I knew it was going to be a great day, because as I was driving up the Interstate to Dove Valley, Sammy Hagar's "One Way To Rock" came on my stereo. Of course I had to crank the volume and race down the road. I got to camp and immediately ran into Firstfan. We started talking and waited  for other people to show. papigrande showed up in a Taxi Cab shortly after that. As we made plans on what to watch, Sayre stopped by and with his brother Bryce and Luke Streinborn and they each took an assignment. We waited until 2:20, and then papi, FF, and I went in search of an ideal spot to make our observations.

The players had already taken the field as we found some good seats at the 15 yard line. B Marsh was spotted first thing and a lady sitting next to us showed a picture of him from her digital camera. As we watch, Tom Brandstater is taking snaps from Blake Schlueter and Chris Olsen. Olsen made a couple of low snaps that dribbled off the ground (from Shotgun) and then the Air horn went off. Time to change groups. Olsen and Brandstater take a lap as penance for the bad snaps.

In the next segment, they do some running plays with Correll Buckhalter and LaMont Jordan.Buckhalter looks fast. Peyton Hillis looks ready to rumble with a nice burst up the middle, and that elicits a response from the crowd. Papi remarks that "Hillis pulls trucks uphill" during his off season regimen. Firstfan and I can believe it. Ryan Torain took a turn but he didn't look quite as fast as Hillis or Buck. And for the record, Ryan Clady is a "Man Mountain." That guy could watch my back anytime, and I would feel safe. I can imagine that Kyle Orton won't have nightmares about being blindsided as he sleeps.They begin to run some passing drills as Orton hits Gaffney with a nice spiral for 20 yards. Buckhalter looks awesome, and it appears young Knowshon will have to earn Playing Time if he ever shows up. Simms makes a pass to Jabar Gaffney. Buckhalter lined up wide right numerous times today. Orton to Scheffler over the middle with a good pitch and catch, and B Marsh makes a reception from Kyle. Torain has a much better run and shows some speed. After a couple more short passes to Graham, Correll lines up in the "Wildcat formation" (I know!), with Simms split out wide right. This play gets run 2 more times throughout practice. And there's the Horn again.

In this segment, Champ makes his appearance, and the team starts into its' stretch and flex period. They start with a 20 yard exaggerated "Skip" jaunt back and forth to stretch the calves and Hammies and Quads. Then they run "crossovers," running sideways while twisting back and forth in a swivel motion like a DB would do in coverage. They continue with stretches while the Ball Boys set up cones along the 5 and 10 yard lines. The team spreads out and Rich Tuten breaks down PT for them, barking orders like a drill sergeant. Everyone is back from the PUP list from yesterday. Rulon Davis stretches a few feet away and looks pretty loose. I tell papi and firstfan that I hope that Marine makes the team so I can purchase another Jersey with my last name on it.(I already own a #30, maybe I should get a #54 too). While Tuten continues his cadence, Coach McDaniels twirls his lanyard and strolls along whistling to the music in the background. As they finish with the stretch interval, the teams split up. the Defense trots over to the far field while the Offense sets up in front of us. The Receivers  do "Tire Drills" sideways down and back, and the Horn sounds.

The O Linemen assemble on the far side of the field away from us while the QB's and RB's are in the middle running short passes to the Flat to the left, then right sides. Meanwhile, the Receivers are running patterns in a slalom between the cones and while one of the coaches fires passes at them. Brandon Stokely impresses me all day with his crisp route-running and consummate professional demeanor with his practice actions. The QB's rotate on some long passes to the Receivers and Simms and Brandstater make a couple of nice 40 yard passes, with tight spirals and good touch. Orton shows good velocity on some short passes and Brandstater has a few wobbly passes. Simms sails a pass to Hillis right in front of us. It looks like Peyton would've caught it if it was a real game, but he doesn't need to re-injure himself in practice. They immediately re-run the play to the satisfaction of McD. (Attention to Detail here?). Horn.

