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A Stanford alum (he has a bachelors degree in political science and spent his senior season working toward his masters in sociology) who can be sometimes found after practice playing chess in the locker room (“We actually played on the sideline at practice,” he said of his alma mater’s intellectual reputation), the Green Bay Packers rookie tight end knows you don’t have to be a genius to see the opportunity at his position.
While starter Donald Lee is entrenched, would-be backup Tory Humphrey hasn’t been able to practice consistently and third-round draft pick Jermichael Finley is green as grass.
Finley, based on potential alone, will make the 53-man roster. But Humphrey, who missed all of last season with a broken leg suffered on the first day of camp, did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and likely won’t play in Saturday night’s preseason game at San Francisco. He also forgot to run his route on a play that resulted in an interception against Cincinnati on Monday night.
That means Moore, who will be playing 20 miles north of the Stanford campus at Candlestick Park, has a chance to make an impression.
“It is really tempting to think about it, but I feel like it’ll only be frustrating,” said the 6-foot-6, 247-pound Moore, who played wide receiver at Stanford after coming over from the Cardinal football team. “In all honesty, and this is not just the P.C. answer — I don’t even think about it. I feel like everything will take care of itself. If they want to go a different direction, fine. If they like me, great. If they don’t, it’s out of my control.
“But I know these preseason games are like an audition for guys that are really trying to show themselves, and as great as it is to do well in practice, what you do under the lights — that’s what really matters. It’s going to be huge opportunity.”
Joey Haynos, another undrafted rookie free agent, will have a similar opportunity, although coach Mike McCarthy sounded Thursday like he was still expecting Humphrey to be relied upon.
“I think Tory Humphrey has done very well. He just needs to stay healthy,” McCarthy said, adding the group is the most athletic he’s ever had. “That’s really the issue with Tory. He is also someone that I would classify him as a core player on special teams.”
Jennings, others will sit: Wide receiver Greg Jennings will miss his second straight game with soreness in the back of his knee, but he vowed to play Aug. 22 at Denver.
“I’ve got to play next week. I’ve definitely got to play next week,” Jennings said Thursday. “That’s the most the 1s will play, so I’ve got to be out there next week to get a little rhythm and let ’em see that 85 run around out there.”
Jennings said the soreness “is really tendinitis or something, I don’t really know — it’s just sore” and that he isn’t sure where it came from. But after a nagging ankle injury derailed his promising rookie season and he missed the first two games of last season with hamstring problems, he understands why the medical staff is being cautious with him.
“I can run full speed, I can cut, I can do everything. If this were the regular season, I could go,” Jennings said. “It bothers me to the point of ’Ouch,’ but not ’Oh, I can’t go.’ It’s nothing major. I could’ve played Monday, I could play Saturday. But why? The big picture is the regular season. There’s no reason to risk (that).”
Meanwhile, McCarthy all but officially ruled out Humphrey (ankle), halfback Ryan Grant (hamstring), wide receiver Brett Swain (quadriceps), safety Charlie Peprah (knee), halfback DeShawn Wynn (ankle) and tackle Orrin Thompson (ankle). Linebacker A.J. Hawk (chest) and defensive linemen Ryan Pickett (hamstring), Justin Harrell (back) and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee) will not play, while linebacker Desmond Bishop (Achilles’) and wide receiver Ruvell Martin (jaw) could play.
Scheduling conflict: McCarthy admitted that the preseason schedule — with the team’s four exhibition games crammed into an 18-day window — isn’t ideal in terms of maximizing practice productivity.
After opening on a Monday night and now playing on a Saturday night, the Aug. 22 game at Denver is a Friday night affair, and the exhibition finale against Tennessee at Lambeau Field is a Thursday nighter — meaning each week of practice is shortened.
“At the expense of trying to run your team into the ground, this is just the way we’ve gone about it,” McCarthy said. “To play on a Monday night then a Saturday to a Friday to a Thursday, you never get that seven-day run that you would prefer in training camp. So we’re just making the best of it, being smart. We’re doing extended jog-throughs, extended walk-throughs in the gym, a little more classroom time than you probably would in training camp.”
Extra points: McCarthy said the starters are going to “play a little more” against the 49ers. “I’m looking probably approximately 30, 30-plus plays,” McCarthy said. ... Practice ended with various units jogging on and off the field to work on substitutions, and McCarthy acknowledged that “we had a couple of miscues there.”
