WEBVTT - #256 Packers Unscripted: Special stories 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:20.119 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.599 I am Mike Spofford. He is Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:27.560 to you here from our studios at lambeau Field and West. 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:31.000 As we continue to uh host the show here and 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:35.640 review things that happened in season, we'll be we'll be 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.280 doing this off and on here throughout the course of 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:42.760 the next several episodes in several weeks. One thing that uh, 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:45.320 you know, we talked about it as the season one along, 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.440 but we haven't necessarily crystallized it into a definitive list. 0:00:50.000 --> 0:00:52.080 But a lot of guys on this Packers team, as 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:54.520 disappointing as a seven and nine record was, I think, 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.520 qualify as surprise players in terms of how they jumped 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.760 out made a contribute, and that maybe wasn't expected when 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:05.080 training camp started with the ninety man roster and then 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:07.560 we saw it get whittled down after that. Who were 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.960 some guys that that you think would make that list 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:14.319 of surprise players for the Packers in it would be 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:16.560 so easy just to start off with Justin mccravi, but 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:18.560 you and I have talked so much about him or 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:20.600 during the stretch in which he started eight games in 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:22.880 an amazing story to come from where he came from. 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:25.240 We heard the story New Year's Eve. He's sitting there, 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.880 you know, as a bellman at a resort down in Orlando, 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:31.039 and the next thing you know, he's starting, you know, 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:33.720 meaningful football games for the Green Bay Packers. He'll have 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:35.800 a chance to compete for a starting job next year. 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.000 But then you look at a guy like Lucas Patrick, 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:39.640 and that's the guy I want to start with on 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:42.520 my accord um. And it comes back to this, Mike. 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.920 This is a guy that had one tryout opportunity coming 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:49.600 out of Duke one. It was almost a joke, the 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:53.120 fact that he sat there knowing he probably wasn't gonna 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:56.320 get drafted. But then the phone doesn't ring after the draft. 0:01:56.920 --> 0:01:59.600 And remember him telling me near the end of the season, 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.160 you know, as soon as that night ended, he went 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.480 down the street, got a burrito, came back to his room, 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:08.480 sat by himself and ate it and basically, you know, 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.079 just said, well, my football career is over. The next 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:13.080 day he gets a try out opportunity with the Packers. 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:14.919 But you and I both know we see that rookie 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:18.520 orientation camp every year Packers bring in like thirty thirty 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:23.760 five trial players they might sign to three. Well that year, 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:26.280 you know, he had such a great mindset he was 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:27.959 going to go there. He knew Kenny Clark was the 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.960 big rookie. He's gonna go up against him and he's 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.040 gonna block him to the best of his ability. He 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:36.040 didn't get the contract, but two weeks later the Packers 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.959 call him back and he participates in the offseason program. 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.600 The guy played his whole first first training camp with 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:43.840 a club on his hand, managed to get on the 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:47.040 practice squad for the year, came back this year against 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:51.400 really really long odds to make the roster, but thanks 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.880 to some injuries and some opportunity, he ends up accomplishing that. 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:57.480 And then Lucas Patrick ends up starting I think two 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:59.840 games for the Packers this year in a pinch. He 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.600 is a guy that I think surprised me because of 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:04.920 just how far he's come. You know, those trial players, Mike, 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:08.239 even if you get a contract, that still means you're 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.720 facing a really uphill battle to get on the roster, 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:13.240 and Lucas Patrick managed to do it. Yeah, it's interesting 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.799 when you as you just chronicled his journey for the 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.440 last couple of years because you and I both talked 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:21.880 to him. He's very well spoken, he's an intelligent guy, 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:25.280 a duke education. He could he could do go do 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:28.680 whatever he wanted to do. But history teacher. Yeah, the lure, 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.000 the lure of this game, and and and it's not 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.160 just the money. Yes, you can make more money playing 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:36.760 football than you can't teaching history. It's not just the money, though. 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:39.040 Lucas Patrick is one of these guys that it's you know, 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:41.920 there is the lure of the game. It's it's how 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:45.320 far can I go with these athletic skills that not 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.440 everybody has? And you talk about a guy that really 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:53.000 has has absolutely maxed out in in that regard to 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:55.440 to be where he is right now. He'll be a 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.840 legitimate candidate to make the fifty three man roster again 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:01.240 next year. But there is also going to be potentially 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.440 more draft picks brought in. You know, there's gonna be 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:06.640 these guys coming back from injuries, the guys that whose 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.280 injuries created opportunity for him, they'll be back. There'll be 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.560 all kinds of competition there. But now Lucas Patrick has 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:14.960 been there, He's