Monday LaFleur: Training Camp Really Begins Now

After four practices in shorts and helmets, the Green Bay Packers are putting on the pads for the first time in training camp on Monday.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 31, 2023 11:32 AM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers training camp officially started on Wednesday but it really starts on Monday.

For the first time this camp, the Packers will work in pads. For the first time this camp, football will look more like it’s going to look when the preseason opens at Cincinnati on Aug. 11 and the regular season opens at Chicago on Sept. 10.

“Now you’re starting to play some real football,” coach Matt LaFleur said before practice. “It’s just going to be good to see these guys, again, continue to work on our standard in terms of how we practice and our process. So, I’m looking forward to seeing these guys in more, like, real football.”

Everything is evaluated, including the four shorts-and-helmets practices that preceded Sunday’s day off. It’s not as if everyone will be starting from scratch, though, because no true evaluations have been formed. Monday is merely the next step – though it’s a big one.

“We’re four days in, so I think everybody is pretty clean to start, anyway,” LaFleur said. “We’re still putting installs in. Week 1, you get four days in, you kind of get back into the rhythm of our routine. Week 2, to me, is where you’ve got to get a little bit more detailed and be a little bit more intentional. That’s how you make greater gains and more progress, and that’s what we like to see from these guys.”

While LaFleur is excited to see something approximating “real” football, he also knows there’s a danger of young, eager players going a bit too hard. That’s part of “learning how to practice.” It’s still a team, and the players need to take care of each other. That means defensive backs shouldn’t be looking to level a receiver to prevent a completion, linebackers shouldn’t tackle the ball-carrier to the turf and offensive linemen shouldn’t drive their man into the turf.

“Yeah, the intensity’s going to pick up,” LaFleur said. “Certainly, the rules of engagement change a little bit in terms of being able to thud up if you get head up on a ball-carrier. We still want these guys to get great work working together and not put anybody in a tough situation, so they’ve got to take care of each other.”

Matt LaFleur (Photo by Tork Mason/USA Today Sports Images)

Here’s a bit more from LaFleur.

On punter Daniel Whelan, who had a fantastic Saturday.

“Yeah, he’s done a heck of a job since we’ve gotten him. He definitely has a big-time leg. And it’s great. You want competition at every position, because it’s going to push us to be better.”

On kicker Anders Carlson, who did not have a fantastic Saturday.

“It’s one practice. Certainly, you never want to see it, but it happens. It’s only a detriment if you don’t learn from it and if you don’t correct it and so it’s going to be fun – he’s not kicking today; he’ll kick tomorrow – we’ll kind of work him backwards from Family Night, but he’ll kick tomorrow and it will be fun to see how he responds. That’s one of the challenges of all sports. How do you respond when things don’t go your way?”

On the improved maturity of last year’s first-round picks, Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt:

“I just think how they carry themselves around the building, how they are in the meeting rooms. They’re much more locked in, focused. That’s the beauty of this game is you get these guys coming from college and not quite sure what to expect. They get here and they kind of learn how we go about our business on a daily basis. Those guys love football, so it makes it easier when you have guys that love football and want to be great at their craft. I think they put the time in. I think there’s great veterans in those rooms to learn from when you talk about a guy like Kenny Clark. All you have to do is watch him on a daily basis and say, ‘I want to be like that guy.’ Or De’Vondre Campbell, it’s the same thing.”