Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my partner in crime, Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to
Speaker 1: you hear from our studios at lambeau Field, Wes. One
Speaker 1: week of training camp is in the books, and the
Speaker 1: biggest news of training camp so far occurred between our
Speaker 1: last show and this show. And of course I'm talking
Speaker 1: about quarterback Jordan Love signed his finalized contract extension. He
Speaker 1: was back out there for Saturday's practice, the first padded practice,
Speaker 1: so he's been involved in two practices so far. With
Speaker 1: the pads going on, it's nice to see sing this
Speaker 1: sort of getting back to normal, right QB one is
Speaker 1: out there, he's running the show and here we go.
Speaker 2: It was the ending that everybody wanted to see, and
Speaker 2: it was the ending that we got. And before we
Speaker 2: go into all the x's and o's, because there is
Speaker 2: a lot of this and we saw it over the
Speaker 2: weekend in these padded practices, just what it means to
Speaker 2: have number ten back out on the field. I want
Speaker 2: to step back for a second because a lot of
Speaker 2: the interviews I've done with people, a lot of the
Speaker 2: things that have come up. Everybody's asking about the x's
Speaker 2: and o's and all that stuff. I just want to
Speaker 2: pull it back for two seconds and just appreciate what
Speaker 2: this moment represents. The Green Bay Packers made Jordan Love
Speaker 2: one of, if not at the if not the most
Speaker 2: compensated quarterback NFL player in this league's great illustrious history.
Speaker 2: Four years ago. He was the first round pick that
Speaker 2: Brian Goodikuns drafted up, traded up to draft, had to
Speaker 2: come in and follow in the shadows of Aaron Rights
Speaker 2: last summer. The amount of pressure that was on this
Speaker 2: young man to succeed Aaron Rodgers, the fact that Brian
Speaker 2: Goudikuns had pushed his chips in on this player, the
Speaker 2: fact that Matt Lafleur, his QB school acumen, was invested
Speaker 2: into this young man. Tom Clements had come back and
Speaker 2: had coached this young man, and to see it work
Speaker 2: out for him, to see it work out for the organization.
Speaker 2: I just can't help but feel somewhat sentimental about this
Speaker 2: whole thing, because, as I told you before, Mike, this
Speaker 2: is the first quarterback, the first prospect, the first real
Speaker 2: investment that I've seen groomed. In my current occupation, Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers was an MVP, a Super Bowl champion. When I
Speaker 2: started covering this team on a full time basis in
Speaker 2: twenty twelve, I got to watch brick by brick, piece
Speaker 2: by piece in practices that were visible to no one.
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty, Jordan Love go from the guy that
Speaker 2: the Green Bit Packers were developing to the face of
Speaker 2: the franchise, and to see him rewarded knowing what he's
Speaker 2: been through on a personal level, knowing what he's done
Speaker 2: on a professional level, and the fact that in four
Speaker 2: and a half years, Mike, this guy has not sidestepped once.
Speaker 2: He has done everything right from the very beginning. I
Speaker 2: feel somewhat emotional about that whole thing because there are
Speaker 2: people behind those face masks. There are families that are
Speaker 2: impacted by it, and for the Packers and Jordan Love
Speaker 2: to reach this resolution, I just felt like this is
Speaker 2: one of those type of things that ten, fifteen, twenty
Speaker 2: years down the line, you and I will be talking
Speaker 2: to grandchildren and other people about this because it's pretty special.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it absolutely is special. It's very exciting, and I
Speaker 1: can give you the perspective at least a little bit
Speaker 1: of the last time that this happened because I got
Speaker 1: here to Packers dot Com in two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: which was Aaron rodgers second year in the league. I
Speaker 1: watched him as the backup to Bretta in six and seven,
Speaker 1: which were years two and three for Rogers. And you
Speaker 1: know we've we've gotten the question in insider inbox, Well
Speaker 1: are the you know, the Packers are making this investment
Speaker 1: in Jordan Love after just half a season of like
Speaker 1: good football. Well, let me remind everybody that Ted Thompson,
Speaker 1: the former general manager, rest his soul. He made the
Speaker 1: commitment to Aaron Rodgers after seven games as the starting
Speaker 1: quarterback in two thousand and eight, the Packers were four
Speaker 1: and three. Aaron Rodgers, in essence, hadn't won anything yet.
