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How times have changed
Joe Greene has spent 36 years of his life working in the NFL in various capacities, so he
knows how training camp is different today.
“We were in camp longer, wore pads more, had contact quite a bit. I can’t recall any
days in shorts,” said Greene. “But we didn’t have any of the offseason programs they do now, the minicamps and the OTAs. When we came to camp we used the six weeks we were here to get ourselves in playing shape.”
Greene understands why the players hit less these days, but isn’t sure if he is a fan of that.
“I always struggled with that. Football is a physical game. There is no substitute for what you are trying to get done in a ballgame. To prepare yourself for contact, you have to have contact. The rules today and the limited number of players that you have, you probably do have to avoid as much contact as possible.” Greene also is amazed by what players bring to camp now compared to when he played.
“I brought two 60-, 70-pound speakers, a big turntable and my entire music collection, and I played it and disturbed everybody all the time,” laughed Greene. “I didn’t have a refrigerator. I just brought shorts and clothes for the preseason games. When I was coaching, guys started to rent waterbeds, air conditioners, entertainment units, TVs and comfortable chairs and they looked like they were in their living rooms.”
Joe Greene has spent 36 years of his life working in the NFL in various capacities, so he
knows how training camp is different today.
“We were in camp longer, wore pads more, had contact quite a bit. I can’t recall any
days in shorts,” said Greene. “But we didn’t have any of the offseason programs they do now, the minicamps and the OTAs. When we came to camp we used the six weeks we were here to get ourselves in playing shape.”
Greene understands why the players hit less these days, but isn’t sure if he is a fan of that.
“I always struggled with that. Football is a physical game. There is no substitute for what you are trying to get done in a ballgame. To prepare yourself for contact, you have to have contact. The rules today and the limited number of players that you have, you probably do have to avoid as much contact as possible.” Greene also is amazed by what players bring to camp now compared to when he played.
“I brought two 60-, 70-pound speakers, a big turntable and my entire music collection, and I played it and disturbed everybody all the time,” laughed Greene. “I didn’t have a refrigerator. I just brought shorts and clothes for the preseason games. When I was coaching, guys started to rent waterbeds, air conditioners, entertainment units, TVs and comfortable chairs and they looked like they were in their living rooms.”
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