Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford. He is the one and only
Speaker 1: West Hodgoods. We have survived the Winner Storm Destiny, they
Speaker 1: called it all the snow that's been piled on the
Speaker 1: state of Wisconsin. But we are here in the lambeau
Speaker 1: Field Studios to continue our discussion that we started on
Speaker 1: our last show with regards to Matt Lafleur's coaching staff.
Speaker 1: We ran through the offensive coaches last time. We'll do
Speaker 1: defense and special teams this time. And the way it
Speaker 1: shakes down west again. On the defensive side of the ball,
Speaker 1: a mixture of some holdovers and some new faces, so
Speaker 1: quickly the rundown is sticking around Jerry Montgomery on the
Speaker 1: defensive line, Jason Simmons with the defensive backs, and Ryan Downard,
Speaker 1: who was a quality control coach on the defensive side
Speaker 1: last year, is the assistant defensive backs coach to Simmons.
Speaker 1: Then the new faces Kirk Oliver Dotty at inside linebacker,
Speaker 1: Mike Smith with the outside linebackers, the Packers and the
Speaker 1: flour deciding to split those jobs position wise into two
Speaker 1: different coaching positions, and then to defensive quality control coaches
Speaker 1: in Wendell Davis and Christian Parker. So you decide where
Speaker 1: you want to start here with that defensive Rundown West,
Speaker 1: what intrigues you the most? I think the first, first,
Speaker 1: and foremost. In the last episode I talked about Ben
Speaker 1: Sermons getting him back, I thought was a major plus.
Speaker 1: I think being able to get Jerry Montgomery back with
Speaker 1: that defensive line group seemed like a no brainer to me.
Speaker 1: Mike Patton certainly had an idea of what he thought
Speaker 1: of his staff and what adjustments he wanted to make,
Speaker 1: and I think when you look at the season that
Speaker 1: they had with their defensive line, you can talk until
Speaker 1: the Cows come home about Kenny Clark and all of
Speaker 1: it would be worthy. But the fact that he was
Speaker 1: able to get you know, Tyler Lancaster playing the way
Speaker 1: he did it late in the season, I thought I
Speaker 1: and Lawry made one of the biggest jumps on the
Speaker 1: entire roster um showing that he's more than just a
Speaker 1: five tech defensive end. He can play three tech. Knows
Speaker 1: there's different ways that you can utilize him. I think
Speaker 1: he's going to be a weapon in Green Bay for
Speaker 1: years to come. So I I tip my cap to
Speaker 1: the job he did there. Certainly, Jason Simmons has been
Speaker 1: around for a number of years, got an opportunity last
Speaker 1: year to be with the secondary. Now he gets to
Speaker 1: run that room. But but let's get down to the
Speaker 1: meat and potatoes here. I think the one thing the
Speaker 1: Packers really, I don't want to say struggled with, but
Speaker 1: but one of the things that was sort of inconsistent
Speaker 1: was the outside linebackers was the pressure. Now, they did
Speaker 1: end up setting some records in terms of sacks, but
Speaker 1: I think looking for the overall more consistent push. Can
Speaker 1: you look at Mike Smith, his history with Mike Petton
Speaker 1: coming in taking over that room now in Green Bay
Speaker 1: had a phenomenal year last year, d Ford having a
Speaker 1: breakthrough season in Kansas City. Now he gets to try
Speaker 1: his hand with Kyler Facral and whatever. This room is
Speaker 1: gonna look like they're in two thousand nineteen. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: that was it was kind of funny. I have to
Speaker 1: admit when I first saw the announcement that Mike Smith
Speaker 1: was joined the Packers coaching staff, my MND immediately went
Speaker 1: to the former Atlanta head coach Tampa Bay defensive coordinator
Speaker 1: like Holy cow, he's not retiring different different Mike Smith
Speaker 1: in this case. But you mentioned it last year with
Speaker 1: Kansas City d Ford having a career season with the
Speaker 1: pressure off the edge there, I know Ford ended up
Speaker 1: having that extremely unfortunate offsides lining up off sides penalty
Speaker 1: that wiped out really was the play that was going
Speaker 1: to send the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: But then, as I mentioned, splitting the jobs outside linebacker
Speaker 1: and inside linebacker again here Kirk Ola A. Dotty, a
Speaker 1: long time Washington Redskins assistant coach, actually two different stints
Speaker 1: in Washington, if I'm not mistaken. He was at the
Speaker 1: University of Georgia in between there, but um but had
Speaker 1: cross paths with Matt Lafleur when la Fleur was on
Speaker 1: was working with Kyle Shanahan and Mike Shanahan in Washington,
Speaker 1: so certainly some connections there. The other thing I thought
Speaker 1: was interesting about all of a. Dotty when I was
Speaker 1: looking at his bio, he was a wide receiver at
Speaker 1: Perdue from ninety three to ninety six, which I think
Speaker 1: I'd have to go back and look for sure, but
Speaker 1: I think that's right before Drew Brees got to prey you.
