The coolest day of training camp left Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur cold after an uneven workout was capped by another frustrating showing by his offense in the final competitive period of the day.
After a couple of days in the mid to upper 80's to start camp, the team returned after their first day off Monday to clouds and temperatures in the low 70's. That led to some unusual sights on Ray Nitschke Field.
For example:
In the one one pass blocking and pass rush drill, All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari got smoked not once, but twice by Za'Darius Smith. On the first snap, Smith got Bakhtiari leaning outside and blew past him inside. The next rep had Bakhtiari at least get a piece of the former Baltimore Raven but that was about it with another clean inside rush. Bakhtiari has gone weeks without ever losing a single rep and it got just about everybody's attention.
Elgton Jenkins, the third round pick from Mississippi State got a little work at center but look for him to be back at guard on Wednesday. He launched one of the highest, air-mailed shotgun snaps over a quarterback's head that I've ever seen.
There were issues on defense too. In a red zone drill, the second string offense hurried to the line and recognized a scrambling defensive unit trying to match up. Tony Brown never got to an unguarded receiver and they gave up an easy touchdown.
The worst may have been saved for the last. At the end of each practice, LaFleur gathers his team together to lay out one more drill. The competitive period premise today was about as simple as it gets, pick up a first down.
The starting offense against the starting defense for 10 yards and four downs if needed.
On first and 10, Aaron Rodgers threw a dart to Davante Adams on a skinny post from the slot for an easy first down but Jaire Alexander had other ideas, stripping the ball out of Adams' hands and the turnover ended the series.
Blitz pressure made life miserable for DeShone Kizer and the second stringers along with Tim Boyle and the third team offense. Not a single first down in three tries for LaFleur's offense, the defense wins the day again.
When the competitive period was brought up quickly into LaFleur's post practice news conference, it was about as upset as I've heard the new coach since his arrival.
(Audio: Matt LaFleur)
LaFleur reported no new injuries as the second week of camp begins. Still sitting out were Mason Crosby, Darnell Savage, Jamal Williams, Josh Jackson, Kendall Donnerson, Greg Roberts and Jason Spriggs.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst also met reporters on Tuesday and talked about the evaluation process, still in it's first week. Gutekunst said it's a balancing act between sizing up the competition for roster spots and making sure the eventual starters are getting prepped for when it counts:
(Audio: Brian Gutekunst)
There were a lot of interested and interesting observers at practice as the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association had their annual day with the team. A WFCA exhibit sits inside the Lambeau Field Atrium and many WFCA Hall of Fame and other former coaches attended practice and were treated to a luncheon and stadium tour.
Having covered High School football for years, I caught up with a lot of familiar faces, Ron Miller, Dick Heiptas, Mike Williquette, Phil Morgan, Al Schleis, Bill Collar and more during the day.