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Rookie Mini Camp; First Impressions |
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 #87 WR Jordy Nelson
He’d just completed a three -day Mini Camp for the Packers nine new draft picks, and a few dozen un-drafted players. Several others were invited for a tryout, like UW –Whitewater running back Justin Beaver.
How did this weekend compare to last year, the first time he ran a rookie-only Mini Camp after the draft?
“It was significantly better, just as far as the overall group,” said McCarthy. “We had some more players this year than we had last year, and you could just see the progression of practices, how they improved from Friday to Sunday. I'm just very pleased with how the whole weekend went, and just like I told the players when we broke, I was very impressed with the quality of work we were able to get done this weekend.”
No injuries were reported.
The purpose of the rookie camp is to allow the rookies to get used to their surroundings, the tempo of practice, without the distraction of mixing it up on the first day on the job with Pro Bowl players like Donald Driver and Al Harris.
Here are some first impressions, in order the players were drafted:
WR Jordy Nelson – Sharp. Made a terrific catch running down the sideline, in double coverage. Nice throw from QB Brian Brohm, about 47 yards in the air. Nelson looked back, in stride, jumped up between two defenders, brought the ball in properly, feet landing in bounds, hit the ground running. Incredible. Like he’d been working out with Brohm for a month. Receiver coach Jimmy Robinson was later coaching Nelson up on his short timing routes. Nelson began at Kansas State as a safety, thinking it was his best chance at becoming a starter. But it was when he was switched to offense that scouts took notice.
QB Brian Brohm – Looked good. If you had told me he was actually a second year NFL QB at his first practice of the season, I would have bought it. Even though he’d only had the morning to browse through the Packers 1st basic playbook installment, he was out there directing players on where to line up as they approached the line of scrimmage. McCarthy liked is command of the huddle. Brohm’s years of being raised by a father and brothers who all played QB at Louisville, and coached him, showed. Talking to him in the locker room, he has the right mix of confidence to absorb what’s coming at him in time, patience to understand he begins as Aaron Rodgers back-up, and just enough swagger to earn your respect that he belongs here. Showed a strong arm. Had a couple of center-quarterback fumble exchanges the first day. Threw a pick on 7 – on –7. But made some impressive throws and decisions.
CB Patrick Lee – because the defense worked out at the far end of the field, restricted to reporters, it was difficult to see Lee and other defenders during defense only drills vs. dummies, running drills. He is shorter than Al Harris, but has a thicker upper body that Charles Woodson. He got beat twice by Jordy Nelson on some short routes in the flats, getting frustrated after the second time, clapping his hands in disgust. He laughed off his poor results in the Wonderlic test (a score of 10), saying he’s not a test guy. He seemed genuinely happy to be in a smaller market in Green Bay, saying coming from Auburn University, he felt right at home.
TE Jermichael Finley – Of all the players on the field, Finley looked like an absolute fit for the pros. Maybe it was his 6-foot-4 frame filling out Bubba Franks former #88 jersey that fooled the eye. But it looked like a faster, smoother, younger Bubba Franks out there. Not the plodding steps Franks used to make running a seam route along the hash marks. Finley had smooth steps. On an out pattern, Finley cut in front of the outside linebacker, looked back, and Matt Flynn launched a rocket that was about 3 feet too high. My reaction was “Overthrown. Sailed it.” Finley’s hands zapped over his head, a little leap in stride, and he pulled the fastball in without a so much of a wobble. Big grin on the face of his position coach Ben McAdoo standing in the back of the line.
DE Jeremy Thompson – Articulate. Poised. He was versatile in college. Sometimes lining up at left defensive end, rushing the quarterback. Other times dropping back into coverage as an outside linebacker. The rap on him at Wake Forrest was he took off on some plays. He addressed that question directly in the locker room, saying he didn’t always properly finish plays. Sounds like double talk, but he explained he might be able to penetrate into the backfield, but if the play went the other way, he often found himself not moving fast enough to where he should be at the next stage of the play. Needs to work on his instincts in following a play until the whistle blows. His older brother Orin is a back-up offensive lineman. Very unique having two brothers on the same team in the NFL. My bet is with the other tackles they’ve brought in, big brother Orin may have a harder time making the final 53 cut than kid brother Jeremy, just drafted by the team in the 4th round.
OG Josh Sitton – This Central Florida offensive guard may have been noticed because of the outstanding performance of his team’s running back Kevin Smith, who lead the nation by rushing for over 2,500 last season. Last guy to do that? Barry Sanders. And guess who traded up to get Smith as the first pick of day two in the draft? The Detroit Lions. Sitton says he knows he benefited from Smith’s spotlight, but that the Packers noticed him early, and even brought him into Green Bay for an interview and workout at the Hutson Center a few weeks before the draft. He was not invited to the Combine. Not on the NFL’s radar screen. They took him in the 4th round. He has very broad shoulders. Ted Thompson compared Sitton’s build and style somewhat to Mark Tauscher.
OT Breno Giacomini – Last name pronounced Gee-Ah-Koh-MEE-knee. But he’s not Italian. His grandfather was from Italy. The rest of the family is from a small town in northern Brazil. His parents moved to the US about the time of his birth. As he began his junior year at Louisville, the team’s strength coach told him if he was ever going to get noticed by NFL scouts, he would have to get more nasty. It took him awhile to figure out what that meant, but later Giacomini found himself hitting, charging, trash talking, and generally just being more nasty when he played, and he says it was infectious. The other guys in the offensive line followed suit, and the unit enjoyed the games a little more. Giacomini played with Packers RG Jason Spitz for two years with the Louisville Cardinals, and said the phone calls he got from “Spitzy” were supportive, but to the point and brief. Spitz told him come prepared to work and there is no “BS-ing” around. Giacomini declined comment on his flipping – the – bird incident before a game at Kentucky last season. Took the “nasty” a little too far that day.
QB Matt Flynn – You could see the drop off from Brohm in the 2nd round to Flynn taken in the 7th round. Not as big, not as much in command of the office. Threw the ball hard, but not as accurate, not as sure in this throws. McCarthy jumped in early and often on Flynn’s footwork, something he’ll be working on. Can he get that cleaned up in time for training camp? “As a quarterback, working on your footwork is something you’ll be concerned with for the rest of your career,” said McCarthy. Flynn says he knows how to deal with being in the support role. He went through it at LSU, behind JaMarcus Russell. He feels confident he can find ways to improve, despite limited reps. It’s what he did with the LSU Tigers. Then, Russell decided to leave after his junior year, became the number one pick in the 2007 draft, going to the Raiders. Flynn and the Tigers went on to win the National Championship.
FAVRE STILL HAS A LOCKER
Why is Brett Favre’s nameplate still on his locker in the Packers locker room?
“Who do you want me to put in there?,’ joked McCarthy. “I think it's more than a locker, and there's some plans for the locker that will be addressed in the future. But there's nothing else to it. I wouldn't want his locker, especially after his hygiene, my goodness.” (laugher from media.)
McCarty continued. “It's a locker of a very special player in the history of our organization, and there are some plans for the future, and we'll address that when it comes. I'll just leave it at that.”
Sounds like they’ll probably figure out a way to either make it a shrine in the locker room, or cut it out, and move it to a place the public can see it on display. Packers Hall of Fame? Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton? Smithsonian? Stay tuned.
NEW CAT IN THE DUPLEX
Al Harris has commandeered two lockers in the Packers locker room, side by side, that he calls “the duplex.” The reason is the one on the outside, that leads to the “green mile” or back-room where players likely to be cut have their lockers. So Harris somehow got a second name plate, and moved his stuff to the next locker inside, taking up two locker spaces. Harris claimed the outside locker is “haunted. Bad stuff happens to who ever uses it.”
Joey Thomas? Ahmad Carroll? I’m trying to remember who were the previous tenants.
So now who has the “haunted locker?” 3rd round pick, CB Patrick Lee.
Good luck.
- Mike Clemens
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 May 2008 )
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