a few thoughts from camp

[red]

i stopped by the stadium today and caught an hour and a half of practice and a few things really jumped out at me

jason chery was the first player out today, almost 45 minutes before practice started, he fielded punts from the machine for 45 minutes and i never once so him bobble or drop a ball. the kid is like a glove. i have no clue if he knows how to run with the ball, but he knows how to catch it.

with that said

sam shields came out about 30 minutes before the start to also field punts. in that time i didn't see him field one clean. either he dropped the ball or bobbled it, he's got a major case of brick arms. he's trying hard to learn how to do it, but its clear it doesn't come natural to him and he's got a long ways to go before he's a reliable return man.

they spent some time working on kickoffs, covering and returns, 11 on 11. after every return subs were brought in and others had to leave. this 10 or 15 minutes was by far the biggest cluster fuck i have ever seen. the guys have no clue where they are suppose to be and where they are suppose to go. this was madness. slocum is a complete disaster. m3 was just standing back watching and he eventually snapped and screamed a few f-bombs at quinn porter. why porter got chewed out well i just couldn't figure that out, neither could anyone else including porter.

after what i saw today i have a bad feeling that special teams will be our downfall this year. i was just shocked by what i saw

i did become a fan of derrick martin today. he was the third guy out and he spent the whole time working with shields giving him tips and advice for receiving punts. thats all he did, he didn't field anything. he just went out early and spent all his time trying to help out shields and chery. this is a man that was just trying to improve others on his team. big props

we are a very lucky team to have kevin greene on our coaching staff. olb vs tackles took place right in front of me. the man still has the fire for the game. very positive guy did his best to fire up both sides and actually coached his guys after every single play. plus he still looks like he could go out there today and play

i can see why harrell was getting knocked for being lazy last week. the guy works at a whole different level then every body else. everyone walks slow, he walks even slower. about 10 minutes into practice after warm ups he took 2 or 3 snaps where the players were going about 1/4 speed. he then walked to the back of the line a took a knee. a looks like he's off in la-la land. he's always off by himself, he never talks to his team mates or coaches, and he's always in sloth mode. however the kid looks like a monster. you just wish it would click for him, but from what i saw it doesn't look like he has the heart for it.

oh, also. after the cluster fuck that was the special teams showcase the team broke off to work on a ball control drill where a rb has the ball and guy randomly try and kill him. during this drill, c-wood pulled m3 and slocum of to the side along with one other coach and seemed to be discussing the mess we just witnessed. we can only hope and pray c-wood said, ok, you know what guys, just put me back to return everything

grant did not practice, he was out there but didn't do anything. mathews was not dressed, dietrich-smith was out and barnett was out there but i'm not sure if he was going through all the drills, i think he was in shorts

[get louder at lambeau]

Thanks for the update, red.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the special teams just yet, since they don't even have the roster set and 27 of those guys are gonna be cut pretty soon.

[swede]

Re: a few thoughts from camp

sam shields came out about 30 minutes before the start to also field punts. in that time i didn't see him field one clean. either he dropped the ball or bobbled it, he's got a major case of brick arms. he's trying hard to learn how to do it, but its clear it doesn't come natural to him and he's got a long ways to go before he's a reliable return man.

They need to have Chery catch the ball and pitch it back to Shields running at full speed from behind. If we have a Long Snapper why can't we have a Designated Catcher?

And thanks for the update, Red. Very informative. The description of the Special teams practice makes it seem as if the pressure is on to not suck so much. I don't know how the authors of such a successful offense can produce such Keystone Coppy special teams.

[Freak Out]

Thanks for the update, red.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the special teams just yet, since they don't even have the roster set and 27 of those guys are gonna be cut pretty soon.

A return game would be real fucking nice this year.

[MadtownPacker]

You growing hair would be a really nice Freak. You dirty white boy.

Nice report Red. Glad they thought you how to read and write in them backwoods.

[gbgary]

if chery makes the team what do you think will be said when he gets hit really hard for the first time?

[Joemailman]

You growing hair would be a really nice Freak. You dirty white boy.

Nice report Red. Glad they thought you how to read and write in them backwoods.

Glad they taught you how to spell. [/b]

[MadtownPacker]

You growing hair would be a really nice Freak. You dirty white boy.

Nice report Red. Glad they thought you how to read and write in them backwoods.

Glad they taught you how to spell. [/b]

Ha ha, got me there you pureblood.

[Joemailman]

Re: a few thoughts from camp

they spent some time working on kickoffs, covering and returns, 11 on 11. after every return subs were brought in and others had to leave. this 10 or 15 minutes was by far the biggest cluster fuck i have ever seen. the guys have no clue where they are suppose to be and where they are suppose to go. this was madness. slocum is a complete disaster. m3 was just standing back watching and he eventually snapped and screamed a few f-bombs at quinn porter. why porter got chewed out well i just couldn't figure that out, neither could anyone else including porter.

Apparently Porter was supposed to be on the 2nd team KOR unit, but didn't know it. This may play in to what you described above.

