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Packers Announce 2008 Training Camp Schedule
posted 05/29/2008
Visit www.PackersTrainingCamp.com for more training camp information!
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An unusual preseason slate has created a rather jam-packed training camp schedule for the Green Bay Packers in 2008.
The camp schedule, announced Thursday by Head Coach Mike McCarthy, begins on Monday, July 28, with two practices (8:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.).
The late start is due to the NFL rule that does not allow teams to report for training camp more than 15 days prior to their first preseason game. Because the Packers open the preseason on Monday Night Football, Aug. 11 against Cincinnati, the reporting date is Sunday, July 27, with the first workouts the following day.
The Monday night preseason opener also has forced Green Bay to pack all four preseason contests into a span of 18 days. That leaves only four days between games 1 and 2, and five days each between games 2 and 3, and games 3 and 4.
Normally, the Packers have at least one six- or seven-day stretch between preseason games. The unusual game schedule doesn't allow for that this year, but with Green Bay slated for three Monday night games during the regular season, beginning with the opener on Sept. 8 against Minnesota, it's a pattern the team will have to get accustomed to.
"Our training camp schedule really parallels our in-season schedule," McCarthy said. "We have a prime-time, Monday Night Football game to start the preseason and the regular season, so this will help us prepare for the regular season."
Night practices are again a part of the training camp schedule for the third straight year under McCarthy. Including the July 28 opening day, a total of seven night practices, all beginning at 6:30 p.m., are scheduled. The other dates are July 30 and Aug. 1, 6, 8, 13 and 18.
The annual Family Night Scrimmage, also at 6:30 p.m., is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 3.
Important dates on the preseason calendar:
* Monday, July 28 - First practices, 8:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Clarke Hinkle Field
* Sunday, Aug. 3 - Family Night intra-squad scrimmage, 6:30 p.m., Lambeau Field
* Tuesday, Aug. 26 - Last practice open to public, 10:15 a.m., Clarke Hinkle Field; NFL-mandated roster reduction, to 75 players
* Saturday, Aug. 30 - NFL-mandated roster reduction, to 53 players
An economic boon for the Green Bay area, training camp annually attracts approximately 100,000 visitors and gives the local economy a $35 million boost, according to the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau. Camp again will welcome visitors from all over the country, and all over the world.
This marks Green Bay's 63rd training camp, a tradition that began in 1946 under Curly Lambeau. One of the most intimate preseason settings in the NFL, Packers training camp is unique in several respects. Players have been riding kids' bicycles to practice since the Vince Lombardi era, and the team has lived in the dorm rooms at nearby St. Norbert College since 1958, the league's longest training camp relationship between a team and school. |
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