The parents and kids were due. From lightning strikes to downpours and a pandemic, the Green Bay Packers Family Night has endured and 50,112 were rewarded with nearly perfect weather to watch the annual debut inside Lambeau Field at training camp.
A lot of plays and players to get through but Head Coach Matt LaFleur summed up the night and the work for his boys in uniform:
The team warmed up just as they do before pre-season and regular season games and then got right to work with several special teams periods, one on one drills and 11 on 11 periods. The practice lasted about an hour and 45 minutes from the televised 7:30 start.
More than a handful on players on the rehab list didn’t dress, the latest addition was linebacker Randy Ramsey with an ankle injury. David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Robert Tonyan, Mason Crosby, Kylin Hill, Christian Watson, Patrick Taylor, Malik Taylor, Keisean Nixon and Cole Schneider wore the civvies.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst said just like his predecessor Ted Thompson, you want to “bubble wrap” key players through the pre-season if possible and he probably winced in the one on one receiver-defensive back drills when starting safety Darnell Savage was running an up route with Amari Rodgers when he pulled up with a tug in his hamstring. His night was done and in the locker room after practice said it just felt a little tight and he’ll be alright. But nights like this are for the next man up to step up and that’s what third year pro Vernon Scott did, getting the rest of the night with a lot of runs with the ones:
Aaron Rodgers said rookie Romeo Doubs makes a “wow” play every day and he made another under the lights with a contested fade route touchdown grab. Rodgers took a lot of snaps in what will likely be his only appearance on the tundra until the Chicago Bears home opener. His final set was a two minute drive that featured a nice deep back shoulder to Sammy Watkins who plucked the ball above Eric Stokes. A middle check down to Josiah Deguara set up A.J. Dillon’s bruising two yard touchdown off right guard.
The run game got mixed results as the defensive front seven has given the revolving offensive line some problems all camp. Rookie free agent B.J. Baylor may have had the best run of the night bouncing to the edge with a strong cut. Dean Lowry filled one hole nicely as did number one pick Quay Walker, who also whiffed on a near pick that went through him to Marcedes Lewis for a score. The starting offensive line had Yosh Nijman at left tackle, Jon Runyan at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jake Hanson at right guard and Royce Newman at right tackle.
Rookie lineman Sean Rhyan had a tough night with a couple of holding calls (an NFL crew was on hand) and a near whiff on a spin move I’ll get to in a minute.
As for Rich Bisaccia’s special teams, kicker Gabe Brkic was 50-50. He did hit 49 and 51 yarders northward, missed longer ones later. The punt team had a rough series with a couple penalties and even more distressing, errant snaps to Pat O’Donnell from Steve Wirtel and Jack Coco. One thing I did notice, former Raiders safety Dallin Leavitt was on nearly every cover and return starting unit. Bisaccia really wants him to stick and help.
Someone had to make the play of the night. The 7th round pick from Nebraska pulled it off. Receiver Samouri Toure who made a sliding touchdown catch on an underthrown ball by Danny Etling in a red zone period, showed up with several other grabs but saved his best for last. From their own 46, the number two offense had Jordan Love drop back and he locked on Toure right away with good reason. He beat both corner Donte Vaughn (who probably could have won this honor if not for an almost pick six earlier) and safety Tariq Carpenter down the middle. Behind them both, Toure reeled in the 54 yard touchdown bomb and proceeded to perform the first Lambeau Leap of the year. I caught up with him in the locker room.
The ball had to get there of course and Love put it on the money. Problem for Jordan however, was Devonte Wyatt. He put a ridiculous spin move on Sean Rhyan (he of the two holds) and had a clear path to the quarterback. If this were a real game, LaFleur said it would have really been a bang-bang play. Wyatt breezed by the red-jersey number 10 and the ball did get away. Not the first time Love has stood tall in a crumbling pocket and delivered a big play. That’s a big step said LaFleur who believes his number two is having a solid camp. I asked Jordan about that, earlier in the week it was an in your face strike to Doubs, now this one to Toure. Focusing on finishing the play with chaos around him.
The Green and Gold heroes weren’t the only ones to hit the turf. The gathering crowd watched the Slinger Owls youth football squads scrimmage and young ladies from several dance, cheer and gymnastics groups put on a show. The Titletown District was swarming well before the Packers came out of the locker room, the fireworks were always solid and a pretty good Family Night was had by all.
It’s a Saturday off for the Pack, camp resumes with at 12:30 PM practice on Sunday. Monday and Wednesday practices at 10:30 are also open to the public. This time next week, we’ll have a contest in San Francisco to write about.
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