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NFL TRAINING CAMP NOTES: THE RAVENS, BRONCOS AND EAGLES

By The Staff:

Whoever said things don't get interesting with NFL Rookies at the start of Training Camp?

Less than a week into the start of this year's camps, already we've had that mini-brouhaha in Dallas between rookie WR Dez Bryant and #2 wide-out Roy Williams and a key Baltimore rookie lost for the summer - and maybe more - after falling down a bunch of stairs.

Toss into the mix the fact that things could be getting a little testy in St. Louis where #1 draft pick QB Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) still has not signed on the dotted line and may not be any closer to doing so than he was weeks back despite reports to the contrary and you've got plenty of storylines that have nothing at all to do with the league's veteran/star players.

If all of the above only seems like a modern-day reality TV show, just consider that in the past week there has been plenty of media attention on the "usual suspects" in the NFL and that means new Cincinnati Bengals WR Terrell Owens, Brett Favre, Pac-Man Jones and - who else - Chad Ochocinco?

No wonder NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell can't wait for the games to begin and we don't have to wait all that long now with the annual Hall of Fame Game - that's Cincinnati versus Dallas - slated for Sunday, August 8th.

MORE NFL TRAINING CAMP NEWS & NOTES

BALTIMORE - If you read between the lines of what Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was saying the other day regarding injured rookie LB Sergio Kindle (head) than you know this AFC North crew is in no hurry to get the second-round pick on the field anytime soon after his fall down two flights of steps in his native Texas. In fact, don't be entirely shocked if the Ravens don't play Kindle till the middle of this 2010 regular season and we give it about a 20 percent chance that that former Longhorns star won't play at all this season if Baltimore chooses to take the overly cautious approach here.

On another front, LB Jason Phillips really performed well in the team's 8-on-8 drills after missing all of the 2009 season with a knee injury. Phillips dived to knock down a potential touchdown pass in the end zone and also showed great footwork in matching up with TEs Ed Dickson (Oregon) and Dennis Pitta (BYU) and it's possible that the better Phillips performs in summer drills/preseason games the less likely that Kindle will be hurried back to the lineup.

DENVER - It's hard to believe that the Broncos have not sported a winning record since 2006 (see 9-7) nor has this AFC West team made it to the post-season since 2005 but the impact of three rookie - WR Demaryius Thomas (Georgia Tech), QB Tim Tebow (Florida) and WR Eric Decker (Minnesota) - has the Mile High City gang all revved up.

Decker missed the team's early summer workouts while recovering from a foot sprain but offensive-minded head coach Josh McDaniels believes the former Big 10 star will soon find himself in the midst of the wide receiver rotation that no longer includes Brandon Marshall (Dolphins). Look for Brandon Lloyd, Kenny McKinley and Matthew Wills to join Decker and fellow rookie Thomas in the fight for what figures to be a team that winds up carrying five wide outs on the roster this year.

PHILADELPHIA - It's the first summer without Donovan McNabb in more than a decade for the Eagles and leave it to now backup QB Michael Vick to express the team's sentiment: "Yeah, it's different not having him (McNabb) here But that's part of the business and you've got to keep pushing."

The Eagles' quarterbacks must have gotten the memo because in Tuesday's practice they stayed after the afternoon practice had ended and starter Kevin Kolb received a warm ovation when he trotted onto the field to lead practice and an even louder ovation when he connected with fifth-round draftee WR Riley Cooper (Florida) on a 50-yard pass play down the sidelines.

PAC 10 PREVIEW

Handicapping the Pac 10 this year could prove to be very interesting. The consensus "best" team, Southern Cal, isn't even allowed to win the championship. And, they were the consensus "best" team last year before going 8-4 in the regular season and getting utterly humiliated by the likes of Oregon and Stanford...and stunned by big underdogs Washington and Arizona.

The consensus "second best" team is Oregon.  The Ducks may have half its team in jail by the time the season starts.

Who's going to the Rose Bowl this year? Take your guesses!

Let's run through some numbers to see if that helps at all. We'll go in order of their Athlon rankings, which inexplicably have Southern Cal as the third best team in the country even though the program is REELING from coaching turmoil, institutional arrogance, and the lack of an offense.

