Thumbs up: With three of the Green Bay Packers' young wide receivers — seventh-round picks Charles Johnson and Kevin Dorsey, along with undrafted rookie Sederrick Cunningham — all sidelined by injuries, Tyrone Walker got a chance to shine. And he did. During an 11-on-11 drill in the second half of practice, Walker caught three passes in a four-play stretch, grabbing a B.J. Coleman pass along the left sideline on a free play; catching a short crossing route from Graham Harrell and the grabbing another Coleman pass on an out route. Walker earned a contract as a free-agent tryout invitee to the rookie orientation camp after the draft, and while Johnson and Dorsey missed almost all of organized team activity practices with injuries, he caught the attention of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While coach Mike McCarthy cautioned about getting too excited about anyone before the pads come on on Sunday, it was a good day for the kid.
Thumbs down:McCarthy immediately defended him when the topic came up, but no matter how difficult the footwork was for Don Barclay or how inexperienced he is at the position, the back-to-back fumbled exchanges with Rodgers were unacceptable. Barclay, who started six games (including playoffs) at right tackle last season, is learning to play center, and mistakes are to be expected. But fumbles on back-to-back plays? Rodgers and Barclay were replaced by Harrell and Evan Dietrich-Smith on the third play, and after practice McCarthy wasn't too hard on Barclay, saying, "In fairness to Barclay, it's obviously new for Don working there. That particular play, that particular scheme, that's the hardest footwork that he has from an assignment standpoint. I'm a little more irritated with the play selection with the rotation. That's something that I could have probably done a better job of not asking him to do that right now in live action. That particular scheme is something that takes reps."
Play of the day:Even though McCarthy's words of caution about not having pads on yet rang true, it was hard not to notice the successive runs in an 11-on-11 drill by rookie running backs Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin. First, Lacy exploded around the right corner, showing impressive burst for a big fella, and was off to the races down the sideline. A couple plays later, the Packers ran it again, only with Franklin, who accelerated up the sideline and was gone, too. It may be hard to gauge the running game in shorts, but it's not hard to see running back talent, which both players have.
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Practice schedule:The Packers hold their first practice in pads on Sunday at 8:20 a.m.at Ray Nitschke Field, weather permitting.
Jason Wilde wrote: