(Driver signed a contract extension. What does he mean to this team?)
Donald Driver is one of the leaders on our football team. He's clearly a veteran leader on the offense. I think that was illustrated when he came back last week, the enthusiasm that he just brings to practice and how it uplifts the offense. I'm very happy for Donald.
(What is Colledge's injury?)
Daryn Colledge has a mid-back sprain. I anticipate he'll go tomorrow.
(Is there a difference in intensity with this being a game week?)
I think the intensity was good today. Like we've talked about in the past, we're still in our installation phase in training camp. We installed this morning, and that was our eighth installation, with the emphasis on the last eight plays, and third down was the emphasis today. I thought the third down work was really good. I thought the team run could be better. But getting the last eight plays in, I thought our work was really good today. We'll install again tomorrow after the morning practice and do that installation Tuesday night. I think the intensity for getting ready to play games really will pick up for us on Wednesday.
(Will Pope's knee injury keep him out a game or two?)
Yeah, Pope actually, I don't have all the information. Dr. McKenzie did arthroscopic surgery on him this afternoon, so we'll know more when we get up top. I anticipate him being out for a couple weeks.
(What have you seen from Bodiford in the receiving and return games?)
Shaun had an excellent night Saturday night in the scrimmage. That's one thing we saw when he came over to us from Detroit. Plays with a lot of energy. Tough guy. And he's doing a lot better job in the receiving part of it. I always knew what he could do special-teams wise. I thought he illustrated that in the short time he was with us before he broke his leg last year. But I think he's really doing a good job learning our system.
(How has Dendy's camp been so far?)
Pat's had a solid camp. I thought he started off a little slow. I think you can see the strength that he's gained in the offseason. I think he's going to be a lot more physical. Very smart player. He has an excellent understanding of what we're trying to do, and a very consistent player. So I think Patrick is doing a really nice job.
(With two running backs down, are you planning to bring anybody in?)
I would say no, because the guys behind them are very young. So they could use the work. Ted and I, we talk every morning about the depth chart, but we're going to hold steadfast on the running back group and work these young guys.
(With Wynn healthy now, what have you seen from him?)
Wynn is a good football player. Clearly where he was drafted and how it equates to what he's done in training camp doesn't add up in my opinion. I think he's a gifted young man, very intelligent. He's picked up the scheme rapidly. His blitz pickup is very good for a young player. I think he has exceptional feet in and out of the hole. He's been impressive in the number of opportunities that he's had.
(What does Joe Werner need to do to make an impression?)
Joe just needs to hang onto every word and take full advantage of every opportunity he's been given, and I think Joe is doing that. He has a great attitude and approach. Very raw, I think that's evident to everybody. I'm happy he's here, and he's got a lot in front of him.
(Does either guy have an edge in the kicking battle yet?)
I think it's going to take the whole preseason to iron that out. I think we have two very talented kickers, they both have excellent leg strength, and I think we'll have an excellent competition throughout training camp.
(Is Morency progressing any faster?)
They're still saying a couple weeks away. He's pretty much the same as he was this last week.
(Did Jennings drop out of practice?)
He had a hip flexor. He dropped out. He's been sore the past week and he couldn't get it stretched out.
(Is that the same injury from OTAs?)
I'm not sure if it's the exact same one. Close, same area, same leg.
(In that No. 3 cornerback competition, how do you decide who gets to work with the 1s at different times?)
I think it really started Saturday night. First of all, they all got a bunch of reps. Even if so-and-so went with the first group, the guy in the second group was going against the first offense. Once again, we've got a lot of football ahead of us these next three weeks. Really, the next 17, 18 days with Jacksonville being on a Thursday night. That's going to sort itself out. You never have enough good corners. Those are excellent problems to have. To me, that will sort itself out. We talk on a daily basis about reps, which guy is doing what and so forth, and the coaches are doing a good job of spreading that out.
(What happened to Tony Moll and DeVon Hicks?)