Speaker 1: So his timing was maybe just a little offer. He
Speaker 1: could have had a greater NFL career as a player,
Speaker 1: but he certainly made a name for himself as an
Speaker 1: assistant for four years older than Drew Brees, and unfortunately
Speaker 1: wasn't able to cross paths with him. But here's the
Speaker 1: other thing I really liked to I I go back,
Speaker 1: and I have a shorter time frame to work off
Speaker 1: of than you do when you look at the structure.
Speaker 1: But I felt like some of the better years the
Speaker 1: Packers had with Dom Caper's defense was when they had
Speaker 1: a tried and true outside linebackers coach in Kevin Green,
Speaker 1: and they had Winston Moss handling their inside backers. I
Speaker 1: see a lot of that with this current set up
Speaker 1: with Mike Smith and Olive Dotti and and the other
Speaker 1: thing is too, is that both of these guys have
Speaker 1: been pretty accomplished in their careers. I mean, you look
Speaker 1: at some of the success that the Washington had in
Speaker 1: the two thousand's and more recently. I mean, Mike Smith,
Speaker 1: what an interesting journey he's been on to be a player.
Speaker 1: Was his position coach was Petton. He ends up retiring
Speaker 1: because of injuries and oh eight gets a coaching internship
Speaker 1: with the Jets when Rex, Ryan and Petton were there,
Speaker 1: ends up being his outside linebackers coach a year later.
Speaker 1: That's a pretty big jump. And then certainly to to
Speaker 1: move around, went to his album Out of Texas Tech,
Speaker 1: found his way to Kansas City and now reunited here
Speaker 1: and then from Olive Dotti's circumstances, has been in Washington.
Speaker 1: It's his only NFL job for sixteen years. We were
Speaker 1: talking about James Camping in the remarkable run that he
Speaker 1: was on in Green Bay and and Kirk had a
Speaker 1: very similar run with Washington for you know, almost two decades. Well,
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting to see with Oliver Dotty and what
Speaker 1: group he's going to be working with here in Green Bay,
Speaker 1: becaus we all know about Blake Martinez and the progress
Speaker 1: that he's made over the past couple of years. Or
Speaker 1: in Burke's third round draft pick last year, didn't have
Speaker 1: the rookie season that he was hoping for. That shoulder
Speaker 1: injury in the preseason kind of just knocked his whole
Speaker 1: progress off kilter in some respects, you might say, and
Speaker 1: Burke's ended up playing a lot more on special teams
Speaker 1: not as much on defense as the season went along,
Speaker 1: but that injury led to Antonio Morrison uh coming over
Speaker 1: from the Indianapolis Colts. He certainly made an impression as
Speaker 1: one of those hard hitter, run stopping type of inside linebackers.
Speaker 1: And and then um, we'll see obviously what happens with
Speaker 1: Jake Ryan. He's coming back from the A c L.
Speaker 1: But he's also on an expiring contract with his rookie
Speaker 1: deal from being a twenty fifteen draft pick now expiring.
Speaker 1: So uh, some potentially some some moving and shaking, some
Speaker 1: shifting around there as far as what the Packers are
Speaker 1: going to do it inside linebacker as well as that
Speaker 1: outside linebacker with Factral coming off of a career season
Speaker 1: with the double digit sacks. But a lot of questions
Speaker 1: as to, Okay, what's gonna happen with Clay Matthews now
Speaker 1: and and Nick Perry and and all of the uncertainty
Speaker 1: that goes into you know, how this linebacking corps is
Speaker 1: going to shape up in ten You sandwiched a gem
Speaker 1: right in the middle there, and I think it's the
Speaker 1: biggest point to make here. I think about you know,
Speaker 1: Ben's sermons when he came in and he had Eddie
Speaker 1: Lacy and James Starts at first year. But let's be real,
Speaker 1: it was really when they drafted Aaron Jones and Jimal Williams.