Speaker 1: You know, Jordan Love earned a playoff spot, won a
Speaker 1: playoff game, like his accomplishments in year one as a
Speaker 1: starter surpassed those of Rogers. But Ted Thompson had the
Speaker 1: courage of his convictions the same as when he drafted him.
Speaker 1: Had the courage of his convictions when it came time
Speaker 1: to make the decision to move forward with this guy
Speaker 1: as your franchise quarterback and now Brian Gudokunst and Russ
Speaker 1: Ball and everybody in the Packers' front office has done
Speaker 1: the same thing with Jordan Love, and I think it's
Speaker 1: a reminder. I've seen a few comments related to this
Speaker 1: an inbox. Perhaps you're posting one or I will post
Speaker 1: one here soon for those who keep bringing up the well,
Speaker 1: it's just half a season. Well, on the field, yes
Speaker 1: it's half a season. But everybody who's involved in this
Speaker 1: decision has seen Jordan Love for the last four plus
Speaker 1: years that he's been here. They know what they're getting,
Speaker 1: they know what they're investing in in terms of the player,
Speaker 1: the person, the work ethic, you know, the the talent,
Speaker 1: whether it is always shown up on the field or not,
Speaker 1: all of those things. I mean that that's what this
Speaker 1: is all about. And you know, as things go, I
Speaker 1: mean you mentioned, you know, being up there as you know,
Speaker 1: one of the highest paid, you know, the next quarterback
Speaker 1: to sign the next big deal, which might be Dak Prescott,
Speaker 1: is probably going to surpass everybody else. I mean that,
Speaker 1: you know, being the highest paid doesn't last long in
Speaker 1: this league. That's just the nature of things. But the similarities,
Speaker 1: once again, in terms of the transition from Far to
Speaker 1: Rogers now from Rogers to Love. Nothing is exact, it's
Speaker 1: not the same blueprint, but the similarities and how the
Speaker 1: Packers have gone about this and the timeline of, you know,
Speaker 1: how they've made their decisions, it's it's been interesting to
Speaker 1: follow and I think everybody is excited about what's to
Speaker 1: come here with Jordan Love as the face of the franchise.
Speaker 2: And that's the coolest thing about it, Mike, because you
Speaker 2: go back and listen to the Packers now and talking
Speaker 2: about in twenty oh seven how much they've felt Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers was they had something there, And now you're hearing
Speaker 2: more and more about Brian Goodikons and Matt Lafleur talking
Speaker 2: about how in twenty twenty two they thought Jordan Loved
Speaker 2: there was something there, not just the Philadelphia game, how
Speaker 2: he performed in the preseason.
Speaker 1: And it's the Dallas game in two thousand and seven
Speaker 1: with your odd right, and it was smaller sample size,
Speaker 1: but it was the Philadelphia game for Jordan Love that
Speaker 1: you go, okay, you know, big stage, primetime, big time opponent.
Speaker 1: This wasn't just some pre season outing. Went out there,
Speaker 1: went out there and played and looked like he belonged
Speaker 1: at in the upper echelon of NFL football players. And
Speaker 1: so now here we.
Speaker 2: Are in one of the things where I had to
Speaker 2: benefit over you on this because you always cover the
Speaker 2: podium after games. I got to be in that locker
Speaker 2: room after the Packers. They did lose that game to
Speaker 2: the Eagles. Yea, but Jordan Love addressed the media in
Speaker 2: the locker room, and there wasn't this oh I'm happy
Speaker 2: and it's awesome, and hey, I had this nice touchdown
Speaker 2: pass to Christian Watson and all this stuff. It was no,
Speaker 2: we lost the game and I expected better even though
Speaker 2: he played really well. And that's where in my mind
Speaker 2: it went off of yeah, this guy, he's he's a
Speaker 2: different type of customer. So yep. To bring it all
Speaker 2: back around, and just to answer your original question to me,
Speaker 2: to hear Matt Lafuer talk about this is the guy
Speaker 2: that knows our offense inside and out. Now he's the
Speaker 2: one that is the general out there on the field.
