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Ten Things I Think I Think

1. I think I am smitten with Jason Campbell. The guy's going to be good. Maybe really good. He's sure of himself, throws a nice, soft spiral downfield -- harder when he has to -- and is more confident and self-assured than anyone learning an eighth offensive system in his last nine years of football has the right to be.

(True fact. Dating to his senior year in high school, Campbell has had to learn eight offenses -- and this is the first time he's been in some form of the West Coast offense since high school. I defy anyone who watched the Redskins practice on Friday to say they don't think this guy's got the tools to be great. Four or five times in a row he threw passes 20 yards or longer in wideout-versus-corner passing drills, and each time he hit the receiver in perfect stride. Now, he's not throwing those passes with Jason Taylor and Andre Carter planning to steamroll him, because quarterbacks aren't touched by teammates in July. Will he be All-Ashburn instead of All-Pro? Maybe. But this display was one of the best I've seen at a summer practice in a long, long time.

2. I think the greatest thing I heard in my early spin around camps was from Pro Bowl Cleveland tackle Joe Thomas. I know Thomas pretty well -- I've been in his version of "Animal House'' in Madison, Wisc., where he went to college, with the padded red bra on the antlers of the eight-point buck in the living room -- and when I saw him in Berea the other day, he said to me: "Hey, I read your stuff online from Afghanistan, from the USO trip. I'd love to go. How do I do it?'' Music to my ears. More players need to go, regardless of their feelings about either war, and I hope Thomas and the USO get together on a trip early next offseason.

3. I think it's patently absurd the United States Army allowed Army safety Caleb Campbell to go through the draft process, be a billboard for the Armed Service at the NFL Draft in New York City, get drafted, go to Lions mini-camp in the offseason, sign a contract with Detroit ... then pull the rug out from under him by telling him on the eve of training camp that the government has changed its mind and now wants him to be in service to his country for the next two years. Fine. Why was the kid allowed to go so far down the road toward his dream before the military changed its mind?

4. I think multiple voices around the league think the Giants balked on trading Jeremy Shockey to the Saints before the draft -- and Shockey believes this, too -- because the tight end was one of the late Wellington Mara's favorites, and the Giants wanted to do everything they could to try to salvage the situation so Shockey could stay in New York.

5. I think, by the way, Shockey the teacher is a pretty valuable guy. Watching the Saints practice Saturday, I frequently saw Shockey pull a linebacker, DB or tight end aside and give him tips on something. GM Mickey Loomis noticed and said, "Look at Shockey teaching.'' One of his students, on-the-cusp linebacker William Kershaw, got taken aside by Shockey twice, and said after practice: "He's different from his image. All he wants to do is help make me a better player so we can be a better team.'' Shockey will be supremely motivated to have a great and peaceful and quiet season. More about him tomorrow in my Tuesday column.

6. I think in Washington the other day, Redskins VP Vinny Cerrato made the kind of point that made me say, "I wish I'd thought of that.'' He said he wondered if the Favre situation would have turned out differently if the Packers had the kind of ownership structure that had one man at the helm, not a community. Would this be happening if Dan Snyder employed a legendary quarterback in his twilight? Or Jerry Jones? Or Bob Kraft? Or Pat Bowlen? Great, great point.

Owners and quarterbacks usually form the kind of bond that precludes the ugliness that's happening now. Rich and powerful men love rich and powerful quarterbacks, and they realize how important each is to each other. In the end, there was no buffer to mediate the Thompson-Favre dispute, which I think is why Goodell stepped into it.

7. I think from what I hear, Leonard Little is going to have a big year coming back from his foot injury. He and Chris Long could be a top-five pass-rush tandem this year.

8. I think if you read one football story this preseason, read Tim Layden's piece on "The Play," or whatever it'll be known as in history, the Manning-to-Tyree Super Bowl pass play. It'll be in your mailbox Wednesday in this week's SI. Chock-full of interesting things you didn't know, including an enlightening interview with the back judge who officiated the play as the ball came down. The detail in the piece is fantastic.

9. I think it's funny to hear Jon Gruden chafe at the questions on Favre. The media's just doing its job, coach. If you have zero interest, just say you have zero interest. You can always no-comment the thing.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. I found out how little the rest of the country thinks of Red Sox-Yankees (which at this point of the year always is a megaseries). I was changing planes in Charlotte (traveling from Dulles to Jackson, Miss.) Friday night and stopped in a sports bar at the airport with a bunch of TVs. I looked around. No baseball. I looked at the sports ticker. Racing news. No baseball. There was Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a few screens. Baseball, schmaseball.

b. Stand firm on Manny, Theo.

c. Dustin Pedroia might be Wade Boggs with a little speed.

d. It's way, way too early to call Xavier Nady Ed Whitson. But some guys start gripping the bat a little tight in the big city. Nady spent the weekend looking like one of those.

e. Mark Shapiro must be thinking: "Where exactly did this CC Sabathia come from?

f. Will Ferrell is really, really funny. I wish he'd make a movie I'd want to see.

g. Coffeenerdness: "I want to make your travel note,'' Sal Paolantonio told me Sunday. OK, I said. He talked about how much he liked the IHOP in Green Bay, and I thought the travel note had to get a little better than that. "How about Coffeenerdness?'' he said. "I love the coffee at that IHOP.'' Consider yourself a full-fledged member of Coffeenerdness Nation, Sal. For my taste, the IHOP coffee's a little mild, but to each his own.

h. In the immortal words of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man: "Fly Qantas.'' Can you believe a plane gets a hole in it the size of a Yugo and flies safely to landing, with no injuries? Fly Qantas.

i. The latest dispatch from the war from Army Sgt. Mike McGuire, the platoon leader of a group of men defusing improvised explosive devices in the Iraq war, is not a good one. This came into my e-mail box Sunday morning, with the title, "It's still a war'' in the subject line.

"Last week was a reminder just how deadly this place is. Our platoon was hit by IED's three times in a 45-minute period, trying to get from vehicle to vehicle. Eight soldiers had to be medivaced on a helicopter from the site. Sometimes it gets slow out here, but last week was an eye-opener. Many of these young soldiers were given a rude awakening as to what is really going on and what the enemy is capable of. I always tell them, 'If they were stupid, they would all be dead.'

"Luckily they're not stupid, and no one was killed, but we had some injuries that were pretty bad. It sounds like everyone will live. It is still a dangerous place and these VERY YOUNG soldiers are doing an exceptional job every day clearing the roads for coalition forces to operate and maneuver. Keep them in your prayers because they need it.''

Will do, Mike. Later in the day, he provided me an update and said none of his guys were killed. "Lots of bumps and bruises,'' he said. "The guys were stirred, not shaken." Let's hope it stays that way.