Monday Notebook: Coaching Staff Vocal At Practice

Head coach Mike McCarthy and special teams coach Shawn Slocum made their voices heard at training camp practice on Monday afternoon.

GREEN BAY – Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and special teams coach Shawn Slocum gave the team a not so subtle reminder that certain performances were subpar on Monday afternoon at training camp practice to the extent that they uttered a couple select four-letter words in the process.

"I don’t design that," said McCarthy. "Practice, there is an accomplishment, a level of practice that you try to have every day. When we don’t reach that, it’s my responsibility to get it out of them.

"This is a tough practice. Year in and year out this is always a padded practice 48 hours after a game. This is a tough practice on our football team, so it was important to get the quality work out of our team today. I think we accomplished that. We’ll look at the film, but we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be when we started practice today."

The Packers are coming off a loss to the Cleveland Browns this past Saturday that, while only an exhibition game, left much to be desired in several phases of the game including defense, the run game and on special teams. It was also a performance that included four fumbles.

In the very first 11-on-11 session of today's practice, McCarthy unleashed a loud "get your head out of your ass" to his offense that had just incurred for appeared to be a false start that could easily be heard by many of the hundreds of fans in attendance.

Rookie running back Quinn Porter later drew the ire of both McCarthy and Slocum during a special teams segment of practice.

Porter began the drill on the scout team as the kick returner, as he usually does, when the the focus of the session was with the No. 1 kickoff. Slocum later called for the second-string kickoff team (of which Porter presumably was part of), although Porter continued to return kicks. McCarthy proceeded to let Porter know his mistake in rather coarse language.

The rookie went on to drop a subsequent kickoff, which also attracted the attention of Slocum, and was replaced on returns.

"He has a lot of ability," McCarthy said of Porter after practice. "He is raw. He has a lot on his plate and he needs to understand the importance of special teams. The best opportunity and vehicle to get on our team is through special teams. He has a lot of new things that he is being asked to do, but there is a lot of ability there. He has had some exciting runs, but he is a very raw football player at this point."

Special attention: Every phase of special teams was rehearsed on Monday following a performance on Saturday against the Browns that did little to make anyone think the Packers had improved in one of their biggest weaknesses in 2009 and the last couple years.

McCarthy has said that they're devoting roughly an extra five minutes of special teams to every training camp practice this year. The length of time given to special teams on Monday didn't appear to be any different, although the breadth certainly was.

While attention is typically given to two or three phases of special teams each day, the Packers practiced all six this afternoon: kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return, field goal/extra point and field goal/extra point defense.

The kickoff unit fared particularly poor on Saturday when the Packers gave up an average of 26.5 yards per return (not including the one touchback) including a long of 34 to Browns rookie Joe Haden.

As McCarthy pointed out today, however, there may have a contributing factor to the inferior showing.

"Kickoff coverage was disjointed," said McCarthy. "A lot of that was we played 30-plus players on kickoff coverage. We have never done that here. We’re trying to look at as many different individuals as possible. We exhausted our whole depth chart in the kickoff phase, and I think it showed up in the production in the kickoff coverage and the kickoff return. That is not where we need to be.

"I’m confident with our kickoff coverage based on the people that we have had here in the past and the way we have played in the past. Our timing and spacing in the kickoff return needs to improve. We’ll probably emphasize that more this week as we get ready."

Punt coverage didn't fare much better against Cleveland. In the two punts that weren't either down or brought back to the 20-yard line via touchback, the Browns averaged 16.5 yards per return.

Mason Crosby, who has had an uneven training camp thus far, got several chances on Monday. He made 6-of-7 field goal attempts and his one miss appeared to be partially blocked when attention was focused upon the defensive side of the football and "field goal block." Tim Masthay worked as the place kick holder with the No. 1 field goal unit.

Injury report: Previously unknown injuries to running back Kregg Lumpkin and offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith were revealed on Monday when they were held out of practice.

Both apparently suffered injuries during Saturday's game. Lumpkin is dealing with a hamstring issue and Dietrich-Smith a neck sprain, although the severity of each injury is as of yet undetermined.

Running back Ryan Grant was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a hit to the head against the Browns. He is currently undergoing testing mandated by the league as he attempts to come back. McCarthy said he is hopeful Grant can return for Tuesday's evening practice.

Tight end Tom Crabtree is undergoing tests and may be fitted with a cast. It's not unheard of for players to practice and play with casts however.

Continuing to be held out of practice are linebackers Clay Matthews, Cyril Obiozor and Alex Joseph, offensive lineman Jason Spitz, and safety Will Blackmon. Nick Barnett was in sweat pants and participated in jog through but nothing else.

Remaining on the Physically Unable to Perform list were cornerback Al Harris, safety Atari Bigby and running back James Starks.

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Comments (10)

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bogmon's picture

August 16, 2010 at 09:39 pm

I thought Coach Mike was tryin' to save guys for the season.
At this rate the team is gonna be worn out by week 1...
The whole team looked slow and sluggish coming out of the gate on Saturday and I can't help but think that heavy practices in the heat and humidity had something to do with it.
Yes, these guys are professionals and should be able to handle some punishment, but they are not immune to dehydration and fatigue.

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dilligaff's picture

August 17, 2010 at 01:25 am

Good news is that MM did not utter the words, "We will CLEAN that up in practice".

That phrase started to drive me nuts last year.

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supersoul's picture

August 17, 2010 at 01:44 am

The Packers run one of the lightest training camps in the league. Practices are spaced very far apart with an emphasis on film study.

I don't think they're dragging a** because they're tired. I think most of them are young, cocky, and need to be punched in the mouth sometimes to play up to a professional level.

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FITZCORE1252's picture

August 17, 2010 at 05:29 am

Agreed.

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fish's picture

August 17, 2010 at 09:14 am

That gives a whole different meaning to the term "Smash Mouth Football". It starts in training camp.

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pat fermanich's picture

August 17, 2010 at 06:39 am

I watched the giants and jets last night pretty good game.

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FITZCORE1252's picture

August 17, 2010 at 06:47 am

Congrats. I ate a sandwich yesterday.

GBP 4 LIFE

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Michael (Pat/s Twin)'s picture

August 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm

If I were speical teams coach they would be doing 200 grass drill and not in place. Sure 100 yard sprints and hitting the ground as the wistle blew. Special Teams and Defense showed little as far as professional football skills. Maybe sand lot football on a rainy day?????

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pat fermanich's picture

August 17, 2010 at 12:50 pm

coach mm show tonight. words of wisdom.

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Michael (Pat/s Twin)'s picture

August 18, 2010 at 04:05 pm

Special Teams definition should be what it says and I suggest a little pro-active and creative style once in a while. Yes Coach Mike why can't you use a "single wing offense", yes like formations used by our high school neighbors to the north(Menominee, Michigan). Sure give a different look. I have seen some border line formations by other pro teams. Just was wondering if it might create a little excitement vrs. pro set. Sorry for putting this post in this place.

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