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The Packers have Thursday off from practice, but head coach Mike McCarthy still met with the media to discuss his football team.
- According to McCarthy, the reason for offensive coordinator Tom Clements move to the booth has more to do with staff changes than a personal preference. "Anytime you have change you redo your job description. The quarterbacks coach historically has sat with the quarterbacks. When Tom moved to coordinator, we kept him on the field. We had a change. Alex Van Pelt is now the quarterbacks coach. We felt this was the best way to go." McCarthy added that the "network of communication is really good" with his veteran coaching staff.
- It's not only preseason for the players. McCarthy will call his first game since January, and he knows adjustments will be necessary. "I'm excited to go call a game. It's awesome to call an offensive game in the NFL. You aspire to be a play caller. I have to get back into rhythm and back into study patterns. That's no different for me this week."
- The first preseason game will feature mostly young players and guys battling for spots on the 53. "I'm looking for players to jump out," McCarthy explained, noting that the game is an important part of their evaluation process.
- Several Packers will not travel with the team Friday including some big names. As expected, Jared Abbrederis and Don Barclay will remain in Green Bay while recovering from torn ACLs. Safety Morgan Burnett, who has missed most of this week with a strained oblique, will join them. Also absent will be Colt Lyerla, Jerel Worthy, Letroy Guion, and Tanner Miller.
- While Micah Hyde and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix are expected to run with the starting defense in Burnett's absence, it sounds like Sean Richardson might receive some snaps with them as well. "I'll tell you what, Sean Richardson is having a hell of a training camp." As we've noted in our practice notebooks, Richardson has made plays all over the field and generally impressed the coaching staff. That said, McCarthy reiterated his confidence in Burnett. "I look at Morgan Burnett as a starter. We don't get caught on eleven players. Morgan is going through a situation. He'll come back and jump back in."
- McCarthy is looking forward to seeing second-year center JC Tretter in action. "I want to see [Tretter] play. I'm confident in what he's done in practice." The coach added he also needs to see Corey Linsley play.
That's all for McCarthy. Keep you internet machines tuned to Acme Packing Company for the latest Packers news and developments.
Jason Hirschhorn covers the Green Bay Packers for Acme Packing Company. He also serves as a contributor at various publications. His work has previously appeared on Hook’em Headlines, Beats Per Minute, and Lombardi Ave.