Tuesday 8th - Training Camp Report

[PlantPage55]

Hey everyone! I wrote another TC report over on Football's Future!

Here's the link:

http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=74882

check it out! Enjoy!

[billy_oliver880]

Thanks man thats a great report! :D

[GrnBay007]

Great report PP!

[Partial]

Hey everyone!
I went to camp today and I have a lot to write but I'll be doing it in a little different way tonight. I don't have as many impressions of all of the players because we're 3 weeks into camp or something - and I'll only be writing plays and things that stand out now - rather than the impressions I get from how a player looks or their attitudes or whatever.

Also, I said earlier that this week would be a two day trip for me - well, a my superior at work is taking a day off and yesterday he told me that I would have to work in his place tomorrow. SUPRISE! So I'm a little pissed.

Also also, preliminary impression. I've said this many times before, but between the scrimmage and the TCs I've seen and read about I NEED to stress this. ABDUL HODGE is the man. MOVE BARNETT!!! He would make a great SSLB - don't pigeon-hole Hodge into a position he can't play. I know a lot of you guys are seeing this. And I even heard this from a bunch of FANS in the crowd today! Hopefully, the coaches are perking their senses to this!

I'm going to build myself a delicious Smoked Beef Sandwich from Green Bay's wonderful Maplewood Meats and some Mac and Cheese from Lee's Famous Recipe of Wausau...get ready for a Thrillhouse Official Report!

Okay, let's start the show...I'll be going in chronological order...

Corey Rodgers was out on the field EARLY - he was fielding punts before anyone else got out there. While he was out there he only bobbled one or two out of many, and didn't drop any. I tell you what, gun incident aside (because I don't know the circumstances...) I like his attitude. Even though he isn't there with his punt catching yet (as you'll see later) - he seems to really be trying to get better all the time.

Herron then came out, he was in a muscle shirt and was carrying his pads with him for the moment. I'll tell you what, he looked bigger and more ripped than I remember from last year. Last year, I thought he was kind of shrimpy..this year, he LOOKS like a legitimate RB.

First up during practice was punt return:
Woodson and Rodgers took turns, and both were doing great until Corey misread a punt and couldn't get under one. THEN Charles dropped one that hit him in the chest. THEN Corey dropped one that hit him in the hands...then one in the chest. They got COLD really fast.

Ryan hit some deep beauties.
BJ hit a deep one, but also hit a medium length drifter that wobbled right towards the sidelines...pretty ugly.

In Offensive run-through, they practiced a WR pass with Donald Driver. Favre flipped it to him and he would throw it to Fergy.

In Team Run, they came out with it right away, and Donald threw a nice, long pass - but Ferg definitely wasn't running fast enough. He seemed to dog it on that play, but idk why he would with such a special play. You think he'd want it to look good. meh.

Then they ran a couple of VERY ideally run screens. First, Davenport, then Herron. GREAT screens, GREAT blocks.

- HODGE had nice pursuit of a WR reverse.
- RODGERS threw a bad pass way behind a crossing BOERIGTER
- INGLE MARTIN threw a pass too high for GARDNER to catch.
- FERGY drops a RODGERS pass in the numbers.
- FAVRE to DRIVER is MAGIC like always.

Ahman Green looked great AT FIRST. He caught everything thrown to him. Even a great over the shoulder, deep one. But he dropped his last two in the flat. idk...I still say he has some great, soft hands, but maybe it was a long day for him.

Mike McCarthy and Brett Favre are INSEPARABLE.
By that I mean, when he's not in the drill...he's talking to coach. ALWAYS.
In my opinion, this is great! I hope Favre picks McCarthy's brain endlessly and TAKES everything away from it!


DRIVER smoked CHARLES but there was no catch.
- GARDNER made a nice adjustment to a short pass and caught it in front of HARRIS.
- COLLINS was stride for stride with FRANCIES - but neither touched the ball.
- BOERIGTER beat HORTON with a nice curl route
- FERGY caught a sharp curl from FAVRE with WOODSON right on his back.
- BOE burned HARRIS with a square route over the middle. HARRIS got faked out by an outside move.
- GARDNER dropped a rather high pass from RODGERS with COLLINS in close coverage.

