In advance of the two joint practices with the New Orleans Saints this week, the Packers held another closed, jog-through workout today on Ray Nitschke Field. The intensity will certainly ramp up Tuesday and Wednesday before the teams meet in Pre-Season game number two on Friday night at Lambeau Field.
The three players who emerged off the Physically Unable to Perform List jumped into the mix today, Robert Tonyan and Christian Watson were running routes with the offense and Elgton Jenkins was getting back into his stance on the offensive line. Jenkins took reps at right tackle, a sign that’s where the Packers hope he can line up when they open the season at Minnesota in less than a month.
“It was a real shot in the arm”, said Head Coach Matt LaFleur on getting the trio back Sunday. They’ll slowly get worked into the mix for full speed reps but it’s doubtful they’ll take any snaps against the Saints defense.
Three other players who suffered injuries against the 49ers last Friday night were also back. Wide receiver Juwann Winfree who suffered a groin injury, tight end Dominique Dafney back from a sore knee and linebacker Tipa Galeai who suffered and elbow injury. Devonte Wyatt, one of the Pack’s first round picks also came back after he was evaluated for a concussion last week and sat out the game in Santa Clara. Another receiver, Malik Taylor, who had been dealing with a shoulder injury but still practicing, finally shed his red jersey, clearing him for contact moving forward.
Players still on the shelf or in the rehab group included David Bakhtiari, Mason Crosby, Innis Gaines, Darnell Savage, Donte Vaughn, Dallin Leavitt, Cole Schneider and Akial Byers, sporting a boot on his left foot.
Punter Pat O’Donnell was not seen at practice, presumably on a veterans rest day. Jordan Love took a couple of turns as the holder.
The most interesting addition at practice though was of the mechanical variety.
Meet “The Seeker”, a creation of Monarch Sport. It’s a robotic, programmable jugs machine that’s making inroads in college football and has now arrived in the NFL. The Packers are the first league team to make use of the device. Reporters were given a quick tutorial on the Seeker. It holds up to six balls and can be programmed to deliver any pass or kick. It ejects balls at up to 75 miles an hour with a range of 100 yards. Using video of a quarterback’s release and trajectory, the Seeker can re-create it to the second and the yardage. Receivers or return men clip what’s called a pulse tag on their belt and the Seeker will deliver. Say Aaron Rodgers gets rid of a 23 yard corner route to the back of the end zone in 1.3 seconds. When a blue light on the unit goes white, the receiver runs that exact route and in 1.3 seconds, the ball will be at 23 yards to the corner. Say a punt has to be delivered 45 yards to the right between the numbers and the sideline, program that in, and away it goes. Technology like this isn’t cheap. The Packers are giving the Seeker a one month trial and the annual subscription price is around $40,000.00. The University of Iowa, Tennessee and Auburn are already using the Seeker. Packers Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia was marveling at it’s advancements during and after practice. Sure beats the ancient units that would spit out a ball between two spinning tires or the mechanical arm that would whip a baseball at you in a batting cage.
