(What did you think of the two-minute drill?)
I thought the two-minute work was very good. Anytime you start with your two-minute in training camp, number one, you're trying to get the mechanics done properly, and I thought both the offense and the defense did a very nice job with that. Defensively with the substitutions and I thought offensively the mechanics of it was pretty good. The production was OK, but for the first time out, I was pleased with the two-minute work.
(Did you feel the defense kind of won those?)
Well, if they keep them out of the end zone, they win, so they won both of them. But once again, I thought the drill overall of what we're trying to get accomplished and just all the different situations we hit today, working the crowd noise, and we also worked headsets have gone down with the communication, we hit that, and the two-minute. But to hit all those today, I thought it was a very sharp practice.
(With Nick Barnett sitting out, how did the headset communication work?)
I thought it worked out very good. I thought the practice as a whole was sharp. We had the game situation was when the headsets went out, along with the crowd noise. Very pleased with the work today.
(On Sunday night, what do the young guys need to do to catch your eye?)
Progress. I think it's very important for our younger players just to keep progressing, and sometimes that's what gets lost in a training camp process. Just make sure they're improving every day, because they spend the first two weeks going back through the installation, and Sunday night is going to be the first opportunity for them to be in a game-like situation. So, really just apply what they do the first 10 days leading up to the scrimmage, and go out and play football. Cut it loose and not be thinking too much.
(Do you try different combinations Sunday night on the defensive line to see who works well with each other?)
The most important thing we'll create Sunday night is to make sure we give everybody opportunities. Sometimes you don't hit those targets, but we want to make sure we're giving all of our players an opportunity to make our football team and contribute to the success of our football team.
(With the rookie class, is anybody starting to stick out?)
It's early. I think there's been individuals that have had good days. I really like what I've seen from Patrick (Lee). I think he's been consistent, and his ability to burst on a football, he's someone that when you talk about football players when they put their pads on and that's what it's supposed to look like, I've been pleased with him. I thought Brian Brohm has had some good practices. Matt Flynn continues to get better. Josh Sitton has done a nice job up front. He has showed up with the pads on. Very pleased with the impact they have made to our team, as far as a whole, giving us the ability to practice at the high level of efficiency that we've been able to do this early in camp. So that's the biggest thing that you look for from your young group, and we've accomplished that at a fast rate.
(Lee played bump-and-run at Auburn, will that help him at this level?)
It's going to help him here, I know that, because that's all we play. He's done a nice job. He definitely fits in with our group, and I think he's off to a good start.
(How was Ari Fleischer yesterday?)
Ari Fleischer was excellent. I wish he was here today. He was very insightful. I think anytime you have an opportunity to tap into someone that's been successful at his particular job and the keys he can give you. He's just very clear. He has a message, and he's very clear about it. He doesn't dangle in the middle ground. He's either this way or that way as far as his message, and I thought he did a great job with our team and the message he gave our team.
(What's the status on Favre? Have you talked to him?)
Number one, I haven't talked to him, and really, I'd just like to say again how impressed I've been with our football team. There's two parts to this situation, and really the football aspect of it, and that's all I've been focused on since training camp has started, is about is he here or isn't he here. He's not part of our 80-man roster right now. If or when he is, we'll deal with that then, and I think our team has done a great job of staying on point and focusing on training camp. Let's not forget how hard training camp is, and every team goes through it. But the second part of it, this is bigger than all of us. It's bigger than the organization, really bigger than Brett Favre, it's really, it's a league issue, with all the different things that are going on, and we've done a really good job of staying away from it. Because we can't control it. We're not a part of it. I'm not involved in it, which I enjoy. It's something that we all want resolved. I think both parties do. But it's really two different parts, and we've stayed out of the second part, and we'll continue to do so.
(So guys in the locker room are talking about it ...)
I'm not naïve to that, but once again, we can only control what we can control, and as long as the focus and the energy is applied to what we're trying to accomplish every day, that's my job. And I've told them straight out from day one and continued to echo the message to the team, is we need to stay on point, because we have a schedule in place that gives us the ability to take care of our bodies. We don't need to be getting worn out because of some outside element that we can't control. I'm sure they're all aware of it, but they're doing a really good job of taking care of their own business.
(If Brett signs this personal services contract, how much will he be around and involved?)
