Hundley needs only few adjustments
Rookie QB in comfort zone
Green Bay — Some 41 hours after making his professional football debut at Gillette Stadium, rookie quarterback Brett Hundley stood at his locker and assured reporters nothing had changed.
The Green Bay Packers’ game against the New England Patriots required very few adjustments, he said, even as a rookie. The speed of play did not bother him, he said, even though it was his first live action since college. The performance could be described as “comfortable,” he said, even in a stadium with tens of thousands of not-so-friendly fans.
His message was simple: There’s nothing to see here.
Yet what fans and media members saw Saturday was a noticeable uptick in confidence just two days after his first NFL reps. Hundley stood tall in the pocket and made strong decisions. He threw passes into tighter windows and trusted his reads.
The perfect back-shoulder throw to receiver Jimmie Hunt along the sideline? Hard to imagine Hundley could have done that three weeks ago.
“At the start of camp I felt pretty comfortable,” Hundley said, “but it’s really just adding onto the comfort level as I keep going along.”
Nowhere was his improvement more evident than during the 2-minute drill in the latter stages of a relatively short 90-minute practice. Hundley, who finished 4 of 6 for 60 yards and one touchdown against the Patriots, entered the drill flanked by mostly backups, and in just two plays the offense traversed 65 yards for a touchdown.
“It was a hot one out there, humid one out there,” Hundley said with a smile. “Wanted to get the job done, get off the field.”
In doing so, Hundley connected twice with receiver Larry Pinkard, a rookie from Old Dominion, who was covered by fellow rookie Quinten Rollins. And while Rollins played beautifully against New England, he was exposed on consecutive plays Saturday — a 57-yard heave down the right sideline and a quick slant for the touchdown.
“Every day I’m trying to keep growing and stacking onto the foundation I’ve built,” Hundley said.
In competition: Pinkard, one of five free-agent rookie receivers in camp, increased his standing with a game-long 31-yard reception against the Patriots and the two catches for 65 yards Saturday.
“I’m very happy how I’ve played,” said Pinkard. “Very few missed assignments. I caught on to the offense very quickly.”
During a 2-minute period, Pinkard broke his route off against Rollins for the 57yard catch before beating Rollins on a slant for the 8yard touchdown.
Healthy start: The box score of Thursday’s exhibition game reveals a small contribution for the Packers from a player listed as R. Neal.
He carried the ball four times for 15 yards. He caught two passes for 5 yards. He did not score.
Yet there was something oddly satisfying about a mundane day at the office for tailback Rajion Neal: He did not get hurt.
“It’s a good feeling, man, definitely,” Neal said after Saturday’s practice. “Just to say that I was able to walk off the field after this first preseason (game).”
For the second time in as many seasons, Neal, 23, is competing for the No. 3 running back spot. A knee injury suffered during the first exhibition game in 2014 derailed a solid beginning to training camp — he scored a touchdown before getting hurt — and eventually landed Neal on seasonending injured reserve. He was waived four days later and received an injury settlement.
The knee healed after several weeks of rehab, and Neal received workout invitations from other teams.
“We did the workouts and just kind of waited,” Neal said. “Just trying to see what was going to show up.”
But when his injury settlement expired, Neal received a phone call from the Packers. He was invited to join the practice squad. Done deal. The decision to rejoin the Packers was based on a personnel assessment, Neal said. The Packers, in his mind, lacked a “true guy that just scats out of the backfield,” a player who excels catching the football and runs well laterally to capitalize on open space.
“I thought that would be something I could bring to the table that would be kind of different and interesting,” Neal said.
In camp with the Packers once again, Neal showed well during the first three weeks. Half a season on the practice squad in 2014 gave him a significant head start over competitors Alonzo Harris and John Crockett, and Neal said his comfort level is exponentially greater than it was before the injury.
On Saturday, Neal spent a few snaps lining up wide of the formation like a receiver. He beat safety Sean Richardson down the left sideline during team drills and made a nice catch on a deep ball thrown by quarterback Matt Blanchard.
The aftermath: Defensive end Chandler Jones of the Patriots talked Saturday in New England about his first-play sack and fourthand-goal pressure. He beat left tackle David Bakhtiari each time.
“(The sack) was basically a reactionary move,” said Jones. “I kind of took what (Bakhtiari) gave me. He kind of overstepped me so I came under for the play.
“That (pressure) was also a reactionary rush. He under-stepped me, so I beat him on the edge.”
Unlike the regular season, guard Josh Sitton said he didn’t do any tape study of the Patriots’ defensive linemen before the exhibition game.
“There’s never any excuse for how our offensive line plays,” said Sitton.