Packers Practice Roundup: Day Six
GENERAL/PERSONNEL:
Bakhtiari is such a legend. He gets Rodgers a golf cart. He wants Rodgers to get him a yacht. Huber [Yes, I think this deserves top billing!]
Practice No. 6 is over at 12:09, a tick under two hours. Hodkiewicz [Pads worn.]
Great to see Josiah Deguara making some cuts and doing some light catching this morning. Coming off a torn ACL. Herman
Daniel Crawford, tight end from Northern Illinois, is your new number 80. Bailey Gaither has apparently retired. Nagler [Crawford is 6’2” and 243 pounds and ran a 4.70 forty. With Deguara and Dafney out, an H-back type is useful in camp.]
Wow. Gaither had looked like one of the better UDFAs at camp so far. Very surprising. Thought he was a strong bet for the p/s. Herman [PS pays $165,600 per season. That ain’t hay.]
LaFleur says they continue to prepare to start without Bakhtiari until they have a clearer timeline of his return. Hopmayer [Bakh again declined to give any timeline, btw.]
LaFleur indicates that Randy Ramsey suffered a pretty significant injury yesterday. Sounds like he'll be out for a long time. Nagler [LaFleur said: "I feel bad for him. Hopefully, we'll get him back at some point."]
Packers practice in pads and Kamal Marin moves to outside linebacker. Silverstein
Packers offense is abusing the defense with checkdowns right now. Nobody close on defense. Herman [Several tweets about WRs and TEs finding soft spots.] 2) So far Joe Barry seems to be a much bigger fan of a 2-4-5 nickel than Pettine. Lots of sets with 2DL, with Smith, Barnes, Campbell, and Gary at LB. Herman [ZaDarius is still out with a back issue.]
QUARTERBACKS/WIDE RECEIVERS:
Love to Amari Rodgers. Scott in coverage. Hopmayer
Great job by Winfree on a corner route finding space in the zone between the safety and corner. Rodgers hits him for a big gain. Nagler
Big play was Aaron Rodgers to Juwann Winfree for 25 yards on 4th-and-10 with 15 seconds left. Found an opening in prevent defense and gave offense a chance. Rodgers was 3-for 7 with 43 yards on the unsuccessful drive. Wood [Same as above - this was in the 2 minute drill.]
Great sideline grab in one on ones by Winfree with Stokes in coverage. Nagler
Winfree is human. Just dropped a pass in the developmental team period. A very rare mistake for him. Winfree finds space on the sideline right in the heart of the turkey hole. Rodgers finds him easily. Winfree has been the breakout star of the offseason so far and I’m not sure it’s close. He’s making plays every day. Herman
Most impressive thing in WRs vs. CBs 1 on 1s is watching WR Juwann Winfree’s get off at the line of scrimmage. Super quick. Silverstein [Herman agrees in a retweet.]
11 on 11 — Rodgers under pressure, underthrows slant left to Cobb. Hopmayer
Love rips one off play action down the right seam to DeAndre Thompkins. When Love plays in rhythm he absolutely looks the part. Long way to go but the talent is there. Nagler [The physical talent is there.]
Jordan Love has pulled it down a couple times today looking to run. Gotta keep those eyes up, just had Cobb WIDE open on a late crosser that never even got looked at. Young QB things. Nagler [To wit.]
Love goes deep to Winfree but the two appear on different pages. Think Love expected Winfree to bend to the post but the WR runs a straight go. Incomplete. Nagler
Packers move to one on ones. MVS beat Stokes, and yet another Savage PBU on Tonyan. Hopmayer
Rodgers running gassers with other QBs. Still got some wheels. Huber
Herman - multiple:
Blair beats Hollman at the catch point. Nice play.
Amari just roasted another DB couldn’t tell who.
Winfree now 3/3 against Stokes. Another nice catch.
Taylor had Samuels cooked. Bad pass.
Jean-Charles close coverage on Begelton.
