Packers Training Camp

Maybe teams can keep a few younger players now & continue to develop them.

Might as well just expand the roster.

I'm with you, mj. Pretty sure most coaches and GMs feel the same way.

 

Ttying to think this through. Seems like it may make it easier for teams to raid other teams. I presume any extra $$$ counts against the cap. Hope Ted and Russ don't get too parsimonious here.

#Packers not practicing: Coxson, Collins, Hubbard, Kowalski, Matthews, Perry, Pennel, Abbrederis, Henry and Mike Neal

— Weston Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) August 7, 2015

NT Mike Pennel and TE Mitchell Henry new to the DNP list.

Jake Ryan getting the first-team reps at inside linebacker next to Barrington. Palmer had held that spot the last few days.

— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) August 7, 2015

I like Elliott, a lot. I think he will produce more in games, and for whatever reason, seemed to lose a position to Mulumba in terms of placement with the 1s. His body of work throughout the OTAs was stellar. He still got good pressure from what I saw. I do wonder if they just switch it up to see what another player might bring with the 1s. Looks like Mulumba got that shot yesterday, and he is performing better in TC v. OTAs.

 

As for Miles White, he did score a TD. Tough to call everybody out. Larry Pinkard impressed me more overall since the start of the offseason programs.

 

DBs look incredibly good. We will see what happens against real opponents, but I have great confidence in their abilities, as they are going against some of the NFL's best in practice.

 

The Barrington thing is tough for me, DH13. I see him pressing a lot. Not moving fluidly, more like he is thinking too much. Trouble is, no one seems to be taking him out of the starter spots. That is a concern to me. Not that we don't have the talent there, just that I don't see anyone regularly producing better. Palmer may, if he can get his hand to heal up. Barrington also has some clear liabilities in coverage, and overall too hesitant. I'm just not sold on him like others might be. I believe, if given more opportunities, Palmer, Bradford, Ryan or Dantzler might show better in a starting role alongside Matthews. It is my opinion that Dom would be better served taking the training wheels off of some of these other players and just let them go. Palmer is getting his shot with Matthews out and seems to be doing fine.

 

The situation is a lot like back in the days of Nick Barnett. We had Bishop waiting in the wings, a player I felt was 10 times better than Barnett, yet he never got his shot until Barnett went down with the injury. I feel the same about Barrington, like there is better talent already on the roster, but they don't get the same opportunities to show their wares.

 

The one that I believe won't make the roster is Perry. How is he out again, this time with a groin? He never practices. He looks completely disconnected, almost like he doesn't want to be there.

 

I watched Ted Thompson and McCarthy a lot too. Ted was like a hawk watching OL v. DL drills, LB drills, and the 11 on 11 segments. He's definitely got some tough roster calls to make coming up here, and he was very attentive. McCarthy was pretty involved watching all the STs work and the LB drill work as well. He was also noticeably hands on during the 11 on 11s, on the O side of the ball, guiding the QBs with advice and instruction.

 

On the hit Cobb took Tuesday, it was giant. Both players got up from it, and I noticed the GBPG credited Burnett with the hit, but I could have sworn it was Ha Ha. Regardless, I was thrilled to see both players get up and continue practicing. Jordy went over to Cobby while he was down on one knee to make sure he was OK. What a pop! (Unfortunately got there late and was seated pretty far away from most of the action).

 

Another interesting note was seeing Aaron, Jordy and Quarless set off towards the back of the action during a segment of practice, with all three just talking together for quite a long time, Quarless on one knee. I'm sure they both wanted to make sure Andrew was OK after all he has been through recently. This is a pretty tight group of players. Good to see them supporting each other.

It's going to be very interesting to see how many DBs they keep on the roster especially with how good the two rookies and Gunther are playing so far.  Hayward is the wild card IMO if he can stay healthy but honestly this is the last year of his rookie deal and if a team came calling and inquired about a trade I think he would have a lot of value.  You know Randall and Rollins are going to stick and if Gunther emerges that gives them four good CB options if you include Shields.  Let's also not forget Hyde can play CB in a pinch especially in the nickel or dime packages. 


TT sure seems to know how to draft or add good DBs to the roster.   Guy has an eye for talent in those corner and safety positions and always has.

He kills it on guys who catch the ball and guys who cover those guys.

