We’re very glad that you all felt as passionate about the issue as we did – [...]]]> As Adam previously stated, he and I are pretty much done talking about Judas. In fact, we ARE done. Gene will be weighing in with his thoughts sometime soon, but after that, don’t expect any more Judas stuff from us.

We’re very glad that you all felt as passionate about the issue as we did – one reader even called me an “asshat”, which was a first – but from now on, we’d rather focus on the team that’s actually going to, you know, win the NFC North this season.

(Although I do just want to point out that Judas’ debut comes tonight against Kansas City. The Chiefs, as you may or may not remember, have one Bernard Pollard on their roster. Pollard is the player who put the hit on Tom Brady in the season opener last year that destroyed Brady’s knee. Bernie, from Packers’ fans everywhere, I just want to say that if you feel like doing that again, you know, tonight would be the perfect time. We aren’t going to stop you. In fact, godspeed my man. Godspeed.)

Anywho, it’s time to give you your daily serving of the best bits of information from today’s training camp practice.

The Packers have had four practices since we last checked in, so there is obviously a lot to get to. Thursday’s evening practice actually marked the end of training camp, so from now until the start of the season, we’ll be doing more in-depth pieces and columns previewing the team with occasional practice check-ins as they are warranted.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the fine folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Hate to start this thing with some bad news, but Aaron Rouse injured his hamstring right at the end of practice Thursday and had to be carted off. McCarthy told reporters it didn’t sound good, although more wouldn’t be known until today. The injury becomes even more of a downer when you consider McCarthy said he had considered ending practice early and if he had done so, the injury would have been avoided. Just another setback for Rouse, a player who has shown a lot of promise when he’s actually made it on the field. But injuries and inconsistency have hurt him throughout his time as a Packer.
• Now, an update on the Justin Harrell situation. Although Harrell said earlier this week he feared his career was over, both Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson have not said the same. In fact, they seem to think there’s a chance he could play this season. Of course, both could just be not wanting to show their cards, so I’m not sure how much stock I put into what they said. I tend to believe the player more than the coach in these situations, so I still think Harrell is probably done, at least in Green Bay.
• Clay Matthews (hamstring), Jeremy Thompson (groin) and Pat Lee (back) have missed all the practices over the past two days. McCarthy said Matthews and Thompson will not play against Buffalo on Saturday (T.O. apparently isn’t playing either, so if you’re at the game, you won’t get to boo him which sucks). I’m starting to worry about Matthews and Thompson. Both showed promise before getting hurt, but they need to get on the field at some point before the season. You hate to have these guys learning when the games actually count.
• Johnny Jolly (ankle), James Jones (hamstring), Kregg Lumpkin (shoulder sprain) and Anthony Smith (groin) were all back practicing Thursday after missing practices earlier in the week. Very good news indeed.
• McCarthy said earlier in the day Thursday that Jolly and B.J. Raji (RAJI!!) will likely play Saturday as long as nothing happens on Thursday or Friday. So excited to see Raji finally suit up, I can’t even tell you.
• An update on the punting battle between Jeremy Kapinos and Durant Brooks (otherwise known as “Clash of the Titans”) from the Press Gazette. Thursday, Kapinos averaged 41.6 yards and a 4.0 hang time. Brooks averaged 44.8 yards and a 3.82 hang time. It sounds like Brooks has a bigger leg, but is too inconsistent. In the end, I still think Kapinos wins the gig.
• Call it “The Defensive Twilight Zone” Thursday night as Charles Woodson dropped a pick while A.J. Hawk and Brady Poppinga made nice plays in coverage. Was practice being held in The Bizzaro World?
• Atari Bigby also dropped an easy pick. It sounds like he’s been less-than-stellar so far. Shame considering this scheme seems perfect for his skill set.
• Cullen Jenkins and Jolly lined up in the nickel 4-3 scheme, which differed from earlier in the week when Raji had lined up with Jenkins.
• Allen Barbre has gotten a lot of the work with the starters at RT. Even though Breno Giacomini has probably outplayed him, from the sounds of it, it seems like the team wants to give Barbre more than enough of a chance to win the job.
• By my count, Mason Crosby has gone 11-of-11 on field goals over the past four practices, including one from 52 yards. Maybe last Saturday’s subpar showing was just what he needed.
• Matt Flynn, barring a shocking change of events, has the backup quarterback job cemented. He’s looked solid, especially in getting rid of the ball under pressure. More than I can say about Brian Brohm…
• Finally, McCarthy said Aaron Rodgers and the other veterans will be on the field for between 20 and 25 snaps Saturday. That group played roughly 20 snaps last week.

-Chris Lempesis

The Packers only had one practice today, but it was fairly eventful – too eventful, you might even say.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the fine folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal [...]]]> Here it is, your nightly serving of the most interesting bits of information from today’s training camp practice.

The Packers only had one practice today, but it was fairly eventful – too eventful, you might even say.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the fine folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• The biggest story of the day, obviously, is Justin Harrell admitting to reporters that his career might, in fact, be over. As it turns out, his recent back problems are related to the two surgeries he’s already had on the same area of his back, his L4 disc. Harrell, described in the Journal Sentinel as being “obviously distraught”, told reporters he and the team are trying to figure out a treatment plan. My guess is that Harrell is probably done for good. A back problem isn’t like a lot of injuries in that the back is crucial to every single thing an athlete does physically. To have already had two surgeries and still not had the problem fixed? I just can’t see it magically getting better. And, as I’ve said for awhile, this was a make-or-break year for him in that he at least had to be able to get on the field to make it worth Green Bay’s while to keep him around. It doesn’t look like that’s happening, thus Harrell’s time as a Packer is probably over. Shame.
• Might as well show this again.
• In more injury news – hooray! – it turns out the Pack didn’t make it through Saturday night completely unscathed as wideout James Jones suffered a hamstring injury. Mike McCarthy gave the old “day-to-day” response on how long he’d be out, but considering injuries have been a big problem for him, it’s not a good sign. That is a real downer as Jones was clearly winning the No. 3 receiver battle and building on the promise of his strong rookie season in 2007.
• Keeping the good vibes going, Jeremy Thompson (groin), Clay Matthews (hamstring), Pat Lee (back) and Johnny Jolly (ankle) all missed practice. Jolly apparently experienced some soreness in the ankle he injured early in camp. But he looked very good against the Browns, by all accounts, so I doubt the injury is a major setback. Unfortunately, Thompson and Matthews don’t appear to be likely to play against Buffalo on Saturday. If it’s only Monday and the team can already say that, that says their injuries are fairly severe – at least not of the minor nick-and-cut variety, anyways.
• Okay, okay, enough bad news. Let’s get to some good news, shall we? B.J. Raji (RAJI!!) had his first official practice as a Packer today! It sounds like Raji is in pretty good football shape already as he participated in all drills. He’ll practice once-a-day this week and, hopefully, see some action Saturday against Buffalo.
• Nick Barnett also returned to action, his first since tearing his ACL against Minnesota last season. Barnett didn’t get in on any actual team drills, instead participating in 7-on-7/individual drills. Apparently Barnett was looking confident at times, tentative at others – basically, about how you’d expect him to be right now. I think the approach taken by the team is a good one – bring him along slowly, let him regain confidence in his knee before throwing him into the live team stuff, which can be brutal this time of year. Either way, to have the leader of the defense back is always a plus.
• With Raji practicing and Barnett back somewhat, the team is as close as it’s been yet to having its full front seven together, with still enough practice time for the group to really gel before the season starts.
• Seventh-round pick Brad Jones finally returned to practice after a back injury kept him out for all of camp thus far. It sounds like he looked good, too, possessing quickness and an ability to get to the ball and make plays. With the transition to the new scheme, Green Bay needs all the talented linebackers it can get and just maybe, the team has another one.
• Mason Crosby bouncing back from a subpar showing Saturday, connecting on 6-of-6 today. I keep saying this, but maybe this will be the start of some actual consistency. I figure if I just keep saying it, it will happen at some point.
• Jermichael Finley, according to the Press Gazette, continues to gain confidence every practice. Confidence + genuine freakish athletic skills = Potential big-time playmaker.
• Something old, something new on the o-line: Scott Wells and Jason Spitz continue to split reps at center as it appears there is no front-runner in the battle for the starting spot yet. It sounds like the team is going to wait until at least after Saturday’s game to pick a starter there. A new battle has emerged in McCarthy announcing that Allen Barbre and Breno Giacomini will be splitting reps at right tackle. This has been coming for some time now as Barbre – the hands-down favorite to win the job before camp – has underwhelmed and Giacomini has looked strong. No timetable announced for picking a starter there. That the Packers are having these battles now is okay, but they must pick their starting five by the time the crucial third game, against Arizona, rolls around. That group needs some time to build real, actual chemistry before the games count.
• Finally, as for this whole “Judas might still become a Viking talk”, all I can say is this: Sunrise, sunset.

