Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spoffer, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my partner in crime, Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to
Speaker 1: you here from our studios at lambeau Field and Wes
Speaker 1: with plenty to talk about. We skipped our earlier episode
Speaker 1: this week because of all of the roster dust that
Speaker 1: needed to settle. And Wow, this might have been the
Speaker 1: most active and interesting roster cutdown time in Green Bay
Speaker 1: in a while because the Packers emerged from it not
Speaker 1: only with their initial fifty three man roster, but a
Speaker 1: new kicker, a new backup quarterback. Both of the them
Speaker 1: came from the Tennessee Titans. It's been an interesting last
Speaker 1: few days around.
Speaker 2: I was joking with a friend of mine because you know,
Speaker 2: obviously we're in the two cycle week show for the Unscripted,
Speaker 2: and I made a crack about whether we would have
Speaker 2: tried to shoot the show on Monday or Tuesday. We
Speaker 2: would have had to reshoot it like three times.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, based.
Speaker 2: On every single thing that happened, beginning with the rumors,
Speaker 2: not the rumors, but the reports of the Malik Willis
Speaker 2: trade on Monday night. Then Andre's Carlson is released. You
Speaker 2: have Greg Joseph make it to Wednesday, but then the
Speaker 2: packers claim Brandon Narvissen from the Tennessee Titans, and on
Speaker 2: and on and on the things go. But I'll say
Speaker 2: this too, I got I do my own informal roster selection.
Speaker 2: I got forty nine, correct. I really there was just
Speaker 2: some things that definitely threw me for a whirl a
Speaker 2: little bit. Yeah, I see not so much the guys
Speaker 2: that made it, but like the Anthony Johnson juniors, you know,
Speaker 2: being released, and you know a couple of the different
Speaker 2: decisions that happen, and it just again goes to show you, Mike,
Speaker 2: for as much as we watch these practices and watch
Speaker 2: these games, you cannot get into the minds and into
Speaker 2: the meeting rooms of the NFL Scouts of Brian Goode Kunst.
Speaker 2: They had to make some very very tough calls. Brian
Speaker 2: even said it during his news conference earlier this week.
Speaker 2: They felt like there was more than fifty three guys
Speaker 2: on this rasa deserve to be here. I think the
Speaker 2: fact that three of them got claimed on waiver sort
Speaker 2: of speaks to that. And now the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 2: with what I would argue is probably their most talent
Speaker 2: rich team they've had at least during this era of
Speaker 2: Brian Goodecunk's ten years GM. They are stacked and ready
Speaker 2: to get into the season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I want to get back to those three released
Speaker 1: players by the Packers getting claimed by other teams. But first,
Speaker 1: let's talk about these two new arrivals a little bit.
Speaker 1: At quarterback, Malik Willis. A couple of years ago, he
Speaker 1: was a third round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 1: He was the third quarterback taken in that draft. It
Speaker 1: was it was not the typical quarterback draft. In twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two that spring, Willis was the third quarterback taken.
Speaker 1: He had begun his college career at Auburn, had ultimately
Speaker 1: transferred to Liberty University in Virginia, had a couple of
Speaker 1: highly successful seasons there, and then with the Titans, he
Speaker 1: ended up getting sort of three emergency starts as a rookie,
Speaker 1: and then things just didn't really work out for him
Speaker 1: in Tennessee and there's been a coaching change now and
Speaker 1: you know, quite obviously the Packers felt after the way
Speaker 1: things went through this training camp in preseason with Sean
Speaker 1: Clifford and Michael Pratt felt they needed to upgrade at
Speaker 1: backup quarterback, and so Brian Gudakunz traded a seventh round
Speaker 1: pick to the Titans to get a new quarterback in here.
Speaker 1: It's a very interesting situation with the opener coming up
Speaker 1: so quickly, you wonder how fast can Willis get up
Speaker 1: to speed? Can he really be the number two quarterback
Speaker 1: for the opener in Brazil against the Eagles. The fallback
Speaker 1: is that Sean Clifford is back on the practice squad,
Speaker 1: so the Packers will have that option as they set
Speaker 1: the roster for the game in Brazil, depending on how
Speaker 1: all that shakes out. But a different type of quarterback,
Speaker 1: a dual threat guy, the kind of guy that the
Speaker 1: Packers haven't really had around here. A whole heck of
Speaker 1: a lot. But it's a new lease on life. And
Speaker 1: Summer speaks from in some measure of speaking for Malik Willis,
Speaker 1: and he's going to help out the Packers at a
Speaker 1: spot that they need, they need some assurance.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I was really big on Willis in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2: I don't know how much the average fan of members,
Speaker 2: but I mean his draft stock just soared in the
Speaker 2: weeks in the months leading up to that, whether it
Speaker 2: was the NFL Scout Scouting Combine or just the fact
Speaker 2: that you know, it wasn't the most talent rich draft.