Brad Jones disagrees.

MM taking off the boot today. Family Night beckons.

 

That's it for today. Practice over after 1:36 pic.twitter.com/ygkTBqiRQz

— Weston Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) August 7, 2015

Great stuff, thanks a million for taking notes and for sharing it with us. Typically the first week is about getting film for teaching purposes, injury rehab evaluations and setting the baseline for the rest of camp. Next week begins phase II of evaluations and we'll start to see a depth chart come into focus based on how the reps are allocated

 

Full speed ahead

Satori knows a little too much.

He's kind of a blowhard if you asked me

Great points Satori. I agree. I'm thinking Matthews is out for this very reason, to get more reps and film on the other guys who need it.

 

What I am really looking forward to is seeing these players in the preseason games, against competition from other teams. All of these guys will get their shots. Some will show well, to a point that they cannot be ignored. I'm hoping that is the case at ILB and OLB, as we have some really talented players there.

 

Jake Ryan looks sure, like he is not shaken with his assignments. The problem with him may be that he is about 1 year away from a physical standpoint at the NFL level. He could use a bit more muscle.

 

To me, one of the most important positions on this team is the transformation of our ILBs. Matthews takes care of one of those. The other position next to him is key. Maybe assignment sure wins out over physical ability and stature, keeping Barrington in that slot. All I know is we have talent behind him, and they will get their shots to impress, and it should be fun to see it all shake out. I just want the best play we can get there, and if Sam Barrington makes that leap, great.

 

I'm really interested in our DL too, and unfortunately, haven't been able to spend too much time on those guys. We have size, with Thornton (massive) and Gaston (again, massive), along with Guion, Raji, Daniels and Pennel. Hoping Ringo makes a bold move for a roster spot there, and that Boyd takes his game up a notch or two. I'll try to lock in on those guys on my next visit. Pleasure to share this stuff with my friends out of the area.

 

I'm speculating that Randall wins out over Hayward opposite Shields. He looks that good. I was a little concerned watching him in drills yesterday, as he looked like he was trying to shake off something in his left foot or leg for most of practice. You could tell early in the morning something was amiss there. Figure these guys put their bodies through some pretty big poundings every practice. But, the guy kept right on playing through it, and man, did he show well.

 

The most impressive UDFAs that I have seen this offseason:

 

LaDarius Gunter

James Vaughters

Jean Fanor

Fabbians Ebbele

Tavarus Dantzler

Larry Pinkard

 

Hoping for Lavon Hooks and John Crockett to make some noise moving forward as well. I'm thinking we could easily see 5 of these players make this Packers team this year.

I don't think we can call CM as one of the "starting" ILB's.  He will definitely see snaps there and probably more earlier in the season until ILB2, whoever that is, settles in.  Reading between the lines from 1265, it doesn't seem they prefer CM to spend too much time at ILB either.  He was only there part time after the bye last year and he wore down by the NFCC game.  Can't imagine him being more durable this year starting his playing time at ILB from WK1.  

 

Who plays next to Barrington when CM is at OLB is the #2, possibly the #1 concern for this team in 15 going for 14.

 

A legitimate farm system.

 

Could you imagine a farm system, even just one team per organization, where teams could develop and trade talent while running a spring league?  

 

But we can't actually have educational institutions be about education.  All that money lost . . . that goes right back in to athletics.  

From MM, post-practice.

McCarthy on the other injuries: Mitchell Henry (finger) Mike Pennel (groin) Damarious Randall (groin) T.J. Lang (sore shoulder)

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 7, 2015

Sucks we probably won't see Randall tomorrow night.

If he misses just tomorrow nights practice with a groin that would be great.

 

 

 

 

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 52m52 minutes ago

 

MM expects more two-point chances based on "personality" of some coaches.

Risk assessment shows PAT is the way to go.

The boot with some humor.

 

McCarthy often says player has [insert-body-part-here]. Today on Francis: "He had a hip. Actually he has two hips, but he hurt one of them."

— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) August 7, 2015

 

 

 

 

Just a spat...most likely called out Dat One for bogarting on Catan night.  

 

Jason Wilde ‏@jasonjwilde 2h2 hours ago

 

As predicted by @RobDemovsky, #Packers had first fight of camp today (although a very mild one) between Datone Jones and David Bakhtiari.

