The Camp: Aug. 16, 2021
On this episode of The Camp, Zach and Jesse talk about what they've seen through four practices, including Graham Mertz's performance, the running back battle, players that have impressed and more.
Packers: QB Jordan Love could miss a couple days of practice with shoulder injury
Jordan Love is going to be OK but his availability for practice this week and the second preseason game against the New York Jets is in doubt.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback left Saturday night's loss to Houston after he "dinged" up his shoulder when he was sacked late in the first half. Love said he felt good afterwards and an MRI reportedly confirmed that the injury was just a strain. But coach Matt LaFleur believes the second-year QB could miss some time this week.
"He's doing fine," LaFleur said Sunday. "It's something, though, that is significant enough where he could miss a couple days of practice. We'll see where he is at the end of the week but we're going to kind of take it day-to-day."
With Love injured and starter Aaron Rodgers not playing in the preseason, the Packers would be down to third-stringer Kurt Benkert if they didn't add another body. However, general manager Brian Gutekunst said he and LaFleur would sit down Sunday night to speak and review some options.
"We'll obviously protect the team, make sure we have someone here," Gutekunst said.
This is a big preseason for Love after the pandemic wiped out the in-person offseason program last year and all of the exhibition games.
"If he ends up having to miss any time it will be kind of a bummer," Gutekunst said. "But I think through the offseason he's taken a ton of reps with the ones and then obviously this training camp has been pretty good. (Saturday) night was great to see him get out there finally and get some reps. Wouldn't be ideal but at the same time we're pretty hopeful he can get back here quick."
Brewers beat Pittsburgh 2-1, maintain 8-game lead in NL Central
A dominating effort from the pitching staff helped Milwaukee to a 2-1 win Sunday afternoon over Pittsburgh.
Eric Lauer got the start for the Brewers and went four innings. He allowed one run on three hits while striking out six. Five relievers finished things off, giving up just one hit over the final five innings. That included Devin Williams and Josh Hader handling the final two innings, respectively. In total, Milwaukee pitchers struck out 13 batters.
The offense wasn't great but it was enough. Willy Adames scored on an error in the first inning and then Christian Yelich drove Adames in with an RBI double in the third inning. It was one of two hits for Yelich in the game.
Milwaukee ended up taking 2 of 3 in the series and improved to a season-best 25 games above .500.
With Cincinnati also winning Sunday, the Brewers lead in the NL Central remained at eight games. They'll get Monday off before opening a series in St. Louis on Tuesday.
Solid debut by Packers QB Jordan Love ends with 'dinged up' shoulder
After waiting for more than 600 days to play in a real live football game, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was forced to leave the outing early with an injury.
The 2020 first-round pick was solid in his debut, throwing for 122 yards and a touchdown. He finished 12-for-17 but his final drop back of the night resulted in a sack-fumble and an injury to his right shoulder.
"I'm feeling good now," Love said after the Packers fell 26-7 to Houston Saturday night in the preseason opener for both clubs. "Just, obviously, that one play, the strip-sack one, got my arm hit on that play and kind of dinged my shoulder up a little bit."
Love returned on the final drive of the first half for three straight handoffs, but his night was done after being checked out by trainers in the locker room.
"I really don't know yet," Love said of the severity. "It just kind of feels a little strain-ish. We'll see the trainers (Sunday) and find out from there."
Before going out with the injury, Love showed promise in his NFL debut. After two 3-and-outs to start the game, the second-year signal caller found tight end Jace Sternberger down the middle for 34 yards on third down to jump-start the offense. Love would end up 6-for-6 for 89 yards on the drive, including a screen to running back Kylin Hill for a 22-yard touchdown.
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"I felt like I played good. It was a slow start -- the first two drives not being able to convert those third downs," said Love, who was expecting to play deep into the third quarter. "But I think we started getting into a little bit of a groove on offense and had that next drive which was good. Overall, I think I played good. Couple plays where I messed some things up but things I'll learn from."
Coach Matt LaFleur felt his young quarterback played solid. He lauded his command of the offense and was generally complimentary of his decision making. But there are also plenty of important teaching points.
