Matt Cassel took the snap from center, scanned the practice field as he dropped back to pass and just for a moment must have felt like a little boy on Christmas morning.
One of the fears at the end of the 4 1/2-month lockout was how much all the missed practice and meeting time would affect rookies.

Torrey Smith knew he would be drafted. It was only a matter of when and which team would pick the speedy wide receiver.
Over the past few weeks, Chiefs fans have begun to see why coach Todd Haley was so excited about the free agent acquisition of wide receiver Steve Breaston.
The Kansas City Chiefs addressed one of their most urgent needs but may have strayed a bit from their draft philosophy by taking Pittsburgh wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin in the first round Thursday night.
The Kansas City Chiefs, after swapping first-round positions with Cleveland, have selected wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin of Pittsburgh with the 26th overall pick in the NFL draft.
Pitt leads the Big East Conference despite going nearly a full season without its offense living up to expectations.

Pitt officially starts preseason practice Saturday in the most anticipated of Dave Wannstedt's six seasons as coach, even if it might seem to his players as if they have been preparing since the day last season ended.