Organized Team Activities (OTAs) are usually noteworthy more for whos not there than for anything that actually happens on the field, but that wasnt the case yesterday. Some big news came out of Wednesdays practice and it had absolutely nothing to do with no-shows Atari Bigby, Johnny Jolly and Tramon Williams. The team has decided to move Ryan Pickett to left defensive end a decision that will allow B.J. Raji to take his rightful place as the starting nose tackle for the Green Bay Packers. No disrespect to Pickett, who did a solid job in the middle last season, but Raji has a chance to be one of the NFLs premier nose tackles and it was almost sad to see him flailing away at end as a rookie. Heres some more news and notes from practice:
-In another position change, Will Blackmon will move from cornerback to safety. This makes sense for a couple of reasons. One is that the former Boston College star has undergone surgery on his foot and his knee, so hes probably lost some speed and quickness. The other far more important reason is that he couldnt cover anybody at corner.
-Journeyman Brady Poppinga lined up ahead of second-year man Brad Jones at left outside linebacker. The guess here is that the defensive coaches simply want to see if Poppinga is worth keeping around for another season. If the former BYU star is starting on Sept. 12 at Philly, general manager Ted Thompson will have a lot of explaining to do.
-Rookie Morgan Burnett started alongside Nick Collins at safety. The former Georgia Tech star has a chance to keep that job if he performs well. Dont think for a second that the coaches are satisfied with Atari Bigbys play or his decision to stay away from the OTAs.
-Patrick Lee was back on the field. The oft-injured cornerback saw most of his work in the nickel packages, but hell move ahead of Jarrett Bush, and perhaps even Brandon Underwood, by the time camp opens in late July. When healthy, Lees skill-set is far more impressive than that of any other young corner on the current roster including Williams.
-While both punters were OK, neither one jumps out at you. There are some punters who you just know are going to be quality pros the first time you see them kick, but thats not the case with either second-year man Tim Masthay or former Australian star Chris Bryan. For what its worth, ex-Packer Jon Ryan was more impressive upon first glance.
-Its amazing how much bigger the offensive line has gotten over the past two or three years. Instead of a bunch of bulked-up tight ends masquerading as tackles and guards, players like Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang and rookies Bryan Bulaga and Marshall Newhouse actually look like players who could physically whip the opponents lined up across from them.
-Green Bay can develop Breno Giacomini for another 10 years and he still wont be a quality tackle. He lacks functional football-playing strength, hes not quick enough to stay with speed rushers and hes not strong enough to stymie power rushers. Other than that, hes fine.