OTA REPORT, from a fan.

[gbpackfan]

I went to the OTA today and will probably go again tomorrow. Here are my STUDS and DUDS from OTA #1.

STUDS:

Jon Ryan - Booming kicks! Kicked into the wind and was impressive in doing so. What a great find. Say good bye Sanders!

Marc Boerigter - Made some VERY nice catches in traffic. Bigger and faster then I thought he would be.

Tra Boger - The undrafted rook. looked better then any other secondary player on the field. Made a real nice pick and had a blanket coverage on another play.

DUDS:

BJ Sanders - Shank city! Wow, he was really horrible. I saw the players cringe on a couple of his punts! HE WAS THAT BAD.

Aaron Rodgers - King of the check down again today. Over threw a couple guys and failed to make reads on some other plays. However, his arm looks MUCH stronger then last year and his first practice always seems to be rough. Hopefully he will clean it up tomorrow.

Cory Rodgers - Looked very mechanical fielding punts and dropped at least two. Jennings and Ferguson looked more fluid and comportable back there. He was just OKAY running routes but did make one very nice catch along the sideline.


ONE LINERS:

Manning looked bigger and faster.

Jennings made one very nice catch in traffic, stealing the ball away from the CB.

Hawkins got beat bad twice and almost went in my DUDS section.

Ferguson will be on this team. He looks pretty good actually.

Gado looks a little chubby.

Green will be back!

David Martin was just so-so.

Whitticker was starting at LT again.

Favre looked great.


FAVORITE MOMENT:

This is a great story. Right as the team got into their stretching formation I noticed that Brett was standing next to Ted Thompson. Before running to his place, Brett reached out and took something from TT. Brett then inserted a "dip" into his mouth and gave the tobacco tin back to TT! Brett took another pinch from TT later on. It was so funny.

Ted Thomspon, General Manager and Brett's CHAW BEE-ATCH!

[Mazzin]

Wow REALLY enjoyed this post, please post tommorrows also if its not to much of a burden. Favre is the man for taking TT's dip. I really really have a good feeling about Jennings, and Marc Boerighter (sp), also didn't Gado ALWAYS look chubby ??????

[MadtownPacker]

Nice! Man are we gonna have to fire up the Fergie fan club again? Please let him have rediscovered his backbone, the O really needs someone to step up.

Nice to hear about Boerigter and Ryan. Maybe Sanders can go to houston too!

[Mazzin]

I know after Mike Sherman the idiot wasted a friggin 3rd round pick on his sorry ass.

[RashanGary]

They were kicking directly into a 15 - 20 MPH wind. Ryan barely gets any height on the ball so of course it went farther. I'm not saying B.J. Sander is better, but I thinkt here is more to punting than hitting directly into a 20 MPH wind.

What happens to that punt when the wind is at hsi back? It probably is a line drive right into the hands of an anxious returner. Also, I hear Ryan has real problems getting the ball off on time. I'm not saying B.J. is better or worse, but I don't think we know after one OTA esspecially considering the conditions strongly favored Ryans strengths today. The biggest stat is net yards adn I don't see Ryan doing anything spectacular that would improve that stat.

I think it's to early to declare a winner there.

[RashanGary]

FAVORITE MOMENT:

This is a great story. Right as the team got into their stretching formation I noticed that Brett was standing next to Ted Thompson. Before running to his place, Brett reached out and took something from TT. Brett then inserted a "dip" into his mouth and gave the tobacco tin back to TT! Brett took another pinch from TT later on. It was so funny.

Ted Thomspon, General Manager and Brett's CHAW BEE-ATCH!

I didn't notice that. That is pretty cool. Brett is just an rugged normal guy. I can picture him standing next to me framing a house. That's why Wisconsin loves that guy. Damn, TT Chews...He looks like such a pretty boy.

[RashanGary]

Sander had a good net average before his leg got soggy last year. He punted a full season in europe and then came right to the NFL to punt a full season again. I think his leg was Jello at the end of last year.

I don't think Sander will ever be a boomer, but I think he can be a guy who is in the top 1/3 of the league in Net Punting average for 6 or 7 years and cause a few turnovers becuase of the fakie spin he puts on the ball with his left foot.

Ryan is pretty talented though. I think whoever wins is going to be at worste average. The biggest concerns I have are with RG and RB.

