As a player and coach, there is always a sense of excitement and fear and intensity that surrounds the first day or two of practice, especially when the pads come up. How does it feel for one of you two? Just another day on the job? Or is the energy so palpable that you can’t even feel it?
There is certainly a palpable energy for the first exercise of training camp. It felt like a first day of school type. This year is even more special, seeing all we have all been through the last five months. I’m just excited to cover football again.
Are you as pumped as I am for the pads to arrive?
Yes. But that will only come next week. Teams must have two unpadded practices and an off-day before the pads can continue.
Gentlemen, what position group do you think has the better chance of being in sync at the start of the season because they do not have the chances to practice against each other, the offense as the defense? Do the special teams also have players who play on both kickoff and kick return teams? It seems to me that would be quite difficult to practice, because a player can not be in both places at the same time.
I would say the defensive front has the best chance of being in sync because of how many key contributors are returning from last year’s unit. I expect the Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith, Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry and the rest of the group to hit the ground running, especially with how fresh everyone needs to be after a full virtual offseason. The Packers have been investing heavily in defense over the last two years and need that group to set the tone. And yes, they have several guys playing on both kickoff units – Will Redmond, Ty Summers and Oren Burks to name just a few.
Dean from Leavenworth, IN
Wes, I feel the excitement of 500 miles away. As the players hit the field today, will you, Mike, John and Larry be on hand to witness the first full practice of training camp? Will you have a live blog from the practice field?
Larry, Spoff and I will all be on hand. They will be on the sidelines and I will be in the stands. We will not have a live blog, but Spoff and I will tweet observations, in addition to our regular stories, videos and analysis later on packers.com.
Like everyone else I am really looking forward to the first practice Saturday. For the best view, do you recommend my drone over the north or south side of the field?
The article about Kevin King public nicknames I did not know before: “Sav” (for Darnell Savage) and “Smash” (for Adrian Amos). If you could give any current Packers player a nickname that would stick, (a) What would it be? (b) For whom would it be? And (c) Why?
First, I take full credit for “Big Bob” Tonyan. If you do not believe me, you can go back and search on Twitter. The same goes for my friend, Michael Cohen, who welcomed us to the “Tim Boyle Laser Show” two years ago. The other nickname I like to throw away is Tyler Lancaster, “The Juggernaut.”
