4 comments Ten Things I Think I Think Peter King Has Not Thought Of: NFL Training Camp Edition

I have set up a Yahoo Fantasy Football League and those of you who have already expressed interest can feel free to join. Anyone else who wants to join can feel free to do so as well. I am planning on having a 12 team league and I have set up the league like last year's Yahoo league, but am open to any changes. The ID is 269298 and the password is "eckstein."

Today I am doing "Ten Things I Think I Think Peter King Has Not Thought Of," because I didn't have just one article I wanted to focus on. For those of you who haven't ever seen this gimmick, I basically just have a bunch of articles that I have bookmarked which wouldn't require a full post the size of an encyclopedia, so I put ten of them into one long post that is the length of an encyclopedia and 1000 times less informational. To fully embrace this concept requires a mind willing to skip around from topic to topic, which is how my mind works.

1. We start off today with the king of all ex-GM's, Steve Phillips, who educates us about MLB's post-August 1 waiver process, even though he admittedly doesn't know a damn thing about it.

Waivers. The word itself evokes a rapid heartbeat and beads of sweat on my forehead. As a young executive in baseball I would hear others talk about waivers and I would wonder what the heck they were.

He wasn't a mail room boy or the guy who made copies for the General Manager, he was a young executive with a baseball team. He had to help the Mets make decisions and shit like that.

When I would ask someone to explain them to me, I immediately saw fear in the person's eyes. Then they would say, "Well, they are really complicated. You just have to learn about them as you do them."

"You have to fuck them up a few times and then you will understand how the waiver process works. Oh by the way, if you screw up the waiver system then the team could take on a crap load of extra payroll or you could hand your division rival a good player. Good luck."

This is how the Mets were running the team in the early 1990's apparently.

My response would be, "I am pretty smart. Can you just explain them to me?"

The person would stiffen and then flee, looking over a shoulder saying, "Ask someone in the Commissioner's Office to explain them to you."

It doesn't sound like anyone really wanted to help Steve Phillips learn how to work the waiver system in baseball. Perhaps a person was afraid Phillips would take his/her job.

Once, when I was broadcasting a game on national television, a 12-year-old kid asked a question on the air about waivers and how players get traded this time of year. I bravely started to answer and as I talked over about five pitches I looked at my colleagues in the broadcast booth and they had the most bewildered look on their faces. They had no clue what I was saying, and neither did the 12-year-old kid.

This question was asked of Steve Phillips on a telecast AFTER he had been the General Manager of the Mets from 1997-2003. Not before, but after. I hope to God my favorite team's GM understands how the waiver process in baseball works.

Needless to say, neither did I.

Phillips had been the General Manager of the Mets for six years and he couldn't explain how MLB's waiver process works. Of course at this point he worked for ESPN and was an "expert" on baseball, yet couldn't explain or didn't seem to understand certain parts of baseball.

I know waivers are hard to understand, but Steve Phillips couldn't explain how the waiver process works. It's not bad that he couldn't make others understand the process, but he admittedly had no idea what he was talking about while he was trying to explain it. I find this to be slightly amazing.

Starting on Aug. 1, players cannot be unilaterally traded. They must go through the waiver process. More specifically, they must pass through major league waivers.

I don't know everything about the waiver process after August 1, but I think I could explain it if given the opportunity to the point a person has a general idea of how it works.

The best way to picture the actual waiver process is to imagine all 30 general managers seated around a runway. You know, the kind models walk up and down during fashion shows.

This analogy goes downhill from here.

As the players walk down the proverbial runway, the general managers study them from top to bottom. They discuss what they see with their staffs. They evaluate their stats and their contracts and decide whether they have interest in them.

Players are on waivers for two days, so they just keep walking around the runway for that period of time while being gawked at by front office executives.

An easier way to say this is that the worst teams get the first shot at a player put on waivers. Teams in the AL get a shot at a player on waivers who plays for an AL team, then the NL teams get a shot at that player. If a player is put on waivers he can stay there for two days and only seven players a day per team can be put on waivers. If a player #1 is claimed his original team can make a trade with the team claiming player #1 through trade in exchange for player #2 who also has to clear waivers, the team can let the other team just have player #1, or pull the player back so he stays with his original team.

