Mucky Tundra
a year ago
One takeaway from each Packers position group after the first week of camp 


Quarterback: Jordan Love shines on Saturday
Jordan Love had what was easily his best performance of training camp up to this point on Saturday, and it was probably the best individual performance he’s had in any practice up to this point in his career. In total, Love was 16-for-22 on the day and 4-for-7 during an end-of-half two-minute drill that resulted in a field goal.
But going beyond the numbers, Matt LaFleur has mentioned that right now, he is more concerned about Love getting the process right, which from my vantage point, appeared to be very sound. Love was quick to get everyone out of the huddle and lined up correctly. He was balanced in the pocket, decisive in his decision-making, knew when to buy time with his legs, and was accurate. The play of the day came during that two-minute period, where Samori Toure ran an out-and-up route where Love dropped the ball in perfectly–out of reach from the safety but also didn’t force Toure to drift towards the sideline. It was a very buttoned-up performance.

Running back: Tyler Goodson's versatility is a differentiator in RB3 battle
You name it, and there is a good chance that Tyler Goodson has been asked to do it. During Saturday’s practice alone, Goodson got carries out of the backfield and caught passes as well. He has lined up out of the backfield, in the slot, and out wide, along with being used as the motion man. As I wrote about here, I expect motion to be much more prominent in the Packers’ offense this season, and Goodson, with his skill set, could fill a Tyler Ervin-like role. The more a player that’s fighting for a roster spot can do, the better, and Goodson is doing a lot right now. If I were building out the depth chart based on what I’ve seen, Goodson would be the third running back and Lew Nichols the fourth.

Tight end: All four players are going to have roles within this offense
Luke Musgrave has basically worked with the starters since day one and brings playmaking as a pass-catcher to the position with his speed and ability to line up in the slot or out wide and stretch the field. Josiah Deguara is the versatile H-back. Tyler Davis has held up really well as a blocker so far, and if he continues to do that throughout the summer, he will carve out a role. Tucker Kraft, meanwhile, has spent most of his time lined up in-line but was very good with the ball in his hands at South Dakota State. Musgrave and Deguara will most likely see the majority of the snaps at the position, but all four are going to be regular members of the offense this season.
“We try to use guys all over the place,” said tight ends coach John Dunn. “Multiple tight end packages, and these guys are all in different roles. And the great part about tight end, is that it doesn’t have to be just one guy out there. These guys are all used in different roles. When we go out there in a game, they’re all out there and playing different roles.”
As was the case a season ago, the Packers are going to use a lot of two tight-end sets. To begin team drills each day, they have started in 12 personnel. The versatile players that they have at this position will allow them to run a variety of plays from one personnel package, helping to create mismatches.

Wide receiver: Finding success over the middle
I got into greater detail here on the impact of attacking the middle of the field, but one big difference we can expect to see with Love at quarterback is him throwing to his receivers in this part of the field. Even going back to offseason programs, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed have all seen ample targets over the middle, and overall, it’s where the offense has found a lot of success. In short, throwing to the middle of the field allows the pass catchers to catch the ball in space, creating big yards after the catch opportunities and, hopefully, some explosive plays. This is an important element of the LaFleur offense and something San Francisco has done successfully for several seasons now under Kyle Shanahan.

Offensive line: Zach Tom is the front-runner for the right tackle job
For a majority of the team drills, Zach Tom has been lined up at right tackle with the starters over Yosh Nijman. This is a change from what we saw during offseason programs, where the two were regularly alternating days in which one was the starter. Tom and Nijman both saw snaps at right tackle in 2022, which was new for each of them, but Tom held up better, and that has been the theme so far this offseason. When the pads come on starting Monday, we will get a better idea of where each player stands.

Interior defensive line: Looks like a much faster unit compared to what we've seen in past years
With Devonte Wyatt seeing a lot more playing time, along with the addition of Colby Wooden, both of whom put up elite speed and athletic testing numbers coming out of college, the speed and explosiveness of the interior defensive line as been evident through the first few practices. Whether it be flowing sideline-to-sideline with the ball carrier or how quickly these players have made their way into the backfield on a few occasions, this position group is faster.
Of course, this added element isn’t by accident but rather appears to be a personnel shift by Brian Gutekunst. Instead of having space eaters in the middle meant to clog up running lanes like Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster, the additions of Wyatt and Wooden add versatile gap penetrators to the defensive front, which is an important style of play to have in the Joe Barry defense.

