Cheese Curds, 8/10: T.J. Lang and Aaron Rodgers are ready, Jordy Nelson talks up young WRs

As the Green Bay Packers prepare for their preseason opener coming up this weekend (for the second time), the team is getting a few key players back on the field. In addition to the returns of Ty Montgomery, Jared Cook, and Sam Barrington on Tuesday, guard T.J. Lang returned to practice last week and is excited to get back to playing football again. Meanwhile, Packers fans continue to wait and hope for the return of Jordy Nelson, but he would not engage with the media yesterday when asked about his status.

All in all, it's a slow grind back to full health for the Packers, as two players remain sidelined on the PUP list: center Corey Linsley and Nelson. In today's curds, the returns from injury are of course a major topic. Meanwhile, the veterans who spoke this week are addressing a variety of topics, from Sunday's craziness in Canton to the Packers' other young wideouts and much more.

Check out those items and others below.

Back on the field, T.J. Lang focused on fundamentals | Packers.com
Lang feels that he would have been ready to practice on day one of camp, but the medical staff held him out for about a week. Now that he's back, he's focusing on playing Friday against the Browns and he says his shoulder "feels great."

Jordy Nelson mum on own progress, but can't say enough about Packers receivers - ESPN
Nelson responded in Marshawn Lynch-esque fashion, simply saying "I'm good" and "it's good" to every question about his health. However, Nelson sung the praises of the Packers' young receivers and their development this summer.

Aaron Rodgers ready for season 'right now' | Packersnews.com
It's possible that Rodgers might have been the person who noticed the warning label on the paint thinner that was used on the field for the Hall of Fame Game, and he at the very least was made aware of it. But he's okay with having a little extra rest, since he would be good to go if the regular season started this weekend.

Roster turnover for every NFC North team | PFF
The Packers were middle of the pack in terms of number of offensive snaps lost (James Jones and John Kuhn being the top departures) but are middle of the pack on defense thanks to Casey Hayward, Mike Neal, Nate Palmer, and B.J. Raji moving on.

Weird Games From Packers History — The Power Sweep
Sure, the Hall of Fame Game debacle was weird, but there have been plenty of other strange events involving Packers games in the past decade or so.

'Hard Knocks' is back, and it's boring - SBNation.com
Ryan Van Bibber argues that after eleven seasons on the air, the NFL's reality show has become as stale as one of Jeff Fisher's 7-9 teams.

Reggie Ragland to have surgery, likely to land on IR - NFL.com
This is an unfortunate situation, and one that could cause Ragland to miss the entire season. Note that the new IR rules do not require that the team designate their one player who is eligible to return to action.