As Adam previously stated, he and I are pretty much done talking about Judas. In fact, we ARE done. Gene will be weighing in with his thoughts sometime soon, but after that, don’t expect any more Judas stuff from us.
We’re very glad that you all felt as passionate about the issue as we did – one reader even called me an “asshat”, which was a first – but from now on, we’d rather focus on the team that’s actually going to, you know, win the NFC North this season.
(Although I do just want to point out that Judas’ debut comes tonight against Kansas City. The Chiefs, as you may or may not remember, have one Bernard Pollard on their roster. Pollard is the player who put the hit on Tom Brady in the season opener last year that destroyed Brady’s knee. Bernie, from Packers’ fans everywhere, I just want to say that if you feel like doing that again, you know, tonight would be the perfect time. We aren’t going to stop you. In fact, godspeed my man. Godspeed.)
Anywho, it’s time to give you your daily serving of the best bits of information from today’s training camp practice.
The Packers have had four practices since we last checked in, so there is obviously a lot to get to. Thursday’s evening practice actually marked the end of training camp, so from now until the start of the season, we’ll be doing more in-depth pieces and columns previewing the team with occasional practice check-ins as they are warranted.
As always, this information comes courtesy of the fine folks at the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Hate to start this thing with some bad news, but Aaron Rouse injured his hamstring right at the end of practice Thursday and had to be carted off. McCarthy told reporters it didn’t sound good, although more wouldn’t be known until today. The injury becomes even more of a downer when you consider McCarthy said he had considered ending practice early and if he had done so, the injury would have been avoided. Just another setback for Rouse, a player who has shown a lot of promise when he’s actually made it on the field. But injuries and inconsistency have hurt him throughout his time as a Packer.
- Now, an update on the Justin Harrell situation. Although Harrell said earlier this week he feared his career was over, both Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson have not said the same. In fact, they seem to think there’s a chance he could play this season. Of course, both could just be not wanting to show their cards, so I’m not sure how much stock I put into what they said. I tend to believe the player more than the coach in these situations, so I still think Harrell is probably done, at least in Green Bay.
- Clay Matthews (hamstring), Jeremy Thompson (groin) and Pat Lee (back) have missed all the practices over the past two days. McCarthy said Matthews and Thompson will not play against Buffalo on Saturday (T.O. apparently isn’t playing either, so if you’re at the game, you won’t get to boo him which sucks). I’m starting to worry about Matthews and Thompson. Both showed promise before getting hurt, but they need to get on the field at some point before the season. You hate to have these guys learning when the games actually count.
- Johnny Jolly (ankle), James Jones (hamstring), Kregg Lumpkin (shoulder sprain) and Anthony Smith (groin) were all back practicing Thursday after missing practices earlier in the week. Very good news indeed.
- McCarthy said earlier in the day Thursday that Jolly and B.J. Raji (RAJI!!) will likely play Saturday as long as nothing happens on Thursday or Friday. So excited to see Raji finally suit up, I can’t even tell you.
- An update on the punting battle between Jeremy Kapinos and Durant Brooks (otherwise known as “Clash of the Titans”) from the Press Gazette. Thursday, Kapinos averaged 41.6 yards and a 4.0 hang time. Brooks averaged 44.8 yards and a 3.82 hang time. It sounds like Brooks has a bigger leg, but is too inconsistent. In the end, I still think Kapinos wins the gig.
- Call it “The Defensive Twilight Zone” Thursday night as Charles Woodson dropped a pick while A.J. Hawk and Brady Poppinga made nice plays in coverage. Was practice being held in The Bizzaro World?
- Atari Bigby also dropped an easy pick. It sounds like he’s been less-than-stellar so far. Shame considering this scheme seems perfect for his skill set.
- Cullen Jenkins and Jolly lined up in the nickel 4-3 scheme, which differed from earlier in the week when Raji had lined up with Jenkins.
- Allen Barbre has gotten a lot of the work with the starters at RT. Even though Breno Giacomini has probably outplayed him, from the sounds of it, it seems like the team wants to give Barbre more than enough of a chance to win the job.
- By my count, Mason Crosby has gone 11-of-11 on field goals over the past four practices, including one from 52 yards. Maybe last Saturday’s subpar showing was just what he needed.
- Matt Flynn, barring a shocking change of events, has the backup quarterback job cemented. He’s looked solid, especially in getting rid of the ball under pressure. More than I can say about Brian Brohm…
- Finally, McCarthy said Aaron Rodgers and the other veterans will be on the field for between 20 and 25 snaps Saturday. That group played roughly 20 snaps last week.
-Chris Lempesis
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