gotten the job done. He knows so 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:17.520 much more about what it takes and it's it's tough 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:19.479 to bet against him really, And Mike, think about it, 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:22.120 you've covered this team for ten years now with with 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:25.240 this you know the site. Who are the guys When 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:28.640 you think of guys, undrafted free agents, unsung heroes that 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.560 have made it in the NFL, it's guys that make 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:35.320 a good positive first impression when you get thrown out there, 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.680 can you swim? And I think Lucas Patrick showed this year, 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.080 despite again having that club on his hand, that he 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:43.719 can swim. And it's something that he mentioned does motivate 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:46.920 him a lot. The fact that nobody wanted him, including 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:49.040 to some extent the Green Bay Packers, even though they 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:51.080 brought him in for a tryout, he wasn't one of 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:53.360 the twenty guys they signed as an restricted or an 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:55.880 undrafted college free agent. So that's one of the reasons 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:57.320 why that really stands out to me as a guy 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.280 to to look at. Yeah, another guy that I would 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.560 add to the list is uh the rookie punter Justin Vogel. 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:05.480 Now a completely different story than a guy like Lucas Patrick, 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.400 but this is a guy you bring him in, he's 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:12.039 he's undrafted, he's from Miami. You have no idea when 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.320 the weather gets cold, how he's going to react, how 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.080 he's going to perform. And I'm not saying that, you know, 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.840 Justin Vogel had an all rookie campaign or anything like that, 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.200 that he should be getting a bunch of postseason accolades. 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:26.440 But this kid held his own in in a tough, 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.560 pressure cooker type of spot. And uh, when you look 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:31.520 at you know, I've been here long enough to know 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.640 what you know. The Packers brought in Derek Frost at partner, 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:37.560 he flopped. They brought in Jeremy Capanos the following year 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.440 at punter. After one year he was gone. Now I'm 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:42.920 not saying the Packers are just gonna hand Justin Vogel 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:46.000 the job for eighteen. They may bring in some competition 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:48.320 and see, but again, this is a guy. Based on 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:51.760 everything he did his rookie year, I know they'd like 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:54.880 more consistency, they'd like maybe a little better placement, not 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:56.440 so much in the middle of the field, that kind 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.240 of stuff. But when you look at the whole body 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.200 of work and what he did, and you know that 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:04.440 net average being, you know that that franchise record and everything. Um, 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:06.960 this is another guy that I wouldn't necessarily bet against him. No, 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.240 I wouldn't, Mike. And again, you go back to that 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:11.760 point that you made in terms of the trajectory where 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.240 you're punting the ball, you need to have the leg 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:17.520 strength justin Vogel certainly has that. That's the part you 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:20.120 can't teach. You can't teach him. I mean, Jason Simmons 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.839 run so they worked with them so much on those 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:25.160 areas this year. And and even Mason Crosby talking to 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:27.520 him after the season, the Packers kicker, he said, you 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:29.640 know where he improved from where he was at and 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:33.040 the inconsistency during mini camp, in the off season program 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:35.320 to where he ended up the season was really impressive. 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:38.520 And also throw in one more thing, like, you're right, accolades, 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.159 not piling up. It's very difficult to do that. But 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.520 the fact that Vogel was selected as a Pro Bowl 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.760 alternate as a rookie, I forgot about that. Actually, there 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:49.320 is only one punter from the NFC that goes to 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.640 the Pro Bowl. The fact that he got that kind 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.520 of recognition, he's on the list somewhere, he's on there. 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:58.160 So and and you know, this as well as I do. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:00.920 That's not a big fan balloting thing. I mean, people 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:03.120 just don't get really excited about voting for the punter. 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:06.839 So I mean the fact that the NFL, evidently the players, 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:09.000 the coaches people took notice of them. I think that 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:11.320 bodes well for his future in this league. Ye, it does. 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:13.160 With that, we're going to toss it to a breakback 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:34.160 with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:37.520 to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford sitting here, Wes hod Kuwitz 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:41.560 is perched all the way over there, um West. Last 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:45.200 week we had the final locker room availability to talk 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:48.040 to the players at the conclusion of the season, and 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:52.120 amidst all the news last week with Ted Thompson and 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.000 the search for a new defensive coordinator and everything that 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:58.600 has been going on, there were some comments from players 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.040 that we heard from the last time we'll hear from 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:03.880 them really until the off season program in April. Um. 