Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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4. WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling put together a strong, and nearly flawless, showing.
After hauling in a deep ball in the first practice of camp last Saturday, Valdes-Scantling had been rather quiet. Then Thursday he caught several passes from Rodgers in 11-on-11 on various routes – in and out cuts, plus a shallow cross – and stood out in the receiver competition.
It was almost as impressive a practice as anyone could ask for until the late two-minute drill, when he false-started after Rodgers spiked the ball to stop the clock, making it second-and-15 on the series that stalled the drive.
Still, more practices like that and Valdes-Scantling will put himself in good position. Despite a downturn in production and playing time in the second half of 2019, Valdes-Scantling said he never lost confidence and he expects to perform like he had been his first 1½ seasons in the league.
5. Lane Taylor, and his arm, are feeling normal again.
Taylor, Wagner and Billy Turner are battling for two starting spots on the right side of the offensive line, and Taylor so far has made a seamless transition to the right side after starting for three full seasons at left guard. He played right guard throughout his college career at Oklahoma State, so he said that's made for an easy switch.
Coming back from the torn biceps that ended his season last September was much harder, though. He had to "build it up from nothing" but feels back to full strength now.
"I was just weak … my bicep was completely flat," he said. "I could literally feel a little ball on my bicep get a little bigger and a little bigger and a little bigger until I finally had a full bicep, like a normal-looking one."
A self-made player who entered the league undrafted in 2013 and has 52 career starts, including playoffs, under his belt, Taylor said the time he missed last season was a mixed bag. On the one hand, he enjoyed going with his young daughter on school field trips, which he would normally miss. On the other, he missed being with his teammates as they won a division title and made a playoff run.
"My motivation was just really to get back on track, to prove I'm not dying or anything," he said. "I've got many more miles, many more years to play. I just wanted to get back to kind of my old self and work my tail off, be strong and get back to the level of play I want to be at."