Speaker 2: You could see it on the practice field on Saturday,
Speaker 2: how different everything looked with Jordan Love out there. And yeah,
Speaker 2: it started a little slow. He didn't practice the first
Speaker 2: five days of camp. And there was gonna be some
Speaker 2: rush to walk to knock off. But by the end
Speaker 2: of the camp, by the end of the practice, excuse me,
Speaker 2: him and Christian Watson, they were looking at what Jeff
Speaker 2: Hafley and the defense were doing. They draw up, They
Speaker 2: drew up their own deep shot play. They connect on
Speaker 2: it for forty seven yards. It leads to a four play,
Speaker 2: seventy yard drive and two minute to score a touchdown
Speaker 2: and he's off and running once again. So in the
Speaker 2: National Football League when people ask about these contracts and
Speaker 2: what guys are making now, if you have a quarterback,
Speaker 2: you have hope, and the Packers have hope, and because
Speaker 2: of that, there's a price tag attached to that. But
Speaker 2: what's good for the Green Bay Packers is they aren't
Speaker 2: just looking at as well, we're paying our quarterback. They're
Speaker 2: looking at as we're paying one of the top young
Speaker 2: players in this league right now, and they feel like
Speaker 2: there's still a lot more for him to uncover.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, that getting to the on the field action.
Speaker 1: Since since our last show and what we've seen it
Speaker 1: training camp, you mentioned the deep ball to Watson, I
Speaker 1: thought a little bit earlier than that. In practice, after
Speaker 1: some rough moments and clearly some you know, some rust
Speaker 1: as as you mentioned in the early part of that
Speaker 1: Saturday practice, it was, you know, Love hit Jaden Reid
Speaker 1: on a crossing route, then he hit Christian Watson on
Speaker 1: a crossing route. Then he scoops up a low snap,
Speaker 1: a low shotgun snap by his ankles and then fires
Speaker 1: a little side arm flick to Romeo Dobbs right, and
Speaker 1: and then there's Carl Brooks coming unblocked on a on
Speaker 1: a pass rush. And Love's Love's reaction was you know this,
Speaker 1: you know, it wasn't a first day of training camp
Speaker 1: for him reaction. This was a this was a mid
Speaker 1: season all systems go reaction where he got away from
Speaker 1: the free rusher, you know, throws a throws a quick pass,
Speaker 1: gets the check down to Josh Jacobs to the make
Speaker 1: to make something out of nothing kind of thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we're you know, you're seeing that already from Jordan Love
Speaker 1: in the first practice after he you know, knocks off
Speaker 1: some of that rust early on, and I think he's
Speaker 1: got the two practices under his belt. The Packers are
Speaker 1: still dealing with, you know, some shuffling on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: Zach Tom is not in there at right tackle. Yet
Speaker 1: Elton Jenkins has had some days off, Josh Myers was
Speaker 1: out for a couple of days for a personal issue.
Speaker 1: It doesn't sound like we're going to see Zach tom
Speaker 1: in the eleven on eleven until after Family Night as
Speaker 1: he continues the recovery. But I think with Jordan Love
Speaker 1: getting a couple of practices under his belt, and now
Speaker 1: the day off on Monday heading into Tuesday and the
Speaker 1: week of practices that is going to culminate with Family Night,
Speaker 1: I think we're going to start to see this offense
Speaker 1: hit its stride, find itself a little bit and I'm
Speaker 1: excited to see what it looks like.
Speaker 2: I had a moment on Sunday, Mike. You know, it's
Speaker 2: a little bit more of a They called it the
Speaker 2: moderate practice in terms of the tempo and the pace.
Speaker 2: They go low high, moderate, And there's a couple of
Speaker 2: instances there where I was able to sort of just
Speaker 2: scan back and look at this team and seeing Josh
Speaker 2: Jacobs backfield with Romeo Dobbs and Christian Watson and Jayden
Speaker 2: Reid and Dan Tavian Wick's at receiver, Bo Melton at receiver,
Speaker 2: watching Luke Muskrave. You know, run some seam routes. I'm
Speaker 2: just blown away by the amount of talent, you know,
Speaker 2: particularly they'll skill positions on this football team, because it's
Speaker 2: not just like, Okay, well they signed Josh Jacobs and
Speaker 2: a bunch of guys. It's like, this is a lot
Speaker 2: of homegrown talent the Packers have unearthed. That's how you
Speaker 2: open up a championship window. The questions definitely to answer.
Speaker 2: On the offensive line, Jordan Morgan has been repping inside
Speaker 2: at right guard. We'll have to see exactly what the
Speaker 2: future holds for him there. They're giving him a chance
Speaker 2: to compete for a starting job right out of the gate.
