Wrapping up the preseason

Packers set to wrap up preseason vs Ravens

After a rather forgettable trip out west that saw the Green Bay Packers spend a joint practice and preseason game getting humbled by the Denver Broncos, the team returned to Green Bay this week for their final public practices of the summer. The Green and Gold will welcome in the Baltimore Ravens today for a joint practice and then wrap up their preseason schedule on Saturday against the Ravens with a noon kickoff at Lambeau Field.

Speaking of Saturday’s game, we’ll be sending out our first post-game newsletter on Sunday with exclusive content for our premium subscribers. You can upgrade your subscription right here to be sure you don’t miss exclusive columns from our very own Ken Lass, a former Green Bay Wisconsin Sports anchor and Packers play-by-play announcer who is now a regular contributor for CHTV. Ken will bring his unique perspective and analysis of every Packers game this season, only in the special edition Cheesehead Nation newsletters. Premium subscribers will also be able to access exclusive podcast and video content from CHTV co-founder Aaron Nagler and Pack-A-Day creator Andy Herman throughout the season.

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A Reminder From The Packers

Prior to today’s joint practice, which starts at 10:30am, every Ravens player will be riding a bike to practice if there are enough bikes available, so fans and community members are asked to welcome the team in true Green Bay fashion.

4 Takeaways From Packers Broncos: Because It Didn’t Deserve 5

The Packers’ trip to Denver does not seem like it has been especially productive. Matt LaFleur’s team toiled in the joint practice on Friday and there were precious few positives to take from Sunday’s 27-2 loss to the Broncos. Green Bay’s head coach had it right when he opened his post-game press conference by saying: “that was a long night”.

Of course, there is context to provide; this was a meaningless game which the Broncos played their starters for a good chunk of, while 31 Packers players sat out, but what will have disappointed LaFleur is that none of his second-or-third-stringers really stepped up to grab the opportunity in front of them.

The offense in particular was a disaster on Sunday night, being shut out by Denver, with the defense providing Green Bay’s only two points through a checks notes... Zach Morton (?) safety. Sean Clifford’s poor first half opened the door for Michael Pratt to audition for the number two quarterback spot, but the rookie did not fare any better. The pair were a combined 16 of 26 passing for just 95 yards and an interception. In fairness, they were not helped by an offensive line which was on its heels all night. The depth behind likely sixth-man Sean Rhyan, especially at tackle, is a real concern for the regular season.

Presented with the only opportunity of the night to put offensive points on the board via a field goal, Greg Joseph pulled a 47-yarder wide of the uprights. The kicker ‘battle’ is going to end with the Packers being forced to pick the best from a bad bunch, and continue scouring the free agent market for answers.

Pack's What She Said: Packers Broncos Preseason Recap

The Packers leave Denver plenty of question remaining as it relates to roster bubble roles and competitions at key positions. Maggie and Perri breakdown their main takeaways, snap counts, and bright spots on the night during the latest episode of the Pack’s What She Said podcast!

Kristian Welch is More Than a Special Teams Ace

If you're a roster bubble player at the bottom of the depth chart for a crowded position in Training Camp, there's one sure way to crack the 53-man roster. Special Teams. If you apply yourself to contributing to Special Teams and make an impact there, it may not matter where you rank on the offensive or defensive side of the ball. It's not very glamorous at all. Sometimes, you might not even see your contribution on the stat sheet game after game, but if you held your own blocking for a field goal or a punt, or you contained a return man on a kick or a punt, your Special Teams coach will undoubtedly sing your praises.

Among the many players pushing for a spot on the Packers' final 53 come next Tuesday is linebacker Kristian Welch. Welch is a career Special Teams player. Playing his first three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Welch played 891 Special Teams snaps. This dwarfed his defensive numbers where he only saw action for 44 snaps. With final roster cuts in 2023, the Ravens released Welch and two days later, the Packers signed him to their practice squad. Three weeks into the season, he was promoted to the active roster and stayed there until the Packers' season concluded following the Divisional Playoffs. He played 237 special teams snaps for the Packers where PFF ranked him 39th out of an eligible 188 special teams players for the year. This season, it's believed if Welch makes the 53-man roster for the Packers it will be mainly due to his Special Teams prowess. However, given his performance in Training Camp and the two Preseason games so far, he may be a valuable depth player on defense as well.

Why 27-2 Stomping Matters for Packers

Yeah, it’s only pre-season, and the Packers sat 31 players including virtually every starter and many twos. But it’s not meaningless, which you could see with every expression of frustration on Matt LaFleur’s face. The Packers traveled to the Mile High City and performed poorly in a joint practice Friday and again in Sunday night’s game. Little had gone wrong for this team since it nearly knocked off the 49ers back in January, and the last few days could well be an aberration that is quickly forgotten. But important questions need to be answered and tasks accomplished at this point on the calendar, from roster decisions to technique refinement and momentum building. Squint hard and you can’t see how Green Bay made progress on any of them, in all three phases.

Yes, it was one bad outing in the preseason. It happens, and there will be many warning about overreaction, which is fair. But even with the early mismatch of starters versus backups, the Packers largely beat themselves. They lacked intensity, focus and effort, the holy trinity of things that make coaches crazy and are hard to fathom with jobs on the line. Even with twos playing ones, you expect to see some individual plays that shine, and there were none with the exceptions of the safety by DE Zach Morton and nice sacks by DE Brenton Cox and DE Brevin Allen. In the end, perhaps this is a positive thing. The Packers might well have been drinking in the hype around this team a little too much. Now is a better time for a splash of cold water in the face than after the regular season starts.

Packers designate K Alex Hale as their player for the NFL International Player Pathway program.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Packers announced the release of Nigerian-born Kenneth Odumegwu, who was a part of the International Pathway Program. The move allowed the team to designate kicker Alex Hale, who is from Australia, as their IPP player, a designation that comes with a roster exemption.

The move allows the Packers to retain a young kicker on their roster without having him count against either the 53 man regular season roster or the 16 player practice squad, if he ends up being released and makes it through waivers.

A more cynical read of the move is that the team is acknowledging that they are not yet realizing the return on the investment they made by using a draft pick when selecting kicker Anders Carlson in the sixth round of the 2023 draft.

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Carry The G Radio: Time for a reset

On the latest episode of Carry The G Radio, Aaron and Billy asses what the hell happened in Denver, discuss organizational philosophies as the Ravens come to town and try to come to grips with a disappointing feature in the new Madden game.

Cory's Corner: Be Patient With the Backup QBs

Cory Jennerjohn writes that fans can forget about scouring the waiver wire for quarterbacks to add after the Packers backup QBs struggled mightily in Denver. Green Bay is the gold standard when it comes to drafting and developing quarterbacks. The Packers know that they are going to swallow some thorns.

Even though the results haven't been enjoyable, there is room for these two to get better. They need to play within themselves and be the person that the Packers drafted. The Packers didn’t bring them in to be a carbon copy of Jordan Love, they brought them to Green Bay to be efficient and lead an offense.

Get your official 2024 Packers Yearbook!

We’re proud to be partnering with the official Packers yearbook again this season. Use code "CHTV" for 10% off when you order yours right here!

Hang out with Aaron in Brazil the night before the Packers game!

Keep It Up/Pick It Up: Packers preseason stars and struggles vs Broncos

Aaron Nagler highlights Green Bay Packers who need to either Keep It Up or Pick It Up after their performances in the second preseason game against the Denver Broncos.

Carry The G Cream Ale, the official beer of CHTV, is back on store shelves across Wisconsin!