RobDemovsky: Rough start to ST period for Porter. He was supposed to be on the # 2 kickoff team but didn't go out on field and then dropped a kickoff [via Twitter]
2:48

MikeVandermause: Quinn Porter can't handle kickoff return. Shawn Slocum not happy about that. [via Twitter]
2:48

kareemcopeland: Porter called out twice, once for not being in the right spot, then for dropping a kickoff during coverage period. [via Twitter]
2:49

RobDemovsky: Let's just say that McCarthy wasn't too happy with Porter. [via Twitter]
2:51

PeteDougherty: Quinn Porter mishandles to KORs in a row for show team, gets yanked [via Twitter]
2:51

[cheesner]

Re: a few thoughts from camp

sam shields came out about 30 minutes before the start to also field punts. in that time i didn't see him field one clean. either he dropped the ball or bobbled it, he's got a major case of brick arms. he's trying hard to learn how to do it, but its clear it doesn't come natural to him and he's got a long ways to go before he's a reliable return man.

They need to have Chery catch the ball and hand it to Shields running at full speed from behind. If we have a Long Snapper why can't we have a Designated Catcher?

And thanks for the update, Red. Very informative. The description of the Special teams practice makes it seem as if the pressure is on to not suck so much. I don't know how the authors of such a successful offense can produce such Keystone Coppy special teams.

fixed

[cheesner]

Thanks for the update, red.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the special teams just yet, since they don't even have the roster set and 27 of those guys are gonna be cut pretty soon.

But that is true for all the teams. The Packers look pathetic compared to them. I think there is a problem with coaching - and Red's report seems to confirm this.

[swede]

Re: a few thoughts from camp

sam shields came out about 30 minutes before the start to also field punts. in that time i didn't see him field one clean. either he dropped the ball or bobbled it, he's got a major case of brick arms. he's trying hard to learn how to do it, but its clear it doesn't come natural to him and he's got a long ways to go before he's a reliable return man.

They need to have Chery catch the ball and hand it to Shields running at full speed from behind. If we have a Long Snapper why can't we have a Designated Catcher?

And thanks for the update, Red. Very informative. The description of the Special teams practice makes it seem as if the pressure is on to not suck so much. I don't know how the authors of such a successful offense can produce such Keystone Coppy special teams.

fixed

Nice catch.

[red]

Re: a few thoughts from camp

they spent some time working on kickoffs, covering and returns, 11 on 11. after every return subs were brought in and others had to leave. this 10 or 15 minutes was by far the biggest cluster fuck i have ever seen. the guys have no clue where they are suppose to be and where they are suppose to go. this was madness. slocum is a complete disaster. m3 was just standing back watching and he eventually snapped and screamed a few f-bombs at quinn porter. why porter got chewed out well i just couldn't figure that out, neither could anyone else including porter.

Apparently Porter was supposed to be on the 2nd team KOR unit, but didn't know it. This may play in to what you described above.

RobDemovsky: Rough start to ST period for Porter. He was supposed to be on the # 2 kickoff team but didn't go out on field and then dropped a kickoff [via Twitter]
2:48

MikeVandermause: Quinn Porter can't handle kickoff return. Shawn Slocum not happy about that. [via Twitter]
2:48

kareemcopeland: Porter called out twice, once for not being in the right spot, then for dropping a kickoff during coverage period. [via Twitter]
2:49

RobDemovsky: Let's just say that McCarthy wasn't too happy with Porter. [via Twitter]
2:51

PeteDougherty: Quinn Porter mishandles to KORs in a row for show team, gets yanked [via Twitter]
2:51

that confuses me even more

porter was back deep to return the first kick, returned it. then everyone switched up an
d porter when back to return the next one (he was the only return man at the time to return anything). at that time slocum started to mumble something that nobody could understand (he was miked up). porter then took off up the field and removed his red bonnet, meaning he was switching to the kicking team. this left nobody back deep to return the kick. thats when M3 (and not slocum) snapped and went off on him dropping two f-bombs and telling him to pull his head out of his ass. porter turned around confused and proceeded to drop three straight kicks.

Porter was looking straight into a very bright sun on those returns, i wouldn't doubt for a second he was losing the ball right before it got to him

[Fritz]

Thanks, Red. This is great stuff - better than any newspaper.

I am however sorry to hear that the ST looked so unorganized. I'm troubled that C-Wood felt the need to discuss ST (unless he was asking about where they were going for dinner or something) with teh coaches. It sounds like it looks bad, really bad.

Lord help us. Or Slocum, at least.

Finally, it sounds like the bloom is off the rose for Shields and Porter. Who will step up next to be the surprise All Pro in camp?

[billy_oliver880]

Re: a few thoughts from camp

they spent some time working on kickoffs, covering and returns, 11 on 11. after every return subs were brought in and others had to leave. this 10 or 15 minutes was by far the biggest cluster fuck i have ever seen. the guys have no clue where they are suppose to be and where they are suppose to go. this was madness. slocum is a complete disaster. m3 was just standing back watching and he eventually snapped and screamed a few f-bombs at quinn porter. why porter got chewed out well i just couldn't figure that out, neither could anyone else including porter.

after what i saw today i have a bad feeling that special teams will be our downfall this year. i was just shocked by what i saw

I watched practice a couple weeks back as well and special teams stood out to me too. Complete chaos...guys running in and out. I don't know how you can learn if you spend more time running on and off the field.