Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. He is my
Speaker 1: partner in crime, West hod Kuitz. We're coming to you
Speaker 1: here from our studios at lambeau Field and Weston. The
Speaker 1: preseason opener is upon us. It will be the Packers
Speaker 1: and the forty Niners out on the West Coast on
Speaker 1: Friday evening. So we'll get right into it as far
Speaker 1: as what to watch for in this first preseason game
Speaker 1: of two and we'll start on the offensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball. What will be what will your eyes be on?
Speaker 1: What's your biggest headline going in here? Well, assume I
Speaker 1: can keep my eyes open. That's gonna be the biggest
Speaker 1: challenge I think this week, not necessarily because of the game,
Speaker 1: but just for myself trying to get some sleep here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're going on a second road trip here in a
Speaker 1: span of you know, eight or nine. I'm not built
Speaker 1: for that, Mike. Yeah. We went two years without traveling
Speaker 1: at all, and now here I am. They can't stop
Speaker 1: getting me on planes. Um No, it's Jordan's love. And
Speaker 1: again this is my eleventh training camp, now twelve if
Speaker 1: you call it my part time year, I helped out
Speaker 1: the press Causeette the back of quarterbacks always do get
Speaker 1: a lot of headlines. They get a lot of spotlight
Speaker 1: because it's quarterback play and that's where the ball starts
Speaker 1: and you're trying to see what you have here behind
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers. But maybe more than ever, this is going
Speaker 1: to be a critical preseason for the Packers number two quarterback,
Speaker 1: and Jordan's loved. He's going to play a lot. I
Speaker 1: mean we watched the practice with them going out there
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, and he took a lion share of the
Speaker 1: team reps Danny Etling beyond just the young guys sort
Speaker 1: of scout team stuff down the other side, Uh, it
Speaker 1: was all Rogers in love taking all the snaps. So,
Speaker 1: and he's going to get a chance to work with
Speaker 1: the preferred you know, the starting line that is likely
Speaker 1: going to be the ones, at least most of them
Speaker 1: that will be protecting Aaron Rodgers in Week one. He's
Speaker 1: gonna have the young receivers to work with. There's gonna
Speaker 1: be a lot of those tools for him to build
Speaker 1: with in this game against the forty nine is regardless
Speaker 1: of what San Francisco lines up with, So seeing how
Speaker 1: Love is able to carry over some of the positive
Speaker 1: things he's done in practice so far and minimize some
Speaker 1: of the turnovers, minimive son of the broken plays. That's
Speaker 1: what I'm looking for you and I have said it, Mike.
Speaker 1: There's no different way to say it than what we've
Speaker 1: already been stating. It's about being you know, consistent, baseline
Speaker 1: par for the course. That's what you're looking for here.
Speaker 1: Because greatness is there in that young man. He's going
Speaker 1: to have exceptional throws. He's going to be able to
Speaker 1: make plays. I have full confidence in that. It's about
Speaker 1: making sure that down after down, he's going to be
Speaker 1: able to be a guy that's going to rally the troops. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: And we've heard from from Rogers, from Matt Lafleura, from
Speaker 1: Brian Goodakunst on how how much more confident Jordan's Love
Speaker 1: looks in his own game this summer about how you
Speaker 1: know he he really is letting it loose, He's cutting
Speaker 1: it loose. Everything about the footwork is more comfortable, the
Speaker 1: decision making and all that. Now, the thing is, when
Speaker 1: you get to that point, you can get yourself in trouble, right,
Speaker 1: you can get you can you can let it rip
Speaker 1: and and you're going against a pretty good defensive practice
Speaker 1: and they're gonna make you pay every once in a while.
Speaker 1: So even though we're I think we've seen Jordan's love,
Speaker 1: you know, reach a different level in training camp than
Speaker 1: than certainly we've seen the first two summers that he's
Speaker 1: been here. But in gaining that confidence, he's he's still
Speaker 1: going through some of the ups and downs because uh, um,
Speaker 1: because that boldness, you know, sometimes can bite you right.