Speaker 1: It's like, Okay, this is your assignment. Get the most
Speaker 1: out of these players. I look at a live a
Speaker 1: Dotti getting or in Burkes. That's his big assignment right now. Yes,
Speaker 1: you want to maximize what you have in Blake Martinez.
Speaker 1: You want to see depending on how all this other
Speaker 1: stuff shakes out with Morrison and Ryan, but Berks was
Speaker 1: a big investment. That was a third round draft pick. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's that's in the draft. He's still relatively new to
Speaker 1: the position, considering that he played half of his career
Speaker 1: as a defensive back as a hybrid safety, so he's
Speaker 1: learning the ins and outs of being an every down
Speaker 1: inside linebacker in this league. I really wonder Michael and
Speaker 1: again we'll have and you never know, everything is hypothetical,
Speaker 1: but they have those warmups in Oakland. Burks hurts his shoulder,
Speaker 1: he ends up missing a month, and we've seen so
Speaker 1: many times how that can set guys back and just
Speaker 1: not being allowing them. I think Mike Daniels in two
Speaker 1: thousand twelve. I mean, Mike Daniels finished the year strong,
Speaker 1: but he was a scratcherler in the season when he
Speaker 1: was coming back off the labor surgery. So right for
Speaker 1: for Olive Dotti here and we'll we'll hopefully get a
Speaker 1: chance to talk to him soon and skit what his
Speaker 1: thoughts are on Burks. I just look at that is
Speaker 1: that is his primary assignment right now, getting the most
Speaker 1: out of that draft pick and getting to be a
Speaker 1: contributor in this defense. Yeah, and for what it's worth,
Speaker 1: I had an interesting conversation with Burke's back in January
Speaker 1: the final open locker room. We got a chance to
Speaker 1: talk to the players before they all dispersed for their
Speaker 1: off season, and and I got a chance to talk
Speaker 1: to Burke's one on one, and and hey, he he
Speaker 1: wasn't He didn't sugarcoat anything. He knows his rookie season
Speaker 1: didn't go the way he wanted it to. The injury
Speaker 1: certainly was a factor, but he also felt that when
Speaker 1: he got his opportunities, he should have been able to
Speaker 1: do more with them. And he flat out said to me,
Speaker 1: or I should say, I asked him a very direct question,
Speaker 1: do you feel like you need to come in your
Speaker 1: second season and prove why the Packers made the draft
Speaker 1: investment they did in you. He said absolutely that that
Speaker 1: is the motivating force for him right now. He knows
Speaker 1: the investment the Packers made in him, and he's out
Speaker 1: to prove that he was worth it. Now. The other
Speaker 1: thing I will say, and it was interesting because I
Speaker 1: don't like to draw comparisons with players very often, but
Speaker 1: in this case, I will just say this, and talking
Speaker 1: to Burke's, the biggest thing that he felt was that
Speaker 1: when he was out there on defense, that he was
Speaker 1: still in that thinking too much stage and not just
Speaker 1: reacting and playing well. It's a lot of what we
Speaker 1: heard from Blake Martinez after these rookie year as well.
Speaker 1: And Blake Martinez went to Stanford or in Burkes went
Speaker 1: to Vanderbilt. These are these are smart guys who they
Speaker 1: can process a lot mentally, but sometimes that can be
Speaker 1: to your detriment in this in the sense of really
Speaker 1: getting up to the speed of the NFL game when
Speaker 1: you come from the college level. So as disappointing as Burke,
Speaker 1: as disappointed as Burke's was in his rookie season, I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody should give up on him by any means,
Speaker 1: I think he's one of those year two players to
Speaker 1: watch with the Green Bay Pack. Here's what we sometimes
Speaker 1: forget with having Blake Martinez having two back to back
Speaker 1: tackle seasons. We went into that opener in two thousand
Speaker 1: seventeen not knowing he is gonna be a three down linebacker.