Speaker 2: You know, Rashid Walker's been over there at left tackle.
Speaker 2: Kadeem Telford has been getting reps with the number one
Speaker 2: offensive line at right tackle. They've been trying to put
Speaker 2: this all together to line themselves up for these joint
Speaker 2: practices obviously for some of these preseason games, to start
Speaker 2: identifying what their unit is going to be. But Michael,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of teams in the National pot Ball
Speaker 2: League that would look at the Packers situation as a
Speaker 2: very advantageous one and a luxury for Green Bay to
Speaker 2: be able to actually have this many questions to answer,
Speaker 2: not about hey, who's making the fifty three, but ultimately
Speaker 2: who's gonna be those eleven guys on the football field,
Speaker 2: because it's a tight competition.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think, I think what makes this on
Speaker 1: the offensive side of the ball, what makes this so
Speaker 1: so exciting and so interesting and so intriguing and so
Speaker 1: different from from where we've been here in Green Bay
Speaker 1: over the last you know, number of years before the transition,
Speaker 1: is that you're not just looking at Jordan Love and going, Okay,
Speaker 1: we don't really know how good he's going to be.
Speaker 1: We know he hasn't necessarily hit his peak yet, but
Speaker 1: but you know, what is the ceiling, it's kind of
Speaker 1: it's kind of unknown. Well, when you look at Christian Watson,
Speaker 1: Romeo Dobbs, Jaden Reed, Dantavian Wicks, Luke Musgrave, you're sort
Speaker 1: of feeling and saying the same thing about all those guys.
Speaker 1: You know that you know when you look back, you know,
Speaker 1: at a certain point, Greg Jennings became Greg Jennings, and
Speaker 1: Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb became who they were, and
Speaker 1: DeVante Adams and you go into a certain season, you know,
Speaker 1: exactly who those guys are going to be and what
Speaker 1: they're going to give you right there are still there.
Speaker 1: There's there's this unknown in terms of the ceiling with
Speaker 1: these perimeter players that are around around Jordan Love. And
Speaker 1: then there's there's sort of the question of how does
Speaker 1: Josh Jacobs fit into this right taking over as the
Speaker 1: as the the first string running back for Aaron Jones.
Speaker 1: It's really really an intriguing place to be. It's a
Speaker 1: very it's a very exciting place to be. And uh
Speaker 1: and the packers have a good you know, a handful
Speaker 1: of weeks here of practices working together, you know, the
Speaker 1: joint practices coming up, all that kind of stuff to
Speaker 1: to get things figured out and see where this is
Speaker 1: going to go.
Speaker 2: Radio with some friends of mine and Edmonton. I've been
Speaker 2: talking to these guys since I was at the Green
Speaker 2: Bay Prescazette, and they asked me at the receiver position,
Speaker 2: like who's gonna be the guy that separates himself, who's
Speaker 2: going to be the one that good luck figuring that
Speaker 2: out exactly and the way I like in it too.
Speaker 2: And I use this analogy with them. To me, it's
Speaker 2: a dessert menu. I mean, what do you want. Do
Speaker 2: you want Christian Watson explosive plays, game breaking opportunities. Do
Speaker 2: you want Romeo Dobbs, who, as Adam Stenovitch told us
Speaker 2: on Monday, I mean the way he's running his routes
Speaker 2: right now, what he's done to have that marry up
Speaker 2: with his pass catching ability. I mean, you and I
Speaker 2: have seen it. We might not be able to break
Speaker 2: it down like a scout, but it doesn't take a
Speaker 2: lot to understand just how crisp he's been so far
Speaker 2: in this camp. Dontavian Wicks last year was among the
Speaker 2: league leaders and yards per catch. Jayden Reid was the Packers'
Speaker 2: leading receivers, a guy that can be used on end
Speaker 2: rounds and as sort of a gadget player in addition
Speaker 2: to doing the slot. The aspect of it isn't necessarily okay,
Speaker 2: who's going to separate themselves? Is just going to be
Speaker 2: a matter of, okay, how do they tailor this offense
Speaker 2: and who gets emphasized. And I think one thing that
Speaker 2: Matt Lafuer proved he could do last year and these
Speaker 2: offensive coaches showed they could do, is they can open
Speaker 2: this thing up and present a lot of different options.
