Today was the last Green Bay Packers practice of the season where the media was allowed to watch the first couple of individual and group periods. It was conducted inside the Don Hutson Center with a cold rain falling outside. Dreary, just like 2018's campaign turned out.
It brought back thoughts of five months and one day ago when under a brilliant sunshine, the Packers opened training camp on Ray Nitschke Field. With a huge crowd of fans in attendance, there were dreams of another Super Bowl run.
That was 6 wins, 8 losses, a tie, a Head Coach and 16 players on injured reserve ago.
To quote the Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange trip it's been."
The stretch run will arrive Sunday at Lambeau Field when the Packers, for the third straight year, finish by playing the Detroit Lions.
After the final gun (they don't fire blanks like they used to) sounds, interim Head Coach Joe Philbin put it best saying by Monday, "this will be a ghost town."
But the ghost of Mike McCarthy and perhaps a couple of key veteran players, could hang over the stadium well into 2019. Among the 12 unrestricted free agents with contracts expiring next March are Randall Cobb and Clay Matthews.
They have a combined 18 years and 246 games played as Packers.
Cobb has had a painful season, appearing in only eight games while missing seven. He's finally out of the concussion protocol and hopes to be on the field Sunday. Will it be his last appearance as a Packer?
Randall has been around long enough, and witnessed enough to know the drill.
(Audio: Randall Cobb)
As for Matthews, he'll suit up Sunday, making it the first season since 2015 where he's appeared in every game. Given two extensions by the organization that traded up to draft him in the first round of 2009, Matthews will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. Has he allowed himself to consider the possibility his 143rd game might be his last for Green Bay?
(Audio: Clay Matthews)
A game for Packer pride against a pride of Lions will end a season and begin one of the most interesting off-seasons around Lambeau in a long, long time.