Date:
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Practice Time:
10:30 a.m. (Total: 1 hour, 1 minute)
Movin' On Up:
WR Davante Adams
There was a period of time early to midway through training camp when it seemed like Davante Adams could pass Jarrett Boykin to be the Packers' No. 3 wide receiver. Boykin has since pulled away with the job. That fact was made evident in Green Bay's third preseason game when Adams only got to work with Aaron Rodgers for a couple of plays, and he only got that chance because Boykin called himself off the field for a moment.
However, Adams showed once again in Wednesday's practice that while he is only a rookie, there may be few -- if any -- No. 4 wide receivers better than him in the NFL.
Adams' best play of the day was a diving touchdown catch on a pass from Scott Tolzien in which his momentum carried him into a partial forward roll on the ground. It was a "wow" catch from a player whose athleticism will get him plenty of regular-season action with Rodgers. By midseason, once Adams has gained some NFL experience, it wouldn't be surprising at all if he surpassed Boykin for playing time.
So You Had A Bad Day:
The centers
The Packers have downplayed the loss of starting center JC Tretter (who will miss several weeks with a knee injury), but what happened Wednesday in his absence is certainly not an ideal situation. First, Corey Linsley had a botched exchange with Matt Flynn. Later, Josh Sitton moved over to center and had a fumbled exchange with Scott Tolzien.
These are growing pains that are somewhat expected given the lack of experience and unfamiliarity, but they're mistakes that would be significantly less likely to happen if Tretter was still in there. Considering that this was the last day of training camp and Green Bay is nearly out of time to work on it before traveling to Seattle, these are issues that can't necessarily be completely fixed in a short amount of time.
Sitton played center for the entire final drive in practice, with Lane Taylor stepping in to his left guard spot. If Linsley isn't ready for the spotlight, the Packers are making sure Sitton would be ready to slide over and snap the ball.
Noted:
- This was Green Bay's final training-camp practice. When it was over, the players all went over to the stands and gave high-fives to the fans in attendance.
- This was another one of Mike McCarthy's new day-before-a-game practices. The team was in shorts and helmets, going through the team drills at about three-quarters speed.
- With the exception of launching a Hail Mary during the "last eight plays" segment, Rodgers gave way to Flynn and Tolzien during the team periods. It's extremely likely that Rodgers won't play at all in Thursday's preseason finale against Kansas City, with Flynn stepping into the starting role.
- The second-string offensive line with Flynn consisted of, from left to right: Derek Sherrod, Taylor, Linsley, Garth Gerhart, Aaron Adams.
- When the No. 2 offense was on the field, the running back was James Starks and the wide receivers were Adams and Boykin.
- Letroy Guion practiced for the second time in training camp, and it appears that there's a big role in store for him. With B.J. Raji being placed on injured reserve, Guion took the first snap at nose tackle when the Packers went to their 3-4 defense.
- Pending a very late change, it appears Green Bay will have DuJuan Harris as its kick returner to begin the regular season. Harris continues to be joined by Jeff Janis and Kevin Dorsey on kick return, but those two never go before him.
- The punt return group was Micah Hyde, Janis and Adams. In previous days, Randall Cobb had also been part of that rotation.
- In the "game situation" period, Mason Crosby connected on all three of his field-goal attempts, hitting from distances of 33, 38 and 43 yards.
- Carl Bradford and Nate Palmer once again worked at inside linebacker. That is likely where both will see a lot of snaps in Thursday's preseason game, especially because Brad Jones is out with a quadriceps injury. How Bradford and Palmer do in their time at inside linebacker could determine which of them makes the 53-man roster.
- Casey Hayward intercepted a Tolzien pass at the goal line.
- Alex Gillett dropped a pass from Tolzien.
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