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And the survey says, Brett Favre is still one of the most popular athletes in America. The Harris Poll released their survey of the top sports stars last week, and No. 4 came in third behind Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. I came across this item while reading Deadspin over the weekend, but they seem rather dubious of the results of this poll in part because Favre was ranked so high. I’m not sure why it should be surprising, though, given that he’s been the third or fourth most popular sports figure for nearly a decade now. Sure, he had a bad season last year, and to be sure we all take issue with the amount of press coverage devoted to every sneeze and non sequitur, but as for the man what is there to not make him popular among the general public? He’s practically the face of the NFL these days, the last of an old guard still battling despite the odds.

Not that this poll doesn’t reveal some oddities of American society. Kobe Bryant is back in the top 10 after being left out last year. I guess you get a one-year suspension in popularity for (alleged) rape. Meanwhile, Barry Bonds cracks into the top 10 for the first time, which does make you wonder if this poll is measuring the famous or the infamous. And the poll does offer hard evidence, as if we needed hard evidence, of just how fickle fame can be: Falling out of the top 10 this year were Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Donovan McNabb, and Ben Rothlisberger.

Am I the only one who thinks the national press is paying an inordinate amount of attention to who is and who isn’t at Packers training camp this year? The AP, especially, has really stepped up its attendance checking duty in Green Bay, first sounding the alarm that Brett Favre is not in camp on Monday, then sounding surprised when he shows up on Tuesday. And each story carries the same tone of “Mike McCarthy has lost control of his troops” and “there’s a player rebellion going on.” Of course, they don’t come right out and say it, but that seems to be the implication we’re supposed to draw. Why are they out to scuttle McCarthy’s debut season before it even begins?

I did find the Press-Gazette’s report on Favre’s press conference pretty amusing, though, especially when he was talking about all the different terminology in this new offense and he said, “For example, we have a call ‘Pennsylvania,’ which means, well, I’m not quite sure what it means yet, but I completed it, so that’s a positive.” Classic.

It must be the dog days of the off season, because I’m thinking about punters. Specifically, I find myself rooting for Jon Ryan, the Canadian footballer Green Bay picked up in February to challenge BJ Sander. Ryan holds the CFL single-season record for punts with an average of 50.6 yards set last year. Of course, as Press-Gazette is quick to point out, Canadian league punters are coached to drive the ball for distance rather than kick for hang time, but maybe we can sign a couple track stars to play on the coverage team. Or maybe he’s really accurate and can nail those kicks into the corner. Just anything to get our dismal punting game out of the basement.

Ryan’s coming to the Packers also has a bizarre twist to it. Last year he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (now the home of one Onterrio McWhizzinator), so when he left the CFL for the riches of American football, the Bombers signed Duncan O’Mahoney from the BC Lions as his replacement. Unfortunately, O’Mahoney never arrived at training camp over the weekend. Seems he decided to go on a walkabout or something instead of reporting to the team. The wayward punter has been located safe and sound, though the team is already looking for another new punter to replace their replacement.

Everyone, it seems is getting their due. Javon Walker, who was traded away to the Denver Broncos, finally got the “respect” (that’s what the kids are calling it these days) he’s been begging for: A five-year deal worth $40 million. Denver was smart, though, to add a clause to the contract that demands Walker be healthy in order to get his first big bonus check next March. (Oh, and as a parting shot, Walker set the record straight by saying that it wasn’t Brett Favre who soured him on Green Bay, it was Ted Thompson.)

Up in Green Bay, meanwhile, Donald Driver got a little “respect” of his own. The Packers agreed to give their one remaining tried-and-tested starting receiver a two-year contract extension worth about $4 million, even though Driver went on the record as saying he’s happy to be playing in Green Bay, he’s thrilled to be part of the team, he doesn’t want to be traded, and he would never hold out of training camp or anything to force the team to give him more money. How about that?

More tidbits came out of the second day of minicamp in Green Bay, but the highlight was Brett Favre’s first press conference since deciding to return for his 16th season with the team. The half hour session with reporters can be summed up thusly:

I’ve decided to play, because I want to play, so I’m here to play, though I’m not sure how much longer I’ll play (about that I’m not going to say). I’m not really sure how well I’m going to play, or if I’ll want to play tomorrow or the next day, but if I am, I’m not going to change the way I play because that’s the way I play.

