Thanks to the NFL Network's Inside Training Camp for broadcasting the practice at City Stadium. It was historic and all that, but it was just a great opportunity to watch some of these guys play for the first time this season.
During the one-on-one drills, DT Justin Harrell was easy to spot because of his size and speed. He looks like a nose tackle, similar to DT Ryan Pickett, but he looks a lot quicker.
DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila played a lot with the first team defense with DE Cullen Jenkins moving over to defensive tackle. KGB looked explosive and put a lot of pressure on QB Aaron Rodgers, but they didn't try to run the ball at him much during the practice either.
TE Donald Lee appeared to be playing with the first team, and surprisingly so did WR Robert Ferguson. I had been hoping the Packers would finally give up on Ferguson and let Mike Sherman sign him in Houston, due to his affection for ex-Packers. The article at Packers.com said he caught a TD pass, but it wasn't shown on the NFL Network. WR Donald Driver made a comment that his return helped the play of all the receivers and he seemed to be right. When Rodgers and QB Ingle Martin weren't under pressure and could throw to a wide receiver, a number of guys looked good like WRs Ruvell Martin, Carlyle Holliday, and James Jones.
The Packers.com article said the defense got the best of the offense, but it wasn't really a fair fight. The defensive players knew if the play was a run or pass. After the starting offensive linemen sat down, the coaches let a bunch of different fringe offensive lineman play whom have rarely played alongside each other and the pass protection almost always broke down immediately. The defense is usually ahead of the offense early in training camp.