5 things to watch at Packers Family Night scrimmage

Another milestone of the summer, Green Bay Packers Family Night, is here.

After two weeks of training camp, the Packers will hold practice at Lambeau Field on Saturday evening in front of another sold-out crowd. While the event has changed over the years, having been an intra-squad scrimmage, a scrimmage against Buffalo, and now a standard practice, the tradition continues to be a favorite among Green Bay's faithful fans.

Whether you are in attendance at Lambeau or watching at home, here are some of the top things to watch at this year's televised practice.

Things to pay attention to during Packers Family Night scrimmage

1. First look at Lambeau Field

One of the coolest parts of Packers Family Night is that it is often the first "game atmosphere" for a lot of players AND fans in Lambeau. Tickets are $10, making it a very affordable way to experience Lambeau Field. There are plenty of kid-friendly activities inside and outside the stadium, and this year, there are kid-friendly food options, according to the team. The night ends with a fireworks and laser show, as well as a raffle for some of the practice-worn jerseys.

As for the team, rookies, vets new to the team, and coaches alike are often incredibly vocal about having practice in front of nearly 70,000 screaming Cheeseheads.

"Yeah, I'm really excited for Family Night," new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. "I don't think I have any clue what that's going to be like. But how awesome are the fans here. Showing up like that, loving the team that much. Where else in the world does that happen? I love it."

2. Kicking battle

Now that all the warm fuzzies are out of the way, let's focus on practice itself. For many fans, it is the first time since the heartbreaking end of the Packers' divisional-round loss to the 49ers that they will see Anders Carlson trying to make kicks. Unlike last, year though, there is some serious competition in the form of Greg Joseph. Through the first week of camp, things were pretty even. That changed on Thursday, when Carlson missed several kicks, "earning" a dud ranking.

Kicking in a stadium atmosphere will be huge as the Packers look to figure out who will win the job. Expect them to take 6-7 kicks each in practice.

3. New defense

Defense has been one of the biggest shortcomings over the last few seasons in the minds of many Packers fans. Rest assured, though, that the days of "Bend Don't Break" seem to be a thing of the past after the hiring of Jeff Hafley. While it is incredibly unlikely that we will see much beyond the basic base defense in practice and throughout the preseason, for that matter, it is still worth watching for at Family Night.

The new defense has been giving the offense plenty of fits throughout camp so far. Green Bay Press-Gazette writer Ryan Wood has chronicled the Packers offense being forced to do pushups at the end of the team segment nearly every day of camp so far, with the offense's only win coming on July 27.

Will Jordan Love be able to get a victory for the offense in front of the Lambeau faithful?

4. Defensive backs position battle

Speaking of the new-look defense, two spots have emerged as "must-watch" battles: safety and cornerback.

Xavier McKinney and Jaire Alexander are written in stone for two of the five defensive back positions in Jeff Hafley's 4-2-5 base defense. Keisean Nixon is likely fairly safe at the nickel spot. That leaves an opening at cornerback and strong safety.

At safety, it has been a three-man battle between second-year man Anthony Johnson Jr. and rookies Javon Bullard and Evan Williams. While each has had their moments, Bullard has been trending towards getting the nod, starting alongside McKinney in Thursday's final practice prior to Family Night.

Over at the corner spot, Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine are battling for the starting gig opposite Alexander. Valentine did sit out practice on Thursday due to a hamstring injury and may miss Family Night on Saturday.

When healthy, Stokes has incredible upside and is in desperate need of a breakout year. So far, head coach Matt LaFleur has been impressed with the former first-rounder, telling the media: "Stokes has looked like the guy we thought he could be. I think he's done an outstanding job out there."

5. Backup quarterback battle

It's crazy what a year can do. This time last year, all eyes were on Jordan Love. Was he the next franchise quarterback? Would Matt LaFleur's offense be able to thrive without Aaron Rodgers? As we all know, Love proved the doubters wrong and, in turn, the Packers right, as they made him the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history last week.

Now, things are back to business as usual. Green Bay has its franchise quarterback. The question now is who will hold the clipboard all game and occasionally take some late kneel-downs.

Sean Clifford was drafted in 2023 and saw action twice last season. He took snaps in the Week 1 win in Chicago and in the Week 17 victory over Minnesota, completing his only pass attempt for 37 yards. The Packers would spend another draft pick in 2024 at the quarterback position, this time going with Michael Pratt out of Tulane in the seventh round.

While Love was not practicing at the start of camp, Clifford got the nod as QB1, and his struggles were well-documented. Pratt got some work with the first-team offense before Love's return to work, and from reporters and fans watching practice, he has been trending toward the QB2 spot.

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