Belichick is alive and well on Day 2 of the Packers Training Camp

A Packed Stands Watches Packers Stretch

Evidently the only people covering the Packers training camp are Packers News and the Milwaukee Journal. Those two outlets seem to be the only ones to get Packernet and you have to pay Packers News to read their dispatches and the JSonline isn't what it used to be.

Big Man in Camp Trevor Davis

I read one Packers News article which basically told me nothing, but how good wide receiver/returner Trevor Davis is doing in camp. Ok, I've heard that before, but once again no details. Is he catching every pass thrown his way or is he returning every kick for a touchdown. I don't know. So I seems I wasted one of my free articles.

 

Then I learned Jeff Janis is not on the same page as Aaron Rodgers, which isn't good since Coach Mike McCarthy doesn't like him anyway. So he better get with the program or he is gone. I like him, but he beginning to resemble Bill Schroeder, which isn't good.

 

Bill Belichick's Lips Are Sealed

Next I found out the injury list got bigger when backup cornerback Robertson Daniel went down with an undisclosed injury. Don't tell me the Packers are copying Bill Belichick and not disclosing details on anything including injuries. In the past every injury was disclosed before practice was over. This is a disturbing trend.

 

It took some digging, but I found out that with Sam Barrington on the PUP list Jake Ryan and Blake Martinez are taking the first team snaps at inside linebacker with Carl Bradford and Joe Thomas on the second team. Actually an unofficial depth had Bradford starting with Ryan and Martinez backing up Ryan, but that seemed to be some more Belichick subterfuge.

 

Silent But Hopefully Deadly Kenny Clark

It seems No. 1 pick Kenny Clark is being pushed by just about everyone because he is the quiet type. Reading between the lines it seems the coaching staff is worried about him. But what can you expect from a 5.9 graded player even if he was drafted in the first round.

 

Wide receiver Davante Adams also seems to be feeling some pressure because he pulled a Golden Tate and pushed Damarious Randall to make a catch. He took some grief for that because Packers don't cheat.

 

Speaking of Randall an interesting battle is taking place with Quintin Rollins. It seems Randall is moving inside to the slot more often than not playing the Casey Heyward position with Rollins playing outside. That is a situation that bears watching.

 

With center Corey Linsley and right guard J.T. Lang on the PUP list J.C. Tretter is at center and Josh Walker at right guard. Tretter had a good season last year, but the big Walker was pushed around last year when he was played right guard last year. He is a bit soft from my observations.

 

Brett Hendley is having a great camp. He also had a great camp last year as a rookie. It will be interesting to see if he is actually a prospect or just a camp wonder. I'm guessing he is the real deal, so we can see a trade coming either at the end of camp this year or more likely after the season.

 

That's about all I could find out. I guess it's time to make a trip up north and do some reporting first hand if I want a good depth chart. I hate to think I'm old school and the type of reporting I want to read is from a lost era.

 

This May Be a Politics Free Zone, But It's Never an Olivia Munn Free Zone

Day Three: I was sifting through the Journal this morning and found some gems of information like Rodgers and Randall Cobb not being on the same page. So with Janis and Cobb not connecting with Olivia Munn's boyfriend and Nelson and Ty Montgomery on the PUP list Ted Thompson took my advice, well sort of, and signed a new receiver.

 

Did he sign Bolden (nope the Lions already got him), Roddy White (No), Greg Jennings (No) or trade for Josh Gordon (of course, not) or even inquire about Victor Cruz from Giants (probably not)? However, Ted Thompson did what Ted Thompson does he found the cheapest wide receiver he could find - an Arena League wide receiver named Harvey Binford.

 

Harvey Binford

If you know anything about the afl2 100 catches is about normal for a wide receiver and quarterbacks throw about 100 TD passes, so you would guess Thompson found a guy who was one of the best, but again, of course not. Binford played seven games for the Philadelphia Soul in 2015 and caught 24 passes for 412 yards (17.2 average) and 7 touchdowns.

 

Binford played for East St. Louis High School and his claim to fame came in college where he played for NAIA Lindenwood-Belleville, Illinois his junior and senior years about an hour and a half from where I live when he scored the first touchdown in the inaugural game in 2012.

 

He finished with 26 catches for 569 yards and 3 TDs. He was also a kick returner where he averaged 19.0 yards a kickoff return (on 5 returns) and 22.0 yards a punt return (on 2 returns). His 2013 stats were 17 catches for 409 yards and 6 TDs. He averaged 18.9 yards on 14 kickoff returns and didn't return punts.

 

From what I could find and it was sketchy he attended the University of Missouri-St. Louis his freshman and sophomore years. UMSL doesn't have a football program. I found nothing about where he was in 2014.

 

For more context Lindenwood-Belleville and nearby McKendree University in Lebanon are the places where a lot of the Southern Illinois high school players go to play college football.

 

Geronimo!!!!!!!!!!!

More nuggets from Day Three: Mason Crosby was 6-for-6 on field goals and is now 13-for-13 for the first two days. Undrafted rookie free agent Geronimo Allison made two nice catches. Eddie Lacy dropped a pass in the flat. Davante Adams is also dropping passes or getting completions knocked out of his hands.

 

Jeff Janis and Micah Hyde were the top two kick returners with Jared Abbrederis and somebody named Burns as the second two. I'm guessing Tom Silverstein meant Trevor Davis instead of Burns because Davis had been running No. 2 on kickoffs.

 

John Crockett is running well as No. 3 behind Lacy and James Starks. However, Undrafted rookie free agent Brandon Ross is a fumble machine.

 

It's Easy to Find the Defensive Line in Practice

Mike McCarthy stated the No. 1 pick defensive tackle Kenny Clark, No. 4 defensive end Dean Lowry and last year's No. 6 defensive end Christian Ringo, who spent last year on the practice squad, will be expected to play significant minutes because of lack of depth on the defensive line. Remember lack of depth is a Thompson Hallmark, so heaven help us.

 

Injury updates: Tight end Mitchell Henry was not in pads and guard Lucas Patrick had a club on right hand.

 

In other injury news the Bears No. 1 pick outside linebacker Leonard Floyd left practice Thursday on a cart. And no surprise in a Bill Belichick NFL no news on the injury. If you remember the Bears lost last year's No. 1 pick wide receiver Kevin White for the season with a stress fracture in his shin in training camp. Lightning striking twice? Only time will tell.

 

Just One More Thing: Speaker of the U.S. House Paul Ryan visited camp on Day Three. Being a politics free zone I have no comment.

 

The Ryan Not Playing Inside Linebacker