

All are skills running back Clinton Portis grew accustomed to admiring when he and Moss were at the University of Miami.

"Think of Santana Moss being in the slot, moving around," Portis said, "and I put my money on him."

Moss told special teams coordinator Danny Smith he'd like to return to dabbling in returning punts by spelling Randle El, who voiced his support. When Moss is fresh and healthy - which was hardly the case at times last season - he feels he can make an opponent miss in the open field.

"I know that my job is easier than his," Moss said. "He's got to wonder where I'm going. I just have to go out there and run."

Moss is a sensible guy, though. There are limits to his desire to be involved all the time.

At his Florida high school, for example, he insisted on lining up wide, even though a two-catch game was a big deal in the team's Wing-T formation that emphasized the run.

"They always wanted me in the backfield," Moss recalled. "But I was, 'Uh-uh.' Those guys weren't blocking too well for me to be back there. I didn't want none of that."

(usatoday.com)

JACKSON, Miss. -- He had been through precisely one practice with the New Orleans Saints, but Jonathan Vilma already fit perfectly.

"I'm excited for my teammates because I know we're going to be good,'' Vilma said after Thursday morning's session at Millsaps College.

That attitude, along with his ability to go sideline-to-sideline as a middle linebacker in the 4-3 defense, is precisely why the Saints traded for Vilma in the offseason. They needed a playmaker in the middle of a defense that underachieved last year, and they believe placing Vilma behind rookie defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis will solve a lot of problems.

"We have the right kind of guys in the new additions that can help us do that,'' outside linebacker Scott Fujita said. "In terms of attitude, it has to be more about us trying to dictate what the offense does rather than dictating what we do. We have to set the tempo.''

Vilma was used to setting the tempo in his days at the University of Miami and his first two years with the New York Jets. But the arrival of coach Eric Mangini in 2006 brought the 3-4 defense, a system in which Vilma's talents weren't a natural fit.

Vilma is well along the road to recovery from a knee injury, and he's alternating on the first team with Mark Simoneau early in camp. But Vilma doesn't expect to be spending much time on the second team for long.

"I don't think so, especially the way I felt at the first practice," Vilma said when asked if he felt he had to compete for a starting job. "I felt fine. For me, it's really more about learning the plays and getting used to my teammates.''

Before long, this will be Vilma's defense.

(espn.com)

Taking a handoff in the first contact practice of training camp, Willis McGahee hit the hole only to get stripped of the ball.

If that wasn't humiliating enough, cornerback Corey Ivy shouted across the field, "Get 'em here on time, running back coach."

McGahee was one of the last players to arrive to morning practice Friday, again raising questions about the mercurial running back's commitment to the team.

Because McGahee skipped most of the offseason workouts this year and struggled to stay on the field last season, it wouldn't come as a surprise if the Ravens decreased McGahee's workload, especially after drafting Ray Rice in the second round.
Instead, the Ravens are planning to increase it.

"There is no question in my mind that Willis McGahee can be a three-down back," offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. "I think this is the right time in his career to do it. With his ability, there is no reason why he shouldn't excel on three downs."

McGahee was on the field only for first and second downs last season, when the Ravens used Musa Smith as the third-down back.

As a result, McGahee only had 337 touches, which ranked seventh among the NFL's top 10 rushers last season.

There were times when he asked for breathers during a game, which caused some to question whether he was in optimal shape. In his return game to Buffalo, he was given fluids intravenously after a 46-yard touchdown run.

"The goal for me is to stay on the field," McGahee said. "I didn't stay on the field as much last year. [But] that's last year, and this is a whole new year."

This has already been a different year for McGahee.

Last offseason, he lived up to his promise about coming to most of the voluntary workouts. This spring, he went back to his routine that was heavily criticized during his time in Buffalo, attending one voluntary minicamp and the mandatory one.

His absence could have affected his practice Friday, when he fumbled an exchange with quarterback Troy Smith in one drill and then coughed it up again trying to get through the line of scrimmage in another one.

Running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery said McGahee is "playing catch-up" because he wasn't around this offseason.

"If he wasn't the athlete that we all know he is, it would be frustrating," Montgomery said. "It still is kind of frustrating right now because we're trying to teach him, and it's just not coming as fast as you would like it to. But you know it will come."

McGahee is confident that he'll learn the system because that's what he has done his entire career.

He has had a different head coach the past four seasons.

"I get a new playbook every year, so it's something I'm used to," McGahee said. "[But] this is the first offensive coordinator I've had that uses the tailback this much."

If McGahee wants to thrive in this increased role, he'll have to be in excellent shape, which has become a hot topic this offseason.

At a minicamp in late May, first-year Ravens coach John Harbaugh pointed out that McGahee needed to get into "football shape." McGahee said he weighed in at training camp at 236 pounds and wanted to get to 230 pounds by the start of the season.

