Packers Practice Roundup: Day One Scrimmage With NYJ
The Packers scrimmaged with the New York Jets in full pads on Wednesday. The two teams will scrimmage again today.
GENERAL/PERSONNEL:
almost have a full crew for their practice with the Jets. Only players missing that I see are QB Jordan Love and WRs Chris Blair and Juwann Winfree. Silverstein
First of two joint practices with the Jets goes as the Packers longest session of the summer at 2:14. Demovsky
LaFleur said that both teams know what personnel they'll be in every down during the 11 on 11s, but neither side will know what the other is going to run. Silverstein
Aaron Rodgers says Jets were "anything but vanilla" in today's practice. Robert Saleh's defense gave the Packers’ offense a good look. Wood
Packers injury update: RB AJ Dillon (calf) S Vernon Scott (hamstring) No word yet on Funchess or Kelly. 2) Devin Funchess was carted inside after pulling up. Demovsky [Grabbed his left hamstring per Wood.]
Doesn’t look like CB Kevin King is participating in 11 on 11 with the Jets. CBs Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes working outside with the ones. DL Dean Lowry also sitting out after missing practice yesterday. 2) OLB Rashan Gary not participating in this period either [but is at practice.] Reiner
You cannot keep Dean Lowry down. He’s back at practice today. Rashan Gary is also practicing. Hodkiewicz
AJ Dillon didn’t do any team work today. Calf injury that is mostly precautionary. 2) S Vernon Scott not practicing today. 3) Aaron Jones is still easing his way back from injury and not participating in team. Kylin Hill main guy with the 1s. Schneidman
Rodgers now talking about Clay Matthews. "There hasn't been a big push from any of us to sign him." Started with a FaceTime conversation with him. Huber [Bakh and his fiancee, Cobb and AR facetimed with CM3 and just did a social media post - AR doesn’t even know if CM3 wants to play.]
QUARTERBACKS/WIDE RECEIVERS:
Rodgers said that being third year in the system has really made a difference in his performance at the start of camp. He said he has been efficient and it's different from the previous year when he was grinding through all the off-season changes that were made in the scheme. Silverstein
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is easily having his best camp. Showed great hands just now when he high-pointed a 40-yarder from Rodgers against good coverage by Jets CB Bless Austin. Demovsky
offense goes 2 for 2 in 2-minute driving 60 yards both times. Rodgers finished the first with a 33-yard TD to MVS and Kurt Benkert with a 3-yard TD to E. St. Brown. Silverstein
Busted coverage for Jets leads to a 30+ yard TD from Rodgers to MVS at end of two minute. Schneidman [Wood agrees: busted coverage.]
Good series in two BenKert with one scare on near INT. 6 of 7 for 75 and ends two minute with 3 yard TD pass to EQ. Climbed pocket to fit it in. Hodkiewicz
Benkert to Begelton - 8 yard-ish pickup. Benkert to Sternberger over the middle. Another big collision and the ball pops loose. Definitely more contact today than we’ve seen. Herman
Packers 2s on O win two minute. Benkert evades pressure in pocket and lobs one to EQ in the back of the end zone. Schneidman
End around to Funchess. Solid pickup. 2) Little smoke screen to EQ blown up because Begelton couldn’t maintain his block on the corner. 3) Lazard just juked Austin out of his jock. 4) Rodgers pressured on a rollout. Hits Deguara a tad wide but dropped. Packers running lots of screens today and they are working. This one to P. Taylor. 5) Nice catch by Amari on a throw that was slightly behind him from Benkert. 6) Benkert incomplete to… nobody. Herman
Packers defense holds against Jets O in red zone. Green Bay 2s up on offense now. Benkert hits Dexter Williams in the right flat for a big gain then goes deep down the right sideline to EQ, who draws a DPI. Schneidman
Red-zone period ends with Benkert rolling right and firing a laser to Amari Rodgers in the front right corner of the end zone for a TD. Schneidman
Beckert fires to Funchess deep who was open by a couple steps. Benkert a bit long but it looked like Funchess struggled to track it a bit. Falls incomplete. Herman
Rodgers hit MVS deep for 40, St. Brown, MVS and Adams on slants for big gains. Silverstein
TIGHT ENDS:
Rodgers bobbles a red-zone snap but recovers and finds Tonyan, who had some nice late hands, for a TD in the back right corner. C.J. Mosley in coverage. Schneidman
Beautiful throw by Rodgers to Tonyan in red zone. Tonyan wasn’t even looking when Rodgers threw it. Hodkiewicz [So, I am not sure if Tonyan had nice late hands or just nice reaction time?]
