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It’s the end of July, so that means one thing — the annual start of Green Bay Packers Training Camp. This year, the practices are later, with start times ranging from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. This means that we don’t have to get up as early as in recent years, but we do get there early enough to get a good seat. You’ll just have to come out at whatever time you think “early” is and see how many people are ahead of you in line.
The area outside the Ray Nitschke Field stands is buzzing with workers and fans before the gates open.
The first day drew a reported record crowd of spectators.
Once practice starts, there is a line of folks who will get in once others leave.
A panoramic view of the practice fields.
Players starting to arrive via the traditional kids’ bikes.
Players milling about before practice starts. DE Dean Lowry (#94) is among those who arrive early.
Assistant coaches, along with DT Mike Daniels (#76) and LB Clay Matthews (#52).
DE Nick Perry (#53) is on the P.U.P. (Physically Unable to Perform) list to begin training camp. So he spends his time watching his teammates on the field.
LB Clay Matthews (#52) during the stretching period.
Defensive players hopping down the field during the stretching period.
DB Tramon Williams (#38), back in Green Bay, acknowledges the crowd.
A new footwork drill was a lively period.
QB Aaron Rodgers (#12) takes the field for the first time in 2018 Training Camp. Note: The offense spends the first half-hour or so of practice inside the Don Hutson Center.
Players participate in a “ball security” drill where RB’s and WR/TE’s run a gauntlet of players trying to strip them of the ball.
QB Aaron Rodgers (#12) running the first-string offense in a scrimmage period.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy, new Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine, and returning Offensive Coordinator Joe Philbin watch the scrimmaging.
RB Jamaal Williams (#30) making some yardage.
QB Aaron Rodgers (#12) conferring with HC Mike McCarthy about the last series.
QB DeShone Kizer (#9) takes a turn with the offense.
QB Aaron Rodgers (#12) gives some instruction to WR DeAngelo Yancey (#10) after a previous play.
WR Davante Adams (#17) watching his teammates.
A ballcarrier is in the middle of this scrum.
DT Kenny Clark (#97) and LB Vince Biegel (#45) attempt to stop RB Jamaal Williams (#30).
QB Aaron Rodgers (#12)... will he hand off or pass?
T David Bakhtiari (#69) and TE Jimmy Graham (#80).
Former GM Ted Thompson and new GM Brian Gutekunst.
CB Josh Hawkins (#28) slips while performing a drill with a coach.
Rookie P J.K. Scott (#6) booms another long one.
Offensive linemen working among themselves.
The offensive linemen during a “T.V. Timeout” period.
QB Aaron Rodgers (#12) gives some pointers to rookie QB Tim Boyle (#8).
LB Clay Matthews (#52) chases and apprehends a large donut on the north end of the practice field.
RB Ty Montgomery (#88) runs out a play.
More offensive linemen blocking with pads.
New TE Marcedes Lewis (#89), who came from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
New TE Jimmy Graham (#80), who came from the Seattle Seahawks.
RBs Aaron Jones (#30), Jamaal Williams (#30), and Ty Montgomery (#88).
RB Aaron Jones (#33) looks to find a hole in the defense.
QB Aaron Rodgers (#12) with protection from his fellow offensive mates.
RB Ty Montgomery (#88) sprints away from LB Jake Ryan (#47).
Above and below, QB Aaron Rodgers (#12) scrambling and throwing.
C Corey Linsley (#63) and T David Bakhtiari (#69).
The team gathers at the conclusion of practice.
S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (#21) gives a ball to a fan after practice.
We don’t often post images or stories about non-Green Bay Packers subject matter, but this one obviously is Packers-related. From Today in Pro Football History: “The expansion New Orleans Saints achieved a high-profile signing on July 6, 1967 when Jim Taylor, star fullback with the Green Bay Packers, inked a contract. Taylor had played out his option with the Packers, and while clearly on the downside of his great career at age 31 (he would turn 32 early in the ’67 season) and after 1811 carries, had been contacted by several teams. A native of Baton Rouge who had played his college football at LSU, the new franchise in New Orleans was a natural choice. Taylor returned for the 1968 season, but when he was assigned to special teams for the opening preseason game, he left the club and announced his retirement. For Taylor, it was an unbecoming finale to his Hall of Fame career.”
The original caption to this photo: “New Orleans Saints quarterback Billy Kilmer, left, and tailback Jim Taylor take time out to go over over a little strategy during a break in practice at New Orleans' San Diego, California, training camp in 1968.” (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune archive).