I know that is a simple way to look at it, but this doesn't seem like an incredibly difficult process to me.

Players claimed by multiple teams when walking the runway must hang around for a couple of days as well. The pecking order for awarding the claim is that the club with the worst record in a player's league gets awarded the claim. If no team in his own league claims a player then the club with the worst record in the other league gets the claim. Once the claimant is determined then one of the three outcomes mentioned above can occur.

I think Steve Phillips has made it more complicated with his example. So whichever team that has the worst record is awarded the claim, with AL teams trying to claim an AL player from an AL team first (and the same goes for the NL) before an NL team gets a shot at claiming the player.

The hope here is that waivers are a bit less intimidating now than they were before you read this. You may now get up and walk about the cabin.

I do find it slightly incredible that Steve Phillips didn't really know how to explain the waiver process in MLB and that as a young executive with the Mets they had him learn how the waiver process worked while he was on the job. I know other teams probably do the same thing, but I don't know if the system is that complicated.

2. Bert Blyleven writes the kind of article I don't like. He writes an article about how Lance Berkman will face a challenge in New York with the Yankees because he is not used to playing there. I know playing in New York is different from playing other places, but Berkman is a veteran and the image of him as a good ol' boy who ain't used to those big lights and funny accented people asking him questions just isn't true.

Lance Berkman is the latest big name to be acquired by the mighty New York Yankees at the trade deadline.This is just business as usual for the Yankees, who even though are they are already a powerhouse, feel the need to make moves to improve themselves at the deadline.

The Yankees are a powerhouse, but they are also locked in a death battle with the Rays (and even somewhat with the Red Sox, though Bill Simmons doesn't acknowledge this) for the lead in AL East. So making any type of move to improve their team is a smart move.

Boston and Tampa Bay are right there trying to compete in the AL East, with the Rays doing a very good job, but it was the Yankees who made some moves to get better.

Hey, the Red Sox traded for Jarrod Saltalamacchia! He may be part of the "boring" Red Sox, but that counts as a move right?

The question is how will Berkman handle the transition to the Bronx? He is a good hitter, but what he will have to go through will not be easy. Berkman was born in Waco, Texas, played collegiately at Rice University in Houston, and played his entire major league career for the Astros.

(Cue country voice) "I forgot Berkman was from here in Texas, that's right. I bet he won't know what all those tall buildings in New York do or how to handle those people with microphones. I'll be darned if he ain't going to struggle with the lingo there in New York. He probably can't even find New York on a map, even if that map is drawn in the dirt, which is how maps are drawn down here in Texas."

"Lord knows Andy Pettitte has done struggled a lot there in New York and he is from Texas too. Nick Swisher, who is from West Virginia (where there is no electricity AND you are forced by law to marry a relative), hasn't done shit since the Yankees got him. It's just a different world there in New York and I ain't sure if ol' Berkman can handle it. He ain't never left the state of Texas either, so he's got a world of changing to do."

He will be out of his element in New York for the next two-plus months, likely living in a hotel and out of a suitcase.

Which as a baseball player for his entire life I am sure he is completely used to. It's not like teams don't take long road trips or Berkman can't afford to sublet a condo in New York for a few months.

He will have to adjust, not only to the intense New York media and fans, but also to a whole new group of teammates.

(Cue country voice) "I hear there are minorities on that there Yankees team. That's the key to their success. They scoop up minorities and force them to play for their team. They done got that Japanese kid and several Mexicans that play for them. I bet none of them speak English either. Lance can't learn no Japanese or Chinese. He's a bit ol' for that. How's he going to speak to his teammates if he can't understand a damn word out of their mouth?"