Jet sweep to Amari for a nice gain. Great blocking by Begelton & Sternberger outside to spring the run. Herman
RUNNING BACKS:
Patrick Taylor with a nice cutback run, reversing field right to left. Finished the run with a vicious stiff arm against Jets CB Zane Lewis. And now Jets defensive staff imploring players not to take that. Wood
RB Kylin Hill gets the start with the No. 1 offense, which gives you an idea what they think of him. Aaron Jones only taking part in individuals. Silverstein
Hill shows off natural hands. He’s been great with the ones today. Rodgers has no hesitation looking his way. 2) Hill tries to juke out Marcus Maye but no dice. Nice play by Maye. 3) Hill with a nice run and we have a very brief very mild skirmish. 4) Kylin Hill with a wow run. Just cuts on an absolute dime. He’s so damn fun. 5) Dexter Williams with nice run now. Packers blocking up front improving as practice goes on. Four plays for the Packers offense and not sure they gained any yards. 3 stuffed runs and a quick pass to Deguara off PA they went nowhere. Next play Rodgers fires well low to Tonyan on a rollout. Finally a nice run by Dexter Williams with the backups in. Herman
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN:
The Packers seem to be giving rookie fourth-rounder Royce Newman every chance to win the RG job over Lucas Patrick. 2) LaFleur says rookie Royce Newman will again run with the starting O-line today. Schneidman
I think they’re checking to see if Lucas Patrick is capable of being their backup center. 2) Lucas Patrick, who dropped from first-team RG, is snapping as the center in 2-minute drill. Jake Hanson, who was drafted as a center, is the right guard. Second OL: Nijman, Braden, Patrick, Hanson, Van Lanen. Wood
Rodgers said C Josh Myers had a tough day today, that mentally he wasn't as good as he has been in camp. He said he's been very good, but that there's a consistency he has to reach. "He needs to think as fast as I think," Rodgers said of diagnosing fronts and blitzes. Silverstein [retweeted by Demovsky]
Aaron Rodgers on C Josh Myers: “He had a rough day today. He did ... Mentally, I don’t think he was as sharp as he’s been. Tomorrow I expect him to bounce back.” Schneidman and retweeted by Herman. [Interesting the slight difference in the reporting: Schneidman and Herman included the part about AR expecting Myers to bounce back on Thursday and Silverstein and Demovsky did not.]
Jon Runyan Jr and rookie Royce Newman have consistently been starting LG and RG, respectively, today. Wood
Dennis Kelly false start. He hasn’t been super impressive since coming to GB. Herman
RT Dennis Kelly is out and has a bag of ice on his right knee. Silverstein
No. 1s having trouble running against the Jets’ excellent defensive front. No. 2s with much more success. Hill, Dexter Williams and Amari Rodgers with nice runs. Silverstein
Jets edge Carl Lawson causing some problems. Pressure forced a rushed throw from Rodgers in red zone, then just had a “sack” on Rodgers during half-field team. Schneidman
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN:
Keke would’ve had a sack just now in dime, two minute. Hodkiewicz
Quick tally shows defense won 10 of 16 on third down. Preston, Stokes and Keke with sacks. Huber
Jack Heflin bars down James Morgan’s pass at LOS. Hodkiewicz
LINEBACKERS:
DeVondre Campbell will be such an important piece for the defense. His coverage ability could keep them in true nickel more this year. He’s done plenty of dropping in camp. Hodkiewicz
Jonathan Garvin just ran past Becton for a sack. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. Hodkiewicz
Preston Smith is also having a day against him (Becton). Hodkiewicz
LB Oren Burks (#42) has the speed and athleticism - but needs to play faster... How can you tap into that? Tell him to trust his eyes and hit it! Or just send him on A-gap run thrus... Don't think - just play fast! Fennel [With video showing an A gap blitz versus Houston.]
DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Wilson attacks Stokes down field to Keelan Cole. Stokes was step for step but didn’t get his head around. Cole had a chance at it but it falls incomplete. Herman
Adrian Amos narrowly misses a pick. He jumps an out route vs. Jets TE Chris Herndon in the end zone during red-zone drills, and Zach Wilson’s pass smacks him in the hands. Wood [Amos acknowledged the drop later.]
