ENGLEWOOD, Colorado: Josh Jacobs, a running back for the Packers who is preparing for his sixth season in the NFL, claimed that up until Friday, he had never participated in a combined practice without a brawl.
The joint practice on Friday was largely calm, though there were a few heated exchanges and a brief altercation when the Packers believed Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto had struck quarterback Jordan Love’s arm. Love later stated that he believed Bonitto had shoved right tackle Zach Tom into him during a friendly fire drill to pop the ball up before it was intercepted.
Here’s a summary of the Packers offense versus the Broncos defense, along with some special teams observations. Everything that Broncos writer Nick Kosmider observed from Denver’s offense versus Green Bay’s defense is outlined below.
First 11-on-11 period
The morning’s 7-on-7 was uneventful, but the Packers were able to get off to an early lead against Denver’s defense. On the second play of the session, Jacobs appeared to have a big run around the right edge, but it is never easy to predict what would actually happen in the run game from the side of the formation without live tackling.
Love faked a handoff on his first throw of the day in an 11-on-11, but he still hit wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks for a big gain while slipping. Then, on a run up the middle, Broncos inside linebacker Alex Singleton dropped Jacobs, the first of two times that would happen to Packers running backs that half of the game.
Wide receiver Malik Heath was the beneficiary of a huge completion from backup quarterback Sean Clifford, but it was nullified by the first of at least three false starts by the offense as a whole (two by the backup unit). Love then found tight end Luke Musgrave wide open on a crosser, and then, on what appeared to be a comeback route, the Packers quarterback was reminded by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II—one of the finest in the game—of why he had a terrific throw breakup against receiver Romeo Doubs.
Love and Christian Watson, a wide receiver, have a strong bond that has fluctuated throughout training camp. This happened again on Friday. Although it fell far ahead of him, his first bomb of the day to Watson prompted a flag against Riley Moss, the cornerback. Shortly after the play, tight end Tyler Davis appeared ready to get into an altercation with the Broncos, but rookie offensive lineman Jacob Monk stopped him.
Michael Pratt, the rookie quarterback, short-hopped a pass down the right side to an open Bo Melton during his turn.
Different energy level out here this morning … pic.twitter.com/MOV51yzo9h
— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) August 16, 2024
Second 11-on-11 period
Wicks successfully made two well-contested catches across the middle. On a throw from Pratt, Melton made a good sideline grab for a respectable gain, and right tackle Kadeem Telfort pancaked Bonitto.
Head coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich were caught in the middle of the first semi-skirmish of practice when the Packers sideline vacated because players believed Bonitto hit Love (the ball bounced up and Singleton intercepted it).
“I was going to throw and Zach Tom got pushed and hit my shoulder,” Love said. “I don’t think it was anything with the D-line or anything like that. Just friendly fire … I think a lot of guys didn’t really see it and know what happened. We make it a big point to stay away from the quarterback, so they might’ve thought the D-lineman hit my arm or something like that, which I don’t think happened.”
Love stayed in and skillfully misdirected Jacobs with a cross-field screen pass, giving him plenty of space to go behind Davis’ block and make the catch.
Special teams
- Jayden Reed, a wide receiver, mishandled a punt return but was able to recover.
- Robert Rochell, the cornerback, was called for colliding with Marvin Mims Jr., the return man.
- During a punt exercise, linebacker Isaiah McDuffie and long snapper Matt Orzech got into a fight that had to be broken up.
- On the very next play, Orzech snapped the ball over punter Daniel Whelan’s head and out of the back of the end zone.
- During a designated kicking time later in practice, all three of Green Bay’s kickers attempted two field goals: Anders Carlson from 45 and 53 yards, Greg Joseph from 46 and 52 yards, and Alex Hale from 47 yards and a blocked attempt from 51 yards. However, the Broncos were called for offsides by the officials.
Broncos defense takes over
The Packers offense struggled, first outside the red zone and then again during a prearranged time in the low red zone. Wicks was well covered by Moss in the back-right corner, and the ball went missing. Love completed a 10-yard ball incompletely to Doubs on the left side. Just short of the goal line, cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian made a great pass breakup on a Love to Reed pass over the middle. Although we could not see what the officials specifically called from our far-off vantage point, the backup offense once again committed a pre-snap penalty. Green Bay struggled throughout, with the exception of a touchdown pass from Love to Musgrave in the right flat off play action after Musgrave got wide open after selling his block.
“I think it was really good,” Musgrave said of his day. “Got to see a different defense. They play a little bit different style of defense. It was great to get some reps at that. They’re a great team. They got some great backers and I felt really good about it.”
