Green Bay Packers Training Camp: Days 1-3

Perhaps one of the most anticipated training camps in the past decade, the Green Bay Packers practiced in full pads for the first time this offseason.

NFL viewers around the world expect the Packers to be a serious threat to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, and rightfully so.

One of the main keys heading into 2010 is that the team finally has a chance to build off of last season. Nothing is new.

In 2008, the Packers had a new quarterback.

In 2009, the Packers had a new defensive scheme.

In 2010, the Packers get a chance to build on their foundation, and to be honest, the sky's the limit for this team.

With the preseason roughly two weeks away, here's a glimpse at the Packers first three days of training camp.

Rookies

Day 1:

Morgan Burnett worked with the No. 1 defense, as expected.

Bryan Bulaga got some work with the starting offensive line when Clifton sat out.

Sam Shields, who was definitely the surprise of the day, made plays left and right.  He had two picks, one for a touchdown, and many pass break ups.  Both picks came against Matt Flynn and he went 2-0 when covering Jordy Nelson.

Mike Neal's first pass rush of the day was fairly impressive, as he pushed RG Josh Sitton back into the QB.

Andrew Quarless got a little taste of the NFL when he was demolished by Desmond Bishop on one of the biggest hits of the day.  "I definitely had to welcome him to the NFL.  Nothing personal." said Bishop.

Day 2:

Sam Shields had a solid day playing DB but dropped a few punts. Catching the ball is certainly something he needs to improve upon if he plans on being a return man.

Morgan Burnett managed to get his first INT today off of a tipped pass. He claims he was just "in the right place at the right time".

Bryan Bulaga won some reps, lost some, but looks good nonetheless.

Day 3:

Not much from the rookies today other than Morgan Burnett dropping a pass in the end zone.

Starters/Veterans

Day 1:

Aaron Rodgers victimized Charles Woodson twice on long TD passes, one each to Donald Driver and James Jones. 

However, Woodson managed to get a pick off of Rodgers, but the receiver supposedly ran the wrong route.

Brad Jones went out early with a lower back injury and did not return.  He took a helmet to the lower back, nothing serious and should be back tomorrow.  Brady Poppinga replaced him and took his reps.

B.J. Raji had some nice bull rushes versus Josh Sitton and Scott Wells.

Ryan Grant had a solid practice, with the exception of a fumble in which he recovered.

Day 2:

Jermichael Finley looked great, he caught anything throw in his vicinity. I'm telling you, this man is going to be regarded as one of the best tight ends in the league after next season. Twice he broke Derrick Martin's ankles for easy receptions.

Aaron Rodgers starts off slow by hanging onto the ball too long, but later on threw the ball away when pressured. Last season he had days where he wasn't that accurate in camp but that did not carry onto the field.

Greg Jennings dropped a couple bullet passes from Rodgers. It may take a while to get used to Rodgers' cannon arm after a long off season.

Desmond Bishop is playing great so far, hopefully he can do it during the regular season this year.

Matt Flynn looked horrible today, had major accuracy problems.

Day 3:

Brandon Chillar got a look at OLB and looked pretty natural. He also returned an interception for a touchdown off of a deflected ball.

First pass of the day was thrown into the stands, Rodgers getting rid of it after being rushed out of the pocket. With each day, Rodgers is showing how much better he is at making reads versus a blitzing defense.

Rodgers went 5 for 8 in the redzone with 3 TD's, a dropped pass by Brett Swain, and throwaway.

Jordy Nelson made some great catches today in tight coverage.

Chad Clifton looks like his old self while he handles Cullen Jenkins in a 1 on 1 rep.

Pat Lee broke up a couple of plays, including a TD pass intended for Donald Driver.

The defense also won both two-minute drills.

Punting Situation And Mason Crosby

Anyone who watches the Packers knows that punting the ball is an aspect that definitely needs to improve. From what we've heard, it is a very close competition between Tim Masthay and Chris Bryan. In fact, it's so close that the starter won't be named until watching both of them punt during the preseason.

Day 1:

Round One:

Tim Masthay - 44.4 yard avg, 4.38 hang time

Chris Bryan - 47.8 yard avg, 4.28 hang time

Round Two:

Tim Masthay - 51.3 yard avg, 4.56 hang time

Chris Bryan - 45.7 yard avg, 4.34 hang time

Day 2:

Chris Bryan - Average placement of 12.7 yard line

Tim Masthay - Average placement of 15.4 yard line

Mason Crosby finally starts kicking.

Crosby went 6-9. Makes were from 28, 33, 36, 43, 50, 53. Misses were from 40 and 45 twice.

Day 3:

There's no information on the punters today, just Mason Crosby, who did not look good for the second straight day.

He went 0-2 today, which puts him at 6-11 in all of training camp. If I were Mike McCarthy I would try and bring in another kicker to compete with Crosby.

Doing so would:

1.) Motivate Crosby and make him realize he needs to kick well.
2.) Give us another option if Crosby continues to struggle.