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The Wisconsin State Journal Tom Oates Column: Voluntary Means Voluntary for Veterans

Posted on: Saturday, 20 May 2006, 12:02 CDT

By Tom Oates, The Wisconsin State Journal

May 20--GREEN BAY -- A lot of people were awfully worked up about Brett Favre being excused from the Green Bay Packers' second minicamp, which began Friday.

It turns out Favre was the least of their worries.

In addition to their 36-year-old quarterback, the Packers were without veterans Al Harris, Charles Woodson, William Henderson, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Ahman Green and Chad Clifton, among others. Even first-round draft pick A.J. Hawk was absent, though he was back at Ohio State finishing up his, ahem, classwork.

So what's the cause of all this absenteeism? Fallout from Javon Walker's successful exit strategy? Contract envy over Donald Driver's extension? A sign that Favre is still on his own program?

No, it's a minicamp. And a voluntary one at that.

Aside from Harris, whose nose presumably is out of joint over Woodson's $52 million free agent contract, the absences mean nothing.

Still, Packers fans have been furiously debating all week whether Favre was hurting the team by his failure to show. Favre, the critics howled, needs to learn new coach Mike McCarthy's offense so he won't have a repeat of his 29-interception season. He should be there to get in shape, exert leadership, develop rapport with the new receivers and tutor the young quarterbacks.

Puh-leeeze.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Favre's absence will have no effect on this three-day exercise designed to teach the rookies and other newcomers little more than the quickest way to go from the locker room to the practice field. McCarthy has said repeatedly that minicamps are for learning the NFL basics, a process most veterans went through long ago.

"It's pretty much learning for the new guys," fourth-year linebacker Nick Barnett said, "and it's kind of a review for me."

Moreover, veterans don't have to be on the field to learn. They can learn in the film room because they know what to look for. Even those being trained in new systems, terminologies and techniques, as the Packers are, learn much more quickly than rookies.

"The thing is, I have something to compare it to," said safety Marquand Manuel, entering his fifth NFL season. "A young rookie doesn't have anything to compare it to. I can go back and watch film and sit down and ask a coach, 'What about this? We called it this and we adjusted this way (before). Now you're adjusting this way and why?' "

In other words, veteran players don't need minicamps. If they miss them, so what? Nothing is lost. That's why Favre is better off back in Mississippi slowly working his aging arm back into shape for the regular season than overtaxing it during a weekend visit to Green Bay in the middle of May.

McCarthy said -- correctly, too -- that letting Favre stay home was the best way to go because it was being smart with an older player and would hasten the development of second-year quarterback Aaron Rodgers by giving him more time with the first team.

Besides, the second minicamp was largely a review of the first one, which Favre attended. More important, he's scheduled to return for 10 of the 14 organized team activity practices (OTAs) in June and McCarthy said the OTAs, which also are voluntary, would be more beneficial to Favre than the current minicamp because "you'll hit every situation and our whole installation offensively will be put in (during) the OTAs."

The armchair quarterbacks may think the real quarterback belongs in this minicamp, but the truth is Favre doesn't need it any more than Harris, Woodson and the rest of the veterans.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Wisconsin State Journal

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Source: The Wisconsin State Journal

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