Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers practiced in front of more than 60,000 fans Saturday night.
The Green Bay Packers held their annual Family Night Scrimmage Saturday night — a practice inside of Lambeau Field where fans were charged $10 to watch the 2-hour session.
Amazingly, nearly 61,000 spectators piled into Lambeau Field to get a first-hand look at their heroes.
Here was the good, bad and ugly from Saturday night’s practice.
THE GOOD
DIE HARDS: When it comes to fan bases, it’s tough to beat the one in Green Bay.
Packer Nation filled Lambeau Field to watch a practice — “we talking about practice” as Allen Iverson once said — on a muggy summer night where temperatures were in the low-80s throughout.
For those new to Green Bay, the idea of more than 60,000 people turning out for a practice was a bit stunning.
“How awesome are the fans here?” Green Bay’s first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “Showing up like that and loving the team so much, where else in the world does that happen? I love it. It’s awesome. And the players love it. They love all the energy in brings.”
Rookie safety Javon Bullard, who played before remarkably passionate fans in college at Georgia, was amazed by much of what he saw.
“We did walk-throughs and stuff in the stadium, but to see it filled up, it was amazing,” Bullard said. “Like, dreams do come true. You think of that moment since you were a little boy. Now that those moments are actually here and right in front of your face, it’s surreal, for sure.
“Tonight was only a glimpse of what Green Bay has to offer. It was my first time but I’m excited for the season.”
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said practicing in front of that many people almost serves like an extra exhibition game.
“Just the atmosphere, having that many fans come out, I think it naturally just ups the urgency,” LaFleur said. “It feels truly like a preseason game. That’s why I love it so much.
“To get all our fans in Lambeau, I think it kind of is a great opportunity for these guys to kind of get that feel without it being a real game, just so that when we get to our first preseason game, it’s not the first time they’ve been there.”
GETTING ROLLING: Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love started slow after signing his new contract on July 27. In fact, Love was just 1-of-8 to begin his first practice back and took a few days to get back up to speed.
With every practice, though, Love looks more and more like the player that finished 2023 playing as well as any quarterback in the NFL.
On Saturday night, he threw touchdowns to Jayden Reed and Christian Watson during 1-on-1 drills. Later, he threw two TDs to Romeo Doubs during red-zone work.
Love was nearly intercepted twice by rookie safety Javon Bullard. And the offense went nowhere during a disappointing 2-minute drill.
Overall, though, Love is quickly rounding into form after missing the first four practices of training camp.
“I’m definitely getting back in that rhythm,” Love said earlier this week. “I feel like training camp, the speed is always so much faster. I feel like everybody’s got that energy and they’re flying around, especially at the start. Definitely something I’m just getting back to playing fast and trying to keep myself slowed down in the midst of all it, trying to not get sped up myself with my feet and my reads, which I think is something I’m trying to focus on right now.”
BIG NIGHTS: Kickers Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson both had strong nights.
Carlson went 8-of-9 on kicks ranging between 33 and 57 yards. Carlson, who bounced back nicely from a 4-of-7 effort on Thursday, is now 33-of-40 this summer (82.5%).
Joseph had made 20 kicks in a row before missing from 54 and 57 yards late in practice. He finished 7-of-9 and still holds the overall lead, connecting on 36-of-40 kicks this camp (90.0%).
“Thought they both had a pretty good night,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of the kickers.
BULLISH ON BULLARD: Rookie safety Javon Bullard, who worked with the No. 1 defense, had a big practice. Bullard nearly had a pair of interceptions and made a big fourth down tackle of tight end Luke Musgrave to prevent a first down during the 2-minute drill.
Bullard has been alternating with fellow rookie Evan Williams and second-year man Anthony Johnson with the first string defense throughout camp.
“I’m inexperienced in the league,” Bullard said. “The more you play, the more things start to slow down. Just trying to get my feet wet and continue to do the things that I do best and there’s certain things that I have to work on. I know what those things are, so I’m definitely going to dial into those the next few days of training camp.”
Bullard also got some work in the slot, including the play where he dumped Musgrave for no gain late in practice. When Bullard went to the slot, Williams moved to the second safety spot.
“It’s a completely different position,” Bullard said of playing slot corner. “To the person that doesn’t watch enough football, people think DB is all the same. From outside corner to inside corner to safety, all of those are different. You talk about playing the deep part of the field and covering a guy with 4.3 speed in the open field. It’s completely different but reps [bring] muscle memory. You’ve got to dial into your keys and your technique.”
