Pennel carving out a spot on the defense
Young players want to claim opportunities, make the team
Green Bay — If this had been a year ago, there’s a good chance Green Bay Packers nose tackle Mike Pennel would neither have been able to play where he did nor finish the way he did against the New England Patriots on Thursday night.
Pennel played 30 snaps in the exhibition opener at Gillette Stadium and he was not plunked right over the center every single down like most of the 177 snaps he took in his
“Coach told me to be prepared for anything when camp started so I’ve been learning both end and then the nose position.”
Mike Pennel Packers nose tackle
rookie season.
He lined up at nose tackle 13 times, but also played defensive tackle in the nickel package 10 times, left end in the base defense four times and right end in the base three times. It was a testament of how far the 2014 undrafted rookie has come since flashing enough talent to force his way onto the 53-man roster last season. It is also a product of necessity. Come Week1of the regular season, the Packers are going to be without end Datone Jones and probably versatile defensive linemen Letroy Guion because of suspension. Jones’ onegame penalty is official for a marijuana possession charge and Guion’s fate for an off-season drug charge is still being considered.
Someone is going to have to fill those snaps and the Packers are letting a group of young big guys fight it out.
Third-year pro Josh Boyd has a claim, but
Pennel played Thursday night like he wanted his share. He played best at his natural nose tackle position, consistently holding his ground and once shucking rookie center David Andrews to tackle running back James White for a loss. Another time he slipped a double-team to tackle running back Jonas Gray.
He did OK playing end, a position he began learning this year in an attempt to diversify his game. But imagine the big run-stopping group coordinator Dom Capers could put in the game if Pennel can handle an end position beside B.J. Raji in the middle and Guion across the way.
“Coach told me to be prepared for anything when camp started so I’ve been learning both end and then the nose position,” Pennel said of a conversation with defensive line coach Mike Trgovac. “It went pretty good. I made a couple plays. Technique-wise I could still do a lot better.
“But I felt like I heldmy own. I got positive response from my coaches.”
While Pennel was trying to carve out his spot, second-year pro Bruce Gaston was busy doing the same. Like Pennel, he did a pretty good job showing both versatility and production.
In 26 snaps, Gaston played the majority of his snaps at the nickel rush position Jones often occupies and had a solid day. He jarred guard Josh Kline with a power move and then disengaged quickly on his way to sacking quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on his ninth snap. He later forced Garoppolo to step into an Adrian Hubbard sack with a strong move around the corner.
Gaston, who was signed off Arizona’s practice squad as a rookie late last year, has had a pretty good camp, and if he can continue to pressure the quarterback the Packers will find a place for him. But he’s fighting Pennel, 2014 draft choice Khyri Thornton, and 2015 draft choice Christian Ringo among others for a roster spot.
“I’ve worked on being explosive and be the best Bruce Gaston I can be,” the former Purdue defensive lineman said. “I’m not trying to be anyone else but myself. Everyone brings their own unique skill set to the team and I’m just trying to bring mine.
“I want to be able to do whatever they ask and do it to a high level.”
Gaston said the great thing about the exhibition games is it gives him an opportunity to find out what moves work. He spent much of the off-season watching and listening as veteran pass rushers such as Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews went through their paces.
He’s trying to bring it all together.
“Ihaveaplethoraofmoves,” he laughed. “I test moves. You want to throw them out in game-time situations to see how they work. That’s the thing about moves — you figure out which ones work and which ones don’t.”
Raji once said that Pennel reminded him of Albert Haynesworth, the enormously talented former Tennessee Titan. But he also noted he played one year of college ball at Colorado State UniversityPueblo and two at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College.
He was talented enough to play one season at Arizona State, but he and the coaches didn’t get along and he moved on.
Pennel was as raw as a player can get last year and needed to learn not only how to play against NFL-caliber talent but also how to be NFL-caliber talent.
“I just think technique and then going to a big school and then a small school, a lot of times you can do some things without having technique,” Raji said. “I think that was the big thing. I think he has improved there.”
Something the coaches can feel good about with Pennel is that he made it through 30 snaps without seeming to tire. He’s never lacked for intensity, but getting a big guy to play 30 snaps at three positions in an exhibition opener can be a challenge.
Late in the game, however, he was still running down the line chasing plays to the sideline and trying to finish off ball carriers.
“It was good conditioning test,” said Pennel, who as part of his work in the off-season was running 5 kilometers with his mother in Colorado. “I knew what the coaches wanted to see; they wanted to see how conditioned we were and if you could handle stress and see if you could finish.”
Pennel has enough athletic abilitytobeadecentpassrusher and he got plenty of opportunity playing the nickel tackle position. He showed a good bull rush at times and was quick enough to get upfield on a twist.
“I still have to get a little more used to it,” Pennel said. “The coaches have been taking me out there, I’ve been working my hands, working my technique, picking their brains a little bit. I’ve immersedmyselfinitandI’mtrying to get all the knowledge I can.”
There may be much more to learn, but he knows there’s a big opportunity in front of him this season, just like there was last year to move out from the small locker room in the back the undrafted rookies call “The Green Mile.”
Pennel made it, but he knows it could be temporary. Both he and Gaston know they haven’t really made it yet.
“Honestly, right now, I’m not setting my mind to that,” he said of helping replace Jones and Guion. “I’m actually taking the same mentality I had when I was back in ‘The Green Mile.’ I want to make the team first and be the best possible player I can.”