Speaker 1: That during throughout training camp, throughout the preseason, it looked
Speaker 1: like Joe Thomas was going to be the third down linebacker,
Speaker 1: and it looked like Blake Martinez might be in there
Speaker 1: with Jake Ryan on first and second down. Lo and Behold,
Speaker 1: he ends up staying in on third downs and then
Speaker 1: he's off to the races and running at One more
Speaker 1: point I want to make about Burke's too, that I
Speaker 1: think is important to make is that when you have
Speaker 1: a season like he had, it's sometimes we get so
Speaker 1: caught up and guys just jumping in right away and
Speaker 1: having that jyr Alexander type season, there is a significant
Speaker 1: learning curve. Regardless of what your your intellectual aptitude is,
Speaker 1: you have to be able to catch up to the
Speaker 1: speed of the game. That's the challenge that Burke is.
Speaker 1: Burke's is tackling right now and the other thing that
Speaker 1: probably didn't help him too, is with Blake Martinez being
Speaker 1: sort of entrenched in that three down role, Burk's skill
Speaker 1: set probably lends itself more to being a coverage linebacker
Speaker 1: in terms of his base. I'm not saying he can't
Speaker 1: play first and second down, but yeah, makes sense that
Speaker 1: you're going to have more of that that road grading
Speaker 1: type inside linebacker and on first and second down like Morrison,
Speaker 1: who's gonna get after the ball carrier. That's where Burkes
Speaker 1: needs to make that jump and showing that he can
Speaker 1: be a well rounded athlete. Yeah. One one other thing
Speaker 1: I want to run past you on defense before we
Speaker 1: shift gears to special teams to defensive quality control coaches
Speaker 1: Rndall Davis and Christian Parker. We haven't heard from Matt
Speaker 1: la Fleur about his decision making process or how all
Speaker 1: this came together. Do you have any kind of any idea.
Speaker 1: I've never seen in my thirteen years here with the Packers,
Speaker 1: I've never seen two quality control coaches on the same
Speaker 1: side of the ball. I'm just curious if you have
Speaker 1: any any insight into the rationale or the reasoning perhaps
Speaker 1: behind that. I can only read the tea leaves here.
Speaker 1: I did find it interesting that both of these gentlemen,
Speaker 1: Wendell Davis and Christian Parker, both younger guys. They both
Speaker 1: come from an analytics background, so I wonder how much
Speaker 1: that could potentially be incorporated in this in addition to
Speaker 1: having experience as defensive coaches, and these these are SEC
Speaker 1: guys through and through. By the way, Wendell Davis played
Speaker 1: linebacker at Arkansas, was a graduate assistant at A on
Speaker 1: a very successful University of Georgia team, and then Parker
Speaker 1: coming from Texas A and M Yeah exactly, then all
Speaker 1: also got you know, some experience there at some other
Speaker 1: spots and and being able to round themselves out. The
Speaker 1: thing that that really jumps off the page to me
Speaker 1: here is that last year Ryan Downer was a quality
Speaker 1: control but they also had Scott McCurley as a defensive
Speaker 1: assistant in the thought in just the definition of it, Yes,
Speaker 1: it is a little unique, but you always typically have
Speaker 1: those guys that can be sort of you know, pivot
Speaker 1: and help out different groups. I think it's gonna be
Speaker 1: interesting to see how both of these young guys developed, because,
Speaker 1: as we've seen, if Matt Lafleur follows sort of the
Speaker 1: prototype that's been here in Green Bay and you never know. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, Luke Getzi was a quality control coach. I
Speaker 1: mean you had uh Jerry fontno number yours quality control.
Speaker 1: I want to say that even Ben mc McAdoo was
Speaker 1: at one point. I mean they work their way up
Speaker 1: the ladder. This is the internship to get your foot
Speaker 1: in the door, take advantage of it. Yeah, alrighty well,
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Speaker 1: Official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers Okay, special
Speaker 1: teams West Sean meninga new special teams coordinator coming to
Speaker 1: the Packers from Vanderbilt, but also was a longtime assistant
Speaker 1: special teams coach for the Cleveland Browns, and that's where
Speaker 1: he worked under Mike Petton when Petton was the head coach. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Maurice Strayton Um sticking around as an assistant special teams coach.
