NFL Europa Blog

In the first installment of a weekly series,

Study Abroad

is the story of two Ravens that will be heading across the water to play for the Amsterdam Admirals. Quarterback Drew Olson and tight end Rob Abiamiri checked in with BaltimoreRavens.com from Tampa, Fla., where all six NFL Europa teams began training camp last week. After a few days of practice, Olson and Abiamiri were just getting situated. . .

From Olson:

Hello to all the Ravens fans out there. We got down to Tampa last week, and so far everything's going well. Last Saturday, we finally checked into the team hotel that we'll be staying in for the next month before we go to Amsterdam. I got to meet my teammates for the first time, and it seems like we can have a strong locker room.

I'm rooming with Rob, which is good to have a familiar face around here. On the field, it's also nice that I'll have a target I'm familiar with. I know what it's like when he's running routes, which helps because we only have a short time to learn the offense.

We started the week on Monday by getting the receivers on the field for a day of just passing. We need that extra practice or two before the entire team comes together, because you have to get your timing up and say the plays aloud in the huddle.

Wednesday was our first double-practice day with the linemen and the defense. I was really reminded of training camp with the Ravens when we had everybody out there. The Admirals' training camp is just like any other camp - it's a grind.

So far, I've been getting more and more comfortable with the offense. It's going to take some time to learn the plays and get dialed in, but I like what I see in what we're doing as a team. The coaches have been great. Most of them actually played in the league (NFL) before, so they're very knowledgeable and have made it easier for me.

Like any other team I've ever played on, we're starting to build for something. I'll obviously be honing in on improving my personal skills, but it's still football. You play to win.

Right now, the temperature is around the low 80s, so we've been getting out there and breaking a sweat. We just finished practice, but they're keeping us pretty busy in our free time. It's definitely not a cakewalk through camp.

I'll be back later this week after we get through our first scrimmage against another team on Tuesday.

- Drew

From Abiamiri:

I want out start out by saying 'What's up?' to all my friends and family back home. I'm just trying to do my thing in Tampa, and we're all looking forward to a great season in Amsterdam.

First, we had to get physicals as soon as we got down here, and then got our assignments in the team hotel. Like Drew said, they put the two Ravens in the same room, which is nice.

Right now, most of my stuff is still in my suitcase. I know we'll be here for about a month, but I'm not going to unpack all my stuff just to re-pack before our flight to Europe. I've got it set up on a stand in the corner, and it's basically like a big drawer. Really, though, this is camp, so we're not using too much besides shorts, T-shirts and jerseys. I'll do laundry when I run out of clean socks and boxers.

Practice has gone well. The teams are all spread out around Tampa. We practice at the University of South Florida, but some other teams have to practice at local high schools. South Florida is a small college with good facilities for a small college, even if they're not like what we had at Maryland or (Olson's alma mater) UCLA.

I like the guys we have around us. The team seems to be getting along, and the coaching staff is experienced. My position coach, Rob Hunt, has been with the Admirals since 2005 and he's played in the NFL. They're trying to keep the offense simple for us because we only have three weeks to learn it before we go to Amsterdam.

We have our first scrimmage Tuesday, so hopefully we can bring what we've learned to the field. I'm just looking at this experience one day at a time to stay focused.

Talk to you later.

-Rob

Submit your responses and questions to Drew and Rob: talk.back@ravens.nfl.net. Please include your name and hometown.

Editor's Note: The

Study Abroad

blog will run throughout the NFL Europa season every Thursday, so check back each week.