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:06.600 Some interesting thoughts always come out of the locker room 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.280 when the season ends. What are some of the things 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:11.480 that that caught your ear? Well? One of the things 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:13.080 about the Packers, and I think it's like this with 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:14.760 a lot of NFL teams. Once a guy goes on 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:16.960 injured reserve, they're no longer available to the media for 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.600 the remainder that their time that they're on injured reserve. 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:21.920 So a guy that I really was looking to speak 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:23.320 to his Herb Waters. And I know a lot of 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:26.240 people out there going who's Herb Waters? But but he 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:28.520 was such an interesting case study a year ago because 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:30.600 this is a guy who was a receiver at Miami 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:33.640 and we know the history there of Packers and receivers 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:35.880 and all that stuff of coming out of Miami who 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.880 was converted to cornerback in the middle of the regular 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:41.200 season of last year while he was on the practice squad, 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.560 a little bit of a pet project that Joe Witt Jr. 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:47.640 Had the Packers cornerbacks coach. Waters makes such a jump. 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:49.800 He was sort of the Michael Clark of last year 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.160 where he makes such a quantum leap that he actually 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:53.839 was able to get on the active roster at the 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:56.480 end of last season, and going into the off season, 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.480 Wit constantly was talking about her Waters and the way 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:01.440 he was kind of coming on. Well, he ends up 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:03.240 suffering a shoulder injury. I think it was like in 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:05.800 the first maybe first couple of practices of training camp 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:09.320 this year, he goes on Injured Reserve. A lot of guys, Mike, 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:11.360 once they go on i R, they'll go and train 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:15.320 other places. They'll leave green Bay. Waters stayed the entire season. 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:17.600 He was in every single meeting, He did all of 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:21.080 his rehab and recovery in Green Bay. Really interesting thing. 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:23.319 And now is going to have the chance to come 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.520 back next year in year three and really show how 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:28.160 he's improved at cornerback. It's gonna be a guy to watch, 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.920 I think this next offseason. Well. And it's interesting too 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:33.120 because with all the injuries that did go on in 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:36.600 the secondary, you wonder if Waters hadn't gotten hurt and 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.560 dealt with you know what he was dealing with, maybe 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:41.560 he would have gotten a chance this year. And certainly, 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.319 as you said, with Joe Witt being as complimentary and 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:46.440 as high on him as he was, he might have 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:48.960 gotten a shot this year. And and then people wouldn't 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.680 necessarily be asking, you know why you're talking about her Waters? Yeah. 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:53.480 And then the reason I also throw that out there 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:57.240 with the Miami former receiver converting to cornerback, Sam Shields, right, 0:09:57.280 --> 0:09:59.040 And I don't want to put the bar that high 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:02.040 for Waters, But yeah, Wit is incredibly high on him 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.839 in terms of what his makeup is. He said, coming 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:07.320 out of cole or coming out of high school, there 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.160 were some schools that wanted to recruit him as a cornerback, 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.400 but like a lot of eighteen year old kids, he 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.120 wants to play receiver. He wants to be a star, 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:17.880 and he went to Miami to be a receiver. It 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:20.200 was afterwards when he got to the league understanding that 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:22.160 this is the decision that's being made for me now 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.880 to actually have a job in the NFL. I'm fine 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.120 with making the switch. He did mention when I was 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:30.200 talking to him. He still has some rehab to go through. 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:33.840 It's not healent yet, but he's hoping to be available 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:35.880 once they get back for the off season program and 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:38.480 O t a s Yeah. Well, And also with regards 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:40.760 to the secondary, we know there were a lot of injuries, 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:42.840 there were a lot of moving parts all season long. 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.719 We heard some comments I guess you'd classify them as 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:49.600 rather scathing comments in some respects from veteran safety ha 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:53.319 Clinton dis also from cornerback to Marius Randall. Some frustrations 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.480 coming out at the end of a seven and nine season, 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:59.200 young players who had to fill in weren't getting the 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:02.559 job done. They felt maybe they weren't necessarily being held accountable. 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:06.520 Um mistakes continued to be made without you know, ready 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:09.440 made replacements to you know, to uh to try to 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:11.760 get some things fixed on the defense, and a lot 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:14.480 of fans asking in our Insider Inbox columnel, does this 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:16.960 mean there's you know, there's all this dissension and discord 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:20.520 amongst the defense and everything like that. I'll just say this, 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:24.280 I'm kind of glad, and I don't the coaches will 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:26.720 deal with this next season and and you know this 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:28.640 will all I think be forgotten at the end of 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:31.240 the day. I'm kind of glad after seven and nine 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:33.120 season the way the defense played that A couple of 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:36.160 guys like spoke out and we're kind of ticked off, frankly, 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:40.080 because if if we see these defensive players, especially a 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:42.200 guy like Clinton Dix who didn't have the follow up 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:44.040 season to the Pro Bowl that he was hoping for, 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:46.839 and he's the first to admit it that that he 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:49.680 was expecting more, he was expecting better. There were some 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:52.480 circumstances that definitely didn't work in his favor that were 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.839 out of his control, but also he knows there were 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:58.240 plays that he missed out there. I'm kind of glad 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.760 that that guys spoke up and just to you know, 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:02.760 go into the offseason and say, well, yep, it was 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.319 seven and nine. We did whatever we could. Let's move on. 