Speaker 2: So I mean, we really perseverated a lot on the
Speaker 2: quarterbacks that were available. Kenny Pickett goes at number twenty
Speaker 2: to Pittsburgh Desmond Ritter, who also got released this past weekend.
Speaker 2: He went in the third round to Atlanta, and then
Speaker 2: you had Tennessee, I believe trade up to get Willis. Now.
Speaker 2: The one thing about his tenuere in Tennessee that I
Speaker 2: never quite understood was I didn't really see what the
Speaker 2: vision was for him there right they had Ryan Tannehill.
Speaker 2: To me, it almost kind of felt like they got
Speaker 2: to the third round and he was still there, and
Speaker 2: they we're just, yeah, let's take this kid and we'll
Speaker 2: see what we get. When we developed, they never really
Speaker 2: committed to it. As you said, there was three spot starts.
Speaker 2: They didn't go great his rookie year. He talked at
Speaker 2: his locker on Wednesday about how he's a much different
Speaker 2: quarterback today than he went when he got those opportunities.
Speaker 2: They drafted Will Levis last season, so then he's basically
Speaker 2: the number de facto number three.
Speaker 1: And Levis was a second round pick, someone they invested
Speaker 1: a higher draft pick in than they had invested in Willis.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and now for him to you know, he had
Speaker 2: a really strong preseason, the best preseason of his career
Speaker 2: so far, led them in rushing. You know, was a
Speaker 2: guy that had one hundred and seven passer rating. I
Speaker 2: watched the final clips of those ten minutes in that
Speaker 2: game against the Saints. I mean, he made some extraordinary throws.
Speaker 2: The pass that he had down the right sideline, which
Speaker 2: if you go back and look at his draft right up,
Speaker 2: that was something they felt was really strong with him.
Speaker 2: His downfield accuracy, particularly to the sidelines. That thirty four
Speaker 2: yard touchdown came off of him leading the receiver in
Speaker 2: one on one coverage. So it's not like he's just
Speaker 2: a guy that just is gonna run, No, I mean,
Speaker 2: he had a lot of arm talent. He's super intelligent,
Speaker 2: and you can sense that at this locker just the
Speaker 2: way he carries himself in his composure, and I actually
Speaker 2: think from a personality perspective, is going to fit really
Speaker 2: well with Jordan Love. The challenge is the fact that
Speaker 2: we are at the time that we're taping this eight
Speaker 2: days away from the regular season Oprah in Brazil. How
Speaker 2: quickly he can digest this playbook after spending the last
Speaker 2: three years working in Tennessee system. That's going to be
Speaker 2: the number one thing he has to figure out. But
Speaker 2: that being said athletically, in tangible wise, there's a lot
Speaker 2: to like about Malik will Is still only twenty five
Speaker 2: years old, and I really feel like you really haven't
Speaker 2: even opened the box yet of what his potential could
Speaker 2: be in this league.
Speaker 1: Well, it sounds like there is some carryover in terms
Speaker 1: of the playbook the scheme from what Willis was learning
Speaker 1: his rookie year in Tennessee before some things with the
Speaker 1: offense and the coaching and whatnot started to change there.
Speaker 1: But the other thing I thought was interesting is Brian
Speaker 1: Gudacunz specifically made the comment and talking about Willis that
Speaker 1: in their evaluation of Willis, as they were keeping their
Speaker 1: eye out for quarterbacks who might who might come available
Speaker 1: for all to talk about Willis and his running ability
Speaker 1: and being a dual threat guy, Brian Gudacunz said they
Speaker 1: felt there was a lot of progress made in making
Speaker 1: plays from the pocket and not just tuck and run
Speaker 1: and take off with the ball. That the kind of
Speaker 1: stuff he was doing early in his career. That progress
Speaker 1: of becoming a pocket passer while still maintaining that dual threat,
Speaker 1: that type of growth is what really interested the Packers
Speaker 1: in making this move. So be interesting to see. Obviously,
Speaker 1: if all goes well, Malik Willis will not be playing
Speaker 1: for the Green Bay Packers in twenty twenty four. That's
Speaker 1: not the idea here, but the Packers certainly feel they've
Speaker 1: upgraded themselves at backup quarterback. When it comes to kicker
Speaker 1: Anders Carlson, Greg Joseph a tire offseason, all of training camp.
