The Green Bay Packers had to hurry up and get their annual Family Night practice out of the way this year. With the odd schedule forced upon them by their participation the Hall of Fame game, the Packers held the event on a Sunday night for the first time.
It usually takes place on a Saturday. The change in day didn’t change anything though.
Lambeau Field was still packed with people willing to pay $20 for a pretzel, interested in watching a practice.
Green bay @packers definitely have the BEST fans ever 70k+ for practice. Thanks God for letting me be apart of this History in the making
— Lerentee McCray (@Liiive_55) August 1, 2016
Packers practice at Lambeau Field tonight. One item available is the Franchise Pretzel ($20) pic.twitter.com/i9HL57zMPl
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 1, 2016
If you think that’s insane, the fans who paid for admission to this event at least got a fireworks show in addition to their overpriced concessions.
#FamilyNight fireworks! 🎆 pic.twitter.com/WVL2gCanD2
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 1, 2016
Some good old fashioned wholesome fun for a much cheaper price than going to an actual game. That’s what Family Night comes down to.
Official attendance for this practice was announced at 66,397.
What did those fans see?
There’s no scrimmage anymore. Not since guys started getting injured. Family Night is just a regular practice with some extra stuff designed to amuse those who paid to be in the stands or who bother to watch on local TV.
https://twitter.com/packers/status/759928686527131648
@Regrann from @packers – Aaron Rodgers TD ➡️ Aaron Rodgers Lambeau Leap! #FamilyNight (? Matt Ludtke/AP) – #regrann
A photo posted by Plumbob (@plumbob_4545) on
As far as players and plays, there were a few things to note there as well.
- Datone Jones has been looking good as an outside linebacker. Of course, he’s playing against second-team guys. As a former first-round pick, he better be looking good against those guys or he probably doesn’t deserve to be in the league.
- Davante Adams continues to be inconsistent. He’ll make a play here and then blow a play there. Adams is still in the competition for the No. 3 receiver. He’s still in it because Jeff Janis hasn’t done anything to distinguish himself.
- Jared Abbrederis is the one receiver consistently turning heads. Unfortunately, Abby seems best-suited to being a slot receiver, which means he can be no better than the No. 4 guy unless Randall Cobb gets injured.
- Special teams is a work in progress, as you should expect at this time of year. Mason Crosby had two kicks blocked on Sunday night. Tim Masthay almost had a punt blocked, as well.
The Packers play their first preseason game on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
That is significant because we’ll finally get to see some tackling. When the tackling begins, then we start to see which players can and will make an impact in 2016.