In addition to dealing with new teammates, Berkman will have to get used to the New York press,

I am sure Berkman isn't used to having the press cover his baseball exploits and God knows the Yankees press will be all over Berkman for any failings since he is essentially a bench player and the DH. Good news A-Rod, Tex, Sabathia, and Jeter, you are off the hook! No one will pay attention to you now that Lance Berkman is on the Yankees team. All the pressure is off you!

which is large and intense.

That's what she said.

But despite these hurdles, I think Berkman is going to be fine playing for an organization like the Yankees.

But you just wrote an entire half-article indicating Berkman wouldn't be fine. Why did you do this? You created a stupid argument and then said you don't believe this stupid argument you created.

The pressure won’t be focused on him and he probably won’t have to play every day.

So everything you just said and worried about isn't true at all. Good to know.

Will he become close friends with anybody? Probably not.

Other than Andy Pettitte, who he played with in Houston. Also, I am sure he knows other players on the Yankees team. It's not like Berkman has played in Honduras over his entire baseball career.

And it’s possible he won’t be entirely comfortable in New York after a lifetime in Texas.

(Cue country voice again) I hope none of them God-hatin' liberals try to get him to go abort babies or something. Stay true to your Texas roots Lance!"

That will definitely excite Berkman. He knows there’s a pot

There's pot?

of gold at the end of this rainbow.

Ohhhhhhhhh...don't get Berkman's hopes up like that.

3. I have something shocking to say. Scoop Jackson actually has a good idea. I know, I didn't want to believe it either. More surprisingly, it is a good idea that involves Tracy McGrady.

Now, after the news broke Tuesday that his chance to play for Chicago might not materialize because the Bulls reportedly are concerned he might not be willing to "embrace a secondary role" on the team, McGrady has a soul-wrenching decision to make: Do I face the reality that I might have to be an exaggerated (but still significant, depending on which team I go to) role/bench player? Or do I want to prove that I'm still a star?

He is not still a star. He is still a productive player, but McGrady isn't still a star.

Under the right circumstances, 10 points in 24 minutes per game can beat 20 in 36 all day at this stage, especially if he's doing it for a team that will play between 86 and 100 games next season as opposed to a team guaranteed only the regular season's 82.

I actually agree with Scoop on this issue. I think T-Mac would be greatly served by taking a role as the 6th or 7th man off the bench on a good team. If the Lakers could make room for him, how would that not improve the team? Wouldn't it be of great benefit to the Magic if they could lure T-Mac into coming off the bench and play with his cousin, Vince Carter? I hope McGrady isn't looking to be a star, because I am afraid that train has left the station. He still has something left, but not as the star of a team.

Wouldn't McGrady look good in Chicago coming off the bench? I admit, part of me wants me to see T-Mac on a team so they can compete better with Miami and make the Eastern Conference more competitive.

Being that player, that complementary player who still has the All-Star skills, should be more important to him after 13 seasons in the league than proving to the world that he was the first Kevin Durant.

Scoop imagines T-Mac on the Lakers roster with Lamar Odom and Matt Barnes also coming off the bench. That's a pretty good team.

As the options dwindle, T-Mac needs to create a new reality -- a reality that doesn't include what we're painfully and unfortunately watching O'Neal and Iverson go through.

Shockingly, I agree with Scoop. It has been painful to see O'Neal and Iverson realize too late they aren't the star players they thought they once were. What's worse is that some of the teams they played for also fell into this trap of believing it. I would love to see T-Mac take a 6th man role on a good team and be like Bill Walton on the 1986 Celtics or Odom on last year's Lakers. A good player playing a role on a great team.

4. The Celtics have appeared to corner the market on washed up veteran big men whose last name is "O'Neal." I don't know how I feel about this. Unlike what I thought they were going to do, the Celtics seem to be intent on making their team older, rather than younger.

Shaquille O'Neal has changed The Big Three of the Boston Celtics into a Very Big Four.

Not at all. There is already a Big Four on the Celtics roster and it in no way includes Shaq. He should play 20 minutes per game, rebound, and just try to stay out of everyone's way when they drive to the basket.

O'Neal signed a two-year contract worth about $3 million on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said on condition of anonymity because no details were released.

