Hope you're staying cool these days... it's a billion degrees out. Now I know what people mean by August in Mississippi... good night.

My bottom line today... Sean Payton is a great football coach. We've all seen his creative and go-for-broke style pay dividends last season, and the way he has run training camp thus far in 2007 is exceptional. The team works efficiently, they get in and out of the periods quickly, they stress fundamentals even as the heat is bearing down, and they rest and rehydrate the way they need to because of the extreme humidity. He has it all covered.

Today he made a great call, cancelling the morning practice to take his team to the Rapids on the Reservoir. Team chemistry is not overrated, and a little time bonding as they go flying down the water slides in Brandon goes much further than people realize come January. In the end, if you don't trust and like your teammates... and really feel like you know them, you will never sell yourself out for their cause. Just ask anyone who's ever played with T.O.

Football is a team sport, and Sean Payton is writing his own chapter in its history.

Christian