The process of replacing the playing surface at Lambeau Field is nearing completion, with the sewing of the artificial fibers into the real grass taking place now. The Packers have put a gallery of the entire process, which we think our readers may be very interested in. To see all the photos, please go here.
The Grassmaster turf (installed in 2007) was removed following the season, and the new surface is SISGrass.
From the Green Bay Press-Gazette: “The field is expected to be ready for play in early August, before Family Night. The just-removed turf was used for 115 Packers games, one college game and three concerts. More than 3,500 tons of sand, or more than 170 standard dump truck loads, were used. The new surface, which includes grass interwoven with synthetic fibers, is essentially the same.”
Also notable is the installation of new LED lighting in the stadium. “The Packers replaced the lights installed when Lambeau Field was renovated in 2003 with Musco Lighting LED lights that will be brighter and less expensive to operate. The new fixtures will cut kilowatts used by 60 percent. They are expected to last several decades. The difference in lighting might be subtle, but fans could notice brighter, more vibrant colors on the field and less light coming into the stands. Television viewers will notice better quality in slow-motion replays because the LED lights eliminate flicker, said Aaron Popkey, Packers director of public affairs.”
Packers.com photo
We came cross this image on an auction site and we aren’t sure if we’ve seen it before. According to the caption: “When Green Bay Packers quarterback Don Majkowski took the field for the team’s September 20, 1992 game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, never in his wildest dreams did he expect to see a future Hall of Famer lead the Packers to victory that day. However, after going down with an injury early in the contest, the “Majik Man” would watch a young man named Brett Favre from Southern Mississippi come from the bench and engineer his first NFL come-from-behind fourth quarter victory with a game-winning touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor. Offered here is 5.75x8.75" original photograph from that historic game.”
As we await the start of Training Camp 2018 at the end of the quietest time of the football calendar, we are sharing two photos related to the Green Bay Packers’ 1958-59 seasons. Students of the team’s history will recall that the 1958 campaign brought their worst won-loss record ever — one win, 10 losses, one tie. As described by New York Herald-Tribune scribe Red Smith (a Green Bay native): “They overwhelmed one, underwhelmed ten, and whelmed one.” In the photo above, according to a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel caption: “Packers coach Ray (Scooter) McLean (left), with Packers chief scout Jack Vainisi, raises his hand in making the first choice in the 1959 NFL draft in Philadelphia. The Packers chose Randy Duncan of Iowa (Photo: Journal Sentinel files).”
The timing of this is a bit confusing when you first think about it. When you dig a bit, you find that the 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959 (Vince Lombardi was hired one week later on January 28, 1959). Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. While McLean was head coach for the 1958 season, his contract expired on December 31, 1958 and he resigned days after the conclusion of the season (on December 14, a 34-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum). So, McLean was present for the 1959 draft’s first four rounds, but not the final twenty-six. This means that Vince Lombardi inherited McLean’s top draft picks, right?
Well, fortunately for Vince Lombardi, the Packers “chief scout” Jack Vainisi was more than capable — he was arguably the best at his job in the entire NFL at the time. Of the team which Lombardi inherited in 1959, an unprecedented eight players went on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of those eight, no fewer than six had been drafted by Vainisi before Lombardi even arrived — Forrest Gregg, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Paul Hornung, Jim Ringo, and Ray Nitschke. Almost 10 percent of the players in the Green Bay Packers’ Hall of Fame were drafted by Vainisi. What makes this all the more remarkable is that Vainisi's career lasted only nine seasons. He died of a heart attack in 1960, aged just 33, before seeing the fruits of his hard work achieve the 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, and 1967 championships.
The second part of this post depicts the Chicago Daily Tribune’s “TV Week” cover for August 9-15, 1958. This was back when the College All-Star Game was held each year, pitting the best of the nation’s colleges against the previous year’s NFL champions. The game that year would feature LB Ray Nitschke from the University of Illinois and his teammates against the Detroit Lions on August 15. The collegians came out on top, 35-19, in front of 70,000 fans at Chicago’s Soldier Field. After a rain-shortened event in 1976, Chicago Tribune Charities had every intention of staging a 1977 game. However, with coaches increasingly unwilling to let their high draft picks play and insurance costs on the rise due to higher player salaries, the Tribune announced on December 21, 1976, that the game would be discontinued.
Sources: Green Bay Packers Media Guide, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, History.com, Google, Wikipedia.
Football season is sneaking up on us, folks. If you’d like to study up on the new rules for the 2018 season, plus every other existing rule, you can download the 2018 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League by clicking here.