It is not a bad deal, but I don't know how much gas Shaq has left in the tank. When he isn't useful, while on the floor he just takes up space and clogs the lane from other players being able to drive to the basket. He can still rebound, and I know Kendrick Perkins is out for a while, but I don't know if this changes my opinion on how the Eastern Conference will end up shaping out at the end of the year.

I just hope Shaq understands he shouldn't be in the starting lineup when Perkins comes back and ends up being fine with that. I feel like he is just sticking around in the NBA so he can hit the milestone of playing for 20 years and doesn't really care that much anymore.

5. Now let's talk about this Frett Bavre guy (I am using code for his name just for a second) and his real motives for retiring/unretiring. Among other things, including massaging his ego, I think Favre probably also wants more money and the Vikings are willing to play that game reportedly.

After my post on Wednesday, Favre came out and said he had not indicated whether he was retiring or not. He didn't say why anyone would think he wrote a text message saying he was retiring, though I really think that is just part of the ploy to keep his name in the spotlight. He wanted to give the Vikings a quick taste of life without him so they would know how great he is. Now Favre says he will come back if he is healthy. I don't know what this means exactly or when Favre will make a decision on his health. I'm guessing he may want to give himself until the day before the first game of the regular season to make a final decision.

Judd Zulgad off the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Vikings have already reached out to Favre to offer a $3 million a year raise, if that's what it takes to get him to come back.

I am sure Favre would say this isn't all about money, but the love of the game. He would also be lying...as usual.

And the Vikings are apparently even willing to throw in some incentives on top of that, pushing his 2010 payment above $16 million. Incentives could be based on playing time, statistics, the Vikings' performance as a team or even the date that Favre reports to camp:

I thought this new fake retirement text message was all a ploy. Now Favre has gotten his name back in the news and the Vikings are willing to pay him more money. I make fun of Favre and judge him a lot for waffling on the issue of retirement, but pretending to retire every summer for the past three summers has really worked out well for him financially and competitively.

6. I have asked myself on several occasions why some of these networks (like ESPN) have played along with Favre's retirement game and seem to cater to him so much. It turns out they may have something to gain from treating Favre with kid gloves. (Sorry for the weird copying and pasting, but USA Today makes it tough to mock their articles)

Networks often hesitate to admit interest in on-air
candidates — they don't want to seem like losers if
things don't work out — but there was no point
Tuesday in trying to hide the lust for TV sports'
hottest prospect in years.

If a pregame show like those at FOX, CBS, NBC or ESPN wants to guarantee I won't watch their pregame show, they would have Brett Favre be an analyst. I am Favred-out. I would probably DVR the show he is on and then make fun of things he says. I am not trying to be spiteful, but I have had enough of him while he played in the NFL. I wouldn't mind seeing him disappear quietly and tend to his farm.

"If the opportunity were right, we'd look to add him
to our team," CBS vice president Harold Bryant said.
Eric Weinberger, an NFL Network executive
producer, said Favre has "a unique personality with
a great sense of humor. He's seen it all and could
analyze any situation." ESPN's Mike Soltys said it was
business as usual with the latest supposed
retirement since "we've said for years that when he
retires, we'd like to talk to him." Fox senior vice
president Lou D'Ermilio summed it up: "Any network
that claims to not be interested in Favre is nuts!"

So naturally since these networks would be crazy to not want Favre on their roster of "experts" they aren't going to do or say anything to piss him off. Could Favre even make a prediction on the pregame show?

How would this even work out? Would he choose one team to win a game and then try to change his prediction a few minutes later? Does Favre know other "experts" get to talk as well and the entire limelight wouldn't be directly on him? Instead of criticizing a quarterback for throwing an interception would he just let the guy off the hook because he plays the game like a kid and is just trying to make a play?