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:07.800 You know, it shows they care. And I and I 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:10.040 and I think and I think fans appreciate the fact 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:12.400 that even if maybe there's a little discord and this 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:14.920 and that, I mean, who cares. You know, It's like, 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.240 these guys are professional football players. They're paid to do 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:19.000 a job. They want to succeed, they want to win. 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:20.680 That's what the fans want to know. I thought the 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.199 biggest thing, one of the biggest headlines that came out 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:26.040 of that news conference Mike McCarthy had last Thursday was 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.199 him saying about ha ha Clint Dix, at least he's frustrated. 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:32.360 At least he's voicing that frustration. They do these player 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:34.920 exit interviews every single year, and as McCarthy says, the 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:36.720 only time that they don't is if they win a 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:40.600 Super Bowl. So in that essence, if you didn't win 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.200 the Super Bowl, something went wrong, it didn't work out 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:46.040 the way you wanted it to, so McCarthy he I mean, 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:48.880 every player has their own perspective and they're entitled to it. 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:51.440 But I don't think he just wants everybody just walk 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.439 in there for fifteen minutes and just say, yeah, everything 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.079 worked out fine, I'm gonna go to my off season. 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:59.840 I'll see in April. He wants to hear what you're thinking, 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.120 what you think went wrong, because everybody has that opinion. 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:05.960 Everybody is a part of the process. Ha ha. Clinton 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:08.680 Dix mentioning that I don't think he pointed out anything 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:13.000 that anybody really didn't know already there. Yeah, and when 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:15.080 you're not preparing to play a game, it's not as 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:18.400 though this is suddenly a big distraction. They played the game, 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:21.679 they did their jobs, but the season's over and some 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:23.760 frustrations are gonna come out. And I don't have a 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:26.520 problem with it at all because it's it's not something 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:29.320 that becomes a distraction and trying to win the next game. 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.320 It was something that came out after the games were played, 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:33.880 and I think that's how it should be. Yeah, And 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:36.040 I think when you look at how Clinton Dix's comments 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.440 and you really do isolate them go back to two 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.200 thousand and fourteen, which is one of the better defenses 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:43.360 they had, particular during that second half of the season. 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.840 What worked about that defense, it was guys stepping up. 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.400 It was Clay Matthews moving over to inside backer when 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:51.520 they were thin there. It was Mike Neil and Nick 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:55.000 Perry working when concert with Julius Peppers. So many different 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:57.400 guys who had experienced in that defense stepped up, and 0:13:57.440 --> 0:13:59.120 that was one thing they were missing this year, and 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:01.000 unfortunately it's when the reasons why the Packers aren't in 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.320 the playoffs this season. Yeah. Absolutely, with that, we'll go 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.040 to a breakback with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.840 Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this, yere 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:30.720 Wes Hodkowits in that one. West another player. I know 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:32.840 we've talked about him a lot throughout the course of 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:35.640 the season, but now that the season is over, there 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:39.160 definitely is a statistical medal. I guess you can say 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:42.440 that that should be placed around Blake Martinez his neck 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:46.960 because he did end up According to NFL dot Com statistics, 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:50.160 every team individual team might have their own statistics as 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:54.280 far as total tackles but according nfl dot Com st statistics, 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:59.280 Blake Martinez tied for the league lead in tackles. That's 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:02.080 saying something a second year player, it really is, and 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:04.560 I know at the end of the day, Blake Martinez, 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:06.840 he he mentioned he has two sets of goals going 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.800 into a season. He wants to be able to go 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:11.640 to the Super Bowl, win a Super Bowl from a 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:15.360 team perspective, but individually, he came into this season one 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.000 to lead the NFL and tackles. Think about that for 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:19.920 a second. This is a guy who at the end 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.680 of last year wasn't just not an every down player, 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:24.960 he was actually sort of the backup in many ways 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:28.360 to Joe Thomas and Jake Ryan. Comes into this year, 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.520 we are all expecting Joe Thomas to be the dime 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:33.760 linebacker going into the first week of the regular season. 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.160 That's the way it looked in training camp. The first 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:40.600 game against the Seattle Seahawks, there's Martinez and it's set 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:44.360 the course for a highly productive season for him. You 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:46.560 mentioned that we talked about Martinez a lot this year. 