Jermichael Finley should be ready for minicamps

[motife]

(I think he's one of the most intriguing of the draft picks.)

OTA notes: Finley may be ready for minicamp
By Steve Lawrence
steve_lawrence_packers@yahoo.com
Posted Jun 13, 2008


Also: Role call for final OTA; ESPN's blowout coverage of season opener; Harlan honored; going to Canton.

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said rookie tight end Jermichael Finley “possibly” will be able to practice when the three-day minicamp begins on Tuesday.
Finley injured a knee during a midair collision at practice last week, and he remained on the sideline as organized team activities wrapped up on Thursday in the Don Hutson Center.

“A bruise on the knee. He kind of fell awkwardly,” McCarthy said. “I think he is going to be fine. It didn’t look very good on film.”

Finley’s absence is good news for another tight end who knows all about being injured. Tory Humphrey, who spent the last two seasons on injured reserve, is getting extra reps in the absence of Finley and 6-foot-8 Joey Haynos (hamstring).

“You never want to see anybody hurt, but I’m not complaining about the extra work,” Humphrey said.

The prognosis isn’t as good for a bunch of other wounded players who sat out the OTAs. Defensive tackles Johnny Jolly, Justin Harrell and Colin Cole and defensive back Will Blackmon will be ready “at some point in training camp,” McCarthy said. That’s a step back from previous statements, in which McCarthy believed all would be ready to roll when camp kicks off on July 28.

McCarthy said Harrell is making nice progress following back surgery.

“Very positive reports from (strength and conditioning coach) Rock Gullickson the last two weeks where he has been able to pretty much get after it full-go now,” McCarthy said.

Also out

Joining the aforementioned injured players on the sideline were defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee surgery), offensive linemen Chad Clifton (rest), Junius Coston (back), Tony Moll (knee) and Cameron Stephenson (calf), fullback John Kuhn (groin) and cornerback Kyle Ward (ankle).

Several veterans were allowed to skip the final day, including cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris, linebacker Nick Barnett and defensive ends Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins.

“Veterans, we gave a couple of guys some time off and we’ll have everybody here next week for the mandatory minicamp,” McCarthy said.

ESPN coming for opener

Not surprising considering its love affair with/inability to let go of Brett Favre, ESPN will provide blowout coverage of Green Bay’s season opener against Minnesota on Sept. 8, in which the Packers will retire Favre’s No. 4.

In addition to ESPN’s A team of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser calling the game, the “Countdown” crew led by Chris Berman will broadcast live at Lambeau Field starting at 4 p.m.

Also, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Pardon the Interruption,” in which Kornheiser is a central figure, and parts of “SportsCenter” will be delivered from the stadium. The paper reported ESPN will be in town Friday scouting for broadcast locations.

Thanks, Bob

Former Packers president Bob Harlan was saluted by the Green Bay community in a Brown County United Way fundraiser in the Lambeau Field Atrium on Thursday night.

Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt gave Harlan a key to the city, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle was in attendance and there were video tributes from former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, former Packers coach Mike Holmgren, former Packers quarterbacks Brett Favre and Bart Starr and baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.

Harlan spent 37 years with the Packers, the final 19 as chairman of the board and president. Asked for the highlight of his career, Harlan said the Lambeau Field renovation and his decision to hire Wolf as GM in 1991.

Road trip

Director of player development Rob Davis will lead the Packers’ rookies to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Friday.

For the first time, as part of the NFL’s rookie orientation program, all 32 teams are sending their rookies to the Hall of Fame to teach the young players about the league’s rich history

[oregonpackfan]

In addition to ESPN’s A team of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser calling the game, the “Countdown” crew led by Chris Berman will broadcast live at Lambeau Field starting at 4 p.m.

I like Tirico and Jaworski but I cannot stand Kornheiser! He is such a loud, opinionated, conceited, announcer. He rarely takes the stance of "Lets agree to disagree." Instead, he ridicules the opinions of others.

Do any of you feel the same about him?

[ahaha]

So many times, these ex-player color commentators will say something stupid. I think it's funny that Kornheiser will give them shit for it. He also makes fun of himself.

[RashanGary]

I like kornholio too. I'm to a point where I'm just sick of over serious anouncers. I know enough about football now where the most I'm going to learn is from the direct media contact with the coaches and players. I like when QB's become anouncers because they really do shed some insight on what is going on in a QB's head during a play. Other than that, I prefer funny, light hearted jibber jabber more than some queer (appologies to queers) with a suite trying to tell me something I probably know as well as he does anyway.

[woodbuck27]

In addition to ESPN’s A team of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser calling the game, the “Countdown” crew led by Chris Berman will broadcast live at Lambeau Field starting at 4 p.m.

I like Tirico and Jaworski but I cannot stand Kornheiser! He is such a loud, opinionated, conceited, announcer. He rarely takes the stance of "Lets agree to disagree." Instead, he ridicules the opinions of others.

