Packers Practice Round-Up. Day 7. August 3, 2018
Injuries, Usage, Formations/Personnel
- Bryan Bulaga Passes Physical, Cleared to Begin Practicing in Limited Capacity. CHTV
- Pettine’s staff is...vocal. Nagler
- Jake Kumerow has had another really nice day. He’s caught three or four passes from Aaron Rodgers during team periods so far. Cohen
- Randall Cobb is inside.
- Randall Cobb is out here again but isn’t taking reps. Silverstein
- Guard Lucas Patrick going into the Hutson Center with a trainer. Silverstein
- Patrick returns and running with the No. 1 offense at left guard. No Cobb for this period. Packer Report
- Packers RB Devante Mays exits practice with leg injury Packers Wire
- Kyle Murphy getting a few snaps with 1s today at RT. Bulaga has not taken any team snaps. Silverstein
- Bryan Bulaga is in pads today and participating in individual drills, but still no team reps. Wood
- DT Mike Daniels (thigh), who was in pads yesterday but did very little, is out today. RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) is still out. Silverstein
- Blake Martinez isn’t at practice today. Based on his Instagram, it appears his child is arriving today. Cohen
- Marcedes Lewis might be the best blocker the Packers have had at tight end in several decades. The man just moves people. Nagler
Actual Plays: WRs/Pass Defense/QBs/RBs
- Free agen Kumerow might have been the second or third best WR behind Davante Adams on the roster through the first week of practice. Dusted Jaire Alexander deep on double move in one-on-one's Fri aft. In sync with 12, getting more reps with 1's. McGinn
- QB Brett Hundley with a rough red-zone drill. Holds onto ball too long (would’ve been a sack) before throwing it away, then tosses a pick to Josh Jackson on next snap [on a slant]. Did end drill with good ball to DeAngelo Yancey, but he dropped it. Wood
- Josh Jackson picks off Brett Hundley by jumping a slant route. Silverstein
- Kumerow and Rodgers dominating final period. Rodgers’ TD to Adams vs Whitehead had no window. Like he walked up to him/dropped into hand. Packer Report
- Mays beats everyone to the corner for TD but goes down reaching for hamstring. Packer Report
- Poor Jermaine Whitehead. Great coverage against Davante Adams, but Aaron Rodgers threads it through him somehow. Adams caught it with his fingertips. That’s unfair. Wood [Same play as above.]
- Jimmy Graham catches an Aaron Rodgers TD over Jermaine Whitehead in red-zone drills…. Wood
- Rodgers on fire in red zone in pressure and coverage drill. Threw four TDS to St. Brown, Kendricks, Graham and Allison. Only really had to scramble on one. Silverstein
- Jimmy Graham and Geronimo Allison just caught touchdowns against Josh Jones on back-to-back plays in the red zone. Not a great stretch for the former second-round pick. Cohen
- DeShone Kizer having a rough day. Has been off on some throws and just got picked off by LB Naashon Hughes after ball went off MVS’ fingertips. Silverstein
- Rodgers led Equanimeous St. Brown perfectly down the right sideline over Tramon Williams. Silverstein
- Josh Jones just got flagged for PI on Jimmy Graham down the middle of the field. Cohen
- Really nice PBU from Rollins on a throw over the middle from Kizer. He’s been active and around the ball this week. Nagler
- Aaron Rodgers throws a perfect deep pass to Kumerow who gets open on a stop and go route for a TD. Hodkiewicz
- Nice grab from Marquez Valdes-Scantling, going high to catch well-thrown ball from DeShone Kizer over safety Martin Evans in back of end zone. Valdes-Scantling will drop some easy ones, but then he makes plays like that to show his potential. Wood
- WR Jake Kumerow still rotating in there with the 1s. Just caught a screen from Aaron Rodgers. Wood
- Tramon Williams looks good blitzing from the slot, but Williams does a great job stopping him in his tracks. Nagler
Special Teams/OL/DL:
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Comments (29)
DraftHobbyist
August 03, 2018 at 10:58 pm
I'm really not Brett Hundley hater, but man this looks bad for him.
As for RB Mays, one thing about him is he is the only power-rusher we have. It sucks to see him go down. He doesn't seem like the most intelligent player (sorry for being a jerk), now he has the injury, and he hasn't really produced yet. We don't have another guy like him, but at this point I don't see him being good enough. We'll see.
Oppy
August 04, 2018 at 01:53 am
Mays garnered a lot of positive comments from various coaches and players- Aaron Rodgers included- by the close of training camp last season. That alone gives me hope he's plenty good enough and just needs the chance to wash away the back-to-back fumbles (on his only attempts) that sealed his season last year. Hope he just cramped up and gets back on the field soon.
As far as power rusher- While we don't have another back built like Mays, Jamaal Williams showed last season that he's a bull. Almost never took negative yards and at times dragged multiple defenders on his back for many yards to finish his runs.