-Chris Lempesis

The Packers had two practices today and, with only two days to go until Saturday’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, there’s quite a bit to get to.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the folks at the [...]]]> Here it is, your nightly serving of the most interesting bits of information from today’s training camp practice.

The Packers had two practices today and, with only two days to go until Saturday’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, there’s quite a bit to get to.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Johnny Jolly was back in action for the evening practice and didn’t appear to be favoring his injured ankle at all. A good sign indeed and head coach Mike McCarthy said there is a good chance he will play at least a bit Saturday.
• Also back were DeShawn Wynn (knee) and Ruvell Martin (groin).
• Likely out for Saturday are Justin Harrell (back), Clay Matthews (hamstring), Jeremy Thompson (groin) and Pat Lee (back).
• Starting corners Al Harris and Charles Woodson worked with the scout team tonight, meaning both are also likely out Saturday. Makes sense as neither really needs to play, although it would be interesting to see how Harris does in the new scheme. That he is not playing could be a good sign in terms of how fast he’s picking things up. Tramon Williams and Will Blackmon will likely start and any time you can get starting experience – even if it’s a preseason game – that’s a positive.
• With Tory Humphries officially being placed on injured reserve, ending his season, that means there’s a new Packer: Stryker Sulak (was that the name of the bad guy in Demolition Man?) Sulak, a sixth-round pick by Oakland in this year’s draft, was recently released (Al Davis doing something strange and illogical? No way!). He’s 6-feet, 4 1/2-inches and 250 pounds. He played defensive end at Missouri, but will likely be an outside linebacker in the new scheme. He had a nice career at Mizzou, being named to the All Big 12 Team three times. Last season, he led the nation with six forced fumbles. He also had 10 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. Sounds like there’s some potential there…plus, with that name, how can you NOT root for this guy?
• Jeremy Kapinos had a nice day, which included a 61-yard punt from his own 20. He’s definitely had a better week than Durant Brooks, from the sounds of it. Brooks might also have a hip injury he’s dealing with, although he told reporters he’s fine and that he doesn’t know where McCarthy got that from. Some great numbers from the Press Gazette tracking the punting battle. For today, Kapinos averaged 45.7 yards a punt with a 4.19 hang time. Brooks had numbers of 45.2 and 3.81, respectively. For camp as a whole, Kapinos is averaging 46.6 and 3.95 while Brooks is averaging 48.9 and 4.05. Still too-close-to-call at this point. (Did I really talk that long about punting? Wow, I guess I did!)
• Breno Giacomini was back with the No. 1s, where he has been most of the past week. It looks like he’s getting the upper hand on Allen Barbre in the starting RT battle. Barbre had the job at the start of camp but it sounds like he’s been less-than-stellar, to say the least.
• Mason Crosby was 6-of-6 today, including boomers from 47 and 53 yards. Hopefully he keeps it going.
• Brian Brohm continues to struggle making throws under pressure. Apparently he gets rattled by the rush. Yeah, that’s what you want to see because he won’t face any pressure in the NFL or anything. Yikes.
• Two more fights tonight: Aaron Rouse apparently got the best of Evan Moore, landing three rights while Moore was down before things got broken up. The second came between defensive tackle Anthony Toribio and Duke Preson, although it sounds like that got broken up fairly quickly.
• Good thing Martin got back on the field today because Jake Allen apparently made another nice grab, a 22-yard catch down the right sideline on a throw from Aaron Rodgers. Allen really appears to be making a push for that No. 5 receiver spot.

