GREEN BAY – The Packers wrapped up the public portion of training camp with a joint practice against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday at Nitschke Field.
Here are five takeaways from the workout:
- The Packers walked off the field feeling much better than last week in Denver about how they competed.
Whether it was the altitude, the travel, working at another team's practice facility or what, the Packers had a sluggish joint practice last Friday vs. the Broncos and after a decent start simply faded as the day went on.
That wasn't the case Thursday.
The Packers appeared to have the upper hand on both sides of the ball through most of the practice. It wasn't one-sided by any stretch, as Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith picked off QB Jordan Love once (and nearly a second time), and Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson made his share of plays in the red zone. But overall, the work looked and felt far different than a week ago.
"Definitely," Love said. "For where we're going and to start the season, it was an emphasis we made to be able to bounce back this practice. More than anything it's just locking in and focusing in on the details.
"It was a little sloppy in Denver, a lot of the small details that in the grand scheme of a play dictate whether it's a good play or not. So just being locked in to all those little details … then you can just go out there and get the ball to the playmakers."
How the practice finished was another sign of change from last week. Each team got three cracks at the two-minute drill with each of their three quarterbacks, starting the drive down by three points.
Love, Michael Pratt and Sean Clifford all directed Green Bay's offense to tying field goals, while the Packers' defense got three stops. The first was a missed field goal by Justin Tucker of 60-plus yards, and then rookie safety Evan Williams got his fifth interception of training camp to stop the second drive.
Williams said he was a "free player" in zone coverage and just used his instincts to read the route coming to his side. Making that play provided a big-time finish to a solid day.
"I feel like we definitely just played more physical from the start and maintained that," Williams said. "That was definitely one of our challenges, points of emphasis. Anybody can start fast, but you have to be really committed to be able to maintain that all the way through practice."
- One aspect of the Packers' No. 1 offense that stood out most was pass protection.
Love was rarely under duress going up against one of the league's top defenses, and his comfort level in the pocket showed as practice progressed.
"It was fantastic today," Love said of the protection. "The Ravens do a lot of different stuff, a lot of different pressures they throw at you, and I think those guys handled it really well up front. We had a couple of protection adjustments. They did a really good job of just being able to pass those off and figuring out who they need to pick up. I felt good back there all day. Shout-out to the O-line."
The starting group featured Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Sean Rhyan at right guard and Zach Tom at right tackle. First-round draft pick Jordan Morgan, who had been rotating at right guard with Rhyan through the early portion of camp, and had moved ahead of him before injuring his shoulder, has not yet returned to 11-on-11 work.
"The biggest thing is all those guys have had a lot of reps," Love said. "Sean Rhyan got a ton of reps last year. The one guy (who hasn't) would be Jordan Morgan, who obviously is a rookie.
"We'll see what happens when he gets back healthy, but I feel comfortable with that whole group."
- Tight end Tucker Kraft is showing no ill effects from his long layoff.
Kraft, the second-year pro drafted in the third round last year, missed all the spring work due to a torn pectoral muscle, and he remained out during the early portion of training camp, working his way back into 11-on-11 snaps.
Against Baltimore's first-team defense, Kraft caught five passes from Love, a couple downfield on middle crossers that opened up nicely off play-action.
"Tucker looks great," Love said. "Since he's been back out there, we've felt his presence, for sure. He's hit the ground running. I think he has some fresh legs right now after missing a little bit but he looks great out there. It's very apparent on the field and it's great to have him back."
One of Kraft's receptions came on a tight end screen in the red zone that broke free for a touchdown. That began an efficient and productive stretch for Love near the goal line that also saw him connect with Romeo Doubs on a goal-line hook, Christian Watson on a leaping fade over All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, and Doubs again on a quick shot to the front pylon.
Connecting with so many different targets in close, particularly against a tough defense, makes the offense feel pretty good about where it's at training camp concludes.
"Not only are they very good defensively but they have the veterans that understand the game really well," Doubs said. "Today was a pretty productive day."
- The defense won the battle up front.
With Baltimore down a starter or two on its offensive line, the Packers took advantage by getting in the backfield for a number of would-be tackles for loss or sacks, and harassing Jackson a fair amount.
Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, T.J. Slaton and Devonte Wyatt all had their moments, which the defenders in the back end appreciated against a QB like Jackson.
"We know we got dogs up front and we finally get to unleash them," nickel corner Keisean Nixon said.
Added Williams: "I mean it just helps so much in the back end having a front seven like that. Just the confidence in those guys to go get 'em up front, because you have a clock in your head as a DB, right, and if it gets to like three seconds with our front seven, the ball's gotta be out at that point.
"Otherwise, Lamar's out there scrambling for his life."
That's no picnic either, with Nixon likening Jackson to a running back who can throw the ball. But it gave the Packers work on their "plaster drills" when a play breaks down and the coverage players are tested sticking with a target for as long as necessary.
- If the starters don't play in the preseason finale Saturday, their mindset is this: Next up, Philly, Week 1
Head Coach Matt LaFleur said this week he needed to see how the joint practice went before deciding on playing time, if any, for starters on Saturday.
Chances are he's plenty pleased with what he saw, and giving the starters the weekend off would be no surprise, which would turn their attention immediately to the regular-season opener in Brazil against the Eagles.
Love declared the team as a whole ready to go, and several teammates concurred.
"100 percent," Watson said. "Today we're exactly where we want to be, and I know two weeks from now we're going to be even further along. We're definitely ready to get after it.
"I feel really good. I feel we've taken strides throughout this camp, forming our connection and our identity as an offense. I think we're in a really good spot, and we're going to continue to climb throughout this season. We're excited for Week 1. We're excited to get this season rolling with camp coming to a close."
