OTA NOTES part 2: 7/7/07-7/20/07

[packers11]

Post LATEST NEWS / NOTES / PICTURES ...

[the_idle_threat]

Post LATEST NEWS / NOTES / PICTURES ...

Good to know. :o

[packers11]

Good to know. :o

Oh no problem :wink: ... It was a tough read :smack:

[packers11]

Thursday, June 7, 2007
OTA practice moved inside
Today’s organized team activities practice has been moved indoors to the Don Hutson Center because of wind and the threat of rain.

It was scheduled to be one of only four OTA practices open to the public.

Dozens of fans had been waiting for to watch the practice.
posted by PackersNews.com at 10:19 AM | 0 Comments

[MadScientist]

Thursday, June 7, 2007
OTA practice moved inside
Today’s organized team activities practice has been moved indoors to the Don Hutson Center because of wind and the threat of rain.

It was scheduled to be one of only four OTA practices open to the public.

Dozens of fans had been waiting for to watch the practice.
posted by PackersNews.com at 10:19 AM | 0 Comments

What kind of cream puff camp is MM running. These are NFL players, they should be able to stand up to a little wind, and 2 inch hail, and tornadoes. I know those conditions wouldn't affect Brett's passes.

[packinpatland]

Yea, I can see why they may have moved inside. :whaa:


The same storm is expected to blow through Marathon County with wind speeds reaching nearly 60 mph, large hail and the possibility of tornadoes, said Katie O’Brien, meteorologist for WSAW-TV 7.

The storm is expected to move throughout the entire state, she said.

“This is a very strong storm system that is headed our way. We have a very warm, moist air mass ahead of it,”

[packers11]

QB Rodgers, T Tauscher not at practice today
Starting tackle Mark Tauscher and backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers are the most notable absences from today's practice.

Defensive tackle Corey Williams, who was with his ailing sister last week, and cornerback Charles Woodson also are not at the practice. Woodson is not expected to attend any of the OTA practices. Cornerback Will Blackmon is at the practice, but is not participating.

Coach Mike is expected to address the media when practice ends around 1:15 p.m.

-- Tom Pelissero, tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 10:49 AM | 0 Comments

[packers11]

Team reaches injury settlement
The Packers have reached an injury settlement with linebacker Marcus Randall and waived him as injured.

The free agent was signed in February. Randall, a 6-1, 232-pounder, was released by Tennessee at the end of training camp last season. He spent most of the 2005 season on the Titans' practice squad. He played quarterback at LSU, was converted to safety by the Titans as a rookie, then to linebacker last season.

-- Rob Demovsky, rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 10:56 AM | 0 Comments

[BallHawk]

The same storm is expected to blow through Marathon County with wind speeds reaching nearly 60 mph, large hail and the possibility of tornadoes,

That couldn't budge Ryan Pickett an inch. The guy's a rock.

Aaron Rodgers on the other hand...... I wouldn't be surprised if they found his body all the way over in Sheboygan.

[packers11]

Practice over for today
Today's Packers practice is officially over.

Tackle Mark Tauscher missed practice because of a death in his family and QB Aaron Rodgers missed practice to attend his brother's graduation.

-- Rob Demovsky, rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 12:32 PM | 0 Comments

[BallHawk]

Did they cancel the practice because of the storms or did they practice normally and then it just ended?

[packinpatland]

Did they cancel the practice because of the storms or did they practice normally and then it just ended?

I'm not sure, but didn't they practice in the DH Center?
Is Rodgers' brother graduating from high school or college, and does/did he play football?
Curious minds..............

[packers11]

http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2007/06/07/1/

Mike McCarthy Press Conference Transcript - June 7
posted 06/07/2007

Hello everybody. Questions, please.

(Does Brandon Jackson have an injury?)
Yes, he had a knee injury, happened earlier in the week. We're hopeful to have him back next week.

(What happened to Clifton? It looked like he dropped out of a drill?)
It looked like he caught his elbow. I haven't talked to Chad actually. It looked like it was in the 2-minute drill, but it looked like he caught his elbow. I think it was Kabeer who was rushing on him.

(How serious is Jackson's knee?)
We're hopeful to have him back next week.

(Aaron Rodgers did not show up for personal reasons?)
Correct, correct.

(What happened at the end of the 2-minute drill?)
We had a clock malfunction, so we were going off, it was actually working on the control, but it wasn't working on the board. So we just weren't on the same page as far as when to kick the field goal or go for a touchdown right there. It was really the result of the time not being on the clock. You'll never see that in a game, so we won't have to practice that situation again.