Speaker 2: So whether or not you want cheesecake or Tara Massou
Speaker 2: in the Green Bay Packers. There's no shortage of different
Speaker 2: ways they can go about this thing, and I think
Speaker 2: that's what makes it exciting for the Packers and for opposition,
Speaker 2: could make it really tricky if everybody can stay healthy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I want to dive into kind of the
Speaker 1: early updates on some of the different competitions and whatnot
Speaker 1: that we have our eyes on, a little bit of
Speaker 1: sponsor business for serious XM. NFL Radio delivers hard hitting
Speaker 1: analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true
Speaker 1: football fanatics need. Twenty four to seven, three sixty five
Speaker 1: and ed cousin subs. We have something for everyone like
Speaker 1: our Wisconsin Cheese curds, mac and cheese, golden fries, and
Speaker 1: creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or submona bowl,
Speaker 1: cousin subs. Fifty plus years of better competition wise, Wes,
Speaker 1: the years all start to run together for me after
Speaker 1: a while. I have to admit, you've had a lot
Speaker 1: of them.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of.
Speaker 1: Eighteenth training camp as you know, the providing helping to
Speaker 1: provide the coverage for Packers dot Com. I don't know
Speaker 1: if I can recall a Now we talk about, you know,
Speaker 1: competition for roster spots and playing time and all that
Speaker 1: all the time. I don't know if I can recall
Speaker 1: a competition for a starting job that feels as wide
Speaker 1: open and undecided right now as the safety spot does.
Speaker 1: I'll admit I went into this thinking Javon Bullard is
Speaker 1: the guy who's got the edge. He's the second round pick.
Speaker 1: He comes from that Kirby Smart George defense, you know,
Speaker 1: and Packers obviously have liked those kind of players over
Speaker 1: the years. But Bullard, Evan Williams from Oregon, Anthony Johnson Junior,
Speaker 1: the seventh rounder from Iowa State last year, these guys
Speaker 1: have all been rotating. Yeah, with the number one reps
Speaker 1: next to Xavier McKinney. Not just that, it's not just
Speaker 1: it's not just the you know, sort of the flatline
Speaker 1: of where the depth chart is right now, where they're
Speaker 1: all kind of on the same line. But they're all
Speaker 1: making plays out there. Yeah, you know, the interception. Every
Speaker 1: single guy's had at least one interception. A couple of
Speaker 1: those guys have had multiple interceptions. The play, the plays
Speaker 1: that they are making, you know, it's the old adage
Speaker 1: of you know, taking advantage of your opportunities when you're
Speaker 1: given those and when these guys have been given those
Speaker 1: opportunities with the number one defense, they're cashing in and
Speaker 1: it's it's making this thing, really, it's I think it's
Speaker 1: going to make this safety competition perhaps last all the
Speaker 1: way through camp and all the way through the preseason.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we haven't even seen katan Ala Dapo yet, you know,
Speaker 2: because of him with the toe injury, what he can
Speaker 2: potentially add to that, his size, I mean, it's just
Speaker 2: absolutely proto.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's he's a different body type compared to those
Speaker 1: other guys. And you're right, we haven't seen him in
Speaker 1: the mix yet.
Speaker 2: And when you go back to the draft, he was
Speaker 2: the one that everybody was saying it is probably a
Speaker 2: more traditional type, free safety type. So to answer your question, No,
Speaker 2: I don't think so. I mean, especially at the safety position.
Speaker 2: I think there's a lot of years, Mike, I don't
Speaker 2: feel like I'm going out too far on a limb
Speaker 2: saying this that the way that Anthony Johnson you performed,
Speaker 2: he would be a starter in a lot of these
Speaker 2: seasons that I covered for the Packers at safety. He's
Speaker 2: just he's been accountable. He's picked up that position so fast,
Speaker 2: and he's shown some playmaking ability, which when he was
Speaker 2: making that transition at Iowa State when he didn't have
Speaker 2: a lot of interceptions in college. The way he came
Speaker 2: out last year and got a pick right away when
Speaker 2: he was playing on the back end.
Speaker 1: It makes you wonder. And I'll just say this, we
Speaker 1: don't know where things are going for Anthony Johnson junior,
Speaker 1: but it makes you wonder if he had made that
Speaker 1: transition from cornerback to safety earlier in his college career.
Speaker 1: He's probably not a seventh round draft out of Iowa State.
