FAMILY NIGHT SCRIMMAGE: JSONLINE REPORTS
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Offense...make a good first impression
The widely doubted offense of the Green Bay Packers, especially quarterback Aaron Rodgers, had every reason to leave Lambeau Field on Saturday night feeling rather bullish about itself. For one of the first times in his career,
Rodgers offered some tangible evidence that he is improving and might one day be a suitable successor to Brett Favre, and the offense moved the ball pretty much at will other than a pair of end-zone interceptions. With a crowd of 59,362 watching the intrasquad scrimmage on a beautiful midsummer night, Rodgers completed 12 of 21 passes for 138 yards in one of his best moments since arriving in the first round in 2005.
The evaluation process, however, was skewed. Quarterbacks weren't allowed to be touched, and the threat of physical violence can make all the difference in the world at that position. Still, any National Football League scout that paid for an $8 ticket to the event probably would have come away thinking Rodgers looks like a somewhat different player than the skittish youngster of the last two exhibition seasons. In general, coach Mike McCarthy saw reasons for optimism in the first exposure to live tackling for his second team in Green Bay. "I'll tell you this," McCarthy said. "I feel a lot better about our football team tonight than I did when I stood here last year."
Rodgers was far from perfect. Directing the No. 2 offense against the No. 1 defense, he was able to generate just two first downs and 16 yards in two possessions totaling 12 plays. He had a pass batted down at the line and he threw wildly to Carlyle Holiday on a ball that was nearly intercepted by safety Atari Bigby, but he also was under constant pressure. On his third possession, Rodgers drove the No. 2 offense 71 yards in nine plays to set up a 23-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. He faced a blend of first- and second-string defenders on that series. In that drive, Rodgers threw a 20-yard completion to the closely covered Holiday on a bootleg, hit James Jones in a stride on a crossing route for 21 and found Ruvell Martin for 11 on a slant. When the scrimmage shifted to two-minute drills, Rodgers led the No. 2 offense on a nine-play, 66-yard sortie against mostly a backup defense. Rodgers opened by coming off his second read and finding Holiday in the middle for 12. He zipped an out to Robert Ferguson for 11. On second and 10, he refused to vacate the pocket prematurely and, at the last instant, swung the ball out in the left flat to the wide-open Brandon Jackson for 23. Rodgers gunned a 9-yard touchdown pass to Martin in the back of the end zone, but it was nullified when Martin was penalized for pushing off. A holding penalty against tackle Orrin Thompson set up a second-and-27 at the 29 when Rodgers threw his interception.
Instead of looking elsewhere, Rodgers stayed with his favorite target, Martin, on a go route on the left side. Martin was alone against cornerback Traman Williams, but Williams came back for the interception. "Maybe more on the receiver," McCarthy said. "It was a one-on-one situation. Two guys went up for the ball. It was a two-minute situation and we had to have a touchdown. It really was more the result of penalties." Rodgers was more poised and decisive than in the past. He threw a live ball and generally was on target. And his body language was more that of a confident leader than someone who at times looked as if he were attempting to transfer blame. "He threw the ball very well," McCarthy said. "Aaron looked sharp. On the one sack he may have come out a little early. He threw the ball into tight spots. Our first two quarterbacks were very sharp." By the time Rodgers took the field, the No. 1 offense had two touchdowns in a rather startling performance.
Brett Favre, who missed five practices last week after the death of his wife's stepfather, was on fire, completing 13 of 15 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown. On a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by Donald Driver's 11-yard scoring catch, Favre simply carved up the No. 2 defense. The pattern continued on the next possession when Favre put a long ball right on the money to Driver for 33 on a fade against Frank Walker. Then, he spotted Jackson flying down the left seam a step or two ahead of linebacker Tracy White and put it on him for 25 yards to the 1. Jackson powered over on the next play. Favre produced four first downs but then, on third and 1 at the 13, he looked left and then came right into the end zone for Driver against Will Blackmon. But safety Nick Collins was in the throwing lane, intercepted 3 yards deep and returned it 63 yards. "I'd say that was more of an underthrow," McCarthy said. "Brett had a play at the line. They were not on the same page." On the injury front, McCarthy listed fullback Brandon Miree (stinger), running back P.J. Pope (knee) and two players, linebacker Abdul Hodge and Bigby, with dislocated fingers.
