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I'd like to see DuBose take the last WR spot. Heath is pretty meh; I thought he put too many balls on the ground for a bigger but not overly fast/explosive receiver. Alternatively, I'd like to see Heath improve his hands and ball skills!
Makes sense from a pass catching POV. What is the last spot ? WR5 or WR6 ?
Heath's claim to fame is his blocking, in the Lazard mold. How much value is there in that skill set ? And WR6 is a game day scratch anyways.
Heath was active for 13/17 reg season games and about 15 snaps per game in 2023. But inactive for both playoff contests .
I think Melton takes most of Heath's snaps in 2024, no clue on where DuBose would rate in terms of play time. I honestly question carrying more than 5 WR's on the 53 given how many snaps Tucker + Musgrave will be on the field in 12 personnel.
Here's snap counts by week, Packers activated only 5 WRs every week, just a different 5 based on injury
Defense:
If you thought that Devonte Wyatt would automatically fill in as the starting defensive tackle next to Kenny Clark in this new 4-3 scheme, it’s time to officially start adjusting those expectations. Not only has T.J. Slaton gotten most of the nods to play in first-look opportunities with the Packers’ first-team defense, but today it was Colby Wooden, not Wyatt, who filled in for Slaton next to Clark.
Cdragon, thx for posting all these snippets.
I'd push back a little on the conclusions here.
First off there will be a ton of substitution/rotation. Kenny Clark talked about it and so did Hafley. The DL are expending a ton of energy each play in this defense and they need to be rotated
Second, Wyatt is a stud 3-tech who will thrive in the penetrating Hafley defense. Wyatt has already shown his pass rush skills
Conversely, TJ Slaton needs as many pass rush reps in TC as possible... as he refines his ability to push the pocket into the QBs lap. TJ is the guy you want next to Clark on 1st down, but he needs to be able to collapse the pocket too and TC is the time to work on that. Slaton is a load
Clark-Wyatt-Slaton- Brooks-Wooden is a hell of rotation ( WOW !) and they will all get plenty of snaps. So the concept of "starter" is off base when it comes to this defense, this roster. I also think we'll see Gary and LVN kick inside and Kenny Clark play DE at times.
Defense:
If you thought that Devonte Wyatt would automatically fill in as the starting defensive tackle next to Kenny Clark in this new 4-3 scheme, it’s time to officially start adjusting those expectations. Not only has T.J. Slaton gotten most of the nods to play in first-look opportunities with the Packers’ first-team defense, but today it was Colby Wooden, not Wyatt, who filled in for Slaton next to Clark.
Cdragon, thx for posting all these snippets.
I'd push back a little on the conclusions here.
First off there will be a ton of substitution/rotation. Kenny Clark talked about it and so did Hafley. The DL are expending a ton of energy each play in this defense and they need to be rotated
Second, Wyatt is a stud 3-tech who will thrive in the penetrating Hafley defense. Wyatt has already shown his pass rush skills
Conversely, TJ Slaton needs as many pass rush reps in TC as possible... as he refines his ability to push the pocket into the QBs lap. TJ is the guy you want next to Clark on 1st down, but he needs to be able to collapse the pocket too and TC is the time to work on that. Slaton is a load
Clark-Wyatt-Slaton- Brooks-Wooden is a hell of rotation ( WOW !) and they will all get plenty of snaps. So the concept of "starter" is off base when it comes to this defense, this roster. I also think we'll see Gary and LVN kick inside and Kenny Clark play DE at times.
The kicking comp isn't too close to call. It will be handed to Carlson, just like last year.
Yeah 87.5% make rate is definitely undeserving.
91.7% is more bigly of a percent than 87.5%.
But the point is that it doesn't matter. Carlson could go 60% yhe rest of camp and he will be given the K job.
When Draft Pick Young Kicker A kicks 21 of 24 and also won the OTA battle but Kicker B who is a struggling vet is 22 of 24...you go with Kicker A for the upside and strong performance.
However if Kicker A does your 60% and Kicker B does high 80%'s....you go with Kicker B and I guarantee the Packers will do that if the spread is that large.
But yes. Carlson will win it if he kicks above 85% this camp and preseason. And he should win it. That's a great percentage. Carlson is having a great camp up to this point. There is no reason to bash his performance up to this point. Could change moving forward. But so far he has been excellent and should be our kicker.
Calling out Doubs is going to have a ripple effect. Everyone else in that WR room are going to looking at what he is doing and pushing to beat him. This is going to be a killer group.
Offense
The offensive line is finally settling in. From left to right, the first-look players on the first-team offense were Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jordan Morgan and Kadeem Telfort. Telfort is in for Zach Tom, who is dealing with a pec injury and still only participates in individual drills rather than team drills. Andre Dillard gets some time at right tackle, and Sean Rhyan gets some time at right guard, but that Walker-Jenkins-Myers-Morgan-Telfort line is what we’ve consistently seen in recent camp practices.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, receiver Romeo Doubs — who cornerback Jaire Alexander called a top-two receiver in the NFL yesterday — once again bested Alexander in one-on-one drills. Per Schneidman, it happened twice after Doubs notched three such reps on Tuesday.
Another receiver who seems to be generating some buzz is second-year draft pick Grant DuBose, who missed most of last summer’s practices with an injury, leading to him hanging around on the practice squad for the 2023 season. Packers.com’s Wes Hodkiewicz said that DuBose is “catching everything this camp.”
Wednesday also marked the on-field return of MarShawn Lloyd in team drills. Lloyd, a third-round rookie, had previously dealt with a hip issue that kept him off the field until Tuesday, when he participated in individual drills. In a team drill, Lloyd bobbled the exchange from fourth-string quarterback Jacob Eason, which is a bit of a concern considering Lloyd’s high fumble rate for an NFL draft pick.
While the defensive side of the ball has edged out the offense in most competitive periods in training camp, quarterback Jordan Love was able to lead a successful two-minute drill at the end of practice today. According to USA Today’s Ryan Wood, Love was five-of-six in the two-minute drill, ran for a 27-yard scramble on third-and-long and threw a touchdown to receiver Dontayvion Wicks with eight seconds left on the clock.
Defense
We’re getting some mixed signals on the Devonte Wyatt front this summer. LaFleur praised Wyatt’s shape in his pre-practice press conference, but T.J. Slaton continues to start over Wyatt next to Kenny Clark with the first-team defense. Yesterday, Colby Wooden, who rarely saw the field after Week 2 in 2023, actually got the nod over the former first-round pick. Today, the starting rotation reverted back to Slaton, without Wyatt ever getting an opportunity.
Along with the second defensive tackle job and the three-man battle for the second safety slot, the other camp battle to watch on the defensive side of the ball is off-ball linebacker. According to Packer Report’s Andy Herman, Isaiah McDuffie, who previously played for defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley at Boston College, was the nickel starter with the first-team defense today. For most of camp, McDuffie and second-round rookie Edgerrin Cooper have split reps at nickel linebacker next to Quay Walker while McDuffie and Eric Wilson have been the team’s outside linebacker starters in 4-3 base looks.
Cooper apparently dropped out of practice early, as reports claimed that he was sidelined without a helmet for the majority of practice. Hopefully, nothing serious happened with the former Texas A&M Aggie.
DuBose’s strong camp continued with the catch of the day, a leaping grab over safeties Evan Williams and Zayne Anderson on a free-play heave from Clifford.
“Last year this time around, I was sidelined still,” the 2023 seventh-rounder DuBose said. “I didn’t come back until the second preseason game. I’ve taken a big leap from last year. I’m feeling a lot stronger. I’m feeling faster, just healthier overall, so I’m in a good spot … free play, we all going to take a shot. Sean Clifford gave me a chance and I just do what I do best. Went up and attacked the ball at the highest point and just tried to make a play for the team.”
DuBose’s strong camp continued with the catch of the day, a leaping grab over safeties Evan Williams and Zayne Anderson on a free-play heave from Clifford.
“Last year this time around, I was sidelined still,” the 2023 seventh-rounder DuBose said. “I didn’t come back until the second preseason game. I’ve taken a big leap from last year. I’m feeling a lot stronger. I’m feeling faster, just healthier overall, so I’m in a good spot … free play, we all going to take a shot. Sean Clifford gave me a chance and I just do what I do best. Went up and attacked the ball at the highest point and just tried to make a play for the team.”
I’m really pulling for Grant DuBose.
Yeah, I'd be happy to give us a reason to put Heath on the PS. He's a great PS kind of guy; one who can rotate in on call-ups or short stints on the active roster in case of injury. And still with some upside.
DuBose is a similar player but faster. He's like between Wicks and Heath on the ceiling continuum within the same basic style of play. Big, physical, quicker-than-fast.
Palmy - "Very few have the ability to truly excel regardless of system. For many the system is the difference between being just a guy or an NFL starter. Fact is, everyone is talented at this level."
Also what is this Josh Myers personal absence. It's been a few days now, right? Is he having a baby? Did his mom die? what's up?
No, he was out there yesterday.
Palmy - "Very few have the ability to truly excel regardless of system. For many the system is the difference between being just a guy or an NFL starter. Fact is, everyone is talented at this level."
Went to TC today, was fun as usual. Brought my wife and daughter! Musgrave is a giant man. Love looked good. Watson looked good. Defensive front looked great.
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