Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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GREEN BAY – The Packers were back Sunday, in full pads again, on Ray Nitschke Field for their seventh practice of training camp.
Here are five things learned from the workout:
1. Aaron Rodgers was at it again in the two-minute drill.
It's hard to find a quarterback who executes better in two-minute situations, and Rodgers was masterful once again, taking over at his own 25-yard line with 1:15 on the clock, one timeout and down by two points.
The most impressive thing about Rodgers driving the offense into position for a walk-off 47-yard field goal by Mason Crosby might have been how he pulled it off without a single explosive play.
The biggest gain on the drive was a 12-yard strike to tight end Robert Tonyan to convert the initial third down, followed by a spike to stop the clock. He then improvised on the next third down with a shovel pass to running back Jamaal Williams, which got the ball across midfield and led to Rodgers calling the lone timeout with 33 seconds left.
At that point, special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga was alerting Crosby, holder JK Scott and long snapper Hunter Bradley to be ready for what Mennenga calls "a hurricane situation," meaning a run-on field goal with the clock ticking.
No worries. Rodgers hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a quick out to the sideline for 7 yards, then Tonyan for 5 more over the middle, and spiked the ball with 17 seconds left at the 34-yard line. A 52-yard field goal certainly would have been in Crosby's range, but he got the veteran kicker another 5 yards closer with a quick flip to Jake Kumerow over the middle and then calmly lined everyone up for a final spike with three ticks left. Textbook.
"That's what he does," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "I mean, he is in full command out there at all times. Especially in those two-minute gotta-have-it situations, you have all the confidence in the world.
"He's done it a bunch and that's the standard that he's set … whether it's methodically move the ball down the field or hit the big plays in those situations. I thought he did a tremendous job, not only just taking what the defense gave him there, but managing the whole situation."