Dawghouse Blog

First, let's get one thing straight. Kyle XY = Grady Sizemore.

Today was the official training camp visit of 2007. I had the pleasure of going with my father-in-law, which was great. As usual, Beech street is a highlight and I never get tired of the orange helmet stripe down the center of the street.

I'd love to have some fresh insight but today I couldn't help but think about training camps past and how misleading they turned out to be. Remember when Kevin Johnson just looked amazing in camp? I think we traded him that year. And how pumped and fast William Green often looked? Meaningless. You could just go on and on with stuff like this. So I have no "X will have a huge year" comments to make. Well, maybe just one...

• Kellen Winslow will have a huge year. Sure, health is a concern but the guy looks so much better than any other pass-catcher on the field it is absurd. He always looks ready to make a catch, and he is almost always ready to turn upfield. He looks stronger in the hips and upper body. I see no reason why he can't top 2006.
• Except maybe the quarterbacks. None looked so hot to me. Frye looked like he was in charge the most, which is probably the most meaningful thing. Anderson -- great arm. Dorsey -- looked like me out there.
• Was close to a few guys. One being Travis Wilson. This guy will not be a top-flight receiver. He was working, but he wasn't working hard. He was practicing like it was high school or college. But he did make plays and looked pretty good, so that is cool. I hope this year he comes out and is a real contributor. But I don't think he's headed for the starting line-up.
• Eric Wright talked to a lot of fellow players. I don't know if that is meaningful. But I'll assume it was nice to see a rookie sort of taking a leadership type role. He was much more engaged in what was going on that 95% of the guys out there.
• Brodney Pool looks good. He just looks like a good football player. It's impossible to really judge secondary play from the sidelines, but the guy looks big-fast-strong and, after his promising 2006, I'm optimistic about him too. But, like I say, it's impossible to really tell. And the fact is that safeties almost always look good cause they have to be athletic and have som muscle.
• Jamal Lewis looked okay. He didn't catch my eye the way he did for Peter King. I thought he looked like a veteran -- in good shape but also running with pace, being patient for a seam in the defense. I really don't know if that is a good thing though. Isn't he better when he just takes off and runs?
• The sun and heat won.
• I miss the big tall bleachers they once had back in the 1999/2000 days. It was so much easier to see what was happening on all the different fields.
• I'm always impressed by how quiet fans are when something is happening near them. People are downright reverent and that is cool because it's all because we get to be right on top of things. But it's still crazy to think that you can't get this sort of respect for the average wedding or funeral the might be happening around town.
• Harrison looks bigger. I hope he's more confident.

One more thing. Don't be the guy who drafts Dante Culpepper, unless he's your 3rd QB.

Lastly, Tommy Makem died yesterday. More on him here. So long and thank you!