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Jason Campbell was alright last night. At this point of preseason, you can’t ask for excellence. It’s practice. 7-of-13 for 49 yards is his sort of stat line.

It’s a little strange seeing him in silver and black. But, for now, this might work out.

At his mercy is a lot less scrutiny is in Oakland. It’s not Washington, but it’s more than let’s say a Carolina. The big hound Al Davis is always right there, with his stern look. Sure, that’s intimidating. The fans are quite passionate and care. But quite frankly, after a lot of losing seasons since the 2000s, is Oakland begging for more than five wins in a year? Do they expect god at the helm?

That’s why I think Campbell is okay. He’s not flashy. But nor is that offense. Darren McFadden has been a ginormous bust, half the player we’d thought he’d be out of Arkansas. Let’s just say this, Campbell or Kyle Boller? Campbell or Bruce Gradkowski? It’s insurance for now.

He’s always been trying to figure out who and what type of QB he is in the NFL. This is nothing new, or any bigger of a step up.

If Brett Favre wants to play these games all over again, then let him do it. You and I both know he’s coming back. Who would let $16 million+ just sitting around on a table?

So when the reports came out on Tuesday that Favre was texting teammates saying “THIS IS IT,” what did that truly mean? That 2010 was his last run? Please.

Minnesota is better with Favre. And he knows that. He showed that a 40-year-old can still win an MVP award last year. If he wants to sit out training camp, I’m giving him no grief. Who’s to say something burst or pops in that body? Is training camp really all what it’s meant to be to get ready for the season?

Because I’m getting a sense that it’s not. Albert Haynesworth completing a shuttle run has nothing to do with whether he will play this year or not. I guarantee you the Broncos would have sat out Elvis Dumervil if they knew he’d pull a pectoral muscle, likely sitting him for the entire season. Same with the Ravens, losing Domonique Foxworth to an ACL just this week. The best teams don’t want to lose their best players.

Fact of the matter is, the Vikings will let Favre do what he wants. This is just Favre being Favre. Minnesota can’t afford to limp into 2010 like the Broncos and Ravens.

Chris Johnson wants to run for 2,500 yards in 2010. It would be the most yards in an NFL regular season since 1984. In the record breaking days that today is, is this accomplishable? I think so. Athletes are better.

Johnson tore up the 2009 season in Tennessee, rushing for 2,006 yards. Anytime this guy catches the open field, he’s gone. He’s blazing fast. So when I said the futures NFL props thrown out last night, for MVP and others, I couldn’t believe Johnson’s odds. +2500.

I’m already telling you, the Titans record regardless, 8-8 for better or for worse, Johnson is my pick for 2010 MVP. Stats like 2,500 yards would pop off the stats sheet. He’d need at least 20 touchdowns as well. In the July 5th issue of Sporting News, he said he looks at himself in the mirror everyday and see’s the NFL’s best player. He says he’s better than Adrian Petersen and everyone else. Bold. By that he sounds like the MVP. He wants it.

Peyton Manning won the award last year, and it’s been a QB award since the new decade. Maybe voters from newspapers and magazines are tired of favoring the Tom Brady’s and Mannings. Because, the last running back to win it was in 2007 with LaDainian Tomlinson. I think the pendulum sways back this year and it’s a running backs type of year. For a $1 bet, you can win $25 on Johnson. Great odds.

NFL training camps get underway this week. Finally, the football season is here. I’ve been dying for it to begin. It can be college or professional and I’m still geeked up. Football is king.

Just the offseason of Donovan McNabb going to Washington, LaDainian Tomlinson going East Coast, Brett Favre still deciding, the Saints winning a Super Bowl, and many others makes for excitement. Last year, it wasn’t this big. It was still Favre, but it was smaller plots like Matt Cassel in Kansas City and Josh McDaniels in Denver. That was still fun. Anything football is fun.

This will be the second straight year where I truthfully think the NFL will have a “different” winner. The Saints, Colts and Patriots are definitely good. But I really, really like the New York Jets. They are loaded, offenseively and defensively. Antonio Cromartie is the most underrated offseason move.

I’m all signed up for fantasy football to start up as well. This will be the first year I compete for more than greed. I keep checking the ESPN fantasy home page time after time just waiting for draft day to get here.

It’s a wait and see type of time. But let the football talk begin.

The World Cup may have gotten the best ratings this past weekend that its ever seen before. Credit that to our generation which is TV friendly and couch potatoes. But my heart doesn’t race for it. Maybe yours doesn. Was this USA and England match long-awaited? I don’t think so.

I got into an argument the other day with a friend about the Super Bowl and the World Cup. The argument went a little like this: “the World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the United States.” I said woah, wait a second. Above the Super Bowl? Nonsense. The Super Bowl will always be No. 1 in my book. You can’t assume anything without proof.

Unlike around the world, where soccer is certainly big, I don’t get a huge feel for it here in the US. Football is our game. ESPN says it drew a 12.9 million viewer rating for the game this weekend. But let’s compare that to the Colts and Saints Super Bowl from February. That was only the most watched program in TV history with 106.5 million viewers. Sure, it’s available to every household over antenna while ESPN isn’t. But that’s like comparing day and night. It could have been the 49ers and Bengals and it would still draw a strong 12.9.