- CALVIN RUSSEL burned HORTON. But the pass was underthrown by WROBEL

-WROBEL sucks.

3rd and 1 Situational Drill:

- COLE and KGB absolutely STUFF GADO
- GADO gets small gain for first down
- GADO rips a 7 yarder, with COLLINS coming in for the kill.

Goal Line

- FAVRE to BUBBA = TD
- COLE eats up DAVENPORT
- RODGERS pass to HUMPHREY = HODGE INTERCEPTS!!!!!
- JOLLY and CULVER stuff runner (didn't see who)
- RODGERS to ALCORN = TD with TRACY WHITE blowing coverage

Regular

- FAVRE to FERGY long pass - caught in TIGHT coverage by WOODSON
- FAVRE to DRIVER - 80 worked CHARLES and made the nice play over the middle
- WOODSON looks like he's dogging it, because he's tired of camp
- KAMPMAN would-be SACK on RODGERS
- CULVER swats a ball away from COREY RODGERS with TIGHT coverage
- CULVER tightly covers BOE on the very next play

Let me digress to say that I am very impressed with the play of our SAFETIES! In both camp and the scrimmage.

From COLLINS, to CULVER and UNDERWOOD, and to a lesser extent BOGER

And MARQUAND isn't even ready yet, and I'm impressed!

Here's the string of great AJ plays:
- DAVID MARTIN catches a really quick pass off the snap from FAVRE over the middle, and AJ is right there ready to hit. TOO BAD HE CAN'T! I would have loved to see that one.

- AJ was in position for an INT, but he wasn't quick enough to react and it was kind of a low ball for him to get. I don't think he would have INT'D it even if he was a little quicker reacting, but he still looked disappointed in himself.

- AJ stops GADO on a 1 to 2 yard run. AGAIN, he was in position to PUNISH - too bad it's just camp.

He's going to be FINE ladies and gents!

- JOLLY gets a would-be SACK on INGLE
- RUVELL MARTIN has BIG yards after the catch on a FAVRE pass
- UNDERWOOD and BEN TAYLOR have good coverage on DONALD LEE.
FAVRE throws the ball and it couldn't have been in ANY OTHER spot, but LEE drops it dammit!!!"
- Pass interference: Carroll asks, "Who's that on?" The ref replies "you."
ha ha ha - I have a feeling he's STILL arguing with the ref.

- NICE pass to HERRON in the flat
- INGLE still overthrows quite a bit...better than underthrowing?

- BOE drops a slant
- MARTIN drops a slant
- Who doesn't drop a slant?!

- I'll tell you who...DRIVER SMOKES CARROLL on a SLANT!

- BOGER has quick pursuit of a DAVENPORT screen
- HODGE would have had a KILLER hit on LEE 5 yards over the middle

- ABDUL HODGE: I am INFINITELY impressed with this guy. After every play he's MLB for, I seem to see him crawl out from the tackle. I'm amazed. START THIS MAN AND DON'T MAKE IT SSLB!

- AJ HAWK: He had a nice string of impact looking plays in there. And I'm throwing him on here because he's getting a lot of rag, but I see him starting to react instead of think. He'll be great. He just needs support and a little time.

- FAVRE: He's so sharp. I love it. It's a joy to watch him. Treasure him, because he won't be here much longer.

- DRIVER: because when ISN'T he awesome?! I'm waiting for the one day that he DOESN'T show up.

- CULVER/UNDERWOOD: no matter who out of these two were in at the time, they both were always around the play!

- COLIN COLE: boy, he showed up today. He showed explosiveness through the line.

PEOPLE THAT AREN'T SO AWESOME RIGHT NOW:

- FERGY: He made ONE awe-inspiring catch over Charles Woodson, but otherwise...he dogged it. He had a couple drops, he didn't run hard.

- BOE: He dropped a flat out, routine, slant. It was ugly and I hope he was embarassed, because the crowd groaned pretty loudly. I had him as an impressive WR after the first day of camp, but he's been steadily less than all of that as of late.

