What's up yardbarker? I would say were about half way thru with the mini camps and veteran camps and OTA's (Organized Team Activities) and passing camps, and whatever else Coach Smith is putting us thru to get this team on the right track. After these last 2 months of preparation, I can honestly say there is no team I would rather be on then the falcons. When people encounter change we always compare it to our past experiences and weigh the pros and the cons. With Coach Smiths mini-camps and OTA's some of the players, including myself were not to keen on the long hours we were putting in to prepare for training camp because it was more than we did with Petrino (and more than what most guys are doing around the league). I remember during the off-season in Baltimore, it truly was an off-season and voluntary truly meant voluntary. I distinctly remember some of our camps being no more then 2 to 3 hrs long. The fact that we had so many veterans like Ray Lewis, Steve Mcnair, Jonathan Ogden and even the great Deion Sanders probably allowed us to operate in a more laid back environment in the off-season. As I've mentioned before this was and is not the case in ATL. But there is a special thing happening in Atlanta. Which is why many of my teamate's no longer grumble with the early mornings and extra film sessions when it's only May. At first the coaches would have to beg, plead and even sometimes lay on guilt trips to make sure everyone would come to all the voluntary workouts and camps, but now it is the players who are policing each other and encouraging everyone not only to be here but to make sure we all get better every day as a team. Going thru the motions is no longer an option in Atlanta. Either you work or u get out the way. Being a 6-year veteran, I've seen this team unity thing occur before but never have I seen it happen this early into a team's season or to a team that has had a changing of the guard such as the falcons have had. If you ask anyone on the team last year they all will probably tell you that the fun had been taken out of the game. If you ask these same players that same question today, they will tell u that all we do when we drive thru those gates at Flowery Branch is have fun. A big reason that is happening is because of the tone Mike Smith has set and the tone that the leaders and veterans of the team have set. Coach Smith makes sure to keep the fun in the off-season by scheduling different activities for us such as fishing, bowling, golfing, etc. The funniest thing ever was when he put up a blooper reel of some of the guys worst golf swings with video references to Caddyshack and Happy Gilmore to drive the point home (no pun intended (well it was kind of intended)). Laughter is becoming a way of life at Flowery Branch. If you enjoy what you do, you will always be great at what you do.