Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted Social
Speaker 1: Distancing Style from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford,
Speaker 1: joined as always by my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz. Today
Speaker 1: I'm coming to you from our new studio here at
Speaker 1: Lombardi Avenue West. You're going to get to join me
Speaker 1: in this studio. I think at some point we haven't
Speaker 1: gotten there yet. You are still in the bonus room
Speaker 1: above your garage. But how are you doing, my friend?
Speaker 1: I'm doing fine. You know the best part about this
Speaker 1: whole scenario as you open up with Hey, we're doing
Speaker 1: this social distansing style. This is just the way it
Speaker 1: is now for the last five months. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: almost like we've had our own season of Distance Unscripted
Speaker 1: as Uh, we're doing the best we can. I'm still
Speaker 1: safe and healthy. I hope the same to you and yours. Yeah, absolutely, well.
Speaker 1: The first practice of Packers training camp is still a
Speaker 1: handful of days away. I think as the week goes
Speaker 1: on and into next week, when practices get rolling, we'll
Speaker 1: start talking a little bit more about position battles and
Speaker 1: how the roster might shake down. There are a lot
Speaker 1: of things to talk about over the next few weeks
Speaker 1: in that regard. But I want to do today's show
Speaker 1: throwing a couple of questions at us. So question number
Speaker 1: one for you because I just I like to start
Speaker 1: conversations this way. I hope it works for you. Um,
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones and the Smith Brothers were the individuals on
Speaker 1: the Packers offensively defensively who had what you would call
Speaker 1: the breakout seasons in twenty nine. So my question to
Speaker 1: you to start us off today is which of those guys,
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones or the Smith Brothers collectively has the tougher
Speaker 1: act to follow in too follow up what they did,
Speaker 1: to potentially repeat or even improve on what they did.
Speaker 1: You haven't thoughts there. That's a really good question, Mike.
Speaker 1: I think you and I probably could build a one
Speaker 1: hour radio show off of this, I mean alone, that's
Speaker 1: a really smart one to think of. You know, I
Speaker 1: think I'll probably go with the Smith Bros. And the
Speaker 1: main reason for that is they set the bar so
Speaker 1: high for themselves in the year one. Uh that that's
Speaker 1: not saying that you can't attain that. I mean, certainly
Speaker 1: precedents and Darius last week both said that's their goal.
Speaker 1: They want to be able to take this thing to
Speaker 1: another level. But man, when you go out and you
Speaker 1: signed two unrestricted free agents, two guys that weren't even
Speaker 1: in this system, and they both fit so flawlessly into
Speaker 1: what Mike Petton wanted to do. It's incredible what those
Speaker 1: two were able to accomplish right off the bat. There
Speaker 1: wasn't one of these little lulls like where you had
Speaker 1: to write a story in September and October like, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, they haven't fit in yet, they aren't getting
Speaker 1: the production. Yet they did it right from the first
Speaker 1: game in that in that matchup against Chicago, and they
Speaker 1: carried it throughout the rest of the season. So I
Speaker 1: think the tougher act to follow is the Smith Bros.
