GENERAL/PERSONNEL:
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in full pads this morning. Misty, Misty rain at Nitschke. Hodkiewicz [Practice was fairly long, 1 hour and 57 minutes per Demovsky. TGR]
Matt LaFleur says Jordan Love will start Friday night in the preseason opener at San Francisco. He says there’s no decision yet on whether Aaron Rodgers will play this preseason. He doesn’t expect to make that decision until after joint practices with Saints next week. Wood
Green Bay Packers to work out former Notre Dame running back Dexter Williams, according to a league source at Pro Football Network. He worked out for the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this week. Herman
David Bakhtiari working on accelerating that left knee of the line. 2) Robert Tonyan, Elgton Jenkins and Christian Watson on the rehab ladder. Tonyan and Watson might have some company in the passing game with those hands from Jenkins. 3) Matt LaFleur says he doesn’t expect Darnell Savage to practice this week after injuring his hamstring on Family Night. Wood [Video available of these Rehab guys running, but it is not that impressive. TGR]
Christian Watson sure looks like he’s going at it vigorously — and on a wet field no less — while rehabbing following his summer knee surgery. Still unclear whether he’ll be back for any of training camp. Demovsky [A lot of quick foot movements shown in the video, but not pushing off or cutting. Don’t know if he did that as well, just not in the video. TGR]
Defense has won a lot of days in camp. Today might have been their most dominant. The defense just closed practice pitching a shutout on a pair of 2-minute drills. Aaron Rodgers was rendered to heaving a pair of Hail Mary’s at the end. Wood
You wanted a depth chart, now you’ve got one. Demovsky
QUARTERBACK/WIDE RECEIVERS:
Jordan Love threw INT at goal line to CB Keisean Nixon, a nice way for newly returned Nixon (groin) to end his first practice of camp. Love had a good ball to Amari Rodgers on a 4th & 1 slant for 13 yards to extend the drive. 2) Bad pick from Jordan Love, falling away as he rolled to the right, and underthrowing his target. Wasn’t balanced when he left go of the football. Linebacker Krys Barnes stepped in and took it the other way. Wood [Spofford gave credit to Barnes for dropping back to the correct spot. TGR]
Love throws an ill-advised pass off his back foot that comes our awkward. Luckily it falls far short and just incomplete. Herman
It will be interesting to see how Rasul Douglas holds up against the NFL’s quickest slot WRs, but he just put a blanket on Amari Rodgers on a deep ball to the left. Good day for CBs so far. Douglas seems to be adjusting to nickel nicely. Wood [LOL. Is this about Douglas or Amari Rodgers? Easy to infer that Mr. Wood doesn’t put Amari Rodgers in the quick slot category. TGR]
Rodgers tries to hit Rodgers deep. Douglas with tight coverage but 8 had a chance along the sidelines. Falls incomplete. Would have been a very difficult catch. Herman [Same play as the first line in the paragraph above. TGR]
Amari had a really nice practice today. Herman [I included this to negate any implication of bias. Might not be enough. TGR]
Amari Rodgers had two nice catches for 30 yards in two minute. Drill ends with a Keisean Nixon pick with 5 seconds left. Hodkiewicz
Jaire Alexander didn’t allow catch in 4 1-on-1 reps. Forced incompletion deep vs Allen Lazard, and has great rep vs Sammy Watkins on slant. Alexander jammed Watkins at the LOS and dropped an Aaron Rodgers pick. He’s looked like himself this camp after shoulder injury last season. Wood [See below for Jaire’s other two one on one reps. TGR]
Eric Stokes has given up some catches in camp, but he showed why he was such a tough cover as rookie jamming Sammy Watkins at LOS. Had Watkins so out of sorts, he forced drop on slant. Stokes also covered good stutter-go route vs Watkins. Impressive blend of speed and toughness. Wood