Speaker 1: So it's it's all part of the growing process, it's
Speaker 1: all part of the learning process. And now that he's
Speaker 1: going to be going up against a defense that doesn't
Speaker 1: know him, whether it's the starters for the Niners or
Speaker 1: a second team unit, whatever it might be, but it's
Speaker 1: a defense that doesn't know him and doesn't know his game,
Speaker 1: and and uh, you know, he's gonna have to deal
Speaker 1: with those ups and downs during a game. But just
Speaker 1: exactly what level is he going to be playing at?
Speaker 1: And I think that's uh, he has to establish where
Speaker 1: he's going to be for this preseason going forward and
Speaker 1: then work on either at least either staying there or
Speaker 1: pushing it even further. In preseason games, number two and
Speaker 1: three three words, Mike, let her rip. That's what I
Speaker 1: want to see from Love because I don't care about
Speaker 1: the interceptions in these three games, doesn't matter. I want
Speaker 1: to see Jordan's Love play like Jordan's Love because I
Speaker 1: think personally, when he's actually playing on tempo, when he's
Speaker 1: playing free, that's the best version of him. You can
Speaker 1: deal with the interceptions and learn from those interceptions when
Speaker 1: you go to back and break down the film, when
Speaker 1: you go back and go through the fundamentals, what it's
Speaker 1: more difficult is you just don't want to see him
Speaker 1: playing rigid. You don't want to see him, you know,
Speaker 1: exercising the checkdowns. You want to see him being able
Speaker 1: to operate the offense as it's intended to be functioned.
Speaker 1: So that that's really where I look for in this game.
Speaker 1: I want him to play free, play confident, and just
Speaker 1: try to be the best Jordan's Love he can be
Speaker 1: out there, because that's where you're going to learn the most.
Speaker 1: It's where he's going to improve the most, and it's
Speaker 1: where these coaches are going to be able to go
Speaker 1: back through the film and tell him, Okay, this is
Speaker 1: where this is what we like that you did, and
Speaker 1: this is how we have to harness some of those
Speaker 1: gifts because realistically, like I go back to that Kansas
Speaker 1: City game last year, it was a very conservative type
Speaker 1: approach and he was dealing with a short week. He
Speaker 1: did not want to make mistakes, and I'm totally with
Speaker 1: him on that. But it's allowing yourself to make those
Speaker 1: downfield throws that that going back to the one he
Speaker 1: had to Sammy Watkins last week, going back to some
Speaker 1: of these throws that he's made to to Romeo Dobbs.
Speaker 1: It's there and I want to see if you can
Speaker 1: put that on the field in San Jose. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: Well you mentioned, uh, the offensive line that will be
Speaker 1: in front of him, that that is another element that
Speaker 1: will definitely be watched closely. Here in this preseason opener
Speaker 1: against San Francisco, Packers are going to line up with
Speaker 1: yosh Naimanett left tackle, John Runyon att left guard, and
Speaker 1: Josh Meyers at center, and they're working three guys essentially
Speaker 1: for two spots on the right side of the offensive line. Now,
Speaker 1: Jake Hansen has been playing some right guard, the rookie
Speaker 1: fourth round pick Zack tom has been playing some right tackle,
Speaker 1: and then Royce Newman, who started the bulk of the
Speaker 1: season last year at right guard, has been playing both
Speaker 1: of those spots depending on which other guy is is
Speaker 1: in the lineup at that particular time. So it's sort
Speaker 1: of three guys for two spots um and Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: said it at his locker after Tuesday's practice. Everybody's waiting
Speaker 1: to see if somebody's going to take it over. Who
Speaker 1: is who is going to step forward amongst those three guys,
Speaker 1: you know, take the bull by the horns, so to
Speaker 1: speaker whatever and say and say I'm the leader of
Speaker 1: this trio, and uh, you know, go ahead and get
Speaker 1: in line and follow me, and let's uh and let's
Speaker 1: get this thing figured out. So what I've learned through
Speaker 1: the first two weeks of training camp is that the
Speaker 1: left side of the offensive line right now is Yosh Dieimon,
Speaker 1: John Runyon and Josh Myers second year former second round
Speaker 1: pick at center. If Boxr can get back out there
Speaker 1: sooner rather than later. To me, Yoshneimann is the right tackle.
