Sunday Practice Notes

[MickeyDavis]

-- RB Vernand Morency (knee) is day to day. General Manager Ted Thompson called the injury a contusion.
-- LB Juwan Simpson (shoulder) was injured Saturday. He was on the field in shorts this morning.
-- P David Lonie (ankle) has not kicked yet in camp.


-- DT Justin Harrell doubled over in pain from an apparent cramp in his left calf late in practice. He briefly received attention from trainers before wrapping a towel around the leg. He did not participate in the final team period and was slimping slightly afterward, but it did not appear to be anything more serious than a cramp.

-- Greg Jennings and Charles Woodson took the first reps on punt returns in the two team special-teams periods, respectively. Will Blackmon, James Jones and Shaun Bodiford also fielded punts.

-- Jones had an impressive, sprawling catch in the third team period.

While Junius Coston and Orrin Thompson saw time at left tackle with the first team, Tony Moll rotated in for a period at right tackle. McCarthy said it was too early to offer any evaluation of Coston and Thompson, who are competing for a reserve spot.

-- CBs Patrick Dendy and Frank Walker each batted down passes during the 7-on-7 period.

-- Dendy worked as the nickel cornerback with the first-team defense.

-- Practice was cut about 12 reps short because of the tight end shortage. It started around 8:45 a.m. and ended at 10:27 a.m.

-- And the ever-popular passing statistics from team, blitz and 7-on-7 periods (7-on-7 in parentheses): Aaron Rodgers 15-for-21 (5-for-8); Ingle Martin 8-for-13 (5-for-5); Paul Thompson 3-for-4 (1-for-2). Rodgers took all the first-team reps. Martin worked exclusively with the second unit except in the second team period, when he swapped with Thompson.

Brett Favre stepped on to Clarke Hinkle Field at 6:27 p.m., flanked by Vernand Morency on his left and Donald Driver on his right, to take part in this evening's training camp practice.
Favre missed this morning's practice due to the death of his wife's stepfather, Rocky Byrd. Favre is expected to travel to Mississippi for the funeral and will miss an unspecified number of practices later this week.


Seven players were dressed in shorts and weren't taking part in the full-pads workout. They included Johnny Jolly, Ryan Pickett, Juwan Simpson, David Lonie, Abdul Hodge, Donald Driver and Vernand Morency.

In one of the more unique drills in training camp thus far, a Packers lineman was given the ball, and two smaller players -- usually wide receivers and/or running backs -- converged to strip the ball away. Presumably, if an opposing lineman ever gets his paws on a ball in a game situation, the Packers will be prepared to force a turnover.

-- Cornerback Charles Woodson made a nice diving interception of a Brett Favre pass intended for Greg Jennings. Favre was working out of the shotgun formation and was under heavy blitz pressure.
-- First-round draft pick Justin Harrell moved up to the second-team defense. Harrell played on the No. 3 unit on Saturday.
-- Tight end Bubba Franks lined up with the No. 1 offense during team drills. Franks had been working behind Donald Lee in prior practices.
-- During a punt-return drill, receiving kicks were:Woodson, Will Blackmon, James Jones, Jennings and Shaun Bodiford.

For the second day in a row, halfback Brandon Jackson got steamrolled during a team blitz drill. On Saturday, A.J. Hawk ran over Jackson on one play. On Sunday night, middle linebacker Nick Barnett did the same.

During back-to-back drills -- the first a team drill and the second a blitz drill -- rookie receiver James Jones caught four passes, including beating nickelback Patrick Dendy on a deep in-route.

[Ayt]

The Packers will continue evaluating backup tight end Tory Humphrey's ankle injury for at least the next few days, but a source with knowledge of the injury said Humphrey probably will be out for the season.

Humphrey sustained the broken ankle on the first day of training camp, Saturday, during an 11-on-11 drill. He was coming off a strong offseason and was in the running for one of the three or four roster spots that will go to tight ends.

[schweig]

Damn, it seemed like McCarthy had been mentioning him for a while. There go the 3-TE sets.

[Ayt]

After a solid first day of camp, (James Jones) jumped out on Sunday, especially during the important full pads practice in the evening. With No. 1 receiver Donald Driver out due to a shoulder injury, Jones got plenty of opportunities with the No. 1 offense. To say he took advantage would be an understatement. In the night practice alone, Jones caught at least six passes during team (11-on-11) periods while lined up with the starters.


I've adopted him as a favorite after all the blasting he took during the draft.

[ReasonablySober]

After a solid first day of camp, (James Jones) jumped out on Sunday, especially during the important full pads practice in the evening. With No. 1 receiver Donald Driver out due to a shoulder injury, Jones got plenty of opportunities with the No. 1 offense. To say he took advantage would be an understatement. In the night practice alone, Jones caught at least six passes during team (11-on-11) periods while lined up with the starters.


I've adopted him as a favorite after all the blasting he took during the draft.

Are you sure you want to adopt someone who can't run a 4.3 in shorts?

[MadCityBucky]

Before Vernand's injury was Brandon Jackson the back for the no.1 offense?