Packers tight end Jermichael Finley was seen throwing punches at the helmet of teammate Jarvis Reed during a recent practice, which is never a good idea given how little give helmets tend to have against the human hand.
Finely never connected and avoided injury, which means that a productive training camp won’t be interrupted. Finley is drawing raves from teammates and coaches for his improvement as a run blocker after struggling in recent years and he’s also hearing some nice words from the guy who will be throwing him passes this season.
“He’s been running his routes really well,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said, via Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Something clicked last year midseason ... and it’s carried over this spring. He’s got himself in unbelievable shape, and he’s come in and been dominating out there. I’m really proud of him and the steps he’s made.”
Finley’s athletic ability has never been in question, but you can’t say the same for his consistency. The 2013 season would be a good time for Finley to turn that around.
He’ll be a free agent after the year, so he’d be setting himself up for a nice payday if he could turn in something similar to the eight touchdown campaign he had before signing an extension with the Packers in 2012. And it would work for the Packers too. While they have several strong receivers, the loss of Greg Jennings does leave a spot for Finley to do more on offense this season.