Lloyd looks pretty quick to me. Spencer Larsen is practicing with the backs in a session of QB to RB hand-offs. One thing I note is, they have a "mat," a strip of plastic 6" wide and 15-20 feet long that shows where the O Lineman would be standing so the Backs can visualize their running lanes (I love it!). They run more sideline routes to the Backs, and while Orton makes crisp passes, Brandstater has some low ones. B Marsh misses a Simms pass (I was wondering if anyone would miss a pass because they were looking so good) and the crowd responds. Stokes is awesome and Brandstater throws good fades. Lloyd, McKinley, Gaffney, and C.J. Jones catch passes from Simms. B Marsh misses another Simms pass. Horn.

Next up are RB's versus LB's one on one open tackling. Andra Davis makes a nice wrap up, and WW makes 2 hard hits and the crowd cheers. Larsen got bit with 2 sloppy attempts and Crowder got planted, and nicked up on the play. I'm not sure which RB was involved, as I am writing as much as I can and relying on papi and FF to keep a running monologue going. Darryl Reid missed a tackle and DJ Williams pulled an "Ole'" move. Doom makes a nice wrap up. Horn.

Eddie Royal makes a nice move and catch in front of us, and on the opposite field Josh Bell makes a good pass defense against Lloyd. Tony Carter makes a good play on Kenny McKinley. B Marsh makes a nice catch schooling DJ Johnson. Bruton makes a good tackle on Matthew Willis, and Darcel McBath knocked the ball away from Gaffney after a catch. Royal does a nice comeback for a pass against Andre' Goodman. Chad Jackson makes a catch as B Dawk defends. B Marsh gets a few cheers during the day, but seems like he's practicing nonchalantly at times(IMO). Tony Carter shows a good break toward the ball and breaks up a pass. C.J. Jones makes a catch vs. Rashod Moulton. Horn.

B Dawk shows quick pursuit(Yeah) coming in on run support. Reid has his hand on the ground. WW replaces Andra Davis on nickel package. Papi and Firstfan remark that there is a good tempo to practice. Marcus Thomas gets into the backfield repeatedly from the NT position. Hillis is looking real good, and appears to shine over the other Backs. Jordan is getting reps too. We see Reid taking a turn at LB. The Defense shows a 4-3 front. Then we get a fumbled snap. Horn.

Gaffney is taking snaps with the #1 squad and B Marsh with the #2's. Graham lines up split out and Simms made a nice 25 yard pass to Scheffler. Graham drops a Simms pass over the middle. Royal makes a nice grab from Simms. Simms makes a pass behind Gaffney, but he catches it anyway. Next up, it's Kyles turn. Scheff shows a quick burst (This kid has wheels) and makes a nice reception from Orton. Eddie catches another Orton pass. Simms completes a pass to a split left Buckhalter. Orton lobs a 50 yard pass to Gaffney that looked a little lazy (intended I think). Horn.

Daniel Graham makes a reception in front of Champ. Reid and DJ Williams are seen in pass coverage. Eddie Royal downright embarasses Reid trying to cover him.(That was totally unfair). Gaffney makes a catch while being covered by Andra Davis. Alphonso Smith lines up in Champ's spot and guards a TE. Nick Greisen makes a stop, and David Bruton looks good covering Graham. Phonz and Bruton play on the 2nd team. B Dawk misses a wide open chance at an overthrown pass, and does self-imposed push ups; leading by example(The crowd is amused). Buckhalter continues to look sharp. Over on the opposite field, Kern and Colquitt are booming punts(with a few line drives[on purpose?]) to McKinley, Royal, Nate Swift, and Phonz. Meanwhile Lloyd almost makes a circus catch on a high ball from Orton. Simms makes good passes to Matthew Willis and McKinley. Horn.

