December 10, 2000
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO CRINER: “This camp is all about
ATTITUDE and FUN – let’s have some fun and play
football … Put the paperwork and the cheerleaders and
the business structure and the skepticism behind us, and
let’s line up and do what we do best – play and
coach and enjoy the game we love!”
Compared to the skill/passing camp in November, the
intensity of today’s sessions definitely picked up a
few notches due to the presence of 40 defensive players.
Five minutes into stretching exercises at Sunday’s
8:00 a.m. session, friendly chatter and harmless
trash-talking filled the air.
The Outlaw secondary brought their A-game to the table,
looking to form some chemistry on par with that of the
QB’s and WR’s, who have a week together under their
belt. Former NFL standouts such as S Toby Wright, a Pro
Bowl alternate for the St. Louis Rams in 1998, and S
Jason Kaiser, who played for the Dallas Cowboys and
Kansas City Chiefs, displayed composure, speed and
professionalism in the defensive backfield. Las Vegas’
linebacking corp added plenty of energy to all drills,
impressing onlookers with their combination of size and
speed. Former Ohio State Buckeye Marcel Willis, Nebraska
and Denver Bronco LB Troy Dumas, and the athletic Toran
James emerged as the early leaders of an aggressive
corp.
The presence of both offensive linemen and defensive
linemen brought the smashmouth element to today’s
sessions, creating a buzz even during the non-contact
drills. Kelvin Kinney, a 6-7, 270 lb. DE out of Virginia
State, DT Blaine Berger (6-4, 305) and another former
Bronco, DE Antonio Edwards (6-3, 271) happily mixed it
up in the trenches with Outlaws O-linemen Pat Kesi (the
hootin’ and hollerin’ Las Vegas resident), Eric
Bateman and six-year NFL veteran Ike Davis.
MONDAY’S SCHEDULE:
5:15 - Wake-up/Tape
6:30-7:45 - Breakfast
7:45 - Bus Departs for A.M. Practice
8:20-10:20 - Practice
10:30 - Bus Departs for Hotel/Gold’s Gym (Weights –
OL/DL/TE/LB)
12:15 - Lunch/Tape
1:15 - Position Meetings
2:30 - Bus Departs for P.M. Practice
3:00-4:30 - Practice
4:40 - Bus Departs for Hotel
6:00 - Dinner
8:00-10:00 - Meetings/Video Review
11:00 - Lights Out
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO CRINER, PART II: “I was so
excited to work with the offensive line, I forgot some
of those other guys were out there!” (Outlaws Head
Coach Jim Criner also oversees Las Vegas’ offensive
centers, guards and tackles, along with blocking schemes
involving the running backs and tight ends)
MORE CRINER: “It was fun to have 70 NFL-quality
players on the field today … Our guys are in excellent
shape and really impressed the coaches with their speed
… As I look at the talent level of our squad, I
continue to be very proud of our draft … It’s going
to be very difficult to cut this group of 70 down to a
38-man active roster six weeks from now … However,
that’s a nice problem to have – in fact, I would
expect many of these guys that we have to cut to start
for other teams in the XFL once the season starts.”
Minicamp notes from
[Dec 10 | Dec
12 |
Dec 13 | Dec
14 | Dec
15] |
