Over 22 years ago, Allen Iverson, point guard of the Philadelphia 76ers, delivered one of the most legendary sentences in sports history after reporters asked him about his training efforts. after the Sixers’ playoff loss to the Boston Celtics. The line was a response to criticism from head coach Larry Brown.
“We’re sitting here – I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re talking about practice,” Iverson said. “I mean, listen: We’re talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We’re talking about practice.”
During the 2002-03 season, Iverson led the NBA in games started, minutes played and steals per game. He averaged 27.6 points per game and led the 76ers back to the playoffs.
It’s joint practice season in the NFL, with teams from across the country participating. The Detroit Lions practiced with the New York Giants, the Minnesota Vikings with the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets with the Washington Commanders. The Green Bay Packers held a joint practice with the Denver Broncos on Friday and will have another with the Baltimore Ravens next week.
Friday’s practice was not a good one for the Green Bay Packers offense. Jordan Love completed 15 of 26 passes for 107 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Packers ran two two-minute drills against the Denver defense, but were unsuccessful both times.
Green Bay’s defense struggled in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills and couldn’t contain Bo Nix and Zach Wilson. Nix and Wilson had a productive day, moving the ball consistently and finding open receivers.
July and August are when NFL teams find their rhythm, which means they experience good and bad days of practice. Despite Green Bay’s tough performance against Denver, Jaire Alexander stressed that the day was valuable. “It was a good day for us,” he said. “We learned a lot from it.”
A humbling experience in August improves Green Bay’s chances of being ready if setbacks occur during the regular season and playoffs.
Preseason will make headlines as the season approaches, but it’s difficult to draw concrete conclusions from it. Players aren’t operating at full strength or speed because avoiding injuries is critical to maintaining their season and future earning potential. For example, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell asked Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to dial back the physicality after Thayer Thomas went down in joint practice against Cleveland.
Head coaches never give away their tricks and secrets during the preseason. Matt LaFleur’s offense relies heavily on specific game plans, which explains why Green Bay’s offense struggled to advance without a tailored approach to Denver’s defense. Additionally, Bo Nix is a rookie and has no NFL footage, so defensive coordinators have limited material to prepare for him.
Green Bay will build on a season in which they triumphed over the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, beat the No. 2 Dallas Cowboys and held the No. 1 San Francisco 49ers on their toes for 59 minutes. Just as Allen Iverson rebounded from the practice headlines to lead the NBA in several categories, the Green Bay Packers will improve and learn from their humiliating practice against the Denver Broncos. Fans shouldn’t overreact to how they performed on Friday. After all, it’s about practice.