Speaker 1: Other third kickers at various times brought in to be
Speaker 1: part of the competition as well, it ends up being
Speaker 1: none of them. The Packers decide to move on Alex
Speaker 1: hale Is on the practice squad with the international player exemption,
Speaker 1: so there is a second kicker in Green Bay. But
Speaker 1: Braden Narvison, undrafted rookie, went to Tennessee, was not able
Speaker 1: to beat out Nick Folk, the veteran, for the job there,
Speaker 1: and the Packers end up making the claim of Narvison
Speaker 1: on waivers. He had a very successful preseason. He only
Speaker 1: missed one field goal out of seven tries, and I
Speaker 1: believe that was a fifty eight yarder. He made a
Speaker 1: fifty nine yarder. He also a walk off. I believe
Speaker 1: it was forty six yards a walk off kick to
Speaker 1: win a preseason game. So the Packers liked the fact that,
Speaker 1: you know, he's kind of been in some pressure situations
Speaker 1: as a rookie in the preseason when he's competing with
Speaker 1: a veteran to try to to try to unseat a
Speaker 1: guy for the job. And you know, we're not going
Speaker 1: to know exactly what the Packers thought of, you know,
Speaker 1: Carlson and Joseph and how all this thing went. Joseph,
Speaker 1: I thought, started out training camp really strong. Then he
Speaker 1: hit a rough patch. He seemed to kind of recover
Speaker 1: towards the end. Carlson in some respects was a little
Speaker 1: steadier in terms of the consistency maybe than Joseph, But
Speaker 1: the consistent level wasn't a high enough consistent level really
Speaker 1: when the Packers looked at it, and quite frankly, wess
Speaker 1: it's not about just one kick. But when Carlson went
Speaker 1: out and missed the thirty two yarder at the in
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter of the final preseason game against Baltimore.
Speaker 1: I felt what I said in insider inboxes that just
Speaker 1: felt like a declaration that Anders Carlson was not any
Speaker 1: better as a kicker in year two than he was
Speaker 1: in year one, and the Packers felt they needed to
Speaker 1: get better at that position. So if he's not going
Speaker 1: to prove that he's better that, then they're going to
Speaker 1: look elsewhere to upgrade. So narvisin is the move.
Speaker 2: A lot of different things in play here. The one
Speaker 2: thing I will say, and again I thought, Anders is
Speaker 2: the way you handle himself in Green Bay just you know,
Speaker 2: total professional from day one. But the fact is is
Speaker 2: he makes a fifty four yard field goal early in
Speaker 2: that preseason game and then in the fourth quarter you
Speaker 2: miss a thirty two yarder. As you venture into the
Speaker 2: NFL season, and as Matt Lafloor said, he knows how
Speaker 2: close that razor thin line is between victory and defeat
Speaker 2: and how sometimes the kicking position is factoring into that.
Speaker 2: You can't have that type of fluctuation. You have to
Speaker 2: be more consistent. Greg Joseph, I thought, showed an NFL
Speaker 2: caliber leg. It was a little disconcerning the middle of
Speaker 2: that camp where he sort of lost the way a
Speaker 2: little bit. I thought he did finish strong. I'd be
Speaker 2: curious to see what opportunities are out for him this season.
Speaker 2: Still and ultimately a position battle that lasted more than
Speaker 2: four months, it really didn't have a conclusive winner. So
Speaker 2: what does Brian goodekuins do You look at the situation
Speaker 2: in Tennessee where you had two guys and Nick Folk
Speaker 2: at thirty nine years old, still holding on and still
Speaker 2: holding strong, and you had Narvison who was the upstar
Speaker 2: challenger who kind of is in the same mold of
Speaker 2: a Christian welch and that I don't know what more
Speaker 2: that kid could have done to win the job other
Speaker 2: than maybe making the fifty eight yarder. But I mean
Speaker 2: he made a fifty nine yarder. If you look into
Speaker 2: his bio, he made a fifty eight yarder in high school.
Speaker 2: I mean, this guy has been around, and he's been
Speaker 2: a pretty highly touted kicker for a long time and
Speaker 2: worked his way up the college ladder to finish things
Speaker 2: out at NC State, you take a risk bringing in
Speaker 2: a kicker this late. Matt Lafleur said, this is kind
Speaker 2: of uncharted waters for him in that regard and as
Speaker 2: an undres a rookie, you're not sure how he's going
Speaker 2: to respond to. Okay, now these are all must make situations.