HUGE SUMMER: Rashan Gary, who played outside linebacker his first five seasons in Green Bay, is now a defensive end in the Packers’ 4-3 scheme. And the move certainly seems to agree with Gary.
Gary has been arguably Green Bay’s best player this summer, and he continued to shine Saturday. At one point, Gary had two sacks and stopped running back Marshawn Lloyd for a loss during a four-play stretch.
“That’s our guy. That’s our motivator, that’s our heart on this defense,” nose tackle T.J. Slaton said of Gary. “So when he comes out there with that energy we just feed off of him and every time he runs to the ball, we want to run to the ball, too.
ON THE MEND: Standout right tackle Zach Tom, who suffered a torn pectoral muscle in April, has only been doing individual drills since the start of camp. But LaFleur said he expects Tom to begin doing team reps when Green Bay is back on the practice field Tuesday.
“I think tonight was probably the toughest practice to miss, just not being out there,” Tom said. “It will be nice to get back out there next week.”
THIS AND THAT: Center Josh Myers was back after missing time earlier this week with a personal matter. Running back Josh Jacobs, who missed Thursday’s practice with a groin injury, also returned to practice. … Green Bay’s No. 1 offensive line was (from left) Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Myers, rookie Jordan Morgan and Andre Dillard. The No. 2 line (from left) was Caleb Jones, Royce Newman, Jacob Monk, Sean Rhyan and Kadeem Telfort. .… The dime linebackers continued to be Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie. … Caleb Jones got some work at right tackle with the No. 1 offense for the first time this camp.
THE BAD
TWO-MINUTE MISERY: The Packers’ 2-minute offense is something they need to improve on after struggling in that area in 2023.
On Saturday night, the No. 1 offense didn’t do anything to impress.
Love went 1-of-4 in the 2-minute drill and the offense didn’t gain a yard.
Isaiah McDuffie and Jaire Alexander forced incompletions, and Kenny Clark knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage. Then on fouth-and-10, Love checked down to tight end Luke Musgrave, who was quickly tackled by Javon Bullard for no gain.
O-LINE WOES: Green Bay’s No. 1 offensive line continues to struggle against the Packers’ defensive front.
Part of that is the Packers have been operating without right tackle Zach Tom (pectoral) in team drills. Green Bay has also struggled with continuity as veterans Josh Myers (personal) and Elgton Jenkins (rest) have missed time.
But it could also be the Packers’ defensive front has the ability to be dynamic this season, and could wreak havoc on offensive lines everywhere.
“It’s tough on the O-line right now,” LaFleur said. “Certainly I think the D-line gets frustrated at times because in practice we use a lot of chippers, I’m like hey man that’s a credit to you guys, that’s the ultimate compliment, we feel we have to get four hands on you to block you. It’s going to happen during the season. I think our D-line is solid, hopefully they continue to get better and improve and just keep coming off the ball the way they are.”
FROM THE INFIRMARY: Defensive end Kingsley Enagbare was new to the injury list with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Carrington Valentine remained out with a hamstring injury, while tight end Tucker Kraft (pectoral) is still on the PUP list.
Other injuries included defensive linemen Deslin Alexadre (lower leg) and Keshawn Banks (groin), linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hip), offensive lineman Donovan Jennings (knee) and cornerback Don Callis (hamstring).
THIS AND THAT: Cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Eric Stokes both gave up touchdowns to Romeo Doubs. … Tight end Ben Sims dropped what would have been a 25-yard completion. … Wideout Christian Watson collided with safety Evan Williams and was examined by the medical staff, but later returned to the practice. … Kadeem Telfort, fighting for a roster spot, was whipped by defensive end Rashan Gary for a sack. … Backup quarterback Sean Clifford never saw Kalen King coming on a blitz, and the rookie cornerback sacked his former college teammate.
THE UGLY
THE COLOR OF MONEY: The Packers reported a record $654.1 million in revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year. They had a profit of $60.1 million last year.
Green Bay also has $536 million in its corporate reserve fund.
The Packers’ passionate fan base will but almost anything that’s green and gold, meaning the organization almost has a license to print money.
So why charge the fans $10 to come to Lambeau for a practice?
Granted, $10 is less than a movie or a car wash these days. But on principle alone, it would be a nice gesture if a Packer organization — one with an endless stream of cash — would tell their fans “it’s on the house” just one night.
After all, it was just a practice the paying customers were watching.
CAMP REPORT