Speaker 1: Just because they set the bar so high for themselves,
Speaker 1: Whereas with Aaron Jones, there's still so much out there
Speaker 1: for him. Yet he had fifteen hundred total yards, he
Speaker 1: had a boatload of touchdowns, and there was a lot
Speaker 1: of records that he broke, but yet he still only
Speaker 1: did that on what two hundred some touches. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's not even like he had this this year where
Speaker 1: he was just the predominant bell cow. So I look
Speaker 1: at the Smith Broses being the two that had the
Speaker 1: toughest act of following now going into yeah, I think
Speaker 1: I would agree with you there. As far as making
Speaker 1: that choice, I do think it was rather remarkable how
Speaker 1: the system fit, the scheme fit of the Smith brothers
Speaker 1: in Mike Patton's system was about as as smooth and
Speaker 1: easy and almost perfect as you could get for two
Speaker 1: guys as free agents coming into a brand new team
Speaker 1: and all that. You know, I like to throw a
Speaker 1: lot of stats at you, the stats and info portion
Speaker 1: of things. So here are a few things about the
Speaker 1: Smiths from nineteen that I think are interesting. Not only
Speaker 1: both of them with more that with a dozen sacks
Speaker 1: or more on the season, which since sacks became an
Speaker 1: official state in the first pair of teammates in the
Speaker 1: same season for the Packers to each have twelve or
Speaker 1: more sacks, but individually a couple of interesting things. Darius
Speaker 1: Smith had four games in the regular season with two
Speaker 1: or more sacks. You have to go all the way
Speaker 1: back to two thousand and six and a pretty darn
Speaker 1: good pass rusher named Aaron Campman to find a regular
Speaker 1: season where a Packers individual pass rusher had four games
Speaker 1: with two or more sacks, and then what did he
Speaker 1: do against Seattle in the playoffs? He had another two
Speaker 1: sack game and gave himself five. Okay, now, Preston Smith
Speaker 1: twelve sacks in the regular season, seven of those twelve
Speaker 1: sacks on third down, the money down. And then what
Speaker 1: does he do in the postseason. He has two sacks
Speaker 1: against Seattle and one of them being on a huge
Speaker 1: third down in the fourth quarter. You just you can't
Speaker 1: understate or overstate maybe it is, Yeah, you can't overstate
Speaker 1: the impact that these two guys had and in their
Speaker 1: first year here in Green Bay with Mike Patton's defense,
Speaker 1: and that's why I do think their act is a
Speaker 1: little bit there. They've given themselves a little bit tougher
Speaker 1: active all well, And this was the biggest shift I
Speaker 1: thought the Packers made with Mike Petton in this defense. Now,
Speaker 1: this is no disrespect to Dom Capers. He's one of
Speaker 1: the best that's ever done it, a guy that has
Speaker 1: all of my respect and admiration. But one thing that
Speaker 1: happened in the later years of the Caper era was
Speaker 1: that you get to those third down, those dime packages,
Speaker 1: and I think there was this collective kind of everyone
Speaker 1: holding their breath about Okay, can you hold here? Are
Speaker 1: you gonna be able to get enough pressure? Are you
Speaker 1: gonna be able to really, you know, get the ball
Speaker 1: back to the offense in those situations when the off
Speaker 1: when the defense was probably at its best, they were
Speaker 1: able to do it. When they didn't, that's when you
Speaker 1: saw them really struggle. One thing that I thought throughout
Speaker 1: the course of last year really made a difference with
Speaker 1: Mike petton scheme is once you got into third and
Speaker 1: seven plus, everybody just had this look on their face like, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's time to eat and this team is not going
Speaker 1: to get those six, seven, eight, nine, ten yards to
Speaker 1: be able to get that first down. We're gonna try
Speaker 1: to take even more from them with a sack. And
Speaker 1: obviously now they both the Smiths have talked about the
Speaker 1: emphasis on the forced fumbles this year as well. That's
Speaker 1: where I thought they really hit the note in two
Speaker 1: thousand nineteen when it was third down, that was the
Speaker 1: Packers down. In a lot of times they were able
Speaker 1: to dominate. Yeah, and what you said about the forced fumbles,
Speaker 1: I think it's interesting maybe that's the next step for
Speaker 1: this pass rushing duo because twenty five and a half
Speaker 1: combined sacks in the regular season twenty nine and a
Speaker 1: half including the Seattle playoff game. But yet on those
Speaker 1: twenty nine and a half sacks only two forced fumbles,
Speaker 1: one by each guy. That's the place where they can
Speaker 1: take their game to the next level, because as impactful
Speaker 1: as sacks are, obviously turnovers are the types of plays
Speaker 1: that change games. And I do think it's also interesting
Speaker 1: what you said about Aaron Jones and how much how
Speaker 1: much seems like it is still out there in front
Speaker 1: of him, and how Matt Lafleur can potentially use him
Speaker 1: in so many different ways in this offense. And it
Speaker 1: sounds crazy to say that a guy who had yards
Speaker 1: from scrimmage, rushing and receiving combined piled up twenty three
Speaker 1: touchdowns including the playoffs, which is a franchise record for
Speaker 1: a full season including the postseason, to say that maybe
Speaker 1: there's more out there for him yet it just it
Speaker 1: it sounds crazy, but it just it does feel that
Speaker 1: way in the sense that Aaron Jones maybe hasn't really
Speaker 1: hit his ceiling yet as incredible a season as he
Speaker 1: had in Yeah, And I think that's where this thing
Speaker 1: goes to the next level now in we saw them
Speaker 1: really start to incorporate more of those two back concepts.
