Cutting short Family Night by a period, then easing Sunday’s practice to a walk through for more recovery and there was no way Head Coach Matt LaFleur was going to give the padded up Packers a reprieve today. Despite a steady drizzle and then a mist, the team returned to Ray Nitschke Field to work in front of plastic parkas and umbrellas in the stands. By the end of the nearly two hour practice, there was still a heavy overcast. “We gotta get used to playing in less than ideal weather,” he said, “it is Green Bay.”
A damp start to week three of camp.
While there were some slips and skids, the damp turf on Nitschke Field took the precipitation well.
The installations are all in, the first pre-season game is nearing and after making a good share of splash plays over the first two weeks, the offense has had a host of issues getting in sync against the number one defense. I was expecting to see an agitated group led by Aaron Rodgers start taking out their frustrations with more consistent execution starting today but it didn’t happen. At one point, Rodgers barked at center Josh Myers, continued the animated conversation after the play and before the team period was over, he got in the middle of the entire offensive line for more words. Only more frustration, this time according to Myers, it was “over-communication” at the line of scrimmage. Josh told me after practice he just wanted to make sure Jon Runyan and Jake Hansen were on the same call page but it didn’t matter, the play was foiled by the defense.
Even in 1 on drills, Jaire Alexander let it be known, not my way today. He applied aggressive coverage on Romeo Doubs and Sammy Watkins, chirping on the incompletions. In the first team period, Jordan Love committed a deadly sin, throwing a ball late down the middle and Krys Barnes dropped into the lane and picked him off.
The trend continued in a move the ball period that wanted the offense to pick up at least a pair of first downs. Love and the 2’s went first and did move the chain once, converting a third and 2. The next set of downs faced a third and 12 after a T.J. Slaton sack and under heavy pressure again, Love had no chance. Rodgers fared better with the starters, hitting a sliding Juwann Winfree over the middle on a third and seven, then finding Allen Lazard on a quick slant out of the slot on third and 5. Trying for another, Rashan Gary foiled it with another sack. Third stringer Danny Etling’s series was derailed by La’Darius Hamilton who blew up a running play in the hole and got a sack on third and 8.
Then came a two minute drill with this scenario. The offense trailed 35-28, starting the drive at it’s 25 with 1:04 to play. The ones went first and Rodgers had smart connections with A.J. Dillon twice, Lazard and Watkins and spiked the ball with :23 remaining. On third and 2 from the 31, a deep shot was nearly (probably should’ve been) picked by De’Vondre Campbell near the goal line. Rodgers converted the 4th 2 on the sideline to Lazard but time was tight. An incomplete hail mary gave them :05 left and they tried to get cut. A hook to Winfree and the ladder pitch to Lazard was covered up well short of the end zone as time ran out.
Love’s 2 minute drive under the same circumstance had two solid connections over the middle to Amari Rodgers, getting down to the 16 with :05 left. Love dipped into the well once too often and his last shot to Rodgers got pilfered by Keisean Nixon, making a big play on only his second day of camp.
Special Teams periods had Gabe Brkic get two sets of field goal attempts. He went 2 for 3 in the first one, hitting from 45, missing wide right from 46 and knocking through his third from 47. Later, similar sequence, good from 43, off right from 45 and good from 49.
On the injury front, safety Darnell Savage will probably sit through the week after pulling his hamstring on Family Night. Linebacker Ty Summers stayed home with an illness and Marcedes Lewis was given a veteran’s day off. Even on the misty day, the rehab group worked outside and it was a rare David Bakhtiari sighting. He usually gets his work done behind closed doors but today he joined his fellow lineman Elgton Jenkins.
Watching and waiting on David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins.
Robert Tonyan, Kyln Hill and rookie Christian Watson were also out doing work right away. What struck me was the acceleration of the drills. More sudden starts on short sprints, stopping, starting up again and cutting was more pronounced. All ran those drills fluidly, an encouraging sign.
With Aaron Jones and Dillon not expected to play against the 49ers this Friday night, the Packers might be in the market for another running back, possibly turning to a familiar face. There were reports the team was going to work out Dexter Williams, their 6th round pick out of Notre Dame in 2019.
Love goes first in ‘Frisco.
One last note on the quarterbacks. To no one’s surprise, LaFleur announced today Love will start at Levi’s Stadium and it’s a good bet he’ll play the majority of the game. As for Rodgers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Aaron will not face any discipline for revealing he took the South American hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca during an off-season visit there to assist and help his mental outlook. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said any trace of the drug, (possession of such is illegal in the U.S.) would not trigger a positive test result. The herbal drug isn’t even on the NFL/NFLPA’s long list of banned substances subjected to testing.
Finally, off the field, the Green Bay Packers Foundation announced it has awarded 1.35 million dollars in impact grants to Brown, Milwaukee and Dane County. It’s a record allocation that will be distributed to 7 organizations that serve each county.
