GREEN BAY \u2014 Josh Jacobs and Zach Tom didn\u2019t understand why the question was even being asked. To them, the answer was self-evident.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of the Green Bay Packers\u2019 sixth practice of training camp \u2014 and their second in as many days in full pads \u2014 at Ray Nitschke Field, left tackle Rasheed Walker and edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare had become embroiled in what seemed to be a typical summertime offense-defense disagreement.<\/p>\n
Only this time, as Engabare disengaged, Walker slammed him to the turf.<\/p>\n
Head coach Matt LaFleur went ballistic. Already irritated by two days of his players \u2014 cornerback Nate Hobbs in particular \u2014 endangering their teammates with overly aggressive physical play, LaFleur booted Walker out of practice and told him to run a lap around the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018Take a lap,\u2019 and I was like, \u2018What?\u2019\u201d Walker recounted. \u201cI haven\u2019t run a lap since probably like freshman year of high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the confused Walker hesitated for a beat, Jacobs took the lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we all were of the same mind. I just started running. Like, \u2018C\u2019mon, let\u2019s go!\u2019\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cI just grabbed him and said, \u2018Bro, I\u2019m running with you.\u2019 And everyone else started running, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or, as right guard Sean Rhyan put it, \u201cOne of us runs, we all run.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Jacobs and Tom were asked separately why they felt the need to run with Walker, they both wore the same look of incredulity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things where, he made a mistake. He was wrong. It\u2019s camp. Frustrations get high,\u201d Jacobs replied. I didn\u2019t want him to feel like because he got singled out, that he was by himself. You made a mistake, but I\u2019ve still got your back. I just wanted to let him know we\u2019ve still got his back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Tom: \u201cMatt told him to run, and we just felt like we didn\u2019t want him out there running alone. We do everything as a team, as a unit. So if one guy has to go through something, we\u2019re all going to go through it. It meant something to \u2018Sheed, too \u2014 knowing we all have his back. If the same thing happened to me, I know they\u2019d run with me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impromptu Packers Track Club consisted of Jacobs, Tom, Rhyan, center Elgton Jenkins, left guard Jordan Morgan (who was playing in place of Aaron Banks), and tight end Tucker Kraft \u2014 and, of course, Walker.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t want to do it. I was trying to gather my breath and then I saw my teammates running. So I was, \u2018I\u2019m going to run,\u2019\u201d Walker said. \u201cIt helped my mood get better seeing my teammates running with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walker took a second lap around the field \u201cjust to get my thoughts together\u201d before returning to practice. The workout ended shortly thereafter, and LaFleur proceeded to lay into his players for their failure to protect one another \u2014 especially in the aftermath of running back MarShawn Lloyd\u2019s injury a day earlier, which may or may not have been caused by Hobbs hitting him low on a running play.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message [was], \u2018Practice smarter. Always have that team-first mentality,\u2019\u201d quarterback Jordan Love said of LaFleur\u2019s speech, leaving out some of the expletives his coach had used. \u201cObviously, everybody\u2019s out there competing and football\u2019s a very violent sport, a lot of things go on. But just have that mindset where we\u2019re taking care of each other in practice.”<\/p>\n
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