"If there is one thing just to encourage him to continue to do is, 'hey, man, you got to let that sucker rip when you see it, trust what you see. Don't worry about being perfect. Don't worry about throwing a perfect, on-target pass,'" LaFleur said. "Usually when you do that you're not as accurate. You've got to let the ball go. But by in large, I think he did a really nice job."
Texans 26, Packers 7: 2-minute drill
Green Bay managed just one scoring drive on its way to a 26-7 loss to Houston in the preseason opener for both teams Saturday night at Lambeau Field.
Game Balls
Offense: WR Devin Funchess
While most of Green Bay’s veteran wide receivers didn’t dress for the game, Funchess played deep into the third quarter and was impressive. He had a team-best seven catches for 70 yards, including a highlight-reel one-handed grab on the Packers lone touchdown drive of the game.
Funchess is in a fight for a roster spot, with seemingly the top five wide receivers – Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers -- already assured of one. If the Packers keep six, it’ll likely come down to Funchess, Malik Taylor, Equanimeous St. Brown and Juwann Winfree. Because of his lack of special teams experience, Funchess must be that much better offensively than the others to deserve a spot.
One thing going for him -- Aaron Rodgers likes him. In this new era, where the quarterback’s voice apparently carries a little more weight than in the past, that could be a very good thing for Funchess.
Defense: ILB Oren Burks
It’s a huge preseason for the former third-round pick. He’s been a key special teams’ player to this point in his career, but he hasn’t made much of an impact on defense. Saturday night was a step in the right direction for the inside linebacker.
He played just the first half but finished with seven tackles. That included a perfectly timed blitz for a sack, along with another tackle for loss. New defensive coordinator Joe Barry used Burks several times on blitzes, and he was able to create pressure. He did have a boneheaded roughing the passer penalty, but overall, it was a very solid start for Burks.
Top Video
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Top Tweets
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In Case You Missed It
-- Thirty players on the Packers 90-man roster did not dress. That included all the team’s stars – Rodgers, running back Aaron Jones, Adams, tackle David Bakhtiari, nose tackle Kenny Clark, linebacker Za’Darius Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander.
-- Playing in his first game since the Senior Bowl in January 2020, quarterback Jordan Love made his Packers debut. The former first-round pick played the entire first half, going 12-for-17 for 122 yards and one touchdown. He also lost a fumble when left tackle Yosh Nijman got beat around the edge.
Love’s best effort of the night came on the touchdown drive when he went 6-for-6 for 89 yards and dropped off a screen to running back Kylin Hill for a 22-yard score.
The Utah State product was expected to play into the third quarter but coach Matt LaFleur said Love got "dinged" up on the strip-sack and was unable to continue. Love told reporters that he injured his shoulder and it felt "strain-ish" but that they would know more Sunday. He said he wasn't in pain and was feeling fine.
-- Former Wisconsin offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen made his NFL debut in the third quarter playing at right tackle
Inside the Numbers
49 – That’s how many yards rushing the Packers had, 32 of which came on the final offensive drive of the game. Before that, they had 17 yards on 17 carries.
3 – That’s how many turnovers the Packers had. It included two fumbles (Love, Kurt Benkert) and one interception (Benkert).
35 -- That's how many yards Jace Sternberger had receiving. That effort included a third-down grab for 34 yards down the middle from Love that jump-started the touchdown drive.
What’s Next
Brewers-Pirates postponed, doubleheader set for Saturday
For the second time in less than a week the weather has impacted Milwaukee's schedule.
Thanks to a storm rolling through Pittsburgh on Friday night, the Brewers game against the Pirates was postponed. It means the two teams will play a split seven-inning doubleheader Saturday.
The first game is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. and the second game will get underway at 6::05 p.m.
Milwaukee came into Friday night winners of four straight games and holding an 8-game lead on Cincinnati in the NL Central.
Bucks re-sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Thanasis Antetokounmpo is coming back for a couple more years with Milwaukee.
The forward agreed to a new two-year deal Friday to keep him with the Bucks for a third season.
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Antetokounmpo played in 57 games this past year for the Bucks, averaging 9.9 minutes per game. He put up 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in those games, but also played a significant role as part of the bench mob.
The 29-year-old also played in 13 playoff games but was forced to miss the clinching game of the NBA Finals following a positive COVID-19 test.
