Thanks to this very gravitating new ad from Reebook entitled "Migration," I've officially got NFL training camp fever. That, or it's the fact it's day 1 of the best starting quarterback competition in the history of the NFL.
That's right, folks, Rex Grossman vs Kyle Orton begins today in Bourbonnais, IL. A fitting location, as it may be necessary to consume pint after pint of bourbon if you're a Bears fan in attendance.
Today also marks the unofficial start of the football season, with eight teams beginning practice. With large groups reporting each day through the end of the week, we're going to go through each team, each day and discuss the biggest camp story.
Bears Now that Urlacher is signed (terrible extension, btw) it's Orton-Grossman mania every day on the south side of Chicago. But more than those two, I think the biggest question that needs to be answered in Bears camp is who's going to move the football on offense? Anyone? They've put an awful lot of weight on rookie running back Matt Forte. Kevin Jones won't be healthy for several weeks (months?), so the Bears offensive line needs to help carve out some yards on the group so that Rex Orton won't be forced to throw so many interceptions. And then there's the fact they don't have a wide receiver... gulp.
Browns Naturally, QB's grab all the attention and you can expect Brady Quinn to be covered as closely as the Brett Favre fiasco. It's in Cleveland's best interest that Derek Anderson separate himself on Day 1 so that the focus is on more important aspects, like stopping opponents from scoring.
Cardinals While I'm interested to see how Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie adjusts, as his talent is needed as soon as possible, its more important that Matt Leinart is focused and progressing as a third year quarterback. This should be the year where we find out if he's going to be a long-term NFL starter.
Jets Hate to focus again on the quarterbacks, but it's hard to argue that the Jets desperately need to improve in this department. It's doubtful that Pennington is going to make a leap up, so we'll see what Kellen Clemens has been up to. If nothing else, adding fullback Tony Richardson and an improving line will help the Jets run the football well.
Lions No Mike Martz, so now what will we have from the Lions offense? Might not matter if Detroit doesn't show some resistance on defense. Still not sure why Millen used his first pick on an offensive lineman, seeing as how even the Bears moved the football on Detroit. The good news is that as it currently stands, none of the other NFC North teams have a capable quarterback which is the only reason the Lions weren't breaking records for the most yards given up last season. So I suppose the answer, as always, is every single position is worth watching in Allen Park, MI.
Patriots Offensive line and defensive backfield. The Patriots had very few flaws in 2007 as we know, but as evidenced by the Super Bowl, Tom Brady was sacked far too often and the Giants were able to pass the ball far too effectively. What I'm most interested in, however, is what angle Bill Belichick will use to motivate his troops this year. No spygate, us against the world ammo. So what now?
Ravens Yep, back to the quarterback. Joe Flacco? Kyle Boller? *Gasp* Troy Smith? Either way the Ravens aren't going to be a factor in the AFC North, so might as well have patience with Flacco and give him snaps.
Saints How often will Jeremy Shockey cause a distraction... and how often will he show up drunk?
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