Speaker 1: I think. No matter what way you slice this thing,
Speaker 1: Yosh Steiman has performed in a way in that he
Speaker 1: is one of the top five starting offensive lineman. They
Speaker 1: have to find a way to get him on the field,
Speaker 1: I would agree. The real question is, Okay Royce right guard,
Speaker 1: right tackle, left guard. You know, you look at Zack
Speaker 1: Tom coming in and getting some reps now at right tackle.
Speaker 1: And then obviously Jake Hansen's probably leading the Packers right
Speaker 1: now in team reps so far, uh this summer, which
Speaker 1: is a stark contrast to his first two summers in
Speaker 1: Green Bay. This is a guy that when it is
Speaker 1: his day, in the last couple of days it has
Speaker 1: been he's been at right guard, and then with the
Speaker 1: twos he's going to center. Because the Packers, regardless of
Speaker 1: what happens with Hanson and the starting equation, they have
Speaker 1: to identify the backup to Josh Myers as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so and and as and to further that point, this
Speaker 1: is a guy who is first two summers in Green
Speaker 1: Bay hardly took any eleven on eleven reps unless it
Speaker 1: was the number three unit that was out there. And
Speaker 1: now this summer he's He's out there with either the
Speaker 1: ones or the two's for pretty much every team snap.
Speaker 1: So the right side of the line is where I
Speaker 1: think my eyes are going to be the most in
Speaker 1: this in this thing because I think both of those
Speaker 1: guys Newman and Jake Anson are going to play quite
Speaker 1: a bit. I'd be curiously how much they do play
Speaker 1: Josh Myers too. I mean, certainly you want to get
Speaker 1: Myers some work as a young second year player, but
Speaker 1: it's also so critical to have him healthy and ready
Speaker 1: for this this stretch here this season. So a lot
Speaker 1: of decisions the Packers have to make there. But again,
Speaker 1: if there was one big takeaway from me in this
Speaker 1: opening week, opening two weeks of training camp, is that
Speaker 1: Yoshneiman in his fourth NFL season, his third accruede season,
Speaker 1: uh he, he has really continued to look the part
Speaker 1: and has really continued to really blossom as what has
Speaker 1: turned into becoming this emergency left tackle. Yeah. Absolutely, yosh
Speaker 1: Yoshneiman has uh Um has really has really performed well
Speaker 1: and I think solidified himself as as without a doubt
Speaker 1: on a regular NFL offensive lineman. However, that ends up
Speaker 1: shaking out here in the coming weeks. The other part
Speaker 1: on offense, the other element that we need to talk about,
Speaker 1: of course is the wide receiver position and a few
Speaker 1: things to keep an eye on here. One, you know,
Speaker 1: the star of the first couple of weeks of training
Speaker 1: camp has been Romeo Adopts, the rookie fourth round pick
Speaker 1: out of Nevada. Is he going to carry over the
Speaker 1: production and the playmaking that we've seen on the practice field.