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Blackmon, Bush distinguish selves. CBs are impressive during scrimmage
There was a breakthrough in the crowded field behind Green Bay Packers starting cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson on Saturday night. A pair of second-year cornerbacks whom the Green Bay Packers have had high hopes for this off-season stood out during the team's intrasquad scrimmage at Lambeau Field, the team's first live-tackling event of the summer. Will Blackmon and Jarrett Bush will sleep soundly after striking iron in a heated race to become the No. 3 cornerback in the Packers' secondary. Easily the two best athletes of the group fighting for position, Bush and Blackmon made the best of their live opportunity. "I was excited," said Blackmon, who had three tackles, an interception and pass broken up. "This week of practice was a little bit shaky, so I had to turn it on in game time. Fortunately, I showed them I can do my stuff." As a whole, it was a good night for the No. 1 defense, which held the No. 2 offense, led by backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers, to 16 yards on two series totaling 12 plays. The lone black mark was a 19-yard pass-interference penalty committed by safety Marquand Manuel that kept the second drive alive. Rodgers drove the offense 71 yards on nine plays against a combination of 1s and 2s in the third live period, but he had to settle for a field goal after Bush broke up a sharp throw to receiver Ruvell Martin in the corner of the end zone.
The No. 1s let starting quarterback Brett Favre **** and dunk them during the 2-minute drill portion of the scrimmage until the offense made it down to the 39-yard line. A questionable pass-interference call on linebacker A.J. Hawk, who seemed to have blanket coverage on tight end Donald Lee, got the offense to the 22. But the defense held when Favre either misread a coverage or had a bad route run on him and safety Nick Collins picked off his pass in the end zone. Collins returned the interception 63 yards.
Bush has been having a very solid camp and got a chance to start alongside Patrick Dendy when coach Mike McCarthy decided to give Harris and Woodson the night off. It was clearly a calculated move on his part so he could get a good long look at his backups. Blackmon, meanwhile, made the biggest leap of any cornerback. He had started out slowly in training camp but came out ready to play both at wide cornerback and in the slot in nickel situations. Lining up with the No. 2s opposite veteran Frank Walker, Blackmon broke up a third-down pass to Robert Ferguson on third and 3 on his first series. Then after the offense converted and later faced a fourth and 8 from the defense's 47, Blackmon had excellent coverage on Ferguson's corner route and forced an incomplete pass. He had two interceptions in the scrimmage against the No. 3 offense, the first of which was negated when a coverage penalty was called on another player. But he ended a drive by jumping an out route and picking off fourth-string quarterback Paul Thompson late in the scrimmage.
After moving from cornerback to wide receiver his senior year at Boston College, the fourth-round pick missed almost all of last season with foot and rib injuries and struggled with some injuries during the off-season. But all along the Packers thought he had the size and athletic ability to be one of their top young cornerbacks. "Last year was like a redshirt year for me," Blackmon said. "Last year, I made my transition from wide receiver back to cornerback, so that was pretty tough. It was unfortunate I had that year off, but it also helped transform me back to a defensive back." Bush, meanwhile, didn't disappoint during his starting opportunity. He gave up a 5-yard crossing route to rookie receiver James Jones and was in good position to defend receiver Ferguson when Manuel made early contact and drew his penalty. He allowed running back Noah Herron to slip his tackle on a pass in the flat during the 2-minute drill but otherwise was up to the task of starting on the left side. "I made some plays on the ball and I made some tackles," said Bush, who had one tackle and pass broken up. "I'm busting my butt trying to get there. I have to keep working and keep grinding. I have to keep working and pushing. Just being a (rookie) free agent (last year), nobody is guaranteed everything, so I have to keep working."
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Notes: Rayner, Crosby put best feet forward. Kicking battle starts to heat up
The battle for the kicking job between incumbent Dave Rayner and rookie sixth-round draft pick Mason Crosby was on full display Saturday night during the Green Bay Packers' intrasquad scrimmage at Lambeau Field.And the fight is on. The stadium announcer asked fans to make noise and do the wave while the Beastie Boys squealed about their fight for their right to party over the loudspeakers during the field-goal attempts. The cacophony was an attempt to create the kind of road atmosphere the kickers would face under pressure. It wasn't exactly as unnerving as a recent practice, when their teammates were asked to squirt water from bottles at them while they made their attempts, but it was distracting enough.
"I didn't expect it; we really didn't know what exactly to expect, that whole period," Rayner said. "We were just kind of told to be ready. I think it's good. Distractions are good as long it's not water bottles. Yelling and screaming, that's fine, because that's game like." Rayner was 8 of 11; he hit his attempts from 25, 28, 31 and 38 yards but missed a 36-yarder in the first round of kicks. Crosby was 9 of 11; he made all of his from 25, 28, 31, 36 and 38 in the first round. Then in the second round, after missing from 38 from the left hash, Crosby hit from 40, 49 and 52 twice, while missing once at 49 from the right hash. Rayner converted from 38, 40 and 49 twice, while missing twice from 52. Rayner wasn't overly upset at missing from 52 while Crosby made it. "I hit the ball well," Rayner said. "That last (52)-yarder, I hit that thing as pure as any in my life. It went right. . . . We only attempted three field goals over 50 yards all of last year." Crosby also made a 23-yarder for the second-team offense.
Their performances came on the heels of a subpar practice Friday. Then, Crosby converted 3 of 5 attempts, missing right from 41 and 44 yards. Rayner converted 3 of 6, kicking left twice and getting blocked on another. Both kickers began the scrimmage strong, kicking into the end zone. Rayner had kickoffs of 72 yards (3.87 seconds hang time) and 67 (4.13). Crosby had kickoffs of 72 yards twice (4.0 and 4.19). Newcomer Ryan Dougherty had an impressive high punt of 42 yards (4.59 hang time) in the punt coverage phase of the scrimmage. Jon Ryan punted a 48-yarder (4.38). Later in the punt return phase, Ryan booted a 44-yarder while Dougherty put up a 55-yard punt.
Special teams hints
Three key players were on the special teams kickoff coverage unit - receiver Robert Ferguson, who is coming off of back-to-back injury-riddled seasons; sixth-round pick Korey Hall, a fullback; and third-round pick Aaron Rouse, a safety. A player who can contribute to special teams has the best chance of making the final roster. Ferguson caught a couple passes from Aaron Rodgers with the second-team offense after having a solid week of practice. It was his first action since his season-ending foot injury Oct. 2. "My foot feels great; I feel comfortable," said Ferguson, who had three catches for 24 yards. "I've just been looking forward to getting out there and making some plays."
Return game
With Vernand Morency out with a knee injury, the Packers looked at Shaun Bodiford, DeShawn Wynn and David Clowney as kick returners. On the first, Bodiford was off to the races with a 30-yard return (54 not counting a penalty on the play). He was pushed out finally by Rayner. Clowney was tagged by cornerback Will Blackmon on his return, wiping out a touchdown.
First on turf
The Packers got their first feel of the new playing surface at Lambeau Field, called DD GrassMaster. The natural grass surface that is reinforced with man-made fibers was installed in a months-long project in the off-season, over a new drainage and heating system. "If it holds like it did out there, I think the field will be great," Rayner said. It is the same surface the team practices on at Clarke Hinkle Field. "The turf felt great," Ferguson said. "Pretty sturdy. Old field was a little loose. This felt great."
