The Packers Return To The Practice Field During OTAs

I'm a little late to the party that started last week when the Green Bay Packers returned to the practice field for OTAs. While the rookies were on display immediately after the draft, last week was the first time that the veterans joined them in 2017 and gave us a look at what to expect on opening day.

There are some new free agent faces (TE Martellus Bennett, RG Jahri Evans) but they should be straight-up be taking over for the ones that walked away (TE Jared Cook, RG T.J. Lang). Despite drafting multiple running backs, it looks like it's Ty Montgomery's job to lose in the backfield. Some combination of Jayrone Elliott, Kyler Fackrell and Vince Biegel (when healthy) will take the snaps that last season went to Julius Peppers and Datone Jones. The names have changed but the roles they play are essentially the same.

The big change should happen in the secondary since it was a disaster last season. Maybe the scheme can remain the same or maybe it was the players, but probably it's a little of both. Two big names are gone (CB Sam Shields and DB Micah Hyde) and their top two draft choices (CB Kevin King and S Josh Jones) were brought in to take over their roster spots and maybe even their roles on defense.

Packers open with Davon House and LaDarius Gunter at the corner spots with three safeties -- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix,... https://t.co/dCUehyjyid

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) May 23, 2017

King is still in school and not eligible to participate in OTAs. We'll know later whether he's going to take over for Gunter right away or whether he'll have to earn it during the preseason. The other two safeties in that opening lineup were Morgan Burnett and Kentrell Brice, so despite all the glowing articles I read about Jones last week, he's still at least 2nd team and apparently playing along side demoted CBs Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins. Brice has replaced Hyde on defense in the slot, which isn't a bad thing because Brice had a strong 2016 preseason and played a role in the secondary last season, but should be a step back at first because Hyde was pretty good.

There are a lot of names and a lot of options, but it's not a top heavy group. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is the big name, coming off his first trip to the Pro Bowl, but he was a weak selection. He had some great games last season along with a couple of really bad ones. Davon House is arguably their No. 1 corner and he played his way out of Jacksonville last season. LaDarius Gunter showed everyone his ceiling when he was torched in the NFC Championship game. Maybe Randall and Rollins can both rebound after off-season surgery, but their 2016 seasons were disasters. Both Burnett and Jones might find themselves playing more linebacker in the "nitro" package and maybe taking over for ILB Joe Thomas instead of helping the downfield passing game.

The early result is that the coaches aren't trusting their rookies (yet) as 1st team players in the secondary. Despite the changes to the roster, and all the optimism as a new season begins, the secondary is a suspect and unsettled group that has a lot to prove in 2017.

Packers Preseason Game 4, Packers Lose To Chiefs, 17-7

The last preseason game for the Green Bay Packers is usually a downer, with most all the starters sitting, and this one was no exception. It was also the first preseason game this year against a team that made the playoffs last season, which is currently run by former Packer scouting director John Dorsey, so it also featured the best level of competition they've faced so far.

Packers offense:

The problem was the offensive line, which featured the same five backup players throughout, plus some snaps for undrafted rookie Kyle Steuck at guard. When QB Joe Callahan wasn't running for his life, he was getting sacked. The running backs had no where to go (2.4 ypc). The lineman committed multiple holding and illegal blocking penalties. When you can't protect the QB or run the ball, the offense is going nowhere.

RT Kyle Murphy allowed a couple more sacks and showed he isn't ready to pass protect in the NFL. LG Lane Taylor was all-around terrible. C Don Barclay was floating his long snaps to Callahan and didn't prove that he can play inside this season any better than he played tackle last season. Rookie LT Jason Spriggs was again solid, except for a couple plays when he lost his balance and taken out of the play, which has happened to him in every preseason game. However, undrafted free agent Lucas Patrick was impressive, and his only struggles seem to be related to the giant club he's had to play with on his injured right hand. They better stash him on the practice squad.

WRs Davante Adams and Ty Montgomery are on my bubble, and neither one stood out. Both started out strong, Montgomery even blocked a punt on special teams, and then they both did nothing except drop passes in the second half.

Second pick of the preseason for @J_HawKkk! #GBvsKC #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/x9nCPQFuCR

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 2, 2016

Packers defense:

It looked like they were playing with no inside linebackers. Even ILB Blake Martinez struggled during his brief playing time. This was the first preseason game for ILB Jake Ryan and he looked a step behind on every play. Both Chiefs rushing TDs happened when the ILB failed to make the tackle in the backfield. ILB Carl Bradford didn't show the same rush to the ball that he's had earlier this preseason.

There wasn't much of a pass rush either. OLB Reggie Gilbert did nothing, and OLB Kyler Fackrell only stepped up after the bottom of the Chiefs roster started playing late in the game. All the interior tackles played well, and they probably gave GM Ted Thompson something of a good problem to sort out who to keep.

Backup QB Tyler Bray led both Chiefs' TD drives, and after a slow start for him (this was his first preseason game) he took advantage of soft coverage from the Packer defensive backs. The coverage scheme was easy for a veteran like Bray to read, so was it the DBs fault for behind a step behind or was it the scheme? If it is the fault of the scheme, that's not a problem because they won't be playing that the exact same coverage throughout an entire game during the regular season. They did record two INT (Josh Hawkins seen above plus another from LaDarius Gunter) and only had two pass interference/holding penalties. This is still a deep group of backups, and deciding who to keep won't be easy.

Packers special teams:

With no offense from either team for long stretches of the game, it was a punting clinic, and it provided a good opportunity to watch new Packer punter Jacob Schum. He doesn't have a big leg (his 45.5 yard average was 10 yards less per punt than Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt) but he was more consistent than former P Tim Masthay (almost all of Schum's punts were near the sidelines) and he was better at pinning them inside the 10 yard line. Masthay's best punts are probably better than Schum's best punts, but the Packers will probably know what to expect from Schum on each play compared to Masthay's inconsistent punting.

📸 @AaronRodgers12 & Alex Smith postgame.#GBvsKC pic.twitter.com/X5cb3HiR0P

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 2, 2016

It's time to shave the mustache, put the jersey back on, and get ready for the regular season starting in 10 days at Jacksonville. This is going to be a great team, no matter how the final roster cuts work out over the weekend, and they're currently favored to win every, single one of them.

Packers Cruise In Preseason Opener: 22-11 Over Patriots

During the 1st quarter, when QB Aaron Rodgers was in the game, the Packers couldn't score on multiple red zone opportunities. The backup defense failed to contain on either edge at the start of the 2nd quarter when RB Jonas Gray ran for a 55 yard touchdown and then a two-point conversion. The Packers also failed to convert on either of their two point conversion attempts. I mention these bad plays at the start of this post because other than those problems, the Packers were in control in every other aspect of this game and wasn't even as close as the score might indicate. Also the stats below don't reflect all the penalty yards the Patriots gave up.

A look at the final stats from tonight's #Packers victory: http://t.co/c6xQ2ymih4 #GBvsNE pic.twitter.com/AZNifadJf7

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 14, 2015

The backup quarterbacks. After a sloppy performance in the televised practice on Family Night, I was a little down on the backup QBs. But against the Patriots, Scott Tolzien and Brett Hundley each threw a touchdown pass and neither had a turnover. That doesn't sound like a major accomplishment, but these preseason games have featured a lot of bad backup quarterback play over the past couple seasons. That's promising.

The 2015 draft class. 1st round CB Damarious Randall sat out with a groin injury which probably gave more playing time to 2nd round CB Quinten Rollins and undrafted CB LaDarius Gunter, and both of them played like they were ready to start in Week 1. Gunter came away with a nice INT when he stole a bouncing ball right in front of the receiver, while Rollins seemed to be running the receiver's routes for them and missed out on an couple of interceptions in the 2nd quarter. 3rd round WR Ty Montgomery didn't light up the box score as a return man but he looked really comfortable on special teams, and he caught a couple passes too. 4th round LB Jake Ryan had 6 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for losses, and 1 QB hit; he looked like the downfield, hard charging inside LB I've been hoping they would find for the past few seasons.

