Packers: Five things to watch at training camp 2019
By Jesse Fry
The wait is finally over. Green Bay Packers training camp opens this week.
The 2019 season is ready to start with Thursday’s first practice of training camp. After an offseason filled with changes, it is now time for the speculation to stop and the actions to start.
After two substandard seasons, the Green Bay Packers are set to begin work on the 2019 season with a new head coach and new starters on both sides of the ball.
General manager Brian Gutekunst was busy this offseason resetting the roster, ridding the team of longtime players and adding fresh blood. In addition to free agency, the Packers had two picks in the first round of the draft and added what they hope are two impact players.
Matt LaFleur will open his first training camp as a head coach at any level with the hopes of rejuvenating an All-Pro quarterback and reviving a stagnant offense. There will be a lot of new faces around the team as camp opens, but not everyone will be brand new.
Back to run the defense is Mike Pettine, and he has also been given the most new toys to play with. In his second year with this team, we should expect to see a leap in the statistical standings.
With that in mind, here are five things to watch as training camp opens.
1. How will the new offense look?
The first and most obvious is how much different will the new offense look.
Former coach Mike McCarthy’s offense was one that used base personnel and stuck with that for large chunks at a time. There wasn’t much oregano movement as it would disrupt Aaron Rodgers‘ ability to read and react to the defense.
That will change. LaFleur’s offense is predicated on lots of pre-snap movement to gain favorable matchups, while also keeping the defense guessing.
There has been a lot of talk prior to camp about how much freedom Rodgers will have at the line to change plays. I have no doubt that issue will get worked out in time for the opener, or at least a happy medium met.
We won’t know exactly how much more LaFleur intends to run the ball or have an understanding how he’ll call plays as the preseason is bland and most of the “scheme” will wait for the games to count. But we can get an idea how he intends to use his receivers, most importantly Davante Adams, and how he uses the “slot” position.