Rodgers beats Campbell’s inside blitz with hot read throw to Lazard in the slot. Defense was getting better of things earlier but offense trying to turn the tide. 2) Rodgers slips tight throw in to Winfree on crosser vs Douglas and Winfree makes sliding catch, much to Douglas’ chagrin. Spofford
22 secs left. 4th and 2. Ball on opp 40. Love hits Amari again. Clock ticks. Spike. 9 seconds left. Ball on 28ish. Complete short to Hyman who gets out. 1 play left. Keisean Nixon game winning INT off love to end it. 2) Loves turn. 1:04 – down 7. Own 35. 1 timeout. Hits Rodgers over the middle. Nice pickup. Clock ticks. Checkdown to Goodson. Immediate stop by Barnes. Timeout. 44 seconds left. Ball at opp 45. No timeouts. Checkdown Goodson. Barnes stop. Clock ticks. Incomplete or T Davis. Herman [I assume these were the two-minute drills. No points. TGR]
Rodgers throws a ball right to De’Vondre but he can’t hang on. Lazard shirt catch for a first down. Timeout. 13 seconds left. Ball at 27ish. No timeouts. Hail Mary(ish) goes out of the end zone. 5 seconds left. Hook & Lateral play doesn’t work. Defense holds. 2) 2 min drill – 1 min – down 7 – own 30 – 1 timeout. Checkdown Dillon – clock ticks Out route to Watkins and out of bounds Screen to Dillon out of bounds Lazard over the middle – clock ticks Doubs does the wrong thing on fake spike and Rodgers signals for a new WR. Herman [AR’s 2-minute drills lead to no points. Herman
I’m losing track of how many coverage sacks there have been today but it’s been a lot. Defense stays dominant – offensive line not so much. Herman [But you can’t have coverage sacks if the OL didn’t provide some time. I think this belongs in the WR section, not the OL of DL section. TGR]
Amari toasts SJC deep. Toure beats Gafford. Tyler Davis beats Vernon Scott. Awesome hand battle Watkins vs Stokes. Watson gets a bit of separation but can’t hang on. Doubs toasts Carpenter. Not a fair fight. 2) Jaire 2/2 in one on ones. Shuts down Lazard and Doubs. [Alize Mack can’t hang on against Leavitt. Hyman beats Nixon as does Davis. Lazard beats Vaughn deep. Winfree beats Ento deep. 3) 1x1s. Tyler Davis diving catch against V Scott Amari a little separation vs SJC (and maybe a push off Toure & Gafford hell of a battle deep. Ball comes out after contact with ground. Carpenter lost in coverage vs Dafney who makes 1 handed catch. Herman [So, the 2nd string offense fairs better against the second string defensive backups. TGR]
Doubs: Romeo Doubs finally met his match. In pair of 1-on-1s vs Jaire Alexander, Doubs didn’t have a catch. Alexander let the rookie hear it, too. After smothering him on an out for a PBU, Doubs got behind Alexander but dropped a pass. Alexander told Doubs it was OPI. Wood [So, Doubs also goofed on a fake spike and Jaire shut him down. TGR]
Doubs beats Jaire clean on a deep route but drops the ball. Been an issue at times. Herman [Per Wood, Jaire claimed OPI, but that’s not the way Andy Herman saw it. IDK – I wasn’t there! TGR]
Those Romeo Doubs vs. Jaire Alexander 1-on-1s were entertaining. First one, Alexander locked Doubs up on a comeback route and got the PBU. Jaire screamed “COME ON, MAN” in Doubs’ face. Next one, Doubs burned him on a go route deep left sideline but dropped a good pass. Schneidman [Alexander is fun to watch if you ever get to a practice. He talks – a lot. TGR]
TIGHT ENDS:
Tyler Davis comes wide open on a crosser. Nice start for him after winning his 1×1 battles too. Herman [Marcedes Lewis got a veteran’s rest day. TGR]
OFFENSIVE LINE:
Yosh – JRJ – Myers – Hanson – Newman today. Herman
Yosh Nijman continues to impress in one on ones. Good balance. Ty Clary had some nice reps at center too. Hodkiewicz [Packers unofficial depth chart came out today and listed Clary as 3rd string, showing Cole Schneider as 2nd string even though Schneider is in a walking boot. TGR]
Rodgers is reeeeal unhappy with Myers about something at the LOS prior to the snap of the ball. Gives him a bit more of the business as the 1s switch out with the 2s. Nagler
