Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur will have his team in uniform for an intra-squad scrimmage at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
With no preseason games this year, LaFleur wanted to create an opportunity for something resembling a typical gameday environment before the Packers take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 on Sept. 13.
“It’s going to be our closest opportunity to a game-like experience. We’re going to have the guys in their uniforms. It’s going to be all unscripted,” LaFleur said after practice on Saturday.
The plan is for the team to go through a typical practice-like schedule – including warmups and individual position work – before the scrimmage portion begins.
“We’re going to start off, kind of similar to how we do a normal practice, in terms of a quick walkthrough, we’ll get into our stretch, we’ll have some individual time and then we’ll go into one-on-ones. And then from there on out, it’s all going to be scrimmage situation,” LaFleur said.
The hope is that the scrimmage environment at Lambeau Field will present LaFleur and the Packers with a range of different situations, providing valuable experience for players and important evaluation opportunities for the coaches and personnel staff.
LaFleur is planning to have the entire scrimmage play out like a typical game, with coaches communicating through headsets and officials on the field. Also, the scrimmage will be unscripted, creating an extra level of stress on the players and the entire operation.
“Hopefully, we can get into some situational ball that happens naturally throughout the course of a game,” LaFleur said. “Our coaches will be up in the press box. We’ll have our headsets on. We’re going to have the tablets, the NFL is coming in here to help us with typical game-day procedures. We’ll have some officials. So I’m really excited to see how our guys respond to that situation. Just hear the call, so they can go out there and play fast. Just really excited for that opportunity for these guys.”
The Packers are planning to transition to a regular-season practice schedule starting next week.
