>>You read this piece and there are no good guys or bad guys. Just two players competing for the same position. Both are respectful of each other, which I like. The article says Fraley observes the NFL code of helping the new guy along even if it means he takes your job. The call of the wild. Jackson has taken the first string snaps and Fraley has been in there with the rookies, as he has not been since he was a rookie himself. He doesn't like it and doesn't sugarcoat that. He was replaced due only to injury, worked hard to recuperate -- sleeping in a recliner for weeks to keep pressure off his shoulder -- and is now in a battle for his job. He and his wife have discussed selling their house if he loses out. "The public never sees how much this stuff affects your life so much, every day," she said.
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>>Andy Reid, Eagles head coach: "Hank's one of my favorite players I've ever coached. But every year there's competition for jobs. That's football."
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>Yeah, I've got a good friend who played a few years in the NFL under Vince Lombardi (Francis Bubba Winkler). I know a lot about what happens in the NFL because of him. I also know that anyone who plays in the NFL is a freak of nature. Bubba weighs about 290, is 6'5" and could dunk a basketball, run like a gazelle and was quick as a cat. If Bubba could do that, just image the superstars!


That's the perfect phrase for it: freaks of nature. Of course they work very hard, too (and year round, unlike the old days when they played their way into shape in training camp), but it isn't natural for guys to weigh 300+ pounds and be able to run the 40 in under 5 seconds. Or DBs so strong they can level guys who outweigh them by 50 pounds.

I don't know what to expect from Da Bears this year. Which is typical -- they are like a box of Cracker Jacks, you never know what you'll find inside. Typically they follow a (rare) good season, which they had last year, with a bad one. The schedule gets tougher when you're a division winner and the ball also seems to start bouncing the wrong way. We'll see. The defense is still first rate, which should keep them in most games, but I am not confident their offensive deficiencies have been addressed. Their offense is, well, offensive <g>. There isn't much to fear.