GREEN BAY -- Tuesday marks the final morning practice of the 2017 training camp, and after a day off from practice Wednesday, the Packers will shift to a nighttime schedule with three straight evening practices, concluding with Family Night on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
While Head Coach Mike McCarthy prefers the morning workouts, to get the "heavy lifting" done early in the day, changing the schedule is intentional with how much prime-time action lies ahead in the preseason and regular season.
"We need to work under the lights. We need to have a feel for that time clock, how that day feels," McCarthy said prior to Tuesday morning's practice.
Night games require players to spend a lot of time at the team hotel during the day and get mentally and physically prepared to play much later than normal. The upcoming camp schedule will simulate that.
"When we have night practices, those are very long days," McCarthy said. "Those are the hardest schedules to be on. It's fun to practice under the lights in front of the fans, it's a tremendous atmosphere we have here. But that's a long day. Our football team needs to experience that and feel that. Our team is going to experience that with Sunday and Monday night games."
After the day off on Sunday, McCarthy felt Monday's practice was a step in the right direction for the Packers. He felt the quality of practice went up, most likely due to the players getting used to the meeting and film routine, and having the pads on.
"I'm happy with the step we took yesterday in practice," McCarthy said. "We need to take it today."
McCarthy also announced that third-round draft pick Montravius Adams had successful surgery on his foot. He'll be out "multiple weeks," but McCarthy said he's "going to be fine."
Packers.com will have more following practice and locker room interviews.
