Packerholic

Today’s show features Drew Smith and Tom Ristow (two local sports anchors).

• The show starts with the personal services contract with the Packers. The deal supposedly has Brett showing up for several events throughout the year. Mike McCarthy talks about the deal on how he wants Favre to continue to be part of the Packers organization. They then talk about Goodell not accepting Favre’s reinstatement yet.
• Rodgers then talks about his relationship with Favre and he tells everyone he has never had a problem with Favre and that it is a problem between Favre and the organization.
• They then talk about the Keys to the Family Fun Night Scimmage. The first key is to catch the coach’s eye. Obviously you need to be noticed in order to make the roster. Kregg Lumpkin and Taj Smith are both interviewed on how they need to keep making plays in order to have a chance to make the roster. The rookies appear excited to play in Lambeau for the first time ever. Drew and Tom both talk about how several young players have made a name for themselves on the family night scrimmage. The second key is to find the right combination. It is essentially who will win the starting guard spot and the LB spot. They talk about how the O-Lineman are all trained to be able to play several different spot amoungst the line. The final key is that everyone comes out healthy. Obviously that is the most important thing for the scrimmage. A lot of key players will supposedly only have limited time in the game which is a smart idea.
• Junius Coston is the player profile. Supposedly Junius Coston has been working hard at the center position. He thinks he will now get most of his playing time at guard and center. He then talks about his roommate (Scott Wells) some and he is supposedly a good roommate. Drew and Tom think he has looked pretty good at the center position.
• The injury report then is addressed. They talk about Justin Harrell being on the PUP list. He will be available as soon as he can pass a physical. Wynn and Blackmon also missed practice.
• The Ryan Grant situation is then addressed. Supposedly a day is getting closer. Drew and Tom agree with me that Grant really needs to get into camp since Jackson is really looking good. Edgar Bennett is interviewes and he is impressed with Jackson and Wynn. The players do respect Grant’s decision to sit out since he can’t risk getting hurt without a fair contract even though he currently isn’t with his teammates. The good thing is that all the players say he will be welbomed back when his contract is signed.
• The fan question of the day is why the Packers are willing to give $20 million to Favre but nothing to Grant. Drew thinks they are different situations since Favre’s deal isn’t to play for the Packers but for future marketing plans. He also thinks Grant has no bargaining power really since he is still an exclusive rights free agent for several seasons and he has only showed that he can play for just over half a season.
• The play of the day is an interception of one of Matt Flynn’s passes by Aaron Rouse. Aaron Rouse is seriously pushing for the starting job now and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he eventually wins it.

For those of you who aren’t in the Green Bay area there a a daily show called the Training Camp Report that goes through everything that happened during each days practices. Since I know that all Packer fans don’t live in the Green Bay area I have decided to share with you what is discussed on this show every night. Tonight’s show features Johnnie Gray (former Packer) and Drew Smith (local sport reporter).