DraftHobbyist
August 04, 2018 at 08:50 am
Yeah, I was a big fan of Mays last year. I mentioned his intelligence, which is probably why I got some downvotes, but intelligence is less important for RB than probably any other offensive position. He actually tested really well in some tests, such as a 40 1/2" vertical at 230 lbs. This injury is definitely going to bring him down a notch, so we'll see what happens. About Jamaal Williams, btw, I'd say he's a strong runner but he's really not the same kind of bull that Mays is.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2018 at 10:09 am
Jamaal Williams really was known for having little experience as a receiving RB. He looked good doing it in 2017, and showed soft hands in workouts last year, and he has massive 10" hands, so maybe it was lack of opportunities. He does have two drops in TC so far. He had a noteworthy pass pro rep against Twill one on one yesterday.
Obviously, Mays is the bigger player at 230 (though he is only 5'10.3"). Mays is the better athlete with his vertical (40.5") and broad (a fine 129" at 230 pounds), but the 3 cone (7.43 for Mays to 7.12 for Williams) favors Williams. Mays ran a 4.52, and Williams a 4.53, so straight line speed is roughly the same. Still, Mays is known for his nimble feet. Mays caught just 2 passes in college, and his pass pro is not so good, whereas Williams' is better. Neither got good reviews for vision.
While I like to have a big body available in the backfield, Williams can do what we need, and Mays simply is unproven. Hope he can recover and show what he can do. I do note that there are only 15 open practices, and we've had 7 of them, and the 8th open practice is the family night practice tonight. If he recovers quickly, it may be that he is showing the coaches mostly, as we might not see him much in open practices.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
August 03, 2018 at 11:15 pm
Want to give him a chance but he hasn't done himself any favors has he?
CJBauckham
August 03, 2018 at 11:28 pm
Has anyone else noticed Ryan Woods (beat writer) either has not learned the roster yet or does not spell check his tweets? It's been cracking me up on the jsonline live updates tracker
Andrew Lloyd Peth
August 04, 2018 at 03:52 am
I was laughed at for wanting Kumerow over Allison, but I'm hearing less laughter these days.
It's time for some people to face it: Kumerow is a real threat to make this team.
TKWorldWide
August 04, 2018 at 07:20 am
A “threat”? So if he makes the team, that’s bad?
Andrew Lloyd Peth
August 04, 2018 at 08:10 am
Ha! Not at all, sir. But he's a "threat" to take someone's job.
I'd like to see us keep Adams, Cobb, Kumerow, Davis (returns), and all 3 rookies, sacrificing lower potential players at TE (2 plus 1 on PS is enough) and ILB (will someone please tell McCarthy that Josh Jones is not a deep cover man?). At the very least, we can keep 7 through the first 2 games while A. Jones serves his suspension.
But I'd love to see Kumerow make the team--maybe even start outside.
WKUPackFan
August 04, 2018 at 08:11 am
Poor Peth, such a persecuted victim.
You were laughed at for saying that Oren Burks would be nothing more than a distraction. You were laughed at for saying that Winston Moss would be a huge distraction when training camp started (how's that take working out for you?).
You invite being laughed at, it would be impolite not to accept the laughter.
Andrew Lloyd Peth
August 04, 2018 at 09:05 am
Really, WKU? You really want to crank up the unprovoked attacks again? Haven't we all had enough?
Does anyone notice how I never do this on your posts?
As for Burks, I said I thought he was a good pick who could really pay off. When someone else had brought up the activism thing, I just expressed concern he could potentially become a distraction--which he could.
As for Moss, he has stopped being a distraction. I was wrong on that prediction, and I say so happily. I've always liked Moss.
Now we're talking about Kumerow, whom I said sometime in June could really surprise people and make the team. This isn't a big, hostile topic, WKU--so what say we keep it that way?
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2018 at 10:10 am
I still like Kumerow-Uno. Makes me want to keep him just for the nickname.
Doug_In_Sandpoint
August 04, 2018 at 10:31 am
Kumerow, Kumerow, I love you Kumerow.
Andrew Lloyd Peth
August 04, 2018 at 02:32 pm
Kumero Uno is the ultimate nickname. He's in.
billybobton
August 04, 2018 at 07:05 pm
I am inclined to think Geemo is the threat
JonathanSpader
August 04, 2018 at 07:15 am
Allison has had a few mentions in camp as well. He made a difficult catch in the corner of the end zone on an amazing no look throw from Rodgers in the 6th practice. Can't wait to see the WR battle start on Thursday.
Andrew Lloyd Peth
August 04, 2018 at 07:57 am
True, he's made some plays, and can be serviceable. I just don't see the upside there.
JonathanSpader
August 04, 2018 at 12:34 pm
I think his ceiling is lower than all 3 rookies and the floor is higher. I see Allison making the 53 this year due to the learning curve of the Packer's offense. I think they'll try to stash 3 WRs onto the PS like last year and 1 or 2 will get through. Last year Yancey made it through and Max and Dupre were taken by other teams. Hard to say how Gute builds his roster vs. TT.