There’s no question about it. I’ll watch some World Cup, but I’ve got to pull myself just to have the slightest interest in it.

Mention Tim Tebow and there’s a certain buzz about him. Sports fans either love him or hate him. When the Denver Broncos committed to him in April’s Draft, they made quite a bold move to get a guy who is college smart, but maybe not NFL smart. It was a shady draft pick.

I bring up Tebow because he’s a story in this week’s June 14th Sports Illustrated. It hits on the new offense he’s taking up in the Mile-High City under Josh McDaniels. The new terminology. The new players. The whole shabang. You get a vibe from this story that the NFL isn’t as easy as it appears. It’s really a job to learn, from sunrise to sun set. Winning and getting better takes alot.

He can work his ass off this season for Denver and yet may not even work out. A lot of things factor in to him. Learning a new playbook. Changing his mechanics. Getting things down. Nobody is saying he can’t play. But the transition is huge. Denver is not more likely to win with him.

The bar is set high for him and he hasn’t even played a down. The kid will have to grow. For a 22-year-old, the learning curve will be difficult.

I think we’re in for some surprises tonight at the NFL Draft. By surprises, I don’t mean a Darius Heyward Bey at No. 7 overall. I mean some mix ups. The guys we’ve thought would go where they will go, will land softer and harder than expected. Teams that are currently sold on their Trent Williams’s, the Gerald McCoy’s and the Russell Okung’s might take their time with their 10 minute selections. It will be one of those: “Wow, this guy is still on the board” type of drafts.

One thing in the past that’s a non-entity at least right now is pre-draft signings with the 1st selection. Jake Long, Jamarcus Russell and others from the past made the pick uneventful. It’s so up in the air whether St. Louis wants to stumble on Ndamukong Suh or Sam Bradford right now that it’s fun debating it. Do you take what your team needs, or take the consensus best all-around player? You certainly can’t miss and pull a Ryan Leaf selection. With the No. 1 pick, you need to make a home run. I think you do with Suh. Low risk, high reward.

Here’s how I would go with the Top Five picks. Suh is the only exception, where the Rams need a quarterback instead. I’m just not sold on Bradford, and see him slipping a few picks. That, or the Rams draft him and trade him, or simply just trade the No. 1 pick. Anyways, enjoy the draft tonight … on a Thursday! Should be fun.

This 2010 NFL free-agent class is weak. There’s almost zero buzz surrounding anyone. You can’t tell me that a guy like Terrell Owens gets you excited, and it got me to thinking. Is it worth it to sign a player with a track record or build on the future?

Football is appearing to be the new baseball. Just like the Minor Leagues, young is better. Building a foundation is the way to go. Do you want a washed up, banged up, no good 36-year-old Owens, or a fresh out of college 21-year-old Dez Bryant? The answer is clear.

Although Owens is a household name, he’s not putting up the numbers like in years past. Maybe Jerry Jones wasn’t dumb after all when he blindsided and cut Owens last March. His writing is on the wall. We saw that in Buffalo this year when he caught the ball 55 times for 829 yards, his lowest ever in a full season since his rookie year.

To me, I go young. I want to snowball a fresh, young player for excitement in the future.

Anybody considered the low media attention the Colts and Saints are getting after 14 weeks? They’re UNDEFEATED, yet it doesn’t seem that way. I’ve got a theory as to why.

Sports in the United States come down to two cities, New York and Los Angeles. If you reside here, we’ll you’re part of the craziness. I think I’ve heard more this year on Mark Sanchez’s up and down’s and his bum knee injury than I have on Drew Brees’s magical numbers. Bottom line is, these media outlets are bottom feeders. They’re the hamster on the wheel that never stops. They’re pipe out any story they can just to be a story.

Week after week two years back, the Patriots we’re undefeated and getting the glory. I count them in Boston, which is another huge city. So that explains their attention. Being undefeated is a big deal. Imagine if they win out and meet up in the Super Bowl. Biggest game EVER?

I don’t think either of these two teams win out, and maybe the Colts lose tonight against Jacksonville. But let’s give some attention to them. Winning isn’t supposed to be easy in the NFL, every game is to be tough. This is unheard of play.

I got an ESPN text alert this morning that Kansas City released running back Larry Johnson. Was I surprised? No, not at all. This was a move that was a long time coming. Now, I’m bugged at the fact that the Chiefs didn’t try to get anything for him. Immediately some team out there will pounce on him, and who knows, maybe Oakland (ha ha). A long shot may be Washington since Clinton Portis went down this weekend.

Point is- anyone that attacks their head coach or front offices should be unemployed. When Johnson went after Todd Haley and called him slurs, that should have been the end there. You don’t criticize your head coach.

The question just now turns to, well what’s the answer in K.C.? After nine weeks, it’s clearly not Matt Cassell. How do you figure anymore? They’re still a horrible team. I don’t mind this move, maybe it stirs things up. The Chiefs need a break, and this will clearly help.