https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/sports/2007-06-21/494250/

The Boys of Summer, Cowboys That Is

By Timothy Braun, June 21, 2007, 12:29pm, The Score

Isn’t summer grand? Fireworks, barbecue, flyin’ kites at Zilker Park. And training camp. Ah, training camp. NFL teams must report in just a few short weeks to build and sculpt their squads and prepare for the power and glory that I just know will be the NFL ’07-‘08 season. Now, we all have many questions about the ‘Boys – like will T.O. behave, or will Tony Romo be the next coming of Troy-Boy? – but there are 31 other teams in this great game to watch out for, and here are just a few to pay attention to between visits to the Salt Lick and dips at Barton Springs.

Four Teams to Watch During Training Camp

4) St. Louis Rams: Damn, this squad is stickin’ their necks out. The run defense ranked 31st last season, they traded defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy to the Mile High Clan, and will shift rookie Adam Carriker from defensive end to nose tackle during training camp. It doesn’t matter how many points the Rams mighty O can put on the scoreboard; if Carriker struggles, St. Louis will have a long 16 games this fall.

3) San Francisco 49ers: The linebacking core is beginning to take shape in Mike Nolan’s 3-4 defense with speed and force coming from the young Manny Lawson and rookie Patrick Willis. But third year QB Alex Smith has a year of working with electric tight end Vernon Davis under ‘im, and another training camp could make the duo dynamic beyond comprehension.

2) Washington Redskins: I hate what owner Dan Snyder does with this team, but look closely. The defensive backfield is built with Shawn Springs, Sean Taylor, LaRon Landry, and Carlos Rogers – a quintet of heavy hitters that could each end up in Hawaii come seasons end. Now, the nickel package brings Fred Smoot to the field, and the dime adds David Macklin. All of these players allow Assistant Head Coach Greg Williams the latitude to get creative and the last time Williams had such room to work the Skins were in the postseason. What more, quarterback Jason Campbell has the longest streak in the NFL of games with TDs at seven and has spent all off-season studying game film.

1) Denver Broncos: If you think the Pats made some rather desperate moves this off-season, one of the reasons is Denver. Young QB Jay Cutler, the never-say-die gunslinger from Santa Claus, Ind., has many teams nervous. Not since the days of John Elway has offense architect Mike Shanahan been able to use the full array of his plays, he simply hasn’t had the captain to push all the buttons on the field. Not anymore. Jay Cutler is loved by his teammates, and can throw the ball 80 yards off his back foot. If this team comes out of training camp completely behind Cutler, these Broncos will win the AFC West.

Four Teams That Scare Me (and I Don’t Mean Boo)

4) Houston Texans: Around Thanksgiving the brain boys in Atlanta will be quietly saying one of two things: "We didn’t get enough in the Matt Schaub deal," or, "We traded the wrong QB to the Texans."

3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jeff Garcia can win. He ain’t pretty when he does, but he can win.

2) Minnesota Vikings: Texas native Adrian Peterson is a power running back, playing behind a great offensive line with a poor QB situation. He will get the ball early and often. Oh, and he sees a cover 2 defense a total of seven times this autumn. What be the only weakness of the cover 2? Power running. I think Peterson will have a fine camp.

1) Oakland Raiders: Al Davis seems to be getting out of the way and letting his new coaching staff actually do the coaching. The last time Davis did that, the Silver and Black played in a little game called the Super Bowl.