Packers Open Minicamp » Brats & Beer

May 6, 2006
posted under: Brett Favre, Packers, training camp

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 Rodgers 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.”