NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

I just wrote my first in a serires of roster breakdowns and training camp battles, but not to be behind the 8 ball NY Daily News is reporting one training camp battle already.

I'll just HIGHLIGHT the battles right now and then go over them in depth over the next five or six weeks until training camp starts.

It should be a  fun training camp because there seem to be many more battles this year than last year.

Rich Seubert vs William  Beatty.

David Diehl WILL Start on this OL the question though is where? (confirmed by Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride, aka Killdrive or any other nifty monikers he has) If Beatty beats out Diehl at LT Diehl will move inside and Subert will become the backup guard/Center (he has already been practicing some at center).

I for one hope that Beatty wins. If Beatty can play LT I think there might be three positions upgraded. Beatty has the athletic ability to contain DeMarcus Ware and Trent Cole off the edge. Diehl is a better guard than Suebert and Suebert is a better backup than Whimper or Kevin Boothe.

Goff Vs Dillard Vs Wilkinson for the MLB spot.

So far the early returns is that Joanthan Goff is getting the majority of the snaps at the MLB position, but Dillard is getting a fair shake and receiving snaps at the MLB spot. Gerris Wilkinson is taking most of the snaps with the third team.

Here are some other critical battles I see playing out.

Osi Umeinyora vs Mathias Kiwanuka

Both players are already making a racket about deserving to be the starter. Kiwanuka has come out and said that he should be the starter at DE and that he should have a reworked contract. Umeinyora has been clamoring about the starting DE position since he lost it last season.

Aaron Ross vs Mario Manningham Vs MR. X vs Trade

I just posted in the comments of my Roscoe Parrish trade proposal that the Giants have started to talk about Aaron Ross as the primary option to return punts, but Manningham is in the mix. If neither player can do it effectively the Giants have said they will pursue trade options.

Terrell Thomas vs Aaron Ross

This is another interesting battle for bragging rights more than anything. Sure the #2 CB plays more than the #3 CB, but not really that much more. A lot of teams run three WR sets and defenses employ 3 or more CB a lot so this is not really a big deal, but for bragging rights it is.

If Aaron Ross is being considered as the return man its reasonable to speculate that Thomas might be the lead dog this second.

Andre Brown vs D.J. Ware vs Gartrell Johnson

I've been very transparent about my feelings for Andre Brown. I love him. I think he's the #3 RB. He recovered from his injury of last year it appears as he's participating fully in the Giants off-season activities.

I'm not a big fan of D.J. Ware. He hasn't shown me enough. I know people like his potential, but there is clearly something lacking from D.J. Ware, I believe.

Gartrell Johnson is intriguing and could end up beating out Ware for a roster spot.

Matt Dodge vs Jay Bond.

I appreciated Jeff Feagles contributions to the N.F.L. and specifically the Giants and wish him the best of luck, but I thought it was time for him to move on. I couldn't take one more stalled Giants drive at their own 20 that resulted in Feagles punting the ball 35 yards and having the team basically start in Giants territory. Sure, it's nice to have a guy who can pin a team deep, but it's also important to be able to CHANGE field position when the offense does struggle on a drive, and that Feagles could no longer do.

Dodge would seem to have the inside track, but who knows. Let's be honest, none of us know yet.

Here are the training Camp Battles I expect to happen in 45 days.

Did I miss any?

Which one(s) are you most excited about?

And remember to keep reading as I'll go player by player position by position leading up to training camp as a preview.

Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young in trouble with the law. A bad decision to go to a strip club around 3 A.M. but does it look and sound like a suspension?

Young knows he was at the wrong place for any time when entering Club Onyx in Dallas. QB gets into a push come to shove match with an unknown male early Sunday morning and he leaves before the cops arrive.

Young says “Just made a mistake, made a mistake even being there and let that guy provoke me into doing what I did. Fell into his hands, what he wanted me to do so he could do what he’s doing now. At the same time, let my lawyers take care of it.”

However, coach Fisher had nothing to be happy about Sunday night having to hear and discuss this mishap while trying to raise money for a charity such as Nashville’s flood victims.

“I’d like to think he’s learned a lesson, had no business making the decision that he made and obviously he’s go to deal with those consequences. I can’t comment any further. The league will look into it. The commissioner is very strict about these type of things, and I’m sure we’ll hear from him after we get more information.”

