Packers shareholders meet, players arrive for camp

Some of the more than 300,000+ shareholders of the Green Bay Packers gathered together in the lovefest at Lambeau today otherwise known as the Annual Shareholders Meeting. No, not all of them. Just some of them. Still, Packers President Mark Murphy opined that it might well have been the largest corporate meeting ever held in the U.S.

Shareholders heard about Board and staff personnel changes, the financial report (noted in an earlier post here), and some generalities from GM Ted Thompson about the team of last year and what to look forward to this year...without going into much detail, of course...don't want to tip your hand, after all. But that's OK. Thompson's earned the right to play it as he sees it. One of the things he did say, however, was that the Packers would not be the youngest team in the league for the first time in what seems like forever. There are enough veterans, now even including the second-year players, who have made and will continue to make contributions; any impact by rookies will be gravy, so to speak.

Of course, players arrive tomorrow for check-in and check-ups as training camp resumes. Yay. Oh yay, indeed. Don't need to say anything other than that at the moment.

A unique remembrance of Lombardi
St. Norbert College in De Pere, just south of Green Bay, has hosted the Packers' training camp since the time of Lombardi. It has released a unique remembrance of St. Vince himself, focusing on the man as well as the coach, as told by one of the priests at the college who knew him well. Check it out here.

Packers - gasp - sign free agent

Well this one sure slid in under the radar. The Packers have had their first unrestricted free agent signing of the offseason. And it was for a lineman! But, before you get your hopes up, no, it wasn't for a defensive lineman. Other side of the ball.

The Pack signed 26-year-old guard/center Duke Preston, who was formerly with the Buffalo Bills, to a two-year deal. Preston is an impressive physical specimen at 6'5" and 326 lbs. According to a report in today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "A fourth-round draft choice from the University of Illinois in 2005, Preston has appeared in 59 games with 20 starts, all with the Buffalo Bills. In addition to playing guard and center, he has played some right tackle." In other words, he's just the kind of young, athletic, big body type the Pack has been moving toward on the O-line. Still, according to the report, the Packers view Preston as a bit of a project with the potential for a big up-side. Given the questions surrounding the availability of long-time veteran right tackle and fan fave, Mark Tauscher, adding someone such as Preston provides the Pack with a bit of starting insurance upfront. (In fact, because of the expected rehab time for Tauscher's injury from late last season, the Pack will be well into the first weeks of the 2009 season by the time he might be available...which then may force the Packers to go another direction. They'd like to re-sign him, but time and need may force their hand. And that would be a sad way for a home-grown Wisconsin boy like Tauscher to end his career with the Packers.)

You can read more about the Preston signing here.

St. Vince video
Some of you may have already seen this video produced by NFL Films about the now iconic figure of "St. Vince." I just happened to stumble upon it so thought I'd share it with those who have yet to see it, or who want to see it again. It's a nice piece about a genuinely nice guy, as those of you who may have met him at Lambeau Field can attest.

Check it out here.