(So the reason it got messed up was because there was no time on the clock?)
Correct. The people on the field were on the same page, but the people on the sideline were not.

(What's the progress of Marviel Underwood, and also Harrell?)
Marviel, he's ahead of schedule with his rehab. Very bright. I say it over and over again with the injuries. We'll probably wait until training camp as far as the extent of injury that he did have. So that's where he is. He's having an excellent offseason, and it really started for him during the season. I think he's done a very good job taking advantage of the time with the other parts of his body. So I'm very pleased with the progress he's made. Justin really hasn't changed, same as last week. We've been doing some individual work with him at the end of practice with some of the other young offensive linemen, just to keep him up to speed on the techniques and the fundamentals, so he's not missing out. We're just reluctant to put him in the team drills right now.

(What do you see in DeShawn Wynn now?)
Talented young man. I know we're just in helmets and shorts and T-shirts, but I'm very impressed with his vision and his foot quickness. He's really had an excellent week of practice. Once again, that needs to transfer to the padded practice. He seems to be picking up the scheme, has an understanding. His instincts, obviously his size, and the thickness that you like to see with a guy who runs with his pad level. He's had a very good week of practice.

(Coming in he had some attitude issues. How has that gone so far?)
It's been very positive, his experience has been very positive here since the day he's arrived. I have no issues with the way he's worked. He obviously had a setback with the injuries. But from his standpoint too, he's young and he probably recognizes his excellent opportunity, so he's done very well so far.

(Have you talked to either Harris or Pickett about them coming back and being here?)
I've talked to them all along throughout the spring. Happy they're here working. They're on schedule to get the work done they need to get done throughout this period, and they'll be ready to go. You take a look at the veteran players, once you get up in that six, seven plus year range, I think it's smart to look at the number of reps and things like that, plus with the development of our young guys. So all the individuals in that category have been addressed as far as their programs and what needs to get done throughout these OTAs.

(How do you feel about the depth at linebacker?)
The thing about that group is they can run, and the understanding of the defense is, we're way ahead of where we were at this time last year. I've been impressed with the way the older guys have really taken their game to another level. It's very evident when A.J. and Nick and Brady are in there, but I think it really helps the younger guys, because they've set the standard. So as a group, I think we're way ahead of where we were at this time last year. I really like the way the young guys have acclimated themselves and we just need to get Abdul back, and then I think it will be a very healthy group as far as competition comes in training camp.

(What can you get from Johnson and Simpson?)
Well, Johnson, the one thing that jumped off the film watching him at Ole Miss is he definitely fits our scheme. Bob and Winston refer to it as getting off the spot, and he has exceptional quickness and instincts. He definitely fits, and Simpson is an athletic guy too. It's that athletic build in the range you're looking for, so I'm very happy with the progress they've made throughout the OTAs.

(What happened with Blackmon?)
Blackmon? I have to study my medical ... it's not serious. It's kind of been bothering him all week. I don't recall. He fatigued it on Tuesday and it started bothering him again today.

(Pickett and Harris, did they arrive earlier in the week?)
They've been here all week, and once again gentlemen and ladies, I'm not going to do the roll call with you. We've talked about this. These are voluntary workouts. We have talked to our older players. They recognize the importance of what we need to accomplish, and we are on the path to get that accomplished, and I'm very pleased with the overall team participation, effort and production in the first six OTAs.

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(What happened with Tony Palmer?)
Tony had the knee injury, and he's not ready to come back. He's still finishing the rehab on that injury.

(With Johnson, where do you think he might have been drafted without the off-the-field questions? Is he a first-day guy?)
Possibly. I could see why you would think that way and other people would think that way. He's a very impressive young man on film. I'm glad he's here.

(Going through the installs, do you grade mental errors any differently now?)
It's all graded the same as far as the procedure. Every mental error is graded, every decision is graded, the technique that they're playing with is graded, and it's presented to the group either as a whole offense, defense or special teams, and also at another level individually on a daily basis. Just for example, Joe Philbin starts his offensive meeting out with the correction period and he goes through all the things in the run game, the run-blocking unit, the positives that were accomplished the day before, and the things we need to clean up. So the procedure of it is the same.

(Do you see fewer mental errors this year compared to the first year?)
I haven't looked or compared them, but I would say that's definitely a safe bet, yes.

