*Rookie wide receiver Jordy Nelson recently finished up his first training camp in the NFL, and Packers.com checked in with him for the final time to get his thoughts and experiences in this training camp diary.
Nelson was a consensus All-America selection at Kansas State, and was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award in 2007. He posted school records as a senior with 122 receptions for 1,606 yards after beginning his career with the Wildcats as a walk-on safety.
In the Packers' 23-21 loss vs. Tennessee in the preseason finale last Thursday, Nelson returned two kickoffs for 50 yards, including a 29-yarder.*
I thought the last game went well. I got a chance to return a couple of kicks and was assignment sound in everything. I think I went out and did everything I was supposed to do and it made me feel confident after that game going into the season.
The final roster cuts are tough on everyone. It's not just rookies that are getting let go; there were guys that have been here for a while too. You just hate seeing it happen. It's not a fun weekend for players or coaches, but it is part of the job and part of the business. I think a lot of the guys that were released will get picked up by other teams and continue to play football.
With some time off last weekend, I was able to relax and sit back and watch some college football. I'm just trying to stay rested up because it is going to be a long year. Obviously everyone talks about the "rookie wall", so I'm just trying to gain as much rest as possible right now and hopefully have something at the end.
The film work has stepped up a little bit this week. Just knowing who you are going to play against player-wise for the whole game, you can kind of kind of study their tendencies more instead of just the general team. You can focus a little more on that and it takes a bit more time, but you've just got to put the time and effort into it.
Obviously Minnesota is a good defense. They went out this offseason and improved their defense by bringing some guys in. It's a rivalry game, so it's obviously going to be close and tough. We just have to go out and perform and play ball. Every game here is a big game, so we're here to try to win every game there is.
Right now I think we are focusing on what we need to do each day in practice, but as we get closer I think there will be more excitement. We're just focused on learning the install for the game plan and just preparing for Minnesota.