QB's and Receivers are in front of us now, and Simms is showing some zip on his passes. Stokes catches everything thrown his way. A quick Horn and  the Defense gathers close to where we are sitting. Wesley Woodyard comes over close and says, "This is a Defensive drill, so Ya'all can cheer for us." Andra Davis is making the calls on Defense. Correll Buckhalter is still looking good (lookout Knowshon). Josh Bell takes a turn at ILB and makes the calls on D. Andre' Goodman made an INT, but then Lloyd grabbed it back away from him. Bruton makes a pick on a long ball. papi comments that the Defense is really swarming to the ball. Marshall makes a catch and McBath pops him good. Nick Greisen makes an appearance in the backfield, and Rulon Davis gets some pressure on Brandstater. papi notices that WW is playing with the nickel unit, and Jack Williams is the #1 nickel back with Phonz at #2. Marquez Branson makes a nice catch and Travis Shelton shows a good move with a nice one handed snag from Brandstater. Schlueter and Brandstater fumble a snap from under center and take another lap. RB Darius Walker recovers for the Offense. Mario Haggan gets in for a sack on Simms. Buckhalter is still running strong. Brian Dawkins seems to always be in the right position. Champ breaks up a pass to B Marsh that is floated too much (I didn't see who made the pass). NT Marcus Thomas is getting comfortable in the backfield and impresses me all through practice. Chris Simms holds on to the ball too long and overthrows his receiver 35 yard pass down field. Chris Baker makes a tackle. Nic Clemons bats a Simms pass down at the line of scrimmage. They run the Wildcat to Buckhalter 2 more times with Orton splitting out to the right. Jordan runs tough inside, he looks pretty rugged. Orton tosses a long pass that B Marsh misses using "Alligator" hands. Alphonso Smith and DJ Johnson had him doubled. Carlton Powell is seen at NT and J'Vonne Parker at DE in a 4-3 formation. Peyton Hillis bounces a run to the outside off LT for a good run. The defense is a little slow changing from 1st team to 2nd in a substitution and the coach starts barking. The next thing you know, we see 7 defensive players taking a lap. I'm thinking that it would've cost the team a Time Out in a game, so there were repercussions. Horn.

Orton shows some elusiveness avoiding a sack and completes a nice pass to Stokely. Ryan Torain loses his helmet, but keeps running the play out. Kenny McKinley goes up and fights for a pass and "owns" a reception from Chris Simms. CB Tony Carter breaks up a pass. Mattias Askew, Nic Clemons and Doom meet up in the backfield and Clemons gets nicked on the play. There is a stoppage and Clemons gets up slowly and limps heavily over to a waiting cart. Horn.

McBean gets pressure and pushes Casey Weigmann back. WW and Goodman tip a pass by Orton. Stokely beats Jack Williams for a reception and hauls in another pass from Orton. Buckhalter makes another catch. On the following play, Kyle rolls out to his left and throws a pick to Andre' Goodman. We see Larsen at LB. Josh Bell gets penetration and forces Simms to make a bad throw. The D gets more pressure on Simms. Chad Jackson makes a terrific catch on a poorly thrown ball by Simms. McKinley has another catch and then Bruton picks off a Simms pass. Simms makes a bad choice and overthrows a receiver.They run a live punt drill, Paxton snaps to Kern who kicks a low liner to Eddie Royal. They go back to Offense. Jack Williams misses a clear pick against Orton, and then Graham makes a catch. They set up for a "last second" field goal try with the kicking team running out on the field. They spot the kick at 50 yards, get the play off, and Prater makes a straight kick with plenty of length, but off
to the right. They move the spot up to the 40 and Prater makes the next two. He makes another two kicks from 35 yards, moves back to the 40 and makes two more. The last two looked like they would be good at 70 yards. Note: It appears that Coach McDaniels was having him practice in the range where he was weak last year(More details, how about that).

firstfan, papigrande and I left at that point. as people were lining up for the autograph session.We tried to get a hold of Guru to meet up somewhere, but things didn't work out so we went our separate ways. I'll just have to try "Illegal Pete's" next time. I really had a blast and am ready to go again. It was really nice to have papi and FF watching and talking while I kept writing, because no way does this kind of coverage gets done alone. It's probably best that we left without partying, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this post finished.