LATROBE Cowher's conditioning drills leave Hampton heaving

Kendrell Bell came to his rescue by finishing his dashes.
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- Defensive lineman Casey Hampton reported overweight and was the only experienced player to struggle Saturday in Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher's annual camp-opening running test.
Most players easily completed the 14 40-yard dashes on a partly cloudy, 84-degree day, but the 320-pound Hampton missed three runs to catch his breath.
As Hampton rested at the edge of the practice field, gripping the edge of his shorts while breathing heavily, linebacker Kendrell Bell jumped in and ran for him. Bell had completed his runs.
"The one thing is people respect Casey Hampton, he's been around here and they know what he's about," Cowher said.
Cowher just wishes there wasn't as much of Hampton as there is now.
Hampton recovered to take part in the last run by his group and offered to make up the runs he missed, but no player was allowed to run by himself.
Cutting down some size
Cowher said Hampton needs to lose weight -- he wouldn't say how much -- before he's back to being in game shape.
"He's not where he needs to be by his own admission," Cowher said. "He's got a ways to go and that's disappointing. ... He knows where's he at and he knows where he needs to be."
Hampton was visibly relieved when the running was over, saying, "Now we can get down to what I can do and that's play football. Let's move on from here."
Hampton became the Steelers' second unanticipated medical worry since the players reported Friday night -- Hampton came in overweight, right guard Kendall Simmons came in underweight.
Giving the team a scare
Simmons was released from an undisclosed hospital Friday night after being diagnosed with diabetes only last week. He lost more than 30 pounds in a short time, giving both himself and his team a scare.
"It was a shock to me," he said.
Simmons, who now weighs about 305 pounds, hopes to start running and weight lifting again in a day or so and return to practice in an about a week.
Cowher said he shouldn't be out more than two weeks, giving him plenty of time to get ready for the Sept. 7 season opener against Baltimore.
"I was real tired and lost a lot of weight, and I thought it was due to running and working out," Simmons said. "I just have to watch myself, regulate what I eat, take my blood sugar 4-5 times a day."
Simmons quickly regained about 10 pounds and said he's now at the weight he wanted to be when camp opened. His concern is the strength he lost while his condition was being diagnosed.
Rookie problems
The only other player who didn't finish the sprints was wide receiver Leonard Scott, a rookie free agent who wasn't expected to have any trouble. Scott won the 60-yard dash in the NCAA indoor championships as a freshman at Tennessee.
"If you put the work in the offseason, it's not a problem," said Jerome Bettis, who sailed through his runs with Cowher's encouragement. "But the anxiety and stress, coupled with the coaches and media being out here, it will wear on you."