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Packers’ training camp notebook: Love and offense shine in two-minute drill

Paul Bretl | 7/31/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers were back on the practice field Wednesday for a longer practice in the heat, that included a heavy dose of 11-on-11.

“Guys are going to have to dig deep today because we were a little lethargic yesterday, and it was a very long practice,” said Matt LaFleur before today’s practice. “Today’s going to be a lot longer, I’d envision at least a half an hour longer, a lot of reps and so we know it’s going to be hot. Warned them yesterday to make sure they take care of their hydration, everything they put in their body, make sure you get a good night’s rest and it’s going to be a little bit of a gut check.”

Today’s practice ended up going for two hours and eight minutes–the longest practice of training camp so far. As always, let’s open up the notebook and dive into what took place.

Who was in and who was out? After only participating in individual drills on Tuesday, MarShawn Lloyd was back for the team portion of practice today. He was still being eased in, however, seeing just a few touches with the third team offense. Carrington Valentine (hamstring) nor did Donovan Jennings (knee). Deslin Alexandre and Keshawn Banks both remained out, as did Tucker Kraft, but he’s getting close to returning.

“He will not practice but he is getting close,” LaFleur said Wednesday morning. “He is asking every day to be out there, which is what you want. But as soon as the medical staff gives us the clearance, he will be out there.”

Offensive line notes: The offensive line rotation remained what has been the status quo, with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, followed by Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jordan Morgan, and Kadeem Telfort starting at right tackle with Andre Dillard worked in. Sean Rhyan would also get some reps for Morgan at right guard, but again spent most of his snaps with the second unit at both guard and center. For the second practice, Newman briefly saw some reps at left guard with the starters.

Defensive lineup notes: At safety, Anthony Johnson was starting next to Xavier McKinney today, with Javon Bullard and Evan Williams leading the second unit. Bullard continues to get some reps in the slot as well. Linebacker remained the same as well, with Quay Walker in the middle in base with Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson around him. The starting nickel duo consisted of Walker and McDuffie. Wilson has been a core special teams contributor during his time with the Packers but is continuing to make strides on defense.

“Oh, you talk about a pro,” said LaFleur. “He does everything the right way, so dependable, you can trust what he’s gonna do out there. Certainly, he’s made a huge impact on teams, but I also I think he continues to get better and better as a linebacker and so, I think he’s a great guy to have in the room, a real leader in the linebacker room and on this football team.”

The Packers again had one-on-ones between the pass catchers and defensive backs. Here are some of the notable outcomes:

Romeo Doubs vs. Jaire Alexander: Complete
Jayden Reed vs. Keisean Nixon: Complete
Christian Watson vs. Eric Stokes: Complete
Luke Musgrave vs. Xavier McKinney: Incomplete
Bo Melton vs. Corey Ballentine: Incomplete
Evan Williams vs. Joel Wilson: Incomplete
Malik Heath vs. Don Callis: Complete
Bo Melton vs. Kalen King: Complete

Grant DuBose has had a strong start to training camp and was able to build upon that day. He had a few receptions and saw some reps with Jordan Love at quarterback. The play of the day was a pass from Sean Clifford to DuBose down the right sideline. It was a free play, with Clifford fitting the ball nicely between two defenders and included DuBuse skying to take the ball away from them.

“He came in kind of with his back against the wall, so to speak,” said LaFleur about DuBose’s rookie season. “I mean having the injury and missing the entire offseason. Missing a lot of camp. That’s tough for a young player. So he had a full offseason to recover. Obviously he had a whole year in our system, learning our offense. Very detailed guy. Going to give you great effort. Great hands, can run through the ball, he’s strong. So I’m excited to see what he can do in within the preseason and the games.”

The offensive line is become a bit more steady, although there is certainly room to continue improving, and with that we are seeing more positive plays for the Packers offense, both first and second units, as a whole.

Jordan Love’s two-minute drill: The scenario had the offense starting at their own 35 yard line, down 28-21 and with not timeouts. Love finished the drive going 5-for-6 with a few throws to the flat to Josh Jacobs when needed. The big plays were a 17(ish) yard pass to Jayden Reed, with Love avoiding the pressure, getting outside the pocket, and finding Reed in a scramble drill. Love also had a big scramble down the right sideline on another play with space cleared out. The drive finished with Love finding Dontayvion Wicks in the end zone from the 10-yard line, with Wicks finding the soft spot between the safeties. Without the kickers kicking today, the Packers went for two and with pressure in his face, Love delivered a strike to Wicks–fitting it perfectly between defenders.

Sean Clifford’s two minute drill: Clifford faced the same scenario. The drive started with a “sack” from JJ Enagbare. The initial pressure appeared to be created from the interior with Enagbare cut underneath to get to the quarterback. The next play was an incomplete pass to Malik Heath with Corey Ballentine in coverage. On the third play, Colby Wooden dropped back into the middle of the field and deflected Clifford’s throw. The last two plays were a six yard completion to Bo Melton and a throw to Marshawn Lloyd in the flat that was short of the sticks.

As camp continues, don’t forget about Ballentine. He missed the start with an injury, but last season proved to be a capable player on the boundary and has special teams experience. During offseason programs, he was working out of the slot and saw snaps with the second defense today.

“Just trying to add more versatility under my belt,” said Ballentine about playing in the slot. “I think adding some depth to the room, as well. Knowing that position, I feel like, helps me know where all my help is at corner. I feel like it’s good to be well-rounded. Having me in there to do some blitzes and also fit in the run (game) fit me well. I’m a little bit bigger of a body, so I think I can do that well. I don’t have a problem tackling. I think it’s been a good fit so far, just learning the defense, learning my role, where I’m supposed to fit in that position and going back and forth between the two still.”

I’ve said this before but we are seeing the linebackers and safeties making a lot of plays around the line of scrimmage. Outside runs, screens, or throws to the flat haven’t generated much success for the offense.

Two standouts on defense included TJ Slaton and Enagbare. Slaton blew up a run and had a pressure early on in the team portion while Enagbare created a pressure in addition to his sack in the two-minute period and had a pass deflection at the line of scrimmage as well.

“Just trying to stack these days, man,” said Enagbare. “That’s camp life.”