Speaker 2: But all that being said, Packers had to go a
Speaker 2: different direction. They had the waiver wire at their disposal,
Speaker 2: they had free agency at their disposal. It's a position
Speaker 2: where you don't have a playbook, and they felt like
Speaker 2: Narvusen is the right fit for them right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting how it unfolded that the Packers ended
Speaker 1: up making both of these moves with players coming from
Speaker 1: the same team, and you know, you just wonder exactly
Speaker 1: how the discussions unfolded. Were the Packers trying to get
Speaker 1: both in the trade, but then maybe the Titans were
Speaker 1: asking for too high of a draft pick, So then
Speaker 1: they just settled, Okay, we'll keep the quarterback things separate.
Speaker 1: We'll just get that done. We'll we'll see what else happens,
Speaker 1: and Narvis and the Packers end up getting him for
Speaker 1: free essentially off of off of the waiver wear. So
Speaker 1: kind of interesting how how that unfolded. With regard to
Speaker 1: the Packers and getting down to the fifty three. You
Speaker 1: mentioned that Brian Gudokun said there were more than fifty
Speaker 1: three guys who were deserving of roster spots, and as
Speaker 1: it turned out, for the first time in seven years,
Speaker 1: not only did the Packers have a released player get claimed,
Speaker 1: they had three of them get claimed. Safety Anthony Johnson
Speaker 1: Junior was claimed by the Giants, receiver Grant Dubos by
Speaker 1: the Mammy Dolphins, and offensive lineman Royce Newman by the
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And that really speaks to the depth
Speaker 1: the Packers had on this ninety man offseason roster because
Speaker 1: there were only I believe the final number was twenty
Speaker 1: six players claimed across the league, twenty six across the
Speaker 1: entire league out of eight hundred plus. Carolina took half
Speaker 1: of them that were on the waiver. Yeah, Carolina took
Speaker 1: a bunch. They took advantage of being at the top
Speaker 1: of the waiver claim list. I mean, that's what you
Speaker 1: have to do. If you feel there are better players
Speaker 1: out there, you got to upgrade your team. But only
Speaker 1: twenty six were claimed across the league, and three of
Speaker 1: them were claimed off of the from the Green Bay
Speaker 1: Packers cut list, So that says something about what the
Speaker 1: Packers had in this locker room throughout the offseason, throughout
Speaker 1: training camp, and let's be honest too, I mean that
Speaker 1: fifty three that did make it for Green Bay did
Speaker 1: not include two players who all of us thought would
Speaker 1: be on the fifty three. And I'm talking about running
Speaker 1: back AJ Dillon and tight end Tyler Davis. Both of
Speaker 1: them unfortunately end up on season ending injured reserve Dylan
Speaker 1: with the stinger injury the recurrence of the next stinger
Speaker 1: that kept him out of the regular season finale and
Speaker 1: the playoffs last year. Tyler Davis, after an entire basically
Speaker 1: a year's worth of rehab from the ACL from the
Speaker 1: preseason opener in Cincinnati last year, he gets back out
Speaker 1: on the field in Denver in preseason action, plays roughly
Speaker 1: a dozen snaps and injured his shoulder and now he's
Speaker 1: out for another season once again. So that was really
Speaker 1: the bad news and the sad news with regard to
Speaker 1: the roster decisions. But again, those are two players everybody
Speaker 1: thought would be on the fifty three, all else being equal,
Speaker 1: and they weren't, and the Packers filled those spots, so
Speaker 1: they still have their fifty three, and three guys still
Speaker 1: got claimed by other teams. So I just in the
Speaker 1: bigger picture. You look at that this offseason roster was
Speaker 1: very deep and very talented.
