HarveyWallbangers
05-04-2007, 11:34 PM
Rookie backs have mixed workouts
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
Green Bay - Brandon Jackson got off on the right foot and DeShawn Wynn got off on the wrong calf as the Green Bay Packers got a look at their new rookie class.
The two running backs, Jackson a second-round pick from Nebraska and Wynn a seventh-round pick from Florida, were on display during a 90-minute or so workout Friday afternoon at the Don Hutson Center. Both are firmly in the mix for a starting running back job that is wide open after the departure of Ahman Green in free agency.
The rookie orientation camp this weekend is a far cry from an NFL game or even a training camp practice, and not a lot can be read from abbreviated workouts featuring just 31 players. But what stood out was that Jackson has the quick cutting ability the club said he had when they drafted him.
"I thought Jackson's feet were everything we saw on film," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think he has very good start and stop. That's one thing you're able to see out here."
Wynn didn't make as good of an impression. Coming to the Packers with a reputation for being lazy and undisciplined, Wynn vowed before practice to show people that he was not the player some have made him out to be.
He said he felt he was every bit as athletic as the cluster of running backs taken in the second round and was eager to prove it.
"I'm here on a clean slate," said Wynn, who gained 630 yards (5.1-yard average) in 10 starts for the Gators last season. "I'm looking forward to making my own name here in Green Bay."
Unfortunately for Wynn, he had rough day. He tripped over his own feet and tumbled running through a gaping hole during an early run drill and then was forced out of the practice later when he suffered a pulled left calf muscle.
McCarthy wasn't sure of the severity of the injury and said Wynn's status for the final two days of the camp were up in the air.
Under consideration: McCarthy confirmed the team's interest in free-agent wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, saying the opportunity to add someone who can help the team would never be overlooked.
"I think any time you can upgrade your football team, whether it's a veteran or a younger player, it's something you have to look at," McCarthy said. "Obviously, Keyshawn's been very effective, very productive in the National Football League. I think you have to look at all those situations and that's what we do."
The Packers have an interest in signing Johnson, but they are competing with a lot of teams and probably would have to outbid the rest to get him to play in Green Bay.
First impressions: McCarthy's reason for having a rookie camp two weeks ahead of the full mini-camp was so the newcomers would have time to adjust to their surroundings and the system in which they're going to play.
In previous years, the rookies were thrown in with veterans without really knowing the system and wound up getting little out of the camp. McCarthy is having the rookies run exactly the same things the entire team will run when it gathers May 18 for the mandatory mini-camp.
"If you just took this group and threw them in with the veterans, I mean, they're clearly at a disadvantage," McCarthy said. "Not a lot of veteran players help the young guys. You'd like to think they all do, but that's who their competing with."
The rookies have had little or no interaction with the veterans, many of whom were around this week taking part in the off-season conditioning program. By the time the rookies reported at 4 p.m., however, most of the veterans had left for the weekend.
McCarthy had a dinner for the rookies in a Lambeau Field dining room and showed them a film about the history of the Packers organization so they would get a better feel of their new home.
Long shots: A total of eight players were brought in for tryouts, including former UW quarterback John Stocco.
Those who had not previously been reported were: cornerback Chris Anzano of Pace University, center Pete Bier of Army, tackle Adam Tadisch of North Dakota State, safety Tristan Burge of Eastern Illinois and defensive lineman Devon Hicks of Northwest Mississippi Community College.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Tadisch is from Wausaukee.
All of the players are eligible to practice during the three-day camp, but none has been signed to a contract.
One of the tryout participants, former UW-La Crosse basketball player Joe Werner, stood up just fine athletically among those attending the camp. All of the players were put through a movement test the Packers use to pinpoint muscle weaknesses.
"He had a perfect score," McCarthy said. "His athletic ability is exceptional. (But) I don't think anyone has made a football team in his underwear."
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
Green Bay - Brandon Jackson got off on the right foot and DeShawn Wynn got off on the wrong calf as the Green Bay Packers got a look at their new rookie class.
The two running backs, Jackson a second-round pick from Nebraska and Wynn a seventh-round pick from Florida, were on display during a 90-minute or so workout Friday afternoon at the Don Hutson Center. Both are firmly in the mix for a starting running back job that is wide open after the departure of Ahman Green in free agency.
The rookie orientation camp this weekend is a far cry from an NFL game or even a training camp practice, and not a lot can be read from abbreviated workouts featuring just 31 players. But what stood out was that Jackson has the quick cutting ability the club said he had when they drafted him.
"I thought Jackson's feet were everything we saw on film," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think he has very good start and stop. That's one thing you're able to see out here."
Wynn didn't make as good of an impression. Coming to the Packers with a reputation for being lazy and undisciplined, Wynn vowed before practice to show people that he was not the player some have made him out to be.
He said he felt he was every bit as athletic as the cluster of running backs taken in the second round and was eager to prove it.
"I'm here on a clean slate," said Wynn, who gained 630 yards (5.1-yard average) in 10 starts for the Gators last season. "I'm looking forward to making my own name here in Green Bay."
Unfortunately for Wynn, he had rough day. He tripped over his own feet and tumbled running through a gaping hole during an early run drill and then was forced out of the practice later when he suffered a pulled left calf muscle.
McCarthy wasn't sure of the severity of the injury and said Wynn's status for the final two days of the camp were up in the air.
Under consideration: McCarthy confirmed the team's interest in free-agent wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, saying the opportunity to add someone who can help the team would never be overlooked.
"I think any time you can upgrade your football team, whether it's a veteran or a younger player, it's something you have to look at," McCarthy said. "Obviously, Keyshawn's been very effective, very productive in the National Football League. I think you have to look at all those situations and that's what we do."
The Packers have an interest in signing Johnson, but they are competing with a lot of teams and probably would have to outbid the rest to get him to play in Green Bay.
First impressions: McCarthy's reason for having a rookie camp two weeks ahead of the full mini-camp was so the newcomers would have time to adjust to their surroundings and the system in which they're going to play.
In previous years, the rookies were thrown in with veterans without really knowing the system and wound up getting little out of the camp. McCarthy is having the rookies run exactly the same things the entire team will run when it gathers May 18 for the mandatory mini-camp.
"If you just took this group and threw them in with the veterans, I mean, they're clearly at a disadvantage," McCarthy said. "Not a lot of veteran players help the young guys. You'd like to think they all do, but that's who their competing with."
The rookies have had little or no interaction with the veterans, many of whom were around this week taking part in the off-season conditioning program. By the time the rookies reported at 4 p.m., however, most of the veterans had left for the weekend.
McCarthy had a dinner for the rookies in a Lambeau Field dining room and showed them a film about the history of the Packers organization so they would get a better feel of their new home.
Long shots: A total of eight players were brought in for tryouts, including former UW quarterback John Stocco.
Those who had not previously been reported were: cornerback Chris Anzano of Pace University, center Pete Bier of Army, tackle Adam Tadisch of North Dakota State, safety Tristan Burge of Eastern Illinois and defensive lineman Devon Hicks of Northwest Mississippi Community College.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Tadisch is from Wausaukee.
All of the players are eligible to practice during the three-day camp, but none has been signed to a contract.
One of the tryout participants, former UW-La Crosse basketball player Joe Werner, stood up just fine athletically among those attending the camp. All of the players were put through a movement test the Packers use to pinpoint muscle weaknesses.
"He had a perfect score," McCarthy said. "His athletic ability is exceptional. (But) I don't think anyone has made a football team in his underwear."