1st, R-Man Packerboi had a complete brain fart and didn't realize until after arriving at Training Camp that you were going to be at today's practice. My apologies for not meeting up.
Ok, here is my fluff report:
My best friend since HS is a season ticket holder at the club level and this is his 2nd season as a ticket holder. Allow me to say this right now, if you know ANYONE who is a season ticket holder for the club level, begin sending them multiple gifts, bribe them in everyway you can, and become their best friend. Because neither he or I had any idea what we were in for today.
As a season ticket holder at the club level or a luxury box owner, you get certain perks. One of them is to attend a Packers training camp practice with 2 tickets. Because Adam had no idea what the tickets were for or what they did, we didn't know what was coming. Oddly, the tickets came with instructions to enter Nitschke Field at the North enterance. On these instructions it says we are to dress business casual, can only have one bottle of water with us, no beers/food/or anything, and still cameras are allowed but no video recording. I'm thinking WTF, these are pretty strict rules for watching training camp-but whatever, maybe they don't want this new facility trashed.
We arrive at Lambeau, and after getting a spanking new Aaron Rodgers jersey and Adam sporting a new Woodson jersey we head to the north enterance. There we see a few others with these same colored tickets forming a small line and getting "checked in". Again, I have no idea why we need to "check in" and I am thinking this is probably some little formality and then we'll head to the bleachers and park our butts where everyone else was.
WRONG.
We're greeted by Michelle, a PR director who takes Adam's name and says "oh and this must be your guest". Michelle shakes my hand then proceeds to hand me a stick on name tag with my full name already on it and points to a table where she asks me and Adam to sign a waiver. Then realization dawns on me I am somewhere very few get to be. The waiver waves any liability for injury to me during practice. I look around a corner and realize Im going to be on the field, with the team, and have received the same access as the media gets.
We're told to please gather around another PR person for the Packers who gives us the following instructions:
1.) Soda/Juices/Bottled water and cooling tents are provided to us during practice free of charge. We can go anywhere with the water but sodas/juices have to be drank in the tent area itself.
2.) Still cameras can be used but no video taping. My cell phone needs to be silenced or shut off so not to distract from the players or coaches.
3.) We're not to illict autographs, interfere with the practice itself, we remain behind a yellow line that is right where the field starts (media has same rule), there is no sitting on the field itself, and pretty much don't act like a tool. Otherwise have fun and enjoy yourself.
Adam and I look at each other, pick our jaws up from the floor, and after nearly shatting ourselves with excitement, we enter the VIP section and start to mingle...
At this time it's about 1:50pm (practice will start at 200pm) and he sun is out in full force. It's hot. It's humid. And it's about 93 degrees with a light wind which is amazingly cool considering how hot it is.
Nitschke Field: The facility is gorgeous. Period. Me and Adam bend down and we can touch and feel the grass which is exact same kind Lambeau has. It's incredibly resilient and takes a pounding during practice. Not a single blade appears damaged after practice. The players go in and out of the Hudson Center which is directly behind me but most stayed outside.
I figure, I may never have this opportunity again so I am going to get as close as I can to this yellow line without stepping on the field and practicing with them.
Me and Adam stand together and a guy comes up and stands right next to us. Players start to arrive and I am like a star struck kid. Players are 2-3 feet away from me and I can see everything on the field. You may walk anywhere up and down the field you like as long as your not on the field itself and this allows me and Adam to at times be within inches of players. You can hear every word they say and also the coaches and assistants. More on um..the coaches "advice" they give in a bit. With this access, you learn and see far more then you would in the bleachers, but even that is impressive. Sight lines are perfect and there is no obstructed view anywhere.
Back to the guy standing next to me. I look over, see he has the same stick on name tag and read it. It's Clark Judge from CBS Sportsline.com. He and some other reporters are in town traveling from team to team doing TC reports. I nod to him, tell him I read some of his stuff and he says thank you then asks me who I write for. LMAO. I explain I'm just a fan who got this amazing access and he smiles and says "Oh, who do you know on the team?" Again, I laugh at him and say .."Um, like no one." then explained how we got in here. He think's that its incredibly cool for a fan to get this access and says to me "this is another reason why The Packers are the class of the NFL. I have never heard of another team doing this". And I couldn't agree more. Others I meet or mingle with are Rod Burks from WTMJ, Jen Lada from Fox 6, and chatted with Tom P. from the GBPG. He looks about 5 for the record and I have no clue how he landed such a cool job at such a young age. Pelissero is very attentive. Takes good notes and pays close attention to whats going on. It makes total sense now why he his tweets and blogs are so detailed.