Speaker 1: He's probably more like you know, just guessing here, but
Speaker 1: perhaps a mid round pick like Evan Williams out of Oregon.
Speaker 1: Same type of player.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and a lot of times though, like you saw
Speaker 2: what happened with Micah Hyde has just got you know,
Speaker 2: cornerbacks are valuable at every level of football, and sometimes
Speaker 2: your best defensive back needs to play cornerback, and I
Speaker 2: think Iowa State was in that predicament quite a bit so.
Speaker 2: But bringing it all full circle here, it has to
Speaker 2: be exciting for the Packers in that if let's say
Speaker 2: some that happens where Evan Williams ends up starting at safety.
Speaker 2: It's not because Javon Bullard doesn't look like that wasn't
Speaker 2: the right pick for them, right. Jean Bullard's had some
Speaker 2: big moments too. Both of those guys have interceptions, no doubt.
Speaker 2: Williams just has for three in the first five six practices.
Speaker 2: I mean, the guy in so many ways to use
Speaker 2: that Mica Hyde analogy again, he reminds me of it
Speaker 2: just from his headiness as smart's, his intelligence, his balls, scills,
Speaker 2: his instincts. I was asking him at his locker on
Speaker 2: Sunday about that play where he intercepted the first play
Speaker 2: of the two minute series with the number two is
Speaker 2: against Sean Clifford. He picks off Clifford on the very
Speaker 2: first snap and it ends the drill. They just moved
Speaker 2: on to the number three's right after that, And I
Speaker 2: had asked him about that in the way that he
Speaker 2: broke it down was I'm sure it's the way everybody
Speaker 2: thinks about the safety position, but I never heard it
Speaker 2: articulated this way. He's like, you know, my number one
Speaker 2: thing is you know he's in his zone cover read there,
Speaker 2: but he's looking to see how the routes develop, because
Speaker 2: if he feels like if he figures out that aspect
Speaker 2: of it that helps him with his peripherals, then he
Speaker 2: can zero in on where the core and by the
Speaker 2: time he processes all that information, he has feels like
Speaker 2: he had the body awareness and the field awareness that
Speaker 2: when he saw the ball come out from Clifford, it
Speaker 2: wasn't that he just was going to be able to
Speaker 2: jump it or be able to catch it. I mean,
Speaker 2: he felt like it was like Neo and the Matrix.
Speaker 2: I mean, everything slowed down for him to the point
Speaker 2: that he just had to execute the assignment. That's the
Speaker 2: intriguing thing about this, Mike, and I can think of
Speaker 2: so many times in my twelve years covering this football
Speaker 2: team when the Packers have overloaded, whether it be through
Speaker 2: free agency or the draft, at certain positions, they get results.
Speaker 2: Twenty seventeen, they needed to change things at running back.
Speaker 2: They did it with both Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams.
Speaker 2: Countless times, the Packers have tripled down on receivers and
Speaker 2: they've been able to get NFL talent, and particularly these
Speaker 2: draft two years ago, elite talent and Christian Watson and
Speaker 2: Romeo Dobbs out of it. So I think that's the
Speaker 2: most exciting thing. And yeah, who will prevail I don't know,
Speaker 2: but I have watched enough Packers football and I've seen
Speaker 2: enough NFL games to know at some point you're going
Speaker 2: to need all of them. And as much as we
Speaker 2: will zero in on who's starting and who's going to
Speaker 2: be out there week one in Brazil, the course of
Speaker 2: a season being what it is, whether it's the slot,
Speaker 2: whether it's the back end, whether it's special teams, all
Speaker 2: those guys are going to have an integral role in
Speaker 2: this thing from day one, and if you're going to
Speaker 2: make a Super Bowl push, you need those type of
Speaker 2: contributions from rookies right off the bat. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: I mean you think about it, like last year, at
Speaker 1: this time, we weren't talking a whole lot about Carrington Valentine,
Speaker 1: the seventh round draft pick at cornerback, and then look
Speaker 1: how much he ended up having to play, because that's
Speaker 1: the way NFL seasons go. I want to go back
Speaker 1: to one other point you just made though. That last
Speaker 1: interception by Williams you were talking about. It was on
Speaker 1: the first play of the number two units two minute drive,
Speaker 1: and I think that's that says something about the mentality
Speaker 1: of these guys who are competing for the safety position
Speaker 1: because they've all been rotating with the ones. Well, when
Speaker 1: they're not when it's not their turn with the ones,
Speaker 1: they're not taking a breather. They're not like letting down.
