Cheese Curds, 7/26: Packers’ defense outperforms offense in first training camp practice

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ offense got off to a bit of a slow start on Thursday. As the Packers took to the practice field for the first time in training camp, the offense clearly looked a step behind Mike Pettine’s defense.

Is this a problem? Probably not — in fact, Packers fans should probably be expecting this. In fact, Rodgers himself addressed the balance a bit after practice and admits that there will still be some growing pains in the coming weeks. Will we see more of Rodgers this preseason as he tries to get a complete handle on a new scheme? That seems plausible, and we’ll find out in about two weeks when the Packers open the preseason against the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field.

For now, however, the Packers head into practice on Friday as the second day of four straight on the field. Keep it here at APC later this morning when practice gets underway.

Aaron Rodgers: Packers’ new offense ‘in its infancy,’ with plenty of room to grow | Packersnews.com
It’s going to take a while for Rodgers and company to really get on the same page with Matt LaFleur, so the struggles in Thursday’s opening practice of training camp should not come as a surprise. For example, Rodgers is still asking LaFleur why he is doing certain things on certain plays, but thankfully the coach has seemingly been able to explain it in most cases.

Intensity ramps up at end of Packers’ first practice | Packers.com
LaFleur ran a 'third-and-goal' drill late on Thursday, with the offense getting nine single-play attempts to score on the defense. Although the defense won its share of those plays -- including Blake Martinez picking off Rodgers -- the offense did get into the end zone a few times.

Defense could be Packers' identity while Rodgers, LaFleur catch up - ESPN
Of course, the results mentioned earlier should be both expected and encouraging; if Pettine's group in his second year wasn't performing ahead of a brand-new offense, there would be some problems. Hopefully the turnovers will carry over into the regular season, particularly if the offense does not get clicking until a few weeks in.

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Meanwhile, the special teams aren't looking very special yet. Mason Crosby sat out with an injury he suffered in training this summer, while Sam Ficken missed a pair of field goals from 39 and 43 yards.

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