- ALL OF OUR CORNER BACKS: COME ON GUYS. We KNOW you guys are good. We KNOW AL and Charles can play while they're healthy. And I KNOW Carroll is better (at least, a little better) than this. They're just dogging it in camp.......at least I hope.

- Tony Moll: The dude is a pud.

- DAVID MARTIN and DONALD LEE: catch a damn ball once or twice


Anyway. I am a total optimist when it comes to the GB Packers. I like to hold out plenty of hope for them. Let me say again, that Coach McCarthy is doing a hell of a job in my opinion...especially in his control of the QBs. I think he is really commited to limiting STUPID passes. I think FAVRE will benefit greatly from having constant feedback and reinforcement. Instead of benefiting from constant scapegoating and excuses from our old friend Mr. Rossley.

Have a nice night everyone. I'll check back to try and answer questions and stuff later tonight.



Amazing report man!

[chewy-bacca]

Thanks man thats a great report! :D

[Bretsky]

WOW; some GREAT STUFF.

To me the most encouraging thing I'm finding is the Favre MM interaction.

And the most discouraging thing is notes about Woodsen seeming to dog it after skipping all the voluntary stuff.

It's early though, and if healthy the Woodsen signing at worst was better than eating more cap money like the 7MIL that sits on our books now.

B

[HarveyWallbangers]

Thumbs up
Tuesday’s full-contact, move-the-ball period in which the offense was charged with running out the clock with a lead was the perfect example of why Samkon Gado is a more NFL-ready running back than Noah Herron.
The coaching staff has raved about Herron’s ability to make the right reads in the new zone-blocking scheme, but there’s still an element of power necessary to run in the NFL. That’s where Gado excels.
The drill on Tuesday had the offense leading 14-10 with 3:10 remaining and three timeouts left for the defense. Gado carried five times for 17 yards, including an 8-yard gain in which barreled through the right side of the line. It helped the offense successfully kill the clock without turning it over downs. Gado finished the drill off by converting a fourth-and-1 run.
Herron and Najeh Davenport split reps with the No. 2 offense in the same drill, and Herron rushed twice for 10 yards. He was stuffed for a 1-yard gain but did break a 9-yard run. However, unlike Gado’s powerful run through traffic, Herron had a huge hole. Also, that drive stalled at the 2-minute mark, turning the ball over to the defense.
There might be a place for both running backs on the roster, but anyone who thinks Herron can take Gado’s spot should consider Tuesday’s drill.

Thumbs down
Every once in a while, cornerback Charles Woodson has the kind of practice that makes you wonder if he was worth a $10 million signing bonus.
Tuesday was one of those practices. Woodson looked rather ordinary in coverage against Robert Ferguson, who hasn’t exactly been tearing up training camp. Ferguson beat Woodson for a 43-yard reception early in practice. Woodson had OK coverage but didn’t make a very good play on the ball. Later, Woodson got completely beat by Donald Driver on a middle seam route.
To be sure, there have been days when Woodson has looked dominant. His five-interception practice last week was an impressive sight. But it’s beginning to look like he might have an inconsistent streak in him.

[Packers4Ever]

Hey everyone! I wrote another TC report over on Football's Future!

Here's the link:

http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=74882

check it out! Enjoy!

What a super report, Plant !! Well written, let's see some more.
I guess Fergy isn't up for grabs after all, not right now anyway.

[gbgary]

Thanks man thats a great report! :D

+1.......your mission, should you accept it, is to duplicate this no-nonsense report on a daily basis. good luck!

[Willard]

I agree. Super! Long live the Thrillhouse Report!

[woodbuck27]

PlantPage55 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slapdown - down to earth reporting.

Great job again PlantPage55.

[Packers4Glory]

what happened to fergy having that so called desire to make it and be great? From the reports I've seen, he isn't practicing like a guy out to make a statement.

[MadtownPacker]

Welcome to PR everyone. Hope you hang around for the season.

