Nearly 200 fans lined the fences at Ray Nitschke Field, Wednesday, as the Packers took practice outdoors for the first time this year.
Head coach Mike Sherman was pleased with the overall performance of his team on their first day back, but also saw room for improvement as the Packers opened the second round of voluntary organized team activities.
"We were a little sloppy with some things," Sherman said. "We jumped offsides a couple of times and I didn't like that. I know it was the first practice, but like I told them, the more pressure we put on ourselves now to perform at a high level, the easier the season is going to be.
"We're trying to coach to perfection out here and they're trying to play at that level. I thought they tried hard, gave good effort and we'll just keep getting better with the course of the week."
While Sherman again asked quarterback Brett Favre to continue his personal workouts at his home in Mississippi during the OTAs, he said he will use this workout session to further evaluate the race for the backup quarterback position.
"You guys know that Brett's not a spectator and he can be kind of a pain just hanging around, not working," Sherman joked. "So I'm not disappointed that he's not on the sidelines throwing footballs at guys' heads and doing things like that.
"But it does give me a chance to really look at those other guys and make good decisions in regard to them and to give them the optimum amount of work. They've done a good job. Based on the opportunity sessions that we had previously when I made this decision the first time, I felt like the quarterbacks knew the offense well enough where they could carry the practice and balls weren't going to be lying on the ground every play. I thought they did a good job of that and hopefully that will continue."
Fourth-year veteran Craig Nall -- who ran the first-team offense Wednesday -- is just one of the quarterbacks hoping to cash in on the extended playing time he's receiving in Favre's absence.
"It's kind of an opportunity for all of us to duke it out and earn a spot on this team," Nall said. "We're all pretty good friends, and we're getting to know Aaron (Rodgers) a little bit. But we all have an equal shot at being on this team this year and this is a good chance for (the coaches) to get a good look at us and for us to get some confidence in what we're doing."
Nall also has been working to develop his skills as Ryan Longwell's potential kick holder and hopes that will put him over the top when it comes time for the coaches to make their decision on which players to keep.
"I held during games in college (at LSU), until I broke my thumb," said Nall, who suffered the injury as he was kicked while fielding a low snap during pregame warm-ups in 2000. "I was kind of snake bitten for a while but I'm getting back to where I used to be.
"I worked with Ryan today and he got me to slow down my tempo a little bit. I was a lot more accurate in putting the ball down in the right spot. I'm getting better and I'm going to continue to work at it. That might be my foot in the door this year and I want to be the guy to do it."
For Nall, consistency, both in his abilities as a holder and as a quarterback, will be important as the Packers OTAs continue and training camp approaches.
"The thing that they've harped on since I've been here is consistency," Nall said. "I'm getting a chance to build on that. The more reps you get the more consistent you're going to be.
As for playing the role of the number one quarterback, Nall said, "It's a lot of fun. I love it."
In addition to Favre, defensive tackle Grady Jackson was absent from Wednesday's workout due to "personal reasons," Sherman said.
The Packers will continue organized team activities Thursday (veterans and rookies) at 11 a.m. Weather and field conditions permitting, practice will be held outside at Ray Nitschke Field (open to the public), but otherwise will be held inside the Don Hutson Center (closed to the public).
For more player/coach insight on Wednesday's workout, check out the Packers.com Audio section.
**
Today At A Glance ...
Where: Ray Nitschke Field (outdoors)
Weather: sunny, 80 degrees
Did Not Practice: Craig Bragg (hamstring), Garrett Cross (ankle), Mike Hawkins (knee), Jason Horton (chest/lungs), Chris Johnson (shin), James Lee (knee)
Did Not Attend: Brett Favre, Bubba Franks, Grady Jackson, Cletidus Hunt, Javon Walker
**
Here's a look at the remaining June practice schedule:
Thursday, June 2
11 a.m.
Friday, June 3
11 a.m.
Saturday, June 4
players off
Sunday, June 5
players off
Monday, June 6
11 a.m.
Tuesday, June 7
11 a.m.
Wednesday, June 8
11 a.m.
Thursday, June 9
8:45 a.m.
