Packers Practice Notes and Preseason Analysis

 - My thanks to all the good hosts at Cheesehead Radio for having me on to talk about the Green Bay Packers. It was a lot of fun, and I hope to be on their show again.

 - Thursday was the last practice this week open to the public. Greg Bedard's posts from the evening practice inspired me to look back at how a few of the players he mentioned on Thursday played in the first preseason game last Saturday:

• RB Kregg Lumpkin remains out of practice after suffering a hamstring injury at some point on Saturday. This has been a problem throughout college and now in the pros. He's looked really good, and then an injury slows him down. This is his third season with the Packers and he's been dealing with injuries throughout. If they can't rely on him to stay healthy, then maybe it's time to move on.
• Jason Spitz got some playing time at center. His fall from grace has been a surprising development. This time last year they were demoting C Scott Wells to the bench, through no fault of his, to make room for Spitz at center. Now Spitz can't even get into the mix for the starting job at either LG or C. But he would seem to be a better answer as the backup center ahead of C Evan Dietrich-Smith who was inconsistent last Saturday. Dietrich-Smith is a good run blocker, but needs to improve his pass blocking.
• QB Matt Flynn didn't look great, but he didn't look bad either. He got some passes off in the face of serious pressure and took some big hits as his reward. I really would like to see a clear sign this preseason that he's improving.
• RT Breno Giacomini was almost knocked over by LB Cyril Obiozor during practice, and he was beaten a couple times by the Browns second team pass rushers last Saturday. First round rookie LT Bryan Bulaga has to take a roster spot from someone, and Giacomini has a lot to prove if he wants to keep his chair when the music stops.