Speaker 2: Very deep, very talented, and so many guys rose up
Speaker 2: to the challenge. I think a guy like Christian Welch again,
Speaker 2: you could look at him as somebody that was a
Speaker 2: long shot, even though he was a veteran, and he
Speaker 2: put himself into the conversation with how he performed in
Speaker 2: the preseason. Royce Newman, I think everybody would probably agree Royce,
Speaker 2: it was time for a change of venue for him
Speaker 2: and see what can happen now that he gets down
Speaker 2: in Tampa with kind of a fresh start. You know
Speaker 2: that the opportunity for the offensive line, the where the
Speaker 2: depth is, it didn't really wasn't conducive I think for
Speaker 2: him making the roster. But then you have granted Bo's,
Speaker 2: who was the only receiver claims and I think again
Speaker 2: speaks not only to the depth a receiver, but honestly, Mike,
Speaker 2: the strength of these last two draft classes. The Packers
Speaker 2: don't find them in a situation of having to release
Speaker 2: a due Bo's or an Anthony Johnson junior. If there
Speaker 2: isn't Evan Williams, if there isn't Javon Bullard if there
Speaker 2: isn't Malik Heath and I certainly Bow Melton. Those type
Speaker 2: of players are the ones that made this decision very difficult.
Speaker 2: And on the other side of it, you have guys
Speaker 2: like Heath, who I thought got stronger throughout the preseason.
Speaker 2: I thought Brian Gudokuntz made a very salient observation when
Speaker 2: he said, this is a guy that just has a
Speaker 2: unique ability to make the big play. And when you're
Speaker 2: looking at long term potential, those type of players, there's
Speaker 2: something to be said for that, because you can have
Speaker 2: all the tools, but you might not have that it's
Speaker 2: factor when it's winning time. Malik has that. You saw
Speaker 2: it last year with Bou Melton, Mike. I mean, Bow
Speaker 2: needed to have a good camp. It wasn't like he
Speaker 2: just guaranteed a roster spot. But you don't have the
Speaker 2: performance that he had down the stretch last season if
Speaker 2: you're not talented and if you're not ready for the moment.
Speaker 2: So for the Green Bay Packers to have this much
Speaker 2: depth at receiver that a guy like grandtu Bos who
Speaker 2: performed so well throughout camp it really didn't have very
Speaker 2: many off days. If he's not able to make this
Speaker 2: roster again, I think is another reminder of just how talented,
Speaker 2: how deep, and how young the Packers are at many
Speaker 2: spots on this team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that clutch comment that Gudakuns made about Malie Keith
Speaker 1: in terms of, you know, being able to make you
Speaker 1: a key play at a key time. We saw it
Speaker 1: last year as a game the Packers lost, unfortunately, But
Speaker 1: the Monday night game against the Giants, the guy who
Speaker 1: catches the touchdown pass in the final couple of minutes
Speaker 1: that gave the Packers a chance to win that game
Speaker 1: was maliek Keith. It was a tough play at the pylon.
Speaker 1: The previous play, he had just had what he thought
Speaker 1: was going to be the touchdown catch and had just
Speaker 1: got knocked out of his hands by the defender. Came
Speaker 1: right back on the next play it was fourth, it
Speaker 1: was either third or fourth down. Jordan Love went right
Speaker 1: back to him and and he makes that touchdown. Those
Speaker 1: are the kinds of things that stick with decision makers
Speaker 1: right when it comes to you're trying to decide between
Speaker 1: this guy and that guy. And Grant Dubo's he did
Speaker 1: everything he could. He also he was performing on special
Speaker 1: teams quite well, putting some really good special teams film
Speaker 1: out there as well as what he was doing at receiver.
Speaker 1: Unique situation in Miami for him because Miami initially only
Speaker 1: kept four wide receivers on it's fifty three. They have
Speaker 1: Odell Beckham Junior, who is on the pup list, they
Speaker 1: have another wide receiver who was put on injured reserve
Speaker 1: with the designation to return, and then they went and
Speaker 1: claimed Dubos to essentially be their number five receiver for
Speaker 1: right now depending on how long it takes those other
Speaker 1: guys to come back. So a big time opportunity for
Speaker 1: him and hope it goes well, but it's one of
Speaker 1: those things that you just never know exactly what everybody
Speaker 1: else's situation is around the league. I think in a
Speaker 1: perfect world, the Packers would love to have brought Grant
Speaker 1: Dubo's back to the practice squad, but the claim pro
Speaker 1: is out there for reason. It's for players to get
Speaker 1: opportunities with other teams, and do Bo's is going to
Speaker 1: get that now.
