LuvdaFan36
08-19-2004, 07:15 PM
Who’s hot
It looks like right tackle Mark Tauscher has returned to the form he displayed before his 2002 knee injury.
Tauscher, who returned to start all 16 games last season but had only an average year, is off to a strong start this preseason. Offensive line coach Larry Beightol said Tauscher is performing far better this year because he has greater confidence in his surgically repaired left knee.
Beightol estimated that Tauscher’s knee was no more than 80 percent healthy last year and that Tauscher probably needed 18 months to fully recover from the injury that occurred in Week 2 of the 2002 season. Tauscher missed the final 14 games of that season and was limited in training camp of 2003.
Tauscher had a mild ankle sprain during the first week of practice, but it hasn’t slowed him down. On Wednesday, Tauscher had perhaps his best day of blocking during one-on-one pass rush drills. On consecutive snaps, he handled starting defensive end Aaron Kampman. Tauscher locked up Kampman almost immediately and did not allow Kampman to break free or push Tauscher back more than a step or two.
Who’s not
If rookie offensive lineman Joe Hayes has another practice like the one he had on Wednesday, he might not be around much longer.
The rookie offensive lineman from San Jose State got pushed around by second-year defensive lineman Kenny Peterson, who hasn’t exactly been a world beater during training camp.
During one-on-one pass rushing drills, Peterson smoked Hayes with a speed move around the outside. Hayes was slow to get off the line and got smoked. Hayes has consistently been slow to get off the snap against pass rushers.
His biggest problem has been that he is too stiff and doesn’t recover quickly enough to be an effective pass blocker. If you can’t pass block, you can’t play in the NFL.
The Packers signed Hayes as an undrafted free agent in April, and he has shown little progress since the first minicamp. He was a long shot to make the roster anway, but so far he appears to have no shot.
Odds and ends
Ryan Longwell missed a 46-yard field goal wide right during a live 11-on-11 drill. … Bhawoh Jue worked at safety with the No. 1 defense in place of Darren Sharper, who was held out of the final team period. … If you want to see a fight during practice, keep your eye on offensive lineman Mike Collins. The third-year veteran who was signed early in training camp got into another scuffle on Wednesday with defensive tackle Ken Kocher. Both threw several punches. … First-round draft pick Ahman Carroll was held out of certain drills due to fatigue.
Injury report
The following players were held out of practice due to injury: defensive back James Whitley (head), cornerback Chris Johnson (leg), linebacker Paris Lenon (hamstring), cornerback Chris Day (injury unknown), tackle Atlas Herrion (knee), center Mike Flanagan (knee), guard Mike Wahle (knee), defensive end Chukie Nwokorie (hamstring) and defensive tackle Donnell Washington (arch).
It looks like right tackle Mark Tauscher has returned to the form he displayed before his 2002 knee injury.
Tauscher, who returned to start all 16 games last season but had only an average year, is off to a strong start this preseason. Offensive line coach Larry Beightol said Tauscher is performing far better this year because he has greater confidence in his surgically repaired left knee.
Beightol estimated that Tauscher’s knee was no more than 80 percent healthy last year and that Tauscher probably needed 18 months to fully recover from the injury that occurred in Week 2 of the 2002 season. Tauscher missed the final 14 games of that season and was limited in training camp of 2003.
Tauscher had a mild ankle sprain during the first week of practice, but it hasn’t slowed him down. On Wednesday, Tauscher had perhaps his best day of blocking during one-on-one pass rush drills. On consecutive snaps, he handled starting defensive end Aaron Kampman. Tauscher locked up Kampman almost immediately and did not allow Kampman to break free or push Tauscher back more than a step or two.
Who’s not
If rookie offensive lineman Joe Hayes has another practice like the one he had on Wednesday, he might not be around much longer.
The rookie offensive lineman from San Jose State got pushed around by second-year defensive lineman Kenny Peterson, who hasn’t exactly been a world beater during training camp.
During one-on-one pass rushing drills, Peterson smoked Hayes with a speed move around the outside. Hayes was slow to get off the line and got smoked. Hayes has consistently been slow to get off the snap against pass rushers.
His biggest problem has been that he is too stiff and doesn’t recover quickly enough to be an effective pass blocker. If you can’t pass block, you can’t play in the NFL.
The Packers signed Hayes as an undrafted free agent in April, and he has shown little progress since the first minicamp. He was a long shot to make the roster anway, but so far he appears to have no shot.
Odds and ends
Ryan Longwell missed a 46-yard field goal wide right during a live 11-on-11 drill. … Bhawoh Jue worked at safety with the No. 1 defense in place of Darren Sharper, who was held out of the final team period. … If you want to see a fight during practice, keep your eye on offensive lineman Mike Collins. The third-year veteran who was signed early in training camp got into another scuffle on Wednesday with defensive tackle Ken Kocher. Both threw several punches. … First-round draft pick Ahman Carroll was held out of certain drills due to fatigue.
Injury report
The following players were held out of practice due to injury: defensive back James Whitley (head), cornerback Chris Johnson (leg), linebacker Paris Lenon (hamstring), cornerback Chris Day (injury unknown), tackle Atlas Herrion (knee), center Mike Flanagan (knee), guard Mike Wahle (knee), defensive end Chukie Nwokorie (hamstring) and defensive tackle Donnell Washington (arch).