The Packer Page - A Gravedigger and a Bag of Donuts
July 21st, 2008
*BREAKING NEWS*
Pro Football talk is reporting that an unconfirmed source has told them that Brett Favre will stay retired. You can read the article by clicking here. This is an unconfirmed report, and should be taken as such.
I will keep you posted as the validity of the story is uncovered.
(Stay Tuned)
July 21st, 2008
Today begins the final week leading up to training camp. I remember a few weeks ago when I was worried about a lack of Packer news leading up to this point. As you all know, news hasn’t really been a problem.
I expect this week to be no different. I will go as far as to say I think that this upcoming week may turn out to be the most interesting of all. We have yet to sign all of our draft picks, there is the Ryan Grant situation, and of course what will Mr. Favre decide to do come training camp. Regardless, in exactly one week, Packer football is back. I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.
With that, we begin your Monday Packer report.
Censorship
Before I get down to business I wanted to make a brief comment on censorship. I notice a lot of Packer sites are now censoring their content and the content of their contributors as well.
The Brett Favre mess has caused a wide variety of opinions and emotions, causing people to literally be at each others throats. You know what? I am okay with that. I think censorship is wrong in almost every facet of its’ existence.
Let me assure you, that you are free to express your opinion here without worry of backlash. Others might not agree with what you had to say, or how you said it, but I will never penalize or remove you for making those comments. I don’t worry about language or feelings around here, this is a football blog.
Censorship, of whatever kind and from whatever motive, is a denial of freedom. Real freedom is not about personal choice or even about individual rights - it is about being able to make one’s own judgement. To be able to judge a thing, it is necessary have factual, accurate knowledge about that thing and this factual, unbiased knowledge is the first thing that suffers when there is any form of censorship.
I won’t have any of that here. Feel free to sound off however you feel is most appropriate. I don’t have to agree, and might even tell you as much, but I certainly won’t edit or remove anyones personal take on things.
Now, on to the Packer news.
Hall of Fame Ceremony
Yesterday, everyone was able to put aside the Favre issue and focus on honoring three men who gave their all to the Green Bay Packers organization.
Former Packers Gilbert Brown, Frank Winters, and team video director Al Treml were all inducted in the Packers Hall of Fame in front of 1,300 people at the annual banquet.
In addition, and oddly enough, Brett Favre was also honored as the teams MVP for the 2007 season.
I was very happy to hear that the festivities were not overshadowed by the Favre situation. Emcee Larry McCarren summed it up best when he said:
“There are bigger problems in the world than the one the Packers are dealing with right now. Let’s put it on the back burner.”
Favre received a thirty second standing ovation when he took the podium for his MVP recognition, but kept the focus off himself and on the inductees throughout the ceremony.
This was a serious occasion for these gentlemen and it showed.
“I have the privilege and honor of presenting my compadre, Mr. Brown, who personifies the image of what the Packers stand for on and off the field,” said Santana Dotson. “His commitment, diligence and passion for the game are unlike any other person I had the privilege of playing with.”
Favre on the other hand kept it a little lighter when his turn came to speak about longtime center and teammate Frank Winters.
“I put up with him sleeping in the nude,” Favre said, adding that Winters repeatedly told him following a play that tight end Mark Chmura was open.
“He told me Chewy was open,” Favre said. “He was supposed to be blocking.”
Finally, the teams first ever video director was inducted into the hall by Bart Starr himself. Al Treml, hired part time by Vince Lombardi in 1964, broke down “the tape” that the players and coaches needed to prepare for upcoming opponents. Said Tremml about the changes he has seen through the years:
“It’s unbelievable, I started out with a hand-wound 16mm camera with black and white film.”
To conclude, I think it was classy of Favre and classy of the organization to keep the distractions to a minimum.
One of the first things that come to mind as a Packer fan is the vivid memories from SuperBowl XXXI. These gentleman worked their butts off so us fans can cherish that moment for decades to come.
Once again, it isn’t about ego’s here, it’s about heroes. The less of the former the bigger the latter. Let’s make sure and try to keep that in mind.
The Green Bay Press-Gazette has released some video of the introductions. Please take a moment to view them here.
The NFL Network also did a piece on the Hall of Fame Induction as well.