Brewers pound Cubs 17-4, finish off four-game sweep
Milwaukee routed Chicago 17-4 Thursday afternoon to finish off its first ever four-game sweep of the Cubs.
The Brewers poured across five runs in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Jace Peterson. They added four more in the fifth inning thanks to a grand slam by Manny Pina. Milwaukee then scored seven more runs over the next two innings, including another home run from Pina.
The offensive numbers were gaudy up and down the Brewers lineup. Pina had a career-high six RBI and Luis Urias had five. The latter's day included three doubles and two home runs, making him the first player in Milwaukee history with five extra-base hits in a single game. Jace Peterson finished with five hits and four RBI, while Eduardo Escobar had three hits and Christian Yelich had two.
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Milwaukee didn't get its usual outing from Brandon Woodruff. He went just three innings, allowing one run on two hits and walking three. He threw 74 pitches in those three innings and was replaced by Hunter Strickland, who pitched a scoreless fourth.
The only pitcher the Cubs were truly able to get to was Daniel Norris. Chicago got back-to-back home runs off the reliever in the seventh inning but it was far from enough.
The Brewers have now won nine straight against the Cubs and improved to 13-3 against them this season. They also became the second team in MLB to reach 70 wins on the year and are a season-best 24 games above .500.
At worst, Milwaukee will own an eight-game lead on Cincinnati in the NL Central heading into a weekend series in Pittsburgh.
Corbin Burnes ties strikeout mark, Brewers beat Chicago 10-0
A huge first inning offensively and a lights out effort from Corbin Burnes powered Milwaukee to a 10-0 win Wednesday night over the Chicago Cubs.
Burnes went eight innings and was dominant throughout. He finished with a career-high 15 strikeouts, the second-most in Brewers history. That included 10 straight at one point, which matched the all-time MLB record set by Aaron Nola (2021) and Tom Seaver (1970).
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The righty allowed just four hits, and of those only two left the infield. He improved to 7-4 on the year and saw his ERA drop to 2.23.
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With that kind of night from Burnes Milwaukee didn't really need much offense but it got a ton anyway. The Brewers scored seven runs off of Jake Arrieta in the first inning. Christian Yelich got it going with an RBI single and that was followed by a two-run double from Omar Narvaez. After Tyrone Taylor drove in a run, Lorenzo Cain had a two-run double of his own. Kolton Wong capped the scoring with his second double of the inning, driving in Cain to hand Milwaukee a monster lead before Burnes even took the mound.
The Brewers, or more accurately Narvaez, weren't done. The catcher brought in another run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and then hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
Overall, Milwaukee's offense racked up 16 hits and every position player but Avisail Garcia (left with bruised left hand) had at least one.
The win was the Brewers eighth-straight against the Cubs and it moved them to 12-3 against their rivals this season. Also, thanks Atlanta beating Cincinnati in extra innings, the club pushed its lead in the NL Central to eight games on the Reds.
Milwaukee will go for the four-game sweep Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Brewers beat Cubs 6-3, sweep doubleheader
Milwaukee scored six runs in the fifth inning on its way to a 6-3 win in Chicago to sweep Tuesday's doubleheader at Wrigley Field.
Jackie Bradley Jr. got the big inning started with an RBI double to tie the game 1-1. Two batters later, Christian Yelich grounded out to the pitcher but still got an RBI as Bradley Jr. was able to make it home from third and give Milwaukee its first lead. After Willy Adames was intentionally walked, the Brewers hit four straight singles, all of which brought in runs.
Luis Urias and Eduardo Escobar each had two hits on the night, and six different players finished with an RBI.
Milwaukee's pitching was solid, as Aaron Ashby made his second career start after being called up from Triple-A. He gave up a pair of hits in two innings of work before a lengthy rain delay forced manager Craig Counsell to go to his bullpen. It held up OK, with six different relievers taking the bump and allowing three runs the rest of the way.
One of those relievers, John Curtis, left the game in the fourth inning after registering just two outs due to right elbow discomfort.
With the win, the Brewers pushed their lead in the NL Central back to seven games on Cincinnati.
Milwaukee and Chicago will meet again Wednesday night in the third game of the series.