USC
Athlon Ranking: 3
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 55 on offense, 40 on defense
Returning Starters: 5 on offense, 6 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: Okay, your average ranking last year was in the mid 40's offensively and defensively. Your hotshot young quarterback never got his bearings. You lost to Oregon and Stanford by a combined 102-50 final score...and the numbers weren't misleading. It really was that bad. Now, flamboyant but untested Lane Kiffin is your new head coach. THAT'S THE THIRD BEST TEAM IN THE COUNTRY?!!

We'll let USC convince us of that on the field. Though, the September schedule is so weak that it will take October victories to convince anybody of anything. We do expect improvement from Matt Barkley. We also realize the potential for this team to take another step backward because any misbehavior will be dealt with quickly. When a group of arrogant pampered players that's used to ignoring the rules suddenly has to follow them, you can't assume success.

This is going to be an interesting team this year, perhaps one of the most interesting in the country. Don't assume, like many preseason pundits have, that 2009 was just a blip on the radar.

OREGON
Athlon Ranking: 9
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 33 on offense, 35 on defense
Returning Starters: 9 on offense, 8 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: These guys basically became USC-North, with troublemakers shining on the field, but making headlines for all the wrong reasons off it. Former quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was the most dangerous weapon on the offense. He's gone (so your laptops are safe!). We do see a lot of talent here. But, we also know that the administration is trying to crack down on behavior. Remember what happened to Miami when they stopped being the "convicts?"

We're interested to see what happens in a September 11th game at Tennessee. A September 25th meeting at Tennessee will be the second long trip in three weeks. For now, we'll assume something in the vicinity of last year...but this program has a short leash with us. They closed the season poorly in terms of expectations...and are far from a sure thing to shine given the characters in uniform.

OREGON STATE
Athlon Ranking: 27
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 34 on offense, 46 on defense
Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 7 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: We spent much of last season thinking that the Pac 10 as a whole had taken some big strides forward. Sure, USC was losing...but that was because so many other teams had taken a step forward. Then, as the bowl results started coming in, it became more difficult to justify the premise. Oregon State is a great example of that.

The Beavers lost to BYU 44-20
Arizona beat the Beavers, but got crushed by Nebraska
Cincinnati beat the Beavers, but got crushed by Florida
Oregon beat the Beavers, but got outclassed by Ohio State

Suddenly the results were painting the picture of a very overrated conference rather than an up-and-coming conference.

We respect Oregon State's stat performances last year. But, strength of schedule isn't what we thought it had been...and now the team will be breaking in a new quarterback. Once again, we may be looking at a league where several teams are ranked 10-15 spots too high before the season starts.

Mike Riley's bunch starts with TCU down in the Dallas Cowboys cathedral, then visits Boise State three weeks later. We'll have a stronger sense of this team, and the whole league once those games are in the books.

STANFORD
Athlon Ranking: 32
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 19 on offense, 90 on defense
Returning Starters: 8 on offense, 6 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: Great, we're ready to say something nice and Stanford hits us with that 90th ranked defense! The danger of having a former quarterback as your head coach is that the defense never gets things figured out. You play a lot of shootouts and hope to win your share of them. That's acceptable for a middling program trying to get on the map. It's not acceptable if you're trying to win championships!

Andrew Luck returns at quarterback, one of many potential standouts across the league. But, workhorse Toby Gerhart is in the NFL now. Luck was celebrated as an impact player last year. Just remember that Stanford ranked 11th nationally in rushing, but 70th in passing. Luck may grow into the player some already think he is. We'll be evaluating that in September meetings with UCLA, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame. The Cardinal will deal with Notre Dame-Oregon-USC in thee straight weeks over late September and early October. Talk about having your season frontloaded!

ARIZONA
Athlon Ranking: 38
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 58 on offense, 25 on defense
Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 4 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: Arizona is another team with a celebrated quarterback, but not a passing offense that shows up well in the numbers. Nick Foles certainly brings a strong sense of leadership to the huddle. The team only ranked 48th passing last year though, and seemed to be in way over their heads in the 33-0 bowl loss to Nebraska. You have a couple of good TV games and the media thinks you're doing that every week!

Defense will obviously be the key to success. Only four starters return from a solid stop unit. Head coach Mike Stoops knows what to do on that side of the ball. If he can reload rather than rebuild, Arizona is a clear threat to win the league title that USC has abdicated. The bad news is that the toughest challenges come in a gauntlet of games late in the season. It's very tough for previously unproven programs to survive late season gauntlets. They just don't know how to pace themselves and run out of gas.