Tyler Davis provides such a steady presence at tight end as a blocker. There was one play where he went in motion, the ball was snapped and Kenny Clark bursts through the line. Davis circles back to the backfield and picks up Clark, giving the quarterback time to throw. Another block on the edge created space for Josh Jacobs outside.

Packers WR Romeo Doubs stands out on Tuesday but it’s consistency that has him playing at a high level

Paul Bretl | 7/31/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Romeo Doubs was a standout performer during the Packers’ seventh training camp practice on Tuesday. Certainly those highlight plays are important and needed, but it’s Doubs’ consistency that makes him such a reliable presence in this offense.

“I think Rome’s had an outstanding spring,” said Matt LaFleur during minicamp. “I really do, and it’s evident by the work he puts in on a daily basis. He’s in there in the morning catching off the JUGS. He’s one of the last guys to leave the building. He’s very deliberate about the work he puts in and I think it’s shown.”

During the one-on-one period early on in Tuesday’s practice, Doubs found himself matched up with Jaire Alexander on three occasions and was able to win all three reps. On the first rep, Doubs unleashed a few different moves before breaking hard inside and making the catch for a touchdown. On rep No. 2, Doubs made a leaping catch. And on rep No. 3, Doubs created separation on an out route, but Jordan Love led Doubs just a bit too far.

“I think Doubs is a close second for my favorite, being one of my top receivers in the league,” said Alexander after Tuesday’s practice. “So I always want to go against Doubs. The dude’s freaking really good. He come in his rookie year not catching a single pass on me. Now we’re going up for 50-50 balls now. Dude is really good.”

Then during the team portion of practice, Doubs caught a pass on a fade route from Love during a red zone drill, and had another roughly 25 yard reception on a deep corner route.

“I’m still looking for growth and I’m still working on some things,” said Doubs. “I’m not going to sit here and act like things are completed but, as a player, I look forward to progress every day and it’s great when it shows up.”

With Christian Watson missing time last season due to injury, and Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks experiencing expected growing pains that come with being a rookie in the NFL, Doubs provided Love with a consistent target each week.

Doubs would appear in 17 games last season, and including the playoffs, he led the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. In total, Doubs caught 69 passes for 908 yards and nine touchdowns over 19 games, including a 151 yard performance in the playoffs against Dallas.

Along with Doubs’ overall production, he was a favorite target of Love’s in some key situations during the Packers’ run in that second half of the season. Against the Los Angeles Chargers, Doubs caught the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes. On a fourth-and-one in the second half against Kansas City, Doubs caught a 33 yard pass from Love that put the Packers at the 11 yard line. Then in Carolina, Doubs caught a 36 yard pass on third down, which then led to the go-ahead field goal.

The element of Doubs’ game that has allowed him to distinguish himself from a production perspective and make those pivotal receptions in late game situations is his ability as a route runner.

“It has been really cool watching Romeo over these last three seasons; the steps he makes every single year,” said Adam Stenavich. “His route-running right now has been pretty tremendous. He’s always had super-strong hands but the routes that he’s putting on tape right now are pretty impressive and he ended the season last year, the last half of the season, he was playing at a pretty high level.

“He’s really continued that in camp so far. I think with him, it’s just working on the techniques of all the different routes and being elite at all of them is really going to help his game. But he’s shown pretty cool stuff on film so far.”

In it’s truest form, no, the Packers do not have a No. 1 wide receiver on the roster like some other teams around the NFL–although that actually ended up being one of the strengths last season. Almost regardless of the situation they faced, Love was willing to throw the ball to any one of the six receivers. From the defensive perspective, this forces them to defend the entire field. They can’t just hone in on one or even two players. This leads to better spacing, and more room to operate, and more one-on-one matchups as well.

It still remains to be seen if this season one of the Packers receivers will grab a hold of that title, although that happening certainly isn’t a requirement for success. However, in terms of production and reliability in key moments, Doubs is making a case.

“I mean just from a consistency basis, you get it every single play with Rome right now,” said Watson on Tuesday. “I think he’s really taken it up a notch this camp so far.”

RB MarShawn Lloyd back on practice field for Packers

Paul Bretl | 7/30/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis—Green Bay Packers rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd was back on the practice field Tuesday for the first time since training camp began just over a week ago.

“It was definitely good, definitely a lot that I learned about being in shape,” said Lloyd about being back. “Definitely in the best shape I need to be in. Felt like I was good when we’re not in the shoulder pads and running regular, but once you put on the helmet and shoulder pads, it’s a whole different story. But yeah, super excited to be out there.”

Lloyd participated in the individual drills on Tuesday but not the team portion as he gets eased back in. He did not specify when he would be back competing in 11-on-11s, but is just taking it “day by day” right now.

“So day by day, I’m just adding more and more things,” Lloyd said. “Today I did indy and then some other stuff and then tomorrow I’ll add some more. By Saturday, I should be able to do pretty much a lot of the stuff. So I’m just going day by day adding more and more stuff, just slowly getting back to it.”

Lloyd had been sidelined with a hip injury that happened just before training camp started, when all the rookies had reported and when he was going through a workout.

“It was right before,” said Lloyd. “We had little workouts before everyone came back, and I just tried to make a cut and it was my hip flexor. Just tried to make a cut and I strained my hip flexor a little bit.”

The Packers selected Lloyd in the third round of this past April’s draft and he brings something “different,” as GM Brian Gutekunst put it, than the other running backs on the roster. Lloyd measures in at 5-9 – 220 pounds and has terrific burst, running in the 4.4s, that is easily spotted on the practice field when the ball is in his hands.

“From what I saw from OTAs,” said Adam Stenavich on Monday, “I was very, very excited about his speed, his cutting ability, his ability to catch the ball from the backfield and stuff like that. Yeah, I can’t wait to get him out there.”

During his final college season at USC, Lloyd averaged an impressive 7.1 yards per carry on 115 attempts with nine touchdowns. Among all running backs, he ranked seventh in average yards per carry and 26th in average yards after contact, according to PFF.

Lloyd also brought a dynamic element to the USC passing game out of the backfield, averaging an eye-popping 17.8 yards per catch in 2023–although that was only on 13 attempts. In an admittedly small sample size, Lloyd led all running backs in yards per catch in 2023 and average YAC per reception.

