Rio from St Johnsbury, VT

Hi II, I’m chewing my nails off waiting for the season opener. What do you think will be the biggest surprise when we meet the Lions?

The unscouted looks between the two NFC North rivals should be fun to watch, especially with the Packers having a full offseason to dial up plays for their plethora of skill-position players. The Lions can throw some curveballs, too, with new coordinators on both sides of the ball. It feels like we’re less than an hour away from our destination on the road trip. You just wanna get there.

Ricia from St Johnsbury, VT

Hey II guys, thanks for keeping us all together and informed in this difficult time of the year. What’s the latest word on Jordan Love‘s thumb and handoff ability?

Love isn’t doing handoffs or center-quarterback exchanges yet. I assume that’s a next week sorta thing if everything checks out. He looked good throwing the ball, though.

Given that there has been, and that there will likely be more 7-on-7, it feels as though it greatly favors the offense. Am I wrong in that? Additionally, what do the linemen do during 7-on-7? Are they just watching or do they do other drills? I can’t tell exactly how good our WR depth is; my presumption is that our fifth WR is probably around most teams’ third WR. Is that about right in your view?

Green Bay has a deep receiving corps. We just haven’t been able to see it all together yet. The Packers added some distraction in front of Love during Tuesday’s practice, having some of the equipment guys hold tackling dummies in front of Love. But the Packers’ quarterback still completed 10-of-11 passes during the drill and the only incompletion being off a receiver’s hands.

It sure looks like Brandon McManus has fun on his days off from kicking…pulling pranks on his fellow teammates. I imagine it’s a fun, but serious, atmosphere around Ray Nitschke Field this time of year before the bologna stops.

The best part is most players didn’t even know. I personally love the idea of having a lighthearted moment like that to offset the camp grind. It also was Mark McNamee‘s day to kick, so the opportunity was there for McManus to have a little veteran fun. He’ll be back to his usual kicking duties during today’s practice with Seattle while NFL referee Brad Rogers and his crew handle the flag-tossin’.

Please complete the following sentence: The player that has caught my eye in training camp and has made a significant progression up the depth chart is ___.

Matthew Golden for reasons we’ve previously discussed. But this question made me think: Has anyone had a more meteoric rise than Keisean Nixon? He signed with Green Bay in 2022 after not even receiving a restricted tender offer from the Las Vegas Raiders. The first-right-of-refusal tender was $2.4 million that year. Wild stuff. Nixon started as a core special teams player and a backup cornerback in Green Bay and three years later is a two-time All-Pro kickoff returner and starting perimeter corner. Nixon is everything that’s great about the National Football League.

Frank from Wake Forest, NC

I heard Larry say we have two guys who can play LT on the roster at a high level. I recall Elgton Jenkins playing left tackle and comments in II about how well he could play there. We had David Bakhtiari, so he returned to LT when he was ready. Am I overthinking this?

Jenkins was very good at both tackle spots. While Jenkins could always slide back there in a pinch, the Packers need him most right now at center. That’s his charge and the two-time Pro Bowler is up for tackling that challenge.

Hey Inboxers! The question about two-a-day practices, as well as the answer, hit home for me. As a high school player for four years some time ago, I never dreaded anything as much as those two-a-days in the hot, humid late summer. I remember reading about Jerry Kramer’s dread of those as well in “Instant Replay.” Given they are (rightfully to me) now gone, what is the toughest part or element of practices these days?

It’s probably more mental than physical now with all the meetings players endure. Don’t get me wrong – this game is still physically taxing on players, but it’s all ball from dawn till dusk. When guys aren’t on the field practicing or in the weight room, they’re in the classroom during camp. Young guys on the bubble are putting in overtime, too, to learn everything there is to learn about the playbook and preparing for the next day’s practice.