Football season is approaching fast and I feel myself HUNGRIER to go play ball every day. It's a good time of year. Right now, I'm getting ready for the season, enjoying family time, attending some great church conferences and learning a lot about myself and how to love and help people. Those are all good things.

Well it's not all fun. I spent the day at the dentist yesterday, and we all know how that can be, but it's just one of the many things I need to get done before the season starts - like the kids getting all of their doctor visits in before they go back to school.

So I'm in Seattle right now, which is a blessing in that I am getting a chance to spend more time with my family than usual. This year really reminds me of the 2005 season when I was made a franchise player and didn't participate in training camps. As weird as that sounds, this feels similar in that came in late, felt healthy and ended up having one of the best seasons of my life. So I'm hoping I can do that again. I feel rested and good, so hopefully I'm ready to peak again.

Right now, the big question people are asking is where I'm going to be playing. I've stayed in constant contact with about seven teams throughout the summer. Now I can't tell you which seven teams those are because I promised them I wouldn't, but the fact that we've kept the communications going is a good thing.

There have been no contracts offered yet, but at the same time, this year has been different across the NFL because it's the first year when they have 80 players in training camp. That's fewer than before. Which means that many veteran players who have already proven themselves aren't coming in or signing early. And they don't have to. As a team, you wouldn't necessarily want me in training camp right now because the veterans don't really do anything in training camp anyway. It's all about seeing which young guys out of college deserve a look.

So the truth is, it actually makes sense that I'm not picked up yet. It's just that the rest of the world doesn't really know it. As far as where I'll be, we'll know more in the next couple of weeks as training camp and preseason sorts things out. In the meantime, I'll be training and getting myself ready. Curious how you all are doing getting ready for your seasons? Everyone getting excited?

Take care,
-Shaun