WR Jeff Janis. He's had some drops in camp and appeared to be on the outside of a roster with too many receivers, then he goes and catches a touchdown. He can be a deep threat with his speed and size (and single coverage) even if he isn't often a target.

The second string defense and second string offensive line. It's always a little deceptive to see the backups beating up on other backups (DE Jayrone Elliott's outside rush doesn't look as fast in the regular season) but they were flying around there and hustling to every play, like a pack of guys battling for a roster spot should look. There were a couple of free rushes to the quarterback and some blown blocking assignments, but mostly held up better than I've come to expect from preseason pass protection.

RT Don Barclay. He'll probably be given some slack for playing in his first game in over a year after a serious knee injury, but he was beaten badly on a couple plays. They have some good options (Taylor and Tretter) for the backup jobs on the inside, but Barclay's their best option as a backup tackle. LT Jeremy Vujnovich played better on the other side but he isn't obviously a better option at this time.

TE Andrew Quarless. He too probably deserves a break after a terrible past few weeks off the field, but he got off to a terrible start as the starting TE. He cut a route short of a 1st down on a 3rd down reception and then got blown up on his run blocking assignment when they went for it on 4th down. He also had a drop pass on the next drive. It took a while for TE Richard Rodgers to find the field, I didn't see him until after TE Justin Perillo got into the game, so Quarless should be the starter (depending on if he gets suspended to start the season).

RBs John Crockett and Alonzo Harris. They each scored a touchdown and they give the Packers a couple more running backs to think about. They were also facing a bunch of backups.  which included a keystone cops moment when on Harris's touchdown run, three Pats defenders ran into each other instead of tackling Harris.

It's just a preseason game, but there was very little bad to come out of it. No injuries and a really good showing from the 2015 draft class. Another preseason road trip is coming up to Pittsburgh on Sunday August 23rd.

2015 NFL Draft: Who Are The Packer Undrafted Rookie Free Agents?

The Green Bay Packers have signed around 20 undrafted rookie free agents with another 10 or so rookies coming in for a tryout. I'm not familiar with most of them so I'm probably overlooking someone, but these players caught my eye.

Another former Tiger has been signed. The Green Bay Packers just picked up Jermauria Rasco. http://t.co/qK2YFeAbqI pic.twitter.com/tjD03K1SRD

— LSU Tigers (@Geaux247) May 3, 2015

LSU DE Jermauria Rasco is 6-3 and 247 lbs. which means he's probably going to be playing outside linebacker for the Packers. He stood out because it's an annual occurrence that the Packers sign one college DE to play OLB and that player finds his way onto the 53-man roster. Rasco's not an elite athlete and he wasn't invited to the combine, but he's a smart player who could stand out early in camp or OTAs.

Miami S Ladarius Gunter. Though they drafted two defensive backs with their top two picks, there's always turnover among the backups DBs they keep on the practice squad. Gunter played cornerback in college but his lack of speed will probably force him to safety in the NFL. He's slightly taller at 6-1 than most of the DBs on the roster which will give him a slight advantage. He seems like a good candidate for the practice squad.

Alabama QB Blake Sims. The Packers don't need another QB. In addition to Brett Hundley, they have QB Matt Blanchard on the roster as an extra camp arm, but Sims is a good athlete and they might want to see what else he can do. If Sims were a running back, his combine results would make him comparable to his former Alabama teammate RB T.J. Yeldon, who was drafted (too early) in the 2nd round by the Jaguars. He's only coming in for a tryout so he might be gone quickly if he looks like too much of a project.

Mississippi DT Lavon Hooks. He's a 6-3 and 312 lb. DT who will probably be asked to stop the run. He wasn't expected to be drafted but he was a highly recruited JUCO player a couple years ago and was the NT on a very good Old Miss defense last season.

It's not the best looking class of undrafted rookie free agents that I've seen from GM Ted Thompson, but as I said before I don't know much about these guys and they might be the ones to watch (if they sign Sims) when training camp opens.