We want to wish everyone a happy and safe Fourth. We hope you have a great weekend with your families and loved ones.

It's hard to believe but we're less than four weeks from the start of training camp. Mankato will be here before we know it.

I had a chance to talk to center John Sullivan at a youth football camp in St. Paul on Friday. Like every player, Sullivan is enjoying his final few weeks of the offseason before getting back into the daily grind of camp.

"It's a necessary evil, but our coaches do a great job of taking care of us and all the work we do is productive," Sullivan said. "We have a talented team so it's exciting to get back out there and have another shot to go win the big one."

It will be interesting to see the message the coaches and players project in camp given how close they came to the Super Bowl last season. Sullivan gave a early glimpse of it.

"This year really has nothing to do with last year," he said. "We know we have the potential. We've done it before. We've been right there on the cusp. We know we need to finish better this year, but none of those wins last year count toward 2010. Besides the fact that it's most of the same players on the field and same coaches, the two seasons in terms of wins and losses have nothing to do with each other. We have to go out and prove again that we're one of the best teams in the NFL."

As far as individually, Sullivan said his goal is to keep improving as a player. Sullivan and right guard Anthony Herrera heard some criticism last season, but Sullivan said he believes he made strides as the season progressed. He said he will leave the evaluations to his coaches but that he studied his overall performance with a critical eye.

"I think the key was -- and I believe this 100 percent -- I feel like I was a better player at the end of the year than I was at the beginning," he added. "No matter what, I don't care if you're in your 20th year or first year, you're either getting better or you're getting worse every week. To be trending in the right direction is important and hopefully I can keep that going in the 2010 season."