Speaker 1: Will he perform in that fashion? Um in a game
Speaker 1: setting when the lights go on Friday night? Um, a
Speaker 1: seventh round pick like Samari Tourey, He's had his moments
Speaker 1: in training camp, Yes, but then when the lights came
Speaker 1: on for family Night, suddenly he was the star. So
Speaker 1: is he one of these guys that, you know, like
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers talked about, there's some guys who just rise
Speaker 1: to the occasion brighter the lights get right, And so
Speaker 1: I think that's something to watch from him because he
Speaker 1: he's a rookie, seventh round pick who's had his ups
Speaker 1: and downs in the garden variety practices. But boy, on
Speaker 1: Friday night, you know, in front of fifty thousand at
Speaker 1: lambeau Field, he looked, he looked like a different player,
Speaker 1: you know. So packers are going to look and and
Speaker 1: and see what what they've got there. Um, we still
Speaker 1: haven't seen Christian Watson yet, But then of course we
Speaker 1: also want to see Amari Rodgers, Juwan Winfrey. UM, not
Speaker 1: sure if Malik Taylor is going to be deemed healthy
Speaker 1: enough to play it. He was back in practice a
Speaker 1: little bit this week with Red Jersey on that's uh,
Speaker 1: that's wait and see there. But hold over players like
Speaker 1: Rogers and Winfrey, who they've gotten their feet wet in
Speaker 1: the NFL, They've made some plays in regular season games,
Speaker 1: but as very much as part time players thus far,
Speaker 1: are they going to show the strides? Are they going
Speaker 1: to show that, especially if they're going against potentially reserve
Speaker 1: unit defense players. Are they going to make the plays
Speaker 1: that are expected of them, because maybe they should be
Speaker 1: a half a step or a step ahead of some
Speaker 1: of those guys. So those are the things to watch.
Speaker 1: At the receiver position, yeah, because you know those top
Speaker 1: three vets aren't going to play in this game. And
Speaker 1: even you know Randall Cobb was out with the foot
Speaker 1: injury on Wednesday, so certainly you know you're not going
Speaker 1: to see cops. So those four or five six receivers
Speaker 1: if you want to throw Danny Davison there too from Wisconsin,
Speaker 1: they're all going to get plenty of looks in this matchup.
Speaker 1: And for me, I think It's really interesting to watch
Speaker 1: Winfree right now because this is a guy, Mike that
Speaker 1: has put together two of the more impressive offseason programs,
Speaker 1: especially during this age where you're not seeing as many
Speaker 1: of the proven veterans at those practices. Last year, I think,
Speaker 1: really Malik Taylor was the most veteran player that attended
Speaker 1: from the receiving corps this past summer. Obviously, Alan Lazar
Speaker 1: hadn't signed his restrict attender, he wasn't there. So you know,
Speaker 1: Winfrey has gotten a lot of reps and he's looked good.
Speaker 1: I mean, even in this act as we watched on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: I really liked his approach. Um, you see the natural
Speaker 1: ball skills, but can he can he get that going
Speaker 1: in the games, because last year when he did get
Speaker 1: thrown into the fire, there were some hiccups, there were
Speaker 1: some drops. But everybody, including Aaron Rodgers, sees the potential
Speaker 1: in this young man. This is a guy that was
Speaker 1: a draft pick into the National Football League. He's not
Speaker 1: some Johnny Come Lately that was just trying to be
Speaker 1: an undrafted free agent that's stuck around for a few years.
Speaker 1: This guy came in as a Day three pick with
Speaker 1: Washington and he wants to prove that he can still
Speaker 1: play in this league. So a lot of very hungry
Speaker 1: young men and and certainly seeing if Love and Winfrey
Speaker 1: can get that connection going again. That's been a really
Speaker 1: good one to punch here for Green Bay and some
Speaker 1: of these offseason practices the last two years. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I want to switch gears to the defensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball, but I'm gonna take care of some sponsor
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Speaker 1: Cousin Subs fifty years of better. All right, on the
Speaker 1: defensive side, this is where things always get interesting for
Speaker 1: me when you make that transition from training camp into
Speaker 1: the first preseason game, because guess what, They're gonna have
Speaker 1: to tackle guys now, right, Um, none of the none
Speaker 1: of this, you know, just thud up and tag guys
Speaker 1: and whatever. Like, Okay, the task is, you got to
Speaker 1: get them on the ground. And so, um that being said,
Speaker 1: I think the first the first place that my eyes
Speaker 1: will go on the defensive side on Friday Night in
Speaker 1: this preseason opener is the two first round picks Kway
Speaker 1: Walker Davante Wyatt. Um. Those guys I thought both, you know,
Speaker 1: raise the level of their games on Family Night when
Speaker 1: the lights came on at lambeau Field. So I'm curious
Speaker 1: to see exactly what they look like and what sort
Speaker 1: of impact they have on the action when they're in
Speaker 1: their first NFL preseason game. Absolutely, and Quay Walker has
Speaker 1: just been off the charts here this last week. I
Speaker 1: mean again, we've talked about the speed, the explosiveness, the size,
Speaker 1: but the way he's standing up to the run, it
Speaker 1: looks really intimidating. I feel like he's been a good
Speaker 1: one to punch inside. Certainly, Chris Barnes is more than
Speaker 1: capable as well. I would imagine there'll be points where
Speaker 1: he's probably calling the defense if Dave Andre Campbell either
Speaker 1: doesn't play at all or plays minimally. Um, DeVante Wide,
Speaker 1: I hope we see now he on Wednesday, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of going through the concussion protocol there to figure
Speaker 1: out exactly what was happening and if he if he's
Speaker 1: good to go, we'll have to see where that was
Speaker 1: kind of up in the air at practice. But but
Speaker 1: certainly you go back to the family now, you go
Speaker 1: back to some of these one on one pass rush periods.
