Packers Get Physical and Brawl at Green Bay's Fast-Paced Camp

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Practice pace in training camps varies from team to team. Most are in the throes of full contact by now, although the "teaching" Oakland Raiders went through eight full practices and a day of team meetings at the Napa Marriott before even donning pads this week.

Green Bay, the attitude is hit somebody, and hit 'em hard. Head coach Mike McCarthy has instructed his retooling Packers to go full-bore every play, every workout. The pace is swift as the team switches from individual to team drills at Nitschke Field.

And fiery new defensive assistants, such as outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene -- the former five-time Pro Bowler and pro wrestler -- and defensive line coach Mike Trgovac, who spent the past six seasons as the Panthers' defensive coordinator, have the green light to push, shout and generally stoke their players into a near frenzy on the practice field.

Wisconsin parents: If you don't want your kids to hear some rough language, put on the earmuffs at Packers' training camp.

With coaches cursing and screaming and players flying around the field, this kind of aggression naturally leads to chippy play, which then leads to the crowd-pleasing camp brawl breaking out. Especially with six practices crammed into four days this week, five of which were in full pads.

A night scrimmage at Nitschke Field on Tuesday saw three separate fights ensue, the last of which involved nearly every player on the team. The tension was so high, McCarthy ordered the offense and defense to separate and get water separately. Players responded with hoots and laughter.

"I probably shouldn't even say it," McCarthy said, "but we were 6-10 last year and we didn't have a damn fight in training camp. I guess we're off to a hell of a start."

Greene, who was pretty rowdy in his playing days, has a special target for his aggression. He's been riding rookie linebacker Clay Matthews, the second of Green Bay's two first-round picks, extremely hard.

"I'm used to it," said Matthews, who is getting valuable work while top pick, nose tackle B.J. Raji, remains unsigned and not at camp. "I expected to come here and work hard like this."

In Thursday's morning practice, the vocal Trgovac also played the role of cheerleader, lumbering across the defensive sideline and personally congratulating his linemen. "That's the way! Battle back from adversity!" he hollered to the players, grabbing each one by the shoulder pads.

"Dom has always been an aggressive defensive coach and he likes that fast pace," said Trgovac, who is embracing his return to the role of position coach after his seven-year stint in Carolina in various roles with coach John Fox. "That's what we're looking for out here.

"Every now and then you have a scrap, but they just have to remind each other that they are teammates. It's better to have to pull 'em back than to have to push 'em in there. That makes your job easier when you have to pull 'em off of fights rather than getting them to fight. Then you know you got problems."

The physical play also has it drawbacks: McCarthy revealed Thursday that tight end Tory Humphrey will undergo surgery Friday for a broken forearm.

Humphrey sustained the injury near the end of Thursday's morning practice when he collided with safety Aaron Rouse, who intercepted a pass intended for Humphrey.

McCarthy said the Packers won't know Humphrey's status for the 2009 season until after the surgery. A seven-game starter in '08, Humphrey missed the entire '07 season after sustaining a broken leg on the first day of training camp that year.