EQ catches a deflected bobbled pass over Jackson
Amari Rodgers cooks Gaines
Isaac Nauta roasts Henry Black
Nice battle between Funchess & Jaire, short catch for Devin
MVS beats Jaire with an awesome route, fantastic coverage by Jaire and MVS was just better than it.
Winfree absolutely took Stokes’ soul off the line, bad pass.
CB vs WR 1x1’s:
Winfree beats Stokes
Savage beats Tonyan but Savage is hurt
Cobb beats Sullivan
Lazard had Jackson beat but throw was off. End Herman
Packers did OL/DL 1-on-1s on one end of the field and WR and TE/DB 1-on-1s on the other. Kept an eye on the latter and will have full details in today’s story. A little tease: Juwann Winfree is gonna make it pretty hard to cut him. Schneidman [Lots of activity on the field so no single media observer can see everything.]
RUNNING BACKS:
Shemar Jean-Charles beats Kylin Hill on a blitz. Looked like he could have had a sack. Herman
TIGHT ENDS:
Defense forgot completely about Robert Tonyan. Wide open for a checkdown and rumbles foe a nice pickup. Herman
Marcedes Lewis is the oldest tight end in the NFL. Age is but a number when you've got his attitude. “You can’t teach my size, you can’t teach what I’ve got in between my ears and you can’t teach this [points to his heart].” Huber
TE Daniel Crawford looks like another Dom Dafney type. H-back, move TE. Ran 4.65-4.7 at 245 pounds. Caught 65 passes at NIU. Matt LaFleur loves this type of TE. Kruse
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN:
Elgton Jenkins’ strong camp continuing today. Jenkins won three straight reps vs. Preston Smith to start one-on-ones, all from LT spot. Jenkins shoved Smith to the ground on final rep. Wood [Note that Gary beat Turner twice in one on ones - in the LB section.]
Elgton Jenkins said it would take him no time at all to switch back to LG after practicing all camp at LT. His status depends on if David Bakhtiari is back or whether Dennis Kelly forces himself into the lineup and Billy Turner moves to left tackle. Silverstein
Dennis Kelly getting some reps w/ the ones at RT. Herman
Matt LaFleur states what has become obvious: Rookie Josh Myers will "most likely be our starting center." He's taken first-team reps since he arrived after the draft. Following in footsteps of fellow Buckeye Corey Linsley, who was a Day 1 starter. Wood
Saw OT Cole Van Lanen at right tackle for what I think is the first time this camp. He had been on the left up until today. Silverstein
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN:
Dean Lowry and Kenny Clark looked good in one on ones. Runyan looked good at left guard. Runyan’s broad shoulders really standout when pads are on. Hodkiewicz
Final 2 minute drill of practice, TJ Slaton takes a tipped ball thrown by Love and runs it back. Big man was movin’ Nagler
LINEBACKERS:
Patrick Taylor cuts back right into the waiting arms if Oren Burks. Great patience and gap integrity from Oren. Herman
Hasn’t always translated to 11-on-11, but Rashan Gary has been stud in 1-on-1s since day he arrived as rookie. No different to start 3rd camp. Gary beat Billy Turner, a damn good RT, in pair of reps. First rep was bull walking Turner back, second an outside rush. Power and speed. Wood
Now a nice play by Tipa to apply pressure and good thing he did because Cobb was wide open deep. Love couldn’t locate him. Herman
Sweet throw from Rodgers in team up the right seam to A Jones with Campbell in coverage. Nagler
Rodgers to Jones wide open. Campbell was closest. Hopmayer [Same play, sounds different.]
Nice read by De’Vondre Campbell to slow up a Jones run. Herman
DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Second drop from Davante today, this time on a Go route vs Stokes. Had the rookie beat, perfectly placed throw, just couldn’t corral it. {Another play/tweet: Rare drop from Davante on an over route in team.} Nagler [Davante’s hands are in fact just okay. It isn’t that rare.]