Although he wasn’t targeted often in the passing game during his college career–only 43 times combined during the 2022 and 2023 seasons–Matt LaFleur believes that with his explosiveness, he can be a matchup problem out of the backfield. And as we saw with AJ Dillon coming out of Boston College, just because the opportunities weren’t always there, doesn’t mean the ability to do so doesn’t exist.

“He definitely can be a weapon out of the backfield,” said LaFleur. “I love all the measurables. He’s a 220-pound back that runs 4.4 and can run routes out of the backfield. I think he could be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.”

The pass catching aspect is what Lloyd was focusing on the most during the off time between minicamp and training camp.

The challenge, to a degree, for Lloyd is that with the missed time at the start of training camp, he is playing a bit of catchup. However, Lloyd feels confident in his familiarity with the playbook from offseason programs and the work he’s already put in, and has been staying engaged in meetings and walkthroughs while sidelined.

“I’m all good with the plays,” said Lloyd. “I’ve been still studying, still be in the plays, still watching the walk throughs and everything. But now I’m actually physically inside of it. But all the plays and everything, I’ve got to down pat.”

We know that Josh Jacobs is going to be the lead running back for the Packers, but how the playing time behind him will breakdown remains to be seen. Dillon was regularly taking the backup running back reps ahead of Lloyd during the offseason programs–although things can certainly change once training camp unfolds further.

Dillon is in excellent shape and brings a well-rounded skill set to the position, able to handle just about any situation a running back could face, and knows LaFleur’s offense inside and out. Lloyd, meanwhile, with his speed and burst, is someone that Stenavich has said he wants to get involved in the offense. The Packers also have Emanuel Wilson, who is competing with Dillon for a roster spot.

Those decisions still have plenty of time to be worked out and we won’t begin to gain some clarity around them until Lloyd gets more opportunities. Until then, Lloyd is going to continue to work his way back and do whatever he can to help the team win.

“It’s on all gas no breaks,” Lloyd said. “All my goals is all for the team right now. I don’t have anything individual. I feel like what we do as a team, those things will come. I just want to be able to utilized in all ways to help the team as much as possible.”

Packers’ training camp notebook: Observations from 7th training camp practice

Paul Bretl | 7/30

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers were back on the practice field on Tuesday for their seventh practice of training camp and it was a hot one. They’ll practice two more times this week on Wednesday and Thursday and then will hold their annual Family Night practice inside Lambeau Field on Saturday.

Let’s open up the notebook and dive into my observations and takeaways from today:

– Roster moves: The Packers made three additions, bringing back long-snapper Peter Bowden, who was released last week to make room for Jacob Eason. The Packers also added cornerback Don Callis, a 2024 UDFA from Troy who was in for a tryout during rookie minicamp and signed cornerback LJ Davis. The corresponding moves to make room for those players included releasing cornerback Zyon Gilbert, fullback Henry Pearson, and kicker James Turner.

– Back on the practice field for the first time during training camp was running back Marshawn Lloyd (hip) and safety Kitan Oladapo (foot). Both participated in individual drills but not the team portion. Zayne Anderson and Robert Rochell were also back at practice while Deslin Alexandre and Keshawn Banks remained out.

– The starting offensive line configuration remained the same with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, followed by Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jordan Morgan, and Kadeed Telfort at right tackle for the most part, although Andre Dillard continued to get worked in as well with the ones.

– Adam Stenavich said on Monday that there would be a good competition for the swing tackle role, mentioning Telfort, Dillard, Luke Tenuta, and Caleb Jones competing, but so far it certainly looks like Telfort is the front-runner. When he’s not with the starters at right tackle, he’s with the twos at left tackle. Dillard is seeing the same rotation, with Stenavich adding that he has to get more comfortable on the right side.

“He’s been a good surprise and he’s been just a steady guy,” Adam Stenavich said about Telfort. “He’s not the most athletic. He’s not all that stuff. When you look at the numbers, he’s a big guy. He plays consistently, which in the offensive line is very important. He’s just a consistent presence. He’s very football intelligent. He’s just one of those guys that I’m excited to just see how he plays and how he keeps developing. We’ll see at the end of camp how it all aligns.”

– Of note along the offensive line, Sean Rhyan did see some work at right guard with the starters during the red zone period, but was mostly with the second team and even took some snaps at center with that unit.

“I think there’s been a lot of good moments,” said LaFleur about Rhyan before practice, “and there’s some things, as a whole up front, not just Sean, everybody, we’ve got to do a better job up front. So, but I think Sean, again, played a lot of meaningful snaps for us. He’s getting some work on both sides of the line, on the left and on the right. So, he’s a guy that is competing for a spot.”

– At linebacker, as has been the case all of camp, Quay Walker was in the middle with Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie to his right and left. In nickel, it was Walker and McDuffie with the ones, and Wilson and Edgerrin Cooper with the twos. Ty’Ron Hopper has been playing middle linebacker with the second and third team defenses. Evan Williams was next to Xavier McKinney, but the Packers continued to rotate heavily at safety.

– Colby Wooden saw some first team reps at defensive tackle today next to Kenny Clark.

– The second offensive line unit was made up of Luke Tenuta at right tackle, followed by Rhyan, Jacob Monk, Royce Newman, and Dillard. When Rhyan went to center with this unit, Tenuta went to right guard and Travis Glover took over at right tackle.

– The pass-catchers and defensive backs competed in one-on-one drills, here are some of the notable outcomes:

Keisean Nixon vs. Jayden Reed: Incomplete
Keisean Nixon vs. Dontayvion Wicks: Incomplete
Romeo Doubs would beat Jaire Alexander twice
Xavier McKinney vs. Luke Musgrave: Incomplete
Eric Stokes vs. Christian Watson: Complete
Bo Melton vs. Carrington Valentine: Complete

– In addition to the one-on-ones, I thought both Nixon and Doubs were two of the standout players from today’s practice, with Doubs also having a few receptions in addition to his wins in the one-on-one reps. Nixon has been extremely consistent in coverage throughout the training camp practices.

– On the flip side, there were some tough reps from Morgan, both of which came against Karl Brooks. One rep was in the run game with Brooks blowing up the play and another came as a quick pressure in the passing game.

LaFleur has been impressed with not only Daniel Whelan’s training camp, but the entire offseason he’s put together up to this point.

