More Camping, Without a Tent

Let me start by saying that camp seems to be a little less laid back now that preseason started. Maybe it is just me, but it seemed like the coaches and players were more on edge at Monday's practice. I ended up skipping out on Tuesday due to some other plans, so maybe it was just the Monday itself that made them edgy. It was nice to see the fire in them though. Maybe it is also because there isn't that much longer until the full team will be assembled and the others will become practice squad guys or just another man without a job in the NFL. So, to me the fire means they care. They want to make the team, possibly for the money, for some sort of job security, for fame, or hopefully for the love the game and the passion for winning. Either way, the fire is nice. The coaches were even getting in on the action. They were screaming, calling guys out for bad routes, dropping passes, etc. Aside from Monday, the only other time, I had actually witnessed discipline occurring during practice was when one of the guys, I would like to say it was Boling or Robinson (I can't remember now), had to run a lap around the practice field for a false start. We need to be tough on these guys. We can't beat ourselves this year. So I am glad to see them dig in publicly. So we, too, can see that they want to change and they want to win.

Another interesting note from Monday's practice was the trick plays that they seemed to be trying out. For those who went, it was definitely fun to watch. We got to see a nice flea flicker and even a half back direct snap to Leonard that put Andy Dalton as a wide out. The guys also practiced a lot of onside kicks and fake punts and kicks with Huber acting as QB once the ball was snapped. They looked good doing it and the crowd showed their pleasure through lots of ooo's and ahhhh's. Really, special teams is something they already look really good on, so throwing in this trickery is going to make for a really fun season. And the more we have in our play book on offense, the more we can mix it up and keep defenses always guessing. I am glad to see a more aggressive approach out there. Just reason number 1001 Gruden should be our head coach! Who's with me?!?

As a side note to camp, during the autograph signing, Jason Allen was asked who he thought was harder to go against in practice Andre (Johnson) or A.J. (Green) and he said A.J., hands down. He may have just been saying that, but after seeing A.J. in practice, I can definitely agree. This guy gets anything remotely in his direction. Even when he is laughing and just having fun. He just picks those balls out of the sky, off the ground, he is like a bloodhound for the pigskin...a "ballhound" if you will. However, we as Cincinnati fans knew he was good, but he is freaking amazing! I hope these young guys are watching.   

The Bengals are off tomorrow since they have another preseason game on Thursday night in Atlanta. So there won't be anymore camp updates until after practice on Friday, but I am sure there will be something I will want to chatter about. An insight to my mind...I think about football every 15 seconds, like they say most people think about sex. Sick right? I know. The only thing better is watching football while having sex. Thank God The Season Is Back ;)! Speaking of thanking God. We obviously have no relationship. Though I pleaded in my last post to stop showing Jets Camp on ESPN every 10 minutes, like the weather channel with local on the 8's, they have not stopped. What more do I need to do. I have prayed, I have cried, I have screamed...Still, "And back to New York with Sal Palantonio at Jets Camp". We killed them on national tv, we ripped Tebow up as a quarterback and spit him out. Still, do you know what the top news was today on ESPN??? TIM TEBOW'S BIRTHDAY!!! I don't care!!! At this point do the Jets faithful even give a shit?? Not to mention, the Bible tells me he was born on Christmas, so something is wrong with this anyway! Too far?? I don't care! He is a mediocre to horrible quarterback. His previous team replaced him with a man that could go down at any second with a neck injury. Stop talking about him. Oh and here's a news flash that I bet you never saw coming...THE JETS HAVE BEEN PRACTICING THE WILDCAT!!!! BUT GOOD OLE SEXY REXY SAYS IT IS A SECRET SO....shhhhhhhhhhhh! Like we are all idiots. Then Timmy Boy decided to tell us how easy it is for him because he did it in high school. Well Tim-bo, you know what I did in high school??? I ATE WILDCATS for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!!!! 

Okay, sorry for that rant. If you are one of the 10 people outside of Jets nation that love to hear everything about Tim Tebow, I give you my sincerest apology. Not really, go to church or get another wife or something and pull up a seat and watch ESPN. On that note, here are some random pics from Monday's camp. Enjoy! Who Dey!