Marvin Lewis Journal: Week One

[Kirkendall]

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2004

Marvin Lewis Journal: Week One

GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- It's good to get going and doing football in a training camp atmosphere. The rain set us back Saturday morning, but we were able to adjust and spend a little more time in meetings and get some more teaching done, which is good.

We got an opportunity to show the guys some of the things that were installed on Friday night again. We showed the guys where they were, either last year or during the mini-camps that took place all spring and early summer. That was good teaching time and it was time utilized wisely.

The time off due to the rain also saved our practice field. You worry about that because you have to have a whole team on one field, you can wear it out in a hurry. So that gave us a chance to let the field dry and get our work done out there in the afternoon. It probably saved us four or five days extra on the field.

The last couple of days, the weather has been tremendous. We've had good heat. The humidity has been lower and it's been good for us to get out and have guys get acclimated to the hot weather.

This is our second year together, and having been through this once before, we are focusing on the things that are going to get us off to a good season. We don't want to start 0-3 again. We want to eliminate the small errors that can trip you up early in the season. Hopefully, the things that we can control, we learn to control right now.

Obviously, a lot of the focus here at camp is on Carson Palmer, and he understands that. He just has to continue to progress and to learn handling the huddle and his teammates. The ability is there. It's the mechanical stuff that we have to focus our efforts on. He has the ability. He needs to become the driver, basically.

I'm excited about the draft picks that we have here in camp, and we really can't do much with the guys that we don't have. Hopefully, those situations will get rectified quickly. But of the draft picks that we do have here, Madieu Williams and Caleb Miller particularly have stood out on defense, and Maurice Mann has done a nice job on offense.

One subject here today with the media was the news that my contract had been extended after last season. I just am telling people that I was very flattered. It was very gracious and timely on the part of the Brown family. It was a big positive for myself and my family, and it gives our team a sense of more continuity. What we did as a team last year was okay, but we have a lot more to do.