Packers Training Camp 2012: Day 2 Summary

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Aaron Rodgers in Packers Training Camp
Aaron Rodgers in Packers Training Camp

The Packers held another early morning (8:15AM)  practice this morning, this time in the Don Hutson Center. Thanks to some heavy train during the night, the Packers moved the practice indoors, much to the dismay of fans who had come hoping to watch the activities.

Desmond Bishop was confirmed to have a calf strain suffered last weekend, but exactly how is still a mystery. First reports were that it happened in a training session, but there is new speculation he may have hurt it while participating in a golf tournament last weekend. Wherever it happened, it’s an injury that can be hard to completely shake and could cause him problems during the season, as it did last year.

Jermichael Finley did not participate in drills today, having suffered a mild concussion in yesterday’s practice. It had been reported that he suffered it on a hit by Tramon Williams as he was catching a low pass. My question is, what kind of hitting are DFBs/WRs doing while they’re just in shells? Seems strange to me.

Jarrett Bush was still at starting cornerback ahead of Sam Shields, eliciting a flood of debate on twitter, with some blasting this move and others coming to Bush’s defense.  The topic was covered very nicely today from all angles over at AcmePackingCompany.

Tight end DJ Williams has been impressive so far in camp, making some nice catches, including a diving catch that most observers agreed was the catch of the day. Well that’s really nice, but if  Williams doesn’t learn to handle his pass protection assignments, he’ll be trying to catch passes somewhere else. There were a few instances last season where he almost got Aaron Rodgers killed. That is not going to work.

A lot of attention seemed to be being paid to the backup quarterbacks today. Packers writers  in attendance were tweeting away reports of nice passes, poor passes, velocity, location, “TDs”, “INTs”, etc. from Graham Harrell and BJ Coleman. Way too many details and attention being paid to them. There is only one QB that matters. I like both Harrell and Coleman; in fact, I think they could both turn out to be better than Matt Flynn, who I’m just not a big fan of. However, if either of these guys need to come in and play this season, the Packers are in big trouble.

Alex Green once again participated in the packers practice. I consider this one of the top developments of this camp. It was difficult to imagine green being cleared for first day of camp, yet there he was. I’ve been high on Green from day one (based purely on film study), and predicted he would be a big contributor by the end of last season. Of course, he never got the chance, but was well on his way, according to Packers offensive coordinator Tom Clements. As quoted in this post from ESPN Milwaukee’s Jason Wilde, Clements said, “Alex Green has a lot of ability. Before he got hurt, he was progressing to the point where he probably would have played a fair amount. He’s a good runner, he’s good out of the backfield – very good hands, good route runner.”

Jerel Worthy was feeling his oats today, supposedly celebrating a bit after a few run “stops”, if you can call them that while practicing in shells. Some observers hinted the rookie should tone it down a bit, and I would understand that, but I like the fact he’s excited and playing hard in practice.

Randall Cobb;s name has been quite prominent in the early practice reports.  It’s becoming obvious he is going to play a much larger role for the Packers this season, but not just as a receiver.  He’s caught a few deep TDs in practice, been seen practicing reverses, kickoff returns, punt returns  and even took some snaps as a holder on field goals, as discussed by our very own Chad Toporski. The possibilities with Cobb, a former QB, holding for field goals are quite intriguing, but I’m not sure if Mason Crosby would be a big fan of the idea.

Charles Woodson continued to line up at safety in the Packers base defense (or Oakie). This isn’t really big news as he has done it in past seasons and Mike McCarthy has made a concerted effort to downplay the whole issue, as reported yesterday by Jason Wilde. “Charles has played that (safety) position. We used to call it our ‘Three Okie’ package and now he’s just lined up in ‘Okie’ playing strong safety,” McCarthy said. “So it really isn’t anything new. I mean, it’s the same really as it’s always been.” McCarthy added, “In our particular defense, we feel that he is a lot more valuable to us the closer he is to the ball because of the different positions he can play, the number of different things that we’re able to do with him.”

Those were the highlights. Tomorrow should be rather interesting, as the Packers will hold their first padded practice of the 2012 season.  Hitting – now that’s what I’m talking about. Lets go!

 

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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8 thoughts on “Packers Training Camp 2012: Day 2 Summary

  1. I wouldn’t assume Cobb to be a legitimate consideration as a holder, at least not yet. He does have the unique ability to make plays from position without a doubt.

    If he did though, I would make sure it would be within maybe a 10-15 yard area. Sorta like how Tebow was his Freshman year at Florida. Only do it in Goaline situations.

  2. After watching the film, I couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between him and Shea Allard another Packer rookie, for both seem to have good ability to pancake defender.

  3. Al, as far as the Finley concussion from contact with Tramon WIlliams, my best guess without any real information would be it was a knee-to-head collision.

    They’ve stated it occurred on a low pass catch- suggesting Finley was either bending over to scoop the low ball- or perhaps he was diving. Considering there should be no physical contact outside of some toned down pressing at the line, I’d wager Tramon was in tight man coverage and one of his knees made inadvertent contact with Finley’s rather large forehead as he went for the go-for-broke reception.

    I’m really excited for Green, but alas, while I’m sure the knee is strong enough to play on, I’d be surprised if he’s an impact runner before mid-to-late season. Hope it’s sooner than later, he’s going to bench Starks and never look back.

  4. I hope the Bishop injury heals quick. I’m excited for full padded practice today. I hope we hear good things about Perry, Worthy , Daniels, Raji, and other D players. I’ll be at the first pre-season game in SD and would like to get a glimpse of a improved defense. Hears to a relatively injury free training camp this year. Go Pack!

  5. Would love to hear how great things are going. This might be the most loaded team the Pack has had in 50 yrs.

  6. Is today the first day in pads? Now is the time to start paying attention to the reports. Am conserned about Bishop, they need him in the middle.

    Worthy – love to see enthusiasm in the D line. As long as he doesn’t start stomping peoples heads, that is.

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