This year's training camps seem more about warts being exposed than Super Bowl ability being shown.
Vikings developing cracks, but ...
You could say that about every contender in the league at this time of year.
Nowhere is that more obvious than Minnesota, where an NFC favorite still has Tarvaris Jackson running as No. 1 QB and Greg Lewis as No. 2 receiver.
But relax a bit and look around the league. There are holes everywhere, and we're not just talking about Rex Ryan's vocabulary.
Things are getting uglier by the day between the Jets and their best player, holdout CB Darrelle Revis.
On the other coast, holdouts with the starting left tackle (Marcus McNeill), No. 1 receiver (Vincent Jackson) and Pro Bowl linebacker (Shawne Merriman) threaten to ruin a Chargers' season that's set up perfectly for a Super Bowl run.
In Indy, Peyton Manning's protection took a hit when C Jeff Saturday went down for two to six weeks with a knee injury.
How will Wes Welker bounce back in New England? Will Byron The Statue Leftwich survive Big Ben's suspension in Pittsburgh? Do the Saints need to go after Jamal Lewis now that underrated power back Lynell Hamilton (ACL) is out for the season? Is Kevin Kolb heading for stardom or the fetal position in Philly?
In Washington, can a star UFL kicker with four NFL attempts (Graham Gano) hold up under pressure? And in Dallas, will a Cowboys team that's well-rounded offensively and defensively REALLY head into a season with David Buehler as their place-kicker.
"We're going all the way with Buehler, and we think that's the right thing to do," Jones said.
Imagine how he'll feel if his dream of having the Cowboys play a Super Bowl at home this season is derailed by a second-year place-kicker who enters the season with no regular season attempts.
I'm doing a story on Ryan Longwell for tomorrow's paper. I asked Longwell how comfortable he'd feel as an owner with a place-kicker with zero attempts.
"Your successful teams always seem to have the consistent kickers," he said. "And the teams that are always a near miss are always teams that think they can sneak one by with a kicker who doesn't have the experience."
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.