nerdmann
8 years ago

GREEN BAY — Taking a closer look at the Green Bay Packers' second practice of training camp on Friday:

Thumbs up: While the first two practices of training camp are, by rule, not in pads, it's difficult for there to be any genuine excitement about anything other than the fact that football is back and the road to Super Bowl 50 is underway. But while the first two practices may feel ho-hum to observers, that should change on Saturday morning, when the pads come on and the hitting starts.

Now, this isn't the Vince Lombardi Era, or the Forrest Gregg Era, or even the Mike Holmgren Era, when practices had live tackling and violent collisions. But everyone will feel the intensity ratchet up several notches when the half-line inside run drill and the 1-on-1 pass rush/pass blocking sessions.

That said, Packers coach Mike McCarthy felt that, given the limitations, the first two days went as he'd hoped.

"The first two practices, the things you really pay close attention to are the structure, the drill work. Make sure things are done right," McCarthy explained. "Just getting all the little things the way you want it. Players are competing. The first two practices, it's gone well. I feel good about the effort, it's excellent. The energy is excellent. The workload is where it needs to be, so we're off to a good start."

Thumbs down: With every player-specific question McCarthy received the past two days — How has so-and-so looked to you? — you could sense the coach was inching toward a Herm Edwards moment . (Hello!) Writers need the coach's thoughts on players they want to write about, but McCarthy wants more of a body of training-camp work before saying much about anyone. So let's be clear that no lasting judgments are being made before the pads have even come on.

That said, it's clear that rookie QB Brett Hundley has a ways to go. He's working behind Aaron Rodgers, Scott Tolzien and Matt Blanchard at the moment, although he did get a ton of reps in the long jog-through period at the end of practice Friday. But in an 11-on-11 period, he eluded the pass rush and made a bad decision, throwing a ball up for grabs that S Morgan Burnett picked off. Now, Rodgers threw an INT later in practice, so it happens. But it'll be interesting to see how Hundley develops in the coming weeks.

Play of the day:Rookie first-round pick Damarious Randall made the kind of play during 11-on-11 on Friday that grabs your attention. When Blanchard threw a deep ball down the left sideline to undrafted rookie receiver Jimmie Hunt, Hunt went up over Randall and appeared to be making a terrific catch for a big gain. But as Hunt came back to earth, Randall swatted the ball from his grasp, turning what could have been a big play into an incompletion and a win for the defense.

"That just shows what type of athlete he is, what type of player he can be," said fellow CB Casey Hayward, who is working with the starters ahead of Randall. "He's been doing a great job since he's been here and hopefully that trend stays going up and he can help this defense out.

"He's a confident young guy. He's got a bright future. Hopefully that trend keeps going up."

Camp confidential:If you got your hopes up for the Packers making a trip to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016, you can forget it. It ain't happening.

Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy said last week that he'd talked to Jags owner Shad Kahn  and after that conversation, he didn't think the Jaguars would want to give up a home game — and certain sellout — because of the way Packers fans travel. Turns out, Murphy was right.

Jaguars president Mark Lamping told the Florida Times-Union Thursday  that the team will be hosting the Packers in Jacksonville next season. The Jaguars played San Francisco and Dallas at London's Wembley Stadium the past two seasons and will play Buffalo there on Oct. 25.

The Packers haven't traveled to Jacksonville since 2008, and based on the NFL's scheduling formula, their next trip there wouldn't be until 2024.

"We get the Packers here in Jacksonville so infrequently," Lamping said. "They have such a national following. We have a lot of people here in Jacksonville that are Jaguars fans, but also fans of the traditional NFL teams. So we look forward to that game being played here in Jacksonville."

Packers Playlist:"Homegrown" by Zac Brown Band, "Evenflow" by Pearl Jam, "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon, "Unbelievers" by Vampire Weekend, and "A Little Less Conversation"  by Elvis Presley vs. JXL were the songs played during the regeneration periods Thursday.

Injury report: WR Jared Abbrederis, who is coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in training camp last year, departed practice on Thursday and was diagnosed with a concussion, McCarthy said. Rookie G Matt Rotheram suffered an ankle injury Thursday and was being evaluated Friday. CB Quinten Rollins (hamstring) remains on the Non-Football Injury list, while OLB Mike Neal (abdomen), WR Ricky Collins (heel) and RB John Crockett (ankle) are on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

Short yardage: The Packers defensive backs had a strong second day of camp. Not only did Randall break up multiple passes, but Hayward deflected a thread-the-needle throw by Rodgers and Burnett picked it off. "I thought the DBs did very well. They got their hands on the balls a bunch," McCarthy said. "We saw Randall had a nice play over there on the left boundary. That's what you're looking for." ... McCarthy is limiting veteran G Josh Sitton's snaps in 11-on-11 work, rotating JC Tretter, Lane Taylor and Josh Walker in his place with the starters throughout practice. "Just being smart with him," McCarthy said. ... When the Packers went to their base defense Friday, Clay Matthews worked inside. But when they were in nickel, Matthews was outside and rookie ILB Jake Ryan got the call next to Sam Barrington.

