Can we start a new nickname for LB Brady Poppinga? The Cockroach? From Greg Bedard:
"Oh, and expect Brady Poppinga to be the opening-day starter at ROLB. He's like a cockroach. He survives anything."
After RG Josh Sitton beat out C Scott Wells for the starting job on Monday, Bob McGinn speculated that the Green Bay Packers might trade Wells because they have C Duke Preston available as a backup. On Tuesday, they released Preston, so I guess that means Wells isn't going anywhere. He's signed to a reasonable 5 year, $15 million contract, so the team can certainly afford him, and Mike McCarthy admitted he's played great. On one hand, his trade value is never going to be higher since he's only 28 and signed to a reasonable contract. On the other hand, he's under their control for the next three seasons and the team could always use quality depth.
Of course Wells is not happy about any of this. And I don't blame him. From Rob Demovsky:
"You think I'm happy?" Wells said after today's practice...
"They told me I played well," Wells said. "That's all I can say. If you want further explanation, you need to talk to somebody other than me."
As for the practice itself, it looks like the rest of training camp will be quite dull. From Greg Bedard:
"Think we could be done with truly competitive training drills for the rest of camp."
He also told fans of RB Kregg Lumpkin to brace yourself for his release:
"Lumpkin fumbles again. That is going to get him cut."
I noticed this in the box score against Buffalo, but I couldn't figure out why WR Ruvell Martin was the holder on extra points. Apparently they're down to their 3rd string holder. From Mike McCarthy:
Q: Is Ruvell likely to be the holder with [QB] Matt [Flynn] injured?
A: We'll see. We'll see where Matt's at. He's the third holder obviously with Durant Brooks and Matt having injuries. We're getting him ready.