Speaker 1: And then an addition that I don't believe the Packers
Speaker 1: ever had in the McCarthy era, and that's a quality
Speaker 1: control coach specifically for special teams. And that's rain A.
Speaker 1: Stewart who is coming with men and from Vanderbilt worked
Speaker 1: worked him in a similar capacity there. Stewart actually Um
Speaker 1: does have some NFL experience coaching with the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 1: And then was a five year defensive back, was a
Speaker 1: fifth round pickback in had a five year career as
Speaker 1: a dB in the NFL. So UM with Menenga, I'll
Speaker 1: tell you this for those I don't have the time
Speaker 1: or the space to go through it all. You want
Speaker 1: to look at the true nomad coaching life, uh, constantly
Speaker 1: being in transition and moving around and really moving up
Speaker 1: the ladder. Sean Meninga. This is the guy who coached
Speaker 1: at a community college, he coached at a Baptist college.
Speaker 1: The list of places that he has coached at and
Speaker 1: now here he is working his way all the way
Speaker 1: up to being the special teams coordinator of the Green
Speaker 1: Bay Packers. We don't need to go over chapter and
Speaker 1: versus to what the Packers need to fix on special teams.
Speaker 1: It was a rough year in teen all around in
Speaker 1: that respect, but um, this is this is one of
Speaker 1: the coaches who is going to be watched very closely
Speaker 1: because of the Packers struggles in that area last year. Yeah. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: I mean they need to make a big significant stuff
Speaker 1: forward in that area. And and certainly the the Rick
Speaker 1: Goslin ratings were what they were. But the thing I
Speaker 1: really like about Meninga here, there's also a tie in
Speaker 1: with Stuart Stewart was his special team's quality control coach
Speaker 1: at Vanderbilt the last I think last season, and also
Speaker 1: had some other exploits that he had with Vanderbilt. So
Speaker 1: there's even a connection there in terms of why you know,
Speaker 1: this gentleman is getting the opportunity with the special team's
Speaker 1: quality control the Packers actually have done over the past,
Speaker 1: they've had three coaches in that room. If you remember
Speaker 1: the year that Mike McCarthy stepped away from play calling,
Speaker 1: he actually considered himself the third guy in that room
Speaker 1: that season. Uh, you know, Joe Witt assisted with with
Speaker 1: punt returns. Jason Simmons, even when he went over to secondary,
Speaker 1: still did some stuff. So it's not completely out of
Speaker 1: the box to have three coaches. But I think what's
Speaker 1: important is you have three guys that are all dedicated
Speaker 1: towards it. I think that shows that Matt Lafleur has
Speaker 1: as they're taking this seriously. They want to be able
Speaker 1: to improve in that area. It's also gonna be interesting
Speaker 1: to see the moves they make here and and they
Speaker 1: structure this thing. We can only go off of just
Speaker 1: a little bit that we know about Meningah. Danny Vitally,
Speaker 1: the fullback that the Packers brought up to the active
Speaker 1: roster the end of the last season, spoke very highly
Speaker 1: of him on Twitter from their time together with the
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns. Um Certainly Mike Petton, I'm guessing, also put
Speaker 1: in a good word there with with their past experience.
Speaker 1: So special teams coaches are never ones that you're gonna
Speaker 1: have like ample amount of headlines to go back and read,
Speaker 1: but it does seem like this is a guy that's
Speaker 1: worked his way up the ladder and it really seems
Speaker 1: to be well positioned for this opportunity. Yeah, and this
Speaker 1: is his first time at the coordinator level at the NFL.
Speaker 1: But make no mistake, as I mentioned, with all of
Speaker 1: his coaching stops along the way, this is a guy
Speaker 1: who's been a head coach. He's been a defensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: I believe. I don't quote me on that, I'd have
Speaker 1: to check, but he is. He has been a position coach,
Speaker 1: a coordinator, at head coach at some level somewhere along
Speaker 1: his career. He's pretty much held just about any job
Speaker 1: you could hold on a football coaching staff at the
Speaker 1: college or at least the college or the NFL level.
