Scrimmage offers fix for football junkies (8/13)

Football fans, your first fix of the year is here.
That is, if you aren't one of those TV football fans who were tuned in to catch that first NFL preseason game from somewhere across the ocean.
But if you are one of those live football junkies, the kind who needs to hear pads hit pads, the gasps for air and the bodies colliding on bodies that only live football can bring, well today you get your chance. - NFL Football -
McNeese State will play its first full-scale scrimmage at 4 p.m. today. It's not a real game, but for the purist, these things can be fun. And for life support for the football addict, you have no other option this weekend for live football.
And you can't beat the free admission.
The Cowboys are coming off a 4-7 season where the weakness was their uncanny ability to self-destruct. If you come out this afternoon looking for those bugs to be fixed, you'll be sorely disappointed. - NFL Football -
Even veteran teams tend to struggle with the little things in the first scrimmage. It comes with the territory. After all, these players hadn't played a game since the spring and they just got their pads on earlier this week.
So don't throw your arms up in disgust with every penalty, every botched snap and every blown assignment. There may be a few of those for a while.
You can't realistically expect those bugs to be cleaned up until the Cowboy Night workout at the earliest. More realistically, the Southern University game will be a good barometer.
But here are some things I'm looking forward to seeing. - NFL Football -
For starters, I can't wait to see how Chris Jones and Mark Fontenot look at quarterback.
This is the first time in quite a while McNeese has had a truly open quarterback battle in August camp. Jones has the edge and deserves it based on some pretty good performances he put together when he replaced an ineffective Scott Pendarvis last year.
But Fontenot had a good spring, making things interesting. Offensive coordinator Matt Viator said he's hoping that the scrimmages help bring some separation between the two, so all eyes will be on that competition. - NFL Football -
And while you're watching the quarterbacks, take notice of who they are throwing to. McNeese has zero go-to receivers back and a slew of young prospects — from Carlese Franklin and Darrick Brown, to Hammond Thomas and the much-anticipated Quentin Lawrence — who hope to fill the void.
On the other side of the ball, there's been whispers around camp that there might be some play-making pass rushers among the young linemen, whether it's Buck Harris, Kirby Joseph or some other up-and-comer. - NFL Football -
At linebacker, Allen Nelson had a lights-out spring and Garren Jim, another much-anticipated rookie, is a player people will have their eyes on.
There's the secondary, which promises to play more base zone defenses this year, meaning there will be a premium on physical players who aren't afraid to come up and de-cleat people. Look for the physical guys to emerge out of camp. - NFL Football -
And when the drives break down, there will be more than a few curious looks at kicker Blake Bercegeay, a high school all-stater who will handle the kicking chores as a true freshman.
So no, there won't be tailgating or bands or dancing girls today, but for the true blue football fan, there will be plenty of plots to keep you entertained on a hot August afternoon.


GARY LANEY
AMERICAN PRESS