GREEN BAY — Assuming none of the rookies got mixed up with the 1,700 Boy Scouts who were also touring Lambeau Field, and as long as coach Mike McCarthy's ribeye was cooked to his liking at dinner at the Brett Favre Steakhouse, the Green Bay Packers 10th-year head coach could not have asked for more from his team's annual rookie orientation camp, which wrapped up Saturday.
The 59 players who participated — eight draft picks, 17 undrafted free-agent signees, 25 tryout players and nine holdovers who were eligible because they've yet to earn a year of credit toward their NFL pension — practiced on Friday and Saturday. While there were certainly moments of confusion amid new surroundings while running new plays with teammates they'd never met, McCarthy liked what he saw.
"I've been very pleased with the quality of it, just the way the drills improve from day to day. So I'm looking forward to watching the tape [of practice]," McCarthy said following Saturday's session. "It's been an excellent two days."
Although he didn't have a rookies-only camp during his first year as coach in 2006, the rookie orientation camp has been in place since 2007. While McCarthy altered the format slightly from year to year — this is the second year under the current format — the basics remain intact: General information, position meetings, roughly 100 plays of the playbook and on-field work. It beings with a gathering on Thursday night, during which McCarthy addresses the draft picks, undrafted signees and tryout players with a message about the opportunity they have earned.
"This is a great time of year. [Thursday] night is definitely one of the top days, I know, for me professionally," McCarthy said. "When you get all the prospects — you've got your draft picks, you've got free agents, you've got the gentlemen fighting for a tryout — in the team meeting room.
"The energy, you can just feel it. Everything picks up another notch. ... [On the field] We do a very, very limited scheme installation. It's really about getting them to move as much as you possibly can and just continue the evaluation to make sure you have the best 90-man roster you possibly can."
As of Saturday evening, the Packers' roster stood at 88 players, meaning they have room for two tryout players to be signed. They could also release players if there are other tryout invitees who merit signing.
In 2012, the Packers had their rookie camp two weeks after the draft, and it allowed them to add wide receiver Jarrett Boykin, who initially signed with Jacksonville after the draft, then was released after the Jaguars' rookie camp. He came to Green Bay on a tryout basis and earned a deal.
McCarthy said he preferred having the camp right after the draft, as he has the past two years.
"I think definitely our personnel department likes having it this week," McCarthy said. "Sometimes you would lose a player to a tryout if you were [having your camp] in the second week. This seems to flow better for us."
Jason Wilde wrote: