Coach Guy is very happy with the results of training camp. Although the first week was difficult, he feels that the team is now ready to move forward. "We look solid on offense. That wasn't the case last year. We're pretty sure Trent [kicker Henley] won't be our top scorer this year. That's nice."

"We've put in some new wrinkles, and we finally have a running game. Newt [fullback Newnan] has been breaking tackles and grinding out yards. Jamal [halfback Smith] has shown some great moves outside the tackles. He's almost impossible to stop in the red zone. And we even have Jay [reciever Shines] running the ball. When you have an athlete like that on the squad, you have to find ways to get the ball in his hands. Jed [tight end Sinks] started training camp very strong. He's tapered off as we've progressed. We'll put in a package of routes for him to run against teams with weak linebackers. He'll have some big games."

"Then there's Vogue [reciever Robert Vogel]. The previous staff couldn't seem to get him open, barely even threw to him all year. This year will be different. With his strength and speed, it's difficult for corners to keep up with him. Plus, he is so strong in traffic. He and Jay have really been good about sharing the load. They room together here in Innsmouth and I've heard Jay tell Vogue how happy he is to have some of the load off his shoulders."

"Defense has been tougher for us. We had a mediocre defense last year, very average. This year we've tried to make sure that we don't give up big plays. That has hurt our aggressiveness. We started training camp with a big pass rush, which was giving us tons of sacks, hurries, and stuffs. We finally decided that our personnel couldn't support that high-risk style. We pulled back a little in the last week, and we've been very happy with the results. If we can hold a team under 28 points, we'll win. That's not great defense, but it's good enough."

"Another problem with our defense is that they spend so much time on the field. With five legitimate weapons on offense, it usually doesn't take much time to score. That puts the defense back on the field. We think other teams will have good offensive numbers against us, but hopefully not score too many points. Our red zone defense has been really strong."

"This is a good time to mention how much our bench players contribute on defense. We brought Sean Smith [nose tackle] over from Duluth, and he has been absolutely superb in the center of our line in short-yardage situations. Johnny Hawkins has done a good job there, too. Ralph Marshall [cornerback] has really improved his play in nickel and dime packages. We've finally worked out some schemes that let Sims and McDaniel [cornerbacks] stay with their coverage. They've been breaking up lots of passes and picking some off, too."

"And of course our linebacking is outstanding. We have six linebackers on the roster and we plan to keep all of them. Richard Johnson has had some trouble in the last week, but he has been a great on the field. He adds a huge dimension to our pass rush. We expect him to get 15 sacks this year. Rupert Tingle has been doing everything. Breaking up passes, getting sacks, everything. I know Hair [quarterback Harold Carter] is very tired of working against this group of linebackers. Hair was very hot at the start of camp. He cooled off quite a bit in the second week, but we finally worked out a package that lets him feature his skills. He'll be much improved over last season."

"We're excited about the pre-season, too. We'll get a look at the other teams. Most of them have improved drastically since last season. Our division is going to be very tough. And of course we start the season against Duluth. They've got a superb running game and their linebacking is very, very good. We expect a shootout in that one, there might be 140 points scored in that game."

"Normally we'd have some starting rosters available for the press right now, but with this squad, it's tough. We are using a lot of players in different situations. We've got 6 defensive lineman, 6 linebackers, and 7 defensive backs that are all seeing time. On offense, we have 3 recievers, 3 running backs, and 3 tight ends that are all working on the first team. It's going to hurt the stats of invidual players, spreading the ball around like that. But we have a goal. That goal is the American Bowl. If no one makes it to the Pro Bowl this year, and we have the rings at the American Bowl, we will have accomplished our goal."