1
00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:21,000
Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.

2
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,120
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside the one and only

3
00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,080
Speaker 1: Wes Hodkowits. We're coming to here from our studios at

4
00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,520
Speaker 1: lambeau Field and West. Last week we wrapped up our

5
00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,640
Speaker 1: final show with an O t A preview on the

6
00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,879
Speaker 1: offensive side of the ball. O t A S are underway.

7
00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,640
Speaker 1: Now later today we're going to get our first view

8
00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,760
Speaker 1: of one of the practices. So let's continue with the

9
00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,960
Speaker 1: preview but switched to the defensive side of the ball

10
00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:49,960
Speaker 1: here as the Packers embark on three weeks of O

11
00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:51,840
Speaker 1: t a S and a week of mini camp. There's

12
00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,200
Speaker 1: a little bit of news at the safety position already,

13
00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,320
Speaker 1: and that there's a report out that Josh Jones is

14
00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,400
Speaker 1: skipping the voluntary O t A S. He he's not

15
00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,240
Speaker 1: happy with how things are going with him and reportedly

16
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,240
Speaker 1: has asked to be traded. We're going to see what

17
00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,240
Speaker 1: Matt Lafleur has to say about that and see what

18
00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,360
Speaker 1: develops here this first week of O t a S

19
00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,199
Speaker 1: with regards to that, and maybe address it on another show.

20
00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,039
Speaker 1: But I did want to talk a little bit about

21
00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:20,240
Speaker 1: the safety position because you raised an interesting point. In

22
00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:25,440
Speaker 1: our last show six years ago, two thousand and thirteen,

23
00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,800
Speaker 1: the Packers drafted Eddie Lacey in the second round, but

24
00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,479
Speaker 1: oh t A started with Alex Green as the number

25
00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,680
Speaker 1: one running back. So what I'm interested to see, because

26
00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:40,560
Speaker 1: different coaching staffs handled this differently. Darnell Savage drafted at

27
00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,240
Speaker 1: number twenty one overall, the Packers traded up for him.

28
00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:46,000
Speaker 1: By all accounts, he's the guy who's going to step

29
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,240
Speaker 1: in and start next to Adrian Amos, the free agent

30
00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:52,520
Speaker 1: acquisition at safety. But we'll see if this coaching staff

31
00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,200
Speaker 1: is going to plug him in right away with the

32
00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,400
Speaker 1: first unit, right from the get go, or if it's

33
00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,240
Speaker 1: going to be an Alex Green Eddie ac situation where

34
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,960
Speaker 1: things are handled a little a little differently. At the

35
00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:05,960
Speaker 1: end of the day, I'm not sure how much it matters,

36
00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,760
Speaker 1: but I'm just curious how Matt Lafleur and his coaching

37
00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:10,960
Speaker 1: staff is going to handle this situation. Mike, I'm gonna

38
00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,799
Speaker 1: take you down memorily lane. Second. Here it's two thousand

39
00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,320
Speaker 1: thirteen again, both of us are here. Is a little darker,

40
00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,720
Speaker 1: a few less racles, a little one thing that happened

41
00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,040
Speaker 1: at that camp in addition to the Alex Green Eddie

42
00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:25,560
Speaker 1: lazy thing. I don't know if you remember this, but

43
00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,640
Speaker 1: Sam Shields held out that year because he had gotten

44
00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,959
Speaker 1: the restricted tender. He wanted to get a long term contract.

45
00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,760
Speaker 1: He reported for the mandatory minicamp, but he didn't participate

46
00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,400
Speaker 1: in O t A s the voluntary portion. Voluntary portion,

47
00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,520
Speaker 1: there was a young man by the name of Casey Hayward,

48
00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,079
Speaker 1: by the name of Devon House. A lot of young

49
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:47,960
Speaker 1: guys in this roster ended up getting a lot of

50
00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:52,480
Speaker 1: reps that summer because Shields wasn't there. I'm not sure

51
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,800
Speaker 1: how this all sorts out with Josh Jones and where

52
00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,200
Speaker 1: Savage fits into the big picture, but I think you