Speaker 1: You know, I've been beating the drum all off season
Speaker 1: for I think we're going to see more of that
Speaker 1: in especially adding ah J Dellon in that equation. That
Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily take snaps away from Aaron Jones. I think
Speaker 1: it allows Matt Lafleur, Nathaniel Hackett, Luke Getzi, everybody that's
Speaker 1: involved with the passing game to get a little bit
Speaker 1: more creative with how they utilize him. His carries may
Speaker 1: look very similar this year, his touchdowns, well, I'm sure
Speaker 1: the Packers will be happy if that look very similar
Speaker 1: this year. But I just think you're gonna see him
Speaker 1: became more of a difference maker in the past and
Speaker 1: game and how they utilize him there. Let's be honest
Speaker 1: about something, Mike. You know, Aaron Jones is in a
Speaker 1: contract year. A lot of running backs that are looking
Speaker 1: to get paid. In this league, you have to be
Speaker 1: able to catch the ball and you have to be
Speaker 1: able to produce an open space. Aaron Jones has shown
Speaker 1: he can do that. So I think the skies the ceiling,
Speaker 1: the sky is the limit for him. Excuse me, no
Speaker 1: ceilings you hear, but I think I think he really
Speaker 1: every year about him has been about maturation and improvement.
Speaker 1: He went from being a more consistent ball carrier on
Speaker 1: year two, year three, he became a better pass protector,
Speaker 1: he became a better pass catcher. And seeing him bring
Speaker 1: all those tools together, uh that that's that's where this
Speaker 1: thing is going to get really interesting for him. You
Speaker 1: want to be one of the top ten, top five
Speaker 1: running backs in this league. That's what you have to do.
Speaker 1: And the more that he does that, and you also
Speaker 1: touch on the force fumbles with the Smiths, the more
Speaker 1: that that happens for those guys, the more that you
Speaker 1: get those accolades, you get that adulation from the pundits
Speaker 1: in this country that you know, punch a lot of
Speaker 1: those Pro Bowl ballots and the All Pro teams. That's
Speaker 1: the difference, because if you're in Green Bay, you know,
Speaker 1: unfortunately that doesn't always mean you're gonna be in the biggest,
Speaker 1: brightest spotlight, but it does give you a platform with
Speaker 1: this offense and defense in the direction that they're heading,
Speaker 1: to make you a really good player and to give
Speaker 1: you an opportunity to prove it. Yeah, well, you mentioned
Speaker 1: accolades and Pro Bowl ballots, so I want to throw
Speaker 1: another question at you here. It's a little bit of
Speaker 1: a continuation. We'll be talking about some of the same players,
Speaker 1: but looking back to a year ago, Zadarius Smith and
Speaker 1: Kenny Clark were both both ultimately made their first Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl as NFL players. They were selected off the alternate
Speaker 1: list when other guys dropped out for various reasons. There
Speaker 1: were a handful of other guys for the Packers who
Speaker 1: were named alternates last year, but they did not get
Speaker 1: selected and they they still have yet to to go
Speaker 1: to a Pro Bowl. And that list from last year
Speaker 1: would be Adrian Amos, Jayear, Alexander Preston, Smith, Aaron Jones,
Speaker 1: and Corey Lindsley. I knew I was forgetting one other
Speaker 1: one in there. So five other guys for the Packers
Speaker 1: who were alternates a year ago who have yet to
Speaker 1: be in a Pro Bowl. So my question to you
Speaker 1: is which of those five guys and all throw another
Speaker 1: one in the mix too, even though he wasn't an
Speaker 1: alternate last year. But I'll say kicker Mason Crosby will
Speaker 1: make it a half dozen. Which of those six guys
Speaker 1: do you think is on the verge of making his
Speaker 1: first Pro Bowl in Well, Aaron Jones is there because
Speaker 1: you saw he was number thirty three in the top
Speaker 1: one hundred. I'm not saying that that top one hundred
Speaker 1: carries any water whatsoever with with the league, but it
Speaker 1: does show you that there's a lot of people, a
Speaker 1: lot of players that know his name. And also I've
Speaker 1: seen him on the you know, the screen in the
Speaker 1: film room and understand how dynamic he is. I think
Speaker 1: he's on the precipice of potentially being a Pro Bowl player.