“He’s walking on his own on this one. This was a decision he made. It was not a good decision. He’s not one that typically does this, but he put himself in a bad situation and we just move on,” Fisher said.

Young also proclaims “it wasn’t a punch but a push. I made a mistake,” and he hopes commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t come down hard on him.

VY immediately apologized to his family, the Tennessee Titans, his teammates and fans after knowing that this would hit the public real soon.

I feel that he was provoked, like most people in the spotlight are, sad but true. I’m not saying that all people who make mistakes and get into trouble are all innocent but I have seen first hand how males and females attack and provoke those with money and fame.

He received a misdemeanor assault citation after his willingness to talk to the police Sunday afternoon, and the NFL is looking into the case.

Yesterday the buzz around Seattle wasn’t coming from vuvuzelas, it was coming from a report that free agent safety O.J. Atogwe was going to make a visit to the Pacific Northwest to meet with the Seahawks.  Now we’re not so sure.

The uncertainty stems from a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.  Citing a team source, Schefter wrote that Seattle “might not be interested” in the former St. Louis Ram.

Seems like anyone and everyone are taking shots at Redskins DL Albert Haynesworth after he skipped minicamp and demanded a trade on Wednesday. Former Skins QB Joe Theismann spoke about the lineman on Sirius NFL Radio. Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post printed some of the comments, which didn’t exactly pull punches about how the former QB feels about the situation.

"Lets just put it out there, we’re not looking at Albert Haynesworth as a very standup individual, OK?" Theismann said. "So the fact that he took the money, which he had rightfully coming to him, doesn’t surprise me. But I remember last year sitting down with him before the season, when he signed the big contract, and everybody talked about, `Hey look, are you gonna be a guy who gets the money and runs?' And he told me point blank, he said, `I want to be not just the best defensive player on the field but the best player on the field.'

"The one thing he left out in the conversation I think should have been, `I want to be the best player on the field, and if I can’t be where I want to be, then screw everybody else.' And that’s in essence what he’s done.

"He’s not a team player,” Theismann continued. "He doesn’t give a damn about anybody but himself, which has become painfully obvious. And you know what? Albert doesn’t care what anybody says. He’s pocketed $21 million. If anybody would look at this situation, you’d have to say it’s all about the money, it's not about the love of the game. He pulled the classic wool over peoples’ eyes: Play really well in your final year of a contract as a free agent, get somebody to pony up a lot of money that needs you in the system that they’re running—which the Redskins did in a 4-3—and then show us really what kind of character and individual you are.

"And he’s classless, OK? I mean, there’s nothing else that you can say, but the man has very little respect for teammates, very little respect for anyone. Last year at the end of the season, he chose to stay home on Christmas Day open presents and not go to work when every other member of the football team had to go. That, to me, spoke volumes about Albert Haynesworth. You have a person that the Redskins are gonna be much better without than with."

When the Eagles drafted Cornelius Ingram in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, it was looked at as a steal. The guy had loads of talent but fell down the draft board because of a knee injury he obtained in college. However, the Eagles took a chance on him and saw his talented hands and play-making ability right away.

Despite showing signs of brilliance, Ingram went down in Training Camp with yet another ACL injury and missed the entire 2009 season. Brent Celek was able to step up huge in 2009 so there was no lack of production at the tight end position. This year the Eagles will look to have a surplus of play-making ability between the two.

With the way Celek played in 2009, he will be a guy that defensive coordinators will have to game plan for and find a way to shut down. If they don't come up with a strategy to do so, Celek will hurt you all day. This is where a guy like Ingram can step in and see a lot of production.

Although Ingram did great things in college, he is still an unproven talent in the NFL. Out of the game, teams will take him lightly. This means he can really make some teams pay.

Ingram also has another big advantage, the weapons around him. There are a lot of other players in the Eagles offense that will draw a lot of attention. You have two big threat receivers in DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin as well as another high caliber tight end in Celek. Ingram should be able to find some mismatches because of this and will have the opportunity to make plays.

If Ingram can stay healthy, he has the potential to be a big time offensive sleeper for the Eagles.