Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted social
Speaker 1: distancing style from Packers dot Com. I'm like Spofford as always,
Speaker 1: joined by my trusted colleague West hod Kwitz. I'm coming
Speaker 1: to you from the Lombardi boardroom on the second floor
Speaker 1: of lambeau Field West still in the bonus room above
Speaker 1: his garage out in beautiful Swamico, Wisconsin. So Western training
Speaker 1: camp rolls on almost to the end of the first
Speaker 1: week here. We've heard from Matt Lafleur a couple of times,
Speaker 1: We've heard from some different players. I know the fans
Speaker 1: are wondering what's going on with the team, who's doing what.
Speaker 1: We haven't had a practice to be able to observe
Speaker 1: and report upon yet that is still probably about a
Speaker 1: peak away. So in the meantime, I thought this would
Speaker 1: be a good opportunity to talk about one of the
Speaker 1: players we heard from earlier this week, and that's Davante Adams.
Speaker 1: And as everybody knows, he is clearly the number one
Speaker 1: target for Aaron Rodgers. But I think when you look
Speaker 1: at the bigger picture with Davante Adams West, it's starting
Speaker 1: to get interesting. The legacy he is actually establishing in
Speaker 1: the Packers record book in terms of some of his
Speaker 1: career numbers and where his career numbers may end up
Speaker 1: with a few more DeVante seasons. Yeah, and his consistency,
Speaker 1: Mike is the thing that stands out to you over
Speaker 1: the last four years, what he has done since turning
Speaker 1: that corner in two thousand and sixteen. A couple of
Speaker 1: injuries along the way, but really that's the only thing
Speaker 1: that stopped this young man. Over four thousand receiving yards,
Speaker 1: over forty touch I should say, actually at forty touchdowns.
Speaker 1: Now the only guy since two thousand sixteen the NFL
Speaker 1: who's done that. The interesting thing about the receiver position, Mike.
Speaker 1: We talked so much about running backs and what the
Speaker 1: life span is for running back. It's really difficult in
Speaker 1: the National Football League for receiver to maintain an elite
Speaker 1: level of play. In Davante Adams one credit to what
Speaker 1: he does in the offseason, how he takes care of himself,
Speaker 1: but also to how quickly he became a playmaker in
Speaker 1: this offense. It's enabled him to go on a type
Speaker 1: of run that we really haven't seen. Jordy Nelson had
Speaker 1: a window where he was really successful Greg Jennings had
Speaker 1: a window where he was really successful. But finding a lot,
Speaker 1: you know, a long period of time six seven, eight
Speaker 1: years where you can be at the absolute top the
Speaker 1: zenith of that position, it's difficult to do. Now. Davante
Speaker 1: Adams twenty seven years old. You know, there's a long
Speaker 1: way to go in this story yet, but he has
Speaker 1: really shown what you look for in in terms of
Speaker 1: a transcendent playmaker, a guy that can you know, do
Speaker 1: this thing beginning, middle and end. And obviously when you
Speaker 1: when you add in the component that he has, the
Speaker 1: relationship he has with Aaron Rodgers. I've said it time
Speaker 1: and time again. I think this is a guy, when
Speaker 1: it's all said and done, is going to go down
Speaker 1: as a top five receiver in Packer's history. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: you mentioned him being at the top of his game
Speaker 1: at forty touchdown since that is the most in the
Speaker 1: NFL of any wide receiver, and he has missed a
Speaker 1: few games here and there along the way. Three consecutive
Speaker 1: Pro Bowls for Davante Adams. Now, the Pro Bowl is
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl, I get it, but listen, the last
Speaker 1: Packers wide receiver to go to three straight Pro Bowls
Speaker 1: was Sterling Sharp. There's been a lot of good receivers
Speaker 1: who come through here since Sharp, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks,
Speaker 1: Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, Randall Cobb. None of those guys
Speaker 1: went to three straight Pro Bowls, and Davante Adams has
Speaker 1: done that. Now, looking also at his career, and I'm
Speaker 1: gonna glance down at my media guy here just to
Speaker 1: make sure I don't get the numbers wrong. But Adams
Speaker 1: actually right now, he's tied for eight in franchise history
Speaker 1: and receptions with four hundred and thirty one. These are
Speaker 1: regular season numbers. That's tied for eight with Antonio Freeman.