Edge rusher: I can't wait to see Lukas Van Ness in pads
The pads come on for Monday’s practice, and there may not be a player on the Packers roster who will benefit from that more than Lukas Van Ness. He is a power rusher with an incredible burst when the ball is snapped. There was one play during OTAs where he had Yosh Nijman on his heels as he drove him into the backfield. Then on Saturday, he drove Josiah Deguara into the backfield, and the play had to be whistled dead because he blew it up so quickly. Where exactly Van Ness fits into the pass rush rotation remains to be seen. He did see quite a few snaps with the starters on Saturday. But what we can likely assume is that he is going to be on the field, perhaps even rushing from the interior, on obvious passing downs, where he can get after the quarterback.
One more thing I’ll add is that Van Ness has also looked good as a run defender as well. There are a few plays that stand out where he set a strong edge, forcing the ball carrier back inside. This is an area where the Packers’ edge rusher unit as a whole has to improve.

Linebacker: Reliability at the position
The play of Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell to begin training camp has been really sound. During the first two full-speed practices, Campbell and Walker were key to the front seven’s performance against the run, flowing to the ball carriers and often meeting them at the line of scrimmage. In the passing game, both always seemed to be around the ball when it comes in their direction.

Cornerback: Jaire Alexander is playing at a high level
I know that this doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, but Jaire Alexander’s start to training camp has been so impressive. The ball is either not going his direction, or when it does, he is all over the receiver, forcing multiple pass breakups.
“It’s great,” said Christian Watson about going up against Alexander and Rasul Douglas. “It’s competitive. There’s always going to be some smack talk out there. It gets us going to know we are going out with, in my opinion, two of the best corners in the league. It’s another opportunity to get better each and every play we are going up against them.”
Other notes at this position group include Corey Ballentine and Carrington Valentine being the go-to boundary options with the second-team defense, along with Innis Gaines seeing a lot of reps from the slot with the twos.

Safety: Is the depth chart starting to take shape?
Matt LaFleur said prior to Saturday’s practice that we will continue to see a lot of rotation at the safety position with both playing time and roster spots up for grabs. However, the depth chart does seem to be taking shape a little bit as well. Darnell Savage and Rudy Ford have been the starters since Day 1 of offseason programs. With Tarvarius Moore now healthy, he, along with Jonathan Owens, have been with the second-team defense for the last two days. Then there is Dallin Leavitt, who will be a core special teams player. A lot can change once the pads come on and preseason games take place, but this could be what the Packers safety room looks like come Week 1.

Special teams: Ups and downs for Anders Carlson
Between going 11-for-12 during minicamp and then 5-for-6 to begin training camp, it was a solid start kicking for rookie Anders Carlson. However, on Saturday, we saw the inconsistency that can come with relying on a young player at this position. From 40-to-45 yards, Carlson was 0-for-3. From 50-to-55 yards, he was just 1-for-3. What’s evident is that Carlson has a big leg, but as LaFleur said a few weeks ago, he needs to find consistency. GM Brian Gutekunst wouldn’t close the door on Tuesday when asked about adding a kicker to the roster to compete with Carlson, but it very much sounds like he is first going to have the opportunity to show what he can do, with the team knowing there will be days like this.



-Looks like Love is building some day to day momentum. 
-Swevin' Tyler Goodson? Doesn't roll off the tongue well but I'm here for all sorts of jet sweeps to him and Reed this year. Who knows, maybe Goodson can be a returner too.
-It looks like the TE group has a clearly defined niche for each guy with Kraft being a sort of all over guy. 
-Getting the ball to guys like Watson, Reed, Doubs etc over the middle is something the offense has sorely lacked the past few seasons. Lotta attention so far for Watson and Reed, Doubs almost flying under the radar even though he's not had any bad days.
-Looks like ZT is in the drivers seat for RT. Lot of praise for ZT from Bakh and MLF:



-A quicker, penetrating Dline is something beast has pointed out several times this offseason. Whether it's a good thing or not remains to be seen with Barry at the helm
-LVN showing pass rush potential AND setting the edge on run defense?! GIMME!
-I will be VERY happy if Quay has a breakout year and Campbell has a great rebound year.
-CB might be one of the most set positions with Alexander, Stokes, Douglas and Nixon. That leaves the #5 spot for Bellentine, Valentine and Jean-Charles. Though I wonder if they'll keep 6 CBs (went with 5 last year) with Nixon expected to do KR duties and potentially taking snaps on offense? 
-Safety, ugh. What a log jam of JAGs. I'm not sure anything about this group appeals to me other than Johnson's potential and Innes' willingness to put his pads on a guy.
-Well, Carlson is a rookie so downs are to be expected. Even if they bring in competition, I think it would just be another young guy. 
 
