The Morning Fix

“We’re just a drop in the bucket, but we’re getting a little bit done,” said linebacker Andy Studebaker, among a group of players that included quarterback Matt Cassel, draft picks Jonathan Baldwin, Rodney Hudson and Shane Bannon and three others.

“One day isn’t going to fix it. One group isn’t going to fix it. Collectively, we need a lot of people locking arms and saying we’re going to own this community.

Overturned cars, mattresses strewn from trees with nothing but twisted springs, and houses that are transparent because only one side is still standing doesn’t even begin to describe the destruction seen from the 4 team buses as they pulled up to Joplin High School Thursday morning.

“I was on the bus with all the coaches and players and it went from a talkative bus to dead silence,” said GM Scott Pioli.

Generally, this is the time of year when players have about a month off before heading to training camp. That makes it the time when a lot of players schedule their own camps, or agree to participate in camps run by other players, schools and charities. This week there was controversy in the camping world when Vikings RB Adrian Peterson was a no-show at the Adrian Peterson Football Camp in Norman. Officials for the camp announced Peterson would not attend and said he decided to take part in an NFL Network taping of a show featuring the 100 top players in the league. But it turned out the trip for a TV filming had nothing to do with Peterson’s absence. First, the taping is scheduled for July 3rd. Second, he wasn’t going to be there from the start.