We'll use the September 18th meeting with Iowa as a "tester" game to evaluate the program. Then we'll be looking to take Arizona vs. soft pass defenses, before probably fading them because of fatigue in the latter stages of the season.  

WASHINGTON
Athlon Ranking: 40
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 62 on offense, 79 on defense
Returning Starters: 9 on offense, 6 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: The aura surrounding quarterback Jake Locker has a lot of mystery to it. NFL scouts say he's a sure thing to be a pro star. Athlon quoted a Pac 10 scout as saying "the kid just knows how to make plays and win games...he can beat you with his arm and his legs" Pretty good for a NON BOWL TEAM that finished 40th in passing offense and 68th in rushing!

Washington went 5-7 last year, with two of the victories being scrimmage gifts against Idaho and Washington State...and the numbers vs. helpless Washington State weren't all that great. Washington went 3-7 when not playing Idaho and Washington State. GIVE US A BREAK!

Yes, tools are nice. Production matters more. Locker will get a chance to impress very early with BYU, Nebraska, and USC within the first four games. Sparkle then, and we'll help drive the bandwagon for you. Hey, media, can he actually sparkle first before we give him the Tebow treatment?

CALIFORNIA
Athlon Ranking: 41
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 49 on offense, 72 on defense
Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 5 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: Add Kevin Riley to the list of Pac 10 quarterbacks who has potential to shine this year...but who hasn't been able to produce effectively in the past. Add Cal to the list of Pac 10 teams who underachieved in their bowl games (losing to Utah 37-27). There are so many interwoven stories in this league right now that every team reminds you of somebody else.

It's probably best for Cal that the spotlight isn't on them entering the season. They've been hyped as championship material far too often in the Jeff Tedford era...just as Tedford has been hyped too often as a creator or quarterbacks. Now that much of the region has given up hope for them, the Bears may be able to catch people napping and make some statements.

The non-conference schedule is manageable, and the Pac 10 slate hits the calendar in as friendly manner as possible. There are a lot of decent teams this year, so nobody has an easy slate. Cal should be reasonably fresh for USC in mid-October, then gets Oregon, Stanford, and Washington all in Berkeley.

We won't ever ask Cal to be "the team" under this coach. We don't mind giving them a darkhorse nod in a crowded field of confused thoroughbreds.

UCLA
Athlon Ranking: 56
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 88 on offense, 32 on defense
Returning Starters: 6 on offense, 5 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: You know it's been a bad bowl campaign when the fact that UCLA was neck and neck with Temple before clinching a late win is actually one of the highlights of the postseason. The Bruins still have no offense under Rick Neuheisel...as the charismatic coach is following the Steve Spurrier path to irrelevancy. Like Spurrier though, Neueheisel has returned from NFL experience able to lead much more aggressive defenses.

Kevin Prince is just a sophomore at quarterback, so there is a chance to leap forward this year in terms of production. In fact, the Norm Chow offense BETTER take a step forward or here may be a regime change in the very near future. UCLA alumni are expecting more than bowl games with Temple for the program! A September 25th visit to Texas will offer the chance to make a statement on both sides of the ball.

ARIZONA STATE
Athlon Ranking: 62
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 90 on offense, 13 on defense
Returning Starters: 3 on offense, 4 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: Quite a test for head coach Dennis Erickson this year, as he has to rebuild on both sides of the ball. Erickson has a track record of success, so don't assume it's going to be a disaster. There just aren't any sure things on the list of teams above the Sun Devils. But, that list features experienced quarterbacks.

A September 18th road trip to Wisconsin could be particularly troublesome for this inexperienced group.

WASHINGTON STATE
Athlon Ranking: 96
Last Year's Stat Rankings: 119 on offense, 120 on defense
Returning Starters: 6 on offense, 5 on defense
2010 OUTLOOK: It should be mathematically impossible for a BCS conference team to become this bad. We've talked about a lot of bad teams already in previous previews. Syracuse has been a joke in the Big East...but WSU has been worse. Indiana? Much better than Washington State. Iowa State would bully WSU. We're hoping or improvement just out of a sense of charity. And, we're hoping that improvement, if it happens, will catch the oddsmakers napping. The Cougars could turn out to be a great value team if they start to walk and chew gum (or really, just either one). We'll be closely monitoring road games at Oklahoma State and SMU in September.

That wraps up our Pac 10 preview...

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