53
00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,000
Speaker 1: and I both can agree when you look at the

54
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,679
Speaker 1: way the depth charted sit stuated right now, this young

55
00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:03,880
Speaker 1: man is in a position to get a lot of reps,

56
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,640
Speaker 1: to get a lot of experience. I can't give you

57
00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,080
Speaker 1: an exact example of Okay, well, here was just a

58
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:11,480
Speaker 1: rookie that came in the offseason program. It was slotted

59
00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,160
Speaker 1: in as a starter right away. There weren't many because

60
00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,119
Speaker 1: for the most part, the packers of drafted guys where

61
00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,760
Speaker 1: they already had established starters, and they were sort of

62
00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,799
Speaker 1: bringing these guys up to the pipeline. You were here

63
00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,040
Speaker 1: for Nick collins In and basically the bulk of his career.

64
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:26,760
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how they handled him in those early

65
00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,200
Speaker 1: years because basically everyone acknowledged from day one he was

66
00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,760
Speaker 1: going to be a starter. Morgan Burnette was a guy

67
00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,000
Speaker 1: that ended up being basically a day one starter as well.

68
00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,080
Speaker 1: Safety lends itself to, for whatever reason, as much experience

69
00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,480
Speaker 1: and as much as you know command that it takes

70
00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,880
Speaker 1: for those players to really have on a defense, it

71
00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,200
Speaker 1: lends itself to those guys being able to play right away.

72
00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,640
Speaker 1: And I think when you listen to Savage, you understand

73
00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,160
Speaker 1: his backstory and also the playmaking ability has in him. Uh.

74
00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,160
Speaker 1: I don't want to compare him to Jaire Alexander. I

75
00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,040
Speaker 1: don't want to put those expectations out there for him,

76
00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:58,640
Speaker 1: but it just does seem like this is a young

77
00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,520
Speaker 1: man that could come in right away and make an impact. Yeah.

78
00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:03,440
Speaker 1: I think that's what he was drafted for. I think

79
00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,400
Speaker 1: that's what that's why Brian Goodacunt has made the investment

80
00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,960
Speaker 1: in that that he didn't trade it away to fourth

81
00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:11,800
Speaker 1: round picks to move up and make sure that he

82
00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,280
Speaker 1: got him, And Goudacun said later on in the draft,

83
00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:16,359
Speaker 1: I know for a fact he wasn't going to be

84
00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:18,520
Speaker 1: there at thirty if he had sat there at the

85
00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,880
Speaker 1: bottom of the first round and waited to try to

86
00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,600
Speaker 1: get him at that opportunity. So, um, like I said,

87
00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,080
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, whether he's with the

88
00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,520
Speaker 1: number one unit on the first day or the first

89
00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,400
Speaker 1: week of O T a S or if he eventually

90
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,359
Speaker 1: gets to that spot, in some ways it really doesn't matter.

91
00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,000
Speaker 1: But for me it's more of a curiosity thing from

92
00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,599
Speaker 1: this particular coaching staff because um, it is a new staff,

93
00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,960
Speaker 1: or the bulk of it is is new, and coaching

94
00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:49,120
Speaker 1: staffs handle these things differently in terms of there's there's

95
00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,840
Speaker 1: pros and cons to it. There's you're the one way

96
00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:54,600
Speaker 1: is to put him in there from day one, and

97
00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,240
Speaker 1: you are clear about the expectations for this player that

98
00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:00,800
Speaker 1: this is what is going to be expected of you.

99
00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,320
Speaker 1: The flip side of it is there are guys who

100
00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,119
Speaker 1: have been here, there are guys who know the system better,

101
00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,720
Speaker 1: and from day one, make the younger guy that you

102
00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,440
Speaker 1: expect to be the starter, beat those guys out, make

103
00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,480
Speaker 1: make them, make them earn that spot to some degree

104
00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:19,400
Speaker 1: instead of just handing it to him right from the

105
00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,560
Speaker 1: get go. So there's different ways to go about it well.

106
00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,479
Speaker 1: And it's like the Mike Spofford, you know, let's be

107
00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:25,880
Speaker 1: real moment of the week here. If you had Raven

108
00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,320
Speaker 1: Green stay healthy last year, we're probably looking at a

109
00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,240
Speaker 1: different situation right now. If Abrahem Campbell doesn't have the

110
00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,760
Speaker 1: significant knee injury that he did, maybe he's on this

111
00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,560
Speaker 1: roster right now. The way the shuffles out is there's

112
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,200
Speaker 1: so much opportunity with the safety position right now, with

113
00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,520
Speaker 1: the way the NFL is structured. You can use them

114
00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:44,479
Speaker 1: in the slot, you can use them in the box

115
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,000
Speaker 1: as an inside linebacker. They did that last year with

116
00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,279
Speaker 1: Josh Jones, with Campbell, with Eddie Pleasant, all those guys

117
00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,920
Speaker 1: filled that role at different points, even Jermaine Whitehead before

118
00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,440
Speaker 1: he was released. So there is a lot of most

119
00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,640
Speaker 1: multiplicity to that position that lends itself to those guys

120
00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,000
Speaker 1: being able to get in there right away. The thing

121
00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,480
Speaker 1: I like about Savage and the idea of him playing

122
00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,400
Speaker 1: right away back there with Adrian Amos is you're playing

123
00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,040
Speaker 1: with one of excuse me, what a lot of people

124
00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:11,560
Speaker 1: I think would consider to be one of the elite

125
00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,440
Speaker 1: young safeties in this league at this point. To have

126
00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,080
Speaker 1: someone to build off of with that, I think would

127
00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:19,400
Speaker 1: be incredibly beneficial to win because when you look at

128
00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,280
Speaker 1: some of the really good safeties the Packers have had

129
00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:23,880
Speaker 1: in the past, they haven't always had that benefit. Nick

130
00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:25,640
Speaker 1: Collins had to go in and be the man from

131
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,640
Speaker 1: day one. I just think if Savage does get those reps,

132
00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:30,479
Speaker 1: and again, we'll see how it works out, but the

133
00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,360
Speaker 1: more work he gets with Amos, I think the better

134
00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:33,600
Speaker 1: it is going to be for him being able to

135
00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,000
Speaker 1: contribute your one well. And I think another thing about

136
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,440
Speaker 1: Savages situation here too, is that with Amos, yes, he's

137
00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,320
Speaker 1: new to the Packers, but he is a veteran. He's

138
00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,880
Speaker 1: played in the NFL for four years. He started dozens

139
00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,320
Speaker 1: of games for a really good Chicago Bears defense. You're

140
00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,160
Speaker 1: not asking Darnell Savage to step in and be the

141
00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,480
Speaker 1: communicator and the signal caller and all of that. Adrian

142
00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:55,960
Speaker 1: Amos is that guy because he's the veteran, and he's

143
00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,520
Speaker 1: got the experience, and he's, in my opinion, is going

144
00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,560
Speaker 1: to be able to pick up my Petton system without

145
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,880
Speaker 1: a whole heck of a lot of difficulties. He's a

146
00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,880
Speaker 1: smart player, all of his The reputation that he brings

147
00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,520
Speaker 1: over from Chicago is you want all of your safeties

148
00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,360
Speaker 1: to have the communication skills, obviously, but Amos is the

149
00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,920
Speaker 1: one who's going to be leaned on um for that responsibility.

150
00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,600
Speaker 1: So you don't have to put too much on Darnell

151
00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:22,000
Speaker 1: Savage's plate if you want him to play right away,

152
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:23,480
Speaker 1: which is again why I think this could be a

153
00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:25,680
Speaker 1: really good opportunity for him, because when you go back

154
00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:27,760
Speaker 1: and look at it, Nick Collins was part of a

155
00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,920
Speaker 1: defensive renovation way back when Morgan Burnett was supposed to

156
00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:33,480
Speaker 1: be paired with Nick Collins. He gets injured right away

157
00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,200
Speaker 1: with the a c L. The next year, Collins has

158
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,840
Speaker 1: the neck injury. The one true example of this is

159
00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,760
Speaker 1: probably Burnett being able to shepherd Micah Hyde and and

160
00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,200
Speaker 1: Ha Clinton. Dick's a little bit, but for the most part,

161
00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,640
Speaker 1: it's been really difficult to get that young and veteran

162
00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,080
Speaker 1: combination together. The Packers are positioned to do that right

163
00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,800
Speaker 1: now in two thousand nineteen. Yeah. Well, another spot, certainly

164
00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,520
Speaker 1: on the defense where opportunity is knocking and it's a

165
00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,880
Speaker 1: spot we've talked about before, and it's inside linebacker, because

166
00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:04,360
Speaker 1: the Packers didn't uh draft anybody high. Tye Summers was

167
00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,160
Speaker 1: a seventh round draft pick in the last of the

168
00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,480
Speaker 1: eight picks the Packers made. But you have Blake Martinez

169
00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,280
Speaker 1: as your as your stalwart there at inside linebacker and

170
00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,800
Speaker 1: the guy who's going to be, as Mike Petton likes

171
00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,239
Speaker 1: to say, the nerve center of the defense. But Oren

172
00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,480
Speaker 1: Burks was the third round draft pick last year the

173
00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:27,160
Speaker 1: Packers traded up for him. The shoulder injury during the preseason, unfortunately,

174
00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:32,000
Speaker 1: was a big setback. But this is an opportunity here

175
00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,720
Speaker 1: for or and Burks to potentially step in. Um. Now, granted,

176
00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,120
Speaker 1: different packages, different down and distant situations, you're not always

177
00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,520
Speaker 1: going to have to pure bred, so to speak, inside

178
00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,520
Speaker 1: linebackers on the field. But this is an opportunity for

179
00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:47,800
Speaker 1: or and Burks to stand up and say, you know, hey,

180
00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,320
Speaker 1: I'm gonna I want to play a fair amount of

181
00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:52,640
Speaker 1: snaps in this defense. Yeah, and exactly when you look

182
00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:54,880
Speaker 1: at it to Mike, the fact that they let go

183
00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,600
Speaker 1: of Antonio Morrison, they didn't go out and just sign

184
00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,960
Speaker 1: another veteran to replace him. They understand the upside with

185
00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,320
Speaker 1: Oren Burks what they want him to be as a

186
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,320
Speaker 1: player in this league. So from that perspective, I think

187
00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,640
Speaker 1: it is going to be beneficial for him to get

188
00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:13,000
Speaker 1: as many reps as he can this summer. It was

189
00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,080
Speaker 1: positioned for him last year to be the guy next

190
00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,800
Speaker 1: to Blake Martinez once Jake Ryan was out of the picture.

191
00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:20,800
Speaker 1: How many stories did everybody on the beat right last

192
00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,719
Speaker 1: year about how Oren Burks is gonna have to be

193
00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,800
Speaker 1: a year one starter. They go and get Antonio Morrison.

194
00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,560
Speaker 1: You know. That kind of got them through last season,

195
00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,720
Speaker 1: especially in those early down packages. But the one detriment

196
00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:34,960
Speaker 1: to that I felt was that you weren't able to

197
00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,560
Speaker 1: get Burks as much defensive experience as you probably want

198
00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,360
Speaker 1: for a third round draft pick. The game has changed

199
00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,160
Speaker 1: a little bit. We'll see exactly what Mike Petton wants

200
00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:46,200
Speaker 1: to do with a healthy Burks, With a healthy you know,

201
00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,400
Speaker 1: Blake Martinez. Does he use as many safeties and defensive

202
00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,840
Speaker 1: backs as he did last year in the box next

203
00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:57,440
Speaker 1: to Martinez that we've talked about, but as much familiarity

204
00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,360
Speaker 1: that those two can develop together, it's going to be

205
00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:02,680
Speaker 1: better for this defense and and seeing exactly who could

206
00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:04,880
Speaker 1: be the hybrid option. Those are things you always have

207
00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,120
Speaker 1: to weigh out. But the fact of the matter is Michael,

208
00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,880
Speaker 1: when they drafted or in Burke's, he was sold as

209
00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,440
Speaker 1: already one of those type of players. Yeah, and that's

210
00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:15,600
Speaker 1: obviously the goald I think the Packers have for him

211
00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,360
Speaker 1: in the long run. Yeah, I think Burke's is a

212
00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:22,000
Speaker 1: really intriguing player because one, he's smart. And I say

213
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,240
Speaker 1: that not just because he went to Vanderbilt, but I've

214
00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:27,199
Speaker 1: talked to him a couple of times, and this is

215
00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,640
Speaker 1: a really really sharp guy. He's very self aware. He

216
00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:35,240
Speaker 1: knows what his limitations were last year, and not just

217
00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,640
Speaker 1: because of the injury, but you know why he wasn't

218
00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,280
Speaker 1: quite able to maybe get the playing time on defense

219
00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,760
Speaker 1: that he wanted. To his credit, he didn't sit and

220
00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,200
Speaker 1: sulk about it and all that. He was asked to

221
00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:47,280
Speaker 1: be a big time player on special teams and he

222
00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:49,920
Speaker 1: was one of the leaders on special teams in terms

223
00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:53,080
Speaker 1: of coverage, tackles and whatnot for this team. Now it's

224
00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:55,360
Speaker 1: it's a year two for him. It's time to take

225
00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,079
Speaker 1: the next step. And you know this is this is

226
00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,200
Speaker 1: a guy who's motivate it in a hungry he doesn't

227
00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,079
Speaker 1: have to learn a new system this year because Mike

228
00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,160
Speaker 1: Petton is back. There's a lot of things that could

229
00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,040
Speaker 1: that point to, you know, the arrow pointing up, so

230
00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:12,000
Speaker 1: to speak, for a guy like Burke. And we've talked

231
00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:13,760
Speaker 1: so much about this, but when you look at how

232
00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,520
Speaker 1: Blake Martinez made that year one a year to jump.

233
00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,199
Speaker 1: There were questions about Blake coming off his rookie year

234
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,000
Speaker 1: about if he could be an every down player, if

235
00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:22,720
Speaker 1: he was going to be able to actually beat out

236
00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,520
Speaker 1: Jake Ryan and Joe Thomas for regular playing time in

237
00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,280
Speaker 1: the defense. He did that and once he got in

238
00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,680
Speaker 1: that role, and once he you know, he caught up

239
00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,080
Speaker 1: to the speed of the game, he proved that he

240
00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,679
Speaker 1: could handle in every down role in this defense. I

241
00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:37,679
Speaker 1: think Burke's is in the same situation. Now. This is

242
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,199
Speaker 1: a really big camp for him, really big opportunity. You

243
00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,520
Speaker 1: want to get him as much work as possible, and

244
00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,720
Speaker 1: behind him, you still have James Crawford, who was a

245
00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:48,480
Speaker 1: special team's ace for him last year. Ty Summers coming in.

246
00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,160
Speaker 1: I wanted to show that he belongs. Brady Shelton is

247
00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,760
Speaker 1: a six five inside linebacker that finished last year on

248
00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,440
Speaker 1: the practice squad. So there are a lot of different

249
00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,240
Speaker 1: options to push those guys. And also with keeping in

250
00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,080
Speaker 1: mind you know some the special team attributes as as well.

251
00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:04,760
Speaker 1: You may not have a fourth or fifth year veteran

252
00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:06,839
Speaker 1: that got brought into the mix, but I still think

253
00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,000
Speaker 1: the competition is there amongst those guys. Yeah, alrighty, Well,

254
00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,120
Speaker 1: a little bit of sponsored business here west the Green

255
00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,840
Speaker 1: Bay Packers get ready for game day with the powerful

256
00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,880
Speaker 1: noise canceling technology of Bo's Quiet Comfort thirty five headphones.