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:50.160 Undoubtedly we did. But this has been a position at 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.240 inside backer for probably the better part of five or 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:54.040 six years that I know a lot of fans have 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.800 kind of had their eyes sort of set to asking 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.360 for an answer at that position. Martinez, He's will has 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.400 some work to do in his game, unquestionably, he's the 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.280 first one to admit that. But the productivity they got 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.400 to that position is one of the reasons why now 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:10.040 that the season is over for the first time in 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:13.600 a very long time, Mike inside linebacker, at least at 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:15.640 this very moment isn't the thing on the tip of 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.720 every fans time. No, it isn't. And and that's that's too. 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:22.240 Martinez is credit certainly, and and I've admitted it before 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:25.000 and I'll admit it again. I did not see this 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:28.280 type of second year jump coming from Blake Martinez. I 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:31.560 thought going into his second year that he was going 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:35.000 to be a major standout on special teams and he 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:38.080 would be a rotational guy amidst you know, Joe Thomas, 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:40.960 Jake Ryan, maybe another guy gets thrown into that mix somewhere. 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:43.800 I thought he'd be a rotational guy at inside linebacker 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:47.440 and a dynamite special teams player. This guy made himself 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:50.240 over the course of really one off season into an 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:53.440 every down defender in this Packers defense. And he deserves 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:55.440 a ton of credit for that. And when I look, 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:57.560 when I look at the future, and I know we'll 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.680 have a lot of time this offseason to to try 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.600 to do some projections and see how, um, you know, 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:05.320 maybe what we see down the road. But we've talked 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:07.800 a lot about Blake Martinez and Kenny Clark being those 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.960 two guys from the twenty six team draft class that 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:14.159 really took that huge jump in their second seasons in 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:20.560 Kevin King, Josh Jones, Montrevius Adams, Vince Biegel. Now you 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.760 can't necessarily count on all four of them make the 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:25.320 second year jump, and a couple of those guys, particularly 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:28.080 Adams and Beagle, who didn't play a whole lot because 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:31.320 of injuries. But if you get two of those guys 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.320 to make the same type of jump that Martinez and 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:37.199 Clark did, things on this defense start to look a 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:39.560 little different. You know. I know Josh Josh Jones played 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:41.879 the most I think out of all four of those guys. 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:44.640 He had his struggles, There's no question about that. They tried. 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.360 They were playing him at nitro linebacker, they played him 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.720 at deep safety. He was given a lot of positions, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.480 I think too many for a rookie, but it was 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:54.720 out of necessity because of the injuries. He was never 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.480 really able to settle into one spot and learn one role, 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.719 which is where I think rookies can make their biggest impact. 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:03.280 And Kevin King had the injury issues. I felt this 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.080 defense was a different unit with Kevin King as a 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.359 starting boundary corner when when he was healthy and playing 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:13.520 the way he's expected to play. So my point is, 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:16.520 those four guys, those four top defensive draft picks from 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.440 last year, you get two of those, maybe even three 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:21.600 out of the four to make the type of jump 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:23.840 we saw from Martinez and Clark, and things start to 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:25.600 look a little bit different on the defensive side of 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.399 the ball. Yeah, and look a guy like Josh Jones. 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.560 I mean, tell me a safety who came into the 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:31.959 NFL and didn't have to make a giant jump. I mean, 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:34.440 Jared's bird led the NFL. I think in interceptions his 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.080 first year coming out and with Buffalo. But a lot 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:40.080 of times there is some some big, big, you know, 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.200 hits you have to take right off the bat. Morgan 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:43.840 Burnett his first year as the start of the Packers 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:45.879 rank thirty second and total defense, I mean that's just 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:48.159 the way it works sometimes. But getting back to the 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:50.760 original point with Blake Martinez, I think is interesting. I 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:52.359 had a chance to talk with him during that final 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.560 locker room one of the big things last year that 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:56.159 he tried to do once the season was over, and 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:58.879 we know he's so prolific for sitting in his locker 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:01.200 and looking at the iPad in the film. Once the 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:03.200 season was over, he went back and looked at Shawn Lee, 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:06.399 the linebacker from the Cowboys Pro Bowl linebacker who he 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:08.800 feels is the best guy in the game. He went 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:11.880 and went through all his film, checked it out, did 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:13.840 all that research and try to implement it. That's what 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:15.800 he's looking for, playmaking and that's something he's gonna try 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:17.639