Nelson misses practice with hamstring injury

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media after Monday's practice. Here are some highlights:

On injuries to wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams and defensive end Josh Boyd:

Jordy Nelson has a hamstring injury and Davante Adams has a wrist injury. Josh Boyd has a rib injury.

On running back Rajion Neal's knee injury and how he played:

Rajion Neal isn't a long-term injury. He had good run decision. I thought he did a nice job running the course. Obviously, you like to finish on the touchdown run.

On linebacker Joe Thomas' injury:

Joe Thomas has a knee injury. I'm told it's not long-term, either.

On grading Saturday night's game:

Clearly, it was one of the best preseason I've been a part of. It was a training environment you can't create. It's like anything else in football. To be able to play under those circumstances, it hits every part of your operation. The headsets went down. We had players making calls on the field, checks on the field. Those are things that you coach. You try to create that in practice. The ability to play with balance. It's a great opportunity. It's nice when it rains like that and it's still warm. That game Saturday night was something we could build off of.

On how long Nelson will be out:

Jordy Nelson, don't anticipate it being a long-term injury.

On four scuffles at practice:

"I think it's just a matter of things going on. There's an irritation level that's higher. There's a lot of hitting today at practice. I knew it was going to be a competitive practice. That's what you're looking for. I think that's normal this time of training camp.

On offensive linemen JC Tretter and Derek Sherrod:

"I liked them both. I thought Derek and JC both played well. JC had one correction but handled the football well (at center), especially in that environment. I think Derek, that might be the best he's played since he's been here."

On tight end Brandon Bostick in the red zone:

"He's a big, physical athletic tight end. He's added weight. He's stronger. I think one of the basic simple philosophies of attacking end zone is big targets."

On wide receiver Jeff Janis:

"He's raw and he needs the work but he's a big athletic receiver."

On who jumped out during Saturday's game:

"Joe Thomas made a huge play on the kickoff and gets hurt a little while after that. Neal, the way he ran the football. I thought Garth Gerhart played extremely well at the center position. (Linebacker) Sam Barrington played well. That's as good as Sam has played. I thought our secondary played well. I was pleased with that first and second group. I thought (safety) Ha Ha (Clinton-Dix) had one missed tackle and came right back and made a nice play. He did some things on special teams. I thought a lot of guys jumped out."

On getting what he wanted from practice:

"That's an in-season Wednesday practice for us. I thought it was a good practice. Film is going to be good. Our run defense with our second and third group wasn't very good. Two-minute situation was competitive. I was very pleased."

On linebacker Sam Barrington's growth:

"I thought Sam was hesitant last year. He was thinking too much. You could see the ability. You could see the instincts. He has that big hit ability. He's letting it go now."

Do you want to see a young receiver separate himself?

"It's why you have the preseason games. Coming out of last week, they'll be champing at the bit to have a productive passing game. It's going to be competitive. Clearly it's going to come down to the end. That group has the most depth we've had in training camp."