RB James Starks
Ron from Maple, WI
Vic, I’m pretty sure Kathleen meant cane and if she sees your can she may just kick it.
Well she should and, to make it up to her, I’m going to send her a Cenex gas card.
Mike from West Bend, WI
In this kinder, gentler NFL, is it ok that I get a little giddy when I hear that practice had a nasty, physical edge to it? To me, that’s the best development I could see so soon.
I liked it, too.
Justin from Rochester, MN
Vic, I view all linemen in a 3-4 scheme as effectively being interior linemen, but I see on the roster some are designated DTs (Pickett, Raji, Jolly, etc.) while some are listed as DEs (Wilson, Jones, Daniels, etc.)
It just means that Picket, Raji and Jolly can and will play the nose, whereas Wilson, Jones and Daniels are strictly ends in a 3-4.
Lance from Saskatoon, Canada
Hey, Vic, did you catch NFL Network’s piece today on the Bengals running the Oklahoma drill at their training camp? I thought no one was using this drill anymore; what gives? Also, if Marvin Lewis brought the drill to Cincinnati to make the team tougher, is this something the Packers could use for the same purpose?
The Oklahoma has always been used as a tone setter. Chuck Noll did it the first day of rookie camp and the first day of practice after veterans reported. The second one was the best one because he liked to create spicy matchups, such as putting the highest-drafted offensive lineman against Joe Greene. It was all about creating an atmosphere of confrontation and competition. The Oklahoma turned the volume up a notch and it sent a message: Football is a contact sport. Apparently, Coach Lewis wants to send that message to his players, and he might even be trying to send a little message to the rest of the AFC North. The Packers play at Cincinnati in Week 3. By the way, did anybody get hurt?
Hermes from Richmond, CA
The pads went on. I’m sure you’re excited. What are your thoughts after the first full-pads practice? Anything catch your eye?
TE Brandon Bostick did a one-on-one interview with packers.com back in the spring. Here’s that story.
Mike from Howard, WI
After the draft, I was interested to see what the two seventh-round receivers had to offer. With their injuries, are there other rookie receivers we should take note of?
Tyrone Walker of Illinois State caught my attention on Sunday. He caught a short pass over the middle and held onto the ball despite being rudely pinballed by defenders. One sits down, another stands up. That’s the roster talent to which I was referring.
Gabe from Twin Lakes, WI
Vic, I thought all the teams in the same division play all the same teams, but the Bears don’t play the 49ers or the Falcons. Does this have anything to do with us making the playoffs and the Bears not making it, so we get a harder schedule?
That’s the slight difference in scheduling. The teams in the NFC North, West and South will play against each other in 2013 according to where they finished in the 2012 standings. Ones against ones, twos vs. twos, etc. I’ve seen this work against last-place teams in years when the last-place teams moved up the standings, while the previous year’s first-place teams sustained an injury at quarterback or got old or whatever and moved down. You never know what will happen, but I agree with you that the 49ers and Falcons make the Packers’ schedule a little more daunting.
Andrew from Jacksonville, FL
Vic, other reporters seem to be fixated on these musical regen breaks during practice. What’s your take?
They’re part of the evolution of NFL practice regimens. Chuck Noll didn’t use horns and neither he nor any of his coaches carried a whistle. His practices shifted gears seamlessly. When he was replaced by Bill Cowher, horns pierced the air. When I went to Jacksonville, I was struck by Tom Coughlin’s super structure: horns, cards and a voice on a megaphone announcing a new period. Jack Del Rio introduced the construction of an air-conditioned shelter to which the team would repair twice a practice to get out of the Florida heat and cool down their bodies. In Green Bay, I was introduced to a scoreboard that timed the periods and ended them with a buzzer. Now we have music. Life is about change.