Thumbs up: Jamari Lattimore had to spend the first two days of camp on the sideline after being placed on the non-football injury list with an illness. But the Green Bay Packers third-year inside linebacker made sure he was on the field for the first practice in pads, and quickly made his presence felt. During the first 11-on-11 period of Sunday's practice, Lattimore was seemingly everywhere, as he delivered hits and disrupted the offense several times. On the 14 th play of the period, Lattimore filled a hole from his inside spot and met running back Alex Green head-on, eliciting a collective "Oooh" from the crowd at Ray Nitschke Field. Two plays later, though, as he was chasing running back Johnathan Franklin, be overpursued and appeared to hurt himself while reaching back to get Franklin. Coach Mike McCarthy, though, said Lattimore was simply on a snap count after losing weight during his illness. "He probably did a little too much. He had cramps in the later part of the practice," McCarthy said. "But I felt Jamari had some flash plays in there."

Thumbs down:McCarthy wasn't expecting perfection in the first padded practice of camp, and he knew tensions would be running a bit higher because the pads were on. But he seemed a bit more perturbed by the quality of the practice. When asked which players stood out to him besides Lattimore, McCarthy replied, "I've got too much negative stuff in my brain right now. I really don't have anybody for you right now. I'll have to look at the tape." Asked later what those negatives were, McCarthy said it was more about the tempo, pace and execution of practice than anything. "It's just the mechanics of practice. You're practice is laid out a certain way and there's a tempo and a pace and a level of execution you're always trying to attain," McCarthy said. "It's all about getting that rhythm and timing. The fits, as far as the run blocking and the timing, it's always different once you put the pads on. So I didn't expect to go out there today and have this be a great practice. It just doesn't go that way. That's why padded work is so important. We've started our climb to get where we need to go."

Play of the day:Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a good day, although he wasn't perfect — as evidenced by the interception he threw during the team run period to cornerback James Nixon. But he atoned for his miscue and did so against Nixon on the final play of practice, throwing a perfectly-placed fade to Jarrett Boykin for a 10-yard touchdown to cap the No. 1 offense's 2-minute drill. The 6-foot-2 Boykin also made a terrific play going up over the 6-foot Nixon to make the grab.

Camp confidential:With full pads came the enforcement of the NFL rule requiring all players to wear thigh pads or knee pads. While some teams are allowing players to decide whether or not they want to wear them at practice, McCarthy is requiring it. The NFL actually required the pads last year, but if players didn't wear them on game-day, they simply received a nominal fine. This year, the league says it won't let players onto the field if they're not wearing their pads. McCarthy's theory is to practice like you play, so the pads are not optional. "I'm sure it was different for this generation of players because they haven't done it in so long," McCarthy said. "It's definitely for the right reasons, for player safety. We addressed it in our initial team meeting earlier. Really, we haven't had any conversation about it." It was certainly an adjustment for some players, many of who had never worn them in the NFL. "I haven't worn them in six years — since college," wide receiver James Jones said. "But that's the rule."

Injury report:Cornerback Tramon Williams felt some discomfort in his knee and dropped out of practice about halfway through. The only player to return to action was Lattimore. Otherwise, the list of injured players remained unchanged: Wide receiver Sederrick Cunningham (wrist); wide receiver Charles Johnson (knee); wide receiver Kevin Dorsey (hamstring); defensive end/outside linebacker Mike Neal (abdominal), cornerback Casey Hayward (hamstring), cornerback Davon House (illness), defensive end Jerel Worthy (knee), running back DuJuan Harris (knee), safety Chaz Powell (foot), tackle Derek Sherrod (leg), offensive lineman JC Tretter (ankle), safety Sean Richardson (neck)

Practice schedule:The Packers players have Monday off. Their next practice in pads on Tuesday at 8:20 a.m.at Ray Nitschke Field, weather permitting.

Jason Wilde  wrote: