WBAY-TV Green Bay-Fox Cities-Northeast Wisconsin News: Packers Training Camp 2009

Packers Training Camp 2009

Packers Training Camp 2009 is underway.  First Round Draft pick BJ Raji is still unsigned and did not attend practice Saturday. It could be an even longer wait given that most of the picks around Raji's 9th selection in the first round remain unsigned.

The Packers hit the new Ray Nitschke Field Saturday afternoon for their first practice and all eyes were on the new 3-4 defense. Jeremy Thompson started with the ones at outside linebacker opposite Aaron Kampman.

The converted defensive end is battling First Round Draft Rick Clay Matthews for the starting job.

 Saturday's practice was the first for the defense in full pads. Overall the initial reviews were positive.

Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy says "I think the organization was good on both sides of the ball. The defense and what Dom was doing was positive.  We threw a lot of sub groups at them and they did ok.  That's a credit to the players and what they did in the off-season program."

Camp notes from day one Allen Barbre looks like the front-runner at right tackle. Barbre took the reps with the starters but Coach McCarthy had positive reviews of his challenger Breno Giacomini. Scott Wells and Jason Spitz split reps at center.

Receiver James Jones turned some heads with a pair of deep catches. The first came in one-on-one drills. The second came on a deep ball from Aaron Rodgers late in team drills.

Twitter is the rage among NFL players but it's off limits for the Packers during business hours. Coach McCarthy will fine his player $1,701 for each time a player uses his cell phone or the phone goes off during meetings.