I hope Hampton has it in him to repeat the impressive comeback from the embarrassment he had in 2003. But it’s 5 years later, he’s signed his big contract and he doesn’t have the fear of coach Cowher to drive him.

Good pts about how others are on list for minor dings, but agree, not settling. Guess we can write off the possibility of him coming back to camp this year in tip top shape. Preseason is pretty long though, so he has some time to get himself into the shape he knows he needs to be in.

Hampton looked very much out of shape when he arrived here at Saint Vincent College.

It’s too early to get real disappointed but this is not the kind of news that any of us were looking for out of Big Snack. If he’s ready to have a really good year, it could be a long season for the front 7.

From Hampton’s account, he’s in the same condition that he was last year, only he didn’t have to run the drill. Maybe that’s what Tomlin is worried about. Hampton’s play dropped off some last year, and he wasn’t “eating up blockers” the way he usually does. Last year, Tomlin was the new guy coming in to coach a veteran team with some players who were almost the same age as him. He wouldn’t have done this last year, and rightly so. This year, though, he knows the players and they know him. It’s easier for him to criticize players, to call them out, and apparently to publicly embarrass them without risking a mutiny. He’s making it clear that no one is exempt from putting in a full effort or from being in top condition.

In other news, Troy Polamalu’s new workout regimen sucks.

I’m probably wrong, and I know it’s about conditioning and stamina, but does anyone expect Casey to have to run 100 yards once…never mind eight times. I can think of a few times that I’ve seen him deep behind the line or out to the sideline chasing after prey and it looks wrong-kind of freaky, but he gets to them when he needs to most of the time. As long as he can pop up and fight and plug the run, then he can leave off the track events in my opinion.

Fwiw, Shaun Rogers showed up to camp at 359, 1 pound lighter than what the team had pegged for his “ideal weight.” Oh, he also tipped a Quinn pass at the line of scrimmage, intercepted it, and ran it back 10 yards (a la that play last year against… Denver?)

I’ve stated before that a nose tackle can get away with a pot belly when he is 26, but not 31. To some extent you need that belly. But when the pot is as big as Casey’s, you can fall right off the table instead of gradually declining. I’ll bet Tomlin is worried about the same thing; thus the PUP embarrassment. Baloney on the domestic problems. Hampton should have enough pride in what he does to come into camp in shape. That’s his entire job and he gets paid very well to do it. I’m not chicken little here, but with last season’s performance and then Sunday’s fiasco, this could spell alot of trouble. Where is this guy’s head?