[gbpackfan]

Nick,

No offense man but there was NO comparison between BJ and Jon today. I am not saying that this completely validates my point, but even Christl agrees with me. Jon was FAR, FAR better then BJ was TODAY. Now, you may be right, we will see what happens to Jon tomorrow, but BJ won't be resting easy tonight. BJ might be a good punter in PERFECT conditions but Jon has the leg to punt in GB.

If you get a chance to watch the OTA tomorrow, watch Brett in between activities or even when he is not throwing. He was by TT, and MM, a lot. But TT would frequently give Brett a dip. Ha, funny stuff.

Count me in the Fergie fan club. But then again, I never left.

[gbpackfan]

Yeah, RG and RB are a concern. But seeing Green and Davenport out there moving around made me feel a little better.

The offensive line is the KEY! It needs to work this year. That unit will make us or break us.

Oh, and Gado may always look chubby, but this is the first time I have seen him with out pads so maybe it was new to me.

[red]

thanks for the run down

[RashanGary]

I think if they were kicking in the other direction or kicking iwth no wind it would have been different. Sander has a lot more height adn the wind was killing his punts.

[RashanGary]

I agree though, if you had to take who's punts where better today, I'd take Ryan. He has a bad tendancy to kick low and that is exaclty what was called for today. It's still a battle IMO. I just think Sander's biggest weakness is kicking strait into a wind and that happens to be ryans strength.

Let's see what happnes in a preseason game when the cover team can't get to a dangerous returner because the punt is so low. I'm not trying to say Ryan's punts wern't better today, but I am trying to say that it might not translate to the game as much as first glance might indicate.

But yeah, I agree. Ryans punts where better TODAY in todays situation. Will they be better tomorrow when the wind is at their back?

Will they be better when there is a cover team trying to stop a dangeroius return man? I don't know the answer and after one OTA, I don't think anyone really does.

[Guiness]

Go Ryan! Get another Canuck on this team

I get a kick out of the fact that there were apparently 40 odd spectators, and 3 of them are posting here! Almost 10% of the crowd.

[gbpackfan]

I agree though, if you had to take who's punts where better today, I'd take Ryan. He has a bad tendancy to kick low and that is exaclty what was called for today. It's still a battle IMO. I just think Sander's biggest weakness is kicking strait into a wind and that happens to be ryans strength.

Let's see what happnes in a preseason game when the cover team can't get to a dangerous returner because the punt is so low. I'm not trying to say Ryan's punts wern't better today, but I am trying to say that it might not translate to the game as much as first glance might indicate.

But yeah, I agree. Ryans punts where better TODAY in todays situation. Will they be better tomorrow when the wind is at their back?

Will they be better when there is a cover team trying to stop a dangeroius return man? I don't know the answer and after one OTA, I don't think anyone really does.

Nick,

I completely agree. The real test will be the preseason games, when the pressure is on!

You know you are a die hard fan when your following the punter battle!

[gbpackfan]

TO ALL THOSE WHO THANKED ME FOR MY RUN DOWN,

You are more then welcome. I love hearing these "reports" so I am happy to type something up after I go to an OTA or training camp.

Michelle,

Any chance we get some more exclusive pics????

[RashanGary]

Great report though. I thought it was very accurate and included just about everything that I noticed and more. I spent the whole team drills watching Hawkins when he was in so I missed a lot of the other plays.

I looked at Jennings quite extensively too. He's just as advertised. He adjusts really well to the ball. He has soft, quick hands. I like what he brings.

I also noticed Cullen Jenkins looked bigger. He looked fit so I would say it is more of a good thing than bad thing.

Also, Whittaker was big. He looks in much better shape than last year though. He was a dough boy last year adn this year he looks like a bull. He could afford to shed a few to fit into the scheme, but I think he's a lot stronger than last year just as a first impression.

[RashanGary]

Colledge didn't impress me either. He just looked small. He better be really friggin smart because he's not going to beable to stop anyone with his strength

[hurleyfan]

Thanks for the info GB! It's nice to get the reports!


" Cory Rodgers - Looked very mechanical fielding punts and dropped at least two. Jennings and Ferguson looked more fluid and comportable back there. He was just OKAY running routes but did make one very nice catch along the sideline. "

Did Rogers have his glock on his hip, causing him to be slow and hesitate?

Was Poppinga around?

[Partial]

collins, how often do you go to these? did u see whit last year in practice at all? Thats awesome and a great sign of the new weight program if Whit went from pillsbury to bull!

[GBRulz]

Thanks for the report GBPackFan, but where are the pics?? Come on, this is just an OTA, no pads or anything. Where is the hindsight in all of this? HINDSIGHT I tell you.