Quarterback Aaron Rodgers warms up before the Green Bay Packers game Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. Credit: Rick Wood

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Green Bay — Fridays off in the NFL? Unheard of.

The Green Bay Packers' weekly work schedule was tried and true.

Monday was for game film review, treatment and active recovery workouts. Tuesday was an off-day. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were heavy work days to study the opponent and install the game plan, and then practice and perfect it. Friday was the last chance to fine tune anything or get anyone on the injury list caught up.

"You had some other important work on Friday, too — goal-line, short-yardage, four-minute, backup stuff," said Green Bay tight ends coach and 16-year NFL veteran Jerry Fontenot. "Even in the old days, we wore shoulder pads on Fridays.

"Saturday was the day to recuperate and regenerate."

Well, not anymore.

In the techno-modern era of the NFL, the 2014 Packers have turned the end of the week upside down. There is no practice Friday and instead the team practices Saturday morning, sometimes a mere 28 hours before kickoff.

And some players really like the new plan.

"You get your blood going the day before the game," said defensive lineman Julius Peppers. "You're not sitting around for a whole 48 hours before the game. It's a good deal."

The Packers start with what they call "Feel-good Friday" or "Fresh Friday." When they come to work on that day, they must choose at least two options from a list of activities.

Some of the activities are enviable — like massages, the most popular choice.

Others, like Graston Technique, which breaks up fascia and scar tissue, can be uncomfortable.

Peppers sees the chiropractor and gets Graston treatment on his hamstrings, Achilles and calves.

Mike Neal does the hot tub, cold tub, Graston and a massage — before he goes home to his personal infrared sauna, where he sits for 30 minutes.

"Graston is a tool that looks like a butter knife," Neal said. "It scratches the top surface of the skin but you can hear it, when they scratch it up — it sounds real crunchy. That means there is fascia in a certain area. The point is to try to get that to smooth out.

"After they loosen up all that lactic acid, I sit in the sauna to flush it all out. I feel pretty good."

Even the young guys like "Feel-good Friday."

Rookie receiver Davante Adams sits in the cold tub, gets a massage and then zips up the NormaTec compression boots. Fellow receiver Randall Cobb calls them space boots, but they feel like a giant blood pressure cuff on the leg. Popular with receivers and running backs, they are worn for 25 minutes to revive stiff and sore legs.

"You put them on from your foot all the way up to your hips," said Adams. "I guess it is supposed to release some of the lactic acids. I don't know how it works but I feel good after it. I love it."

Receiver Kevin Dorsey is proactive with his Friday. He starts the Graston technique on his shins, calves, quads, glutes, hip flexor, hamstrings and feet on Thursday night.

"I would rather have that Friday to allow my body to heal," said Dorsey. "Graston usually bruises your muscles. It takes a day to kind of heal. I would rather do that early so by the time Saturday comes, you feel amazing."

"Feel Good-Friday" is really a productive off-day, geared toward a mental and physical recovery and rejuvenation — and it is radically different for the older players.

"It definitely helps me out, especially at my age, to stay off the legs, get rested, get hydrated, get recovered," said Peppers, 34. "I think its great — for some of the older guys."

By 8 a.m. Saturday, it is back to work, the final practice, and if feeling good, everyone should be able to practice, and then play hard.

"We're very focused on a Saturday, because it is the day before a game. So we need to lock in," said rookie tight end Richard Rodgers.

Some may refer to the Saturday practice as a walk-through, but running backs coach Alex Van Pelt said it actually is faster, even more than a jog-through practice. And coaches get in their final marching orders.

"You still get the time," said safeties coach Darren Perry. "And that's the main thing you want as a coach. You want the time."

With three full days to study the playbook, the later practice can be beneficial for the youngest members of the team, because that's another day to absorb the game plan.

"Sometimes it's better to slow it down," said Adams. "Saturday is more of a mental day. We can slow it down, we can talk through it. Sometimes we might have crowd noise, so we can work on our signals rather than running at full speed and just worrying about the execution."

In essence, the new schedule means that Wednesday and Thursday are pretty long, grueling work days. But the intended payoff is a healed body and ready mind by game day.

"Such a big part of football every week is the mental aspect of it," said backup quarterback Scott Tolzien. "Other sports, it is more of a reactionary thing. Football, there is a huge emphasis on the film and the game plans."

A couple veteran players wondered if the younger guys needed — or even appreciated — this new Friday-Saturday schedule. Perhaps a 24-year-old doesn't need a massage as much as he needs to toughen up for the long haul ahead.

"It's different than what it has been in the past, but I know this: They've put a lot of thought and research into it," said the 27-year-old Tolzien.

The Packers said strength and conditioning coordinator Mark Lovat did his research and, based on the information available on sleep studies and how the body regenerates, this was the best way to go.

Fontenot said he probably would have liked this schedule when he played the game, because he recalls how recharged players would be on Wednesday and Thursday. He said this schedule puts the mental anticipation on Saturday and Sunday.

"The hope is to launch on Sundays, to get the most out of your body," said Van Pelt. "All the research says the way we do it, you're freshest and ready to roll."