The Green Bay Packers held a night practice inside Lambeau Field, Monday, which was closed to the public. Although not on the schedule made available to the public, GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman said it was in his plans all along to have this practice at night inside Lambeau Field.
"I made that decision in June when we set the schedule," Sherman said. "I just didn't make it public because the fans can't go to it because it's inside the stadium, so it didn't affect them. I'll practice on a Monday night the week before a Monday night game just to get into the routine of playing on a Monday night.
"We have three of them this year, so it kind of has that reason behind it, and I like to change the schedule for the guys. I don't want them always doing the same thing. We're into the second week now. It gave some of them a long morning. Some of them who weren't involved in special teams this morning have a chance to rest up and get a good day's rest and come out tonight."
The Packers had a special teams practice at 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., which 53 players participated in.
Sherman Says Scrimmage Was A Success
Although it is relatively early in training camp and so much is left to be settled, Sherman seemed to be happy with the team's effort so far. He also was pleased that Saturday night's intra-squad scrimmage gave the fans something to cheer about.
With the scrimmage being such a success, does Coach Sherman ever think about practicing against other teams like many clubs do?
"I've thought about it, but you already play four preseason games," he said. "The Family Night game is here forever. It's a fan favorite and an organization favorite. We love that game.
"It really does help us a lot to go out in front of the crowd and work on substitutions. It gets you ready for the preseason, and the preseason gets you ready for the regular season. I don't envision playing anybody else at this point. You can't control the situation the way you want to, and you end up exposing your team to other teams' evaluators. I'm not anxious to do that either."
Bubba's Back
Tight end Bubba Franks finally returned to practice Monday evening after sitting out since last Wednesday. He said was anxious to get back to work.
"I feel great now," Franks said. "The other day my chest was sore after coming down on the ball. The coaches told me to hold back and relax a little bit. But now I am back and its time to go full speed ahead."
Franks said he was just happy to be back at practice even if it was at night, although he admitted it surprised some of his teammates.
"Practicing at night, most of the younger guys aren't used to it," Franks said. "The veterans knew it was coming any day now, but Coach Sherman kind of snuck it in on us today. I think it is a good thing seeing as though we have a Monday night game next week and a few this year. Plus, you don't have to worry about the heat."
