Packers Practice Notebook 7/28: Pads come on, intensity goes up

The Green Bay Packers hit the practice field for the third straight morning on Thursday, but this was the first time since the playoff game in Arizona last January that the players wore pads. With full gear on, the practice was more lively and intense, a tone which was set very early on.

As is usually the case when contact begins, a few young players disappointed while a couple more stepped up. However, it seems that second-year cornerback Quinten Rollins is becoming one of the early stars of training camp, as he was notable for how many times his name was mentioned by the beat writers in attendance.

Here are some of the key events from Thursday’s practice. The Packers will not practice on Friday, but will take the field on Saturday morning before Family Night on Sunday evening.

• Aside from the players on the PUP list (Nelson, Montgomery, Cook, Linsley, Lang, and Barrington), the only player not practicing today was tight end Mitchell Henry.
• Early on in practice, Mike Daniels looked to set a tone and did so by punching offensive lineman Don Barclay in the helmet. Was Daniels legitimately angry about something or just trying to set the tone and intensity for practice? We may never know.
• A day after Mike McCarthy was asked about the utility of hybrid safety/linebackers, strong safety Morgan Burnett was used in that position. He lined up as a nickel linebacker a few times, which could be a good spot for him given his strength in run support.
• Each of the Packers’ undrafted rookie running backs, Brandon Burks and Brandon Ross, fumbled today, and it looks like John Crockett is currently the number three back by a mile.
• One of the undrafted rookie receivers stood out today: it was Geronimo Allison, who made a deep catch over Quinten Rollins.
• Aside from that play, however, Rollins was impressive. He forced an incompletion by ripping the ball out of Davante Adams’ hands and was jumping routes much of the morning - one in particular he should have picked off if not for dropping the pass.
• Rookie OL Kyle Murphy had a pretty rough stretch late in practice - he was beaten on back-to-back plays by pass-rushers, then had a false start. Jason Spriggs also had one notable bad beat, but it was Julius Peppers who schooled him so don’t worry too much about that yet.