They said it: "Having all our coaches out there in the stands during practice, it's always a lot of fun."— Randall Cobb, on fans filling the Ray Nitschke Field bleachers.

Practice schedule: The Packers will practice again at 8:20 a.m. Saturday, but in pads for the first time. There is no practice on Sunday.

Jason Wilde  wrote:


“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
Fan Shout
buckeyepackfan (19h) : Lions extend Penei Soul 4yrs - 112mil
buckeyepackfan (19h) : Lions extend St. Brown 4 years 120mil and
Mucky Tundra (19h) : Now look, trading up to 13 to take a TE might not seem like a good idea later but it will be later!
dfosterf (21h) : (Your trade up mock post)
dfosterf (22h) : Mucky- The only thing fun to watch would be me flipping the f out if Gute goes up to 13 and grabs Brock Bowers, lol
beast (24-Apr) : DT Byron Murphy II, Texas... whom some believe is the next Aaron Donald (or the closest thing to Donald)
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : What? And who?
Mucky Tundra (24-Apr) : *sad Mucky noises*
Mucky Tundra (24-Apr) : @JoeJHoyt Murphy said he’s been told he won’t slide past pick No. 16.
wpr (23-Apr) : Just about time to watch Sonny Weaver stick it to the seahags. I never get tired of it.
Martha Careful (23-Apr) : *game plan
Martha Careful (23-Apr) : IMHO, not even close. He is not a guy you game play around.
Mucky Tundra (23-Apr) : is Aiyuk worth a 1st rounder?
Zero2Cool (23-Apr) : 49ers are seeking a 1st round pick in exchange for WR Brandon Aiyuk
Mucky Tundra (22-Apr) : Based on Gutes comments, now I don't feel as silly having 13 picks in my mock the other day
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : Zach Wilson to Broncos.
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : Gutekunst says he'd love to have 13 or 14 picks. He's trading back huh lol
beast (22-Apr) : Someday we'll have a draft betting scandal
beast (21-Apr) : Sometimes looking extremely amazing, sometimes looking extremely lost
beast (21-Apr) : I haven't looked into the QBs, but some have suggested Maye has some of the most extremely inconsistent tape they've seen
beast (21-Apr) : Well it also sounds like Patriots are listening to trade offers, not that seriously considering any, but listening means they aren't locked
Zero2Cool (21-Apr) : Maye needs to be AFC
Mucky Tundra (21-Apr) : Not liking the idea of the Vikings getting Maye
Zero2Cool (21-Apr) : Vikings HC joked that he may or may not have sent flowers to Bob Kraft. That's where rumor came from.
beast (21-Apr) : Can't tell if this is real or BS, but some rumors about a possible Patriots/Vikings trade for #3 overall
dfosterf (21-Apr) : One playbook to my knowledge. I was shooting for facetious.
beast (20-Apr) : I'm not sure they have different playbooks for different OL positions, and Dillard run blocking is supposedly worse than his pass blocking..
dfosterf (19-Apr) : The only problem with that is he isn't a guard either.
dfosterf (19-Apr) : Put him at right guard. That is where he will be coached. That is where he will compete. He is not even allowed to look at the LT playbook.
dfosterf (18-Apr) : Kidding aside, I hope the best for him.
dfosterf (18-Apr) : Went to a Titans board. One comment there. Not very long. I quote: "LOL" They don't sound overly upset about our aquisition.
beast (18-Apr) : OT Dillard has been absolutely horrible... like OG Newman levels
dfosterf (18-Apr) : Suit him up and have him stand in front of the big board as a draft day cautionary tale.
Zero2Cool (18-Apr) : Packers sign T Andre Dillard.
Mucky Tundra (18-Apr) : Adds most of the information this time of year comes from agents.
Mucky Tundra (18-Apr) : @RealAlexBarth Bill Belichick says accurate draft information doesn't leak from teams until about 12 hours before the draft. Adds most of th
Mucky Tundra (18-Apr) : I am very happy that for moment, Jordan Love seems like a normal human being
Zero2Cool (17-Apr) : Belichick * whatever
Zero2Cool (17-Apr) : "There's a lot of depth at Offensive Tackle and Wide Receiver." Bill Bellichick
Zero2Cool (17-Apr) : Thanks! I can't believe it's over haha
Martha Careful (16-Apr) : Congratulations
Zero2Cool (16-Apr) : Boom. Student Loan. $0.00. Only took about 20 years.
Zero2Cool (14-Apr) : Packers DT Kenny Clark: New defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will 'allow us to be way more disruptive'
Zero2Cool (12-Apr) : Saints have agreed to terms on a contract with former Packers wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown.
beast (12-Apr) : No, but of it's for legislation, then half of the country will find it evil, not good, whatever it says....
Mucky Tundra (12-Apr) : Draft is still 2 weeks away. UGH
dhazer (11-Apr) : Does anyone know of a good AI generator to create letters of Support for legislation?
Zero2Cool (11-Apr) : Gordon "Red" Batty retires as equipment manager
Zero2Cool (10-Apr) : Sounds like that's pretty certain now.
Zero2Cool (10-Apr) : Packers "at" Eagles in Brazil. Week One
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