Fox could up the ante by
creating a three-man booth with Favre, Aikman and
Joe Buck,

(Bengoodfella commits suicide at the possibility of this happening)

But ESPN could find on-air roles for him day
and night, assign a production truck to his driveway
if he didn't want to go anywhere

Great, the last thing we need is other people giving Favre ideas on how to be more high-maintenance in order to crave and receive special attention. Why doesn't ESPN just move the entire studio down to Mississippi so Brett can be close to Deanna and Breleigh and still analyze NFL games?

NFLN, with the least star power among the NFL
carriers, could let Favre be league commissioner for
a day if necessary.

You can't even joke about things like this tongue-in-cheek with Favre. He will end up wanting this. He will announce his retirement at ESPN just so he can go analyze games for FOX. Then he will retire from FOX and join CBS. Let's please not give him another forum to be in the spotlight.

7. Speaking of quarterbacks who are God-like, how about that Tim Tebow fellow? Woody Paige writes his bi-weekly column on Tebow and again pleads for his crush to be able to start this upcoming year.

At Dove Valley, one of the gaggle of new radio show gabbers, apparently fresh from his turn with a pail and a shovel for Ringling Bros., provided us with this assay:

I hate those radio show idiots who talk about things they don't understand, yell into the phone because they feel like that makes them heard better, and write stupid juvenile sayings on a blackboard that is supposed to be a stand-in for creativity. Wait, that's Woody Paige who does all of that.

"The Broncos will win eight games and won't get to the playoffs. No way Tebow is the starter, but he will be quarterback on third-and-short, fourth-and-1 and close to the end zone."

I think the part about Tebow being the quarterback on some goal line plays has been pretty much known, if not completely stated by Josh McDaniels on several occasions.

Here, here, and here. McDaniels essentially told Peter King he had some goal line packages lined up for Tebow and there has been some other evidence that McDaniels wants to see Tebow used on short-yardage situations. I don't know why Woody has a problem with this statement.

Alas, that contradictory contention is widely shared.

I fail to understand how it is contradictory to say Tebow won't start but will be in on some goal line packages.

If one truly believes that the Broncos won't reach the postseason in 2010, what would be the purpose of starting a lame-duck quarterback?

I like how Woody mocks this radio caller, then accepts his conclusion the Broncos won't reach the playoffs as fact. That's nice.

This caller isn't the person who decides whether the Broncos make the playoffs, he is just saying the Broncos won't make the playoffs. The point of starting a lame-duck quarterback is to make an effort to reach the playoffs.

And if one genuinely believes Tim Tebow shouldn't be a full-time quarterback, why would he be placed in that position in the most critical offensive situations — third and fourth downs and inside the 10-yard line?

This is what kills me about Tim Tebow-lovers like Woody Paige. They take everything as a direct knock against Tim Tebow. It's like if a person doesn't think Tebow is ready to play quarterback this year, then that person thinks Tebow will never be a good quarterback in the NFL. This caller didn't appear to say Tebow shouldn't be a full-time quarterback EVER, just not this year.

Tebow should be in critical offensive situations because he is a big guy and he has a good chance of making it in the end zone. There's a BIG difference in a quarterback being able to play quarterback full-time and get a first down on short-yardage plays. A big difference.

The assertions are absolutely irrational.

As are yours.

If the Broncos are going nowhere this season with Kyle Orton, why doesn't Tim Tebow start at quarterback?

Because the Broncos MAY go somewhere. There's no point in starting a quarterback that just isn't ready to be starting.

If the Broncos trust Tebow more than Orton on third-and-2 and fourth-and-goal, why wouldn't Tebow also be in the game on first-and-10 and second-and-5?

It's not that they trust Tebow more than Orton on those plays, but this the same reason some teams don't put their best running back in the game on short-and-goal plays. Some players can get short-yardage better than others. I find it amazing Woody can't see the difference in trusting a quarterback to get a first down on third-and-2 and trusting a quarterback to play well in longer yardage situations. There's a difference in what is required of the quarterback depending on the yardage. Tebow is more athletic than Orton, so he is the guy to get shorter-yardage gains.

You can't pay attention to football and not understand the difference in short-yardage and long-yardage situations for a quarterback.