Packers4Glory - Check out this thread to see what posters think about Fergy the fraud.

http://www.packerrats.com/ratchat/viewtopic.php?t=2402

[Terry]

Fabulous reports, PP and Harvey! Thank you!!

I only learned about this site yesterday. So far, I've really enjoyed everything I've read - from the humour to the Packer insights and reporting. My thanks to whoever it was who went to the other place and mentioned this site. Over there, I was just debating all the time - over here, I'm just reading and soaking everything up. I'm in Ireland and it's always hard to get good info on the Pack, so this place is just plain the bee's knees. :D

[HarveyWallbangers]

That wasn't my report. I forgot to give proper credit. I took a snippet out of Demovsky's blog on the Press Gazette to show his thoughts on Woodson.

[Badgepack]

The report from knowlegable Packer fans that watch the whole practice is the best way to get a feel for the team.

Thank you Led head.

[Bretsky]

That wasn't my report. I forgot to give proper credit. I took a snippet out of Demovsky's blog on the Press Gazette to show his thoughts on Woodson.


Dam Harvey; he always steals my thoughts too :wink:

Cheers,
B

[fan4life]

WOW; some GREAT STUFF.
Couldn't agree more... keep 'em coming!


To me the most encouraging thing I'm finding is the Favre MM interaction.
Ditto. In fact, it's the key to the whole season, no question about it. But those who think it is MM "controlling" Favre have it all wrong. #4 has spent 15 years learning the WCO, and executing it on the field. MM will be a better coach for soaking up all of Favre's knowledge and insights on what works and what doesn't work - and coaching everyone on the offense to execute what Favre is best at.

Should Favre go down, MM will have to adjust his schemes to what AR does well. And who better to help him do that than a wily old vet who's done it all?

[Packnut]

Thanks very much for all that info!

As for the worries about Woodson, all vets get to a point where camp becomes boring. I still believe this guy is a shut down corner.

With Barnett's latest comments about not moving to the outside, for right now, it's better to bring the "hitman" along slowly. Barnett can read coverages and I can't see us staring 2 rookie LB's right now.

[Partial]

Thanks very much for all that info!

As for the worries about Woodson, all vets get to a point where camp becomes boring. I still believe this guy is a shut down corner.

With Barnett's latest comments about not moving to the outside, for right now, it's better to bring the "hitman" along slowly. Barnett can read coverages and I can't see us staring 2 rookie LB's right now.

what did barnett say?

[RashanGary]

I just got back from wednessday practice...What a waste of time. I went late, thought wednesday would be open. NOPE...no space. It's kind of annoying, I left afer 30 minutes.

Didnt' see jack cuz I was so far. I like OTA's better because you can acctually study players like WR's and DB's without dealing with the crowd of tourists...

Oh well....That is the way it works I guess.

[Creepy]

Pack4life,

Will agree that learning things from faver is important, but it has to be MM as teacher not Favre. It is MM's team and the offense is Favre's, his job is to work the way MM wants it done. I like thatthey are working together and making it work, but Brett has to realize that MM is the boss not him.

As for working in the WC offense for all those years is not quite true. Their was Holmgrens WC, Shermans WC, Rossel/Sherman WC and now MM WC. Some termilnology stays the same and a few o the plays look familiar, but youy can't compare the offenses. Sherman's was run first pass second, Holmgren was pass to set up the run, Rossley & Sherman (the Sherman with Rhodes) went deeper than the usual 3 step and release of Holmgren. Different blcoking schemes, use of the TE's. Each HC/OC changed the WC offense of the 90s until by 2005 it didn't look anything like the WC offense.

MM is going back to the Holmgren style, but not completely. He wants to use screens, slants and the TEs. The same as Holgren did, but wants to run first and then pass. Instead of lead blocks he uses a new blocking scheme. I can't wait for the season to begin.

[Badgepack]

Training camp must pump tons of money into the Green Bay's economy. How hard is it to get into the bars and restraunts around the stadium?

[woodbuck27]

Sherman Lewis, the club's offensive coordinator from 1992-'99, is attending practice this week.