Speaker 1: Now he is not far away. Essentially another you know,
Speaker 1: roughly eight eighty catch season, he will move up into
Speaker 1: the top five and jump ahead of Don Hudson. Actually,
Speaker 1: and if with about another hundred matches, he will actually
Speaker 1: surpass James Lofton for fourth on the Packers all time
Speaker 1: receptions list. His yardage ranking is a little bit lower.
Speaker 1: He's currently fourteen in franchise history in yardage, and he's
Speaker 1: about somewhere between four and five thousand yards away from
Speaker 1: cracking the top ten. But those are some those are
Speaker 1: some pretty impressive places to be, certainly considering you know
Speaker 1: Brett Farve, Aaron Rodgers, those eras, all the receivers that
Speaker 1: have come through here. And yet, as you said, Davante
Speaker 1: Adams just twenty seven years old and was a second
Speaker 1: round draft pick not that long ago. Well, and for
Speaker 1: three years now, Mike, this guy has been the pinpoint
Speaker 1: guy that every defensive coordinator is scheming against. He's seen
Speaker 1: the best cornerbacks in this league. He's seeing double coverage,
Speaker 1: triple coverage at times. I mean, that's just the way
Speaker 1: his life has been. And yet he's still found a
Speaker 1: way to produce. Do you understand? I know you do,
Speaker 1: But do you understand how difficult that is when everybody
Speaker 1: has the cross here set in your direction, and yet
Speaker 1: you still find a way to be a playmaker. What
Speaker 1: impresses me the most, though, and I've said this time
Speaker 1: and time again, I'll say it one more time, Davante Adams.
Speaker 1: He was on a twenty four minute zoom call with
Speaker 1: us a couple of days ago. That guy that's on
Speaker 1: the other side of that computer screen is the same
Speaker 1: dude from four years ago, five years ago. It doesn't
Speaker 1: matter if there's adversity, it doesn't matter if there's success
Speaker 1: and accolades, the guy approaches his game the same exact way.
Speaker 1: And the thing that has impressed me the most is, Okay,
Speaker 1: he comes out of Fresno State. You know, he's the
Speaker 1: big possession receiver. Can to be a playmaker? He does?
Speaker 1: Can he score in the red zone? He six ft one?
Speaker 1: Does he have that type of bill? He can? He
Speaker 1: has checked every box along the way and really become
Speaker 1: a five tool player at that position. And now that
Speaker 1: the Packers don't have Devin Funchs for this season, they
Speaker 1: have a young tight end group, a young receiving corps.
Speaker 1: You know that Aaron Jones is going to be there
Speaker 1: as a guy that they could potentially use in a
Speaker 1: multitude of ways. But the guy once again is going
Speaker 1: to be Davante Adams and how the Packers utilize him
Speaker 1: and the way that Matt Lafleur moves that chess piece
Speaker 1: last year was very promising and seeing what he can
Speaker 1: do now in year two with him, that's going to
Speaker 1: be something to really follow throughout this whole season. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I like what you said about his personality, his demeanor,
Speaker 1: that he's the same guy that he was four or
Speaker 1: five years ago. Because you go back to when it
Speaker 1: was all going to be riding on him. Jordy Nelson
Speaker 1: goes out in the preseason with a season ending knee injury,
Speaker 1: and Davante Adams was dealing with some injuries of his own,
Speaker 1: and twenty fifteen did not go the way he wanted.
Speaker 1: He stood at as locker and answered the questions and
Speaker 1: still projected all of the same confidence in himself and
Speaker 1: his abilities that we see today. And he took a
Speaker 1: lot of flak in the media quite frankly for that
Speaker 1: west because you know, there were there were some wondering, well,
Speaker 1: who does this guy think he is? Like, what's with
Speaker 1: this attitude? You know? And everything? Well, you know what,
Speaker 1: it's because of that self confidence, that belief in himself.