Pauly
August 04, 2018 at 08:25 am
Thanks for the summary article. Some interesting comments I had missed.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2018 at 08:46 am
Here I wrote just yesterday that I didn't have Rollins making the 53 due to a rough TC (per Cohen, mostly over Day 2 and 3) and now Nagler writes that he has been active and around the ball this week.
That's what practice is for: to get better and for evaluation.
Andrew Lloyd Peth
August 04, 2018 at 09:03 am
Excellent post.
Also, I know I'm pushing my agenda here, but do you think if Rollins keeps producing at slot/safety, we could move Jones to ILB? Jones just doesn't seem natural playing coverage in the secondary.
Coldworld
August 04, 2018 at 09:52 am
Jones needs time. Safeties typically take two or three years to really emerge. Remember the early frustration with Collins. Give the kid time, he didn’t have a lot of experience in the deep position coming in and didn’t get much last year either. That is what training camp is for.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2018 at 10:23 am
I sort of agree. Burnett's rookie season was cut short after 4 games. He actually was pretty decent in his 2nd year. Collins actually was solid in his rookie and 2nd seasons but blossomed into something special in his 4th year. Josh Jones is going to get 3 TCs to show what he can do.
Jones was my draft crush. The only thing I wrote last preseason was that he should learn just one position as mental errors was his big bugaboo in his scouting report. We didn't do that, and now it is the time to put him at one position and let him learn. Hope we do that.
TarynsEyes
August 04, 2018 at 01:05 pm
This is why the Twitter version of TC is a biased one and why watching what players do in game is what matters.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2018 at 04:31 pm
Perhaps. Or maybe Rollins did poorly in practice on day 2 and 3, and got better on days 5, 6, and 7. Nagler didn't contradict Cohen or vice versa.
DD
August 04, 2018 at 10:16 am
Hamstring city!! Pack need play action more. Reason for Rodgers decline and predictable passes boils down to one glaring thing: MM period!!
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2018 at 11:12 am
GB was 16th in percentage of passing plays using play action (22% of pass plays). We were not good at it. One thing is the AR/BH dichotomy. We used RPOs a lot with BH (among the league leaders along with the Jets). Short passes tend to get lower DVOA scores and RPOs by definition have to be short passes since the OL is run blocking. The pass has to come out before an offensive lineman gets downfield. Short passes have lower DVOA scores, so teams using a lot of RPOs get skewed DVOA results.
Play action is designed to hold the LBs and pass rushers so as to give the QB a bit more time so he can throw downfield farther. In 2016, GB used play action on only 15% of pass plays, but counterintuitively (to me) had a much better DVOA when they didn't use play action. GB used play action a ton in 2014 (8th most at 24%) and while our DVOA was better using PA, it was only by the NFL average, roughly. GB was better with play action in 2012 but only by an amount that is average for the NFL, and again, AR was better with no play action in 2011 than with play action. We ran play action a lot though in 2011. Really, GB never gets an outstanding jump in DVOA while using PA, but does get modest improvements some years, and in other years (2011, 2016) actually was worse when using PA.
AR's average depth of target has been decreasing over the years. His stats are: 9.4 yards (2009), 9.6 (2010), 9.3 (2011), 8.5 (2012), 8.2 (2013), 8.3 (2014), 8.3 (2015), 9.0 (2016), and 7.1 (2017).
I previously noted that Driver and Jennings as receivers had much higher aDOT numbers than Nelson. That doesn't mean they were better. Nelson was a complete receiver who could beat DBs deep but also work the sidelines and run comebacks. That versatility is going to decrease his aDOT number. Still, I wish we had a guy like Brandin Cooks to provide a real solid deep threat. My own line of thinking is with such a receiver, Adams would look phenomenal as a complete receiver who can beat DBs deep but also run the slant and use his leaping ability and sideline ability on intermediate routes. I hope one of the young guys proves to be a real deep threat, enough to make a safety shade over towards the side opposite Adams. That is a big ask.
Thegreatreynoldo
August 04, 2018 at 11:24 am
BTW, per Next Gen Stats (Mark Harmon), Cobb had a devil of a time beating man coverage in 2015 and 2016, but got better at it in 2017, and was listed as one of the most improved receivers against man coverage. Since 2015, Cobb vertical targets have dropped like a rock. He rarely is targeted more than 15 yards downfield. His aDOT was 9.4 as a rookie in 2011, and was still 8.9 in 2014, but dropped to 7.7 (2015), 6.9 (2016) and 6.7 (2017).
Davante Adams was also one of the most improved receivers against man coverage in 2017. Adams had a fine 12.2 aDOT in 2016, though it decreased in 2017, I attribute that to BH. Jordy had a huge drop off against both man and zone coverage in 2017. I don't know if that was BH, an aberration, or a decline in physical ability. We will see how he does in Oakland.
billybobton
August 04, 2018 at 07:07 pm
It is tough to get downfield when you either have concrete in your cleats or are just slow. In Green Bay speed kills....opportunitiy