"He looked good," Harbaugh said. "He got through the practice and was strong throughout the whole practice."

While there have been questions about whether he has the stamina to be an every-down back, there have been no doubts about whether he has the talent to play on third downs.

Cameron and Ravens players have been impressed with McGahee's ability to catch the ball. He made a career-high 43 receptions last season after never catching more than 28 in his previous three seasons.

"He's not a two-down back," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "He's the kind of back that you can have him in there to pound the ball for first and second down. But you can split him out on a linebacker and safety and he can still make a play."

When Cameron was the San Diego Chargers' offensive coordinator from 2002 to 2006, he consistently used running back LaDainian Tomlinson in the passing game. In Cameron's system, Tomlinson averaged 67.8 receptions.

Cameron foresees a similar impact with McGahee.

"The sky is the limit as to what kind of receiver he can be," Cameron said.

But after fumbling twice Friday, McGahee understands he has to make some strides before he can reach that potential.

"I know I'm rusty," McGahee said. "I know I'm not going to come to training camp and be on point. That's hard, and I've got to work to that level."

(baltimoresun.com)

Roscoe Parrish was the Bills' first-team slot receiver as the team began training camp practices.
Josh Reed appears to be a step behind. Buffalo says it wants to open up the offense, but we can expect a conservative approach from any Dick Jauron coached club. That may not be conducive to many three-receiver sets.

(rotoworld.com)

By the end of the week, Andra Davis will be wearing a radio helmet so he can receive signals from defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. Leon Williams will wear the radio helmet when he is on the field and Davis is on the sideline.

A defensive player wearing a radio helmet is new this year. It had been suggested before by the NFL Competition Committee and rejected. The Spygate incident involving the Patriots was the impetus to pass the rule for this year.

(zwire.com)

TOP DEFENSIVE PLAY: Cornerback Kelly Jennings and receiver Trent Shelton wrestled for a pass during the afternoon practice. Jennings showed it's not about the size of the player so much as the size of the fight in the player. The 180-pound corner refused to let go of the pass, battling for control of the ball with a receiver that outweighed him by 22 pounds. When the mess got unknotted, Jennings still had his hands on the ball.

(seattletimes.com)

The team waived WR Carlos Robinson and long snapper Ryan Senser and signed TE Buck Ortega and WR Curtis Hamilton. Ortega spent a portion of last season on the practice squad and was waived earlier this offseason by the Saints.


(sunherald.com)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Jon Beason is no longer a rookie, but this part of training camp is all new to him.

Beason was one of the early arrivals yesterday as members of the Carolina Panthers checked into their dorm rooms at Wofford College for the start of training camp.

Beason wasn't around for Day One last year.

He didn't join the team until the second week of training camp because of a contract dispute, eventually missing eight days and 11 practices before signing and joining the team.

Maybe that's why he was so eager to get checked in early yesterday.

"I feel like a rookie, missing eight days, 11 practices," Beason said. "So it's going to be pretty new to me having to stay the full camp this year. I'm excited, happy to be here."

Yesterday was a day the Panthers used to settle in, take physical exams and have meetings. They'll start two-a-day practices this morning on the Wofford practice field. Their first preseason game is scheduled for Aug. 9 against Indianapolis at Bank of America Stadium.

Beason, a 6-0, 237-pound middle linebacker, was the team's first-round draft choice last season, taken with the 25th pick. He became the second-longest holdout in the NFL last year before signing a five-year, $12.5 million deal that included a $3.2 million signing bonus. His agent, Michael Huyghue, eventually relented on a second-year option bonus that the Panthers refused to give.

Beason said yesterday that he's glad those days are behind him.

"It was tough," he said.

"As a player, you just want to play. The business aspect is new for a rookie. You don't know about the contract stuff and what your agent is telling you, so you just have to have confidence in them.

"Then you come in late and they had 30 different defenses already in. I had to stay late and try to get caught up at once."

Beason overcame the late arrival in training camp and was a starter at weak-side linebacker in time for the regular-season opener. He moved to middle linebacker on a full-time basis in the fifth game, after Dan Morgan was lost for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury. And by season's end, he had emerged as the Panthers' most productive defensive player.

He finished the season with a franchise-record 160 tackles, and became the first rookie in franchise history to lead the team in tackles. He had a season-high 17 tackles against Dallas in the next-to-last game, then closed out with 14 tackles at New Orleans in the season finale.
Beason said he expects to be even more productive this season.

"I didn't really become a full-time starter until Week 5, I think," Beason said. "Doing it again shouldn't be as hard, especially with how good our defense is this year. It's going to be hard for guys to key on me when I have other guys around me playing well. And it's different because there's a comfort level. I'm laid back, no jitters, not nervous at all."

He's excited about the linebacker corps. Veterans Na'il Diggs and Thomas Davis, who started at the weak-side and strong-side linebacker spots after Beason moved to the middle, return. And, the team signed free agent Landon Johnson, a former starter in Cincinnati, and drafted Penn State's Dan Connor in the third round.

"That's definitely one of our strong suits," Beason said. "If anybody, God forbid, gets hurt, we can just rotate guys. The second team is just as good as the first team."

Beason is clearly the head of the corps, even if he is just in his second season.

"I think I've earned the right to be a leader," he said. "I think the guys on the defense respect me. So I'm just going to have to live up to last year's expectations and this year's expectations."

(journalnow.com)

Quarterback Kyle Wright of the San Francisco 49ers has been assigned #3.





(49ers.com)

Edgerrin James turns 30 Aug. 1, normally a dangerous age for veteran running backs – especially ones with 2,849 career carries. But James will be the centerpiece for the Cardinals’ running game in 2008, thanks to three key factors: he keeps himself in phenomenal shape; his game isn’t based on speed, so it hasn’t diminished much; and the Cards really didn’t bring in anyone to challenge James. Holdovers Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington will battle fifth-round pick Tim Hightower for roster spots while Edge sits atop the depth chart. James is a proud man who believes he is as good as he always has been, and improvement from the offensive line will help.

(azcardinals.com)

BEREA Sometime this year, cool-talking, hot-blooded Kellen Winslow Jr. will say something that turns heads.

Or will he?

Winslow's outrageous "I'm a soldier" rant came down more than five years ago.

His infamous trip to Canton for a StarBoyz demonstration and subsequent motorcycle crash is three years in the rearview.

He has racked back-to-back years of 875 and 1,106 yards, is coming off a Pro Bowl and is acting like model-employee, establishment material.

"Coming out of college, I was probably viewed in a different light," Winslow said between training camp practices Thursday. "But I'm growing up. I'm 25 now. That stuff was a long time ago."

"Just like everybody else ... you have to grow up. I'm older and married now. I'm just ... grown up."

Even if he did turn 25 Monday, though, it'll be 25 years before he can get an AARP card. He's still young, ornery and outrageous, as in outrageously good.

Part of him still wants to say no other tight end can hang with him, although the grown-up part resists.

After he looked sleek and dangerous in practice, someone asked whether he sees the Sept. 7 opener in light of proving he's better than Cowboys Pro Bowler Jason Witten. After all, it was mentioned, Witten is the premier tight end in the NFC. Winslow is ranked third in the AFC by The Sporting News, behind Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez.

"You're trying to get me, man," Winslow said.

Giving the writer a friendly chuck on the arm, Winslow added, "I'm just trying to be the best player I can be. I'm giving you the politically correct answer on that one."

All grown up.

Winslow's contract issue, which factored into his staying away from voluntary spring practice, seems to be a non-issue as camp breaks a sweat.

"I just want to be a Cleveland Brown for a longer period of time," said Winslow, who is signed through 2010. "My agent (Drew Rosenhaus) and the organization are in talks. My job is to be out here playing football.

"If they do it, they do it. If they don't, they don't."

Coming off an 82-catch, Pro Bowl year in which he played all 16 games despite injury issues, did he consider holding out?

"I'm not that type of guy," Winslow said. "I don't want to be a distraction. My job's just to come out here and help this team win."

Winslow's 1,981 yards in back-to-back years is a club record. Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome's best tandem years were 1983 and 1984, when he delivered 1,971 yards.

Predictably, Winslow wants the moon.

"I left a lot on the field last year," he said. "I watched the film and saw things I could have done better.

"I probably could have caught 100 balls. That's 18 more than I caught. Touchdowns ... I only had five. I can get a lot better in each category."

The Browns offense is hard to predict, since it has had just one breakout year.

"Charlie (Frye) was our quarterback last year," Winslow said. "It hasn't happened ever in history, but he was gone after one game. He was a good friend of mine.

"It's a cut-throat league. It's tough."

Not that Winslow isn't fired up about an offense coordinated by Rob Chudzinski, who was with him in his Miami (Fla.) days.

"Chud lives here at the facility," Winslow said in a reverent tone. "I don't know how he stays married.

"He's here all day, and he's the hardest-working coach I've ever seen. He's our captain, with Romeo. He's off the boards, man."

Meanwhile, the formerly troubled No. 6 overall pick of the 2004 draft now has two solid years on the NFL board.

He says his latest knee surgery was "just a minor scope." He's running free in practice, no longer a wild card as much as a reason for the other guys to worry.

(cantonrep.com)

Jason Geathers says no matter where you put him on a football field, he will make plays.

He isn't kidding.

The former Spanish River High and University of Miami standout became the first player in Arena Football League history last week to score a touchdown three different ways.

