2015 OTA Thread

Its not nuts when we have no depth at corner except a two year player and two rookies.

Once again, TT prays that young players can step up or AR and the offense can cover their you know what.
 
Capers better bring a ton of pressure because he doesn't have the corners to sit in cover 1 and match up. Both are top rookies will have to contribute year 1.
 
I take everything in OTA with a grain of salt. A lot of the "hype" MM made in OTA last year never transferred to camp and beyond. They won't do installs on offense and defense until camp so enjoy it but don't take anything much from this dog and pony show just yet. ;)
 
... They won't do installs on offense and defense until camp so enjoy it but don't take anything much from this dog and pony show just yet. ;)

not only that, but they won't actually use any of the real offense or defense until the regular season starts. they keep everything pure vanilla in the preseason.
 
Running highlights of Mike McCarthy's Tuesday news conference...
On Damarious Randall getting back... Didn't really study him but it's good to get him into the team stuff and past the individual. This is the same it is every year, the installation part. But it's great to have all those guys out there. Get everybody exposed to everything they need for training camp.
On getting Montgomery up to speed... Just sticking to the format in place. We'll have a plan when he gets back here. Stanford on the quarter schedule.
On Janis' development... Jeff Janis has definitely been moving forward. I thought he definitely came on last year. Still some things fundamentally he needs to work on but any time you get reps with the 1's and Aaron Rodgers, it definitely boosts your confidence.
On gauging rookies' progress... The mental, the cohesiveness they're able to perform with their teammates. By position, by group. On a personal level, you're teaching them their job responsibility and things they need to do every day. We've had four practices and they're doing a good job. It usually takes a week or two for your team to learn how to practice. This is a CBA practice, not real football yet.
On B.J. Raji... I think B.J. is in a great place. Last year was his best training camp and he's in great shape. Very bright, very in tune. B.J. looks great.
On watching Lacy's reps now... We're not really pounding this time of year. As far as Eddie's situation, you get as much work as you can. Fine-tune the details. There are changes to the running back position -- technique, footwork -- making sure he's up to speed with that.
On Tolzien's strides... Great strides. Made big changes to his fundamentals, you can see it in his footwork and now he can apply it all to his knowledge. I think Scott's off to an excellent start. It's no surprise. He's definitely done a great job taking to the coaching, techniques and applied to his throwing motion.
On strides Demetri Goodson has made... He jumps out at me on special teams. At corner, he's still learning more on the identification and what the guy on the other side of the line of scrimmage is doing. He's making progress; he's definitely moving forward.
On Peppers... He put a lot of time into this last year. He's a student of the game. He's a true professional in every aspect of our program, whether it's the weight room or classroom.
On Shields speaking up more... Leadership is a huge part of your locker room culture. You can't assign leadership. You emphasize, educate anything you can to help locker room improve. Sam has stepped up and been comfortable taking the initiative to do so.
 
The Green Bay Packers continued spring OTA’s on Tuesday and saw a few players return to action while a few others remained out. Here are some notes from the day:

– Our own Adam Czech observed that nose tackle B.J. Raji was back with the team and wondered if he’ll be more of the 2010 version that was disruptive or the version of the last few years that has been moved around and less effective. I don’t know about you, but for some reason I feel more excited about what Raji brings this year than not. It’s another contract year, his third in a row, and the vibe seems to be that he’s working hard and looking to prove that he’s back. It will be good to have another reliable big body in the middle that knows the defense well.

– Linebacker Clay Matthews did spend some time at inside linebacker again, but spent the majority of the day on the outside, his natural position. Regardless of how much time Matthews spends at either spot, he’s going to see time at both this season. The move inside last year proved too effective for the Packers to ditch the idea completely. Rookie Jake Ryan took second-team reps on the inside and unless he has a monster training camp (asking a lot of a fourth-rounder), Matthews will be needed inside at times.

– Rookie first-round defensive back Damarious Randall participated in 11-on-11 drills today and was cleared from an ankle injury he had been dealing with. Randall spent the day at outside cornerback with the second team defense. Second-rounder Quinten Rollins spent most of the day at the slot cornerback position.

– On the offensive side of the ball, receiver Jeff Janis was unleashed, catching a short Aaron Rodgers’ touchdown pass in a two-minute drill with no time left on the clock. He’s surely a lock at the fourth or fifth receiver position this season and should push for a starting spot. OK, I can’t do it anymore. The touchdown catch part was true. The sentence following was my poking a little fun at the Janis admirers out there. Ever since last year, Janis is all the rage with his section of fans. While he has the physical tools, there’s a reason he was active for just three games last season. This is a new year, but the jury is very much still out on Janis. With the Packers having spent a third-round pick on Ty Montgomery and with the return of Jared Abbrederis, it’s far from certain that Janis is on the final roster this year.

– Brett Hundley has a long way to go. The quarterback was picked off on one of his first passes in team drills. Every quarterback throws them, even our beloved #12, but Hundley seems to be getting a good dose of life in the NFL in his first bits of action. Scott Tolzien is the backup quarterback until further notice.

– Notable absences from Tuesday’s practice were cornerback Casey Hayward, linebackers Nick Perry and Mike Neal, receivers Jordy Nelson and Ty Montgomery, fullback John Kuhn and defensive lineman Josh Boyd. Hayward reportedly won’t be ready to work with the team until training camp and this is giving many flashbacks to 2013, when he suffered a hamstring injury during the offseason that ultimately ended his season early. Hayward is slated to battle for a starting outside cornerback position this season so his recovery will be closely monitored. Nelson continues to recover from offseason hip surgery. Perry has seen his first three seasons riddled with injuries and dings and the Packers didn’t pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. Perry has this season to stay healthy, prove he can do so and also increase his productivity. On the other side of the coin, linebacker/defensive lineman Julius Peppers returned to practice after missing the last with an illness.



We’re just two practices into the spring and already there seems to be a buzz around this year’s Packers team. The offense has many returning pieces and may have a new weapon in Montgomery to add to the arsenal. More importantly, Montgomery may offer an edge in the return game that has been missing for many seasons. It’s a lot to ask of a rookie right away, but there is also a lot of room for improvement in that area.

The Packers have another spring session June 9th – 12th before mandatory mini camp begins on the 16th.



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Jason Perone is an independent sports blogger writing about the Packers on AllGreenBayPackers.com

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Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media after Tuesday's minicamp practice.

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On the practice:
Today's practice was all review of installations 1 to 8. You want to hit every situation you can in move the ball and roll different personnel groups in. Offensively, we were very productive today. I thought the practice was good.
On rookie wide receiver Ty Montgomery:
Ty looked excellent. He had a good practice on Friday. He does things very natural. He's picked it up really quick, especially for someone who hasn't been here.
On giving away offensive secrets in defensive rooms:
Big focus for our whole team this year is just to raise the football IQ. We've had coaches spend more time together, offense and defense, since February. We actually had a contest. Coaches worked together. We're trying to educate as much as we can. It's something we all realize players grow as they're here. We're always trying to increase the learning opportunities, particularly for the young guys. It's very healthy. Generates a lot of activity.
On working with defensive coordinator Dom Capers:
I think anytime you put your time as far as how you allocate your time. I'm very impressed with our defensive staff. Those guys are excellent coaches. The continuity of being the room together for a long time. My position, the toughest job is managing your staff. If anything, it just confirmed what I already knew.
On pairing coaches:
(Defensive line coach) Mike Trgovac and (offensive line coach) James Campen did theirs today with the theme of stepbrothers, but it was really good. They take the concept and topic they have to teach and use some video. You could tell it's a movie the offensive line knew every word of. I've never really seen James Campen stand in front of the room and teach offensive line play.
On who won:
Can't do that. They're up on Thursday.
On how different his routine in this camp:
I don't have a routine I'm just working through job responsibility. I have a lot of ideas but a lot won't be applied until training camp and season. This is probably my busiest offseason since my first year.
On Wednesday's practice:
We'll have a team activity tomorrow.
On the importance of team bonding:
People win and people lose. The opportunity our players will have tomorrow will be in groups of four or five. They'll ride in a cart with (quarterback) Aaron Rodgers or someone they've never had a conversation with. It's about culture.
On second-year tight end Richard Rodgers:
I think he has a hell of a home run swing. I think Richard is more comfortable. He's taking the natural step. The biggest thing you see from players is he's trying to learn in the game, and compare how he played in Week 1 and end of the season. He's not thinking about what he's doing, but focusing more on technique.
On second-year wide receiver Davante Adams:
Davante Adams, a clear illustration of a first-year player taking a jump over the last four weeks. I think he's been tremendous throughout the OTAs.
 
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