WR Camarillo caught off guard by trade to Vikings

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08/27/2010 -

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Just two days ago, the only time Greg Camarillo figured to be spending in Minnesota was when his Miami Dolphins play here in September.

Now he lives here.

The Vikings acquired Camarillo in a trade on Wednesday for cornerback Benny Sapp. Minnesota is hoping the shifty slot receiver can help add depth to a group that is depleted with Sidney Rice's hip injury and Percy Harvin's migraines.

``It's hard,'' Camarillo said after a practice at the Metrodome on Thursday. ``It's incredibly difficult because South Florida was home. I've moved. I've left that behind. I'm just excited to be out here playing football.''

Camarillo was an unknown coming out of Stanford in 2006. He spent one season with San Diego before going to the Dolphins. Despite tearing an ACL in 2008, Camarillo has rebounded to catch 105 passes for 1,165 yards and two touchdowns in the past two seasons.

He was targeted 73 times last season and did not drop a pass, an impressive level of consistency that made him attractive to the Vikings, who have a dearth of proven producers at receiver.

``I've said it about a thousand times, a receiver by definition should receive,'' coach Brad Childress said. ``He's got A-plus hands. If you put a ball around him, he's got great 'pluck' characteristics.''

The Vikings sure need all the pluck they can get. Rice, who led the team in receiving and earned a Pro Bowl berth last season, will likely miss the first half of the season after having hip surgery on Monday.

Harvin, the reigning offensive rookie of the year, has only participated in six practices this preseason while struggling with migraines. He missed practice again on Thursday while having some more tests done and Childress said he will not play until doctors have cleared him.

The Vikings signed free agent Javon Walker on Tuesday, hoping the veteran can regain the form that made him a feared deep threat in his early days with Green Bay and Denver. Then they added Camarillo on Wednesday as insurance in case Harvin continues to miss time with his headaches.

Camarillo goes from catching passes from youngster Chad Henne to being on the receiving end of throws from Brett Favre in Minnesota.

``Been a fan of his since I was a little kid,'' said Camarillo, who was 9 years old when Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. ``One of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. What more as a receiver could you ask for than to come play with that type of quarterback? You have to elevate your game to match his game and he'll bring you along with him. It's a great opportunity.''

The Vikings have two more preseason games before opening the regular season on Sept. 9 in New Orleans. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for Camarillo to learn a new offense and a new quarterback. So he doesn't expect to see much of the Twin Cities during the next month or so.

His head will be buried in a playbook cramming like he did for final exams at Stanford.

``It's going to take a while to figure that out, to see exactly where I fit in,'' he said. ``It's a powerful offense. I'm just trying to run my routes, catch the ball and find a spot.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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