257
00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:22,760
Speaker 1: To learn more at www dot bos dot com, Slash

258
00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,520
Speaker 1: Packers Bows, the official headphones of the Green Bay Packers,

259
00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:28,360
Speaker 1: and at Homer Here in the stands, we all know

260
00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:30,120
Speaker 1: that Green Bay fans give it their all and that

261
00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,280
Speaker 1: takes a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl

262
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,440
Speaker 1: of Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness

263
00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,959
Speaker 1: of Packers fans everywhere. Try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup.

264
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,679
Speaker 1: Just visit your local supermarket and asked for Campbell's Chunky

265
00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:46,440
Speaker 1: superficial suit partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, staying

266
00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,560
Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball with regards to

267
00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:51,280
Speaker 1: O T A S. I think we're curious to see. Obviously,

268
00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:55,440
Speaker 1: get our first look at Rashawn Gary, first round draft

269
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,440
Speaker 1: pick out of Michigan, number twelve overall, see how he

270
00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,920
Speaker 1: fixs fits into this at outside linebacker with Zadarius Smith

271
00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:06,520
Speaker 1: and Preston Smith, the two free agent acquisitions, you have

272
00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:09,440
Speaker 1: Kyler Facro coming back at outside linebacker off of a

273
00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:13,800
Speaker 1: double digit sack season. As I said on our last show,

274
00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,040
Speaker 1: you can't read too much into what's going on in O.

275
00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:19,240
Speaker 1: T A s. But and these are the kinds of

276
00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,080
Speaker 1: things that we can't necessarily report on until you get

277
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,600
Speaker 1: to the games in the regular season. But we're gonna

278
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,479
Speaker 1: be keeping keeping an eye a little bit on personnel packages,

279
00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:32,400
Speaker 1: you know who in certain situations when they're doing eleven

280
00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,080
Speaker 1: on eleven, who's on the field in the front seven,

281
00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,320
Speaker 1: who's lining up inside, who's lining up outside, those kinds

282
00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:40,040
Speaker 1: of things. You and I just kind of make some

283
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,760
Speaker 1: notes in our notebook and then and then pull those

284
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:44,959
Speaker 1: back out in training camp and see where things stand.

285
00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:47,200
Speaker 1: You can't draw, as you mentioned, you can't draw an

286
00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:51,679
Speaker 1: overwhelming conclusions based on the three O T eight practices

287
00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,080
Speaker 1: that will be open to the media, even the you know,

288
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:56,720
Speaker 1: two or three mini camp practices there's just so much

289
00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,640
Speaker 1: going on. It's hard to actually draw too many conclusions

290
00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:02,160
Speaker 1: when guy are in shells. What I will say though,

291
00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,840
Speaker 1: going back, because that's just the theme of today's episode

292
00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,560
Speaker 1: as the two thirteen draft, that first camp practice was

293
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,559
Speaker 1: when Micah Hyde caught my eye and getting an idea

294
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,640
Speaker 1: of what he could do on the field, and how

295
00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:16,719
Speaker 1: smart he was and how instinctive he was, even when

296
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:18,679
Speaker 1: he didn't have the back knowledge of the defense at

297
00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,080
Speaker 1: his grasp. He was one of those guys that stood

298
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,600
Speaker 1: out to me. I think over the years, Mike, there

299
00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,240
Speaker 1: are guys, there are receivers. You know, your Davante Adams

300
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,560
Speaker 1: of the world. Adams got off to a great start

301
00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,560
Speaker 1: back in two thousand and fourteen. The next year, even

302
00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,560
Speaker 1: as difficult as that season was for him, Mike McCarthy

303
00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,720
Speaker 1: praised him for being their offseason m v P. This

304
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,160
Speaker 1: is a chance for the young guys, in particular for

305
00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,880
Speaker 1: me to to see those guys now going up against

306
00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,240
Speaker 1: the veterans on this roster and see how they look,

307
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,880
Speaker 1: see if they belong to, see if they they look

308
00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,320
Speaker 1: like they're in the right place. You're not looking for

309
00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:54,000
Speaker 1: anyone to beat David baktri in a pass rushing drill

310
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,800
Speaker 1: or to intercept Aaron Rodgers. But it's just trying to

311
00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:01,480
Speaker 1: get a better feel for what these guys are in

312
00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:05,200
Speaker 1: for with this league. And and that's always my biggest takeaway.

