Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The progression for the unit as a whole has been natural in the second year under Pettine, but the biggest adjustment has been to the up-tempo elements LaFleur is installing on offense.
Several times each practice, the offense will sprint out of the huddle, get to the line and snap the ball as quickly as possible. The idea is to catch the defense not fully set and still adjusting to the formation as the ball is being snapped.
There were several pre-snap penalties in those hurry-up moments on Saturday – on both sides of the ball – so it needs to get cleaned up. But Williams believes it’s great preparation, especially this early in camp, for what the defense is going to face in the fall.
“It’s very, very tough,” he said. “Go back to last year, the games that we struggled in that guys moved the ball down the field on us, it was because they speeded up the tempo. It reminds me obviously of the Rams … the 49ers a little bit, and obviously the Patriots. That’s very effective.”
Additional valuable preparation is coming in a little over a week when the Houston Texans join the Packers for two days of practice. Williams has been a part of joint practices before, taking a train ride from Cleveland to Buffalo while with the Browns in 2015.
While opposing players understand it’s a practice, Williams noted “it’s definitely intense” for a summer workout, and LaFleur continues to harp on wanting the urgency in practice to pick up even before Family Night and the Texans arrive.