-Chris Lempesis

Anywho, after a four-day absence, we’re back to give you your daily serving of the most interesting bits from today’s training camp practice.

The Packers have had three practices in the past two days – including two [...]]]> Hope you missed us, we’re back!! (Hopefully you all pick up on that reference. If not, well, shame on you)

Anywho, after a four-day absence, we’re back to give you your daily serving of the most interesting bits from today’s training camp practice.

The Packers have had three practices in the past two days – including two Tuesday – so there’s quite a bit to get to. Yes, I know we should have had one up Monday, but prior commitments prevented me from getting a recap out. My bad.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the fine folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Most recent injury news: Clay Matthews (hamstring), Jeremy Thompson (groin), Justin Harrell (back), DeShawn Wynn (knee), Pat Lee (back), Ruvell Martin (groin), Nick Barnett (knee) and Johnny Jolly (ankle) were all out from Tuesday night’s practice.
• Wynn’s injury happened in practice last Friday. It’s an apparent bone bruise and it’s unknown how long he will be out. Can you believe he got hurt?
• Jolly is apparently close to being ready to return, according to head coach Mike McCarthy. No word on if Barnett will in fact test his injured knee this week, as was reported last week.
• Turns out McCarthy was bs-ing us when he said the team was giving Harrell time off last week strictly for rest. Yep, you guessed it: Harrell’s back flared up again, the same back problem that has plagued him for much of his career. No word on how long he will be out, although he’s already missed five days and it’s him so I’m not very optimistic on a quick return. Harrell looked sharp early in camp, but the injury is just another reminder of how fragile the big guy is. This is absolutely a make-or-break year for him. If he got on the field and performed poorly, that would be one thing. But if he can’t even stay healthy enough to get on the field, that’s it – it’s time for the team to cut its losses and move on.
• Sounds like Ted Thompson is starting to lose patience: “This game is about accountability and durability and all of that, and that has to factor in.” Thompson later added: “We’ll see, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to line up and do your part, and he’s giving it a go.”
• Always a good time to show this.
• This team is so banged up, Brady Poppinga was the starting ROLB and Mike “I allegedly scored an eight on the Wonderlic, which means I can barely read” Montgomery was the starting LE. And if that doesn’t put your heart in your throat, I don’t know what will.
• On to the on-field happenings, Brandon Jackson returned from his shoulder injury and looked good Tuesday night. Good. This is a crucial season for him.
• Greg Jennings and Donald Driver with nice snags while being covered by Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson, respectively, Tuesday night. Wonder if those guys will make the team.
• Aaron Kampman continues to own Allen Barbre, who apparently hasn’t done much to win the starting RT job as Breno Giacomini worked with the No. 1s throughout practice Monday.
• Mason Crosby bounced back nicely from his 6-of-9 (gulp) showing Monday during Tuesday morning’s practice, hitting three kicks of over 50 yards. It feels like he’s really close to becoming a very good kicker, yet very far away.
• Jake Allen keeps on making a case for himself as the No. 5 receiver, with another good set of practices. Martin better get healthy quick.
• Duke Preston is still struggling mightily on the o-line. He could be on the early bubble. Shame since he has such a cool-sounding name.
• Brandon Chillar, according to McCarthy, has been maybe the best linebacker in camp so far. Yet another bad sign for Poppinga.
• The team released its first depth chart of camp Tuesday. I’m not even going to link to it or mention it because it means nothing. If you don’t believe me, look for yourself.

-Chris Lempesis

The Packers had just one practice today in preparation for Saturday night’s annual Family Night scrimmage, which always sells out. Funny, the Minnesota Vikings have trouble selling out a home playoff game, yet the Packers sell out a scrimmage. Yeah, [...]]]> Here it is, your nightly serving of all the best bits of information from today’s practice.

