LaFleur picks up the pace with up-tempo offense
GREEN BAY - News and views from the Green Bay Packers’ training camp practice Saturday:
Saturday’s takeaways
One of the new wrinkles in coach Matt LaFleur’s offense is the occasional series where he’ll pick up the tempo – not by going no-huddle, but by huddling and then having the offense rush to line up and snap the ball quickly in hopes of catching the defense still lining up or not quite ready to play. It’s a part of the West Coast offensive system that LaFleur learned from Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay and San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. The Rams used it occasionally and with some success against the Packers in Week 8 last season, as did the New England Patriots a week later on their touchdown drive to open the game.
Through three days of practice, LaFleur occasionally has had his offense run plays in up-tempo mode.
“It is tough because the big thing is as a defender you want to see the formation,” defensive lineman Dean Lowry said, “and when they line up as quickly as they do, you can’t process as quickly to see what their formation is or see the mannerisms of the backfield or the O-line. That is a challenge when they do that, and it kind of throws you off balance.”
The offense also saw a potential downside of the quick-tempo though, at least in the learning stages, when it was called for three apparent false-start penalties while going up tempo Saturday. “The defense is calling out ‘move’ and ‘shift,’ and we’re thinking (the snap is on) first sound,’ said tackle Alex Light, who had one of the penalties. “So the first sound we’re thinking we’re getting out. I heard ‘move,’ and I was already cocked in my stance and ready to go.”
❚ LaFleur’s early camp practice schedule is the same as McVay’s with the Rams in that he’s opening camp with four straight days of practice before a day off, whereas former coach Mike McCarthy opened camp with three practices and then a rest day. Teams are prohibited from practicing in pads the first two days of camp, so Saturday was the first day the Packers could use pads, though LaFleur opted to go with shoulder pads and helmets but with the players in shorts instead of full uniform. The practice was close to full contact, though Sunday’s practice in full uniform figures to be a little more physical than Saturday’s.
“I don’t think there’s much of a difference,” LaFleur said of full uniform vs. shoulder pads and shorts. “It’s more or less, I think guys when they are in shorts might be a little bit more mindful of not going to the ground. The whole intent out here is you just don’t want guys going to the ground, whether we’re in full pads, whether we’re in, throughout OTA’s. We want guys to stay on their feet.”
Saturday’s practice was the shortest of the three in camp so far, about one hour, 40 minutes – Thursday and Friday were closer to 2:15. “It’s just kind of a training principle,” LaFleur said. “Usually the third day is when most players are a little more susceptible to an injury. So, I just thought that it was take it back a little bit today, then crank it up tomorrow.”
❚ LaFleur has ended each practice so far with nine snaps in a third-and-goal period that’s a win-or-lose play for both sides of the ball. Three quarterbacks get three plays each from various yard lines at or inside the 10. The defense got the better of it the first two days, but on Saturday, Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes of 10, 6 and 3 yards; DeShone Kizer threw a two-yard touchdown pass and had rookie receiver Darrius Shepherd drop what should have been a six-yard score; and undrafted rookie Manny Wilkins ran for one touchdown and scrambled for what probably would have been another.
“When coach really puts an emphasis on, ‘OK, this period is specifically for competition, we need to beat you, you need to beat us,’ ” cornerback Tramon Williams said. “That’s the urgency of this period.”
QB watch
With Tim Boyle absent from practice for personal reasons, Kizer had the No. 2 spot in the rotation all to himself, and Wilkins got more team snaps than usual as the No. 3 instead of his spot as the No. 4. Kizer had his best day of camp so far. He hit Allen Lazard for a 20-yard catch and run on an out pattern when safety Natrell Jameson just missed a diving deflection. Kizer also hit Jake Kumerow for a two-yard touchdown near the back of the end zone against the Packers’ best cover man, cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Bits and pieces
Top draft pick Rashan Gary had a decent start in the first one-on-one passrushing drills of camp in shoulder pads. Keep in mind that determining a winner and loser in one-on-ones is highly subjective, but Gary had two solid power rushes that probably were wins against tackle Gerhard De Beer. LaFleur conducts one-on-ones by having the rusher and blocker go against each other on back-to-back snaps – all previous Packers coaches going back to Mike Holmgren had them take one snap each rotation across the line. “Less transition time equals more reps,” LaFleur said.
❚ LaFleur has run a lot of red-zone or near-red-zone team drills early in camp, not so much to emphasize red zone but to limit the wear on his players’ legs as they work into football shape. “It wasn’t something I had ever done before in my career until last year in Tennessee,” LaFleur said. “That’s something that (Titans coach) Mike Vrabel brought and I thought that was a pretty smart move.”
Injury report
Boyle (personal reasons) missed his first practice of camp, as did RB Jamaal Williams (hamstring), DL Fadol Brown (calf), linebacker Kendall Donnerson (hamstring), T Bryan Bulaga (veteran rest). Still out were K Mason Crosby (calf), S Darnell Savage (tooth), CB Josh Jackson (foot) and LB Greg Roberts (core muscle injury, PUP).
Quote of the day
“I just think that he’s a dynamic, one-cut runner that has some versatility in the pass game. He’s got good hands, and I’m sure glad he’s on our team. For him and a lot of our players, it’s just getting comfortable with our offense and knowing exactly what to do and digging at the details.” – LaFleur on Aaron Jones:
Practice schedule
The next practice is 10:15 a.m. Sunday at Ray Nitschke Field.