Packers Daily Links: Offensive Line To Gather For Informal Workout

According to Josh Sitton, the Packers offensive linemen will gather in Nashville to work out together.

Have a happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone. I'll be a the Brewers game tonight. Instead of "Where's Bernie's?" we'll play "Where's Brian?" If you can find me, I'll buy you a beer. Wait. Aren't beers like $8 at the park? On second thought, I'll just shake your hand. But have a good weekend anyway!

Exact details are unavailable, but members of the Packers offensive line will be gathering for informal workouts. "Green Bay Packers guard Josh Sitton tweeted that Packers offensive linemen soon will gather in Nashville to work out together," writes NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. "Two of their starters, center Scott Wells and left tackle Chad Clifton, have Tennessee roots." How much they actually accomplish is up for debate. It could be more of a bonding and camaraderie experience. Either way, it can't hurt.

Another group of Packers has been working out with a personal trainer in California. Cornerback Jarrett Bush, wide receiver Brett Swain, linebacker Brandon Chillar have gotten together with former teammate––and current Chiefs defensive lineman Anthony Toribio––to work out with a personal trainer. “You’ve got to earn your keep in the NFL," said Chillar. "You get lackadaisical and there’s somebody ready to take your job. I’m training like I’m a young guy (he’s 28). I’ve had six surgeries while I’ve been in my 20s. I feel I have three more years in me, at least. That’s why I’m here. You can run gassers all day but they don’t get you in football shape.” Chillar's comment about having at least three years left in him was slightly curious. We all know the shelf life of an NFL player isn't long, but even then, that comment didn't exude confidence like other NFL players I've seen. I'm probably reading into far too much, however. He did say "at least." If you watch the accompanying video, Swain also says he bought a JUGS machine during the workout just so he can have balls "thrown" to him, although he has occasionally gotten together with Rodgers in California.

Punter Tim Masthay has been working out with kicker Mason Crosby at St. Norbert College in nearby De Pere, Wis. As Bill Huber of Packer Report found out, there was a small issue Masthay had to work out first (subscription required). "I didn’t take any footballs with me before the lockout, and then once that happened, we couldn’t go up there and get any," said Masthay. "So, I went to the Pro Shop and bought about five footballs." Even though the entire team hasn't gotten together for workouts, it appears that several groups of them have been busy.

Coming at it from a different angle is Monty McMahon of Total Packers, who suggests the Packers may be suffering from a post-Super Bowl hangover. "While everyone else is getting back to football, the players on the Super Bowl-winning team are standing around getting pats on the back and forgetting about the hard work it took them to reach the pinnacle of their sport to begin with," writes McMahon. While several members of the Packers have definitely been making promotional and media appearances and the like, I see nothing to be alarmed about. Although I realize not everyone agrees with my point of view.

Player workouts aren't that important, writes Brandon Benson of Acme Packing Company.

About the upcoming Super Bowl ring ceremony, Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com says details are still being ironed out. "Team spokesman Aaron Popkey said Thursday afternoon that the players, coaches and staff will receive their rings at a June 16 ceremony," writes Wilde. "But at this point, only the date and the location – the Lambeau Field atrium – have been set and the logistics remain unclear." In a conversation I had with WBAY-TV's Michelle Tuckner on Twitter, she thought perhaps the event may be televised in the same manner as the Return to Titletown event, an exclusive to the official broadcast partners of the Packers. That is not etched in stone, however.

Arizona State defensive coordinator Craig Bray was interviewed for a feature article on seventh-round draft choice Lawrence Guy at the Packers official website. “He was our best inside guy, and most inside guys get doubled all the time anyway, but he got doubled more,” Bray said at Packers.com. “There was a lot more chop-blocking and cutting going on with him, a lot of things that took away from his production and he was frustrated with that, too." Guy entered the draft after his junior year in college making him slightly less experienced than most other draft choices.

The annual Packers Pro Shop tent sale will be held on Saturday June 4 in the Lambeau Field Atrium from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. "Once again, the team’s football operations staff has provided Packers team apparel no longer in use, including a large assortment of shoes, t-shirts, fleece tops and mesh shorts," according to a release by the Packers. "Some items are practice-worn gear not normally available in the Pro Shop." The event had previously spanned an entire weekend. It's been presumed that the Super Bowl victory wiped out a lot of Packers gear at the Pro Shop.

In response to the column ran yesterday in the Green Bay Press-Gazette about a man tending to the grave of Vince Lombardi, another group has spoken. "Lombardi family member who saw the column contacted the Press-Gazette and said a Knights of Columbus council that’s named after Lombardi in the Middletown Township, N.J., area has been caretaker of the gravesite for years, probably going back to the council’s inception 37 years ago," writes Pete Dougherty of the Press-Gazette.

Looking toward the future is Kevin McCauley of Acme Packing Company, who examines the offensive line of the Packers. "Waiting in the wings, appearing to be no more than one season away from starting at left tackle and left guard are first round draft pick Derek Sherrod and versatile everything man T.J. Lang," writes McCauley. "The starting offensive line for the 2012-13 Green Bay Packers is likely to be Sherrod, Lang, Wells, Sitton, and Bulaga. At the start of the season, those players will be, respectably, 23, 24, 31, 25, and 23 years old."

Some players who may be cut are listed by Zach Kruse of AllGreenBayPackers.com.

An interview with WLUK-TV sports director Drew Smith, who covers the Packers, appears at PocketDoppler.

Daryn Colledge talks about the lockout and other topics with Boise, Id. radio station KTIK.

Lombardi Ave. finds meaning in an otherwise relatively obscure Packers game.

Former Packer Brett Favre is throwing again. PackerWorldCentral looks at what that means.

The trade for John Hadl is listed as one trade the Packers wish they could undo, according to a Bleacher Report slideshow.

Randall Cobb is the subject of a post at OpposingViews.

Brian Carriveau is the editor of the Maple Street Press Packers Annual. To contact Brian, email [email protected].

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Comments (3)

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PackerT's picture

May 27, 2011 at 07:39 am

With the exception of Colledge and Spitz, all the olineman are expected to be in Nashville. They will be there Sunday through Wednesday.

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Chad Toporski's picture

May 27, 2011 at 11:38 am

I also don't see any red flags concerning a Super Bowl "hangover." No one really knows how effective these impromptu player practices even are, and I think the Packers have a lot of professional players on their team. They know what they need to do to be prepared, and I trust their judgement.

If there are really any signs of a "hangover," they will come when training begins and the season finally starts. It's too early to start making those calls.

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Cuphound's picture

May 29, 2011 at 09:39 pm

Hey, Brian! I hope you had fun at the ball game!

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