Speaker 1: He has all the ability in the world, and I
Speaker 1: think this is the type of stage where he could
Speaker 1: really shine. But let's talk a little bit about farther
Speaker 1: down the depth chart there, because you know, t J.
Speaker 1: Slayton is a guy that I think he can really
Speaker 1: benefit from work this preseason. He got quite a bit
Speaker 1: of it last year. To Jack Heflin is still here,
Speaker 1: the undrafted free agent last year. Um that that kind
Speaker 1: of caught on and really caught some eyes. Uh. And
Speaker 1: then even a guy like Jonathan for the seventh round
Speaker 1: pick that's competing for spots. Kenny Clark and Dean Laurie
Speaker 1: and Garre and Reid are not playing in this game.
Speaker 1: I would not anticipate they play in this game. That's
Speaker 1: a lot of snaps that these big guys are gonna
Speaker 1: have to eat. And there's still some guys in those
Speaker 1: fIF five, six, seven spots trying to show that they
Speaker 1: could be a factor for this defense. Yeah. Absolutely. And
Speaker 1: I think another another thing we'll be watching for two
Speaker 1: because the competition has been has been somewhat heated as
Speaker 1: well as entertaining. And when I say heated, I don't
Speaker 1: mean in a nasty way, but but in a in
Speaker 1: a very entertaining and spirited way in terms of what's
Speaker 1: going on at the safety position. Because we saw in
Speaker 1: Wednesday's practice we had talked earlier this week, with Darnell
Speaker 1: Savage being out with the hamstring injury, Vernon Scott has
Speaker 1: been the one stepping in with the number one defense.
Speaker 1: He seemed to have moved past Sean Davis as the
Speaker 1: number three safety when Davis, uh seemed to have ended
Speaker 1: the spring workouts, O t S and minicamp as the
Speaker 1: number three safety. Well, then in Wednesday's practice, we saw
Speaker 1: Davis intercept Jordan's Love. We saw him make a diving
Speaker 1: interception on on an overthrow by Aaron Rodgers, and uh,
Speaker 1: he was having himself quite a day. And then all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, Vernon Scott Answers by getting an interception
Speaker 1: against Rogers to to end the two minute drill. Now
Speaker 1: Rogers in the offense they were objecting to that interception
Speaker 1: by Scott believing that he didn't get both feet down
Speaker 1: in bounds. We'll have to ask somebody later on who
Speaker 1: checked the film whether that was an interception or not.
Speaker 1: Rogers wanted to keep that drill going and uh, and
Speaker 1: he was told to head to the sideline because it
Speaker 1: was a pick. But anyway, my point is these two
Speaker 1: young players, Vernon Scott and uh and Sean Davis um
Speaker 1: really kind of duking it out, so to speak, to
Speaker 1: see who's going to be the umber three safety in
Speaker 1: this defense. And I know that the Packers aren't playing
Speaker 1: as you know, with the addition of Kay Walker at
Speaker 1: inside linebacker, the Packers aren't playing as much dime defense
Speaker 1: with the six dbs. You're not seeing um a third
Speaker 1: safety maybe as often as as we've seen in past
Speaker 1: years around here. But that being said, not only from
Speaker 1: an injury perspective, but you're still gonna want to have
Speaker 1: that guy when you want to go to that package. Right,
Speaker 1: they may not run it as often as as they
Speaker 1: did last year, and Uh, this is a this is
Speaker 1: an interesting competition that feels like it's far from over, yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure. And and for Vernon Scott to bounce back
Speaker 1: the way he has. I mean, this is gout that
Speaker 1: played in practically every game his rookie season in two
Speaker 1: thousand twenty, and then last year, I think with the
Speaker 1: hamstring and some other ailments, only played in three games,
Speaker 1: but was on the fifty three all season, and green
Speaker 1: Bay stay committed through him through it all. So for
Speaker 1: him to step up and be that guy that was
Speaker 1: next to be called upon, because keep in mind with
Speaker 1: Sean Davis being the number three, but you also had
Speaker 1: in his games back that was competing for spot down.
Speaker 1: Levitt came in, I mean, they drafted Tree Carpenter. I
Speaker 1: mean there are a lot of guys trying to clamp
Speaker 1: onto those three and four spots. And while you are
Speaker 1: right about that necessarily not having as much dime cornerback
Speaker 1: this season, you see what happens when darniell Savage goes
Speaker 1: down with the hamstring. That's an open spot among the
Speaker 1: eleven on defense that has to be on the field
Speaker 1: at all times. You need to have accountability there. You
Speaker 1: need to have somebody that you feel confident with. And
Speaker 1: that's really where I think, you know, Scott's fills in
Speaker 1: the most because what people don't realize is this kid
Speaker 1: coming out of TCU. He had his combine, we didn't
Speaker 1: get invited to combine. The proteint gets canceled, all these
Speaker 1: different things working against him. There were a lot of
Speaker 1: people in that program that felt like he easily could
Speaker 1: have ran a four four if he was just given
Speaker 1: the opportunity to. So Green Bay sees that speed. As Jr.
Speaker 1: Alexander said to us on Wednesday, he's you know, he
Speaker 1: can tell that he's more confident. He's getting this thing
Speaker 1: down a little bit more. It's gonna be a great
Speaker 1: guy to watch. And Sean Davis, much like on the
Speaker 1: opposite side of the ball with Jowan Winfrey, a guy
Speaker 1: that also came in former draft pick in was trying
Speaker 1: to work his way into this lineup from the practice squad.
Speaker 1: The Packers felt confident enough about him at the end
Speaker 1: of last season they didn't want to lose them, so
Speaker 1: they elevated into the fifty three, even though they only
Speaker 1: played in one game. A lot of bodies there at
Speaker 1: that position to really consider not only for the third
Speaker 1: fourth safety role, but also potentially playing for Ritz Pacci
Speaker 1: on special teams. Yeah, and that was the last thing
Speaker 1: I wanted to get to here before we go was
Speaker 1: with regard to special teams, but also yeah, Sean Davis,
Speaker 1: fifth round pick by the Indianapolis Colts last year, ended
Speaker 1: up in late September joining the Packers practice squad and
Speaker 1: then as you said, elevated to the active roster at
Speaker 1: the end of the season. But this is the guy
Speaker 1: who was a fifth round pick just a year ago.
Speaker 1: So uh so that's something to keep in mind with
Speaker 1: regard to Davis. But for special teams, it will be
Speaker 1: the debut so to speak, if you call it that,
Speaker 1: in the preseason of the Rich Pisacci a tenure here
Speaker 1: on special teams, and as I said at on you
Speaker 1: know our pre one of our preview shows at the
Speaker 1: start of reigning camp, Bisaccia and the special teams coaches
Speaker 1: are going to be looking for the guys that they
Speaker 1: want to perform. Yes, there they want they want to
Speaker 1: create a culture around special teams and the accountability and
Speaker 1: all of that kind of stuff. But the goal isn't
Speaker 1: necessarily or or I should say that the top priority
Speaker 1: is not necessarily for all the special teams to look
Speaker 1: perfectly smooth and all of that right out of the
Speaker 1: gate in the first preseason game. That's not what they're after.