“I think Daniel has had an outstanding offseason. In practices he’s kicking the crap out of the ball. Hopefully we only have to use him as a holder, but it’s probably not realistic. When you have a punter who’s capable of pinning an opposing offense deep, that is a real weapon. I think he’s progressing nicely. Now he’s got to go out and do it in games. From what he’s shown in practice, I’ve got a lot of confidence in seeing a huge step in the right direction for him.”

– The last few practices in particular, I thought we’ve seen some really good burst from Emanuel Wilson. Perhaps the uphill battle that he is facing, however, when it comes to making the roster is he will really need to stand out in pass protection and potentially on special teams–two areas where AJ Dillon has proven to be reliable.

– I thought Josh Jacobs had two of his bigger runs of training camp early on. It looked like the left side of Walker and Jenkins was able to create some running lanes for him. Overall, however, I still wouldn’t say there was a ton of running room for the offenses.

– With James Turner released, the kicking competition is down to Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph. Carlson would finish the day 5-for-6, missing right from 41 yards. Joseph would make all six of his kicks and his 22-for-24 in training camp. Carlson is 21-for-24.

– Red zone period: Each of the three offenses started from the 11 yard line. Jordan Love and the starters went through twice.

Love’s first attempt: The first attempt for the starting offense ended in a touchdown. The first two plays were runs to Josh Jacobs that went for two yards each, then on third down, Love avoided pressure by stepping up in the pocket and delivered a pass to Jayden Reed in the end zone, who found the soft spot between the two safeties.
Love’s second attempt: The drive started with a three yard completion to Romeo Doubs. Back-to-back pressures by TJ Slaton forced Love to scramble, with one pass falling incomplete and the other broken up by Xavier McKinney. On the fourth play, Love found Doubs in the end zone, who was being covered by Eric Stokes.
Sean Clifford’s first attempt: In a live game, it looked like first down would have ended in a sack by Karl Brooks, who benefitted from good coverage on the back end. The next play was a fantastic throw by Clifford as he threaded the needle in the back of the end zone to Grant DuBose. The following two plays were in incompletions and the fifth play ended in a “sack” by Devonte Wyatt.
Micahel Pratt and Jacob Eason each had three plays: Pratt would go 0-2, missing Julian Hicks on both attempts–the second play was a false start. Eason would have been sacked by Lukas Van Ness, who beat Caleb Jones. On the second play he found Wilson in the flat, and then Wilson ran it in from the one-yard line.
Love’s third attempt, which began at the 18 yard line: The defense had three safeties on the field for this series. The first play was a pass breakup by Nixon who was covering Wicks. The second was a beautiful throw by Love on the run to the back corner of the end zone to Musgrave, but it was dropped. Practice then ended on an interception by Stokes, who made an aggressive play on a pass intended for Christian Watson.

“Stokes has looked like the guy we thought he could be,” said LaFleur before practice. “I think he’s done an outstanding job out there.”

Packers’ rookie Jordan Morgan will focus on RG creating trickle-down effect to other positions

Paul Bretl | 7/30/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — After Packers’ first-round rookie offensive lineman Jordan Morgan played four of the five positions along the offensive line during OTAs and minicamp, he has only been working at the right guard position during training camp.

The Packers decision to do this is twofold. On one hand, they want Morgan to be able to focus on just one position. Particularly for a rookie, who is already navigating the learning curve that comes with making the jump to the NFL, having one position to prioritize can take a lot off their plate, and allows them to hone in on the skill-sets required to be successful at that one spot.

“I think with that,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich on Monday, “with young guys, you kind of want to start them at a spot, and you don’t want to move them around as much, just so they can hone in on the techniques and the assignments and all that stuff.”

The other reason that the Packers have Morgan at right guard right now is that they believe this position gives him the best opportunity to compete for a starting spot to begin the regular season. He will be competing with Sean Rhyan for this role, who has primarily been at left guard with the starters with Morgan on the right side.

“When you look at the big picture, where you think he would compete best this year for a starting role, we looked and thought the right guard position was the spot,” Stenavich said. “So, I think, as of now we’ll kind of focus there, and as he grasps it and gets better there, we can move him around if we want to, or he does a great job there and he stays there and we’re good to go. Right now we’re just focusing on keeping him at one spot, so he can really hone in on it and be the best that he can be.”

Morgan played 2,392 career snaps at Arizona State, with all of them coming at left tackle. Following the first round of the draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst did mention that because of Morgan’s strength and footwork, they believed he had the ability to play inside.

The challenge for Morgan in this transition to right guard is, again, twofold. Not only is he playing a new position–guard instead of tackle–but he’s being asked to play on the right side of the offensive line versus the left, which from a play-call perspective, and technique standpoint, everything is opposite.

“It’s footwork,” said Morgan about playing right guard. “But it’s also just like hand placement. Everything happens quicker on the inside, so it’s just about getting out there quicker and understanding that things are going to come at you fast and you’ve just got to react quicker.”

With Morgan at right guard, their is a trickle-down effect to other positions along the offensive line. For starters, Rasheed Walker seems pretty locked into being the team’s starting left tackle this season. When Morgan was selected back in April, the original thought was that he could compete with Walker, but that hasn’t turned out to be the case at this time.

While Walker’s overall numbers from 2023 show up and down play, like many of the Packers’ young players on offense last season, he began to find his footing during the second half of the year. Consistency is what Stenavich and Matt LaFleur were looking for from him, and we began to see more of that over the Packers’ final six games, two of which were playoff games, with Walker giving up just one sack and nine pressures in that span. He ranked 10th in pass-blocking efficiency and 29th in run-blocking grade.

“I think Rasheed, he’s got an edge about him,” said Stenavich. “He’s a very intense competitor, and that’s the one thing that has really helped him. He plays with an edge, and he plays with kind of a chip on his shoulder. And with him, there’s kind of a big learning curve with buying into technique, buying into things that may not have been as important in the college game, but when you’re playing against really good competition every day, you have to be on point with things like that.

“So once he figured that out, and he’s still got improvements to make, but he’s making strides, and you couple that with the competitiveness, the effort that he plays with, there’s a lot of good stuff there, and he’s shown us that he’s a guy we can trust there at the spot.”

