"If you listen closely, you can almost hear pads and helmets slamming together as NFL training camps shift into gear around the country.

Already, 18 of the league%u2019s 32 teams have gathered at their respective sites. The Rams will practice for the first time Friday, with players due to report today at Concordia University in Mequon, Wis.

The Jets got the early jump; they started July 16. The last camps will open Monday, when the Bengals, Packers, Redskins and Steelers assemble.

The first preseason game is Aug. 3 (Colts at 'Skins), and the regular season gets under way Sept. 4 (%u2019Skins at Giants).

So, nearly six months after the Giants stunned the unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl, here are a baker%u2019s dozen of developing stories to track in the march toward the 2008 season:

%u2014 Favre, hero or distraction? The unretirement of the venerable Brett Favre and his disintegrating relationship with the Green Bay front office certainly isn't creating the kind of atmosphere the Packers want swirling about as camp approaches.

%u2014 Patriot games: Will Bill Belichick's videographers play by the rules? And if they do, can New England approach its '07 dominance?

%u2014 Mad Mike and Rev. Ike, together again: Two of the Rams' championship linchpins %u2014 Mike Martz and Isaac Bruce %u2014 will try to rekindle the offense of their once-top rivals, the 49ers. Do either, or both, have enough magic left to truly make a difference?

%u2014 Tuna fishes for turnaround: Bill Parcells is running the show in Miami, where the Dolphins avoided becoming the first 0-16 team in NFL history only with an overtime win vs. the Ravens. Parcells has succeeded in previous reclamation projects, but this could be his biggest challenge yet.

%u2014 Kurt vs. Matt, the sequel: Matt Leinart is Arizona's designated starting quarterback, but we've been down this road before. Can he fend off Kurt Warner this time?

%u2014 Audacity of hope in Oakland: Can second-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell and rookie running back Darren McFadden add enough juice to help the Raiders avoid a fourth consecutive trip to the AFC West cellar?

%u2014 Peyton's knee, Colts' run: Peyton Manning, who has missed just one snap in his 10 NFL seasons, had surgery on an infected bursa sac in his knee July 14 and probably will sit out the Colts' entire training camp. This could mark the first chink in the armor of an aging Indy squad that has piled up at least 12 wins for six seasons in a row.

%u2014 Ex-Pacman finds a home: Although he hasn't yet earned reinstatement from Commissioner Roger Goodell, Adam "Don't Call Me Pacman" Jones has joined the Cowboys. Can he stay out of trouble, or will team security personnel have to be stationed at strip clubs throughout Dallas?"