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Mucky Tundra (6-Jul) : And James Flanigan is the grandson of Packers Super Bowl winner Jim Flanigan Sr.
Mucky Tundra (6-Jul) : Jerome Bettis and Jim Flanigans sons as well!
Zero2Cool (6-Jul) : Thomas Davis Jr is OLB, not WR. Oops.
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Mucky Tundra (5-Jul) : Kaydon Finley, son of Jermichael Finley, commits to Notre Dame
dfosterf (3-Jul) : Make sure to send my props to him! A plus move!
Zero2Cool (3-Jul) : My cousin, yes.
dfosterf (3-Jul) : That was your brother the GB press gazette referenced with the red cross draft props thing, yes?
Zero2Cool (2-Jul) : Packers gonna unveil new throwback helmet in few weeks.
Mucky Tundra (2-Jul) : I know it's Kleiman but this stuff writes itself
Mucky Tundra (2-Jul) : "Make sure she signs the NDA before asking for a Happy Ending!"
Mucky Tundra (2-Jul) : @NFL_DovKleiman Powerful: Deshaun Watson is taking Shedeur Sanders 'under his wing' as a mentor to the Browns QBs
Zero2Cool (30-Jun) : Dolphins get (back) Minkah Fitzpatrick in trade
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dfosterf (26-Jun) : I think it would be great to have someone like Tom Grossi or Andy Herman on the Board of Directors so he/they could inform us
dfosterf (26-Jun) : Fair enough, WPR. Thing is, I have been a long time advocate to at least have some inkling of the dynamics within the board.
wpr (26-Jun) : 1st world owners/stockholders problems dfosterf.
Martha Careful (25-Jun) : I would have otherwise admirably served
dfosterf (25-Jun) : Also, no more provision for a write-in candidate, so Martha is off the table at least for this year
dfosterf (25-Jun) : You do have to interpret the boring fine print, but all stockholders all see he is on the ballot
dfosterf (25-Jun) : It also says he is subject to another ballot in 2028. I recall nothing of this nature with Murphy
dfosterf (25-Jun) : Ed Policy is on my ballot subject to me penciling him in as a no.
dfosterf (25-Jun) : I thought it used to be we voted for the whatever they called the 45, and then they voted for the seven, and then they voted for Mark Murphy
dfosterf (25-Jun) : Because I was too lazy to change my address, I haven't voted fot years until this year
dfosterf (25-Jun) : of the folks that run this team. I do not recall Mark Murphy being subject to our vote.
dfosterf (25-Jun) : Ed Policy yay or nay is on the pre-approved ballot that we always approve because we are uninformed and lazy, along with all the rest
dfosterf (25-Jun) : Weird question. Very esoteric. For stockholders. Also lengthy. Sorry. Offseason.
Zero2Cool (25-Jun) : Maybe wicked wind chill made it worse?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jun) : And then he signs with Cleveland in the offseason
Mucky Tundra (25-Jun) : @SharpFootball WR Diontae Johnson just admitted he refused to enter a game in 41° weather last year in Baltimore because he felt “ice cold”
Zero2Cool (24-Jun) : Yawn. Rodgers says he is "pretty sure" this be final season.
Zero2Cool (23-Jun) : PFT claims Packers are having extension talks with Zach Tom, Quay Walker.
Mucky Tundra (20-Jun) : GB-Minnesota 2004 Wild Card game popped up on my YouTube page....UGH
beast (20-Jun) : Hmm 🤔 re-signing Walker before Tom? Sounds highly questionable to me.
Mucky Tundra (19-Jun) : One person on Twitter=cannon law
Zero2Cool (19-Jun) : Well, to ONE person on Tweeter
Zero2Cool (19-Jun) : According to Tweeter
Zero2Cool (19-Jun) : Packers are working on extension for LT Walker they hope to have done before camp
dfosterf (18-Jun) : E4B landed at Andrews last night
dfosterf (18-Jun) : 101 in a 60
dfosterf (18-Jun) : FAFO
Zero2Cool (18-Jun) : one year $4m with incentives to make it up to $6m
dfosterf (18-Jun) : Or Lions
dfosterf (18-Jun) : Beats the hell out of a Vikings signing
Zero2Cool (18-Jun) : Baltimore Ravens now have signed former Packers CB Jaire Alexander.
dfosterf (14-Jun) : TWO magnificent strikes for touchdowns. Lose the pennstate semigeezer non nfl backup
dfosterf (14-Jun) : There was minicamp Thursday. My man Taylor Engersma threw
dfosterf (11-Jun) : There will be a mini camp practice Thursday.
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