The Pack is back at it. Back from the excursion to Ohio, the Packers were back on the practice field Sunday, a closed to the public, open to the media workout on Ray Nitschke Field. Before taking the field, Head Coach Matt LaFleur declared this the “toughest week” of the Pre-Season. A spirited shells practice before the pads go back on Monday, there’s a walk through Tuesday and the New England Patriots coming for joint practices Wednesday and Thursday before Saturday’s Pre-Season home opener at Lambeau.
Looking back at the 36-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, LaFleur mentioned “play style” over and over. From the limited reps from Jordan Love and the starters, all the way to the finish, he loved the energy level throughout. It produced solid play particularly from the wide receivers who won contested catches to the entire secondary’s aggressive play leading to a pair of interceptions and a whopping 13 passes broken up from 9 different players.
The medical news was not pleasant. Tyler Davis will be lost for the year with a blown ACL happing a series after catching a touchdown from Sean Clifford. Tackle Luke Tenuta will be out long term as well after getting carted off the field and running back Tyler Goodson is sporting a black sling over his right shoulder and arm. Tariq Carpenter was new to the list with a bad back and he didn’t practice today. Also sitting out were David Bakhtiari, Caleb Jones, Eric Stokes, Lew Nichols and Innis Gaines.
Jaire Alexander dressed but took part in only limited drills. Jake Hanson is back from an elbow injury and Grant Dubose is finally taking team reps.
As for practice, there was plenty of sled work.
Plenty of exertion for a Sunday practice.
Running backs on the one man sled, offensive linemen on the two man and even wide receivers, tight ends and linebackers pounding on the five man sled.
In team drills, with and offensive line stretched thin, Rasheed Walker stepped in for starting reps at left tackle. In split team red zone periods, A.J. Dillon caught back to back touchdown passes from Jordon Love, the first a difficult hands catch at the right pylon and the second had a bit of a bobble over the middle. The practice was capped by a two minute drill and Love delivered. Starting with short passes outside to Aaron Jones and Samori Toure, he hit Luke Musgrave for a decent gain over the 50. A third and one out to Christian Watson gained 7 yards to the 15 with :20 left. After a flare to Jones got two more, Love’s hard count drew the DL offside (by my count his third freebie of the day) and he found Jayden Reed who made a lunging catch in the end zone for the score. The offense went for 2 but Love and Romeo Doubs couldn’t connect.
There were plenty of nice stories last Friday night, Emmanuel Wilson’s emotional performance in memory of his late father was special, as was a rare post-game honor usually reserved for games that count. LaFleur presented the game ball to linebacker Kenneth Odumegwu. He was presented to the Packers this off-season as part of the NFL’s international development program. Odumegwu never played a lick of football before getting recommended by former New York Giant Osi Umenyiora after a camp in Nigeria. Matt talked about the presentation:
Kenneth is having the time of his life. He’s a 22 year old, 6-6, 259 pound teddy bear of a man, who played plenty of soccer and a little basketball growing up, but this is more than he ever could have imagined. A few of us reporters visited with Kenneth after practice.
Odumegwu is a long shot you really root for.
It’s going to be a busy Monday at 1265. Commissioner Roger Goodell will be in town to officially congratulate the Packers on landing the 2025 NFL Draft. He’ll have a few remarks at 9:30 AM, the ceremony has been moved inside the Johnsonville Tailgate Village because of predicted rain. That’ll be followed by practice and the evening wraps up on the radio. Looking forward to the 44th season premier of the 5th Quarter Show. Once again, we’ll air the longest running Packer talk show on Green Bay radio live from the Narrow Bridge Plate and Pour in Howard from 6:00 PM t0 7:00 PM. Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press Gazette is our opening night guest. Hope to see you out there or tune in.
