First Practice of 2010 Training Camp

As promised, we’re here with a large selection of photos from the first Training Camp practice of the 2010 season. The day started out wet, but it didn’t stop the running of the first annual 5K race which started and ended at Lambeau Field. It drizzled on and off the rest of the afternoon, but practice was held outside on the Ray Nitschke Field as scheduled at 2:00 p.m.

The gates open 90 minutes before practice, and many fans joined the Packerville, U.S.A. staff in securing a good spot to watch the festivities.

Players arrive casually at various times prior to the start, and get to work warming up or visiting with their teammates. The offense always wears white “away” jerseys (seen here), while the defense always gets the green “home jerseys.”

LB Brady Poppinga (#51) shares a laugh with some of his defensive pals.

Stretching and light calisthenics are of course part of the routine at the beginning of practice.

RB Ryan Grant does a few stretching runs with the offense.

TE Jermichael Finley (#88) is expected to have a great season.

Head coach Mike McCarthy and QB Aaron Rodgers chat a bit as practice gets underway.

Some scrimmage action early on.

Rodgers’ first throw of camp.

2010 top draft pick Brian Bulaga (#75) in the offensive huddle.

Special teams drill has Chris Bryan (#9) kicking in competition with Tim Masthay (#8). Since special teams are made up of both offense and defense, the “receiving” team wears the orange covers on their helmets, making them easier to distinguish on film.

Some of the defensive secondary players wait for their turn in a drill.

An huddle of offensive players gets their instructions.

There was plenty of scrimmage action today — which is always enjoyed by the fans.

Aaron Rodgers between plays.

GM Ted Thompson (left) watches practice with some other members of the Packers’ staff.

Veteran WR Donald Driver (#80) and CB Charles Woodson (#21) talk things over on the sideline.

Rodgers lets one fly.

Every second of practice is filmed by cameras on lifts at each end of the field.

Donald Driver beats Charles Woodson for a touchdown.

Driver gets a good laugh out of it afterwards.

All-Pro Safety Nick Collins takes a breather during positional drills.

Later in practice, there is much more full scrimmaging.

Brandon Jackson (#32) gets through a hole for some yardage.

Somewhere in that mess is the ballcarrier.

WR Greg Jennings (#85) can’t quite get his hand on the pass.

Later, he‘s knocked down trying to get to another pass.

RB Ryan Grant (#25) is hauled down by the defense.

Offensive tackle Mark Tauscher (#65) takes a break during drills with the defensive line.

In pass rush drills, Justin Harrell (#91) fights it out with Nick McDonald (#67).

Other linemen take a break — Daryn Colledge (#73), Brian Bulaga (#75), and Chad Clifton (#76).

The quarterbacks head off to their own drills together — Matt Flynn (#10), Graham Harrell (#7), and Aaron Rodgers (#12).

So far, the best last name in camp is LB Frank Zombo (#47).

Practice is over and the entire team gathers at midfield for a final talk by Mike McCarthy.

Later tonight, there was a “Family Movie Night” held inside Lambeau Field, which ended with fireworks for all to enjoy. We hope you enjoyed this first set of photos.

Ready for 2010

Green Bay, Wisconsin is ready for the onslaught of activity that is Training Camp, and from tomorrow (Saturday) through early February, we pro football fans will have plenty to keep our attention. The first practice of the season gets underway at 2:00 p.m. on Ray Nitschke Field, the beautiful facility which opened just a year ago. There is a 5K run in the morning with over 3,000 participants, and the day concludes with a free family movie night inside Lambeau Field, followed by fireworks. The Packerville, U.S.A. staff is headquartered in our yearly hotel, which is just a short walk away from the practice field. We will be here until Tuesday to bring you some images of your 2010 Green Bay Packers.

Greetings from the Shareholders Meeting

We took a day off from the blog to recharge and re-energize for the trip North and the beginning of Training Camp 2010. We arrived in Titletown, U.S.A. at 10:15 a.m. for the 11:00 a.m. Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. A large crowd (est. 8,300+) was on hand on a beautiful day to hear the business reports from the last year and projects for the future. Above, we see the Packers executives, board of directors and executive committee members coming onto the field to applause from the crowd.

Packers president Mark Murphy ran the meeting and presented a wide variety of information from upcoming entertainment productions about Vince Lombardi to the looming labor situation in the N.F.L.

A couple of views of the large crowd on hand in Lambeau Field today.

GM Ted Thompson presented the “football report,” and as usual said a lot without revealing hardly anything specific.

Everyone received a copy of the financial report, and while we’d like to share it here, it is technically confidential.

Following the business portion of the meeting, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell participated in a question and answer session hosted by Mark Murphy. Many of the questions dealt with the labor issues and other financial matters within the league.

The meeting lasted two hours and twenty minutes, and we see Goodell signing some autographs after it was over. The players check in tomorrow and the first practice is set for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Stay tuned for photos and reports from practice.

Corralling the Colts

Stopping Johnny Unitas and his Baltimore Colts (Packerville, U.S.A. still has not forgiven them for moving to Indianapolis some 26 years ago) are Green Bay defensive stalwarts Dave Hanner (#79), Henry Jordan (#74), and Willie Wood (#24). What a great photo of Jordan giving his all on a play to deny the offense the goal line.

Four days until Training Camp 2010 begins!

Another Day at Practice

We’ve had a few lengthy blog posts the last few days here, so we’re going to back off the quantity a bit in the next few days and just present some photos. In another early Sixties practice in Green Bay, coach Lombardi is giving a talk to the troops which include Ron Kramer (#88), Boyd Dowler (#86), Lew Carpenter (#33), and Jim Taylor (#31). Behind the coach and Carpenter is Jerry Kramer. Also in the background is Ken Iman (#53). We really do love the face mask-less helmets the guys would wear during the week in practice.

Starting on Thursday, we’ll be in Titletown through Tuesday, and we’ll have some photos for all of you from practice and whatever else we deem interesting enough to present.

Looking at 1964

Today we move ahead one year to 1964, with a presentation of Sports Illustrated’s “Pro Football 1964” season preview issue. The cover photo is from the 1963 N.F.L. title game that saw the Chicago Bears beat the New York Giants. The poor Giants lost three championship games in a row — 1961, 1962, and 1963.

This is an overview of the coming season from the Sports Illustrated staff.

Instead of scanning the previews for all teams, we’re only focusing in on the part of the Western Conference section which features their analysis of the Green Bay Packers for 1964.

Lastly, there was a very nice spotlight article on offensive line blocking featuring the Packers.