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Packers Practice (and Fight); Giacomini at Tackle; Linebackers in Coverage; and the UFL

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- Wednesday's practice was open to the public, but there wasn't a lot of news from it. The biggest story was a fight between LB Brad Jones and RT Breno Giacomini. Greg Bedard had the best recap of it on Twitter saying it was "not as good overall as last years camp melee."

 - As I mentioned above, Giacomini was playing RT with the first team. I'm sure the coaches don't need to worry about veteran RT Mark Tauscher's preparation, and RT T.J. Lang is out with a wrist injury, but it was still interesting that they gave Giacomini the opportunity. In a very bad sign, he lost the right tackle competition last year against awful RT Allen Barbre, so it's hard to imagine Giacomini providing much in the future. But if Barbre is done at tackle, rookie LT Bryan Bulaga is kept exclusively at left tackle, and fellow rookie LG Marshall Newhouse is playing guard right now, then there aren't any other tackle candidates who deserve to play ahead of Giacomini yet. 

 - Greg Bedard has a video post at JSOnline.com on the outside linebackers. He says that "none of the players standout for their coverage ability." Yep. I haven't been impressed with the linebackers in coverage for the past several seasons, but over the past couple seasons the defense seems to have gotten better against the TEs and RBs. The LBs aren't good against WRs, but no team wants to match up their LBs against WRs. The only two bad games I can recall last year happened when the Rams TE Daniel Fells had 2 TD receptions and the 49ers TE Vernon Davis had 108 yards and 1 TD. Against Davis, the Packers put CB Charles Woodson on him in the 4th quarter. It appears the Packers are more interested in having big outside LBs who can stop the run and rush the passer, and if they become a problem in coverage then they'll make an adjustment to fix it. 

 - DE Johnny Jolly's trial just keeps sounding worse and worse.

There was some speculation earlier this week that RB Ahman Green might be drafted by the UFL. Apparently he's already on Omaha's 40 man roster along with former Packer WR Robert Ferguson. Now a couple former Green Bay Packers were taken in the UFL draft. I saw DE Kenny Peterson, WR Antonio Chatman, and CB Frank Walker were selected.