Speaker 2: And I think the one thing that you could tell
Speaker 2: even when Brian was talking about is Matt Lafleur as
Speaker 2: well is probably as disappointed as they were not to
Speaker 2: be able to have Grant, you could have cut Malie
Speaker 2: Keith or bow Melt and both of those guys are
Speaker 2: getting claimed too. I firmly believe that there are no
Speaker 2: what IFFs at that position. We know how talented they are,
Speaker 2: and there would have been a team like Miami there
Speaker 2: that is looking for someone when they are that banged
Speaker 2: up to augment their current roster. And the other aspect
Speaker 2: of it, too is it's not like this is a
Speaker 2: team with several older players where Okay, well Grant, if
Speaker 2: it doesn't happen this year, could be he was continually
Speaker 2: going to be fighting this uphill climb against the same
Speaker 2: exact players for the next two seasons. Get Lord willing
Speaker 2: health wise. So it is what it is. But again,
Speaker 2: the fun part about that day, Mike is a fact,
Speaker 2: like Mulik Keith telling people at his locker. You know,
Speaker 2: Jason Vrabel, the Packers passing game coordinator, his position coach
Speaker 2: last year, was the one that called him to let
Speaker 2: him know made the team. You know, we talk about
Speaker 2: an Aaron Moseby on the defensive line that was on
Speaker 2: the practice squad all of last season. He has not
Speaker 2: appeared in an actual NFL regular season game in almost
Speaker 2: two years. Those are the stories that make you feel
Speaker 2: good about this. And you know, as much as it
Speaker 2: hurts to see some guys end up leaving, being able
Speaker 2: to have that knowledge of how talented this roster is,
Speaker 2: paired with the guys that have some pretty inspiring stories,
Speaker 2: you know, it makes for a pretty special day.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's It's funny because we talked before the you know,
Speaker 1: the preseason finale against Baltimore. You know, I wouldn't say
Speaker 1: it's every year, but there are years where somebody in
Speaker 1: that final preseason game plays his way onto the fifty
Speaker 1: three man roster. This year, the answer to that question
Speaker 1: was Aaron Mosby. He went out there, he got the
Speaker 1: strip sack, which his teammate Anthony Johnson Junior scooped up
Speaker 1: and ran for a touchdown. He also dropped into coverage
Speaker 1: and intercepted a pass. Packers loaded up on the defensive line.
Speaker 1: They have a lot of depth at both interior d
Speaker 1: line and on the edges, and but that you know,
Speaker 1: at a premier position at edge rusher, you show that
Speaker 1: kind of promise, in that kind of potential, and the
Speaker 1: Packers knew, you know, they know the growth that Mosby
Speaker 1: has made that entire first year is spending his entire
Speaker 1: undrafted rookie year on the practice squad. He makes it
Speaker 1: now and and hats off to bow Melton, his third
Speaker 1: crack at trying to make an initial fifty three. Obviously,
Speaker 1: he's played in NFL games, he's got statistics to his name,
Speaker 1: made some big plays for the Packers down the stretch
Speaker 1: last year, but this was the time of year that
Speaker 1: he was always getting the bad news and end up,
Speaker 1: you know, going onto a practice squad or making his
Speaker 1: way from Seattle to Green Bay, whatever the case might be.
Speaker 1: He's on the fifty three now to start the season,
Speaker 1: and that's pretty exciting for that young man.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you could just see what it means to
Speaker 2: that locker room to have bow Melton in there. I
Speaker 2: think I've used the analogy a couple times before. I mean,
Speaker 2: he is the heartbeat of that receiving core. He might
Speaker 2: not be the guy that's getting the fifty snaps a game,
Speaker 2: but you know, he's one of these straws that stir
Speaker 2: that drink and make what this team is pretty special.
Speaker 2: And you know, just the way he's dealt with us
Speaker 2: and his professionalism since the day he got the day
Speaker 2: he signed off of Seattle's practice squad. I'll never forget that,
Speaker 2: talking to him for the first time in the locker
Speaker 2: room and just basically just being hopeful for an opportunity,
Speaker 2: understanding he's a on paper, he has four three four speed,
Speaker 2: but he has to play that out and on an
Speaker 2: actual playing surface. And I thought last year he did that.
Speaker 2: You know, he mentioned when I talked to him after
Speaker 2: the game on Saturday, you know, he got the eighteen
Speaker 2: yard touchdown and had been a training camp filled with
Speaker 2: some ups and downs, but he felt like there were
Speaker 2: more ups and I think the Packers agreed with that
Speaker 2: as well. And there are certain intangibles with him that
Speaker 2: I think just make it so that you just you can't.
Speaker 2: You can't. You can't risk losing that player again like
Speaker 2: the Packers did last season. They were fortunate he lasted
Speaker 2: as long as he's done the practice squad. They were
Speaker 2: able to elevate him and then sign him in December,
Speaker 2: and you know, it was a big part of them
Speaker 2: having the run that they had. So, yeah, Kudo's the bow.
