Training Camp Thread

[BigDee]

The week of August 15th I will be there to watch the practices.

[JHSFIVE]

I'm throw Ricky Elmore in the OLB mix... I think Walden is the favorite but i do think Elmore will show some flashes.

Great, late find by TT.

[Bucksfans1and2]

It's free to watch practices right?

[ReasonablySober]

I'm throw Ricky Elmore in the OLB mix... I think Walden is the favorite but i do think Elmore will show some flashes.

Great, late find by TT.

Good call.

[MickeyDavis]

Yes it's free to watch practice. The bleachers seat around 2,000 I believe. You can also stand outside the fences on each end and watch but it will be kind of hard to see. Better to set a seat inside. One side is the bleachers, the other side is the Don Hutson Center, chain link fences on both ends. But with the field being 170 yards you may not see much being on the end. After the final preseason game the practices are no longer open, no one is allowed in and they cover the fences.

Keep in mind if it rains/storms they will practice inside and that's not open to the public.

[Newz]

I'm throw Ricky Elmore in the OLB mix... I think Walden is the favorite but i do think Elmore will show some flashes.

Great, late find by TT.

Good call.

You guys think Walden is the favorite? I really think Zombo is. The coaching staff seems to love that guy.

[Ayt]

One interesting thing to watch (that I had forgotten about) is Brad Jones as an ILB. With his athleticism that could work if he has the instincts for it.

[jakecronus8]

I think Zombo has to be the favorite as well. I know it's only one game, but he started the super bowl and played well. His job to lose.

[TheMove]

Cant wait to watch both practices on Sat and Sunday. Says it opens up at 5 30 even though practice starts at 7. Any idea how early to come to get a decent spot to watch.

[MickeyDavis]

Weekend practices definitely draw more than weekday. And there will be less practices this year since there are no more 2 a days. There will be a line by 5:30. Most will try to sit in the middle but I prefer picking one end or the other. Not all the way down but maybe on the 20 or so. You'll usually see more that way as not a lot happens right in the middle. And they do move the groups around.

Then again, as I said originally, things might be different this year with no OTA's or anything else.

I'll probably be up there mid afternoon, buy another SB shirt, eat at Curley's and be at Nitschke around 5 or so.

[ClassicJack]

I didn't realize there were no more 2 a days at all. I thought that they couldn't be padded up if they had a 2nd practice. That kinda sucks. Especially this year with no offseason work.

[MickeyDavis]

I just did some checking, teams can have a morning walk through and then a padded practice later. Not sure if the walk through's are considered practices that will be open or not. Packers are releasing their full training camp schedule tomorrow.

[ReasonablySober]

In the Prospect Rankings feature ESPN did, the Packers on the list were...

16. Erik Walden, LB, Green Bay Packers
Walden wasn't even the first afterthought to show up at linebacker for the Packers; Frank Zombo won a roster spot in training camp and then became a starter, only to go down with a knee injury in Week 14 that kept him out until the Super Bowl. That gave Walden, a veteran of four NFL teams in two years, a spot in the starting lineup. All Walden did was win Defensive Player of the Week in the season-ending win over the Bears, thanks to a three-sack performance. He served as an effective spy in the Packers' nickel package, and if he doesn't make the team this year, he'll bounce back somewhere as a linebacker specializing in pass defense.

15. James Starks, RB, Green Bay Packers
A speed score favorite (106.3) taken in the sixth round of the 2010 draft, Starks spent most of the year as a rumor tossed around by Packers fans desirous of an effective replacement for the injured Ryan Grant. And while his eventual run as the starter during Week 17 and the playoffs was a success owing partly to huge carry totals and middling run defenses, he did show the potential to be an eventual starter at the pro level. In 2011, he should be part of a one-two combination with Grant, although he could lose snaps to nominal third back Brandon Jackson because of the latter's ability as a pass-blocker.

11. Matt Flynn, QB, Green Bay Packers
Sure, he got to play with some of the best offensive talent in football during that narrow loss to the Patriots, but remember: He was replacing Aaron Rodgers. A guy who could do a reasonable impression of Rodgers in most weeks would be worth a lot of money, and while he struggled in relief of Rodgers against the Detroit Lions, Flynn showed more poise than anyone could have expected against the Patriots before that ugly final drive. Even if he doesn't take another snap for the Packers, he'll end up competing for a starting job somewhere down the line.

2. Morgan Burnett, S, Green Bay Packers
The Packers traded up to grab Burnett in the third round of last year's draft, and when starter Atari Bigby was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the season, Burnett went straight into the starting lineup. He impressed before tearing an ACL in Week 4, which ended his season. He'll be healthy for the beginning of the 2011 season, and as a solid all-around player with great athleticism, he's going to get better with experience. With Bigby not tendered a contract and the best secondary in the league around him, Burnett should end up maturing into the next great Packers defensive back.

Criteria:

For the uninitiated, this list is not like the prospect lists you read about in the world of baseball. Because the top prospects in college football are stars on national television before they get taken in the first round of the NFL draft, there's not much utility in listing them here. Instead, we use a combination of statistics, measurables, context and expected role to compile a list of under-the-radar players whom we expect to make an impact in the NFL, both in 2011 and beyond. To focus on these players, we limit the pool to guys who fit the following criteria:
• Drafted in the third round or later, or signed as a college free agent
• Entered the NFL between 2008 and 2010
• Fewer than five career games started
• Still on a rookie contract

[Ayt]

With Chillar gone, backup ILB has now become the position I'm most interested in when it comes to depth. It went from a position of strength to a position of weakness. Right now all we really have is Francois, the converted OLB rook in D.J. Smith, and possibly another converted OLB in Jones. I don't know much about any UDFAs we've signed.

[MickeyDavis]

Hopefully there is enough time to find another Shields or Zombo. Last year the staff got to look at those guys all summer.

[Ayt]

Hopefully there is enough time to find another Shields or Zombo. Last year the staff got to look at those guys all summer.

Yep. That is my main concern with Smith. He's converting from OLB and he came from Appalachian State. It is hard to think he could be more than a PS guy or maybe a ST guy his first year.

Our coaches rule though so I'm fairly sure they'll whip some people into shape. Maybe Francois is good and I just haven't noticed.

[MickeyDavis]

These were my thoughts after attending the first practice last year:

I didn't think Harrell looked quick and strong at all. He seemed out of shape to me. Every time the DL did drills he had to take a knee after every drill he did. No one else on the DL did this. They did DL individual drills against the OL right in front us. Harrell was the least impressive.

Woodson was great. He didn't do contact but he was money in coverage.

Both punters sucked.

Shields did look good.

Bishop absolutely wants to take Hawks job. He was very agressive. He leveled Quarless on one play and had the whole team fired up.

I thought Jordy looked good. James Jones did not.

Watched Mike Neal quite a bit. I'd say he was so-so in his first practice.

Bulaga held his own.

Will Blackmun looked very good..

[Marley2Hendrix]

Well then, I hope to see even more notes this time around!

[MickeyDavis]

I remember Shields being the first one on the practice field along with the punters. He dropped the first few and we were all laughing that he'd be cut before practice officially started.

Tomorrows first practice will be different than last year as this is not in pads, so no hitting.

[chuckleslove]

Glad you were wrong about both punters sucking because Masthay was huge in some of those games late in the season, in particular the 2 wins against the Bears and the Jets win.