Rookie offensive lineman Scott Wells was happy to play in his first NFL preseason game against the Seahawks Monday night, but he wasn't pleased with the team's results.
Wells hurt his biceps muscle on August 9 and missed some practice time last week. Although he returned to practice three days later, Wells said the biceps still bothers him at times, but he is doing his best to battle through it.
In this week's training camp installment, Wells talks about playing in his first game at Lambeau Field, his injury and his eagerness to move out of the dorms at St. Norbert College, where the team is staying during training camp.
Scott Wells: It was nice to get my first Lambeau Field experience, but we didn't play as well as we would have liked to overall. It was a good experience to get out there and knock heads with someone other than your own teammates. It was exciting to play in the game.
Individually, I did alright. There were a lot of things I need to improve on, like finishing plays. We had a lot of passing plays because we were behind. I thought I did alright on my pass protecting, but I need to do a little better finishing my run blocks.
So far, the days I've been healthy and able to participate, I've done fairly well. There have been a few days with some mental mistakes, which a rookie will have. I am trying to eliminate those, but overall I would grade myself at about a B .
For me personally, it stunk having to watch. Anytime I have to sit out, the injury must be something that really is bothering me because I normally don't sit out for anything. To be forced to sit out and watch is tough for any competitor. You want to be in the mix, especially when you are fighting for a job. It's difficult to sit out, but you have to think long-term and get your health together.
I pushed to get back. I should have probably taken a couple more days because I seem to reaggravate it about every three days. It's just something I am going to have sit down and look at more seriously to find out what I need to do to get it healthy.
Although I don't worry about making the roster too much, I'm more nervous with an injury. At the same time though, all I can do is try to improve on what I do on the field. I will try to impress the coaches with my play when I am out there. The rest will take care of itself. If you sit down and try to focus on the negative side of things like roster cuts, it's going to bring down your performance. So I just try to improve day to day as if I am going to be here forever and the rest will sort itself out.
I am getting a lot more comfortable. I understand the plays better each day. I am looking forward to helping the team out in a regular game. The whole year is an adjustment period, but according to the coaches, it's time to step up as the adjustment is over. There will be some things down the road that I am sure I will have to adjust to after we get into the games. At first I was more mentally tired than physically, but now it is more of a combination. Right now, I am well into training camp and I know what they expect. I'm just looking forward to the games starting.
I am definitely excited about getting out of the dorms. I don't want to be there, but it is better than the alternative of not getting invited to stay there.
So far all I have done in my free time is go home and spend time with my family. Being in camp and being separated from them for so long I try to get back any free moment I might have outside of the training room.
My wife, Julie, and my son, Jackson, went to the Seahawks game. I was impressed that Jackson lasted the whole time. Normally he doesn't last that long at a game. He was excited. He liked the crowd and jumbotron.
My mother-in-law is up here right now basically helping my wife settle in and getting the house situated. She is going back in a week for a wedding and then it will be just the three of us. It will be kind of nice to be on our own trying to get settled in a new community.
As for now, I have a few goals for Saturday's game against New Orleans.
Number one, I want to win. Number two, I want to be healthy enough to play. Number three, I am the type of guy who shoots for perfection. I want to get a perfect score on every play. I received a couple minuses on the Seahawks game for my technique. I want to correct those things to where I am able to obtain a better performance and finish a lot more of the run plays.
