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July 13, 2003 NFL Professional football teams will be hitting their main training camps in less than two weeks. What is interesting is the large amount of draft picks who have not yet been signed. Only one first round player, Carson Palmer, has signed on the dotted line. Some of the first round picks will be expected to start or contribute in a major way to their team and therefore time in camp is vital. The NFL has become increasingly complex over the past several years, with multiple formations and duties at each position. The skill players are not the only group called upon to know dozens of plays and strategies by heart. The more time a rookie has in camp, the better prepared he will be to contribute. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the next few days. In addition to the unsigned rookies, some top veterans are still holding out. Two of the better known are Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Orlando Pace of the St. Louis Rams. Both want some heavy green to insure their contribution this year. How important is the initial momentum in the NFL? If you look at the St. Louis Rams as an example, the opening momentum is vital to a successful season. In the Warner/Faulk/Martz era, the three years that the Rams opened with a win they went on to make the playoffs, and of that, they made it to the Super Bowl twice. Last year they had a super slow start, not winning until the season was almost half over, and struggled to fall short of .500. This year the Rams open with the New York Giants and would love to have a fast victory out of the gate. Something to consider – the Rams signed former Giant Jason Sehorn to play as a safety; you almost wonder if they also looked at the fact that he would be able to provide the inside scoop on the Giants offensive and defensive schemes. The Giants are a bread and butter team that usually doesn’t change much from year to year, and Sehorn’s insight could prove valuable to the Rams in helping to attain that initial push toward the playoffs. There is some talk of the Giants being a much better team this year; we will find out in eight weeks. The Minnesota Vikings are sitting on needles and pins as they wait to see if running back Michael Bennett will have to pull out of the season due to problems with a pin in his foot. If Bennett can’t go this year, look for rookie Onterrio Smith of the Oregon Ducks to get a shot at the starting spot. The Vikings running game was one of the top in the league last year and without strong running support the Vikings may be out of the race before it starts. MLB Barry Bonds has a couple of nice streaks going; he homered in his 5th consecutive game, as well as tying the record by hitting 30 home runs in 12 straight seasons. Barry got the hit off of the Curt Schilling, the Arizona ace who is returning from a hand injury. He followed the homer with a double later in the game as the Giants blew away the Diamondbacks. Bonds, who has a nice .320 hitting average, has really lit a fire in the long shot arena lately. His home run count has climbed to 30, which is the best in the league. Barry now has 643 home runs, which puts him well within reach of Willie Mays phenomenal 660 home runs. Barry could easily slip into the 3rd position on the all-time list and is on pace for a 60 home run season. One area in which he is already the top is in the home run/bases stolen category. Barry is the only person to have both 500 home runs as well as 500 stolen bases. Another home run bomber who is starting to open up is Ken Griffey Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds. Silent for most of the past 3 years, Griffey has a 4 game home run streak going. Speaking of the Reds, the National League Central Division pennant race remains wide open. The year is half over and virtually every team in the league still has a shot at winding up winning the division. Houston is on top, but only a few games separate the Astros from several teams. The Central Division figures to be a wild ride to the end this year. ------------ About the author: Dwayne Hines currently has 12 books selling in major bookstores and writes for major magazines such as Physical and FitnessRX. Email Dwayne Hines: dhines@3dinet.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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