On the Packers calendar today, training camp practices resume at 2 p.m. at Ray Nitschke Field ...

Following Saturday's Family Night scrimmage, Drew Olson of OnMilwaukee.com thinks the talk of the Super Bowl is foolish. "It almost seems as if the Packers are poking a finger in the chest of the sports gods," writes Olson. "You don't pose for pictures with the Stanley Cup before you've won it. You don't talk about winning a championship before the first-round series playoff series is over." I guess it never even really registered with me, just players talking big. It didn't agitate me. I suppose the fact that Nick Barnett has now immortalized "XLV or Die" on t-shirts will make sure the talk lives on.

Barnett had an interesting response on Twitter, not directed at Olson, but at anyone who is annoyed of premature Super Bowl talk. "If you have a probleam with believing we have a shot at xlv that's your probleam not mine... Of course it will not be easy," wrote Barnett. Hard to argue with that reasoning.

Safety Morgan Burnett and some other rookies spent yesterday studying during the day off from practice says Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Burnett rooms with free agent rookie cornerback Sam Shields, and he expects the two of them, plus another free agent rookie, safety Anthony Levine, to quiz each other about various defensive formations and looks," writes Vandermause. I wouldn't expect them to do anything less. All three of them are doing a good job of making a run at making the 53-man roster, although Burnett is a given.

Staying on the topic of Sam Shields, cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt provided some interesting thoughts on the rookie from Miami when he was coming out of college. “When we did our evaluation coming from the draft, to me he was the most talented corner in the draft,” Whitt is quoted as saying by Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin. “(Admittedly), he’s only played one year (at corner), and we got lucky to get him and we got him as a free agent. He’s a talented young man. He still has a ways to go, but I’ve been pleased with his progress. He’s a serious guy, he’s a professional, he studies as hard as he can to not make mistakes out here.” Seeing as the Packers didn't even draft a corner at a position they could have used some help at, I'm almost inclined to believe Whitt. The more experience Shields gets, the better he'll get.

Linebacker A.J. Hawk has an interesting quote by Wilde in which he almost justifies a conservative style of play. “I think there’s a trade-off," Hawk is quoted as saying. "That’s kind of how football is. Sometimes, some of the guys making the biggest plays are going to get beat a decent amount of times, too. You’ve got to find that balance,” he said. “The greatest players are never worried obviously about getting beat deep. You watch guys who are getting a lot of interceptions and making plays, they’re not worried about a guy running by them and catching touchdowns. It happens.” As Wilde noted, Hawk had two interceptions, one sack and zero fumbles forced or recovered last season. It seems to me that the inside linebackers in a 3-4 scheme need to make more impact plays. And that's why he probably does need to make a few more chances. Hopefully Family Night was a step in the right direction.

The drop in attendance at Family Night was given consideration by Aaron Nagler here at Cheesehead TV. He cites concern about how poorly the team handed the fans and the inclement weather the prior two years. "While I can understand the safety concerns of allowing people into a seating area completely populated by metal seats during a lightning storm, I couldn’t understand the lack of foresight," writes Nagler. "A stamp? A wristband? Something that allowed you to leave and re-enter the park? It was an awful two hours and completely ruined the night." As Alex Tallitsch of the Packers Lounge notes, watching the game in HD at home probably doesn't help the cause. My two cents is that $10 for a glorified practice might be a little steep too.

The stable of running backs and the lack of a true No. 2 running back in the Packers offense is looked at by Kareem Copeland of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "[Ryan] Grant has started all but two games over the last two years and was responsible for 64.4 percent of the carries last year," writes Copeland. "Four other halfbacks combined for 84 attempts all year." If you take out Aaron Rodgers rushing attempts (for which he was one of the best rushing QBs in the NFL last year), Grant's percentage goes up even more. The Packers have to find someone to take some of the load off this year.

More information on Brett Swain's injury from Saturday comes from Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel, and things are looking good. "A little scary, but now I know I can take that hit," said Swain. "The positive is when you can take a hit like that and come out of it fine. The doc said I'm good, little bit sore we're going to take it day by day and treat it." Swain might miss a little time, still be on the one-a-day program, but it looks like the long-term prognosis is okay. He should still be able to fight for a roster spot.

The bright side of Donald Driver's new contract is pondered by Michael Rodney of Packer Update. "It’s hard to find a downside to this move. Even if Driver unexpectedly hits the wall in 2010, the Packers would only be on the hook for two additional seasons. And while terms of the extension have yet to be released, the odds are good that most of the guaranteed money will be paid in 2010 – an uncapped year. So even if the worst-case scenario does happen, this deal isn’t going to cause any problems with the salary cap in the future – assuming, of course, that there is a salary cap in the future." If there is, indeed, the most guaranteed money in 2010, that would definitely be a plus for the Packers.

Some of the rookies on the defensive side of the ball are brought up by Michael Davidsen of Green Bay Packer Nation. In particular, the role Mike Neal may play this year is discussed. "Strong and sturdy is right up Neal’s ally as his strength has been praised numerous times by coaches and writers so far in training camp," writes Davidsen. "He’ll compete for this fourth down-lineman role with former first-rounder Justin Harrell, second-year pro Jarius Wynn and fellow rookie seventh-rounder C.J. Wilson. Neal’s unsurpassed power - and the fact that he was a second-round choice in this past draft - make him a good bet at winning that job; but there is still a lot of time before the regular season."

Chris Lempesis of Ol' Bag of Donuts takes umbrage with the Michael Lombardi's Blue Chip and Red Chip rankings on the NFL Network of a couple Packers players.

Finally, a congratulations to former Green Bay Packers assistant coach Dick LeBeau for being enshrined into the NFL Hall of Fame this past weekend.