Speaker 1: Evan Williams is out there with the twos and he's
Speaker 1: on the attack, right, I mean, And that's how that's
Speaker 1: how you compete. That's how you make an impression. It's
Speaker 1: not just oh, I have to give I have to
Speaker 1: give it my all when I'm out there with Xavier McKinney.
Speaker 1: These guys are out there trying to do their thing
Speaker 1: and make the impression and make this a really difficult
Speaker 1: decision on the coaches. They're doing that no matter what
Speaker 1: unit they're lining up with, and I think that I
Speaker 1: think that's worth mentioning.
Speaker 2: I want to just point this out too very quickly
Speaker 2: because someone asked me an insider inbox like and they'll
Speaker 2: be in my column, you know later this week. You
Speaker 2: look at how the Packers have structured this thing, and
Speaker 2: they've rotated all these different safeties next to Xavier McKinney
Speaker 2: to figure out who the best candidate is and also
Speaker 2: to let McKinny get you know, some comfort with who
Speaker 2: potentially his running mate could be. But the byproduct of
Speaker 2: that is how many different combinations they've been running with
Speaker 2: the two defense, Yes, how many times Evan Williams and
Speaker 2: you know he is able to line up with an
Speaker 2: Anthony Johnson Junr or with you know Bullard, or with
Speaker 2: Zane Anderson. And that's important too, that that all those
Speaker 2: guys are being able to get that work together.
Speaker 1: Because that's how they become interchangeable in a sense.
Speaker 2: Right, last year, how often did that happen? We're due
Speaker 2: to injuries. There wasn't a single safety last year for
Speaker 2: the agreement packers that got through on skate. There was
Speaker 2: injuries galore. Yep. And you hope that it's better this year.
Speaker 2: Won't be that situation again, But you have to have
Speaker 2: different combinations of guys developing that chemistry with one another.
Speaker 1: Well. The other competitions were certainly watching at cornerback, you know,
Speaker 1: the starting cornerback job opposite jy R Alexander, Eric Stokes,
Speaker 1: Carrington Valentine. Both guys have certainly had their moments out there.
Speaker 1: Stokes is getting more of the reps with the number
Speaker 1: ones right now than Valentine is, but it's just one
Speaker 1: weekend to camp and who knows if there becomes more
Speaker 1: of a rotation there or how that might change, So
Speaker 1: we will definitely be keeping an eye on that. At kicker,
Speaker 1: the three kickers, I would say, I think it's fair
Speaker 1: to say that Greg Joseph and Andras Carlson are very
Speaker 1: much neck and neck at the front of that kicking competition,
Speaker 1: and James Turner is kind of trying to make up
Speaker 1: a little ground right now after one week of camp.
Speaker 1: On the offensive line, as I mentioned before, some moving parts,
Speaker 1: some shuffling going on, but it still appears to be
Speaker 1: shaping up that Jordan Morgan and Sean Ryan are going
Speaker 1: to be competing for the starting job at right guard,
Speaker 1: and we'll just have to see. It's extremely early in
Speaker 1: that regard, and certainly with Morgan making the transition from
Speaker 1: from tackle to guard and the pads having now just
Speaker 1: gone on for a couple of days, you know, that's
Speaker 1: another one to watch as things go along. Not really
Speaker 1: a whole lot to update there other than it does
Speaker 1: look like it's it's pretty open in terms of just
Speaker 1: may the best man win yeah.
Speaker 2: And the other thing, I'm keeping an eye on his
Speaker 2: right tackle because Zach Tom, even though you are expecting,
Speaker 2: you know, he'll be out there soon enough, be back
Speaker 2: in those team trails. Tom is one of the first
Speaker 2: pieces that get moved when injuries hit. That's right here.
Speaker 2: He stepped in. Remember that one game where he's at
Speaker 2: right tackle. I think Josh Myers did. Did he actually
Speaker 2: get hurt or was it like an equipment issue he
Speaker 2: had to go out?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it might have just been like an equipment thing.