He caught two scores, ran for another and returned an interception to lead San Jose to today's Arena Bowl with an 81-55 win against Grand Rapids.

Those heroics were nothing new for Geathers, who was named to the AFL's All-Ironman Team for the second consecutive season.

"Wherever you put me, I'm going to make plays," said Geathers, who will line up today as a receiver, linebacker and kick returner against the Philadelphia Soul. "It doesn't matter where I am, you can't stop me."

Geathers, 27, has found a home in San Jose after failing to stick with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants in the NFL. He hasn't given up on playing in the NFL, but realizes there's a lot about that possibility he can't control.

"I know I can play in the NFL, but it's all about getting the right opportunity," he said. "You've got to be in the right situation and not just go in there as a "camp body." There's a lot of guys in this league who can play at the next level."

Geathers was a running back when the Hurricanes won the national championship in 2001. He has become more defense-oriented in the AFL, leading the SaberCats with four fumble recoveries and is fifth in tackles.

"Jason is one of the best athletes this league has to offer," San Jose General Manager Darren Arbet said.

After his performance last week, Geathers was being compared to former AFL star Barry Wagner, who won the AFL's "Ironman Award" six times.

"Wow. I really appreciate that," Geathers said. "He's a legend (in this game). That's a great compliment."

Today, it's the SaberCats who try to make history if they win consecutive Arena Bowls. The last team to do that was the Tampa Bay Storm (1995-96).

"We're going to win — that's a guarantee," Geathers said. "I have no problem saying that because I have that much confidence in my team. You can put that in bold print."

(pambeachpost.com)

Expect a new-look linebacking corps this season. Boss Bailey was brought in for speed to replace Ian Gold, and Shanahan said that Nate Webster has been awesome in the off-season and is in the best shape of his carrier. He also said not to count out Niko Koutouvides, who impressed coaches the second half of last season.    

(thedenverdailynews.com)

The loudest cheers during the first New York Giants practice session Friday morning were for receivers Amani Toomer and Sinorice Moss.

Toomer, in his 13th season and the club's all-time leaders in receptions, yards and receiving touchdowns, made a sensational over-the-shoulder catch among his many receptions Friday, and Moss showed his sprinter speed when he hauled in a deep bomb.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was very pleased with how the morning session went, especially the big passing plays.

"There were a couple of nice deep balls. I like to see that. It's good to see the ball go down the field," he said.

Coughlin also liked the overall effort the entire roster showed.

(dailygazette.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has lived up to expectations with the bat, including a recent surge of late-inning home runs that have played greatly in Milwaukee's recent winning ways.

Such heroics have completely obscured Braun's acclimation on the other side of the ball.

After his seventh outfield assist of the season on Friday and a sterling sliding catch on Saturday in the series against Houston, Braun has become everything the Brewers hoped for when they moved him out to left field for the 2008 season. He has yet to commit an error after logging 26 miscues at third base last season.

"I'm really comfortable," Braun said. "Probably after about 10 or 15 games, I felt like I'd played there my whole career. I feel like I've played really well, and I just continue to learn. Every different ballpark I go to, it's getting used to the dimensions, getting used to certain places where the ball could get lost in the lights, just little things like that."

Braun saw the ball perfectly when his sliding backhanded catch ended the eighth inning on Saturday, not long after his two-run homer tied the game at 4-4.

"Gotta watch them both," Braun said, when asked which highlight he would rather watch. "I try to take something positive from every game. I'll go watch the home run a couple times and watch the catch a couple times. I'll remember those things."

On Lance Berkman's single in the seventh on Friday, Braun initially looked to throw to third base but he reconsidered, tossing to second instead to retire a stretching Berkman. His seventh outfield assist tied him for sixth among National Leaguers.

"I try to instill their heads, even in Spring Training, you always try to keep the double play in order," said first-base coach Ed Sedar, the team's resident outfield defense expert. "The chances of throwing out the primary runner are minute, but to get the secondary runner, either [keeping him] staying at first or trying to advance, is a higher opportunity."

Said Braun, "Maybe early on in the year, I would have just thrown the ball to third base. Little things like that, I've learned."

Sedar said he felt Braun measured up among the league's elite left fielders.

"He probably has the best arm in baseball in left field," Sedar said. "He can cover more ground than 90 percent of the outfielders out there."

Though Braun entered the season with the reputation as a defensive liability, his impressive performance in the field could make him an attractive option when voting for the Gold Gloves takes place. No National League left fielder has played more innings or had more chances than Braun, though Gold Gloves do not differentiate between the outfield positions, and the hardware often goes to center fielders.

"I'm sure that's a goal of his," Sedar said. "It's to become the best out there. I don't know if they just hand them out to center fielders or not, but he's doing an outstanding job out there. "

(mlb.com)