-------

Green Bay’s Board-Game Obsession
Competitive Juices Fuel Lengthy Rounds of ‘Settlers of Catan’ Among Packers’ Players

http://www.wsj.com/articles/th...obsession-1421346102

Clearly, he has been sleeping with TT.

Thanks for the report Trophies. Good stuff!

I'm surprised your high on Ebbele, Vaughters, Dantzler, and Pinkard. Ebbele's size is exciting, but I thought he played pretty soft. He has a pretty narrow frame and looks like he needs some time in the weight room. He could end up on the PS, but I'm not sure he was impressive enough to beat out a guy like Vujnovich who looks more ready. Vaughters and Dantzler look like rookies to me, they looked overwhelmed with the speed of the game. Both could be PS candidates, but I'm not sure. Those are the kinds of guys that win PS spots by excelling in the meeting room and on ST. Pinkard just hasn't gotten many chances, the backup QBs haven't really given the young WRs much to work with.

There are plans to go to Gnome Games soon, because this week, disaster struck when Linsley unsuccessfully tried to pour water out of a filtered water jug on Monday night, less than a week before the Packers play the Seahawks in the NFC Championship.

 

Now we know why they lost to Seattle.  LINSLEY!!!

He looks like a giant TE.

like my hero Breno Giacomini ?

Wooooo !

Guh, "tweeners".

Grave Digger,

 

Wish we could have hooked up! I've been watching Ebbele very closely. Yes, he looks a bit thinner, but only because he is so damn tall at 6-8. He's 322 lbs. If you really study him, he rarely gets beat. The guy was a 4 years starter on the U of Arizona team, on a very good offense. He is a rookie, but his technique is pretty sound. Will definitely benefit from another year in the system if he makes it to further develop physically. My biggest concern with him was how he was with leverage, being so tall. But, the guy has been working effectively at that height for most of his career, and you can see he knows how to pass block and run block. He doesn't stop either, which I really like. Tough guy.

 

Vaughters had some pass rush working yesterday in the 2 minute drills when he had his shots. Didn't get to see him on STs, but I know we will. I agree he needs to add some bulk as well, but thinking that true of most of the rookies. Dantzler, on the other hand, looks physically, like he can jump right in. Did you see him in the LB tackling drills? Wow. That guy laid the wood every time. You are right though, that he does look like he is thinking too much. That seems to be the case for Barrington, a 3 year vet, as well.

 

Pinkard had better showings in the OTAs.

Hopefully he will have a game or two knocked off.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It will be at least another couple of weeks before Letroy Guion will know whether his three-game suspension will stick.

The Green Bay Packers defensive tackle's appeal will be heard by the NFL on Aug. 24, according to a league source. The Packers do not have a training camp practice scheduled for that day.

Guion was informed of his suspension late last month , but the NFL has not announced it. The league does not release suspension information until the appeals process has been completed, according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_...-appeal-heard-aug-24

Hey Trophies,

 

Incredible contributions - thanks!

 

It reads to me like the Packers are stacked with ILB being the least strong unit.

 

I wonder what the usual experience level at corner and safety generally is before a player is a real solid contributor?  

 

I do remember one young secondary that fared quite well.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/...nd-worst-draft-picks

In the 1981 NFL Draft, the 49ers were intent on strengthening their defense. The team targeted defenders with its first five picks -- four of them were spent on defensive backs. While Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson had nice careers, Lott truly was the crown jewel at the top of the draft.

 

 

And I just checked - Wright, Williamson, and Lott all started as rookies.  The elder statesman, Dwight Hicks, was on his 3rd year.  Team had a 13-3 record and won the SB.

 

So a young secondary can sometimes do it!

and what helps a young 2dary more than anything?

QB pressure up front.

phaedrus, I'll never, ever forget the impact of those DBs on that 9ers team. Remarkable. I've been hoping we realize the same success with our young secondary Ted has amassed. The talent in this group is insane, and the dynamic similar to that great 9ers team.

 

Good example is Banjo and Fanor. Both players performing at very high levels, consistently. And, they are our 5 and 6 Safeties. Randall looks like he could start opposite Shields. Rollins not far behind, and then there is Gunter. Wow. What a switch from the past few years. And, I'm not even talking about Hayward, who has proven he can do some really special things there.