Love found Watson for a touchdown on the final play of the exercise, but P.J. Locke, the safety, would have sacked Love or at least forced a throwaway.
Surtain had his second spectacular pass breakup of the practice session on a throw across the middle to Melton during the following drill on a full field. Running back Emanuel Wilson was checked by Singleton on a checkdown. Love threw a deep pass to Watson that was underthrown, forcing an incompletion. A Broncos coach told Love to stop throwing to McMillian. McMillian had good coverage on the play.
A throw deep over the middle from Pratt to wide receiver Dimitri Stanley, who made a terrific catch and most likely would have lost his head in a game, was perhaps the most remarkable play by Green Bay’s offense during the last couple of periods in which it labored.
The Packers’ offense suffered greatly during the two-minute drills. Twice on downs and once through interception, the starting offense and the backup unit each resulted in a turnover.
Every time, with 1:10 remaining, no timeouts remaining, and losing by three, they began at their own 40-yard line. After Love completed a short pass to Jacobs and then threw three straight incomplete passes, Green Bay’s starting offense gained only one yard on its first possession. In the first two plays, Moss and Locke had a good chance to intercept the ball when the former jumped an out to Doubs close to the left sideline and the latter was beneath a ball that was thrown high for Reed down the middle. Surtain had another excellent pass breakup on the right sideline to stop an incredible Doubs catch and force the turnover on downs.
“Pat Surtain is a really good player,” Love said. “That always stands out, a really good DB like him. He’s kind of the heart and soul of that defense. He’s a lockdown corner over there.”
Clifford at least got a first down when he completed a pass to Heath, but two plays later, safety JL Skinner should have picked him off on a pass meant for wide receiver Jalen Wayne. Then, on the next play, Clifford was on a third-and-nine when he misthrew Stanley deep down the middle, and cornerback Reese Taylor picked him off.
Another try was given to the starting offense, but the outcome was not much better. On the first play, Love found Musgrave for a catch-and-run first down up the left sideline; however, the following four plays resulted in another turnover on downs due to short completions to Doubs and Musgrave, a Bonitto sack against right tackle Kadeem Telfort, and an incompletion.
Asked after practice about the Broncos defense giving them fits, Jacobs said, “I’m not gonna say what I wanna say.”
He continued…
“But um, it’s the Broncos, man. Obviously, they got a new head coach and obviously I like him as a person and as a coach. I know him. Seeing them out here, I can tell that they got a different type of energy out here in the sense of just like a little bit of juice. But at the end of the day, whenever I’m going against anybody, I like me, so I’m gonna pick me any time.”
Subsequently, Jacobs was questioned on what he would have said had he spoken his mind.
“I’m only here so I don’t get fined,” he said before walking off with a smile.
Josh Jacobs signing a croc pic.twitter.com/GRv4SO7iEc
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 16, 2024
Broncos offense vs. Packers defense
Packers defensive line flashes early
First- and second-down drills kicked off the workout, and the Packers’ defensive line made life tough for Denver’s offense all during that time.
On a second-down play, veteran defensive end Preston Smith applied swift interior pressure, forcing rookie quarterback Bo Nix off his spot. After stuffing running back Samaje Perine in the backfield, defensive end Lukas Van Ness had back-to-back plus plays. He then ruined a second-and-short play by applying pressure to Jarrett Stidham. In the same quarter, defensive end Kingsley Enagbare stopped a run play in the backfield and subsequently made Nix throw the ball away on third-and-long. Later, Enagbare looked to earn a holding call while facing Broncos tackle Alex Palczewski during a red-zone play.
In a similar manner, the second team period got underway. Rashan Gary, a defensive end, recorded what probably would have been a sack against Stidham. At the line of scrimmage, he stopped running back Jaleel McLaughlin by swimming into the middle of Denver’s offensive line.
Then, the Broncos quarterbacks began to find their footing.
Nix’s chemistry with top target growing
During the second team period, Nix found himself in a clean pocket on a third-and-10 play. He used that time to pump fake and then fired a pass to Courtland Sutton, who was approximately 25 yards out in the middle of the field. Another demonstration of Nix’s developing rapport with Denver’s seasoned receiver was when he threaded the pass between two Packers defenders.
Sutton secured a revised contract with the Broncos, so he was unable to take part in their offseason program, but it has not stopped him from making an impression during camp. His efforts in the middle of the field have been especially noteworthy for a club that struggled to make effective use of that space the previous campaign.
“We have great (dialogue) going back and forth,” Nix said of Sutton last week. “He does a good job of, when he sees something he tells me, and then I can do the same. So I feel very comfortable when he’s out there.”
When Nix begins in the preseason game on Sunday, it will be interesting to see how that relationship develops going forward.