Eric Stokes is really struggling today. Lazard just beat him easily inside and Rodgers found him in stride for a nice gain. Herman [I read nine other twitter feeds on today’s practice - I save Andy Herman for the last - and this is the first time anyone gave me this impression of Stokes’ day. My point isn’t who is right - just how this coverage works.]
Really impressive play from Packers CB Kabion Ento, who broke on Aaron Rodgers pass to EQ in middle of field on 2-10 with 30 seconds left. PBU on 12 is always notable. Pretty much killed drive. Ento has been getting consistent 2nd-team reps and looks like a real roster threat. Wood [2 min. Drill.]
Beautiful diving pass breakup by Kabion Ento who got a rep with the ones and made the most of it. Herman [I think this is same as Wood’s above.]
Henry Black seems to actually enjoy contact. Rare quality in the Packers secondary the last few years. Nagler
Rodgers tries hitting Davante on the over route and ends up throwing into the waiting arms of Alexander. Nice pick by 23. Nagler
CB Jaire Alexander comes off his man and picks off Aaron Rodgers for what might have been a pick 6. Might have been a disguised coverage or Alexander coming off his man to cut in front of Adams on a deep corner route. Silverstein [Same play as above: interesting if it was a coverage disguise but no way to know.]
Really nice recognition from Sullivan on an attempted screen to Dillon. Nagler
Shemar Jean-Charles getting all the reps in the slot with the 2s during team work. Just did nice work covering Amari Rodgers. Nagler [I am having a hard time picturing Jean-Charles as a slot guy but Herman also commented on this play: Jean-Charles with great coverage on Amari Rodgers in a great slot battle. So maybe so; that’s why I concentrate on the CBA.]
Good coverage from Josh Jackson, who has been getting 1 reps with Jaire Alexander out, on Davante Adams down right sideline. Left no space on a vertical route. Rodgers almost dropped it in anyway, because that’s what he does, but pass just out of Adams’ reach. Wood
Rodgers goes back to Davante deep up the right sideline. Nice job by Jackson getting physical early in the route to throw off the timing just enough. Ball bounces off Davante’s outstretched fingertips. Nagler [Same play as above.]
[OTOH] Adams has enough separation from Jackson who had pretty good coverage on the play but the ball was just a hair overthrown. Herman [Observers don’t always agree or at least the nuance is different. At least all agree coverage was decent or better.]
Savage wins his one on one rep against Tonyan in coverage but is slow getting up. Now off to the side being looked at by a trainer. Savage is back up with helmet on and with the group. Looks to be ok. Nagler
SPECIAL - SPECIAL TEAMS:
EQ, Winfree, and Funchess all getting reps on special teams today. They all know if they want that last WR spot it could very well come down to being able to play teams. Herman
Kylin Hill getting the first look at kick returner followed by Chandon Sullivan. Looks like Amari Rodgers and DeAndre Thompkins will get lions as well. Herman
Packers have a walk-thru not open to public or media tomorrow. Aaron Rodgers. Allen Lazard, De'Vondre Campbell and Matt LaFleur will talk via Zoom. Schneidman
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Comments (21)
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2021 at 01:04 am
I thought it was a no-brainer to use a photo of Juwaan Winfree. Turns out Winfree is way under the radar, far enough that I couldn't find a photo of him. So, I used a photo of Shemar Jean-Charles, who had a good practice. There was another photo of Jean-Charles with Uphoff in it: I thought about the contrast since I have yet to see a single tweet about Uphoff.
The reports have made me feel better about the OL. I always thought the lynch pin was Myers: if he could lock down OC, that freed up Jenkins to play anywhere he is needed. Moreover, it appears that with reps and after spending the off season working on playing LT, as Jenkins noted today, Eglton Jenkins can play LT at least pretty well and perhaps better than that. Turner is the bookend unless Kelly forces his way in at RT. Patrick is an NFL starter, and there are plenty of possibilities for the other guard spot, which might still be Turner. Kelly has played guard as well. Things are looking pretty good.
Laughed when I saw the guys learning STs. Gotta be able to do it.