(How about Dendy and Walker?)
Patrick Dendy is having an exceptional spring. Really that whole secondary as a group, from an individual progress standpoint is the most improved. The young safeties and young corners I've been very impressed with what they've done in the weight room, what they've done in their individual meetings, and now you're seeing it show up, and Patrick Dendy is at the forefront of that. Also Walker looks like he has acclimated himself very smoothly to our scheme. He's very explosive, quick. I really like the way he plays man-to-man. He's an aggressive player. That's what we saw when we brought him in. They've had a very good spring.

(Do you see James Jones coming on like Jennings did last year?)
That's where we're hopeful. James is a very strong receiver. He would be classified as a flanker in our system. Very strong hands. As you've noticed, he's always catching the ball out front of his body. That's what you're looking for. He does a very good job creating separation in a short space, and I think he's off to a good start.

(This preseason, in the games, do you see the receivers getting more reps with Aaron Rodgers and Ingle Martin?)
Well, number one, it's important to get the first unit ready to play, and the problem with preseason games is you want to accomplish that number one, but you're also trying to be cautious as far as the injuries. Everybody goes through it. But the goal is to make sure that No. 1 group is ready to play. And the second goal is you have to give the younger guys an opportunity to make your football team. So as far as the reps, I didn't feel like we played our No. 1's an unusually long time last year, so to answer your question, I think it will be pretty similar. Now, the way the game goes obviously affects that, but our format will be very similar.

[packers11]

Jackson has mild knee injury
Running back Brandon Jackson and receiver Greg Jennings joined cornerback Will Blackmon as notable players who sat out today's open OTA practice.

Jackson, the Packers' second-round draft pick out of Nebraska, suffered a mild knee injury early this week, but the team hopes he'll practice next week, coach Mike McCarthy said.

Blackmon also has a mild injury, according to McCarthy, who did not address Jennings' injury. Jennings rode a stationary bike for most of practice and did have anything visibly wrong with him.

Tackle Chad Clifton appeared to hurt his elbow during a team period late in practice and did not return.

The rest of today's inactive list contained the usual suspects: safety Marviel Underwood, linebacker Abdul Hodge, receivers Robert Ferguson and Chris Francies, defensive tackle Justin Harrell, guard Tony Palmer, tackle Kevin Barry, running back Arliss Beach and defensive tackle Kevin Barry.

Running back DeShawn Wynn, who suffered a calf injury in the first practice of last month's rookie minicamp, participated and took some reps with the first-team offense in Jackson's absence.

Several players who missed the Packers' only open OTA practice last week -- including cornerback Al Harris, defensive tackle Ryan Pickett and guard Junius Coston -- attended and participated in all drills.

Cornerback Antonio Malone, who landed on injured reserve when NFL Europe rosters were set in April, also practiced. He wore No. 46.

-- Tom Pelissero, tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 2:00 PM | 0 Comments

[packers11]

The laces were in!
Dave Rayner's battle to win media favor (if not the starting job) in his competition with rookie Mason Crosby got off to a rocky start today when Rayner missed his only two field-goal attempts in a brief, situational special-teams period.

Kicking from 46 yards out, Rayner pushed his first attempt wide right and then pulled the second wide left. Neither missed by much.

In between, Crosby converted his only attempt from the same distance, skimming the ball high off the inside of the right upright.

After practice, Rayner said he wasn't concerned about the misses because he won't be in kicking shape until training camp.

It was the first time Rayner and Crosby had kicked in front of reporters since the Packers drafted Crosby out of Colorado in the sixth round.

-- Tom Pelissero, tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com

[packers11]

The blitz: OTAs Week 2
The Packers worked extensively on their hurry-up and red-zone offenses today, but neither offensive unit finished the 2-minute drill as coaches wanted.

The first team ran nine plays to get to the 12-yard line. But after a short completion from Brett Favre to Vernand Morency on third-and-inches, there was confusion as the offense looked to spike the ball before the field-goal unit ran onto the field.

Coach Mike McCarthy booted the ball out of the holder's hands and yelled at the sideline, and the offense came back onto the field. Running another play from the 8, Favre scrambled and overthrew tight end Donald Lee.

McCarthy blamed a clock malfunction. The scoreboard turned off several times and had no time on it during the final plays.

"The people on the field were on the same page, but the people on the sideline weren't," McCarthy said.

