THUMBS UP

There once was the coffin-corner punt. Then there was the pooch punt in the middle of the field. Now the rage is the Australian-style drop punt. Judged by what TimMasthay did with the drop last season and Wednesday night at Nitschke Field, it is revolutionizing the art of placement punting.

In the padded practice, Masthay was given three punts from the 50 and two from the opponents' 40. All five of his kicks either were downed inside the 20, fair-caught inside the 20 or out of bounds inside the 20. Last season, his inside-the-20 percentage (35.2%) ranked 13th in the NFL. Based on his first exposure in camp, he might be moving up.

"You have to have a strong leg to be able to hit the punt," said Masthay, who estimated that 75% of NFL punters have adopted the drop on short attempts. "I think all of us have just kind of played with it the last several years. Lots of guys like it because you can hit it hard and it's unlikely you're going to get a touchback on the fly."

Earlier, Masthay punted six times standing in the end zone with the ball snapped from the 5. His average distance of 53.5 yards was excellent. His average hang time of 4.25 seconds needs to be better or he'll be outkicking his coverage.

THUMBS DOWN

After two practices in pads it would appear that rookie TE D.J. Williams has a substantial way to go to become a competent blocker. Obviously, he's undersized at 6-2, 245. His 20 reps on the bench press were two above the average for TEs at the combine in February, but his arm length (31½ inches) was 1½ shorter than the average. That hurts him trying to keep linebackers from trashing him at the point of attack. He is helped by having big hands (103/8), one reason he catches everything. In blocking drills with coach Ben McAdoo, Williams seems far behind, which isn't surprising given he didn't play in-line all that often at Arkansas and didn't have an NFL off-season. This is one of the most competitive positions in camp, and with Tom Crabtree moving more fluidly than last summer it's possible four will make the final roster.

INJURY LIST

The only new injury Wednesday was suffered by DE Lawrence Guy (concussion).

TE Jermichael Finley (knee), DE Mike Neal (shoulder) and S MorganBurnett (knee) took part in competitive drills for the first time.

ODDS AND ENDS

McAdoo said Finley's reporting weight of 240 pounds wasn't a concern. He expects Finley to add some weight once camp is over.

On his first day back, Burnett was in the starting lineup at strong safety. On one play, he found himself in press man coverage against Finley near the right sideline. Exercising superb positioning, the athletic Burnett managed to break up the end-zone fade.

In a three-way rotation, it was Frank Zombo's turn to work with the No. 1s at ROLB.

Chris Campbell, a second-year free agent from Eastern Illinois, is one of the more improved players in camp. Last summer, he was carrying a lot of bad weight. This summer, he has trimmed down and playing with more confidence and strength. He went 3-0-1 in the pass-blocking drill.

LT Marshall Newhouse continued his dancing bear routine, almost effortlessly tying up LB Erik Walden twice in pass protection.

FB Quinn Johnson reported overweight. The Packers want him weighing 262-263. It's hard to say how much he has to lose.

One reason rookie Caleb Schlauderaff is off to a slow start is the fact he's playing right guard. That requires a different stance and a new orientation from left guard, where he started four years at Utah.

One of the most athletic defensive backs in camp is FS BrandonUnderwood. Just observing Underwood move, one can tell why the Packers have kept him around, giving him every benefit of the doubt.

DE Mike Neal looked extremely rusty in his first contact work in almost 10 months. He went 1-2-1 in the pass-rushing drill.

SCHEDULE

Practice in pads at 7 p.m. Thursday.