My daughter and i went to Latrobe today to soak in the sun and camp activities.  St. Vincent is such an ideal place for an NFL training camp.  Lots of land, picturesque, beautiful dorms and cafeterias for the players and an area just for kids to engage in fun and interactivities.  Here are some notes and sights from Camp Tomlin Day Four.

St. Vincent is Really the Perfect Setting for a Camp

Ben was perfect today also.  Every pass in drills or scimmage was laser sharp, quick enough yet soft to the catch.  He threw long, he threw outs, he threw long outs and laid it in there to perfection.

All the receivers looked good except Reid.  He dropped at least three punts or passes.  I can't picture this guy making the team again.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that Nate looked terrific again. Caught everything like a man on a mission.  Sweed looks like a winner also.  This might be the best foursome of wide receivers since the mid-70s when we had Swann, Stallworth, Shanklin and Frank Lewis.  I honestly can't remember being this good this deep since then.

Starks and Hartwig played exclusively with the second team, giving way to Mahan and Colon.  I really hope they give guys chance.  With Kemo out, this would be the perfect time to try Colon at left guard and Starks at right tackle, but all they did was move Essex into left guard.

That Grant Mason guy looks like he really wants to make the team.  He was all over the place.  He's got some giddyup.  He flew out of nowhere to intercept a long pass (Batch) and seemed to have a good presence today.

Mendenhall is getting alot of time with the first bunch.  That guy changes directions really quick for a fairly big back.  He really is impressive in person and he doesn't seem the least bit a rookie.  Sweed sometimes does look like a rookie.  Mendenhall  got as much attention today as Parker, at least as many touches.

Our new punter Paul Ernster, or Edinger as Tomlin calls him, looked good today.  He got the loudest cheers for some boomers that were unreturnable.  I'm sure we are going to look at others, but if you never heard or read anything about him and showed up at practice today, you'd be happy with what you saw.  Of course, a broken clock works twice a day.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Timmons and Woodley are ready to bust.  Those guys look so much better in year two.  They just want to hit people.  They are moving around before each snap, something they couldn't be smart enough to do last season.  And if you are an offense, you better account for them.

The Red Hats Were Quick Today, Especially Timmons and Woodley

Kevin Greene was helping us coach today.  The guy looks like could still play.  He has a hundred something sacks in his career.  He was vocal with the linebackers.  I think he is having an impact on our young backers.  He put some juice and know-how into them.

Hines looks like his belly if flatter (not that he ever had a belly) and his upper body is bigger than past seasons.  He also looks quick.  Took alot of extra sprints after practice when the others had left the field, then he caught balls out of the machine.  I noticed that Santonio, Sweed and Nate hung around after practice also, almost as if they felt obliged to not leave before the old vet.  After Hines took catches from the ball machine, the others did the same.  I think Hines is sending some messages to those guys.  That whole scenario was great to see.

Casey Hampton is still in the doghouse.  He was more than a hundred yards from any action, hanging out with some conditioning guy.  All he did was walk around a field all afternoon, which is better than eating cheeseburgers I guess.  Maybe he did more vigorous stuff in the morning.  He looks bad.  The sad thing was, from what I saw, guys like Chris Hoke expended alot more calories during practice than the Big Snack.

The Smith Brothers, Aaron and Marvel look fully healed and in great shape.  Those guys were impressive today.  They both had a quick burst about them.

Lots of Interactive Stuff For the Kids

And to Top it Off, Ben Signed My Daughter's Football