Red-zone highlights
Nix made the best throw of the day for the Broncos during a series that started at the 12-yard line with a first down. He executed a swift run fake at the line of scrimmage before hitting veteran receiver Phillip Dorsett in the chest with a slant pass in front of the goal line. Nix managed to fit the ball in despite CB LJ Davis’s physical coverage. Earlier in the red zone stanza, he also hit Tim Patrick with an 18-yard pass. Despite a few illegal shift penalties committed by the Broncos during the red-zone period, both Nix and head coach Sean Payton expressed satisfaction with the overall performance of the offensive unit.
“I think it was up-and-down a little bit today,” Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “I think we started off fast and then … the elements hit us a little bit. Kind of got up and down. Once we got our second wind, kind of started picking up … But happy about the work that we got in. I think we definitely got better from this day.”
The only pauses were for quick special team sessions and a few ultimately innocuous conflicts, which served as attention tests. The reps were moving quickly.
“It was definitely different playing against a different team at practice, but I like it,” Nix said. “Everything ran very smoothly, and guys were getting in and out of the huddle and playing sharp football on both sides. It was very clean and a good day of practice.”
In the red-zone drive, Stidham also scored a touchdown when he found Sutton on a 4-yard slant. With just three plays in the half, Zach Wilson, leading the third-team offense, produced a spectacular throw to rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin for a first down.
There was one noteworthy exception to the red-zone work, which mostly concentrated on the passing game. After receiving a delayed handoff from Stidham, Javonte Williams picked up speed rapidly, found a gap in the center of the line, and grounded a thump into a Packers safety.
Matt LaFleur says the Packers had a team dinner at Shanahan’s Steakhouse in Denver last night and will go to Topgolf tonight. pic.twitter.com/VeXcnyRs9m
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 16, 2024
Nix, Stidham manage 2-minute situation
The same scenario was used by both offenses on Friday for their late game drill: down three points in the fourth quarter, one minute and ten seconds remaining, no time outs, and the ball on their own 40-yard line.
Before the drills ended, Nix and Stidham both led their troops into a reasonable field-goal range. Nix accomplished the feat by making three consecutive passes, one of which was a perfectly timed pass to Sutton on the sideline. Wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey was the target of a virtually identical ball from Stidham, which set up a potential field goal try to level the score.
Over the past week, the Broncos have gone through a few instances of the two-minute drill, which frequently include stops for on-the-spot coaching from Payton. Additionally, the head coach occasionally adjusts the setup on the spur of the moment to test attentiveness. As an illustration, on Thursday’s practice, one of the seasoned quarterback’s best passes of camp came on the opening play of a late-game drill that started at the opponent’s 47-yard line. Stidham fit a ball up the sideline to wide receiver David Sills for a 47-yard touchdown. Payton quickly changed up the drill, creating a new scenario at the 11-yard line, just as Stidham was finishing up his joyful sprint up the field to celebrate.
“Yeah, I really wish he would have called it up (to end practice) after that first (touchdown),” Stidham quipped Friday. “No, whenever they put you in a situation like that, sometimes you have to adjust on the fly, like you saw yesterday. It really tests you in a lot of ways and it’s a lot of fun. A lot of good comes out of it.”
Stark contrast for Broncos in joint practices
The Broncos invited the Rams in for a combined practice right before their last preseason game in 2023, and they were soundly defeated. The Broncos failed to train with the necessary vigor and execution. The Rams were clearly the winners of the day.
Friday, however, was a different story. It was nearly irrelevant whether or not the Broncos posted arbitrary points on the board. Practice felt different than the session from the previous year, and Payton said that was a good indicator of the team’s current state of play.
“Listen, are we further along today than we were a year ago? I think so, yeah,” Payton said. “These are these litmus tests we get to see … in a practice like this.”
Other Broncos notes
According to Payton, the Broncos have 60 or 61 players in contention for a spot on the 53-man roster as of this point in training camp.
“There’s probably nine or 10 spots I’m still looking at and George (Paton) is looking at and that we’re discussing,” Payton said. “We’ve got another game here (Sunday). It’s the second preseason game, so we still have a lot of time.”• Devaughn Vele, a rookie wide receiver, left practice early on Thursday and did not practice on Friday. Although Payton did not elaborate on the nature of Vele’s injury, he stated that one of the team’s outstanding players from training camp “will be fine, and there’s a chance he could even play Sunday.”
• Security Both cornerback Levi Wallace and quarterback Brandon Jones, who are recovering from hamstring issues, did not practice against the Packers. Art Green, the cornerback, stayed out of action while he healed from a concussion.
(Top photo: David Zalubowski / AP Photo)