Got all that? I’m actually not going to try and parse it all, because it’s all beside the point anyway, but it was a strange, rambling monologue interspersed with moments of feisty defiance. He got especially worked up when someone asked about his comment to Chris Mortensen of ESPN that he wasn’t sure anymore he would want the ball in his hands in the final two minutes of a game. “I’m here,” he retorted quickly. “If I didn’t want the ball, believe me I wouldn’t be here.” Well, let’s hope so.

Other bits of news to come out of day two:

• Mark Roman apparently asked for his release from the Packers after the team signed Marquand Manuel from the Seahawks. Seems he was put off by the “way it was handled,” like he was supposed to be consulted or something?
• Donnell Washington showed up to camp a bit overweight and out of shape, according to the Press-Gazette, and has been held of practice. Let’s all remember that Mike Sherman traded away a fourth-round pick to move up in the draft to take Washington.
• Charles Woodson wants to be number two, or at least he wants to wear No. 2. The newly signed free agent corner is petitioning the NFL to let him wear his old college jersey number because league rules say DBs must wear numbers in the 20s, 30s, or 40s.

Chris Havel in the Press-Gazzette also comments today on the new zone blocking scheme the Packers will be using this season under Jeff Jagodzinski. He says it looks like thing of beauty when executed well, but otherwise it resembles an “onside kick.”

Well, well, well, the first minicamp started yesterday, and look who was in town: Captain Favrelous himself. See, if the coaches ask him to come to minicamp, he shows up. He might not like it, because that lawn down in Mississippi probably needs mowing, but if someone says, “Brett, we think you should come up to minicamp, get to know the new members of the team, maybe run a couple plays,” then he’s perfectly willing to come. See how easy that is, Mike Sherman.

I think a perfect analogy for the Packers this season, and Favre in particular, is the movie Rocky III. Number Four is just like Rocky Balboa: He’s won the title, won all the accolades, gotten a little older, then someone comes along and knocks him down. So Mike McCarthy needs to be like Apollo Creed and sit him down and say, “You gotta get that look back, Rock. Eye of the tiger, man.” Except, he wouldn’t call him ‘Rock,’ he’d call him ‘Brett.’ And so they head off to Siberia or wherever and train hard until Rocky, or in this case Brett, finds the “Eye of the Tiger” again. And then that song by Survivor starts playing, and in this case it is Survivor playing the song because, well, who can replace Survivor?

The early reports from both the Press-Gazette and the Journal Sentinel were pretty upbeat and positive:

• Al Harris, as expected, is pretty excited to be playing opposite Charles Woodson. “We’re going to be bad as (expletive),” he’s quoted as saying. “We’re going to get things done.”
• “I’m only 22 and I have a chance to learn from two great players like Al and Charles,” Ahmad Carroll told reporters. “It’s a good move for this team.” At least he appears to have a healthy attitude.
• “He’s a no-nonsense type of guy, a little different from Mike (Sherman). He’s stressing X’s and O’s. I kind of like it that way,” Bubba Franks summed up his impressions of McCarthy on the first day of practice.
• The JS also reported that Favre and Aaron Rogers were chatting it up during breaks between plays, so that’s a positive step.
• Donald Driver made it clear that he did not threaten to hold out or demand to be traded. “I’m not that type of guy,” he said. “I’m here, and I’m happy. I never said that.”

More from Day 2 later.

Well, here it is two days after the end of the NFL Draft, and I find myself in uncharted waters. Everywhere I look, I seem to encounter the same sort of conclusions about Green Bay’s draft day performance: It went okay. From the “experts” in the national media, to the outspoken of Packer Nation, to the average football fans at the office with no allegiance to Packerdom, everyone seems to think we made out pretty well. Come on folks, I expected someone to point out some overlooked gaffe by the Packer brass, some outcry that Ted Thomspon should have done this or shouldn’t have done that. Anyone?

I have even found myself becoming more optimistic about the future fortunes of the team in the days since the draft. The boys over the Wisconsin Sports Bar gave a short clinic on the whole zone blocking thing and how newly drafted lineman Daryn Colledge fits into that scheme, so I’m not feeling as uneasy about that pick as I was Sunday night. This is all too weird, I must be dreaming.

Two days and 255 picks later, the 2006 NFL Draft is finally over, so how did the Packers do? Pretty well, I’d say. There were no obvious goofs or gaffes we’ll be smarting from in the next few months, and we might have even picked up a few players that could make an impact for us. I would have to agree with Mr. Lalasz that Ted Thompson should have started dealing Javon Walker a long time ago, and if he had we might have gotten more than just a second round pick. I also think there was a little too much maneuvering there in the second round, and we missed out on some attractive talent, such as wideout Chad Jackson, lineman Winston Justice, and tight end Joe Klopfenstein. But compared to the Mike Sherman drafts, this one went off practically without a hitch.