Do any of you feel the same about him?

http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/gbreplay103007.html

Green Bay Replay: Packers 19, Broncos 13

woodbuck27: Remember it. Excerpts from above LINK - maybe the whole deal:

By Drew Olson Senior Editor

Published Oct. 30, 2007 at 5:30 a.m.

In a span of about 15 seconds, Brett Favre threw a pass, won a football game and spoiled what could have been a perfectly good rant.

After watching the first 60 minutes of the Packers-Broncos game on "Monday Night Football," which for one night seemingly was transformed into "Cops: The Atari Bigby Episode," we were all set to join the small, growing and very vocal chorus of sports fans who have simply had enough of Farvemania.

It wasn't anything that the quarterback did, of course.

Favre just plays football. He plays hard. He plays at a high level. He plays pretty much the same way he has for about 17 (or is it 71?) years.

We don't have any problems with Brett Favre. In fact, if he still indulged in the occasional adult beverage we'd buy him a frosty one to thank him for all the excitement he's brought to a generation of Wisconsin sports fans.

Someday, when the grandkids gather at our knee and ask, "Who was the best / toughest football player you ever saw?" we plan to answer "Brett Favre" without hesitation.

Nope, we don't have any problem with No. 4.

Our problem is with the TV directors, producers and particularly the announcers who insist on gushing over the guy to ridiculous extremes.

Al Michaels does it. Mike Tirico, too. Ron "Jaws" Jaworski dips his toe in that pool on occasion, but Terry Bradshaw does cannonballs. John Madden is so effusive in his Favre-love that former UW-Milwaukee mass communication student Frank Caliendo worked it into a 15-minute comedy routine.

"MNF" analyst Tony Kornheiser, a personal favorite in both the writing and radio disciplines, poured the syrup on so thick last night with his Favre-Michael Jordan-Tiger Woods analogy that we actually thought about turning up the radio broadcast of the game. (With all due respect to Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren, the cable / high-def delay makes such a maneuver impossible these days).

ESPN's pregame voiceover tribute from Deanna Favre to her husband was touching, if a bit saccharine. Deanna said last week that she became very emotional while reading it. It caused Jaws and Tony K. teary.

For fans of other teams, particularly the ones in the Great Lakes Region, it caused nausea.

When ESPN replayed the clip leading into the second half, you could almost hear fans from Chicago howling in protest. (It's come to this: we're sympathizing with Bears fans!)

If Favre had announced his retirement after this season, which seems about as likely as DeShawn Wynn winning an Ironman Award, we could understand the adulation saturation.

But, Favre isn't going anywhere. [Edit woodbuck27 - wrong]

The way the Packers are playing in the weak National Football Conference, where several teams appear less talented than the guys Favre faces in the Wrangler commercial, the quarterback might stick around until the mandatory retirement age, which we hear is going to increase every year so that Bob Harlan can keep running the show in perpetuity.

By that time, we may have adjusted our Favre-o-meter. We might finally be at peace with the hype and hysteria. We might be able to fathom how three announcers can be so intent on finding out about Brett Favre's emotions on a night a few years ago in Oakland that they lose track of the game on the field. (Props to Deanna for watching the game more closely than the guys getting paid to do so).

One thing we'll never tire of is watching the guy run the offense, particularly on the big stage, where he has consistently produced incredible highs and stupefying lows.

Fess up: At some point between the overtime coin toss and the point where Greg Jennings crossed the end zone, you thought about 4th and 26, didn't you?

We thought about that for a fleeting moment Monday night.

Then, the guy whose arm strength was being questioned in a press conference just last week unleashed a walk-off Howitzer that will make the first 60 seconds of his Hall of Fame induction movie.

At that moment, our frustration over the network's Favre fetish finally dissipated.

We now believe the guy deserves every accolade, stat graphic, montage and super slow-motion extreme closeup that the networks can pump out. Why the Favre flip-flop? We've come to realize that the only way the announcers will stop gushing is when Favre stops playing.

When that day arrives, we're not sure if the games will be worth watching.

Comment woodbuck27:

Most of us feel truly bless'd to have watched for Favre magic. Only our memories and the media will survive to allow Brett Favre to live on as '' the Legend ''. I will personally cherish that, as I do stories on such greats as Henry 'Hank' Aaron, Guy LaFleur, Frank Mahovlich and Sam Sneed etc.

We had a special privlege in Brett Favre and for year's he was more than the face of the Green Bay Packers. Brett Favre has millions of fans world wide as the NFL's marqee player.

We'll likely not see another NFL QB play the position as Favre certainly and determedly did. He was '' the real deal ''. Our best hope.

I made Packer fans of people that we're encourged to watch Favre play QB for our team, and otherwise may have had only a casual interest in the Packers or NFL. Brett Favre enriched their lives.

:)

[bobblehead]

I'm torn on this guy, he is either the next Tony Gonzalez or the next Jackie Harris. By all accounts he has all the tools but is raw....these guys turn into football players sometimes, and 7/11 attendents sometimes.

Oops, forgot most of you are in wisconsin...kwik trip attendents.