• They first talk about the enthusiasm in camp which is always a good thing. It seems like Rodgers can handle the pressure of taking over as the starting QB.
• They then talk to Peter King (who was at practice) who says that Favre is excited to play and wants this situation resolved. King thinks Favre would be willing to come back but at this point wants to be cut since he doesn’t think he is going to get the starting job in Green Bay. King thinks that Favre might come back to practice on Wednesday. Johnnie Gray seems to think that the situation has gotten way out of hand. Drew Smith also says that Rodger Goodell should just butt out of the situation since he doesn’t have the authority to make a decision in the matter.
• They then address where Favre could be traded. They talk about the Jets and Bucaneers. Jeff Garcia is obviously not happy about the situation since he essentially rips into the media. Neither of them actually see a team that would realistically want Favre so they think he will either retire of rejoin the Packers.
• They then address how Rodgers is handling the pressure. I like how he is handling the situation. Through this whole situation I have gained a lot of respect for Rodgers. Rodgers has handled this whole situation the best he can. If Rodgers can get through this whole situation I think he is going to have a very successful career. Drew and Johnnie both think Rodgers did well in practice and they both think he will do well this season.
• They then talk through the two practices. The practices seemed a little light but they were mostly used in order to get all the players ready for camp again.
• A feature on all the new players getting used to training camp is then shown. They all say that it has been a smooth transition mostly due to the veterans. It seems like Jennings really likes Jordy and is teaching him the position. James Jones is also teaching Jermichael Finley.
• Atari Bigby is the player profile today. Bigby is asked about Favre and he really doesn’t say anything new. He talks about getting ready for this season. He seems confident that he will have another good season. He thinks as becomes more comfortable playing that he will continue playing better. It sounds like at this point that Rouse will take Collins spot over Bigby’s spot.
• The injury list is then presented which is essentially the whole DT lineup. Jolly supposedly did practice though. Harrell is interviewed and it seems like he is upset about the setback. It sounds like a lot of the veterans are also only practicing once a day.
• The Ryan Grant situation is then addressed. Johnnie thinks that it will be a problem if it persists. The good thing is that Grant did attend the OTAs so that should allow him to get back in the groove quicker. Drew and Johnnie hint at Brandon Jackson looking really good if things don’t improve with Grant.
• It’s fan feedback time. One fan is extremely excited about the season and asks what impact Johnnie thinks Jordy will have this season. Johnnie thinks Jordy looks a lot like Ruvell Martin know. He seems to be willing to block and is willing to go up for balls. Johnnie thinks he has the skills to be successful.
• Today’s Packers Trivia is: How many players on the current roster have been in a Packers uniform longer than Aaron Rodgers? The answer is 9.
• Today’s Play of the Day: Aaron Rodgers completes a long pass to a diving Ruvell Martin.

Since I live in the Green Bay area I am able to get all the local programming in the area. One of these programs is the TCR (Training Camp Report) which is a half hour program that goes over everything that happened during training camp. I will be recapping everything that is discussed in these programs throughout training camp for those of you who aren’t able to get the program since you live out of state.

So onto today’s training camp report:

Obviously it starts with the Brett Favre saga. It is mostly about how Favre is going to report for a couple days yet. There are some interviews with the players who seem to have no idea what is going with the Favre situation and they don’t really say anything about how they feel about the situation. Neither Drew Smith or Tom Ristow (two local sports reporters) thinks that Favre will show up for training camp if he is going to be traded.

The show then turns to the burning camp questions. The first question is about when Ryan Grant will report to camp. They talk about the insulting offer and McCarthy is hoping that the contract will be settled soon. They talk about the other RB options that are happy to get the extra reps. Drew Smith and Tom Ristow both think that Grant really has no bargaining power and needs to report to camp soon or he will just hurt his case. The next burning camp question is who will start at the SAM position. I personally think Poppinga will win the position but I still think Chillar will see some playing time especially if it is true that the Packers have been working on some four linebacker sets. The final question is whether there will be a change at the guard spot. Drew Smith thinks Barbre could take the starting spot from Daryn Colledge. They also address the safety position and they think Rouse could get one of the starting spots.

Even though practice hasn’t begun yet there is an injury report. It is mostly Justin Harrell who is week to week. Pretty much the whole injury list is comprised of DTs. The defensive tackle position could be a big problem this year unless we get over these injury problems. The good thing is that Jolly is supposedly going to be able to practice today. KGB supposedly is also going to practice.

Some fan questions are then provided. First there are some opinions on the Favre situation. There is also a question about Favre and why they think that the Packers are trying to run him out of town. I personally don’t think they are running Favre out of town. I think he put himself in this situation with his indecision. I also think that Rodgers could very well be better than Favre this season. We haven’t seen Rodgers play yet so who knows what he can do. I personally think he will be a great QB for the Packers.

The Packers trivia question is: How long have the Packers used St. Norbert Colledge for housing during training camp? The answer is 51 years.