Off topic: Minnesota released Jeff Gladney because he was indicted on felony domestic abuse charges by a Dallas Grand Jury. That will mean 3 years of signing bonus will be accelerated ($4.6M). His base salaries were also initially guaranteed, about another $3.5M roughly guessing, but future guaranteed money can be voided by bad behavior. Gladney could fight about that money. Gladney had a terrible start to the 2020 season, but IIRC he got better over the course of the year. Still bad overall with a 50 PFF grade, but it looked like the light was coming on for him a bit.
Turophile
August 04, 2021 at 07:42 am
I always had it in for Lucas Patrick..........less so as a backup, but certainly as a starter.
Maybe I'm a little behind the curve and he IS now fringe starter material. Sometimes when you have a bit of a downer on someone, it takes time to upgrade your perception of them.
I'm still not his greatest fan, but I acknowledge he is a candidate for the 5th spot on the O line at RG, (LG for me is Runyan, until Bakhtiari comes back and Jenkins goes back there). Does Runyan slide to RG when Jenkins returns to LG ? Maybe.
If Patrick has improved as much as TGR thinks he has, that's at least a real solid interior backup.
As an aside, QB Jordan Love just might be the future. The key is two fold. First he must continue to improve - it's a really steep learning curve for college players and failure to keep advancing is one of the main reasons they fail. The other key is learning to read what's happening, pre and post snap. Lots of reps helps with that......... and watching what Rodgers does is as good an education as it is possible to get. I don't expect a third MVP (after Favre & Rodgers) but I'd be very happy indeed with a QB somewhere in the upper third of those in the NFL.
PS Here is Winfree (#88) in a ball-carrying exercise.
https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_850,h_560,c_fill,g_auto...
Coldworld
August 04, 2021 at 08:32 am
Patrick had one poor game last year. Otherwise he’s belonged for the last couple of years. Is he the best O lineman? No, but he’s not been a liability. The NFL is about can you upgrade your weakest link though.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2021 at 09:28 am
I agreed with you about Patrick in the past. Patrick had a career year in 2020. He was playing next to Linsley, who played at an elite level, and Wagner gave 610 very good snaps (better than Turner). It remains to be seen if he can duplicate his success.
PFF rated Lucas Patrick as a light green: that is a low-end starter, but not in the yellow, which is backup quality. So, I agree with Cold below. Runyan might well be better, or Newman, or Braden, or....
Turo: CHTV subscribes to a service for our photos, and since they are published, I have to use the services.
Spock
August 04, 2021 at 01:06 am
TGR, Always enjoy these and also enjoy your "takes" on the the comments. Thanks for doing this. Keep 'em coming!
porupack
August 04, 2021 at 05:43 am
Great collection of observations! Thanks.
I was so surprised by this comment: "Juwann Winfree for 25 yards on 4th-and-10 with 15 seconds left. Found an opening in prevent defense and gave offense a chance",
Oh my goodness, what an unusual thing to hear in GB. Glad that in games that matter, the prevent defense always prevents.
porupack
August 04, 2021 at 05:59 am
Great to hear the early domination by the offense (I guess), but looks like Stokes is far from ready, and might even lose his confidence getting torched by everyone.
Wonder if Bailey Gaither's retirement had anything to do with Randall Cobb contract, and Gaither just saw his prospects dimmed further, and didn't want to start over with a new team.
Seems like the OL is forming into a lot of solid pieces. Elgton, Wow. Impressive. Sounds like Myers is finding his spot and so far showing his potential is real.
Juwann. Cool story developing. Yeah, I know what posters are so happy to repeat: "TC optimism, and damper the expectations, and wait till pads, this and wait till games, that. Geez. I like it anyway. I'm an optimist. It works for me.
Heard Minnepo just lost Jeff Gladney. All the Gute haters, complain Gute doesn't invest high picks in this or that position.....or that Gute doesn't draft 3-4 first rounders each year to "go all in".) What say yeh? For all the "busts" the naysayers say, equal it up when other teams bust. Minnepo just has such a hard time trying to catch up to GB, getting close for 20 years or...well, just not quite ever catching GB. Feel sorry for them sometimes.
