Camp 1- Day 1 Report

tromadz

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Cliff, from JSONLINE:

Minicamp Report - Camp 1, Day 1
It's only a minicamp. It was only the first day. But wide receiver Greg Jennings, one of the Green Bay Packers' second-round draft picks, looked smooth and fluid with some quickness and burst in and out of his cuts. One of the prettiest plays of the day came in 7-on-7 when Brett Favre hit Jennings on a hook route. With veteran cornerback Charles Woodson in coverage (Coach Mike McCarthy said he was in press coverage, although it appeared that Woodson was off the linel), Jennings drove hard upfield and then worked back for the ball. "He looked to be very natural," said McCarthy. "He had bump-and-run and we refer to the technique as a speed move where he has to adjust his route off his weight and cross the face of the DB. I almost had to look and check his number. I thought it was Donald (Driver). (Jennings) came snapping out of it and caught the ball in stride and turned it right up. Watching him catching punts, very natural. I think we were right on that one."

Woodson later sat on a comeback route by Jennings and intercepted a Favre pass. Woodson spiked Jennings on the play and lost his balance, but came up with the catch. It was one of several times where Woodson stumbled or fell during the practice. He appeared to be having problems with his cleats on the Don Hutson Center FieldTurf. After practice, Woodson said he would change his cleats before the two practices Saturday.

Woodson was listed as No. 21 on the roster, but wore No. 2. He said he'd like to wear the number permanently, but NFL rules prevent corners - or wide receivers, for that matter - from wearing numbers below 10. Woodson practiced only at corner.

Samkon Gado was the only veteran running back to practice, but he looked fully recovered from the sprained medial collateral ligament that knocked him out of the final two games of last season. "He's very explosive," said McCarthy. "I think you saw that in some of the lead zone runs." Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport were in uniform and took part in some light running and stretching early in practice, but won't be ready to go full speed until at least the start of training camp, according to McCarthy.

What are McCarthy's early impressions of second-year quarterback Aaron Rodgers? "Very bright," was one. "More athletic than he showed in college," was another. Rodgers threw a lot of checkdowns in the team sessions, but McCarthy praised him for his decision-making. "I thought he played controlled today," said McCarthy. "I thought he was very composed." What about Rodgers' arm strength? "His arm strength is good," said McCarthy. "He spins the ball, which is important in this part of the country."

Favre shared time with the other quarterbacks in camp - Rodgers, fifth-round draft pick Ingle Martin and free agent Tom Arth - but looked fit and threw some nice balls. Along with connecting with Jennings on the hook, Favre also threw a perfect deep ball over Driver's outside shoulder for a big gain.

The Packers worked William Whitticker at tackle and Kevin Barry at guard. Whitticker started the day working at right tackle behind Mark Tauscher. But when Adrian Klemm dropped out of practice with an apparent injury, Whitticker moved to the left side and worked with the No. 1 unit. Chad Clifton underwent ankle surgery following the season and won't practice this camp. The only other tackles were fifth-round pick Tony Moll, who worked on the left side, and free agent rooke Josh Bourke, who worked on the right side.

Barry worked with the second unit at right guard. Second-round draft pick Daryn Colledge practiced with the first unit at left guard. Second-year man Junius Coston, who worked at left guard all last summer and throughout the Packers' off-season sessions this spring, worked with the first unit at right guard. It was the first day that Coston had ever practiced there. Third-round pick Jason Spitz worked with the second unit at left guard. Scott Wells was the No. 1 center with Chris White behind him.

A.J. Hawk worked with the first unit at outside linebacker. ... Roy Manning lined up as the other outside backer with the No. 1 defense. ... With free agent safety Marquand Manuel, who is coming off a groin injury from the Super Bowl, watching practice, Mark Roman was still lining up with the first unit at safety. ... Robert Ferguson lined up with the first unit at wide receiver opposite Driver. ... Third-round pick Abdul Hodge worked at middle linebacker and looked athletic on a deep drop in 7-on-7, where he deflected a Favre pass.

Other players coming off injuries who didn't practice included running back Chaz Williams; defensive linemen Kenny Peterson, Donnell Washington, draft pick Johnny Jolly and free agent Tim McGill; linebackers Brady Poppinga and Kurt Campbell; cornerback Jason Horton; and safety Jeremy Thornburg.