Speaker 2: He's gone about it the right way and ultimately I
Speaker 2: got a huge reward from it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, I've waited a little
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Speaker 1: All right, Well you mentioned it earlier in the show.
Speaker 1: The kickoff in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles is eight
Speaker 1: days away, which is hard to process right now. But
Speaker 1: that being said, the Packers are turning the page. They
Speaker 1: are starting their full fledged prep for the season opener,
Speaker 1: and that includes a practice. Actually, Matt Lafuer informed the
Speaker 1: media the Packers will be practicing Thursday night under the
Speaker 1: lights at lambeau Field, sort of spending their Thursday mimicking
Speaker 1: what game day next Friday in Brazil is going to be.
Speaker 1: They're going to have some morning meetings and and you know,
Speaker 1: sort of like that walk through type of stuff. Then
Speaker 1: the players will get a little bit of a break
Speaker 1: and then they're going to come out under the lights
Speaker 1: for what sounds like it's going to be a pretty
Speaker 1: high intensity practice at lambeau Field. It's a close practice.
Speaker 1: We won't be there, there won't be any cameras or
Speaker 1: photographers there. But this is what's always so interesting to me,
Speaker 1: is that is that you know, you go through that
Speaker 1: last preseason game, you've still got the ninety guys on
Speaker 1: the roster. You have to make all these decisions. This
Speaker 1: year it included a trade and a waiver claim, both
Speaker 1: at very very significant spots on the roster. And then
Speaker 1: with the Packers not having until that first Sunday of
Speaker 1: the regular season, the fact that their first game is
Speaker 1: on a Friday, and we'll be traveling to Brazil a
Speaker 1: couple of days before that. It's all happening pretty fast here, Wes,
Speaker 1: and that opening night kickoff for Green Bay against the
Speaker 1: Eagles is going to be here before we know.
Speaker 2: There are so many things I've taken issue with the
Speaker 2: seventeen game schedule and all these different things the NFL
Speaker 2: has done with tinkering with the league and the outlook
Speaker 2: the last few years. I will put on record, I
Speaker 2: will be on video saying I absolutely love the fact
Speaker 2: that they have this mini buy or whatever you want
Speaker 2: to call it before the opener. Absolutely, it adds so
Speaker 2: much to not only trying to keep rosters healthy, but
Speaker 2: it allows coaches like Matt Lafleur to try to do
Speaker 2: some interesting stuff this week. You would never do this
Speaker 2: if the Green Bay Packers were playing in six or
Speaker 2: seven days. You would do this if you have an
Speaker 2: extra day or two to kind of, you know, see
Speaker 2: where you're at with your roster, get guys comfortable, and
Speaker 2: also get them acclimated to not necessarily the time change
Speaker 2: or any of those type of things, but the fact
Speaker 2: that you now need to prepare a young football team
Speaker 2: for primetime action in an international site in week one. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that's what the Green Bay Packers are doing. And I
Speaker 2: think you know, as many chain eges is this is
Speaker 2: going to be and we're going to have to get
Speaker 2: through it. In a lot of ways, the Packers are
Speaker 2: the guinea pig for this thing in terms of just
Speaker 2: the amount of travel that is going to go into
Speaker 2: this before playing a high stakes matchup where you only
Speaker 2: have seventeen of them. That is going to be a
Speaker 2: huge challenge, but it also is a major opportunity. I
Speaker 2: think it's a major opportunity to put this team on
Speaker 2: display for the entire country, the entire viewing public, and
Speaker 2: also a guy like Jordan Love who is now really
Speaker 2: put himself out there now is one of the faces
Speaker 2: of this league. With the contract that he got and
Speaker 2: the way that he played down the stretch last season,
Speaker 2: that's all very exciting, and honestly, Mike, so much of
Speaker 2: this is going to be a day to day just
Speaker 2: how is this going to play out? What is this
Speaker 2: going to be like? In Matt Lflour and his coaching
Speaker 2: staff are trying to do their best they can to
Speaker 2: sort of predict that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting because then we'll talk about this more
Speaker 1: next week leading up to the matchup itself. But you
Speaker 1: look at these two franchises that are meeting in this
Speaker 1: inaugural game in Brazil to open the season. The Packers
Speaker 1: are a team that they made this huge transition last year,
Speaker 1: not only at quarterback, which obviously as the headliner, but
Speaker 1: with all these other young players on offense around him.