Morgan at right guard also means that the swing tackle role is up for grabs as well right now. Stenavich mentioned that there would be several players competing for that role, which includes Kadeem Telfort, Andre Dillard, Luke Tenuta, and Caleb Jones. However, while there is still plenty of time for a competition and additional rotation to take place, the leader in the clubhouse appears to be Telfort, who has spent the majority of his time these last four practices at right tackle with the starters.

“He’s been a good surprise and he’s been just a steady guy,” Stenavich said about Telfort. “He’s not the most athletic. He’s not all that stuff. When you look at the numbers, he’s a big guy. He plays consistently, which in the offensive line is very important. He’s just a consistent presence. He’s very football intelligent. He’s just one of those guys that I’m excited to just see how he plays and how he keeps developing. We’ll see at the end of camp how it all aligns.”

Of course, the caveat to everything discussed is that the configuration of the offensive line is always fluid and things can change depending on how each player is performing. But for now, while competitions are still unfolding, the offensive line is at least beginning to take some shape.

Fighting for a roster spot, Packers’ rookie CB Kalen King gets confidence boost with interception

Paul Bretl | 7/29/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — In this past April’s draft, the Packers selected Penn State cornerback Kalen King with the 255th pick–the third to last selection in the draft. On Sunday, during the Packers’ sixth training camp practice, King came away with an interception off quarterback Jordan Love.

With the offense facing a third-and-four situation on the practice field, King found himself working with the first team defense out of the slot. With the defense playing a Cover-2 zone, Love, who was trying to get the ball to Christian Watson, let the pass rip but the play was jumped by King. In a live game, may have taken it all the way back for a touchdown.

“I’m really just working to my landmark and just reading Jordan,” said King after practice.” Wherever his eyes go, that’s where I flow to. I felt quick game, so as soon as I saw him take his hand off the ball, I just broke and I was there to make a play.”

In addition to King’s interception, he also had a pass breakup on Sunday as well.

A year ago at this time, there were well-known draft analysts who thought that King was going to be an early-round selection in the 2024 NFL draft. King was coming off a 2022 season where he was named a second-team Walter Camp All-American, allowing a completion rate of only 45 percent with nine pass breakups and three interceptions.

However, during the 2023 season, King’s play took a major step back. He allowed a completion rate of 61 percent in coverage and had only one pass breakup and no interceptions the entire season. Not helping King’s draft stock either was a 4.61-second 40-yard dash.

“It’s extremely motivating,” said King back in April about being taken in the seventh round. “Not going where you thought you would go, seeing all the names being picked ahead of you, just enduring all that, seeing that and I felt like it put a chip on my shoulder, a permanent chip on my shoulder that I gotta keep there.

“I felt like the Packers are going to get one of the most competitive guys in the country, a tough corner, physical corner who’s going to give 100% effort around the field at all times and make as many plays as I possibly can by doing it at 100%.”

King was a boundary cornerback at Penn State, but since arriving in Green Bay, he’s seen a lot of work from the nickel. During the individual warmup periods of these training camp practices, King has spent all of his time in the slot, while during the team portion, he’s played both nickel and on the boundary.

Being moved inside wasn’t a surprise for King. During the pre-draft process, he knew that at the NFL level teams might want him to play from the slot, which is a “different world,” as King put it, compared to the boundary, where additional communication is needed, and it’s not only about reading the quarterback, with run defense a key element when it comes to filling this role.

“I would say the details,” said King on the biggest difference from the slot. “There’s more things you’ve got to look at. More keys you’ve got to read. I gotta key lineman, and running backs, and quarterbacks. I’m more of a QB-eye guy, so it’s definitely a different world than the outside. But, you know, I’m just taking it day-by-day, studying as much as I can so I catch up to speed as quick as possible.”

Like any seventh-round selection, King is competing for a roster spot. At cornerback, we know that four of those spots are accounted for between Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine, and Keisean Nixon. Depending on how heavy the Packers go at that position, that leaves one or two roster spots available.

King showcasing an ability to line up both inside and out will be an important factor in distinguishing himself, with versatility coveted on this Packers team. Corey Ballentine is doing the same. After proving to be a capable option off the bench last season, allowing a completion rate below 60 percent with an interception and four pass breakups, he has spent the offseason and training camp working from the slot as well.

And as always when it comes to these back-end of the roster positions, special teams contributions will be important.

“I’m competing for a job,” said King. “That’s the place that I’m in right now. I feel like I have no room to just take the back road. I’m competing. I feel like nobody’s job is safe. The game of football, especially in the NFL, I feel like nobody’s job is solidified because anything can happen at any moment. The next man up and you’ve got to be ready.

“That’s the thing that I’m harping on right now is continue to stay ready, continue to compete, continue to get better so when my number’s called, I’m ready to perform and ready to step up to the plate.”

Overall, it was an impressive day for King on top of what has been a sound start to training camp. However, one good day doesn’t make a training camp just like one bad day doesn’t break a training camp. Day-to-day consistency with incremental improvements will be a massive factor in determining whether or not King makes the team, and a potential catalyst in making that happen could be the confidence boost he got on Sunday.

“It only gives me confidence,” said King of his interception. “Just me coming in every day, competing with the guys, competing with the vets that are on the team and making plays against them gives me confidence to keep going, keep my head down and keep working.”

Packers’ rookie S Evan Williams showing early ball-hawking abilities

Paul Bretl | 7/29/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are six practices into training camp, and fourth-round rookie safety Evan Williams is now up to three interceptions.

“They say a pick-a-day makes the bad feelings go away,” said Williams after practice on Sunday.

Williams’ latest interception came on Sunday’s practice during a two minute drill. Working with the second team defense during this period, Williams ended the two-minute period on the first play, jumping a pass thrown by quarterback Sean Clifford.

“Honestly, I was just reading the quarterback,” said Williams. “We were in a zone look. I kinda felt the route combos to the front side push away from me and knew there was probably something coming from the back side, got a dig from the backside and was just able to jump it.”

It was an instinctual play from Williams, who trusted what he saw and could feel how the play was developing from the offensive perspective. This type of play wasn’t a one-off either from Williams–the fact that he has three interceptions already goes to show that he puts himself in positions to make plays on the football.

If a player can do that consistently enough, eventually the ball production should follow.

“Evan, he’s smart,” said Packers’ long-time scout Sam Seale after the draft. “He’s instinctive. He’s a good kid and he makes tackles. He makes plays around the ball. He’s always around the ball. He’s a football player.”