Speaker 1: The one that I think is going to be the
Speaker 1: guy to watch though throughout this whole equation is going
Speaker 1: to be Gyr Alexander Um. This is a dude that
Speaker 1: is still only twenty three years old. He still has
Speaker 1: his best years ahead of him, and he's just oftenite
Speaker 1: as any player that I think I've ever covered at
Speaker 1: his age. And the other thing too, he met with
Speaker 1: the media. Excuse me on Monday with our zoom call.
Speaker 1: I'm saying this to a bunch of people. You think
Speaker 1: you gotta understand is Jaire is not a great camera guy.
Speaker 1: He doesn't like the cameras he loves. He loves. He's
Speaker 1: a gregarious, outgoing guy. He's not a big dude about
Speaker 1: sitting in front of a camera and having twelve people
Speaker 1: around him. So being in front of a zoom, I
Speaker 1: have to imagine also was kind of, you know, kind
Speaker 1: of like an eye opener here for him. But you know,
Speaker 1: he's you know, people can think he's goofy, they can
Speaker 1: think he's being funny. There is nobody that takes his
Speaker 1: job more serious I think in that locker room than
Speaker 1: Jire Alexander. He has a chip on his shoulder. I've
Speaker 1: been saying this for years now. If you understand who
Speaker 1: he is and where he comes from, this is a
Speaker 1: guy that's very motivated to prove that he is the
Speaker 1: best cornerback in the National Football League. Matt and already
Speaker 1: agreed with it. I saw all the stats that Madden
Speaker 1: and all the respect they put on his name. But
Speaker 1: he feels like he has all everything he needs, especially
Speaker 1: now working with you know, Jerry Gray. He was very
Speaker 1: complimentary of him and in the time that they've had together,
Speaker 1: Gire Alexander's right there and he I think he's just
Speaker 1: a few splash plays away, a few interceptions here, a
Speaker 1: few big pass deflections there. Away from being a cornerback
Speaker 1: that everybody can look at is being Okay, you have
Speaker 1: your you know, your Gilmore's and everybody else that's at
Speaker 1: the top of that level right now. But Alexander is
Speaker 1: fast on their heels. Is that next generation? Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: totally with you on both of the guys you talked
Speaker 1: about there. I do think Aaron Jones is right there.
Speaker 1: There's no reason really he shouldn't have gotten some sort
Speaker 1: of Pro Bowl recognition a year ago. I think that
Speaker 1: was unfortunate, but you know, as they say, it is
Speaker 1: what it is. And yeah, getting ranked number thirty three
Speaker 1: in the NFL's Top one um certainly uh an achievement
Speaker 1: there to make your debut on that top one hundred
Speaker 1: list in a spot that high. But I'm totally with
Speaker 1: you on Gire Alexander. I think this is the guy
Speaker 1: to watch the as I wrote about on our website
Speaker 1: and the story is available on packers dot com. The
Speaker 1: trajectory of his rear has been has been sort of
Speaker 1: clear and obvious to anybody who's been watching. He's a
Speaker 1: first he's an up and coming first round pick. Then
Speaker 1: he gets named to the p p f W A
Speaker 1: All Rookie team. He leads the Packers in past deflections.