 

As for the least stacked unit, tough to say. I'd rather Dom gave some of these young guys more work at ILB to get them more comfortable. If your number isn't called, it becomes tough to win a starter spot, or to improve. And it is tough to determine just what we have on our DL to this point. Trgo is working this group, and McCarthy is keeping a close watch on it, as is Thompson.

 

One guy I failed to mention is Rasco. Damn if he isn't bringing the heat on a pretty regular basis. And, he is not an undersized rookie. Kind of like Dantzler in my eyes, more developed physically for a rookie. Good to see. I've seen Peppers kind of taking Rasco under his wing in a few practices now. Giving him pointers, etc. He might factor in as a surprise UDFA as well. Sorry I forgot about him.

 

Tdog, that pressure is super important. I'm not going to call out a bunch of other players, but our base with Guion, Raji and Daniels is a very good one. They ran a ton of two down linemen stuff, and we got pressure. I have to say, Aaron and the other QBs were pressured consistently all day yesterday, and for a lot of plays on Tuesday. Peppers is a rock. That guy just brings it non-stop. Takes part in all the drills. Always there working. Looking great. What a perfect role model for these young players.

 

I've been impressed with the pressure, just hard to see who it is bringing it sometimes being limited to a single vantage point. Preseason will really help us determine what we have there, once we get on some other teams for competition.

 

I'll go out on a limb and just say all of my friends here are going to be pretty happy with our 2015 defense. The talent looks improved with the young additions, and the 2nd and 3rd year guys are looking to have developed well. I think we will see some ball hawking on epic levels, much like we did in 2009-2010-2011, where we had 30, 24 and 31 INTs respectively.

 

Figure, if that one position next to Matthews at ILB is just marginally better, and we have a younger, more talented, faster secondary, and any improvement in pass rush, which they have been working on quite a bit, we all should be pretty happy. Add that to a more potent offense with the addition of Montgomery, and the improvement of Richard Rodgers, Adams and Janis, amongst others, and this could be a very special year.

 

...add, improved STs. Holy crap!

"

And I just checked - Wright, Williamson, and Lott all started as rookies.  The elder statesman, Dwight Hicks, was on his 3rd year.  Team had a 13-3 record and won the SB.

 

So a young secondary can sometimes do it!"

 

The really outstanding statistic from that year for the 49ers? They were +23 in turnovers. They had the 2nd fewest turnovers(25) and 3rd most takeaways(48).

 That's a model the Packers can build on.

 

BTW- The Packers had the most takeaways that year with 54. Gave it up 41 times though.

 if that one position next to Matthews at ILB is just marginally better,

If the position next to Barrington is marginally better.  CM will not be a "starting" ILB.  He will see more snaps at OLB.

Yeah, there is a lot of people reluctant to relegate him to ILB for whatever reason. I would just point to his size increase over last year. In my opinion, Clay has embraced playing ILB to the level that he bulked up this offseason to take on that role even more effectively. Wait till you see him and you will know what I mean.

 

He did bounce outside in some formations in OTAs, so, he is not going to be ILB solely, but I do think we will get a big dose of Clay working ILB this season. I think that is great. He is very effective there and helps our D by being there. I believe the spot next to Clay at ILB is the one they are really looking to improve upon.

 

Clay will get his reps outside rushing from the edge plenty. I just think the ILB switch is something he likes better than the media has intimated, and the staff has to like what he does there.

 

I can easily see Clay Matthews being an All-Pro ILB for the Packers this season.

I like him inside because he is more difficult to 1) Block 2) Run away from 3) Double team...all of which they can do to him when he plays OLBer. 

By the way, how the hell was that 34 years ago?

 

Damn, I'm getting old!

I would temper the enthusiasm of the DB's.  If Rodgers is throwing 50-50 passes in order to test the receivers, the DB's will make more plays than they do in a real game.

 

Of course, this doesn't apply to Cutler since 50-50 passes are his baseline.

question--I have been watching and/or recording NFL Network's "Inside Training Camp" every day.   Each day they have video from various camps, but I have not seen the Pack even once!   Anyone know what gives?

Sort of like when they always cut to commercial when the Packers are next up in the draft.