Speaker 1: They're searching for the guys that they want, that they
Speaker 1: can count on, that they feel they can trust to
Speaker 1: do certain jobs and and to and to plug into
Speaker 1: certain roles. And that's what these preseason games are going
Speaker 1: to decide. Who Ken Rich Posaccia and his Special Teams
Speaker 1: coaches count on um and who do they believe in
Speaker 1: with regard to the culture and everything that they are
Speaker 1: creating in that third phase of the game. Well, and
Speaker 1: think about it from you and I put ourselves in
Speaker 1: the position of some of these young guys looking to
Speaker 1: play teams, looking to earn a job starting without you know,
Speaker 1: with the special Teams unit. You see Rich Pisacci. I'm
Speaker 1: talking about legacies here. I'm talking about guys that came
Speaker 1: back off last year's team. Rich Pisaccia comes in, he
Speaker 1: brings on Keishan Nixon, he brings in love that he
Speaker 1: gets reunited with Rico Gafford, who signed your two weeks
Speaker 1: before Pisacci was hired. Those are guys that are known commodities.
Speaker 1: He understands their play style, he knows their strengths, and
Speaker 1: Levitt and Nixon played on basically every unit for him
Speaker 1: with the Raiders, So for a guy like Shamar John Charles,
Speaker 1: how much more is that going to draw to him?
Speaker 1: Looking to show besacci looking to show these coaches, no,
Speaker 1: I can be on your teams. It doesn't matter if
Speaker 1: you have guys that came in before I can can
Speaker 1: contribute to and seeing how that really brings the most
Speaker 1: of these guys. I look about a guy like a
Speaker 1: Marii Rogers, even on punt returns. Rogers was drafted in
Speaker 1: the third round a year ago in part because of
Speaker 1: his return skills. He wants to prove to Besaccia, to
Speaker 1: these coaches that he can still handle that up. That's
Speaker 1: the most exciting thing to me. It's not a matter
Speaker 1: of building a fifty three and okay, well, then whoever's
Speaker 1: left over and isn't starting you can play on special teams.
Speaker 1: Now the Packers want to have a core special teams unit,
Speaker 1: and as Bryan Gudkins talked about on Wednesday morning, there
Speaker 1: is more flexibility now than ever before with how you
Speaker 1: build your fifty three, with having the sixteen spots regardless
Speaker 1: of veteran status in some cases for the practice squad,
Speaker 1: for the practice squad, and being able to call those
Speaker 1: guys up up to three times throughout the course of
Speaker 1: this season. There's a lot of different ways to slice
Speaker 1: this pie. And I feel like that when you see
Speaker 1: these special teams, when you see these gunners going down
Speaker 1: the field, when you watch this punt unit, they're going
Speaker 1: to feel like they have a lot to prove coming
Speaker 1: off a very forgettable two thousand one season. Yeah, we've
Speaker 1: seen some different guys being tried out in the return spots.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Mari Rogers, Romeo Dobbs, We've seen Rico Gafford,
Speaker 1: some other guys as well. So this will be, you know, that,
Speaker 1: that opening trial for them. With two more preseason games
Speaker 1: and obviously several practices yet to go, including practices next week,
Speaker 1: the joint practices against the New Orleans Saints, there's gonna
Speaker 1: be a lot of evaluation going on um there as well.
Speaker 1: So with that, we'll call it a wrap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of
Speaker 1: our coverage of the team everything with Friday night's preseason
Speaker 1: game against San Francisco. We'll have it for you on
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I promised to wake up West when
Speaker 1: the plane lands so that he doesn't sleep through it.
Speaker 1: So for West, I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in. Everybody,
Speaker 1: We'll see you next time.