The first week of training camp is always a series of exciting benchmarks. The first workout drill leads to the first day in shoulder pads, which leads to the first day in full pads. The gradual buildup resets the players every couple of days, and it keeps the energy levels high as bodies begin conditioning into positional molds.
Those excitement levels, though, always seem to hit a brick wall pretty quickly during the scrimmage. The game-type situations, in front of referees, always provide a reality check for both the players and the coaches: a team comes along pretty quickly but still has a long road left until its first game.