313
00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,360
Speaker 1: You know, you never write a insider like, oh, who's

314
00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,600
Speaker 1: today's m VP. It doesn't work like that, But it

315
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:13,600
Speaker 1: does give you a chance because I've seen it the

316
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,240
Speaker 1: other side too over the years, um to get an

317
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,280
Speaker 1: idea for you know, if these guys really belong here. Yeah,

318
00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,720
Speaker 1: I mean I think we may see. I mean, we

319
00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,240
Speaker 1: don't know exactly how these practices are going to be run.

320
00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,720
Speaker 1: But one thing, whenever there's the one on one pass rush,

321
00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,760
Speaker 1: past blocking drill, that always gets a lot of attention,

322
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,960
Speaker 1: but yet to me, when they're not in pads, it's

323
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,040
Speaker 1: hard to really put too much into that, you know,

324
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,880
Speaker 1: in in training camp, when it's full pads and full

325
00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,480
Speaker 1: gear and everything, I think those those one on ones

326
00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,680
Speaker 1: become a little bit more meaningful in terms of just

327
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,000
Speaker 1: seeing what a guy brings to the table. Receiver versus

328
00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,320
Speaker 1: defensive back is always the fun one right now, because yeah,

329
00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,320
Speaker 1: that one the pads and the full contact is not

330
00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:56,760
Speaker 1: as crucial to the evaluation part of it, I guess,

331
00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:58,640
Speaker 1: is what I'm trying to say, because with receivers you

332
00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,000
Speaker 1: can kind of get a feel for how to get

333
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:01,440
Speaker 1: in and out of their brakes a little bit, how

334
00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,280
Speaker 1: they come off the line of scrimmage, what kind of

335
00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:05,600
Speaker 1: techniques they're trying to use, what they might be good at,

336
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,640
Speaker 1: and the dbs with their hands, and how hands he

337
00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:10,280
Speaker 1: is a guy or is or is he able to

338
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,320
Speaker 1: mirror a guy and not commit the illegal contact or

339
00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,800
Speaker 1: the defensive holding exactly. Yeah, and also to throw one

340
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:18,640
Speaker 1: more thing out their quarterbacks. I mean, this has been

341
00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:21,080
Speaker 1: a couple of years where I mean, you go back

342
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,200
Speaker 1: to two thousand and fifteen, Brett Hunley didn't get off

343
00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,880
Speaker 1: to a great start, and then that kind of sort

344
00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:28,480
Speaker 1: of set the table for Scott Tolzine holding onto that job.

345
00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,440
Speaker 1: You go back to two years ago, I think Taysom

346
00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:33,200
Speaker 1: Hill shot right out of the gate and really started

347
00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,800
Speaker 1: to catch some attention. Tim Boyle. This is where the

348
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,720
Speaker 1: fat the fascination started with him last year when you

349
00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,360
Speaker 1: saw the ball come out of his hands with the

350
00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,040
Speaker 1: amount of energy that it did. So, yeah, there's still

351
00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,520
Speaker 1: stuff to be drawn from, but you take everything with

352
00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,960
Speaker 1: a grain of salt, but you also kind of keeping

353
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,360
Speaker 1: that grain of salt in their back in your mind

354
00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:52,080
Speaker 1: once you get to July. Yeah, that's for sure. Quickly

355
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,640
Speaker 1: before we go with regards to special teams, Um, Sam

356
00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,760
Speaker 1: Ficken is here on the roster as a second kicker

357
00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:02,960
Speaker 1: alongside Mason Usby. Um, but I think you and I

358
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,800
Speaker 1: have talked about if there's a specialist that we're really

359
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:07,840
Speaker 1: going to have our eye on here through the off season,

360
00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,280
Speaker 1: certainly through training camp. It's j K. Scott, the second

361
00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,520
Speaker 1: year punter. This is a guy who could really really

