GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There was a fade to Jeff Janis and an out to Ty Montgomery. Both came in the red-zone drill. Both went for touchdowns.

If all anyone saw was that single practice period earlier this week, their impression of Brett Hundley might be different.

But those who have seen all five of the Green Bay Packers practices so far in training camp know this: The rookie quarterback has struggled in the early going. His success during Monday's practice, which was heavy on plays inside the 20, can be explained this way:

"I think it was a combination of him starting to get it a little bit [combined] with the red zone is kind of instinctive and kind of reactionary," Packers quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt said. "And I think you see the guy that played a lot of football in college coming out down there [in the red zone], like, 'I’m going to make it work.'"

Now, if only Hundley can make it work on the rest of the field, the Packers might have something in the fifth-round pick from UCLA.

The good thing is, he should have plenty of time to learn.

There's no reason to think Scott Tolzien will have any trouble securing the backup job behind Aaron Rodgers and given how general manager Ted Thompson is averse to cutting draft picks, Hundley should stick as the No. 3. It likely would be too risky to cut him in order to try to stash him on the practice squad.

However, at this point, street free agent Matt Blanchard has outplayed Hundley, and it's not even that close.

"It's humbling," Hundley said. "But it does require a lot of patience. But at the same time you know everything happens for a reason, and this is the best situation I could possibly come into and learn this kind of offense."

Just about everything Hundley has learned -- and must still learn -- is different from what he did at UCLA. Coach Mike McCarthy's West Coast offense is nothing like UCLA's spread system. Not only does Hundley need to absorb a new playbook with completely different terminology, but the basic mechanics of his footwork underwent a complete overall.

Think of it this way: It was as if Hundley needed to learn how to walk, at least on the football field, all over again.

So when Hundley's feet got tangled, and he was late with a deep ball down the middle -- one of the absolute no-no's for a quarterback -- and veteran safety Morgan Burnett picked it off during the second practice of camp, it didn't surprise or alarm the coaches.

"That's very natural," Van Pelt said. "Very natural, especially at that position. You think about what we've changed, what we're trying to ask him to do. It would be like asking you to play Ping-Pong left handed and then do it all of a sudden with someone rushing you, and then you've got to make the right decision. There's a lot going through the mind of a rookie quarterback. But you're starting to see it all start to come together slowly."

Van Pelt wouldn't saddle Hundley with any predictions for how quickly he would progress. The preseason games will help reveal that.

Asked where Hundley should be in a month when the preseason is over, all Van Pelt would say is: "Ahead of where he is now."

"It's getting easier," Hundley said. "People don't realize that when you first get into this offense, it's a lot different timing than the spread offense. You have to get used to that, too. You have to get used to the footwork, the timing, the reads of the routes. At first, you're understanding what it's like and you're just getting a feel for it. Now, since I sort of know what the timing should be, it's a lot easier to say 'OK, this is what we should've done.'"