Overall, the Packers’ secondary as a whole has done a very good job early on of making plays on the football. Of course, this is a credit to those players for being in a position to do so, but other helping factors include what has been a suffocating pass rush that has often left the quarterbacks with little time and hurried.

Jeff Hafley’s defensive scheme is getting some of the praise as well as is Hafley and the coaching staff for their ability to teach it, and simply putting the players in a position where their natural abilities can take over, allowing them to make plays.

“I think it’s just a mixture of, I mean, our DC would definitely say it’s rush and coverage working together,” said Williams about the secondary’s play. “That’s his motto. I would definitely say it’s a testament to how well they’re coaching us and just how they’re allowing us to play fast. They haven’t thrown too much onto our plate where we’re on the field and kind of our heads are reeling and we’re kind of spinning around.

“They’ve just simplified our roles so, when we’re out on the field, we’re not in kind of a daze thinking about, ‘Oh, I’ve got to align right here.’ They’re giving us the freedom to, when we’re out there, get our assignment down pre-snap and think about that, but then, when the ball’s snapped, just allowing us to play fast. Giving us simple keys to read and just allowing us to be playmakers out there and make plays on the ball.”

If the Packers’ defense is going to improve in 2024, a key element will be improved ball production. Last season, the Packers ranked 23rd in passes defensed and had the second-fewest interceptions in the NFL with only seven. At the end of the day, it’s only been six training camp practices, and this production needs to carry over into the season, but nonetheless, it’s a good start.

“To me, it’s about how do we put our players in the best possible situations,” said Matt LaFleur, “and making sure that we have enough versatility within the scheme to keep teams off-balance and then trying to disguise and make as much stuff look like one thing and then it be something different. I think there’s a lot to that. I think when you look at – the more you’re able to create post-snap decisions by the quarterback, I think typically your scheme could potentially be depending upon your players.

“I think we’re fortunate that we have some pretty good players, certainly we felt that the pass rush is real, which in turn allows everybody else to play a little bit tighter, a little bit more flat-footed, a little bit more aggressive, when you have situations like that. It all goes hand-in-hand.”

The young safety trio of Williams, Javon Bullard, and Anthony Johnson are currently rotating days when it comes to who is lining up next to Xavier McKinney. With an emphasis on versatility and late movement, the Packers want to get each of these safeties comfortable playing with each other and filling a variety of roles.

Ultimately, it is going to be the day-to-day consistency that determines who is starting next to McKinney, and not only at one position on the field, but being consistent while filling multiple roles is going to be a requirement. But I imagine the ability that Williams has shown to make plays on the football, and more importantly, the process at which he gets into a position have those interception opportunities, has the attention of the coaching staff.

“I think whoever goes out there and gives us the most consistent effort and is able to make plays,” said LaFleur on what he’s looking for at safety. “We’re fortunate really when you look at all of those other guys, they’re all pretty intelligent guys that allows us to interchange X, whether we want him to be down in the box or put him in the post, just that flexibility is huge. So, whoever is starting opposite of him has got to be able to do both jobs as well.”

Packers training camp notebook: Observations from Day 6

For the sixth time in seventh days, the Green Bay Packers were back on the practice field on Sunday. They’ll have an off day on Monday.

Let’s open up the training camp notebook and dive into what took place today.

– Robert Rochell, Marshawn Lloyd, and Tucker Kraft remained out. Also not practicing today was Zayne Anderson (knee), Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), Keshawn Banks (groin), and Elgton Jenkins who had an off day for vet rest. Josh Myers was back after missing the last two practices for a personal matter.

– The offensive line consisted of Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Sean Rhyan next to him at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jordan Morgan at right guard and Kadeem Telfort at right tackle. Andre Dillard was again worked in at right tackle for Telfort at times, and in a new development, we saw Royce Newman at left guard briefly with the ones. From the sounds of it, Morgan is going to stay at guard unless Matt LaFleur feels added competition at tackle is needed.

“He’s been predominantly inside,” said LaFleur before practice. “Certainly in OTAs we put him a decent amount at tackle, but I think he’s starting to feel more and more comfortable inside. But I think he’s talented enough if need be that if we have to kick him outside we can do that.”

– It was Anthony Johnson’s turn to start next to Xavier McKinney at safety today. In base, the linebacker trio was Quay Walker in the middle, with Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie around him. In nickel, it was McDuffie and Walker, with Edgerrin Cooper taking over for Wilson the second time through base. Everything just mentioned about the linebacker position has pretty much been the status quo during camp.

– One other change to the offensive line was Luke Tenuta seeing reps at right guard today with the second offense. That unit was made up of either Telfort or Dillard at left tackle, Royce Newman primarily, Jacob Monk, Tenuta, and Travis Glover. Caleb Jones was back to participating in team drills and was the left tackle with the third offense.

– The Packers ran some one-on-ones today with the receivers versus the cornerbacks and the offensive line versus the defensive line. I was watching the OL and DL–here are some of the notable outcomes:

Rasheed Walker and Preston Smith split there reps one-and-one.
Kenny Clark and Sean Rhyan went 1-1.
Jordan Morgan went 2-0 versus Devonte Wyatt.
Rashan Gary went 2-0 versus Kadeem Telfort.
Colby Wooden went 2-0 versus Luke Tenuta.
Karl Brooks went 1-1 versus Royce Newman.

– Andy Herman of the Pack-A-Day podcast was watching the receivers against the secondary. Here are some of the notable outcomes from what he saw:

Dontayvion Wicks beat Keisean Nixon on a slant.
Jayden Reed beat Corey Ballentine on a comeback route.
Luke Musgrave had a drop with Xavier McKinney in coverage.
Christian Watson beats Eric Stokes, who fell down on an out route.
Catch by Romeo Doubs on a comeback versus Jaire Alexander.

– Today we saw Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph kicking and there was a change up, instead of each kicker having three attempts in a row and then the next kicker going, they alternated reps. Both kickers finished the day 5-for-6 with Joseph missing from 53 yards and Carlson from 51 yards. Both kickers are also 16-for-18 in training camp.

– Kalen King had a very good day. He came away with an interception off Jordan Love and had a pass breakup later in practice with Michael Pratt throwing. King has gone through individual drills in the slot, but during the team portion he has played both from the slot and on the boundary.