The Packers had just one practice today in preparation for Saturday night’s annual Family Night scrimmage, which always sells out. Funny, the Minnesota Vikings have trouble selling out a home playoff game, yet the Packers sell out a scrimmage. Yeah, great fans there in the Twin Cities.

Anyways, as always, this information comes courtesy of the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Those absent from today’s practice were Clay Matthews (hamstring), Jeremy Thompson (groin), Anthony Smith (groin), Ruvell Martin (groin), Johnny Jolly (ankle), Justin Harrell (rest), Pat Lee (back), Brandon Jackson (shoulder) and Al Harris (funeral for late Philadelphia Eagles d-coordinator Jim Johnson).
• Today’s practice was fairly light, what with the scrimmage being tomorrow and all, so there wasn’t a ton going on.
• For all the talk of fullback Quinn Johnson being a draft steal in the fifth round, Johnson hasn’t lived up to it at all thus far. He’s looked bad in blocking drills and today he fumbled on one of his rare opportunities to carry the ball.
• Speaking of struggling, Brady Poppinga continues to show he can not cover one bit. Now, it’s gotten worse, though, as running backs are also dominating him. What I said about Aaron Kampman holds true with Poppinga, as well. If you can’t cover at OLB in this scheme, it doesn’t matter how well you do everything else. Poppinga is going to have to improve a lot just to make the team, recent contract extension or not.
• Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm continue to be inconsistent. Some days are good, some are not. Overall it doesn’t sound like either has improved by leaps and bounds from last season. Just one more reason Michael Vick could really work on this team.
• Enough with the negative. Jake Allen had a tremendous day, catching three touchdowns, one of which would have been a 98-yarder. He’s 6-feet, 4-inches, thus making him quite a bit bigger than most of the Packers’ receivers. He’s also been a solid red zone target in camp so far. And with Martin struggling with injuries – something that plagued him last season, as well – Allen could end up as the team’s No. 5 receiver, despite the fact that Martin is Aaron Rodgers’ buddy.
• Another day, another very good showing from Jermichael Finley, who continues to be one of the best Packers in camp so far.
• Harrell will play tomorrow. The team has been resting him in preparation for the scrimmage. Pray he doesn’t get hurt.

Quick slants (copyright, Adam Somers)

Sounds like one Packer isn’t entirely happy with B.J. Raji’s now week-long holdout. From middle linebacker Nick Barnett’s Twitter page tonight:

“No news on raji yet??? Man I chouldnt sit out this long whoa”

Apparently spelling isn’t one of Barnett’s strong suits. That’s okay, though, because I agree with him on his point. Raji needs to get to camp. Like now.

-Chris Lempesis

Now it’s time to get back in the kitchen – and by kitchen I mean my couch – and give you your [...]]]> Like the Green Bay Packers, we at OBOD decided to take yesterday off. We didn’t do much – you know, went to Home Depot, Bed, Bath & Beyond. Actually, a pretty nice little Wednesday.

Now it’s time to get back in the kitchen – and by kitchen I mean my couch – and give you your daily serving of the most interesting bits of information from today’s practice.

