| | By Doug Brien
Special to ESPN.com
Editor's note: What is life in an NFL training camp like? Kicker Doug Brien takes you inside the camp of the New Orleans Saints with his weekday diary for ESPN.com.
Wednesday, Aug. 2
THIBODAUX, La. -- Yesterday Jake Delhomme reminded me that if we were at camp last year, today would be our last day. Last year's camp lasted for only 19 days – no wonder it seemed so easy. This year we stay in camp for a month and a day. However, we passed the halfway point so the remaining two weeks should fly by.
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| Brien |
Traveling makes the second half of camp pass more quickly. Yesterday we practiced in Jacksonville against the Jaguars. We left Monday night and stayed at a hotel so we could get enough rest for an early 8 a.m. practice. The practices went well. Coach Jim Haslett seemed very pleased with our performance and told us that he thinks we can be "as good as we want to be." He felt that we showed that we could play with one of the best teams in the league.
Although the practice part of the trip went well, the travel part of the trip was once again a disaster. After we ate dinner with the Jags at their stadium, we bused to the airport to catch our 6 p.m. flight. After we waited at the airport for about 20 minutes, Coach Haslett announced that our plane was having "mechanical problems" and that it would not arrive until 8 p.m. He informed us that we would go to a local Holiday Inn to wait. Our travel coordinator arranged to have a couple of big rooms with TVs, food, and drinks. We only expected to be there for about an hour so it didn't seem like a big deal.
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Coach Jim Haslett seemed very pleased with our performance and told us that he thinks we can be 'as good as we want to be.' ” |
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After about two hours it became a big deal. Guys were tired. We woke up at 4:45 a.m. (CST) that morning and had two full-padded practices in hot and humid conditions. We just wanted to get home and go to bed. Given the situation, everyone acted patiently; no one wanted to fly on a plane with mechanical problems.
Once the plane was finally ready at 10 p.m., we boarded buses and headed back to the airport. We did not get back to our dorms until midnight. Since Coach Haslett is an understanding and compassionate guy, he cancelled our 8 a.m. weight lifting and let us sleep in until our 10 a.m. team meeting.
Today we practice once (although it is supposed to rain, so we may be in the gym) and tomorrow we practice twice before leaving for Minnesota on Friday.
Material from kicking.com.
Visit Doug Brien's web site at http://www.kicking.com
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