Speaker 1: Each of his first two years, he has fifteen as
Speaker 1: a rookie, has twenty three in his second season. He
Speaker 1: becomes a bona fide number one cornerback and then a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl alternate. As I mentioned uh in nineteen, the
Speaker 1: arrow seems to just keep pointing up with this guy. Now,
Speaker 1: what does he have to do to get the Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl recognition? Probably crank up that interception number. He's only
Speaker 1: had three interceptions over his first two seasons in the league.
Speaker 1: And I thought one of the more interesting answers of
Speaker 1: several interesting answers in his Zoom call was when he
Speaker 1: was asked, Okay, what do you do to get more interceptions?
Speaker 1: And he was just like, I just have to catch
Speaker 1: the ball. And I think, and yeah, he's being funny
Speaker 1: and he's being a little snide, but he's also saying
Speaker 1: he feels he's had the opportunities to get the interceptions
Speaker 1: that he needs for that kind of recognition. He just
Speaker 1: has to cash in. He has to finish those plays,
Speaker 1: and then I think the rest takes care of itself
Speaker 1: for Alexander. I love the guy's attitude and yeah, some
Speaker 1: people will say he crosses the line to maybe the
Speaker 1: cockiness versus just confidence. Whatever. You can analyze him anyway
Speaker 1: you want to, but his mentality, in my mind, is
Speaker 1: exactly what you need at a position like cornerback, because
Speaker 1: in this game, you're gonna get beat you're gonna give
Speaker 1: up completions, you're gonna give up first downs, and there
Speaker 1: are times you're gonna give up touchdowns. But it's a
Speaker 1: sixty minute game out there every Sunday, and there's nobody
Speaker 1: who can flush a bad play and then get out
Speaker 1: there and stay on the attack for sixty minutes in
Speaker 1: my mind, like Jaire Alexander. Yeah, And there's a huge difference, Mike,
Speaker 1: between cocky and being disrespectful. In all the years I've
Speaker 1: covered I've covered JR. Alexander, I've never felt like he's disrespectful. Um.
Speaker 1: You look at the battles he had with Davante Adams
Speaker 1: when he was a rookie and practice. Adams took a
Speaker 1: liking to this guy right away for that reason because
Speaker 1: of how he can he did, how he came back
Speaker 1: play after play, and how he didn't want to be beaten,
Speaker 1: didn't matter if it was over at Nichke Field or
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field or a T and T stadium. This
Speaker 1: is a guy that just wants to play football and
Speaker 1: he wants to do it at a high level. Now,
Speaker 1: bringing that all together, the play that always will stand
Speaker 1: out to me goes back to two thousand eighteen and
Speaker 1: it was that interception that got taken away from him
Speaker 1: because of that agregious call on Clay Matthews for roughing
Speaker 1: in the passer. But the reason I bring that point
Speaker 1: up again is that was the play where I was like, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that guy's a ball howg He's a guy that just
Speaker 1: has a magnet for it. Now, as he said, there's
Speaker 1: been he was fourth in the league and past deflections
Speaker 1: or passes defense last year. He needs to start catching
Speaker 1: more of those balls. But he just puts himself in
Speaker 1: a position at all times to be around that thing.