DEFENSIVE LINE:
Good lord Jarran Reed. Have a damn day. Just spun off a double team for a stop of AJ Dillon. 2) Jarran Reed had a would be sack on Rodgers. Incredibly strong day for Reed today. 3) TJ Slaton with a would be sack on Love. Give credit to the coverage. 4) Wyatt works hard for a pressure. Clark probably would have drawn a holding penalty on a pass rush off play action. This DL is balling right now. Jarran Reed with another stop at the line of scrimmage. Campbell there as well. 5) Jarran Reed nice job resetting the LOS vs Runyan. 6) Jarran Reed has looked really freaking good in camp. He’s active again this morning. Did Gute unearth another gem? Herman [Jarran Reed could be this year’s De’Vondre Campbell in a way? Schneidman – Same thought as Herman expressed. TGR]
Starting Packers dl today: Lowry – Clark – Reed w/ Clark at the nose. Herman [The positioning is interesting. Didn’t seem to matter which lineman it was, they all whipped the offensive line today. TGR]
LINEBACKERS:
Preston Smith busts through a double team for a pressure on 12. Now Garvin screams off the edge for a pressure. Herman
LaDarius Hamilton is making a strong case for the No. 3 OLB spot. Two sacks, a pressure and a TFL in team periods so far today. Demovsky
La’Darius Hamilton with a sack and a TFL here and forced an INT earlier. Huber
[Per Huber, the sack of Etling was against Rasheed Walker, and Gileai and Garvin remained with the twos. TGR]
DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Dallin Leavitt all over an end around to Hyman. Herman [Leavitt looks like a box safety only. TGR]
Vernon Scott has been getting first-team reps at safety with Darnell Savage not practicing because of the hamstring injury. The Packers third safety job behind Adrian Amos abs Savage is still up for grabs, but Scott getting a look there right now. 2) Jaire Alexander with a rare nickel rep. Blitzed Aaron Rodgers from the slot and forced an incompletion. Next rep, Alexander moved back outside with Rasul Douglas at nickel and forced an incompletion on deep ball from Aaron Rodgers. Wood
Alexander just blanketed Watkins on a sideline go in 11-on-11. Jaire really balling out today. Spofford [In addition to the tweets in the WR section. TGR]
Defense is dominating today. Gary, Garvin, Reed, Slaton all in the backfield. Corners locking up. Campbell sniffing out tosses. This defense seems pretty decent if you ask me. Schneidman [I was not sure where to put this. Sounds like the DBs were very good, or it could have gone in WRs along with Herman’s comment or in Offensive Line, but Herman noted coverage sacks. But there were a couple of run stuffs as well. TGR]
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Pat O’Donnell a bit all over the place punting on a chilly, wet day:54 [No idea what this number means TGR]
37 yards, N/A hang
43, 3.47
56, 4.56
63, 4.50
45, 4.40
33, 3.09
53, 4.56
54, 4.56
52, 4.50 (TB)
43, 4.35 (downed at 5) Wood
Low snap by Wirtel on a punt and he limps off the field after the play. Herman [The long snapper for the 2022 season probably is not at present on the roster. The field goal kicker for game one might not be on the roster either unless Crosby is healed by then. TGR]
Gabe Brkic’s rough camp continues. Good from 45 and 47, but he pushes a 46 yarder wide right from the right hash. Mason Crosby’s job is just fine as he remains on PUP with knee injury. Wood
Breakdown on punt team. Rasul Douglas busts through and likely would have blocked it easily had he not pulled up. O’Donnell shanks it to the side. Douglas with a pressure on the next punt as well as Innis Gaines celebrates Kabion Ento’s speed release as a gunner. Herman
Hyman muffs a punt after allowing it to hit his chest. Was a nice punt by O’Donnell. And then he muffs his next chance as well. Tough day for a player who has had a nice start to camp. Herman [The process might be better, and things might be more focused, but the results sound rough so far on special teams. TGR]