The Good, Bad, and Ugly from Packers Joint Practice in Denver

The Green Bay Packers are placing more value on a joint practice session than they are a preseason game against the Denver Broncos.

That's a philosophical change from what Matt LaFleur did a season ago.

Last year, Jordan Love got any rep that was available. Joint practice. Games. Pre practice and post.

The starting offense had to follow suit as LaFleur was not going to risk his starting quarterback playing with guys that were unlikely to make the team.

He had to build his entire offense.

This year, however, is different. Love and the offense are not expected to play in Sunday's game.

Friday's joint practice was the only chance they had in a competitive environment.

That parctice was a decisive win for the Denver Broncos. Here's a look at what was good, bad and downright ugly from Green Bay's performance.

The Good  - Josh Jacobs Impact

Josh Jacobs was clearly a focal point of Friday's joint practice.

With little time to get ready for the regular season considering the starters will not play in tomorrow's preseason game against the Broncos, Jacobs has to get his work in during practice.

According to Packers.com's Larry McCarren, Jacobs touched the ball on 12/30 plays that the offense was on the field.

Whether the usage will look like that during the regular season remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, the Packers are very excited about their new running back.

“I think he is very capable of being a high-volume feature back, where he’s getting a bulk of the carries, but we will see how it plays out,” LaFleur said during the team's OTA period.

Jacobs was brought in to be more of a physical runner and capable of making plays out of the backfield.

While the Packers will certainly miss Aaron Jones, Jacobs appears to be better suited for the running style they want to deploy.

The Bad- Jordan Love Gets Hit

It's never good when the quarterback gets hit.

It's even worse when it happens in a practice period when the quarterback is wearing a red non-contact jersey.

It did happen on Friday. Zach Tom as pushed back by Nik Bonitto, and Love was hit, causing his pass to be intercepted.

The play caused a bit of a skirmish with Adam Stenavich and Matt LaFleur right in the middle of things.

They were not happy their quarterback was touched.

After practice was over, Love said it was Tom who hit him, but in the moment he thought it was the Broncos' linebacker as well.

Either way, getting the quarterback hit isn't a good thing.

The Ugly - Any Team Period

Move the ball, red zone, two-minute drill, you name it. The name of the period is move the ball for a reason.

The Packers could not do it on offense.

They hit a couple of short plays but nearly threw two interceptions as well.

This was Green Bay's first real test against another defense with the starting offense only playing three plays last week in Cleveland.

If that is what the regular season is going to look like, it could be a long year in Green Bay.

The good news is, as Allen Iverson once famously said, it's only practice. Chances are high that Friday's performance was an aberration or a sign the Packers were working on things ahead of Sunday's preseason contest in Denver.

Defensively, the story was much of the same. Both Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham got the Broncos offense into scoring range during their move the ball periods.

The Packers face the toughest quarterback schedule in the NFL this season according to Warren Sharp.

Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham would not be mentioned in the same breath as players like Matthew Stafford and Jalen Hurts.

Those are just the quarterbacks the Packers' defense will face in the first month of the season.

Again, only practice, but not a good day at the office for either side of the ball.