A Thursday in shells had one wide receiver feeling better and another still mending. The last heavy practice for the Packers before Sunday’s opener against the Bears in Chicago had Romeo Doubs back on the field for the first time in two weeks, after he suffered a hamstring injury just before the Preseason finale against Seattle. Christian Watson meanwhile, missed a second straight practice with the same injury.
Romeo’s running again.
Doubs was still a limited participant but it has to give Head Coach Matt LaFleur a boost knowing he could have at least 1 of his 2 most experienced receivers available at Soldier Field. Romeo said he still hasn’t cut completely loose but was happy to “be back with the guys”, getting in several team reps. Watson wasn’t seen during the open media portion of practice but LaFleur said he did observe after his rehabilitation work. Rookie Dontayvion Wicks is also making progress from his hamstring pull getting upgraded to a full participant today. The rest of the Thursday injury report had Anthony Johnson Jr. a full participant, Rashan Gary remained limited but is expected to play, and David Bakhtiari got yet another veteran day of rest.
The All Pro hasn’t practiced in nearly two weeks. LaFleur has repeatedly called his situation “fluid”, making sure he’s available on days that count….game days. Bakhtiari held court after practice and fielded several questions about his practice plan this season. He believes he’ll be able to jump right into the fray and be effective despite missing out on daily fundamental work and team reps. Bakhtiari says he takes part in walk through sessions when game plans are implemented.
“Practice is important”, Bakhtiari said, “but not everyone needs practice.”
All three coordinators held press conferences to wrap up the day.
Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia went first. He’s been coaching a long time in the NFL but I’d be hard pressed to think he’s ever entered a season with two fuzzy faced specialists. Kicker Anders Carlson is a 5th round draft choice and punter Daniel Whelan got cut in his only other NFL camp a year ago before hooking up with the XFL last spring. Bisaccia knows there will be growing pains especially after watching Carlson miss a couple of extra points in Preseason games. He said Matt LaFleur did a great job in camp having both kickers deal with special situations like backed up punting, into and with the wind, icing the placekicker in game winning scenarios. Bisaccia said rough kicks will come but both youngsters simply need to play and work through those tough patches.
Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry was next. After a disappointing year stopping the run consistently in 2022, Barry said the entire off-season focus was on shoring that up and it there’s no better opening day test than the Bears who led the league in rushing yards last year, breaking their franchise record in the process, a franchise that has had Gayle Sayers and Walter Payton I might add. Throw in a quarterback that put up over 1100 yards by himself and it will be a task for all 11 players on his unit. Barry said they won’t have to deploy a spy to keep Justin Fields in check, everyone will need to do their job for that. The return of Gary will deliver a huge emotional lift to his unit, no matter how many or how few snaps he plays on Sunday. Barry said the team not only lost Gary’s production when he tore his ACL last November, they lost his work ethic, dedication and enthusiasm.
Offensive Coordinator Adam Stenavich finished up. He also knows what he’s in for this season with a first time starting quarterback, brand new tight ends and untested wide receivers beyond the room leaders entering just their second season. But Stenavich said the run up to get this unit ready has actually been fun because the kids are extremely enthusiastic and hungry. I asked Stenavich about the Bakhtiari situation and if anything about his practice plan made him uncomfortable. He said not really because he’s banked a lot of snaps and knows what’s required but yes, there is something to be said about practicing and continuing to develop with left guard Elgton Jenkins. Zach Tom clearly earned the starting job at right tackle according to the OC and the entire line had better brace themselves for an attacking Chicago defense on Sunday.