“I would say the details,” said King on the differences between the boundary and slot. “There’s more things you’ve got to look at. More keys you’ve got to read. I gotta key lineman, and running backs, and quarterbacks. I’m more of a QB-eye guy, so it’s definitely a different world than the outside. But, you know, I’m just taking it day-by-day, studying as much as I can so I catch up to speed as quick as possible.”

– End of game two minute drill with Love: The drive started with a 23 yard completion to Wicks on a beautifully thrown deep out route that was just tipped by the cornerback but Wicks was still able to come down with the reception. The next play was a five yard completion to Josh Jacobs in the flat. A screen to Bo Melton lost two yards. The next two plays were wiped out by an offsides on the defense and then an illegal formation on the offense. Love completed a five yard pass to Musgrave, setting up a fourth down, which the offense went for just out of field goal range. On that play, there was both great coverage downfield and protection by the offensive line to give Love time. He threw the ball downfield to Musgrave but overthrew him. On the sideline after the play, it looked like Love was telling Musgrave to keep moving downfield.

End of game two minute drill with Clifford: The drive ended after one play following an interception by Evan Williams.

End of game two minute drill with Pratt: There was a really nice anticipation throw on a deep out to Jalen Wayne by Pratt that sparked the drive. Overall, Pratt did well taking what was there, setting up a 55-yard field goal opportunity that both Carlson and Joseph hit.

– Just in general, it’s been really fun watching the safety position. We are seeing this group move around, rotate, make quite a few plays on the ball, and noise at the line of scrimmage.

“I’m really excited about both those guys,” said LaFleur about Williams and Bullard. “It all starts, certainly they have a skill set, but the mental ability of both these guys to be able to retain what they learned throughout the course of OTAs, come back and continue to build on that day by day, I think has been super impressive. Just, they’re versatile enough that we can interchange the safeties so you can’t get a bead on who’s going to be where, I think that’s an important part of it, and it’s such a competitive situation in terms of, we’ve got a few guys who are challenging each other right now to roll opposite of X.”

The Packers defense has to generate more takeaways this season after coming away with only seven interceptions in 2023. A key part of that improvement will be the defensive front, whose persistent pressure on the quarterback has been a catalyst behind all the pass breakups and interceptions we’ve seen in camp.

2022 Season a pivotal point in Jordan Love’s growth and development

By Paul Bretl: 7/28/2024

The 2022 season was the turning point in Packers’ quarterback Jordan Love’s career at that point with that year playing a pivotal role in his development, helping him get to today where he is the highest-paid player in the NFL.

“I would say that ’22 season,” said Matt LaFleur on Saturday, “you could just see more and more from him in regards, I thought he had a pretty good, although the numbers didn’t say it, I thought he had a pretty good preseason in terms of how we evaluate the quarterbacks and it’s all process based, not result based. And then what he would do in scout team periods. I thought he did a great job of putting a lot of stress on our defense and making throws.”

During that 2022 preseason that LaFleur is referring to Love’s production was sporadic. He completed just 55 percent of his 74 throws at 5.9 yards per attempt with three touchdowns to four interceptions.

However, beyond the numbers, which during the preseason don’t matter, LaFleur liked the path Love was on from a process standpoint. The process part of the equation is everything that takes place up until the ball is thrown and can be a good indicator of future and long-term success because it encapsulates everything that’s needed to play the quarterback position at a high level.

This includes getting in and out of the huddle efficiently. Making sure everyone on offense is lined up correctly. Making any protection adjustments at the line of scrimmage based on what the defense is showing. Going through your progressions and knowing where the outlet option is if the play is blown up quickly or there’s no where to go with the ball. From a technique standpoint, having your feet and eyes mirror each other while going through progressions, and when the opportunity is there, as LaFleur puts it, letting it rip.

“There’s definitely a lot thrown at you your rookie year and I felt that,” Love said on Saturday. “I definitely felt I wasn’t ready. There was just so much learning that was going on and I wasn’t feeling like the player that I was in college being able to play fast and all those things. Year 2 coming back I felt a little bit more prepared but I definitely think by Year 3 I was ready. I was ready to take over. Ready to get on the field. And just ready to go out there and showcase what I’ve been working on.”

If the process is consistently correct, the results will eventually follow. As Love continued to progress in this regard on the practice field–behind closed doors–and giving the Packers’ defense fits, the we on the outside got our first glimpse of Love’s growth during the Philadelphia game when he came in for Aaron Rodgers. In that performance, Love was a crisp 6-for-9 passing for 113 yards and one touchdown, including a 63 yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson.

It was this body of work from Love, just about all of which occurred behind the scenes, that played a key factor in the Packers decision during that 2023 offseason to move on from Rodgers and give Love the opportunity to be the starter.

Love’s talent has never been in question–that’s always been evident. The challenge initially was finding the consistency from a process standpoint to repeatedly execute at a high level. As Love acknowledged, he wasn’t ready his rookie season, and while in Year 2 there was more confidence, he was still navigating a steep learning curve.

Many were quick to confirm any priors that they had about the Love selection after his performance against Kansas City in 2021, where Love complete only 19-of-34 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception as the Chiefs blitzed over and over. To this day, LaFleur is still quick to take the blame for the team’s performance and not having a gameplan better suited for Love.

Beyond his ability on the football field, what makes Love a great leader, teammate, and what has helped him get to the point he’s at today, overcoming so much uncertainty in his NFL career, is his ability to bounce-back, his poised demeanor, and the hard work he’s put in–all of which was reflected in that Chiefs’ game, even if the results weren’t favorable.

“The thing’s that so impressive about him is just how resilient he is,” said LaFleur. “Like never gets phased, just continues to fight and I think that says a lot about him and I think that’s a big reason why we’re standing here today talking about him is the resiliency that he has and the kind of teammate that he is and the kind of work that he’s going to put in. So, it’s awesome to see him get rewarded for that.”

Love’s arm talent and just overall ability as a passer are certainly important factors in him being in the position he’s at today, but it’s his ability to command the offense almost regardless of what is happening on the field that had him playing at an elite level last season.

A prime example of this came during Saturday’s practice. On one play in particular, Karl Brooks burst through the offensive line almost instantly from Love’s right side. There was no panic, he saw Brooks immediately, alluded his rush, made his way out of the pocket and knew exactly where Josh Jacobs would be, dumping it off to him in the flat. This went from being a play that almost certainly should have been a sack to a positive play for the offense, and it’s in this aspect where Love differentiates himself from many other quarterbacks.