The second-team offense started at its own 35 and stalled at the plus-37. Ingle Martin, running the unit in Aaron Rodgers' absence, overthrew David Clowney with a deep ball on third down and then threw into double coverage on fourth.

In other news ...

-- Second-year pro Tony Moll filled in for the absent Mark Tauscher (death in family) at right tackle with the first-team offense. Moll knocked down Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila during the 2-minute period, and Gbaja-Biamila left the field rubbing his lower back.

-- When Chad Clifton departed with an apparent elbow injury, first-year man Orrin Thompson took over at left tackle.

-- Lee continued to take the first snap in each series at tight end. Working with the second team during 7-on-7, he dropped a throw that was a little high from Martin, whose next pass went off the hands of Ruvell Martin.

-- Brandon Miree took the first rep in each team period when the offense played its base set.

-- Cornerback Patrick Dendy worked opposite Al Harris with the first-team defense. When the nickel defense took the field for the 2-minute periods, the line consisted of Gbaja-Biamila, Michael Montgomery, Colin Cole and Cullen Jenkins.

-- Offensive highlights were tough to come by, but Favre threw a perfect touch pass to tight end Zac Alcorn in the 7-on-7 period, splitting Patrick Dendy and Nick Collins near the end zone. Minutes later, Martin threaded a pretty ball to a diving Carlyle Holiday at the goal line.

-- Rookie linebacker Desmond Bishop, a sixth-round pick out of California, slapped a sure completion out of Calvin Russell's hands during 7-on-7.

-- Ingle Martin took the accidental hit of the day when Devarick Scandrett couldn't slow down fast enough to avoid contact in the first team period.

-- With Charles Woodson absent and Will Blackmon and Greg Jennings hurt, first-year cornerback Tramon Williams worked alongside Shaun Bodiford and rookie James Jones on punt returns. Bodiford took the first reps.

-- After moving practice indoors because of wind and the threat of rain, the Packers allowed about 30 fans to watch a half-hour of practice inside the Don Hutson Center.

-- There was one brief scrum early in practice. Scandrett knocked off guard Tyson Walter's helmet before teammates separated them.

-- The offense closed the final team period with three consecutive fades into the end zone. None were complete, and each defended well by Frank Walker, Dendy and Jarrett Bush, respectively.

-- Practice ended with Favre completing a pair of touchdown strikes to Clowney and Bodiford.

-- Tom Pelissero, tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 2:24 PM | 0 Comments

[packers11]

Passing stats
Today's installment of mostly meaningless passing stats is a little different because of the extended 2-minute drill early in practice. For that reason, we'll break things down this way: 2-minute ... Team and 7-on-7 ... Total.

One stat that needs to be stated separately is that Brett Favre was 10-for-10 in the 7-on-7 period, much of which was conducted in the red zone. There is no rush in 7-on-7, of course, but Favre had little trouble picking apart what qualified as the first-team defense.

This also was the first open practice this spring in which there were no interceptions.

-- Favre 14-for-18 ... 6-for-10 ... 20-for-28
-- Ingle Martin 4-for-8 ... 4-for-7 ... 8-for-15
-- Jerry Babb 2-for-2 ... 0-for-0 ... 2-for-2
-- Paul Thompson 2-for-3 ... 0-for-0 ... 2-for-3

Martin ran the second unit during the 2-minute period, but he, Babb and Thompson rotated throughout the other periods. The team periods were rather run-heavy, and with a number of players absent or hurt, it often was tough to distinguish between the second and third teams.

-- Tom Pelissero, tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 3:01 PM | 0 Comments

[packers11]

Other injury notes
Coach Mike McCarthy on ...

DT Justin Harrell (biceps): "Justin really hasn't changed. ... We've been doing some individual work with him at the end of practice, with some of the other, younger offensive linemen, just to keep him up to speed on the techniques and the fundamentals so he's not missing out. We're just reluctant to put him into team drills right now."

S Marviel Underwood (knee): "He's ahead of schedule (with rehabilitation). We'll probably wait until training camp (because of) the extent of the injury that he did have."

T Chad Clifton (elbow): "It looked like it was in the 2-minute drill, but it looked like he caught his elbow. I think it was Kabeer (Gbaja-Biamila) who was rushing on him."

CB Will Blackmon (undisclosed): "It's not serious. It's kind of been bothering him all week. I don't recall (what the injury is). He fatigued it on Tuesday and it started bothering him again today."