362
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,360
Speaker 1: make a difference as the Packers look to take a

363
00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,639
Speaker 1: big step on special teams. In twenty nineteen, ye as

364
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,119
Speaker 1: I wrote an insider in box for Tuesday two. You

365
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:26,400
Speaker 1: look at what last year with was that Michael Dixon

366
00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,239
Speaker 1: did for Seattle going in there and the weapon that

367
00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:30,919
Speaker 1: he became as a as a rookie. It was an

368
00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,000
Speaker 1: all pro I believe right out of the gate. J K. Scott,

369
00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,320
Speaker 1: for my money, as every bit as talented as he is.

370
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:38,880
Speaker 1: I think I think you look at the leg power,

371
00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:40,880
Speaker 1: you look at the things he did last year during

372
00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:42,840
Speaker 1: the summer, Mike, he had a great camp last year,

373
00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,159
Speaker 1: he had a great off season program. It was just

374
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,760
Speaker 1: and he he started his rookie season the first month.

375
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,600
Speaker 1: For six weeks he was really really good. He started

376
00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:52,920
Speaker 1: to I talked to him after the season was over.

377
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,680
Speaker 1: It was it was almost a conditioning issue. He felt

378
00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,800
Speaker 1: he physically was wearing down a little bit towards the

379
00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:00,840
Speaker 1: end of the year. So he's gear ring everything this

380
00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:05,720
Speaker 1: offseason to getting ready for all twenty games, four preseason,

381
00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,679
Speaker 1: sixteen regular season, and potentially beyond. The Packers made a

382
00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,399
Speaker 1: heavy investment last year when they drafted him in the

383
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,600
Speaker 1: fifth round. They took Hunter Bradley in the seventh. They

384
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,280
Speaker 1: didn't add competition at either of those spots. They expect

385
00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,760
Speaker 1: those two guys to solidify themselves in those roles and

386
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,760
Speaker 1: become guys that can be here for ten and twelve

387
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,200
Speaker 1: years and on. You know, the other side of things,

388
00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,240
Speaker 1: Mason Crosby still doing his thing and you're thirteen. They

389
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,480
Speaker 1: bring in Fick in, We'll see how much of a

390
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:31,840
Speaker 1: real competition that is or how much that is just

391
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:33,680
Speaker 1: trying to take some of the work off of Crosby

392
00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,480
Speaker 1: throughout the summer. Regardless, though, I'm sure if you talk

393
00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,000
Speaker 1: to Ficking, any chance a kicker can have to get

394
00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,359
Speaker 1: into a camp to be able to kick in preseason games.

395
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,240
Speaker 1: That is super valuable because if you're not out there

396
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:47,359
Speaker 1: doing it, if you're not on a roster doing it,

397
00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:49,959
Speaker 1: it's easy to lose track of you. So for Ficking

398
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,000
Speaker 1: coming in, he had a couple of cups of coffee

399
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,199
Speaker 1: with the Rams. This is big for him to be

400
00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,480
Speaker 1: able to get that opportunity to come in and show

401
00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:58,159
Speaker 1: that he's still is something a guy that could kick

402
00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,880
Speaker 1: in this league for the foreseeable future. And I will

403
00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,240
Speaker 1: certainly plenty to watch. And pretty soon we got to

404
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:05,680
Speaker 1: get out to the practice field, so we're gonna wrap

405
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,679
Speaker 1: up this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow

406
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,480
Speaker 1: all of our coverage of the team all through O,

407
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,600
Speaker 1: T A S and the mandatory minicamp coming up later

408
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:18,040
Speaker 1: in June on Packers dot com. Subscribe to us like

409
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,040
Speaker 1: us on podcast services. We've got the podcast. If you

410
00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,320
Speaker 1: don't like looking at our faces while we talk, you

411
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,800
Speaker 1: can just listen to us. That's okay too. On Twitter,

412
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,280
Speaker 1: he's at west Hot I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers

413
00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:31,800
Speaker 1: for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See

414
00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:32,320
Speaker 1: you next time.