I have no idea about the personal service. The first I heard of the marketing agreement was really at Brett's press conference back in March, and now the timing of it is obviously the last couple of days. I'm not part of those discussions, I've never been part of any of those types of things, those negotiations, and that's really a non-football entity from my viewpoint.
(So to be clear, that was floating around in March, not something new?)
Something that's common. My understanding, I'm not going to act like I'm knowledgeable about it, but my understanding is it's something that Dan Marino and John Elway have gone through. I know Mark Murphy had talked to me about it in the past, how important it was for Brett to continue to be part of the organization after he was done playing. And frankly, it's good for Brett, because Brett needs to stay part of football, and obviously he's a part of the Green Bay Packers. This is really something that's been out there all along, but what's gone on here the last couple days, I'm not a part of.
(Was your last conversation with Brett when he was here for the Hall of Fame dinner?)
Correct. The last time I actually talked to him was the Hall of Fame (ceremony).
(Did you ask Ari Fleischer for advice on what you're going through now?)
Definitely, we talked about a number of things. It really wasn't more of his opinion; it was really mindset, thought process. Once again, I thought he was very insightful. Just the way he would process the information and how he would explain his message. He had his chain of command in order and stayed true to that and never wavered from that. It was just all good organizational policies and principles that you read about, and ours are being tested at this time. He really kind of reinforced a lot of the things that we have been doing.
(So he reinforced looking at the big picture ...)
Just like I just answered the question before, I think t it was very encouraging, Ari's words as far as how we are handling it as opposed to what his philosophy is. Definitely I think we are going about it the right way. For as popular or unpopular it is, for as difficult as it is, I think the organization has stood strong. They have been decisive, and they are continuing to work through this. Everybody wants this resolved; don't get me wrong. No one thought it would get to this point, but this is where we are.
(Are you disappointed Justin Harrell is not staying healthy?)
If you had asked me that question probably 10 years ago, I would probably have answered it differently. I've been in this league a long enough to know that there have been some really good players, great players that kind of go through a patch of injuries and it is unfortunate. I think Justin, he's going through that early in his career. I've seen a number of players come out of these types of situations, and we just need to stay positive with him. He is working hard, and injuries are an unfortunate part of the game. He just needs to continue to work through it.
(What's the injury update on Blackmon, Hall and Wynn?)
Blackmon had some soreness today, just being cautious with him and the foot. Everything looks good. Pat McKenzie feels good about Will Blackmon there. Korey Hall is a knee. He just strained his knee. He'll probably be day-to-day. Wynn had a slight concussion and we are just going through the proper mechanics of dealing with that. You don't want to take any chances there.
(He got that in the Wednesday night padded practice?)
Correct.
(How are Daryn Colledge and Allen Barbre doing in their competition?)
It is going well. I think Daryn has been very consistent, and I can't say enough of both of those guys with what they have done in the offseason. You are seeing it carry over to the field. I think Allen needs to be a little more consistent. He has had a couple of mental errors that he needs to get cleaned up. Once again, I think that whole group, the flexibility that they give us, especially for as young as they are, to play the different positions is definitely a benefit for us. To answer your question, it's going very well.
{sportsad300}(Is this the year Colledge needs to step up and show he belongs?)
I don't know you can say he doesn't belong. You've got to remember, Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz and Tony Moll, they were thrown right into it as rookies, so I think we're being a little hard on them if that's the opinion. I'm very pleased with what Daryn Colledge has accomplished in his career so far. Now, he has so much more in front of him and we need to get that out of him. That's our job as coaches, don't get me wrong, but Daryn Colledge has played good football for the Green Bay Packers and will continue to do so.
(Poppinga had his hand on the ground again today. Is that something you can use on a regular basis?)
Brady Poppinga is definitely a pass-rush threat. We have tinkered with that in the past, and that's really I think a reflection of Bob Sanders has expanded to defensively, just using the personnel groups, trying to get the most out of everybody. Everybody wants to talk about starting positions and there are not just 11 out of them, and that's something that Brady has been successful at in his college career and it's something that we like to tap into in different personnel groups.
(Will you use the Frisco package more because of what he gives you there?)
Those are really questions for game planning. I like it when they are out there. I know offensively, from a protection standpoint, the scheme really challenges you and you could be creative with it. Also the Bulldog package is another that challenges the offense, but we're looking for matchups so those are really questions that will be answered week-to-week.