The Packers had two practices today, so there was quite a bit going on.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• The big news of the day occurred this morning when No. 3 tight end Tory Humphrey suffered a broken forearm. The injury likely ends his season. Humphrey has shown flashes of real talent throughout his time with the team. But he has never been able to stay healthy, outside of last season. Both 2006 and 2007 ended with him on the injured reserve list. No matter when he recovers, chances are he is done in Green Bay.
• Hate to keep the negative vibe going, but the Packers are really becoming an injured bunch. Both players competing for the starting ROLB spot, Clay Matthews and Jeremy Thompson, left the night practice with injuries. Matthews re-aggrevated his hamstring that sidelined him for a good portion of the OTAs/minicamps. Thompson left with a groin injury. How long either player will be out is up in the air as of now. Wideout Ruvell Martin (Saginaw Valley State! GLIAC in the house!) and safety Anthony Smith both suffered groin injuries – Smith in the morning and Martin at night. It is unknown how long either will be out. Johnny Jolly again missed practice with his bad ankle. Justin Harrell was not practicing, although the team said it is just giving him rest. You get the feeling even they are surprised he hasn’t hurt something…yet.
• On a more positive note, Daryn Colledge (right quad) was back in the morning and made it through the day. Jarrett Bush also recovered from his ab strain, although I don’t know if that’s good or not.
• Moving on to the things that happened on the field, Jermichael Finley appeared to be the player of the day, by all accounts, showing off his supreme athleticism on a few different plays. It sounds like he might be the red zone target this team has lacked for quite some time. Again, you heard it here first: take Finley late in your fantasy draft. You’ll thank me later.
• Cullen Jenkins continues to dominate. Today he did it during one-on-one drills. Sounds like someone forgot to tell him 3-4 ends are just supposed to occupy blockers and nothing more. If Jenkins can also generate pass rush as an end in this scheme, the Packers will terrorize opponents with this defense much sooner than later.
• In this scheme, corners have to cover deep by themselves quite a bit more often than they did in the old scheme. Sounds like Will Blackmon is really struggling, getting beat more than once today.
• Desmond Bishop’s strong play early is good, because it sounds like A.J. Hawk is pretty much lost. While Bishop is just reacting, Hawk seems to be too busy being tangled up in himself. Where does that sound familiar? From when he had to play MLB last season, perhaps? I hate to say this, especially since both Adam and I own Hawk jerseys, but we might have to finally come to grips with the fact that he’s just not very good.
• Special teams was a big focus today. There was some good and some not so good. The good was Mason Crosby hitting on 8-of-9 attempts. Hopefully he’s shaking off some of his early camp struggles. The bad came with the punters (shocker!). Durant Brooks and Jeremy Kapinos got off to bad starts. They finished somewhat respectable – Brooks had a gross average of 49.2 yards and a hang time of 3.85 seconds and Kapinos had a 54.3 gross average and 3.94 hang time – but still, it doesn’t seem like either of these players is the answer. The Packers can’t afford to wait too long to find out or else we might have a repeat of the Derrick Frost disaster from last season. And I might hang myself.

Quick slants (copyright, Adam Somers)

• It sounds like this Michael Vick-to-the-Packers story is really picking up some steam. Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal reported today that the team has had some internal discussions about signing Vick. The Packers won’t say it, but I think they really want to make this move. The risk is somewhat high, but the reward could be huge.
• Speaking of troubled players Ted Thompson took a chance on, Koren Robinson will sign with the Orlando Tuskers of the new UFL, according to ProFootballTalk.com. Koro, who actually played with the Seattle Seahawks last season, probably is trying to get in a spot where he can put up some big numbers in that league and then join an NFL team for the stretch drive. And you know what? I’ll be rooting for him.
• Of course, perhaps the biggest NFL story of the day involves Michael Crabtree telling the San Francisco 49ers that he is prepared to sit out the season and re-enter the 2010 draft if they don’t pay him his value. Seems like Crabtree wants to be paid much more than the No. 10 overall pick slot. Too bad we didn’t draft him, huh? Yeah, that would have been fun.

-Chris Lempesis

The Packers had two practices today. Quick FYI: There will be no practice tomorrow so the next edition of the stew won’t hit until Thursday.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the folks at the [...]]]> Here it is, your nightly serving of the most interesting bits of information to come out of today’s training camp practice.

The Packers had two practices today. Quick FYI: There will be no practice tomorrow so the next edition of the stew won’t hit until Thursday.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Johnny Jolly was seen sans the walking boot he had on yesterday, a very good sign indeed. Other notables held out of the practices were Nick Barnett (knee), Brandon Jackson (bruised shoulder), Jarrett Bush (ab strain) and Daryn Colledge (right quad). Colledge told reporters yesterday he’d be good to go today but something must have changed. My guess is the coaches are being cautious.
• If the morning session was boring – 90 minutes long, 45 of which was spent on walk-throughs – the evening session was anything but. The practice, the last before a day off, contained numerous skirmishes. Two involved inside linebacker Desmond Bishop. The last was particularly nasty, occuring when Brady Poppinga leveled Kregg Lumpkin after Lumpkin caught a pass in the flat. Not bad until you consider it was a non-contact drill. Things got heated, with numerous players from both the offense and defense getting involved, and Mike McCarthy had to separate the two sides. Longtime Green Bay Press Gazette writer Rob Demovsky called it the “most spirited practice” he’d seen in his 12 years on the beat.
• McCarthy didn’t sound entirely upset about all the fights: “I probably shouldn’t even say this, but we were 6-10 last year and we didn’t have a damn fight all training camp. So I guess we’re off to a hell of a start.”
• You know what? I totally agree. How many times last season did you find yourself, or one of your buddies, commenting on how soft the Packers were? If you’re anything like my friends and I, the answer is a lot. This team needs a mean streak in a bad way. And, as for now, if the Packers can’t find someone else to fight, they are content on fighting themselves. Good.
• On to what actually happened during the practices, Al Harris had a nice pass breakup while covering Jordy Nelson and would have dropped Aaron Rodgers on a CB blitz if it were an actual game. Harris has almost as many question marks surrounding him as Aaron Kampman in the new scheme. Good to see he’s at least somewhat picking it all up.
• Speaking of Kampman, he’s looking very good in run support still and did a nice job of sniffing out Rodgers on a bootleg. Still, he did get beat by Jermichael Finley down the seam for a 25-yard strike. If he can’t cover, it won’t matter how good he is at everything else.
• Jeremy Thompson was back with the starting defense at ROLB for both practices. Strange considering it sounds like Clay Matthews is the clear front-runner for the starting job.
• Bishop was involved in two of the evening fights, but more importantly, he’s been very good on special teams and at ILB thus far. Comforting to know. After all, we don’t know how good A.J. Hawk and Barnett will be in their new spots.
• The team has been playing rookie T.J. Lang all over the offensive line (today he was at left guard). Sounds like they are high on him and are just trying to find the best fit.
• With Jolly out and B.J. Raji (no second Raji until he signs) still unsigned, Justin Harrell has been getting a lot of work with the No. 1 defense. And it doesn’t sound like he’s been too bad. At least he’s still healthy, right? (Furiously knocking on wood)
• While meeting with reporters today, Ted Thompson said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of bringing in Michael Vick. It’s funny that it took the local media so long to bring up this topic with Thompson. Either way, it’s a topic I mentioned here awhile back and I haven’t changed my mind. I still think it would be a good idea. I didn’t think Thompson would be interested, but as a reader commented on my first Vick post, Thompson did bring in Koren Robinson. I have a feeling there might be something to this. Stay tuned…

-Chris Lempesis

The Packers only had one practice today, so there isn’t quite as much info as last night’s serving, which encapsulated three practices worth of notes.

Still, there should be plenty of enough to enjoy.

As always, this [...]]]> Here it is, your nightly serving of the most interesting bits of information to come out of today’s training camp practice.

The Packers only had one practice today, so there isn’t quite as much info as last night’s serving, which encapsulated three practices worth of notes.

Still, there should be plenty of enough to enjoy.

As always, this information comes courtesy of the folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Johnny Jolly was seen wearing a walking boot on his right ankle/foot. It sounds like he will miss a week of practice. Bullet dodged, for the most part.
• Another bullet was dodged when Daryn Colledge had his right quad rolled up on. Colledge told reporters he will be ready for tomorrow.
• Nick Barnett told reporters he hopes to be ready for the third preseason game and that he won’t test his recovering right knee again until next week.
• The biggest swap, depth chart-wise, of the day came with Clay Matthews replacing Jeremy Thompson at ROLB on the No. 1 defense. Thompson has done well in coverage but has struggled with physicality at the line, odd considering he was a defensive end. Matthews has been just as good in coverage and much better at the line.
• For all the excitement surrounding him, Aaron Rodgers has not looked particularly impressive thus far. He’s throwing far too many picks, including today. Not time to panic…yet.
• The tight ends have yet to make any real big plays, surprising considering the talent there.
• Aaron Kampman had a much better day, both in run support and coverage. This made OLBs coach Kevin Greene very excited. Although Greene is just amped all the time, I’m pretty sure. At one point he was said to be jokingly giving it to the refs brought in to call the scrimmage portion of practice. We are going to love having this guy on our side.
• James Jones scored the first touchdown of team drills. So far, he appears to be outplaying Jordy Nelson for the No. 3 wideout spot.
• Mike McCarthy was not a happy man during his post-practice media session. We’re only four practices in, but you get the feeling he thinks his team should be looking much better than it has thus far. It could be the heat, too. He’s a big guy and us big guys don’t handle heat well.
• McCarthy also said the offensive line is not close to being set – not shocking, but still, not a good sign either – and went out of his way to praise the early efforts of DeShawn Wynn. Maybe there’s hope for “Wimp” after all.

