The Packers are the biggest story, as they usually are. With all the mini-camps, it seems as if railbirds are always peeking through the fence on Lombardi Avenue. New coaches are being mixed in with the new players. Rhodes was also aggressive in trying to get his troops to stop bellyaching about their old boss, the departed genius in residence, Mike Holmgren. Freedom now reigns in Green Bay as players can actually leave a team meeting to use the lavatory.
Emancipation comes so slowly to the gridiron.
The first look at Rhodes' practices reveals that they'll be longer with less yelling, but there will be a lot more running. Rhodes insists his Packers will not be outhustled. Of course, the real boss in Title Town is General Manager Ron Wolf and now, without Holmgren looking over his shoulder, he's just finished assembling his latest draft picks. From first appearance, the newest Packers can't even be called walking wounded yet. Meanwhile, Fred Vinton watched last weekend, coming off foot surgery on his own, but the front office insists he'll be ready for training camp in July.