Speaker 1: So extremely experienced coach who worked you were just calling
Speaker 1: him up. Worked for Chris Tabor, special teams coordinator for
Speaker 1: a number of years in Cleveland, and Meningo was his
Speaker 1: assistant and table really accomplished and well thought of in
Speaker 1: those circles. So to be able to, you know, work
Speaker 1: off of him a little bit. The other thing I
Speaker 1: like too, and this is nothing against ron Zook certainly
Speaker 1: had ample experience too, but I think there is something
Speaker 1: to be said for guys that have kind of climbed
Speaker 1: the ladder that they have and had chances to work
Speaker 1: in different special teams units. It doesn't have to be
Speaker 1: special teams, but any type of unit. Before stepping into
Speaker 1: that job, you look at the litany of people that
Speaker 1: he's worked with in the different stops he's had. You
Speaker 1: gain knowledge, you gain an appreciation, and I also like
Speaker 1: the fact that he's coming from the college ranks, fresh
Speaker 1: out of the college ranks. Considering the way the Packers
Speaker 1: typically historically traditionally have built their special teams, you have
Speaker 1: to be able to get the most and be able
Speaker 1: to reach those first and second year players. Now maybe
Speaker 1: they add that Jared Bush type veteran, a stalwart that
Speaker 1: can help galvanize that unit unit. I think it would
Speaker 1: be beneficial for them. But at the same time, you
Speaker 1: have eleven guys, and those eleven guys and special teams
Speaker 1: typically aren't Davante Adams, so you have to be able
Speaker 1: to communicate with them and you know, go with the
Speaker 1: flow and the punches. That was one area I think
Speaker 1: the Packers just came up short this past year. They
Speaker 1: had injuries, they had to move positions around, and they
Speaker 1: just weren't able to keep that special teams up to
Speaker 1: the level of need to be. At the other thing
Speaker 1: you hope for for the Packer's sake as well, maybe
Speaker 1: to get a little bit more consistency with their return units.
Speaker 1: They had to cycle in a lot of guys, particularly
Speaker 1: on punt returns. If you get Trevor Davis healthy or
Speaker 1: you find another candidate for that position, I feel you
Speaker 1: go back year after year. That's when the Packers have
Speaker 1: been at their strongest. Yeah, I agree with you, and
Speaker 1: I think we'll see how it shakes out in terms
Speaker 1: of maybe finding a consistent return or somebody that you
Speaker 1: can rely on, somebody that the whole return unit, both
Speaker 1: punt and kickoff ken can rely on and count on,
Speaker 1: and they know they know who's back there, they know
Speaker 1: how he likes to do things and all of that.
Speaker 1: So I think that will be a factor. But to
Speaker 1: piggyback off of your comment earlier about or in Burke's
Speaker 1: and sort of him being a key assignment on the
Speaker 1: defensive side in terms of trying to raise his game,
Speaker 1: I look at j K. Scott, the fifth round punner
Speaker 1: out of Alabama, sort of the same way. He didn't
Speaker 1: have a bad rookie season, but it wasn't probably the
Speaker 1: rookie season at the end of the day statistically that
Speaker 1: he was hoping for. He was another guy I talked
Speaker 1: to on that final open locker room day and he
Speaker 1: he all but admitted that from a physical standpoint, he
Speaker 1: wore down a little bit as as the season went along,
Speaker 1: and that's not unusual for rookies. And I know everybody
Speaker 1: might be saying, well, he's just the punter. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: there is something to be said for monitoring the reps
Speaker 1: and and you know, and pacing yourself, um with that
Speaker 1: skill throughout all what essentially is twenty games because he's
Speaker 1: the preseason games are no picnic for a rookie trying
Speaker 1: to you know, make his way in the NFL and
Speaker 1: get used to the bright lights and all of that
Speaker 1: kind of stuff. So J. K. Scott had to go
Speaker 1: through all that, and by the time he got to
Speaker 1: the end of the twenty games, he was physically a
Speaker 1: little bit worn down. And the results at the end
Speaker 1: of the season we're not what we saw back in
Speaker 1: September and it wasn't just because of the weather. The
Speaker 1: weather certainly is a factor, but the j K. Scott
Speaker 1: that we were seeing in September and October, there was
Speaker 1: a little bit of a fade there. And and he
Speaker 1: knows from a physical conditioning standpoint, it's on him to
Speaker 1: maintain his body at a certain level throughout the season.
Speaker 1: But I'm also curious to see, with with some of
Speaker 1: the changes in the coaching staff and whatnot, and with j. K.