Stokes comes around on corner blitz for sack on Wilson. Becton got sucked inside and never saw him coming. Schneidman
CB Jaire Alexander shows in first and goal drill. Rookie QB Zach Wilson went at Alexander twice and he broke up both passes, both on third down. Down side was Adrian Amos dropped an INT in the end zone. Silverstein
Zach Wilson was “sacked” 7 times unofficially. He was 12–of-23 and two of the incompletions were drops. Brian Costello
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Mason Crosby right down Broadway from 54 and 56. 7 of 9 in period, I think he missed from 41 and 51. Hodkiewicz
Dafney is killing it in special teams drills. Absolutely awesome rep from Dominique Martin too. 2) Packers/Jets doing special teams drills practicing blocking and gunning for punt returns. Best reps so far were by Ento, Dafney, Stokes, and Tipa. Herman
Mentioned Previlon in my roster projection this morning. Just smoked some guy in special teams period. So did Dafney, Ento and Begelton among others. Huber
UDFA effort starring Innis Gaines - bottom of the screen... Getting double teamed as a punt gunner is the equivalent of getting jumped on the football field Watch him fight, claw, scrap to get free and then use that speed to get downfield and make a tackle! Love seeing it! Fennel [From the Scrimmage against Houston, not today’s practice. Retweeted by Herman.]
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Comments (31)
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
August 19, 2021 at 04:45 am
Wow!
Tons of good information! Going to read it again!
K. Hill was an absolute steal for the Packers. This guy is going to play a significant role this year. Favorite part above was about special teams play!
Dissapointed Love was not playing!
Thegreatreynoldo
August 19, 2021 at 04:31 am
I chose to use a photo of HC Matt LaFleur. This is the way to conduct a scrimmage. Even Aaron Rodger bought into this scrimmage. The coaches sent in down and distance but allowed the defensive coordinators to run any defense they desired, and encouraged the defenses not to be vanilla. AR said they were not vanilla and real value was gained by young players. There was one play where Jarrad Davis IIRC (not surprised) laid out Deguara and another time where tempers flared a little, but things were under control. I expect the coaches will take those players aside to make sure nothing happens in today's scrimmage.
I continue to note the little differences in the reporting. I don't think it is a big deal, but reading just one observer's tweets might skew things over time. Plus, different angles can lead to different perceptions depending on where the media observer is located.
Savage57
August 19, 2021 at 06:30 am
I appreciate you pointing out the latter in both the article and the comments.
It's a consideration too often ignored when forming opinions and judgments.
You can't solely rely upon one perspective to shape yours, lest it be nothing more meaningful than an echo of someone else's investment.
Horrible4
August 19, 2021 at 04:28 am
Anybody know how severe the Funchess injury looked? Outside of him, Eq. St. Brown and maybe Juwann Winfree I don't see much upside with the other receivers here for the 6th spot. Hoping him or Juwann Winfree can come back quickly and show they deserve a roster spot rather than just being depth pieces.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 19, 2021 at 04:33 am
Too soon. Might/probably will know a little more after today's practice.
Bure9620
August 19, 2021 at 09:25 am
These injuries could Iron out the 53....My feeling is Gute tries to trade Funchess relatively soon. If he gets healthy and keeps making plays he is going to be on 53 somewhere. The Packers are better off getting a pick/player for him rather than cutting him.
dobber
August 19, 2021 at 09:46 am
Any tweak of this sort means he's not likely to suit up Saturday.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 19, 2021 at 05:34 am
Tweets by Brian Costello, a NYJ's media guy. Well, he doesn't retweet any other Jets' beat writers' stuff and I don't know their names. I'd love to see what the NY media thought of Wednesday's scrimmage.
Practice is over. You could definitely tell which team was 13-3 last year and which one was 2-14.
Packers second team offense marches down the field for a TD against Jets 2s.
Jets offense fails to score in 2-minute drill.
Jets offensive line having a rough day.
Better than nothing, but not by much.
Edit: First team OL had Braden at LG on the 16th but it was Runyan on Wednesday. No way to know if they are just trying out different guys or just mixing and matching. Still, it is interesting.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
August 19, 2021 at 04:48 am
Thanks TGR!
jurp
August 19, 2021 at 08:43 am
There's a good article at the NY Daily News site, but I can't link to it here - the site freaks when I try to submit the link in a comment. Author is DJ Bien-Aime II, so perhaps another source for tweets.
Coldworld
August 19, 2021 at 08:48 am
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/ny...
croatpackfan
August 19, 2021 at 08:56 am
Thank you, Ice-earth.
PackfanNY
August 19, 2021 at 09:06 am
Well the headline for Costello in the NY Post was “Green Bay Packers defense manhandles Jets O-line in combined practice”. Keep in mind the Jets and their fans have been skeptical that the Jets have not done enough to protect the young QB so it’s probably a little over the top.
