Packers training camp report: Aug. 20


Tuesday, August 20, 2013


11:15 a.m. (Total: 2 hours, 14 minutes)


LB Sam Barrington

Barrington has several reasons to feel good about himself after Tuesday's practice. The Packers' seventh-round pick out of South Florida tipped a pass from quarterback Graham Harrell that was intercepted by Jarrett Bush.

Barrington was also part of the No. 1 kick return unit and the No. 1 punt return unit. If there was any doubt that Green Bay might not have the 22-year-old rookie on its 53-man roster when the regular season begins, Barrington's firm grasp on a key special teams role has likely solidified his spot.


LB Terrell Manning

This is a self-imposed bad day for Manning. Midway through Tuesday's practice, Manning dropped a surefire interception and forced himself to go to the sideline and do 10 pushups as a form of punishment.

"Just enough (pushups) to make you never miss it again," Manning told FOXSportsWisconsin.com. "Any time you miss an opportunity, you have to do something to yourself to make up for it."

Later in practice, Manning's hands didn't let him down. Dropping into coverage near the end zone, Manning was on scout defense when he intercepted a pass from Harrell.

"Just a good, decent read and the quarterback never saw me," Manning said. "I went and jumped it."

But that interception wasn't enough for Manning to feel good about his overall performance.

"I would give myself a fail as far as making my reps count when I got in with the defense," Manning said. "Definitely a fail for today. I had a mental error. As a signal caller, that's one thing you can't do out there, especially with the No. 1 defense. That alone gives me the fail for the day."

Manning said that his mental error came when he was in basic pass coverage and "blew it" when he failed to communicate with the other defensive players on his side.

"Completely my fault," Manning said. "It'll never happen again."


- This is the third consecutive practice (including one late last week) in which the Packers were not in pads. However, coach Mike McCarthy's plan is for Wednesday's practice to be in pads before the team takes Thursday off in preparation for Friday night's game.

- Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not present at Tuesday's practice. McCarthy confirmed that the reason for Rodgers' absence was a head cold. Rodgers is expected to practice Wednesday.

- With Rodgers unavailable, Harrell led the no-huddle drill in the final practice period. Harrell's drive did not result in a touchdown.

- DuJuan Harris was once again on the field as the starting running back, followed by Eddie Lacy. McCarthy is sticking by his stance that Harris is classified as the starter, but Lacy and Harris will likely be a one-two punch this season. Which of them gets more carries and in which situations they get the ball is still to be determined.

- For the first time, Harris was also used as a kick returner. Rookie running back Johnathan Franklin was the No. 1 kick returner, followed by Jeremy Ross, Omarius Hines and Harris. Running back Alex Green took a couple kick returns, as well.

- Micah Hyde has come out of nowhere to potentially be the leader in the battle for the punt returner job. After Ross led that charge in recent weeks, Hyde is being strongly considered as the player who could allow top receiver Randall Cobb to no longer play special teams. Hyde returned punts for two years in college at Iowa, and he looks very natural doing so.

- Don Barclay got the majority of snaps with the first-string offense at right tackle, but, unlike Monday's practice, Marshall Newhouse got a couple, too. McCarthy has yet to publicly declare Green Bay's starting right tackle.

- For the second day in a row, M.D. Jennings was the starting safety next to Morgan Burnett. Jerron McMillian started next to Burnett in Saturday's preseason game, but Jennings has been first on the field the past two days.

- The three songs played during the team's water breaks: Avicii, "Levels" - Dave Matthews Band, "Tripping Billies" - Maroon 5, "Love Somebody"
* QB Aaron Rodgers (Illness -- First missed practice)* CB Loyce Means (Ankle -- First missed practice)* CB James Nixon (Knee / Ankle -- Missed Monday's practice, tried to play Tuesday but left early)* TE Matthew Mulligan (Elbow -- Consecutive Missed Practices: 2)* WR Randall Cobb (Right biceps -- Consecutive Missed Practices: 4; and one game)* CB Tramon Williams - (Knee -- Consecutive Missed Practices: 14; and two games)* WR Charles Johnson (Left Leg -- Consecutive Missed Practices: 15; and two games)* OL Derek Sherrod (Leg -- Consecutive Missed Practices: 17; and two games)* S Sean Richardson (Neck -- Consecutive Missed Practices: 17; and two games)* WR Jordy Nelson (Knee surgery -- Out the remainder of training camp)*OL Bryan Bulaga (Torn ACL -- Likely to miss the entire season)* OL J.C. Tretter (Ankle -- Likely out until midseason)* DL Jerel Worthy (Knee -- Likely out until midseason)
* Wednesday, August 21 - 11:00 a.m. (Training Camp Practice No. 18)* Friday, August 23 - 7:00 p.m. (Preseason Game No. 3 - Home vs. Seattle Seahawks)
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