Speaker 1: It's been it's been this ongoing transition to where a
Speaker 1: lot of struggles early in the year. Then you hit
Speaker 1: your stride late in the year, you make the playoffs,
Speaker 1: and you make a run and you come within an
Speaker 1: eyelash of getting to the NFC Championship game. And now
Speaker 1: the Packers are looking to build on that and keep
Speaker 1: their arrow pointing up right. The Philadelphia Eagles are coming
Speaker 1: into this where a couple of years ago they were
Speaker 1: the NFC champions. They were in the Super Bowl and
Speaker 1: they lose a heartbreaking Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 1: They come back the following year and everybody's saying, what
Speaker 1: super Bowl hangover? The Philadelphia Eagles are ten to one.
Speaker 1: They're looking like they're going to be the number one
Speaker 1: seed in the NFC again. Then the adversity hits and
Speaker 1: things start to snowball the wrong way, and then they
Speaker 1: end up losing their division to the Dallas Cowboys. They
Speaker 1: get in as a wild card, but they are one
Speaker 1: and done in the playoffs, and now coming off of that,
Speaker 1: everybody is wondering just where the Philadelphia Eagles headed. Two
Speaker 1: very very different narratives about two teams that, in their
Speaker 1: own way and at different times, have been standard bearers
Speaker 1: within the NFC. But the narratives around these two clubs
Speaker 1: right now heading into Week one of twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: couldn't be more different.
Speaker 2: No, And it's interesting too. And the Krimbit Packers are
Speaker 2: nine to eight and they squeak into the playoffs and
Speaker 2: look as good as they did in Dallas against the
Speaker 2: number one seed and then conversely number two seed. Excuse me, yeah,
Speaker 2: Then you look over on this other side of things,
Speaker 2: and it's the Philadelphia Eagles, who for a time there
Speaker 2: looked like they were going to be the number one seed.
Speaker 2: These fall off dur in the final half of the season,
Speaker 2: and now they're suddenly in a position where they have
Speaker 2: questions answered. Nick Sirianni has questions to answer going into
Speaker 2: this year. Jason Kelcey is no longer there at center.
Speaker 2: What's the future of the Tush Push? I mean, it's
Speaker 2: all those type of things that you're going to have
Speaker 2: to have. I had to do it. I had to
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 1: Bring that up, come on.
Speaker 2: But all jokes aside, there's a lot out there yet
Speaker 2: for Philadelphia. And when you get San Francisco's going through
Speaker 2: a two man. When you get that close greatness, immortality, legacy,
Speaker 2: and you fall short, it sticks with you. And I
Speaker 2: think both of those franchises in a lot of ways,
Speaker 2: and especially with the Eagles, of how things went at
Speaker 2: the end tail end of last season. It's a very
Speaker 2: important game for them come out of the box.
Speaker 1: And it's a reminder and we'll talk about this, i'm sure,
Speaker 1: throughout the course of the twenty twenty four season, but
Speaker 1: what happened to both the Packers and the Eagles last
Speaker 1: year and how their season's unfolded, it is a reminder
Speaker 1: of how much of a marathon this seventeen game gauntlet
Speaker 1: is because after after nine games, the Packers were three
Speaker 1: and six. After eleven games, the Eagles were ten to one,
Speaker 1: And look at where those two teams were in the
Speaker 1: middle of January. They were in completely different, like polar
Speaker 1: opposite type of situations from where they had been just
Speaker 1: a couple of months earlier. So just a reminder, something
Speaker 1: to keep in mind, and we'll talk about it more
Speaker 1: next week.
Speaker 2: The dangerous thing about having a seventh seed at Michael
Speaker 2: is it isn't necessarily the seventh best team in your conference,
Speaker 2: right And the Green Bay Packers, how they finished that
Speaker 2: year was very different than how they played the first
Speaker 2: six seven weeks of the year. Yeah, and Unfortunately, the
Speaker 2: Dallas Cowboys are on their seeding.
Speaker 1: End well, fortunately for the Packers, fortunately for the Packers,
Speaker 1: fortunately for Cowboys fans and Jerry Jones. With that, we'll
Speaker 1: call it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted.
Speaker 1: Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
Speaker 1: team heading into Week one and off to Brazil. We
Speaker 1: will have more show more Packers Unscripted next week as well.
Speaker 1: We've got it all for you on Packers dot com
Speaker 1: for Wesi and Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody.
Speaker 1: We will see you next time.