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Packers' offensive line continues to adjust through preseason

Plus other updates from the latest camp practice

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GREEN BAY – With Week 3 of the preseason getting underway Monday, here were the latest developments at practice for the Packers:

--Veteran Byron Bell filled in at right guard for the injured Justin McCray (calf) with the No. 1 offensive line, while starting left guard Lane Taylor returned for 11-on-11 work after being cautious over the past week due to a quad injury.

Taylor, who has sat out each of the first two preseason games, called it "seamless" getting back into the groove between center Corey Linsley and left tackle David Bakhtiari, given all the time they've played together.

McCray's injury will likely prevent the starting offensive line from working together much the rest of the preseason, but Taylor didn't think it was any reason for alarm bells.

"We'll get a lot of practice reps in," he said. "We might not get the game reps that you typically want, but I think we've all played a lot of football, and we know what to do to get ready and be on the same page."

--The full first-string offensive unit ran more scout-team reps than regular ones, an indication the No. 1 group might play very little, if at all, in Oakland on Friday.

As preseason plans have evolved in recent years, the third game is no longer the "dress rehearsal" it was in past eras. Teams continue to be reluctant to expose their top players in order to compete against "vanilla" game plans, and Green Bay's top offensive players feel good about the work they put in during the first two preseason games.

"That's plenty. That's more than enough," said receiver Davante Adams, who has three catches for 84 yards in preseason thus far. "I think we've all been able to show in this short amount of time that we're ready to go, get some of our plays run. Yeah, I'm ready for the real action at this point."

Take a look at Monday's training camp practice at Ray Nitschke Field

--On the defensive side, cornerback Davon House (hamstring) exited practice after individual drills while safety Jermaine Whitehead (back) returned to the field. Corner Kevin King and outside linebacker Nick Perry got their first 11-on-11 work of camp.

King was working with the No. 1 defense while Perry's team reps came on the scout side. Perry has missed a lot of the preparation time with new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine's scheme, but Head Coach Mike McCarthy has no qualms about Perry's playbook knowledge.

"I feel very confident he's totally engaged in everything that's gone on as far as the adjustments and changes made for this defense," McCarthy said. "This will not be a mental transition, in my opinion."

As for the run defense's struggles early in the Pittsburgh game, when running back James Conner broke several tackles and had consecutive carries of 8, 24 and 26 yards for a touchdown, shoring up assignments and cleaning up their play in general are being stressed on defense this week.

"We had 10 guys on the field on the touchdown run, a few missed tackles here and gap alignments by a few players, and that's what happens," linebacker Clay Matthews said. "We've got a new scheme, some young players, and we're all trying to work towards Week 1.

"We've done some great things the first two weeks and we've done some not-so-great things. We're moving closer to where we want to be. I know obviously it doesn't look good, but we'll be fine."

--Running back Jamaal Williams has no concerns about his ankle injury from last Thursday night's game, except for how it occurred. He said Pittsburgh linebacker Vince Williams twisted his foot when tackling him, and he's not going to let that happen again.

"If they're twisting ankles, I'm for sure kicking, from now on," he said.

"I'll be over this quick," he added regarding the injury, suggesting he might suit up for practice again as soon as Tuesday.

Fellow second-year running back Aaron Jones, who has been working his way back from a hamstring injury, also took his first 11-on-11 reps since getting hurt.

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