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Training camp is here and I already feel like the work I did in the offseason is starting to pay off.
Obviously, I'm a rookie and I'm still learning but I do feel like I'm at least close to the same level of preparation as the veterans. The goal was to avoid being too far behind and in that respect I think I'm right where I want to be.
As hard as you work in the offseason, the intensity increases when camp starts. Everything's a little faster, a little tougher, but that's what you expect. We'd be selling ourselves short if we didn't go hard right now. The intensity is there, guys are in great shape and we can really put the energy out there and have the energy sustained throughout the whole practice.
Training camp is the time to get prepared for when the real season comes. I want to be a contributor. I don't want to be on this team for the potential and the long run. I actually want to be able to help right away.
This time of year is all about work but the team had some fun before camp started.
We had a great team outing last week. First, we went and played laser tag and then we went to Bub's Burgers in Carmel to do the same challenge that was on the Man. vs. Food TV show. It's a one-pound burger called the Big Ugly. If you eat one, you get a little picture on the wall. If you eat two, you get a bigger picture. I think only two people have ever eaten three.
I was done after one.
I enjoyed my one burger and had some fries, too. A one-pound burger can't hurt me. I can use that extra pound. But I didn't want to try for another one because that might've put me behind for camp.
It was fun, a good time for our team to get out. We were pushing each other. We all wanted to finish those burgers so we could get our picture on the wall. It was one of those times where you really build some chemistry.
The day before we start practice is media day when we have to go through all these various stations, posing for different photos and videos, sign autographs, talk to the media and do online chats with the fans. It's fun for me. I always have fun when it comes to that sort of thing. It's where I can put on a smile and really just be myself.
Probably the best picture was when I got to wear a Dr. Seuss hat with a bunch of kids to promote a reading program. I've still got that hat. It might be mixed in with my wardrobe one of these days.
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