Speaker 1: And he just has a sticky ability, especially with some
Speaker 1: of the stuff that I think, you know, the ways
Speaker 1: that you can use him in his own coverage and
Speaker 1: this deceptive nous of his speed and his athleticism. Alexander's
Speaker 1: a guy that I don't think as far away from
Speaker 1: being in that Pro Bowl conversation. Yeah, and this is
Speaker 1: a He's not just a cover guy either. You mentioned
Speaker 1: the plays in your mind that that stick out his
Speaker 1: rookie year, that play in Minnesota at US Bank Stadium,
Speaker 1: on the slip screen, bubble screen, wherever you want to
Speaker 1: call it, where he just blew up. I think it
Speaker 1: was Adam Feeling and chases down Stefon Diggs in the
Speaker 1: backfield for a loss. You don't see cornerbacks make plays
Speaker 1: like that every day. That was That was a really
Speaker 1: impressive one. But before we go here, West, I just
Speaker 1: need to say too. And we talk a lot about,
Speaker 1: you know, the Pro Bowl as as a measure and whatnot,
Speaker 1: and yeah, it's it. Maybe it's not the greatest measure
Speaker 1: of everything. But if there's a guy, if there's a
Speaker 1: guy who deserves a Pro Bowl bid as a sort
Speaker 1: of career achievement award, can we get Mason Crosby to
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl at some point here? I mean, seriously,
Speaker 1: look at what this guy has done over the course
Speaker 1: of his career. He's put the Green Bay Packers are
Speaker 1: about to embark on their one hundred and second season,
Speaker 1: and Mason Crosby has every scoring record in the book
Speaker 1: for this historic franchise and he's continuing to put them
Speaker 1: completely out of reach. Yet this guy has never been
Speaker 1: to a Pro Bowl. And I, you know, you and
Speaker 1: I have both known Mason for a long time. I've
Speaker 1: covered his entire career here since he was a sixth
Speaker 1: round draft pick in two thousand and seven, and I
Speaker 1: just think it's I just think it's a shame that
Speaker 1: he doesn't have at least, you know, one of those
Speaker 1: little Pro Bowl logos you know, in his in his
Speaker 1: bio as a career achievement, you know. And here's another
Speaker 1: thing for you, Mike, Mason Crosby going into this season
Speaker 1: two d and eight consecutive games played, the most among
Speaker 1: active kickers. Actually, it's probably right up there. Gosh, he's
Speaker 1: the Is that the most? Yeah, that's that's the most
Speaker 1: among active players? Oh no, um, Sam Cook from Baltimore. Um.
Speaker 1: But two d and eight games, he is sixty games
Speaker 1: ahead of uh Steven Hauska in Buffalo right now for
Speaker 1: most consecutive games played by a kicker. So what is that, Mike?
Speaker 1: That's four seasons, Yeah, almost four seasons. Uh. Yeah, just
Speaker 1: an incredible career he's had. The problem is two things
Speaker 1: with kickers. They're never hurt. Uh, really. So if a
Speaker 1: guy goes to the Pro Bowl, if he's not the guy,
Speaker 1: because there's only one that gets to go for each conference,
Speaker 1: if he's not the guy, or he's not in the
Speaker 1: super Bowl, or that guy isn't in the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: well the guy's gonna go. Every kicker wants to go
Speaker 1: to the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately for him, he's just never
Speaker 1: had like that one year where it's just been like,
Speaker 1: you know, Billykndiff. No disrespect to Billy Condiff. I'm not
Speaker 1: trying to, you know, disrespect him at all, but Billy
Speaker 1: Kundiff was a kind of a journeyman kicker. He has
Speaker 1: that one seven percent year with Baltimore and goes to
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl. Everybody, their mother, their cousin, even their
Speaker 1: child would agree that Mason Crosby has been a better
Speaker 1: NFL kicker than Billy Condiff. But it's just the rubb
Speaker 1: of the green. And if you look at, you know,
Speaker 1: ten years down the line, you know he's going to
Speaker 1: be in the Packers Hall of Fame. Someday he's gonna
Speaker 1: end up being he's gonna put that scoring record so
Speaker 1: far into a different stratosphere. No one's ever gonna be
Speaker 1: able to touch it with his longevity. But it's just
Speaker 1: the way that that position goes that sometimes those guys
Speaker 1: don't get that spect There's still time though, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: guys in his late thirties at that position, there's there's
Speaker 1: definitely an opportunity if he's able to have one of
Speaker 1: those seasons, one of those special seasons where he does
Speaker 1: all the right things and the right people are watching. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it'd be great if if that were to
Speaker 1: happen here sooner rather than later for Mason Crosby. But
Speaker 1: with that we will call it a rap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers on Scripted. Be sure to follow all
Speaker 1: of our coverage of the team and the goings on
Speaker 1: at training camp on Packers dot com. For Wes, I
Speaker 1: am Mike. Thanks for tuning in everybody. We'll see you
Speaker 1: next time.