He coached with McCarthy on Ray Rhodes' staff in '99. His son, Eric, is Green Bay's defensive quality-control coach.

"I like what I see," Lewis said late Tuesday.

"They have a lot of good-looking athletes at the skill positions. Mike will need some more players but I think he'll be fine."

The West Coast passing game is similar to what Lewis coached in Green Bay but the zone running game is much different.

"I wish I had been exposed more to it," Lewis said.

"We never had people with the expertise in it as coaches. It's a back running to daylight and the passing game comes off it. I'll tell you what. The linebackers must respond to the flow. I did studies of it in Denver. The run game benefits the play-action and movement game."

[Packnut]

Partial- he stated he won't move to the outside.

[woodbuck27]

Fabulous reports, PP and Harvey! Thank you!!

I only learned about this site yesterday. So far, I've really enjoyed everything I've read - from the humour to the Packer insights and reporting. My thanks to whoever it was who went to the other place and mentioned this site. Over there, I was just debating all the time - over here, I'm just reading and soaking everything up. I'm in Ireland and it's always hard to get good info on the Pack, so this place is just plain the bee's knees. :D

Greetings Terry.Welcome to OUR Packer forum. :mrgreen:

Are you an Irishman? Where were you born/raised Terry, if I may ask?

My oldest friend, an Irish Canadian as I am, is Terry McInerney.

My forefathers immigrated to New Brunswick, Canada in the early 1800's - the Kirkpatricks and the Bells - from County Fermanaugh (Fermanagh) Northern Ireland. I've never had the pleasure of a visit to my homeland.

[BallHawk]

Great report Planet, as I've said before Cliff Christl is your bitch.

Also, Terry, how do you watch your Packer Games over there in Ireland.

[Murphy37]

Nice Camp reports kids. Donald Driver is da Man! Keep roasting those lazy db's Donny! I hope the younger guys in camp follow Drivers leadership, and not Woodsons.

[Terry]

Greetings Terry.Welcome to OUR Packer forum. :mrgreen:

Are you an Irishman? Where were you born/raised Terry, if I may ask?

My oldest friend, an Irish Canadian as I am, is Terry McInerney.

My forefathers immigrated to New Brunswick, Canada in the early 1800's - the Kirkpatricks and the Bells - from County Fermanaugh (Fermanagh) Northern Ireland. I've never had the pleasure of a visit to my homeland.

Thanks, Woodbuck! I dunno if I'm an Irishman yet - a few decades isn't enough time to get out of training camp. I was born in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, and raised in Milwaukee. My dad introduced me to Packer watching in 1961 or 1962 and I was glued to the tv throughout Lombardi's reign. All my (probably outdated) ideas of coaching and players come from that time.

My forefathers came over (or 'went' over, from my current perspective) around the middle of the 19th century - their father had moved to England around the time of the famine and then later took his boys to the USA. I don't know where in Ireland he came from, but the name originates in County Cavan. Another paternal line went over before the revolutionary war. Remember that painting of Washington crossing the Delaware? Well, there was a scout boat in front of Washington's boat and that was manned by my great-great-great-great-great someone or other. I hope he wasn't standing up during the crossing. :smile:



Also, Terry, how do you watch your Packer Games over there in Ireland.

Oh man, don't ask! The short answer is that I don't. But I sign on to Sky Sports every autumn and that gets me 3 or 4 games, plus all the playoff games if we (the Pack, I mean) go that far. I also used to get MNF on channel five, but when Sky went to digital, they weren't allowed to broadcast that channel here. Otherwise, most Sundays, I listen to the radio broadcasts of the game by signing up to NFL Ticket on Real Player. I just recently moved to a place in County Wexford and no longer can get broadband (triple damn!), but I seem to get the radio stream ok with dialup. I've asked Sky to see if they couldn't work out a deal with Direct tv for football, but they can't politically speaking because the bulk of their customers are soccer fans and they can't provide all those games. (Personally, I don't think one has anything to do with the other, but I can see their problem if suddenly they were offering all NFL games to a minority customer base, while those millions of soccer fans were still left out in the cold.)