Packers kick off training camp in Green Bay

New coach wants up-tempo practices

July 26, 2019 12:46 AM

Kevin Lewis,

Posted: July 26, 2019 12:46 AM

Updated: August 31, 2021 12:29 PM

by Kevin Lewis

Matt LaFleur said he wants to stress an up-tempo pace at his practices.
The Packers annual bike ride goes from Lambeau to the Nitschke Practice Field.
Aaron Rodgers is entering his 15th NFL season.

Green Bay — The Packers kicked off training camp with their annual bike ride from Lambeau Field to the Nitschke Practice Field. Things looked a little different once the team started practice. Veterans Randall Cobb, Clay Matthews, and Mike Daniels are no longer with the team. Daniels was cut the day before camp, and that came as a shock to quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“I saw Mike on the way in and talked with him briefly. Had no idea,” Rodgers said after Thursday’s practice. “And next thing you know I got a text from somebody that Mike was getting taken upstairs. When you say that ‘so-and-so just went upstairs,’ you know what’s happening.”

First year head coach Matt LaFleur’s only been in charge for a couple of months, but he’s been around long enough to know what he wants out of his practices.

“It’s about us setting standards and just how we operate as a football team,” LaFleur said after day one. “One of the things that I hit on at the end was just urgency from drill to drill. I felt like there was a little lag out there, a little bit.”

Veteran receiver Davante Adams said the new offense is complex, and the team’s efficiency will grow with more live action.

“I think getting some practice run, some live stuff in preseason’s gonna help as well. So it’s gonna be a process, but I think we’re moving at a pretty good speed right now.”