Speaker 1: And yeah, maybe in ten when the production wasn't there,
Speaker 1: it rubbed some people the wrong way, but it's gotten
Speaker 1: him to where he is right now, and I think
Speaker 1: that's worth pointing out. I'm gonna throw some other statistics
Speaker 1: at you two, because it's it's worth mentioning where Davante
Speaker 1: Adams is in the playoff record book for the Green
Speaker 1: Bay Packers because last year the two playoff games, he
Speaker 1: had a monster couple of games against both Seattle and
Speaker 1: San Francisco, both games over a hundred yards. The hundred
Speaker 1: and sixty yards against Seattle, of courses the Packers all
Speaker 1: time single game receiving yardage record. But you look at
Speaker 1: his career in the playoffs. He's only played in eight
Speaker 1: career playoff games, but four of those now have been
Speaker 1: over a hundred yards, which is the franchise record for
Speaker 1: that category. He is second in a playoff receiving yards
Speaker 1: all time in Packers history, behind Antonio Freeman. He only needs, uh,
Speaker 1: I believe it's you know, around sixty, maybe seventy yards,
Speaker 1: maybe eighty to surpass Antonio Freeman. And Freeman played six
Speaker 1: more postseason games than than Davante Adams, and so he's
Speaker 1: second on that list. He's tied for second in postseason
Speaker 1: touchdown receptions with six, that tied, that's tied with Greg Jennings.
Speaker 1: Antonia you Freeman at the top of that list with ten.
Speaker 1: But again, Adams has played six fewer postseason games in
Speaker 1: his career than Antonio Freeman. So where he is putting
Speaker 1: himself in the regular season record book in the playoff
Speaker 1: record book, and obviously the Packers are hoping he'll be
Speaker 1: able to add to uh some of those playoff numbers. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, sooner than later. It's really starting to look impressive,
Speaker 1: the type of career he's putting together for a very
Speaker 1: storied franchise with a great history of wide receivers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and that's why you need to start putting some respect
Speaker 1: on his name, you know, nationally. I mean, I know,
Speaker 1: it's keeps coming up, and it's a narrative every single year,
Speaker 1: and it was again this offseason. PFF has Kenny Galladay
Speaker 1: is the best receiver in the FC North for some reason.
Speaker 1: But then but then ranks Davante Adams is like the
Speaker 1: top performer in the division. I can't even follow that anymore.
Speaker 1: Just tell me what the slot receiver? How many how
Speaker 1: many receptions he had on this lot anyway? Um, But
Speaker 1: but moving on, I mean, you know, the top the
Speaker 1: top one list, he comes in a fifty seven. For
Speaker 1: whatever reason. I think it's I think there are a
Speaker 1: lot of parallels between him and also with Kenny Clark.
Speaker 1: For whatever reason, people just hasn't really fully boarded that
Speaker 1: hype training. I think that's because they haven't had these
Speaker 1: promotional towards these these advertisements going on like hey, look
Speaker 1: at me, see me, It's all about me. Adams isn't
Speaker 1: like that, and I don't think he's ever been like
Speaker 1: that in terms of his personality. But then also coming
Speaker 1: up with Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, they were very
Speaker 1: similar in that way too, that it was it was team,
Speaker 1: it was we, it was us, it wasn't me, And
Speaker 1: that might hurt his endorsement deals, but that's what ultimately
Speaker 1: has made him the receiver he is. And the end
Speaker 1: of the day, Mike, as I said earlier, if he
Speaker 1: can stay on this path and he stays healthy, you're
Speaker 1: looking at it, whatever you want to say about it.
Speaker 1: One of the greatest receivers in Packer's history. Yeah, there's
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. Well, another thing that has been
Speaker 1: a fairly hot topic this week, as we've heard from
Speaker 1: coach la Flora and some of the players, is this
Speaker 1: prospect of potentially no or very limited fans in the
Speaker 1: stands at n FELL games this season. And it's it's
Speaker 1: interesting to think about the possibilities. It's it's hard to
Speaker 1: even you know, process it in the set, you know,
Speaker 1: until maybe we actually see a game with with an
Speaker 1: empty lambeau Field or whatever the case might be. But
Speaker 1: while the Packers are going to obviously lose a home
Speaker 1: field advantage, the atmosphere that that is generated at Lambeau
Speaker 1: and obviously this team went eight and one, including the
Speaker 1: playoff win over Seattle last year in uh within the
Speaker 1: home confines. This team West has five of its eight
Speaker 1: road games in domes Minnesota, Detroit, New Orleans, Houston, and Indianapolis.
Speaker 1: Now five out of eight dome games on the road.
Speaker 1: And the possibility and I say possibility because we'll see
Speaker 1: how all this works, but the possibility of Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: not having to go to a silent count in a
Speaker 1: dome to run the offense, to call the audibles at
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage, all that kind of stuff, that's
Speaker 1: really really intriguing. And I think it could potentially develop
Speaker 1: into a big storyline in especially having US Bank early
Speaker 1: in the season, and then obviously the Superdome as well,
Speaker 1: those are two venues there where if there's no fans there,
Speaker 1: what a difference that makes. I'm sure we're still gonna
Speaker 1: hear that freaking horn, but I mean, all things consider,
Speaker 1: not having the fans in there, it's gonna make a
Speaker 1: big difference. So, uh, this is sobering, Mike, and and
Speaker 1: and I get it. Um, no other sports really are
Speaker 1: going with fans right now. We have to take care
Speaker 1: of ourselves. We have to take care of our neighbors,
Speaker 1: We have to take care of our families. So I
Speaker 1: respect the league and in the the you know the
Speaker 1: approach even the Raiders are taking. You don't want to
Speaker 1: open Allegiance Stadium with no fans or with limited fans.
Speaker 1: You want to you want to be able to do
Speaker 1: these things right now. That being said, this is my
Speaker 1: ninth year covering the Packers full time. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: you can speak to this to all the years you've
Speaker 1: done this. There's something special about walking into a Sunday afternoon,
Speaker 1: Sunday night game, walking into the stadium, feeling the energy
Speaker 1: as you walk in, hearing the music, smelling the brods there.
Speaker 1: It's what makes this special. As much as you and
Speaker 1: I love just you know, laboring over practices and and
Speaker 1: you know seeing you know, guys develop, and everything is
Speaker 1: at a slower pace in the NFL, but those games
Speaker 1: means so much and that energy is so just incredible,
Speaker 1: So potentially not have that just from our perspective that
Speaker 1: that's that's really something that hits home. Now. Imagine if
Speaker 1: you're a football player, Imagine if you're in those stadiums,
Speaker 1: you know, a T and T stadium, n people you
Speaker 1: can pack in there, and you have to take that away.
Speaker 1: That's not only gonna change, you know, how these players
Speaker 1: get up. Matt Lafleur said, they're gonna have to create
Speaker 1: their own energy. If that's the case. But the game,
Speaker 1: the way it's played changes mightily, and it could very
Speaker 1: well be a situation. Rogers looked at it as a
Speaker 1: potential opportunity to to draw teams offsides, um, you know,
Speaker 1: more free play opportunities, um, just because of the verbal
Speaker 1: communication and the verbal cadence is going to be there.
Speaker 1: I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out
Speaker 1: how this is gonna look in my mind. I don't
Speaker 1: know if I've actually been able to kind of come
Speaker 1: to terms with it yet. But be that as it may,
Speaker 1: it's a reality that Matt Lafloor is preparing for. If
Speaker 1: this team ends up not having fans, They're gonna practice
Speaker 1: a little bit inside lambau Field without anybody in. They're
Speaker 1: just so those young players on this roster can get
Speaker 1: used to it, and honestly some of the veteran players too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we'll it'll be interesting. We'll find out right away because
Speaker 1: the Packers open Week one at Minnesota U S Bank Stadium. Obviously,
Speaker 1: they got their first win in that fairly new venue
Speaker 1: last season to clinch the NFC North title in that
Speaker 1: big primetime game in Week sixteen. I will say this though, Wes,
Speaker 1: I know you covered the Sunday night game in New Orleans,
Speaker 1: and I covered that one as well as the Monday
Speaker 1: night game in New Orleans in two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1: Those are the only two times I've been in the Superdome.
