Week one of Green Bay Packers training camp is a time of great excitement. Honestly, for me, it feels like Christmas morning has arrived and I finally get to unwrap my presents. However, being a Packers fan who lives a great distance from Green Bay, that unwrapping usually comes in the form of constantly refreshing X (formerly known as Twitter) over and over again. I then follow this up by taking in as much content as possible through other social media, blogs, and YouTube.
For YouTube, I especially recommend Cheesehead TV’s Packers Daily with Aaron Nagler, Pack-a-Day Podcast with Andy Herman, and the Green Bay Packers’ official YouTube channel where you can catch every interview, highlights from practice, and Three Things with Larry McCarren, Mike Spofford, and Wes Hodkiewicz.
That’s how us out-of-state Packers fans have to keep up to date on training camp. So, as I discuss the best story lines of week one, know that this is through the eyes of those who report what they see at camp and my interpretation of their reports. Here are the best storylines of week one of Packers Training Camp.
Jordan Love’s Contract Extension
I think this one is pretty obvious. Monday morning, Brian Gutekunst made it known that Jordan Love wouldn’t practice until he signed an extension. I personally wasn’t concerned because Love was in attendance at training camp, he just wouldn’t practice. It would be a non-issue if he would sign his extension before pads were put on.
But, then, the week continued to drag on and publicly, there seemed to be no changes. I began to feel a bit of concern. This then grew exponentially when Diana Russini reported that the extension could be signed within a “few weeks.” This made my heart drop. Historically speaking, if a player held out too long, then it negatively impacted their season. “Weeks” is simply too long for a player to not be practicing while waiting for an extension. My concern grew even more.
Finally, Friday came along, and Tua received an extension before Love. I began to prepare myself for this ordeal to last a few weeks, lamenting the fact that it seems like the Packers relish quarterback controversies. Then, out of nowhere, Ian Rapport broke the news. Jordan Love agreed to a contract extension making him tied for the highest paid player in NFL history per year. He also received a NFL record $75 million signing bonus.
It was finally over.
Completing his first day of practice on Saturday, Love is full go just in time for the pads to come on.
Kicking Competition at Packers Training Camp
The kicking competition is in full force and, like I mentioned in the Packers Training Camp Primer: Special Teams, it is between James Turner, Greg Joseph, and Anders Carlson. So, how do the Packers split the reps for three kickers in a competition?
Well, in this first week, they gave James Turner a day all to himself, then Carlson and Joseph would both kick the next practice. This is how it was done all week.
Turner has been having the worst go at it as he is 10/16 in camp as of Saturday. This is a field goal percentage of 62.5%. His Packers tenure is looking like it might already be in doubt.
On the other hand, Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson are both 11/12 in camp as of Saturday. Carlson is looking night and day better than he was a year ago. The first Saturday of Packers training camp last year, Carlson missed five field goals in one practice while this year he missed one throughout the entirety of the first week.
Do I dare to believe?
Packers Training Camp is Dominated By the Defense
The Jeff Hafley-led defense has been stymieing the offense to stay the least during the first week of training camp. The defense has been relentless, constantly providing pressure to the offense’s quarterbacks. This pressure was coming from all levels of the defense. The defensive line was constantly in the quarterback’s face, the linebackers were always in quick pursuit of the ball carrier, and the defensive backs were making it difficult for any receiver to make a play on the ball.
The defense on Wednesday had five interceptions and nearly had two more. The defense has been flying around on the field. It’s nice to finally see an aggressive defense. And don’t think this is bad for the offense. Iron sharpens iron. The defense was even tough for Jordan Love on Saturday. The defensive side of the ball forced Love to be closer to perfect and it took near perfection for the offense to win the day and get the defense to do pushups.
The Green Bay defense is really exciting. Let’s hope this carries on through the season.
Backup QB Problems?
I’m not one to overreact too quickly. That’s just not my personality. In regards to the Packers backup quarterbacks, Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt have been having a rough go in the first week of camp. The pressure from the defense has been relentless and unforgiving of the quarterbacks’ inexperience. The offensive line isn’t at full strength yet either.
I don’t want to make excuses for the other quarterbacks not named Jordan Love however, there was a lot working against them this first week. I believe these types of challenges can spur some people to greatness. So, yes, there are some backup quarterback problems, but they don’t need any outside help. They need just as much time to develop as anyone else.
Let’s just hope they have a chance to develop without having to be thrown into the fire.
As always,
Go Pack Go!
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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