Three players practiced on a tryout basis: linebacker Kevin Schimmelmann, Stanford; fullback Ben Brown, Tabor; and offensive guard LeQualan McDonald, Baylor.
 

bozz_2006

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looking good. i'm glad jennings was able to make his mark. i think spitz is starting by mid-season. is there any talk within the org. about moving hawk to MLB?
 

PackerLegend

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Little more To Kinda Go With This

Fresh Start For Green and Gold, McCarthy

There were nearly four months of paperwork between Mike McCarthy being named the Green Bay Packers head coach, and Mike McCarthy getting the chance to coach his team on a football field.

On Friday, during the Packers' first mini-camp practice of the 2006 season, he used that opportunity to evaluate both his players' abilities and his own approach.

"It felt great to get out there ... everybody's excited to be out there, because this is what it's all about; coaches coach and players play," McCarthy said. "Obviously the meetings are important, the off-season programs are very important, the individual time with the coach and players are important, but this is the closest thing we have to the game so this is what everybody looks forward to and it's an exciting time."

McCarthy has seemed to carry excitement in his back pocket since being named the organizations 14th head coach on Jan. 12. At that time he released a mission statement as the first step of securing an open line of communication between his message and the players and franchise that would be molded around it.

"A positive environment will be created with "leadership" that keeps its eye on the target of establishing a championship football team," the statement read. "The direction will be fueled with constant communication to ensure everyone is on board."

In his first full-team meeting, first-thing Friday morning, McCarthy reaffirmed those expectations.

"Any time a group comes together for the first time you have to try and establish the targets that you're trying to hit: Establish your plan and how you're going to address it and that was basically the outline that I followed," he said. "The immediate short-term target is that I want to see the guys compete.

"The second thing I wanted to make sure that we get done is to make sure everything looks the way we want it to look. I'm talking about the meetings, the meeting structure, the proper things we're getting installed. Everyone learns differently; make sure we have the different avenues to address all the players to make sure everybody's on the same page. To make sure what it needs to look like in the training room, in the equipment room, you know every aspect of our football program and most importantly to get the practice environment the way it needs to."

Watching the non-contact, full-throttle, mid-afternoon practice, McCarthy has developed an environment where competition appears to be at a premium. And with most veterans knowing their roles, even within new systems and under a new coach, it was the offensive-minded coach himself who felt a little out of sync at times.

"I felt a little bit in limbo on the field today because I'm so used to coaching the offense full-time," McCarthy said. "I want to make sure I'm giving Jeff (Jagodzinski) his space and his time to grow as an offensive coordinator so I found myself doing some of it and then backing off and walking down to the defense, and so I kind of felt in between and I guess it's just something to get used to because I'm just used to being so much more active on the field. I would think that's a normal transition."

As an offensive coach in the NFL for the past 13 seasons, and with 19 combined NCAA and NFL coaching seasons behind him, McCarthy ushered in the newest era of Green Bay Packers football with the precision and commitment that he expects of himself and the franchise he's been asked to lead back to prominence.

"I think a day like today you prepare a long time for," he said. "It's been a personal goal of mine to have this position and a lot of thought goes into it, particularly the team meeting this morning. As I went through my presentation this morning I found myself trying to delete things because you have so much to say but when you do deliver your message you need to cut the fat out.

"That was my focus this morning because in any profession once you get started you're fine."

The Packers will look to continue their fresh start with min-camp practices Saturday at 10:15 a.m. and 3 p.m. inside the Don Hutson Center.
 

PackerLegend

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Some Pictures Of Mini-Camp

By The Way Woodson Is Wearing #2

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Pictures are being retarded so click here Mini-Camp Pictures
 

DePack

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Popcynical said:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/photo?slug=db0fe6ccaab44188a184961bf4d4159a.packers_football_mini_camp_wimg110&prov=ap

Hmm, Roman showed up after all.


Yea and Manuel still has a groin injury from the Super Bowl? That was 3 months ago. How bad was that injury?
 

CaliforniaCheez

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Popcynical said:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/photo?slug=db0fe6ccaab44188a184961bf4d4159a.packers_football_mini_camp_wimg110&prov=ap

Hmm, Roman showed up after all.

Sounds like you believed the hatchet job the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did on Roman while he finished his degree.

Hey, he may need it but not this year.
 

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