I also have added the audio of Favre accepting his MVP award, as well as his induction speech for Frank Winters.
Enjoy.
New Feature at Training Camp
The Green Bay Packers will add a new feature for fans that plan on attending this years training camp. The organization announced the edition of the “The Tundra Tailgate Zone.” The “zone” will consist of three climate-controlled tents and include tailgate food, games, and a main stage.
“We’re really excited about this new feature for our fans since it’s really based on what our fans have shared with us of what they want to experience during training camp. We think it’s going to be a great new addition to what we’re offering this year, ” said Craig Benzel, Packers director of marketing.
The Tundra Tailgate Zone will be open from July 28th until August 20th. The area is free to fans throughout training camp.
Linked Up
When asked about Brett Favre, quarterback Aaron Rodgers said, “I just want him to be happy, whatever he does.” Can you say classy?
Wide receiver Greg Jennings sounded off on the Favre situation to NFL.com.
Colts head coach Tony Dungy had an interesting take on the Favre situation.
Safety Tyrone Culver says he’s, “ready to go.”
Scout.com has released a breakdown of this year’s special teams.
The tampering investigation against the Vikings is expected to last about a week.
How about a question and answer with Frank Winters?
Finally, a former assistant has donated 13 balls to the Packers Hall of Fame.
The Packer Page Video Vault
Today we bring you a little of this and a little of that. I have some coverage of the Hall of Fame ceremony, a peek at the new “Fan Zone”, and a little “Gregorious” as well. We’re off.
Hall of Fame Ceremony
Once again, thanks to all three guys for the memories.
The “Fan Zone”
I imagine I’ll be checking that out at some point in the near future.
Interview with Favre in Mississippi
Perhaps Coach Favre is a possibility?
How about some Jennings?
Greg Jennings puts the laughter in manslaughter.
Thanks to the former MWFF for that.
That brings us to the end of another day, and one day closer to training camp. Feel free to leave a comment in our comment section, or sign our guestbook at the top of the page. Just to let you know, I’m pissed none of you guys are signing it. Man up and get it done.
To make me feel better, I leave you with one for the Purple.
Crappy Song for a Crappy Team
(Stay Tuned)
This blog is not associated with the Green Bay Packers in any way. Images displayed on this blog that are not the sole property of this blog are Copyright of their respective owners (Green Bay Packers, National Football League or other). We will make every effort to link our pictures with their original owners (as soon as we figure out how). We would like to give credit where credit is due. Thanks to all who contribute. Go Pack Go.
IronMan said:
Man that NFL Films music is awesome. Congrats to Al Treml, Gilbert, Frankie, and Richard ‘Ike’ Eisenhauer>(Packer Fan Hall Of Fame inductee.)
http://www.packers.com/multimedia/photo_galleries/recent/2008-07-19/
July 21st, 2008 at 9:58 am #
IronMan said:
http://i.packers.com/pg/2008-07-19/photo23.jpg
July 21st, 2008 at 10:00 am #
Paul said:
Haha that vikings song was great,
Adrian/
Peterson/
What the hell/
Is he retarted?/
July 21st, 2008 at 3:41 pm #
PackOne said:
Paul !
Good to see you chiming in again. Thanks for reading.
July 21st, 2008 at 4:13 pm #
John R said:
PFT says a lot of stuff that end up not being true. This would definitely redeem them to me if this turns out being true.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:26 pm #
Alex said:
John, I hope it is. They are the rumor mill, but I think they have been playing this one carefully.
I hope this ends, and we can talk Packers football again.
Thanks for commenting. Always appreciated.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:44 pm #
John R said:
Yeah, I forgot to say how awesome it is that training camp is starting up, even if ours is a week away. A lot of interesting news around the league today. Not long before we’re watching the first MNF of the year.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:17 pm #
Citizen Wausau » Blog Archive » Your Voice: July 21 said:
[…] • And the Green Bay Packers News blog is doing its Green Bay Packers news thing, plus a very worthwhile shot at the places that have been censoring anti-Favre speech. […]
July 21st, 2008 at 9:48 pm #
Paul said:
Thanks for noticing Packone, Even if I don’t comment I always read your blog every day, I love it keep up the good work
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:36 pm #