Obviously, the big news to come out of it all is A.J. Hawk. I know there’s some grousing out there about Vernon Davis, but our defense is in such a sorry state and the linebacker corps so depleted of talent that taking Hawk was the right pick. This guy should have an immediate impact on the field and could become the next face of the Packers defense in the same way Reggie White and LeRoy Butler were back in the heyday 90s.

As for the rest of the picks, I was a little disappointed that more emphasis wasn’t placed on the offensive line in this draft. An obvious need for the team, we got some interesting prospects, but it doesn’t sound like any of them will be ready to play this Fall. Daryn Colledge, a tackle out of Boise State taken in the second round, might be closest to a starter, but the reviews on him are mixed. Don’t look for Jason Spitz (center, Louisville) or Tony Moll (tackle/guard, Nevada) to be protecting Brett come opening weekend, though. We also seemed to pass up a chance to beef up the defensive line, selecting tackle Johnny Jolly out of Texas A&M in the sixth round and defensive end Dave Tollefson in the final round. Both will most likely be works in progress for a while.

We did stock up on receivers, though, with Greg Jennings, Cory Rodgers, and Will Blackmon. Out of this class, I think Blackmon (Boston College) shows the best potential based on reports. He seems to have the size and the speed to make the team, though his skill level might be problem. Rodgers (TCU) also looks promising, but more as the punt returner we desperately need.

The oddball pick of the draft (and there always has to be one, right?) was Ingle Martin. A quarterback from Furman, he completed 212 of 350 passes for almost 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns last year. However, he was also the punter for the Paladins and averaged 43 yards on 33 kicks. Will he be giving BJ Sander and Ryan Flinn a little competition in camp? Could we eventually have a dual-role player, passing and punting? The possibilities for comedy are endless.

See, Ted Thompson can make the right call now and again. With the fifth pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Packers selected linebacker A.J. Hawk out of Ohio State. (Sorry, The Ohio State University.) The 2005 Lombardi Award winner had 69 tackles last year, 15 behind the line, nine sacks, and one interception. He’s going to be a huge asset playing along with Nick Barnett, and I think he might even help Barnett achieve his fullest potential. Nice going, Uncle Ted.

Yes, boys and girls, you can stop with your speculation and mock drafts because the real deal is at last upon us. NFL Draft Day is like Christmas in April for football fans: We get to unwrap all kinds of goodies that will keep us talking for the next few months until training camp starts. I’ve always been amazed, though, that enough people tune in to ESPN to watch the thing unfold on television when they could just read about it later in the day online or the next day in the newspaper. Of course, as I write this I am warming up the TV and perparing to plant my own fat ass on the couch for the next few hours. Actually, I’m only really interested in seeing a couple things: who the Packers take (obviously) and whether or not the Vikings can get their pick in on time. It might also be entertaining to see Mel Kiper and Sean Salisbury yelling at no one in particular about the Texans picking Mario Williams instead of Regie Bush or Vince Young. Maybe one of their heads will explode on the air.

So what can expect to get from Ted Thompson-Clause this year? Having Williams off the board does muddy the water a bit for the Packers, who have at various times been rumored to fancy the NC State defensive end. My personal hope was that Williams and linebacker AJ Hawk would still be available after the first three picks so that we could get one of them. Now, the chance that Hawk will still be around at #5 is dwindling fast (though if he is, Uncle Ted had better take him). Recently, though, Maryland tight end Vernon Davis has appeared on the radar, and even though I know very little about the guy, I think I could get behind that pick. Hopefully he would provide some blocking power for running plays and they say he has great hands, giving Brett Favre another outlet. I could also get behind taking offensive lineman D’Brickashaw Ferguson because of the state of our current blockers, although that pick would lack some of the razz-a-mataz of taking Hawk or Davis.

My fear for this afternoon is that Thompson gets himself in a lather and tries to get too clever. Like trading away the draft to get Bush, which would be a disaster. (Remember Mike Ditka and the Saints scrambling to get Ricky Williams?) Similarly, I could see Ted thinking it might be smart to trade down for a later first-round pick and another in the second round, but then we’d end up with some non-impact players and not really improving the situation. This would be in keeping with Green Bay’s recent character, though, and gives me reason to be apprehensive as the clock marches down to 11am.

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