Since'61
August 19, 2021 at 09:37 am
TGR, great job again. FYI, NY Post wrote that Jets OL was manhandled by Packers DL. Thanks, Since ‘61
MarkinMadison
August 19, 2021 at 05:36 am
Is MVS doing better on intermediate routes? Is he starting to look like a more complete WR?
croatpackfan
August 19, 2021 at 06:12 am
Yes
Thegreatreynoldo
August 19, 2021 at 05:49 am
Tweets by Connor Hughes (NYJ media)
2 were Preston Smith beating Becton. 1 was Kamal Martin beating him. 1 was a CB (Eric Stokes) coming around his side. Keke had 2 inside. Couldn’t tell who he beat from field level. 1 was coverage sack. 2 other times Smith beat Becton, looked like sacks, but play continued.
Davis beat Alexander again. Back-to-back completions.
They’re letting the play continue, but Bryce Huff had a clear-as-day sack on Rogers. Beat Turner as the third down rusher. Good coverage, too.
Big hole opened on right side of line (Fant, GVR) in red zone drill. Perine ran through for what might have been a 12-yard TD.
Becton beat for another sack. Jonathan Garvin got storing him.
NickPerry
August 19, 2021 at 06:05 am
Thanks TRG...It's great as usual. I REALLY appreciate these practice updates. I wouldn't have a clue about any of this without these.
Roadrunner23
August 19, 2021 at 06:35 am
Great info packed post!
Thanks James, I always look forward to these!
ND
Savage57
August 19, 2021 at 06:45 am
There's an aspect of the joint practices leading up to the game which is important.
After having seen the schemes, formations and plays the opponent will run for a couple of days as interlude, it gives the coaches on both sides a more clear look at a player's ability to mentally digest what they've seen in person, and their physical ability to defeat it in a game setting.
I'd like to see more, not fewer joint practices among preseason opponents.
jurp
August 19, 2021 at 08:42 am
Deleted
jurp
August 19, 2021 at 08:31 am
More info on the practice: https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/highlights-from-day-1-of-packers-jet...
Swisch
August 19, 2021 at 09:14 am
I don't understand why it's a good idea to have this scrimmage with the Jets in between two preseason games that are only a week apart.
I question these scrimmages with other teams in general. It would seem difficult for the players on both teams to walk the fine line between playing hard for their jobs but not too hard.
It seems as though it would only take one rogue player to get carried away with aggressiveness and perhaps injure one of our guys, or instigate a fight.
It seems a preseason game would be better managed as much more of a real game with real referees.
I'd like to see the Packers get more out of preseason games and ditch these scrimmages.
PeteK
August 19, 2021 at 10:18 am
I am a bit worried about the O line. I thought they would be better at this point. Let's hope that it's just working through some new players. It reminds me of the value of preseason.
LambeauPlain
August 19, 2021 at 11:46 am
The most cohesive unit on the field needs to be the O line. You need to work with the men beside you and learn to communicate quickly and understand each others responsibilities.
The O line currently lacks cohesiveness right now because the combinations are so numerous and so many of those lineups including so many young players, many of them rookies.
That's why you practice...and contrary to Rodgers, I agree with Matt that scrimmaging against another NFL team gives you valuable tape and evaluations vs all in team practice reps.
They are also playing against one of the best D fronts in the NFL too. Good experience for them.
Minniman
August 19, 2021 at 02:38 pm
A good point is made in the link posted by “ice earth :)” above:
“The jets play a 4-3 D so are liking their o-line seeing a 3-4 D - and the differences this brings……..NE and MIA play 3-4 so it’s good to see this”
Minniman
August 19, 2021 at 02:35 pm
A good point Pete. The reports seem to indicate that your second point is the reason behind this - because at the moment the Packers are doing a lot of looking at the back-end of their depth chart, especially in different positions (especially center).
LambeauPlain
August 19, 2021 at 11:49 am
TGR...haven't read much about Cobb. Is he injured? Sliding down the depth chart? It seems Adams, MVS, Lazard, and A. Rodgers and yesterday even ESB and Begelton, all seem to be getting the snaps at WR.
Swisch
August 19, 2021 at 12:30 pm
It's hard to evaluate talent from afar, but I'm likely going to be truly sad if we lose someone like Begelton or Winfree to keep Cobb.
Cobb is one of my favorite Packers of all time for combining dynamic talent with superb competitiveness, but these guys can't play forever.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 19, 2021 at 06:25 pm
Cobb is healthy.
I don't expect too many tweets about Cobb. He occasionally gets a mention such as AR to Cobb in the middle. Settling into a void in the zone isn't earth-shattering and is something I might omit.
Some of these Practice Roundups get fairly long as it is. I would include a tweet about Cobb beating someone but otherwise he just gets an incidental mention usually if Benkert or Love threw him a nice pass or overthrew him. I try to focus more on the bubble players, anyway.
greengold
August 20, 2021 at 10:31 am
Much appreciated, TGR. Great stuff.
Gaines. Wow. Not unlike his extensive highlight reel. Always making plays.