Speaker 1: Scott's maturity, if he becomes the punter that the Packers
Speaker 1: are certainly counting on when they spent a fifth round
Speaker 1: draft pick on The question was asked to me an
Speaker 1: inbox at the end of last week looking at the
Speaker 1: kicker position with Mason Crosby and at what point and
Speaker 1: if they end up having to replace him. And I
Speaker 1: also made the point that Mason Crosby's thirty four, you
Speaker 1: have an inventory running around heye at forty six and
Speaker 1: still kicking, but and just signed another contract. I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 1: But but when you make a move, when you bring
Speaker 1: in someone new at a skill position, I should say,
Speaker 1: a specialist position, do you look veteran, do you look
Speaker 1: free agency, or do you go the draft. I think
Speaker 1: the Packers made the right move and going towards j K.
Speaker 1: Scott using a draft pick to try solidifying a position
Speaker 1: that has been sort of an upheaval here the last
Speaker 1: four or five years. But the thing you have to
Speaker 1: understand what that investment is. You're dealing with the twenty
Speaker 1: one year old man that had to go through the
Speaker 1: combine process, had to go through the pro day process,
Speaker 1: had to get himself position to be a fifth round
Speaker 1: draft pick, and then, oh, by the way, a week
Speaker 1: after you get to Green Bay, Justin Vogel has gone
Speaker 1: You're the guy taking all the reps the rest of
Speaker 1: the season. It's not an excuse. You have to be
Speaker 1: able to adapt, you have to be able to improve.
Speaker 1: But I just think with an offseason program kind of
Speaker 1: focused on that, the strength side of things, a big
Speaker 1: frame to work off of. We saw the leg Mike,
Speaker 1: the leg talents. They're all training camp along. How much
Speaker 1: for retweeting about that. Just had to do it in
Speaker 1: games now, right, Yeah, there's no question about it. And
Speaker 1: it's about consistency across all the special teams. With regards
Speaker 1: to cutting down on the penalties. We talked about the
Speaker 1: return game and what what some consistency could do there
Speaker 1: in terms of field position, And yeah, when you get
Speaker 1: right down to it, if you look at the unit
Speaker 1: of the special teams as a whole, it was really
Speaker 1: the penalties that impacted the Packers in the field position
Speaker 1: game on both sides, both offensively and defensive. And to
Speaker 1: throw one more thing out there as far as just
Speaker 1: what to look for, I think this offseason training camp,
Speaker 1: I'm really curious what Meninga's philosophy is going to be
Speaker 1: with punting. The Packers for the last three years really
Speaker 1: focused on a lot of directional punting. Tim Mass, they
Speaker 1: had issues with it, Jacob Chum was somewhat inconsistent with it,
Speaker 1: just Justin Vogel was pretty shaky with it. J K.
Speaker 1: Scott has the type of accuracy to be able to
Speaker 1: do that. I'm curious though, if that is using him
Speaker 1: to the best of his ability, I'll be very interested
Speaker 1: to see. And maybe that's just the way things are
Speaker 1: right now. But if you look at like Michael Dixon
Speaker 1: and how some of these other guys are doing it,
Speaker 1: that hasn't always been the emphasis. So I'm very curious
Speaker 1: to watch that aspect of it. Yeah, and we'll probably
Speaker 1: get a sense of that once we get to say
Speaker 1: the training camp in the preseason game, so we'll we'll
Speaker 1: see what happens. But with that we will sign off,
Speaker 1: call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted,
Speaker 1: and we will next see you from the NFL Scouting
Speaker 1: Combine in Indianapolis in a couple of weeks. We're gonna
Speaker 1: be doing some unscripted shows from the Convention Center in
Speaker 1: in Indy. Will be there for a handful of days
Speaker 1: and uh talking everything and anything about prospects. And we're
Speaker 1: going to get a chance to get press conferences with
Speaker 1: Matt la Fleur, Bryan Goods, all sorts of news going
Speaker 1: on in Indie. Who needs to be in the Bahamas, Mike,
Speaker 1: when you can be in Indianapolis at the end of February,
Speaker 1: that's what I want to know. All Right, there we go,
Speaker 1: But that's when we will see you next. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: you can follow him on Twitter at west Hot I'm
Speaker 1: at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks
Speaker 1: for tuning in, everybody, and we will see you next time.