1. Well, here we go...the calm before the storm. If you thought the period before the OTA's was slow, wait until tomorrow...and then the next day. This is the Bermuda Triangle of sports, my friends. When the NBA Finals, U.S. Open and OTA's all wrap up, the only thing we have to help us get through the next month or so is baseball. Thankfully, the Nats are playing well. I am a glass is half full kind of guy, so I will just say that we are 6-3 in our current run against AL East opponents. For all you realists out there, 0-9 against the Dodgers, Marlins and Yankees is who we are right now. Take heart...we'll get better. You don't want us to peak too soon, do you?
2. Redskins fans actually need to embrace the quiet for the next month. The kind of news that breaks these days is generally bad news. Guys get injured playing in the yard with their kids. Poor decision-making leads to legal entanglements. A nice, restful and boring month is exactly what we should be rooting for until camp opens.
3. This next month is about as important a month as there is for the long-term development of Robert Griffin III (clearly, the Kirk Cousins part is implied of course). This is when Griffin proves how studious and determined he can be, as well as "how bad he wants it." Here's hoping that he is digesting everything he just consumed in a meaningful way. It sounds like RG3 will be visiting with his receivers and getting some good practice reps, but the most important thing is that he keeps the wheels moving. This ain't banquet season--this is when the guys who want it more put the work in that separates them from the guys who don't.
4. Get used to hearing that by the way. We are all going to be told "how bad he wants it" for the next three months. To be fair, I think he wants it plenty bad, but there is only one test that will give us the answer that will hush up the circus a little bit--and that test doesn't come until September.
5. Imagine, if you will: You are just out of college. You have already banked enough money to live comfortably for a very long time. Everyone thinks you are great--those that don't secretly think they are probably wrong. Dudes want to be you. Girls want to be with you. You all of a sudden have this time where you aren't expected to be at work for a month. Can we all just be honest for a moment and recognize the kind of temptation there is to buy five or six of the latest video games, fly to an island somewhere and play PS3 by the pool for 30 straight days? That was just the first thing that came out of my fingers. Vegas, Amsterdam and travelling with the Foo Fighters on their world tour would also be way up there for me. (If Nas was on a world tour at the time, I would put that pretty far up there as well.)
6. Yep...gonna be quiet for the next month or so. No Game of Thrones, no training camp, no salary cap trial, no Albert Haynesworth out there being a total butthead. But wait a second...you know what else there won't be: no awful lead-up to the regular season where we all have to envision the craptastic stylings of Rex Grossman as our one and only hero. We won't all be looking forward to a year where, in the backs of our minds, a poor record could very well bring us the quarterback we have been missing. You won't have to find solace in mediocrity where the ceiling is firmly set at "Mediocrity." The ceiling could not be higher for this team and for this fanbase. This quiet time is when we can REALLY let our imaginations soar. Keep your expectations realistic out there...but set your imaginations to "Ridiculous."