Cliff, from JSONLINE:
Minicamp Report - Camp 1, Day 1
It's only a minicamp. It was only the first day. But wide receiver Greg Jennings, one of the Green Bay Packers' second-round draft picks, looked smooth and fluid with some quickness and burst in and out of his cuts. One of the prettiest plays of the day came in 7-on-7 when Brett Favre hit Jennings on a hook route. With veteran cornerback Charles Woodson in coverage (Coach Mike McCarthy said he was in press coverage, although it appeared that Woodson was off the linel), Jennings drove hard upfield and then worked back for the ball. "He looked to be very natural," said McCarthy. "He had bump-and-run and we refer to the technique as a speed move where he has to adjust his route off his weight and cross the face of the DB. I almost had to look and check his number. I thought it was Donald (Driver). (Jennings) came snapping out of it and caught the ball in stride and turned it right up. Watching him catching punts, very natural. I think we were right on that one."
Woodson later sat on a comeback route by Jennings and intercepted a Favre pass. Woodson spiked Jennings on the play and lost his balance, but came up with the catch. It was one of several times where Woodson stumbled or fell during the practice. He appeared to be having problems with his cleats on the Don Hutson Center FieldTurf. After practice, Woodson said he would change his cleats before the two practices Saturday.
Woodson was listed as No. 21 on the roster, but wore No. 2. He said he'd like to wear the number permanently, but NFL rules prevent corners - or wide receivers, for that matter - from wearing numbers below 10. Woodson practiced only at corner.
Samkon Gado was the only veteran running back to practice, but he looked fully recovered from the sprained medial collateral ligament that knocked him out of the final two games of last season. "He's very explosive," said McCarthy. "I think you saw that in some of the lead zone runs." Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport were in uniform and took part in some light running and stretching early in practice, but won't be ready to go full speed until at least the start of training camp, according to McCarthy.
What are McCarthy's early impressions of second-year quarterback Aaron Rodgers? "Very bright," was one. "More athletic than he showed in college," was another. Rodgers threw a lot of checkdowns in the team sessions, but McCarthy praised him for his decision-making. "I thought he played controlled today," said McCarthy. "I thought he was very composed." What about Rodgers' arm strength? "His arm strength is good," said McCarthy. "He spins the ball, which is important in this part of the country."
Favre shared time with the other quarterbacks in camp - Rodgers, fifth-round draft pick Ingle Martin and free agent Tom Arth - but looked fit and threw some nice balls. Along with connecting with Jennings on the hook, Favre also threw a perfect deep ball over Driver's outside shoulder for a big gain.
The Packers worked William Whitticker at tackle and Kevin Barry at guard. Whitticker started the day working at right tackle behind Mark Tauscher. But when Adrian Klemm dropped out of practice with an apparent injury, Whitticker moved to the left side and worked with the No. 1 unit. Chad Clifton underwent ankle surgery following the season and won't practice this camp. The only other tackles were fifth-round pick Tony Moll, who worked on the left side, and free agent rooke Josh Bourke, who worked on the right side.
Barry worked with the second unit at right guard. Second-round draft pick Daryn Colledge practiced with the first unit at left guard. Second-year man Junius Coston, who worked at left guard all last summer and throughout the Packers' off-season sessions this spring, worked with the first unit at right guard. It was the first day that Coston had ever practiced there. Third-round pick Jason Spitz worked with the second unit at left guard. Scott Wells was the No. 1 center with Chris White behind him.
A.J. Hawk worked with the first unit at outside linebacker. ... Roy Manning lined up as the other outside backer with the No. 1 defense. ... With free agent safety Marquand Manuel, who is coming off a groin injury from the Super Bowl, watching practice, Mark Roman was still lining up with the first unit at safety. ... Robert Ferguson lined up with the first unit at wide receiver opposite Driver. ... Third-round pick Abdul Hodge worked at middle linebacker and looked athletic on a deep drop in 7-on-7, where he deflected a Favre pass.
Other players coming off injuries who didn't practice included running back Chaz Williams; defensive linemen Kenny Peterson, Donnell Washington, draft pick Johnny Jolly and free agent Tim McGill; linebackers Brady Poppinga and Kurt Campbell; cornerback Jason Horton; and safety Jeremy Thornburg.
Three players practiced on a tryout basis: linebacker Kevin Schimmelmann, Stanford; fullback Ben Brown, Tabor; and offensive guard LeQualan McDonald, Baylor.
Minicamp Report - Camp 1, Day 1
It's only a minicamp. It was only the first day. But wide receiver Greg Jennings, one of the Green Bay Packers' second-round draft picks, looked smooth and fluid with some quickness and burst in and out of his cuts. One of the prettiest plays of the day came in 7-on-7 when Brett Favre hit Jennings on a hook route. With veteran cornerback Charles Woodson in coverage (Coach Mike McCarthy said he was in press coverage, although it appeared that Woodson was off the linel), Jennings drove hard upfield and then worked back for the ball. "He looked to be very natural," said McCarthy. "He had bump-and-run and we refer to the technique as a speed move where he has to adjust his route off his weight and cross the face of the DB. I almost had to look and check his number. I thought it was Donald (Driver). (Jennings) came snapping out of it and caught the ball in stride and turned it right up. Watching him catching punts, very natural. I think we were right on that one."
Woodson later sat on a comeback route by Jennings and intercepted a Favre pass. Woodson spiked Jennings on the play and lost his balance, but came up with the catch. It was one of several times where Woodson stumbled or fell during the practice. He appeared to be having problems with his cleats on the Don Hutson Center FieldTurf. After practice, Woodson said he would change his cleats before the two practices Saturday.
Woodson was listed as No. 21 on the roster, but wore No. 2. He said he'd like to wear the number permanently, but NFL rules prevent corners - or wide receivers, for that matter - from wearing numbers below 10. Woodson practiced only at corner.
Samkon Gado was the only veteran running back to practice, but he looked fully recovered from the sprained medial collateral ligament that knocked him out of the final two games of last season. "He's very explosive," said McCarthy. "I think you saw that in some of the lead zone runs." Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport were in uniform and took part in some light running and stretching early in practice, but won't be ready to go full speed until at least the start of training camp, according to McCarthy.
What are McCarthy's early impressions of second-year quarterback Aaron Rodgers? "Very bright," was one. "More athletic than he showed in college," was another. Rodgers threw a lot of checkdowns in the team sessions, but McCarthy praised him for his decision-making. "I thought he played controlled today," said McCarthy. "I thought he was very composed." What about Rodgers' arm strength? "His arm strength is good," said McCarthy. "He spins the ball, which is important in this part of the country."
Favre shared time with the other quarterbacks in camp - Rodgers, fifth-round draft pick Ingle Martin and free agent Tom Arth - but looked fit and threw some nice balls. Along with connecting with Jennings on the hook, Favre also threw a perfect deep ball over Driver's outside shoulder for a big gain.
The Packers worked William Whitticker at tackle and Kevin Barry at guard. Whitticker started the day working at right tackle behind Mark Tauscher. But when Adrian Klemm dropped out of practice with an apparent injury, Whitticker moved to the left side and worked with the No. 1 unit. Chad Clifton underwent ankle surgery following the season and won't practice this camp. The only other tackles were fifth-round pick Tony Moll, who worked on the left side, and free agent rooke Josh Bourke, who worked on the right side.
Barry worked with the second unit at right guard. Second-round draft pick Daryn Colledge practiced with the first unit at left guard. Second-year man Junius Coston, who worked at left guard all last summer and throughout the Packers' off-season sessions this spring, worked with the first unit at right guard. It was the first day that Coston had ever practiced there. Third-round pick Jason Spitz worked with the second unit at left guard. Scott Wells was the No. 1 center with Chris White behind him.
A.J. Hawk worked with the first unit at outside linebacker. ... Roy Manning lined up as the other outside backer with the No. 1 defense. ... With free agent safety Marquand Manuel, who is coming off a groin injury from the Super Bowl, watching practice, Mark Roman was still lining up with the first unit at safety. ... Robert Ferguson lined up with the first unit at wide receiver opposite Driver. ... Third-round pick Abdul Hodge worked at middle linebacker and looked athletic on a deep drop in 7-on-7, where he deflected a Favre pass.
Other players coming off injuries who didn't practice included running back Chaz Williams; defensive linemen Kenny Peterson, Donnell Washington, draft pick Johnny Jolly and free agent Tim McGill; linebackers Brady Poppinga and Kurt Campbell; cornerback Jason Horton; and safety Jeremy Thornburg.
Three players practiced on a tryout basis: linebacker Kevin Schimmelmann, Stanford; fullback Ben Brown, Tabor; and offensive guard LeQualan McDonald, Baylor.