Then Woody starts using small sample sizes from the quarterbacks who started in 2008 as a rookie to prove his point and hits us with this doozy:

Out of the 2000s, Cutler has been considered a first-round failure so far, as have Russell (cut), Grossman (despite starting in the Super Bowl), Joey Harrington, David Carr, Patrick Ramsey, Kyle Boller, J.P. Losman, Matt Leinart, Alex Smith (although the last two are expected to start this year) and Quinn.

Jay Cutler is considered a first-round failure? Are we sure about this? This isn't any bitter Denver sportswriting that is shading this opinion of Cutler? I could call Jay Cutler a lot of things, but I don't think he is a first-round failure at all. It's ridiculous to put him in the same class as JaMarcus Russell, Rex Grossman or Joey Harrington.

What now with the Broncos? Which quarterback gives the Broncos their best chance at the playoffs? Orton? Tebow? Both playing in games? Neither? Quinn? None?

How about Tebow gets in on certain plays until he is ready to play quarterback full-time? Or is this answer too easy?

Despite what experts claim, that decision has not been made before the official grand opening of camp today.

So Tim Tebow still has a shot, but if the Broncos aren't going to start him Woody thinks it is pointless to put him on goal line plays. I think his love for Tebow has fogged Woody's mind.

8. Tim Tebow actually held out of training camp for a day or so until his contract was done. Apparently (and rightly so) he wanted more money than the guy taken before him. I am sure he will take the difference in and he and Dez Bryant's paycheck and donate it to a charity though. Who would have thought Tebow could be so vain as to care about money?

Fortunately, a deal got done and Tebow rightly got more money than Dez Bryant (because he is a quarterback and they generally get more money than the person drafted directly before them). The shock at Tebow actually wanting to be paid to play football aside, I noticed a couple parts of this article that contradict what Woody Paige just said (and had his heart set on) about Tebow's chance of starting.

By going to Denver, he goes to a place where he won't be expected to start immediately.

BUT HE HAS BIG HANDS THAT WON'T FUMBLE THE FOOTBALL! LOOK AT HOW BIG HIS ARMS ARE! HIS SMILES LIGHTS UP A ROOM!

Instead, Tebow's role could be as a complimentary player, perhaps as a change-of-pace player who can offer some athleticism and smarts while he continues to refine his throwing fundamentals. He will see the field, but it seems highly unlikely that Tebow would play more than a handful of snaps in a game.

Start him or sit him says Woody Paige! There shall be no in-between!

Head coach Josh McDaniels has said the three will compete, but the smart money is on either Orton or Quinn starting the opener Sept. 12 against Jacksonville.

Woody Paige breaks down weeping and then goes slowly walking back to his room mumbling, "But there is an open competition for the starting job," over and over.

9. In regard to this Albert Haynesworth conditioning test story, I am a little bit torn.

On one hand, I understand that Haynesworth is a defensive lineman and he really isn't supposed to do run fast. So a conditioning test that makes him run fast and move quickly isn't really a test of how well he will do his job at defensive tackle. Haynesworth doesn't have to do much running on each play and mostly takes up space and runs a few yards to try and get the ball-carrier or the quarterback. Mike Shanahan runs the risk of looking petty if he forces Haynesworth to complete the test and won't let him practice until he does. It is a part of the program that Shanahan makes players pass, but at a certain point it becomes more of an issue of Shanahan just being difficult and needing to realize Haynesworth can't pass the test and it really may not matter in the long run in regard to the success of the team. How good of shape is a defensive tackle ever in?

On the other hand, Haynesworth has to complete the test because he skipped the team's offseason conditioning program. I don't believe this conditioning program was mandatory so it may not be right to sort of punish Haynesworth for not participating, but that's for the union to worry about. If Haynesworth didn't want to perform the drill, he should have been at the program with the rest of his teammates. So he sort of brought this problem on himself. Haynesworth has a history of being difficult and he has balked at being the nose tackle in the 3-4 defense, so I have a feeling this stand-off is about more than just this test. Haynesworth has been difficult this summer and Shanahan probably wants to use this test to see how committed Haynesworth really is. It's not good to have a player in the locker room who is rocking the boat, but it is especially not good when that player is the highest paid player on the team.