G Tony Palmer (knee): "He's not ready to come back. He's still finishing the rehab on that injury."

-- Tom Pelissero, tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 3:14 PM | 0 Comments

[packinpatland]

-- Practice ended with Favre completing a pair of touchdown strikes to Clowney and Bodiford.

Nice way to end the day. :bclap:

[packers11]

Moll knocked down Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila during the 2-minute period, and Gbaja-Biamila left the field rubbing his lower back.

:drma: :laugh:

[the_idle_threat]

Good to know. :o

Oh no problem :wink: ... It was a tough read :smack:

:lol:

Seriously, this is good stuff. Thanks for posting it. :bclap:

[packinpatland]

Moll knocked down Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila during the 2-minute period, and Gbaja-Biamila left the field rubbing his lower back.

:drma: :laugh:

I don't see the humor.

[Bretsky]

Does Brandon Jackson have an injury?)
Yes, he had a knee injury, happened earlier in the week



OMG a knee injury ...bust bust bust

Brandon Meachem :talk:

[RashanGary]

I always thought Dendy looked like he knew what he was doing and made plays. He seems to be picking up where he left of last year and might be a pleasant suprise as a nickle/dime guy and back up corner if one of our big 2 go down.

[BallHawk]

I always thought Dendy looked like he knew what he was doing and made plays. He seems to be picking up where he left of last year and might be a pleasant suprise as a nickle/dime guy and back up corner if one of our big 2 go down.

How much Kool-Aid are you consuming? :shock: :shock: :shock:

[RashanGary]

Hey, Dendy always looked pretty good. If he gets himself in a little better shape he could easisly be our 3rd best corner even if Blackmon is healhty.

I don't know how maxed out Dendy is physically but if he finds a way to get 2% more out of his body and 5% more out of his technique, he could easily be a good nickle guy and a fringe starter in this league for 5-8 years.

[RashanGary]

I don't know anything about Blackmon. I acctually doubt Blackmon will be a player just because I've never seen him show anything. Dendy on the other hand has been a pretty consistant good player even when he got chances in games he always held his own.

[Bretsky]

I don't know anything about Blackmon. I acctually doubt Blackmon will be a player just because I've never seen him show anything. Dendy on the other hand has been a pretty consistant good player even when he got chances in games he always held his own.


I don't think Dendy is that athletically talented. One of those overachieving guys you always cheer for. He'll probably max out as an OK #3/4 CB. One of those guys that will always help and hang around, but due to limited upside the coaches are looking to replace. I like Dendy; I just don't think there is a lot of upside.

[RashanGary]

I know B. I don't see him as a long term answer but he might be a good #3 and he might prove to be some security to hold us over for an inevitable eventual Woodson/Harris injury.

We definitly need to find 2 new starters by 2009. Dendy is a guy that has played well enough when given a chance for me to want him to hang around and keep our CB depth strong and capable while we develop/find starters.

[KYPack]

Dendy to me was an example of how we needed to upgrade the talent on this roster. I was always troubled when he was the only guy available to play in the dime. B's got it, he ain't very athletic.

Blackmon was the guy I was hoping would come around so we wouldn't have to use Dendy in that capacity.

Now it looks like Blackmon can't get on the field no matter what.

[TopHat]

http://www.jsonline.com/site/photographerphotos/gallery.aspx?catid=626

[Packnut]

It's one thing to over-dose on kool-aid and have blind faith, but don't try to change history. Dendy SUCKED last season. He was beaten more times than an old dusty rug. Man, try WATCHING a GD game and PAY ATTENTION!

He may be the most improved NFL player this season, but we all saw him get burned over and over last season. Ya can't re-write history.........

[HarveyWallbangers]

I don't think Dendy is that athletically talented. One of those overachieving guys you always cheer for. He'll probably max out as an OK #3/4 CB. One of those guys that will always help and hang around, but due to limited upside the coaches are looking to replace. I like Dendy; I just don't think there is a lot of upside.

Dendy didn't suck last year, but I agree with this. The one positive thing about Blackmon that I took from last year is that he was injured and missed most of camp and the early part of the season--yet when he got healthy the coaches wanted him out there right away. No letting him ride the pine. I have to believe he impressed them in practice.

[the_idle_threat]

Dendy looked like a Pro-bowler to me compared to the guy he replaced. :P

[packers11]

more pics

http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=U0&Dato=20070608&Kategori=PKRCAMP&Lopenr=706080806&Ref=PH