DeVon Hicks, I didn't get anything on DeVon. Tony, he had a stinger in his neck.
(Do you have to be cautious with Driver because of his shoulder?)
I just go off of the feedback of the player. He feels fine. He did not have a whole lot of strength in that shoulder. For whatever reason, it was bothering him when he first came back. But he feels fine. He's very pro-active with his rehab and his conditioning. You're always going to be smart with your veteran players when you get into these preseason games, as far as Brett Favre, Donald Driver, Chad Clifton, Al Harris and Charles Woodson, and a few others. That's what we do. We'll probably do that Thursday, talk about the play time each week.
{sportsad300}(With the talent at defensive tackle, what will put guys over the top there?)
What's going to put them over the top? Well, they need to get their pads down low, so we ain't going over the top on anybody first of all. We have excellent competition there, and I don't mean to be redundant. This is as deep of a group of defensive lineman I think that I've been around, and even particularly at defensive tackle. The most important thing you're looking for particularly from the younger guys is consistency, and I think you're seeing that in Johnny Jolly and a number of the younger guys. At defensive end, I think (Jason) Hunter, you're seeing the maturity of him too. It gives you the flexibility to roll those guys in and play smart, situational football. I think the determining factor will be consistency.
(Harrell has said he needs to get in football shape. In the second week, do you look to see a spike in his play?)
I'm hopeful that he'll be ready to go for Pittsburgh. He's got a lot of reps. He's been given an opportunity to get in football shape. The reports I get from Rock Gullickson and Pepper as far as the medical and conditioning are all positive. He has a very good work ethic, so I don't forsee it being a problem. As far as what's going to happen, only time will tell.
(So you're not concerned about where he's at now?)
No, I'm not concerned, just because of the way he works. We're still lifting three days a week, and four times in the first eight days, so I'm not concerned about it.
(Was this a longer practice because of the installations?)
All of our installation practices have been about 2:33, and I added some field goal attempts to it so if we're in the 2:45 range, I'm perfectly comfortable with that. It just goes back to our conversation about scheduling. There's an amount of work to get done - we're going to get it done. To me, I don't know if we were early or late. But I did add a couple of kicking segments, so we might have been a little longer today.
(How well did the offensive line execute in the run game Saturday night when you watched the tape?)
A lot of positives, some things we definitely need to clean up. We went more pattern schemes than we did last year, and that's particularly the reason that we're going against our defense - I really don't want to be cutting our guys. So, we didn't do as much zone-scheme as you'd probably see week in and week out in a normal game setting. It was solid. Plenty to learn from. There's nothing like live tape. Those are always the best situations to learn from, so I thought we got off to a solid start.
(How's the new playing surface in Lambeau?)
Outstanding. Lambeau Field is outstanding, and I think we'll truly see the benefits in November and December.
(Has Bubba been approved to wear the shield or is it just for practice?)
I'm hopeful it's just for practice. We haven't really gone that far, but he had a doctor's appointment today and it's improving. If he's going to wear it into the season, that's to be seen. It's just based on how his eye heals.
(So did he come to you and say he could see?)
No, he had a doctor's appointment, 10:20 this morning. They cleared him to go. He would have liked to have gone earlier. He's still not 100 percent, but he's getting better.
(For the run game, the preseason games will be the best measure?)
Yeah, they always are. Last year we'd given them the opportunity to cut in the scrimmage, and they didn't cut. It was more the offense. For example, Mark Tauscher has a really good angle on Ryan Pickett and doesn't take it. You take that for what it's worth, but if we're playing the Pittsburgh Steelers that guy needs to be on the ground, because that's what we do. But yeah, to answer your question, that will definitely be the true measure.
(How much will you cut block in the preseason games?)
That's part of our base offense, so cutting is not illegal. I don't think it's dirty at all, as long as it's done with proper technique. It's a technique we work on every single day, so I don't look at it at all as dirty football.
(Were you OK with Tauscher not cutting Pickett on that one?)
I'm glad Pickett is out here practicing today.