I don't really know if I have a strong opinion one way or another on this issue, but I think this conditioning test is about more than how quickly Haynesworth can run the required distance.

10. Damn you Peter King. Someone came in my office today and asked me if I wanted to go in with him to purchase some good coffee because the stuff at work tastes like ass. I asked him what coffee he liked best and he told me I had not heard of it. I told him to try me and he told me it is coffee from a West Coast place called "Peet's." Sadly, I had heart of this place because Peter King wrote this a year ago:

d. Coffeenerdness: I've often sung the praises of Peet's Coffee. But the thing I've realized landing in San Francisco Friday and walking into the terminal was that part of the greatness of Peet's is the aroma of the espresso. It's like smelling the grass in baseball or the leather smell of the ball at the first football practice of the year. The aroma is part of the reason you love it.

Damn you Peter King. You and your MMQB are drawing me into knowing obscure and pretty much irrelevant (to my life) coffee shops and flavors. Your fascination with coffee, combined with my fascination of your MMQB has allowed my mind to gain information I do not care to receive. On to Mike Celizic...

Mike Celizic thinks that Brett Favre has the right idea in missing training camp because it thinks it is pointless. Personally, I think he just doesn't understand what is going on.

From the standpoint of the team and players, NFL training camp is as important as all other training camps in all other sports.

Really, training camp is important. It is where the coaches make sure the players are ready to play for the upcoming season and see which players will line up where on the depth chart. God knows preseason games aren't incredibly useful for this. Coaches can install parts of the offense at training camp and see how the team is making progress. It doesn't seem to be important, but it is.

I first went to a training camp when I was about 21 or 22.

We stood behind a rope or fence and the players ran on the field right past us. Then they got on the field and exercised. Then they did stuff. Some hit blocking sleds. Some practiced hiking and handing off. Some practiced throwing and catching.

Why would a team want to practice the parts of football that helps a team win during the regular season? A lot more was probably happening than just guys throwing the ball and catching it, but Mike Celizic couldn't grasp what they were doing, so obviously he thought what they were doing was stupid.

Favre knows. He doesn’t have any plays to learn, and he can make the plays, just as he did last season.

He knew the plays already, had been guaranteed a starting spot and he has been in the league for nearly two decades. Most players don't have these benefits when they go into training camp.

There's rarely anything to learn. You already know who the quarterback is going to be — and if you don’t, I feel sorry for your team.

Not knowing who the quarterback will be doesn't mean the team will stink. It just means the job is still up in the air and what happens at training camp will decide who gets the gig.

You know the running backs. You may not know the offensive line, but nothing you see in practice is going to help you on that count. If you’re a coach, you may find it useful.

So if the coaches find training camp useful, then that means it is probably useful. Decision made, let's move on.

But otherwise, there’s nothing there that’s going to help me understand what’s going to happen in the coming season.

Why is it that old sportswriters think if they don't understand something then that means what they don't understand is stupid or pointless? They feel like they are so important if they don't understand something then it isn't relevant.

It doesn’t matter. There are endless supply of analysts and inflicting daily NFL pre-camp reports on us. I was watching SportsCenter today when I heard a discussion of the AFC and NFC South divisions. It went on for at least five minutes and here’s what I learned:

Obviously ESPN analysts are idiots. They aren't there to give opinions or really be experts, but to entertain. ESPN is an entertainment network, not a sports network.

“It always comes back to Peyton Manning, especially in the AFC South.”

Somewhere, NFL fans were listening to that and nodding their heads in agreement, because that’s some serious insight.

Actually, some people are smart enough to understand this isn't insight.

Just don’t ask me to join in. There’s a baseball season that’s starting to get interesting. I’ll be watching it.

You realize you can watch both, right? Training camp may seem pointless to a person who doesn't understand what goes on at training camp, but if the coaches find it important then that should tell Mike Celizic something.