THUMBS UP

You have to hand it to Jarrett Bush. Once a favorite punching bag for Packers fans, he cleaned up his game on special teams and had his best season last year. He cut down on dumb penalties, was an outstanding gunner on punt coverage and became a leader. Now, he's taking his game as a cornerback to a new level. His interception in the Super Bowl was a huge turning point and in the first few days of camp, he's been playing with a lot more confidence. "He's been excellent in our nickel and dime," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He can be a third or fourth corner. I think he's picked up where he left off last year." Bush has had a couple of big hits during camp and he finished off the 2-minute drill Thursday night with a diving deflection of an Aaron Rodgers-to- JamesJones pass on fourth down. If he keeps it up, he'll be a hard guy to keep off the field.
THUMBS DOWN

It was not a good night for the offensive line. First, were the one-on-one drills. After a couple of decent performances, LT Chad Clifton got beat by LB Brad Jones. Then the flood gates opened. Mike Neal trashed Caleb Schlauderaff; Jamari Lattimore breezed by Marshall Newhouse; Jarius Wynn zipped by Sampson Genus; Frank Zombo beat Ray Dominguez around the corner; C.J. Wilson ripped by Schlauderaff; and B.J. Raji took first-round pick Derek Sherrod's lunch money. Later, in the blitz drill, everything got mucked up on the line and the last five to seven snaps were a disaster. There were mental errors that would have gotten Rodgers beaten up. McCarthy said the line regrouped and had a better night than it looked, but it's obvious the defense is ahead at this point in camp.
INJURY REPORT

CB Tramon Williams had tightness in his hip and had to leave practice. It didn't appear serious.

Rookie TE Ryan Taylor left practice with a concussion and is being evaluated.

TE Tom Crabtree suffered a hip flexor injury Wednesday and sat out.

OG T.J. Lang missed practice for a personal reason.
ODDS AND ENDS

Restrictions on DE Mike Neal were lifted and he was able to practice in full. He is coming off rotator cuff surgery. He is definitely rusty and working his way back slowly

One thing that is evident is that LB Erik Walden packs a punch when he's over the tackle at the line of scrimmage. He has given Newhouse and Sherrod all they can handle in run drills.

Rookie WRs Randall Cobb and Shaky Smithson both had bad drops during separate drills. Cobb's was on a stop route, and Smithson's was on an out route.

Rookie RB Brandon Saine had an outstanding block in a red-zone drill. He took on Lattimore on a blitz up the middle and absolutely stopped him in his tracks.

WR Diondre Borel had a bounce-back day after a slow start in camp. He caught just about everything thrown his way.

S Morgan Burnett has his ups and downs. On one play, safeties coach Darren Perry had to yell to him where he should be lined up. Then on the final play of 2-minute he did a good job of covering up the middle of the field and denying Rodgers a completion.
SCHEDULE

There is one practice at 7 p.m. Friday in full pads.

JSO wrote:

Aug 04, 2011 -- 11:12pm

Thumbs up: With the new collective bargaining agreement officially ratified by both NFL owners and the NFL Players Association, the Packers’ five free-agent players – wide receiver James Jones, kicker Mason Crosby, fullback John Kuhn, tight end Spencer Havner and wide receiver Brett Swain – were all allowed to practice for the first time since re-signing with the club. “It was great to get everybody out there,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I thought practice as a whole picked up just as far as the structure, the mechanics that we’re trying to get done. … I thought the tempo was much better.” Havner practiced exclusively at tight end after there had been some conjecture that he would work at linebacker, while Jones worked with the No. 1s in four-receiver sets.

Thumbs down: Aaron Rodgers was the NFL’s highest-rated quarterback in each of the past two seasons against blitzes, but on Thursday night, the defense got the best of the offense all night long. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 defenses also won in the 2-minute drills, stifling their offensive counterparts both times. “I feel the defense has been pretty much steady,” McCarthy said. “I thought the offense had it really going there in early practice, had a tough segment there in the blitz, did some good things to finish. I thought we took a step forward as a football team.” McCarthy also made it clear he wasn’t worried about the offense’s poor showing in the blitz drill.

Play of the day: Chastin West has an uphill battle for a roster spot after spending last season on the practice squad. With Greg Jennings, James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver and Randall Cobb ahead of him on the depth chart and competition amongst holdover Brett Swain and other youngsters for snaps, West must make the most of each opportunity. On Thursday night, after a Matt Flynn pass ricocheted off his hands to rookie cornerback Davon House for an interception. But a few plays later, he made a nice sideline grab in the same drill, and later in the 1-on-1 passing drill, he made a terrific backshoulder catch against House on a pass from Flynn for a touchdown.

Camp confidential: Jarrett Bush’s Packers career has had its ups and downs, with some vital special teams play as a core player on those units but also a fair amount of fan criticism for his mistakes and big plays allowed on defense. But we may look back on his interception in Super Bowl XLV as a turning point in his career. Working exclusively at cornerback in camp, he has looked very good, and never better than what he did on Thursday night. First, he had a big hit that leveled running back Alex Green, then was phenomenal in the 2-minute drill to end practice. Playing in place of Tramon Williams, Bush had a sack on Rodgers, then a breakup of a fourth-down Rodgers pass to James Jones to end the threat.

Injury report: Tight end Andrew Quarless (hip flexor) passed his physical and practiced for the first time. Rookie defensive end Lawrence Guy (concussion) did not practice after leaving Wednesday night’s practice. Tight end Tom Crabtree (hip flexor) and wide receiver Kerry Taylor (concussion) were new to the injured list and did not practice. Defensive tackle Chris Donaldson (collarbone) returned to practice. Offensive linemen Adrian Battles (Achilles’) and Theo Sherman (ankle) remained sidelined. Cornerback Tramon Williams left practice with what McCarthy called “hip tightness,” which isn’t thought to be serious. Guard T.J. Lang was absent because of a “personal matter.” Tight end Jermichael Finley (knee), safety Morgan Burnett (knee) and defensive end Mike Neal (shoulder) all took part in 11-on-11 work, including Neal making his debut in team drills. Linebacker Diyral Briggs (hamstring) and defensive tackle Eli Joseph (hamstring) still haven’t passed their physicals and remain on PUP.

Practice schedule: The Packers practice in pads at 7 p.m. at Ray Nitschke Field on Friday.

JSO wrote: