Truth & Rumors > NFL

07:14 AM ET 07.29 | Training camp isn't just about optimism. Most NFL teams have a lot to prove when they report to training camp, but that's especially true about a Bears team that likely will be dismantled if the playoffs remain out of reach for a fourth consecutive season. General manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith already have been given notice: Win or else. But they aren't the only ones with much at stake. For the entire Bears organization -- from ownership to administrators to coaches to players -- the buck stops in 2010.

Chicago Sun-Times

> Comment

07:15 AM ET 07.29 | He may not be willing to carry pads, but Dez Bryant is more than willing to return kickoffs. Bryant appeared at kick off returner as the Cowboys trotted out the unit for the first time during the afternoon practice at the Alamodome. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was immediately taken with the possibilities. "He's special with the ball in his hands, and we're going to try to help him as much as we can," DeCamillis said. "He's got a chance to be exceptional." Bryant returned kickoffs and punts at Oklahoma State. He was more effective on punts, averaging 19.6 yards with three touchdowns on 22 tries. He averaged 23.8 yards with no touchdowns on six kickoff returns.

The Dallas Morning News

> Comment

07:16 AM ET 07.29 | In terms of Xs and Os, the Browns are Eric Mangini's team. When Mike Holmgren jumped aboard as Browns president, everyone expected him to bring along his version of the West Coast offense. But that's not what Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll will be running in 2010. "Scheme-wise, this is a different scheme. This is not my scheme. This is their scheme," Holmgren said Wednesday. ... In 2009 under the first-year direction of Mangini and Daboll, a rookie coordinator, the Browns finished 32nd among NFL teams in four offensive categories and 29th in scoring. The most incredible statistic about last year is that in their five wins, Browns quarterbacks completed 33 passes -- that's a five-game total, remember -- in 82 attempts for 386 yards.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

> Comment

07:13 AM ET 07.29 | Via his website, Reggie Wayne may have announced his training camp plans. It appears Wayne is prepared to report with the rest of his teammates when the Indianapolis Colts converge on Anderson University on Sunday for the start of training camp. The four-time Pro Bowl receiver skipped a mandatory three-day minicamp last month because of dissatisfaction with his contract, but indicated on his website -- www.reggiewayne.com -- that he's ready to return to the practice field. A recent Wayne journal entry was titled, "It's about that time ladies and gentlemen." He wrote " ... Anderson Indiana here come the Mighty Indianapolis Colts to invade your town for a few weeks."

Indianapolis Star

> Comment

07:11 AM ET 07.29 | Saying he hoped his shower would be off limits, Rex Ryan talked Hard Knocks Wednesday. "The goal of ours has always been to have every player in the NFL want to play for us and every coach want to coach for us," said Ryan, who was on the Ravens' staff for the show's debut in 2001. "We'll just be ourselves. That's the beauty of it." ... Ryan said some players' initial reflexes to seeing omnipresent lenses in Baltimore was to withdraw, but the comfort level returned within two days. He handicapped special teams coach Mike Westhoff ("some will call him 'Old crusty'") as a dark horse to gain the audience's interest. Quarterback Mark Sanchez, lineman Kris Jenkins and linebacker Bart Scott, the team's most outspoken member, were favorites as well.

New York Daily News

> Comment