Training camp starts off...not so good

Let's see...in the first few days of training camp the Packers lose one of their tight ends (Tory Humphrey) for an undetermined amount of time -- perhaps the entire season -- with a fractured fibula, lose their nominal starting running back (Vernand Morency) for perhaps two to four weeks with an undisclosed knee injury, have their Pro Bowl #1 receiver (Donald Driver) fail his physical with a lingering shoulder injury, and have their QB (that would be Brett) experience yet another family loss -- his wife's stepfather died suddenly Saturday. Can you say, "Aaaaarrrrghhh!"?

Brett and his wife's stepfather, Rocky Byrd, had become very close over the past 10 years or so, according to reports. For Brett to receive the news of Byrd's sudden heart attack at age 56 had to resurface memories of his own father's death in 2003. There is an excellent and revealing article about all this at packersnews.com. You can find it here.

Over the weekend practices, with the injury to Humphrey and a few other unusual circumstances with the tight end corps, there actually were times when the offense had no tight ends to work with. Oh boy. The only silver lining to Morency's injury is it is giving the Packers extended looks at the other backs on the roster. And with Brett having to return to Mississippi to deal with Byrd's death, backup QB Aaron Rodgers is making the most of his opportunities. Media reports indicated that his throws and reads both looked sharp yesterday.

On another front, there's an interesting article in today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about "KGB" and his new role as a designated pass rusher rather than starting defensive end. Check it out here.