Green Bay Packers - Don Hutson Center

On the surface The morning practice Wednesday was the first inside the Don Hutson Center since the new FieldTurf surface was installed. FieldTurf is a synthetic turf that has a natural grass feel because of the long blades of plastic grass. The blades are surrounded by a shock-absorbing fill made from graded sand and ground rubber that is supposed to allow players to dig their cleats into the surface and make cuts as though they are on grass. An oil base in the synthetic fibers coats the turf and is supposed to prevent turf burn. "It's great," receiver Donald Driver said. "It's better than the hard turf because you get a good bounce off it. It's a lot faster (than grass) because you have that bounce when you come off it.

That stuff is phenomenal. It is going to save with injuries. Now we can practice a little bit longer.

Hopefully one of these years everybody will go to what we use in the Hutson Center. The difference between FieldTurf and AstroTurf is night and day. (FieldTurf) is about the closest thing to real grass you’re going to get.

The players love it, that’s what matters.

I think it’s awesome. It’s like natural grass. The reason they did it was to save our legs and back. This keeps the soreness out of your body.