Anyway here is a break down of what I saw and observations I made. I'll group them by position (I'll do most of them) and include coaches feedback and things heard today. I'm going to post some initial pics I took then add more later once Adam downloads his. Had I known where I was going to be, I would have taken a real camera. Anywho, here goes:
TE's/WR's: In 2008, MM said JerMichael Finley was the most gifted athlete on the team. Now I know why. First, he's big. Built extremely well, he's 6'5 and looks even taller in person. Moves incredibly well, has great speed for a TE, and can catch the ball every bit as good as any wide out we have. He looked VERY good today. Grabbed a 35 yard pass down the field after AJ Hawk made a terrific attempt to pick the pass, Finley makes an incredible catch and the crowd goes nuts. He's talks a little trash to AJ, but smiles all the way, so he's just razzing him. Lee also looked good, made some good catches, but you can tell from pure ability, Finley hands down has it all. After Finley makes another good catch, I get a tap on my shoulder. Turn around and it's an ESPN reporter asking me who caught that. She's from ESPN, don't recognize her, and I tell her Finley. She looks at me and says "damn, that kid is going to be really good". James Jones also looks very good. Has terrific and catches everything away from him. He's ripped and like so many young players on this team, has zero fat on him. Jones and Jennings come to sideline to get some water and get some stretching in. Jennings lays literally right in front of me with a trainer who bends him in ways I didn't know the human body could bend without breaking something. I look down at him, say hi and he gives me a nod. I still cannot believe I am this close to these guys and have this access. As for Driver, he's hands down the fan favorite. Anything he does gets a rise from the crowd. Fans love him and he plays them like a fine tune. Swain is good and made some plays today, Ruvell Martin also looked good, but this team is just plain deep at WR. Even if Swain makes the roster, I just can't see him getting any real playing time. The Bears would be salivating to get any of these guys.
QB's: Alot of hand wringing has been made about Brian Brohm. In a word, relax. I realize I am only watching one practice but this kid can throw. Throws a tight spiral and caught several WR's in stride. Granted, he had zero pass rush on him , wind wasn't bad, and he's playing with WR's most teams would kill for. Still, he didn't look that bad to me. Flynn actually looked like the #3 today as he got rattled running with the #2 offense. The defense had confused and coverage was very tight. More on the D in a bit..
offensive line Brian Giacomoni is a beast. Period. He's 6'7 and stands out not only because he is so tall but also because when he lines up and gets good pad level (ugh...did I just say that?), he is damn near impossible to move. Team has high hopes for him and you could see why today. Tony Moll? in a word...sucks. Justin Harrell mauled him and Clay Matthews blew past him like his feet were in cement. Unless he dramatically improves, buh bye now. Scott Wells is SMALL in person. I have no idea how he became a center but Spitz is a much bigger force to move. Here again, looks like Spitz will take over as our C.
DE's/LB's: Jeremy Thompson got leap frogged over one Clay Matthews who began practicing with the #1s. Thompson is a big boy, has an ideal size and can move fast but he's got a 'tude. About 3 feet in front of me, he gets plastered and run over by Finley, yells out an obsenity, and crumples to the field in pain. Winston Moss says "get up son. Come on-let's go. You can get up..gotta keep going" to which Thompson glares at Moss, ignores him and only rises to one knee. Thompson slowly gets up and keeps his back to Moss who keeps encouraging him to get into the next play. He I guess hurt his shoulder, briefly left, then came back but didn't do much. He didn't look happy, looked gassed, and wasn't listening to Moss or Greene. He just looked like he wanted to be done. Matthews looked good and moves between hashes very well. Looks faster then Hawk and puts in ALOT of effort. He hussles and has a ton of energy. Hawk was also moving well and clearly looks healthy. Kampmann interestingly got alot of one-on-one time with Greene. Again, it's one practice but Kampmann didn't look all that happy today. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was what was planned with Greene, but they seem to be really kissing his ass to make him happy. Today, I didn't see it.
Punters/Crosby: I have no clue what's up with Mason, but better hope the last 2 days were a fluke. Again he missed FG's from 35 and 40 and pushed him wide left. Slocum was shaking his head, leaned into MM, and they exhanged some words then MM loudly exhaled. Between this and our punters, MM will be growing some grey hairs very soon.
DB's: We're very deep and very good. Collins looked great today, made some plays and actually looks very comfortable in zone. Tramon is also damn good and Al Harris hasn't lost a step. He can easily cover any of our WR's and did a great job causing a fumble after Finley didn't do a good enough job holding onto a pass. Woody is well, Woody. Pro bowler all the way.
RB's: Ryan Grant is clearly a leader on the team. Very vocal. Very chatty. Always encouraging the other guys. "Let's go Wynny. That's the way. Come on lumpy..push it. push!!" As Im standing right at the field, Edgar Bennett has 2 kids pull out a sled and the RB's take turns with it. Every player is no more then 2 feet from me taking to the sled. DeShawn Wynn plows through the sled so hard it comes off the field barrelling towards me. Now I know why I signed the waiver. Had I not gotten out of the way, I would have gotten the sled right to my side and probably broke some ribs. LOL though it would have sucked to break 'em, I'd have a hell of a story to tell. As for Wynn, if he can stay healthy he's a bruising back. Absolutely plowed and plastered Bishop and made another player pay for getting in his way. B-Jax looked ok. Nothing special yet. Lumpkin again ok..we'll see how does in pre-season.
I'll post some other bits and pieces as I think of them and post more pics. Just an amazing day overall and never thought I would get this access. I had a hand placed onto my left bicep and gently pushing me to my left. Look behind me and it's Nick Barnett "excuse me dude". Ya, like that'll ever happen again.
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