Green Bay Packers: Quick Observations from Day 7 of Training Camp

I was back at Ray Nitschke Field for the Green Bay Packers seventh practice of training camp. The full pads were on this time as the competition was kicked up a notch and practice ran on the longer side.

Being one person and watching from the stands, of course, there are some things that I missed, but these observations below are what really stood out.

– In a red zone drill, Kabion Ento had a nice pass breakup on a fade route ran by Devin Funchess. I believe that Ento will make the final roster.

– In those same red zone drills, Aaron Rodgers threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones while Jordan Love found Amari Rodgers—both completions were fairly routine.

– Love had a fantastic completion up the sidelines to Reggie Begelton, who toe tapped to complete the catch. It was a perfectly placed ball by Love between two defenders.

– On the flip side, we saw the same inconsistencies from Love once again. There were some very nice passes and a few questionable decisions, one of which was an interception by Christian Uphoff. Footwork continues to be an area of emphasis.

– Speaking of Begelton, Love threw his way a lot on Thursday. And I mean a lot.

– The Green Bay Packers first team offense found a lot of success over the middle of the field against the defense.

– But to the defense’s credit, they did a nice job of limiting the downfield plays, which is the calling card of this Joe Barry defense. Rodgers, Love, and Benkert wanted to push the ball, but oftentimes the throw wasn’t there.

– We saw Jace Sternberger take plenty of reps with the 1s—and he looked good too.

– Not that he will make the roster because the tight end room is crowded, but Isaac Nauta has had a very nice training camp. He’s always where he needs to be and seems to come up with a catch or two each day.

– The crowd erupted when Rodgers hit the net in the corner of the end zone from about 45 yards. Love and Benkert were close, but Rodgers was the only one to make it.

– We saw Jaire Alexander taking reps from the slot. Just as Jalen Ramsey saw an uptick of slot snaps in 2020, I expect Alexander to see the same.

– AJ Dillon ran a wheel route and had a step on De’Vondre Campbell but Rodgers just over threw him. We saw that once or twice in 2020, and a few times during OTAs with Love. At some point this season, Rodgers and Dillon will connect on that route.

– Before practice, Matt LaFleur discussed the competition at right guard and today we saw both Lucas Patrick and Ben Braden taking snaps with the 1s.

– The initial starting OL configuration was Jenkins, Runyan, Myers, Braden, and Turner.

– Last season we saw Rashan Gary find a lot of success pressuring quarterbacks on bull rushes, using that strength of his. Today he did that again, pushing the right tackle into the backfield.

– Today there was another batted ball at the line of scrimmage by the defensive front. This happened a few times during Tuesday’s practice.

– Campbell and Krys Barnes were the starting LBs while Ty Summers and Oren Burks were with the 2s.

– Isaiah McDuffie and Dominique Dafney were working out on the sidelines. Hopefully they’ll both return soon. McDuffie could challenge for a roster spot as a special teams contributor.

– With Kingsley Keke still out, the starting defensive front was Tyler Lancaster, Kenny Clark, and Dean Lowry.

– There were two big plays for the offense that you can credit to LaFleur’s offensive scheme. One involved Allen Lazard as the motion man, and the defense just simply lost him. The other was a play-action rollout by Love that left Sternberger alone in space.

– As expected, there were more ups and downs for Eric Stokes. He lost some reps and won some reps, including against Davante Adams. But he was also burned on a double move by Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 1v1s.

– Kamal Martin did not participate in practice today.

– Josiah Deguara was back and participated in a few drills but none of the 11-on-11 work. The Green Bay Packers are bringing him back slowly.

– Credit to Josh Jackson, he had two nice pass breakups in 1v1s, both of which came against Lazard. And when it comes to Lazard, he is about as steady as they come. Not flashy but so consistent.

– Amari Rodgers was involved quite a bit today, taking snaps with both the first and second teams.