“What he’s got such a great command of right now is he’s got such an unbelievable command of our offense,” said LaFleur before practice. “He knows all the details, the ins and outs. He can help the other guys. He can coach the other guys up on the field. It’s pretty impressive.”

Regardless of what level a player is at, LaFleur said you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. As good as Love looked last season, there is of course, still room for growth. In fact, an emphasis this offseason for Love has been going back to the basics and working on his footwork, both from the pocket and on the move. Pun intended, but the foundation for a good throw begins with the quarterback’s feet.

Whatever will be needed down the road the Packers are confident that Love can deliver, and that feeling of confidence is not only because of what he brings on the football field, but because of who he is off of it.

“I think what gives me comfort is I know he’s going to work to be whatever he can be,” said GM Brian Gutekunst. “The best version of himself. He’s done that consistently since he’s been here and to see him, his learning, his growth over that time, I don’t expect him to change.

“I think that’s the one thing, again, I feel really good about is that because of the contract we’re not going to ask him to do anything more than he’s been doing. We want him to be himself and keep doing what he’s been doing. If he does that then I really don’t think there’s a limit on what he can accomplish.”

Packers training camp notebook: Jordan Love returns and the pads come on

Jordan Love was back on the practice field for the Green Bay Packers and the pads were back on as well. Today’s practice would go exactly two hours with the Packers spending a fair amount of it doing 11-on-11.

“I think it makes us more whole,” said Matt LaFleur about getting Love back at practice. “We’re still missing a couple guys, but anytime you can … he’s one of the leaders on this team. I thought he showed great leadership last year, and so it kind of comes with the position naturally, and so I think it’ll certainly give everybody a boost. Not just the offense but I think the defense as well.”

Let’s open up the notebook and dive into my takeaways and observations from today.

– There weren’t any changes on the injury front. Josh Myers was still absent for personal reasons. Robert Rochell was still out with a calf, as was Marshawn Lloyd with a hip and Tucker Kraft with a pec. Zach Tom only went through the individual portion again, as was expected. Caleb Jones, Corey Ballentine, and Donovan Jennings were all back out there after returning on Friday–although I still didn’t see any of them going through the team portion of practice.

– The starting offensive line initially remained the same with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, followed by Sean Rhyan, Elgton Jenkins, Jordan Morgan and Kadeem Telfort. Andre Dillard was worked in throughout practice at right tackle with the starters as well.

– The starting defense again had Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, and Preston Smith along the defensive front. In base, it was Isaiah McDuffie, Quay Walker, and Eric Wilson at linebacker, and as the rotation at safety continues, it was Javon Bullard’s turn to line up next to Xavier McKinney. Eric Stokes and Jaire Alexander were the starting cornerbacks with Keisean Nixon in the slot.

– Other lineup notes: Anthony Johnson and Evan Williams were with the second defense at safety. Kalen King is going through individual drills in the slot but is seeing a few outside snaps during the team portion. The second offensive line unit has either Telfort or Dillard at left tackle–depending on who isn’t with the ones–followed by Royce Newman, Jacob Monk, Lecitus Smith, and Luke Tenuta.

– Edgerrin Cooper made a few nice plays at the line of scrimmage today. He was with Ty’Ron Hopper when the second defensive unit was in nickel, or has been rotated in for Wilson when the starting defense is in base.

– Even with Jordan Love back on the field, it was a slow start for the offense. A number of those issues can be traced back to the play of the defensive front and how disruptive they were. It’s nearly impossible to get into a rhythm as a passer when the play is blown up almost instantly. On the plays where Love was in rhythm and had even a little time, the offense often moved the ball.

– Before practice Matt LaFleur praised Love for knowing the offense inside and out and you really see that on display when there is quick pressure. Love’s recognition of it, ability to escape and knowing exactly where his outlet options are to get rid of the ball is a huge differentiator between him and the other quarterbacks on the roster.

“What he’s got such a great command of right now is he’s got such an unbelievable command of our offense,” said LaFleur. “He knows all the details, the ins and outs. He can help the other guys. He can coach the other guys up on the field. It’s pretty impressive.”

– The two minute drill: at the end of practice, the offense began at their own 30 yard line with 1:35 left on the clock and one timeout in an end of half situation. The first time through, the defense won. The first play was incomplete over the middle to Dontayvion Wicks–the throw looked to be just in front of him. The second play was broken up by Keisean Nixon, and the third was a two yard gain on a throw to the flat to Luke Musgrave.

During the second time through, and facing the same scenario, Love connected with Christian Watson down the left sideline for about a 45 yard gain. Eric Stokes was in coverage but Watson had a good step-plus on him. The next two plays were a five yard and then eight yard completions to Musgrave, with the drive being capped off with a 10 yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs.

“Yeah, it felt good,” said Love about connecting with Watson. “It felt good to be able to hit Christian in stride on a deep ball. I felt like the defense, they’ve been doing such a great job since we started camp just kind of sitting on the routes and jumping some things. We saw early on, they were able to jump a couple of the plays – a testament to them. They’ve been doing an outstanding job. It felt good to be able to get one and run by him and Christian is the speed of the team right there. To be able to him in stride and him make that play, it felt good to connect on that first day back, for sure.”

– Two under the radar names to watch right now are wide receiver Dimitri Stanley and offensive lineman Lecitus Smith. Stanley is getting some work with the second offense and is taking advantage of his opportunities with both the second and third units. Smith has been at guard with the second team offense and center with the third team. Now, I’m not saying we should pencil these players into your roster predictions, but they appear to be off to some good starts.

– I wrote recently about the safety rotation that’s taking place next to Xavier McKinney along with the added movement we see from this position group. One example of that came today with McKinney looking like he was going to blitz, then at the snap dropping into the middle of the field where he took away Love’s throwing lane, forcing him to the flat.

– James Turner finished the day 5-for-6 technically, missing left from 49 yards. He did make two kicks over 50 yards. I say “technically” because Turner had seven attempts, he had one do over after the defense lined up offsides, but he did miss that attempt. So overall, he was 5-for-7. He is 13-for-18 in camp if we don’t count the miss on the offsides play.