Johnblood27
August 04, 2021 at 07:20 am
Never - I repeat - NEVER, feel sorry for those purple turds.
Not enough bad luck can befall that franchise.
RedRight49
August 04, 2021 at 06:55 am
Thanks for the great gathering of observations, TGR, pretty well covers the spectrum of position battles and various O vs D battles.
Love the Marcedes Lewis quote!
Johnblood27
August 04, 2021 at 07:21 am
Thanks TGR, your work in compiling these tidbits is a real highlight of my TC coverage.
Roadrunner23
August 04, 2021 at 07:32 am
Football starved fans living in Virginia appreciate ya’ James!
Thank you
ND
MITM
August 04, 2021 at 07:33 am
I've enjoyed reading these so much and appreciate it. However I had to stop reading this one after you reported Barry is an even bigger fan of the 2-4-5 than Pettine. I think im gonna throw up
LambeauPlain
August 04, 2021 at 11:35 am
Barry is wedded to keeping 2 ILBs on the field most of the time. A bit concerning since that group is one of the weakest on the team...even with the addition of Campbell. Giving Martin snaps at OLB was puzzling.
MITM
August 04, 2021 at 02:19 pm
If thats the case then why not a 4-2-5? WHY why WHY do we have to see a 2-4-5. Hell even a 3-3-5 stack? 2 down linemen is asinine.
Stroh
August 04, 2021 at 06:56 pm
But the 2-4-5 is basically the equivalent of a 4-2-5 isn't it? The 2 OLB are in almost any scheme anymore the equivalent of 43 DE. You get too hung up on specifics that your not really seeing the big picture.
We all want a sound run D, but its about getting to the QB, before even run D. The 2-4 actually allows for more variation in may ways IMO.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2021 at 04:07 pm
I disclaim any and all responsibility for the defensive scheme or schemes GB's new DC chooses to employ.
However, given your reaction, I will put any additional tweets about the defensive scheme at the end of the article!
Guam
August 04, 2021 at 07:59 am
This series is rapidly becoming my new favorite CHTV piece. Great notes from many people actually watching the Packer practices and informative observations by the author. Great work as usual TGR! Love it!
Coldworld
August 04, 2021 at 08:38 am
I’m going to make a ridiculously early prediction to get the juices going. Winfree will be our in house Adams successor in 2022. No way he’s going anywhere:
“Most impressive thing in WRs vs. CBs 1 on 1s is watching WR Juwann Winfree’s get off at the line of scrimmage. Super quick. Silverstein.”
This is also pretty encouraging: “ MVS beats Jaire with an awesome route, fantastic coverage by Jaire and MVS was just better than it.” Development like that would be huge.
I know no one knows much about Thompkins, but he may be the fastest player on the team and seems to be catching things deep. He’s been a returner thus far, but could he be more than that? Is he a credible candidate to cover for MVS on the PS?
This is definitely the camp insight source that beats all others. It’s freaking wonderful to be talking about players and their ups and downs.
Stroh
August 04, 2021 at 06:59 pm
You think Winfree is going to rise from a udfa, make the team and in a yr take over as the #1 WR for the Packers? Cuz that is what your saying if he takes over for Adams. Talk about bold and exaggerated comments...
Hope he can make the roster, then get some contrbutions and rise up the depth chart, but taking the #1 WR job is beyond bold!
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
August 04, 2021 at 08:28 am
Awesome! Thanks!
Looking forward to Family Night in GB this weekend!
LambeauPlain
August 04, 2021 at 11:44 am
The sad thing about placating Rodgers with trading for the oft injured Cobb is Winfree, ESB, and Funchess may all be gone. If they keep 6 WRs (which I think would be unlikely unless Cobb's injury resume forces management to 6), I fear the two cut will not make the PS.
Six WRs would also stress the roster count at RB, TE, or OL...where I think they need to overweight, especially with increasing use of 12 and 22 personnel.