Speaker 1: They were both primetime games. That is the loudest place,
Speaker 1: hands down, I have ever been in. And the prospect
Speaker 1: and I just I say this totally selfishly. Okay, the
Speaker 1: prospect of going to a game at New New Orleans
Speaker 1: and leaving without a headache is actually is actually somewhat appealing.
Speaker 1: So I'm just gonna put that out there right now,
Speaker 1: because I'm telling you, man, it is both times. And yes,
Speaker 1: the games were six years apart, and here we are.
Speaker 1: It's another six years before we're headed back to New Orleans.
Speaker 1: But I'm telling you, man, it has taken me a
Speaker 1: few days both times coming back from those night games
Speaker 1: in New Orleans for my head to even get back
Speaker 1: to any sense of normalcy. So I I just I
Speaker 1: do think in all seriousness, the Packers playing on the
Speaker 1: road in domes, but having potentially the communication and everything
Speaker 1: that you're not that you normally have at home, that
Speaker 1: you don't normally have on the road, I think it
Speaker 1: becomes really really intriguing, not only with Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 1: just his experience and everything he's been through and what
Speaker 1: he can do, but now that you're in the second
Speaker 1: year of Matt Lafleur system and all that, Rogers knows
Speaker 1: it that much better. Rogers and the Fleur know each
Speaker 1: other that much better in terms of in terms of
Speaker 1: the play calling, in the rhythm they want to get.
Speaker 1: And I think it could be really interesting how this
Speaker 1: develops here through Yeah, and just to do an offshoot
Speaker 1: of this question too, it's not even just fully about
Speaker 1: the domes, right, I mean, you look at that game
Speaker 1: against the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. What a chess
Speaker 1: match that could potentially be if you have Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: and Tom Brady being able to use verbal cadence, uh,
Speaker 1: simultaneously throughout the course of a game. Two of the
Speaker 1: best when it comes to pre snap reads and and
Speaker 1: you know, kind of picking a part of defense. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's all those type of things that you have to
Speaker 1: start thinking about if this ends up being the direction
Speaker 1: the league goes. Again, there hasn't been a big edict
Speaker 1: that has been put down at all. We really don't
Speaker 1: know which teams are opting in or which teams are
Speaker 1: gonna opt out of having fans or even trying to
Speaker 1: have fans. And we don't know what the league rules
Speaker 1: are gonna be in terms of pumping in crowd noise.
Speaker 1: You mentioned the horn in Minnesota, whatever. We we don't
Speaker 1: know what sort of rules and regulations what's going to
Speaker 1: be allowed or or you know, are they are they
Speaker 1: going to be allowed to pump noise into a certain
Speaker 1: decibel level? Like we have no idea at this point.
Speaker 1: The league is going to spend the next month figuring
Speaker 1: out that kind of stuff. But uh, um, but anyway,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry to interrupt, go ahead, but it's just it's
Speaker 1: it's incredible that you and I are even having this conversation.
Speaker 1: I mean, we we knew what we were dealing with
Speaker 1: when you go back to March and April and what
Speaker 1: the potential long term ramifications of this whole pandemic we're
Speaker 1: gonna be. But you know, first and foremost, you want
Speaker 1: to keep guys healthy, You want to keep your fans healthy.
Speaker 1: You want to make sure that everybody at the end
Speaker 1: of these contests goes home to their families no worse
Speaker 1: for wear, and and if this is what the direction
Speaker 1: it has to take, I think everybody is on board
Speaker 1: with having to go that way. It's just it is
Speaker 1: going to be Again I've said this a hundred times,
Speaker 1: but it's the league has been around for a hundred
Speaker 1: years now, and this is going to be something that
Speaker 1: we've never seen before. Yeah. Well, it will be talking
Speaker 1: about it all month long here in training camp leading
Speaker 1: up to the regular season, but for now, we're going
Speaker 1: to call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted.
Speaker 1: Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team,
Speaker 1: everything that we can know about that's going on in
Speaker 1: training camp. We will certainly bring it to you on
Speaker 1: Packers dot com for West I am Mike, Thank you
Speaker 1: for tuning in. Everybody. We will see you next time.