Quick notes

The Packers are getting some love from the national media this week. Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks’ “Postcards from camp” series focused on Green Bay today. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen continues his month-long trek of training camps in Titletown tomorrow. I’m sure he won’t be asking about Judas or anything.

-Chris Lempesis

We don’t live in Green Bay – sorry, cats out of the bag – so we aren’t able to watch training camp practices live.

But we still want to give you our thoughts [...]]]> We at OBOD – Adam, Gene and myself – are not credentialed members of the media, meaning we don’t have access to the team.

We don’t live in Green Bay – sorry, cats out of the bag – so we aren’t able to watch training camp practices live.

But we still want to give you our thoughts on what’s going on during this very important time of the year.

Luckily, the fine reporters at the Green Bay Press Gazette (well, except for Tom Pelissero – that guy sucks) and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are doing live reports from practices via Twitter.

So, we’ve decided to pull together the things we find most interesting from those reports and serve them up to you, the readers; call it OBOD’s training camp stew. We’re hoping we’ll be able to bring you one of these at the end of each day of practice.

So, the Packers are already three practices in to camp and what have we learned?

Here are the highlights:

• B.J. Raji (RAJI!) is officially a holdout and it doesn’t sound like the two sides are close on a deal. Funny, I thought he guaranteed he wouldn’t miss any camp. Either way, he needs to get a deal done and quick. Every practice is crucial in learning the new defense.
• We learned that Chad Clifton had four scopes done in the offseason, one on each shoulder and one on each knee. This might be his last season in Green Bay, but still, what a warrior.
• Johnny Jolly suffered a right ankle sprain in Sunday night’s practice. No word yet on the severity of the injury. Cornerback/safety/bain of my existence Jarrett Bush strained his abdomen. Also no word on the severity.
• Mason Crosby is struggling, at one point missing three kicks in a row. After a so-so second season, he needs to step it up.
• Speaking of special teams struggles, it sounds like Durant Brooks and Jeremy Kapinos are both putting on positively Frost-esque showings, drawing the ire of coach Mike McCarthy. Yikes.
• Defensive line coach Mike Trgovac and OLBs coach Kevin Greene are both intense individuals, not afraid to tear into guys who make mistakes. Good. The team needs that after all the years of vanilla Bob Sanders.
• Charles Woodson is absolutely in step with the new scheme, making plays in every practice. Not a surprise. He was the one player I had zero doubts about. The guy is just a tremendous football player.
• Jeremy Thompson looks good in coverage, while Aaron Kampman does not, getting burned by Greg Jennings on what would have been a 70-yard touchdown in Sunday night’s practice. Jennings is top notch, but still, Kampman has to get better in a hurry.
• Justin Harrell showing flashes of what he can be – powerful and dominating at the line of scrimmage. Yes, it’s early, but with him, I’ll take any positives I can get.
• Scott Wells and Jason Spitz have been alternating with the No. 1s at center. Probably the battle of camp will be waged between these two.
• Cullen Jenkins is picking up where he left off last season, blasting into the backfield several times thus far to make plays. A big-time positive. Jenkins is one of the keys to making the new scheme work.
• A.J. Hawk looking good at times, completely lost at others. If Hawk can’t pick up this scheme, he won’t be around to learn a new one as a Packer.

-Chris Lempesis