Training Camp: Week One

If that's not lovable, I don't know what its.

                The dog days of summer are upon us, and nobody is feeling the heat more than NFL football players. The annual meat-grinder known as training camp is underway, and players have said goodbye to comfort of any kind. Nobody looks forward to training camp, but it’s as crucial a part of any NFL season as any phase of the year. It’s a time when vets are whipped back into shape, pretenders are weeded out, rosters are formed, schemes are installed and lifelong goals are realized or shattered. I’m just happy to be sitting in a dimly lit, air conditioned room. Here’s a few tid-bits of what I’ve gleaned about camp thus far:


- Charlie Peprah was cut just before the start of camp, ostensibly for medical reasons. This can only be seen as bad news, as the move eliminates the Packers’ only veteran fallback option at the second safety position. Although I’m sure most fans and those within the organization were hoping that one of the young bucks would unseat Peprah as the starter, this removes a good chunk of the already waning stability at the safety position group. Plus, it will no doubt start another round of boring, misplaced ‘Charles Woodson to safety’ speculation.

- Derek Sherrod and Desmond Bishop have been sidelined with injuries thus far in camp. Sherrod suffered a gruesome broken leg towards the end of the season last year, and was not expected to be ready for camp. His absence further solidifies Marshall Newhouse’s current claim to the starting left tackle gig. Bishop’s time on the sideline is a bit more of a concern. He re-aggravated a pulled calf muscle from last year and is unsure of the timeline for his return. While Bishop himself has been optimistic about a sooner than later return (and explicitly stated his availability for the Sept. 9^th opener), players are almost always more optimistic than the medical staff. As with all injuries, time will tell the severity, but Bishop is not the kind of player you want to lose for an extended period of time.


- Greg Jennings had some less than encouraging (in my opinion) things to say about his impending free agency. He stated emphatically that he’d like to return to the Packers, but also said that he’s ‘not naïve’ and that he knows there are 31 other teams that would love his services. He was quick to point out the massive contracts signed by several wide receivers this offseason and made it clear that the Packers and his agent are currently in talks to extend his existing contract. Jennings promised not to be a distraction during the season (which I believe wholeheartedly), but did say that if something doesn’t get done before the start of the season, that it would have to wait until next offseason. He finished by pointing out the fact that Clay Matthews and Aaron Rodgers were both in line for new contracts and that the team might not be able to keep all of them. Yikes.


- Adrian Peterson has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start the offseason. Set aside the fact that that makes it sound like he’s impotent, because this is a big deal for the Vikings. One of maybe three or four decent players on their team (and by far the best player) could be sidelined to start the year and may never be 100% this year. This doesn’t really affect the Packers since the Vikings were going to suck anyway, but I just thought I’d include it because fuck the Vikings and fuck Adrian Peterson.