Cheese Curds, 8/27: Packers feel good about offense’s progress despite limited preseason reps

The Green Bay Packers close out their preseason schedule this Thursday, one week before opening up the regular season with a date in Chicago. But although the full starting offense will not take a single snap together this August — Aaron Rodgers has not taken the field in exhibition games — there is a lot of optimism in the locker room about how the unit has developed in practice during training camp.

It was ugly in spring practices, to be sure. With only portions of the scheme installed and players still learning the new terminology of Matt LaFleur’s offense, the defense ran well ahead of the offense. That trend continued in the early portions of training camp, when the defense consistently looked more impressive and the offense got chewed out on occasion.

But recent practices have Rodgers and company sounding excited about the unit’s progress and improvement, and it appears that they are excited to unveil the new scheme to the world at Soldier Field. Today’s curds feature a few pieces of news about the offense and the changes it has gone through, along with a look at some players who look to be on the field in the final preseason game as they come back from injury.

Packers' bunch formations rely on fancy footwork from receivers | Packersnews.com
When you have so many receivers packed so tightly together, it's easy for players to get tangled up, affecting their timing with their quarterback. That has been a critical piece of the puzzle for the wideouts and tight ends this year in training camp, and hopefully it will bear fruit starting a week from Thursday.

Aaron Rodgers confident in progression of Packers offense | Packers Wire
On the subject of the offense, Rodgers is feeling good about where he and the unit sit at this point, citing a pair of good, high-energy practices this week. He even mentions a conversation with David Bakhtiari where the tackle commented that things look good and asked what the difference was between OTAs and the present. Rodgers replied that they finally have all of the offense installed and at their disposal.

Rodgers backs Luck; calls fans' boos 'disgusting' | ESPN
Meanwhile, Rodgers also addressed Andrew Luck's retirement and the reactions to that decision, taking a shot at people who booed or otherwise criticized Luck. Rodgers says he has no plans to retire any time soon himself, though, implying that his "love affair with the game" remains strong.

Rashan Gary ‘back at it’ and eager for rookie season to start | Packers.com
Gary returned to practice on Monday after the injury he suffered last Thursday in Winnipeg, a good sign for the Packers' depth at outside linebacker. Meanwhile, Jace Sternberger is fully out of the concussion protocol and is excited to get his first game action against Kansas City this week.

NFL allowing players to wear lightly tinted Oakley helmet visors | SI.com
The league is partnering with Oakley for a new slightly pink visor that is supposed to increase the contrast between the football and the turf.

Teen registered people to vote as they waited in Popeyes line for new chicken sandwich | wkyc.com
This 17-year-old can't vote yet himself, but he found a way to get others registered to do their civic duty.