Speaker 2: Zach Tom's on the sideline snapping with Sean Clifford, then
Speaker 2: snapping with with Jordan Love and he moves inside. That
Speaker 2: is one of the first dominoes that could potentially fall here,
Speaker 2: depending on how Packers want to handle things. Although to
Speaker 2: be fair, Elton Jenkins also has that versatility. Yep, so
Speaker 2: who could potentially be the swing tackle. That's where the
Speaker 2: competition happens with Tolford. We also went now with Caleb
Speaker 2: Jones being back Telford, excuse me? And then you know
Speaker 2: Andre Dillard is in this thing a number of different ways.
Speaker 2: This thing can go for the Green Bay Packers and
Speaker 2: trying to figure out, you know who those guys are
Speaker 2: going to because on game day you'll have those eight
Speaker 2: offensive linemen, you'll have your starting five, But who are
Speaker 2: those next three guys up that could be summoned And
Speaker 2: that's what they're looking to identify right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, before we go anything that's sort of at
Speaker 1: the top of your list in terms of what you're
Speaker 1: going to be watching for as week two of training
Speaker 1: camp starts to unfold here.
Speaker 2: It was fun watching padded one on ones for the
Speaker 2: first time. Defense the defensive line, that's typically where I'm at.
Speaker 1: And usually I'm watching the past catcher's past defenders one
Speaker 1: on ones, which is like when it's a tight end,
Speaker 1: it's usually a safety and then obviously wide outs you
Speaker 1: know versus corners and stuff, and uh, yeah, it was
Speaker 1: it was fun to see that for the for the
Speaker 1: first time. You know, with the pads on that's where
Speaker 1: the the intensity of practice, you know, ratchets up a
Speaker 1: little bit and these guys really get into it well.
Speaker 2: And as you said it yourself on some of our
Speaker 2: other content I can remember for it was on script
Speaker 2: or a different show we do. Uh, but you know,
Speaker 2: it's so it's so hard to be able to and
Speaker 2: Matt Lafleuur echoed these comments. It's it's hard to be
Speaker 2: able to rush to a bunch of conclusions in shells
Speaker 2: about offensive line and defensive line. Absolutely, the game changes
Speaker 2: once those pads come on, As Lafleur joked, I mean,
Speaker 2: there's a little bit more cloth that can get grabbed
Speaker 2: in those moments as well. And for me seeing how
Speaker 2: you know dominant, you know some of these guys have
Speaker 2: been okay, how does that translate now that these guys
Speaker 2: have these pads on? And in the first day I
Speaker 2: watched it, I thought Jordan Morgan was one of the
Speaker 2: all stars of it. He had a really tough task
Speaker 2: taking on DeVante Wyatt. Wyatt hit him with two very
Speaker 2: different techniques, a bull rush the second time, a little
Speaker 2: bit more finesse the first time, and he stood up
Speaker 2: to that. Colby Wooden I thought had some really good rushes.
Speaker 2: Carl Brooks looks sensational. But then you even have you know,
Speaker 2: Sean Ryan being able to match up with a Kenny Clark,
Speaker 2: a Kadeem Telford being able to match up with the
Speaker 2: Rashawn Gary. Those are very important reps because yeah, Telford's
Speaker 2: probably seen him in some of these You know, practice
Speaker 2: squad reps and scout team reps, but it's different. Man,
Speaker 2: when you got that bull looking you in the eyes
Speaker 2: and one of the most intense physical players on this
Speaker 2: football team and.
Speaker 1: There's no help on either side. It's it truly is
Speaker 1: one on one out there.
Speaker 2: So the thing I'd take away from it, I'm never
Speaker 2: gonna be a person. It's like, oh, here's the wins
Speaker 2: and losses, but it's seeing how those guys respond to that,
Speaker 2: getting a chance to get a better feel for that.
Speaker 2: This week's going to be fun. In addition to the
Speaker 2: fact that you know we're in this thing now, we're
Speaker 2: a week into training camp. This thing is no longer starting.
Speaker 2: We are moving and the Packers are looking at Family
Speaker 2: Night and soon enough we'll be looking at that preseason
Speaker 2: Oprah in Cleveland.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that first preseason game is right around the corner.
Speaker 1: But for now, we will call it a rap on
Speaker 1: this edition of Packers Unscript and be sure to continue
Speaker 1: to follow all of our coverage of the goings on
Speaker 1: at training camp. We've got it all for you on
Speaker 1: Packers dot com. For Wes, I am Mike. Thank you
Speaker 1: for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time