GREEN BAY — Taking a closer look at the Green Bay Packers' seventh practice of training camp from Saturday, the annual Family Night event:
Thumbs up: Although it ended up not mattering in the big picture, as he went on to have the best season of his career, Mason Crosby was abysmal at Family Night last summer, when in head-to-head competition with Giorgio Tavecchio to end the event, he made only 2 of 6 attempts during the final period and was just 3 of 8 for the night.
What a difference, as they say, a year makes. Crosby closed out Saturday night's event by making all six of his kicks, from 28, 33, 28, 43, 48 and 50 yards.
"Was anybody holding their breath out there on that field-goal set? I know I wasn't. I felt good about it," said Crosby, who had made 14 of 16 during the first week of camp entering Saturday night. "I feel good with how I'm approaching every day. Every day I come into work, in meetings, on the practice field, I'm taking every opportunity very seriously and making sure I take advantage of them. Whether it's in a game, practice rep, they all matter and they all need to be crisp and good.
"I've been really happy; I've had two misses in like the sessions that we've had in practice and I've moved on from those really well."
Thumbs down: Referee Ed Hochuli's crew worked the practice, and before leaving town, they made sure they delivered one more reminder that defensive backs will be heavily scrutinized this season on any contact with receivers. During 1-on-1 drills between the defensive backs and the receivers, Hochuli's crew threw flags on 10 of the 19 reps in the period — and only one, by unofficial count, on the offensive player.
"We were literally laughing after a while. The first couple of ones, we were running down there, and then after that we were like 'Whoa, this is nuts,'" safety Micah Hyde said. "I've never seen that before in my life. I think they were trying to call every little thing."
During their visit, the officials warned players that the NFL's league directive to emphasize penalizing contact in the passing game would result in more flags, and multiple defensive backs said they expect more during next Saturday night's preseason opener at Tennessee. However, cornerback Casey Hayward made a good point: When 11-on-11 drills were in full swing, suddenly the flags stopped.
"The team periods, you didn't see that many flags. Because now, you (as an official) have to focus on the whole field and not just one specific area," Hayward said. "At the end of the day, I think they're going to be more strict on some of the things in the preseason. We just have to adjust our game to how they're calling it in the preseason."
Play of the day: While coach Mike McCarthy was less than thrilled with the decision, and Colt Lyerla suffered a leg injury for his trouble, give the undrafted rookie free-agent tight end this much: His hurdle of defensive back Jumal Rolle on a catch-and-run certainly showed off Lyerla's athleticism, which is one of the reasons why the team decided to take a chance on him after his checkered past at the University of Oregon.
That said, McCarthy made it clear he wasn't a fan of the Lyerla Leap, which ended with Jarrett Bush hitting Lyerla at the end of the play and Lyerla leaving on a cart to the locker room shortly thereafter.
"Obviously it wasn't a live tackling period. I think you can figure that out from there," McCarthy said. "There's a time for the opportunity to hurdle the defender, and I think that was probably not the right time."
Camp confidential: On Friday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers smiled at a question about Family Night, saying, "I've never had the best Family Nights over the years, but I've always enjoyed them," said Rodgers, who was famously booed in 2008 when his unretiring predecessor, Brett Favre, came to the stadium for the event as part of his showdown with the team. But later, Rodgers posted to his Twitter account that he'd been clotheslined during the 2006 Family Night, by then-rookie linebacker and now his good friend, A.J. Hawk.8 years ago @OfficialAJHawk clotheslined me on family night. I'll have my revenge...in this life or the next. #familynight #norainplease — Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) August 1, 2014 Hawk set the record straight after Family Night, however.
"No. Part of it's fabricated," Hawk said with a laugh. "He mixed me and (ex-Packers linebacker) Brady Poppinga together on that."
Packers Playlist: Regeneration periods during practice are also called "TV timeouts," and on Saturday night, they truly were. With the local FOX affiliate, WLUK, broadcasting the event, the regeneration periods featured advertising on the Lambeau Field scoreboard instead of the usual catchy tunes that blare from the Ray Nitschke Field speakers.
Injury report: WR Jared Abbrederis (knee), who is headed for season-ending injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and S Tanner Miller (ankle) sat out. C Corey Linsley (shoulder) returned to practice after missing Friday. DE Jerel Worthy (lower back) and DT Letroy Guion (hamstring) remained on the Non-Football Injury list. Rookie WR Jeff Janis (shingles) remained on the Non-Football Illness list but said he expects to practice on Monday.
They said it: "I know everybody wants to get to the fireworks, so let's get going." — McCarthy, opening up his post-practice news conference.
Practice schedule: The Packers do not practice Sunday. They will return to Ray Nitschke Field at 5:30 p.m. Monday. They'll be in pads, McCarthy said.
Jason Wilde wrote: