May 29, 2014 by Ted Verges
O.K.,
I’ll admit it; I was excited to attend my first Packer practice of the
season. There are many issues to check
out ranging from the free agents to the rookies to improvement of the young
veterans to the new defensive scheme. As excited as I was going to practice, I
was even more excited after practice based on what I had just seen.
I think
Edgar Bennett must live a charmed life based on the amount of talent he has at
his position. The wide receiver group is very good and very deep. Nelson and Cobb are just outstanding and are
on the same wavelength as Rodgers. But
what caught my attention was the two rookie receivers, Abbredaris and Janis.
Janis is bigger than Abbredaris, particularly in the chest and shoulders.
Abbredaris has a little more explosive speed. They both run the 40 in about 4.5,
but I’m sure Abbredaris is faster in takeoff speed. Both guys were worked mostly at a split end position
although Abbredaris got some work in the slot; both caught everything thrown
their way; both demonstrated good run after the catch ability; both scored
touchdowns; both played with considerable poise, and neither required
corrective coaching. Finally, both got
some special teams work: Janis as a gunner on the punt team, and Abbredaris as
a punt returner.
Let me
share some action I observed involving Abbredaris. He scored two touchdowns on punt returns. We were having trouble getting anything done
with other guys returning punts. Then they sent Abbredaris back there. The
first time he was up, he took it to the house. He started right and burst back
up the middle and scored untouched. He
also took his second rep back for a touchdown. Again, it was up the middle with
an impressive burst. He also made two
noteworthy plays as a receiver.
On one particular play, Abbredaris
was lined up wide right as a split end.
At the snap, the defense blitzed the two inside linebackers in a cross
charge into the “A” gaps. Flynn saw it and threw hot into the general direction
of Abbredaris. Abbredaris also read it,
cut his route off, and turned it into a stop. He caught the ball and turned up
field for a 20-yard gain. It was an
impressive play for a veteran to say nothing of a rookie, mid-level draft
choice in his second practice. On another play Abbredaris was lined up in the
slot on the right side. He ran a post –
corner route that got him wide open. It
was the type of double move that he does so well.
Davante
Adams was not at practice today, but some other receivers also had good practices.
Boykin made some tough catches usually
of a short nature. He is a physical presence on the field. Kevin Dorsey looked good, as did Myles
White. There’s going to be some tough
decisions to be made at the wide receiver position.
One of
the plays that got a big reaction from the spectators, and teammates, was an
impressive catch and run by Colt Lyerla. He was lined up tight right, ran a
post, had to stretch out and made a great hands catch and immediately avoided
the other safety who was closing in for the hit. He took it the length of the
field for a TD. Not only did the crowd
respond, but also so did his teammates.
He got lots of attention when he got back to the offensive group, and he
had a huge smile on his face. I think the guys like him and are rooting for him
to make it. He is a big guy who can
really move. The other new tight end,
Richard Rodgers, didn’t do much today, but he did look good getting off the
bus. He was physically impressive. He
looked like he would have been a nice 5th or 6th round
pick (Just had to get that comment in there!).
Another
play that earned cheers from the crowd was a screen pass right to Lacy. He caught the ball in stride, made a couple
nice cuts, and outran the pursuit. I didn’t know he had that kind of speed and
open field ability. Again, he got a
great reception from his offensive teammates.
He appeared to be very well liked.
Some
more random observations were:
I was
pleased with the work of Derek Sherrod.
He showed no signs of his injury. He did everything full go. I root for
him because he’s had to overcome so much.
When you
fill out your final roster predictions, don’t forget the name of DuJuan Harris
at running back. The man is so very,
very quick. He was impressive.
They had
Hyde at safety and he worked with the first team defense. I spent considerable time watching
Clinton-Dix when he was in there. I
couldn’t help but notice his good use of angles. He almost always arrived at the ball at the
same moment as the receiver. He looks like a clone of Burnett . . . same height
and weight.
Tretter
was starting center, and I watched him quite a bit. I wanted to see if he could
execute a reach block. He did. All his snaps were good and he is quick, and
poised. I also focused on Linsey when he
was in at center. He missed his reach
block and followed it up by committing another error. When you miss that block you should do one of
two things: follow your man and block him past the hole or turn back and pick
off the first opposite color jersey that shows from the backside. He did
neither. He stood there and showed anger at himself. But, the guy is physically
impressive with huge arms.
BJ has
gained weight, which surprised me. It was interesting to focus on him, as he
seems to enjoy the game and his fellow teammates. He was having fun.
Bakhtiari
looked to have put on some good weight around his middle, and he didn’t lose
any foot quickness.
Peppers
played outside linebacker and he worked both sides. I never saw him drop into
coverage. He usually was on the split
end side and often ran down the ball carrier when running to the opposite side.
Peppers is really an imposing figure on
the field.
Matthews
and Perry were on the field but didn’t participate in any action. Worthy and
Davante Adams were not at practice. I’m not sure why.
I really
enjoyed this practice and what I observed.
But, there’s so much more I want to see, so the old Railbird will be at
his perch quite often in the coming days. I hope you’ll enjoy these reports.
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