WEBVTT - #252 Packers Unscripted: Change at the top 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:20.919 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:24.720 I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside my colleague West Hodkowitz, 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:27.520 were coming to you here from our studios at lambeau 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:29.440 Field and West. A lot of news swirling out of 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:33.520 twelve sixty five Lombardi Avenue. First and foremost that General 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:37.519 Manager Ted Thompson has stepped aside to take a senior 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:41.600 advisory role within the football operations, and Mark Murphy will 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.680 be be beginning a search for a new GM of 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:47.839 the Green May Packers. And I'd like to focus our 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:51.479 show today on that. I know there's other news swirling 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.720 around out there about the coaching staff and some things 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:57.360 that may be going on there, but this change at GM. 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.120 Ted Thompson a thirteen year ten year hired in two 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:04.680 thousand five to take over the Packers football operations, Packers 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:08.120 undergoing a search now for a new leader at the 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:11.240 top of the football chain for the first time in 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:13.920 a long time. Yeah, And and Mark Murphy when they 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.120 sat down and discussed it, this is something he mentioned 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:19.160 that him and Ted, they've been talking about this for 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:21.280 a number of years. Every year they'd sit down after 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:25.000 the season's over have a conversation, and in those really 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:28.720 were fluid things and kind of seeing where you know, 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:30.880 Thompson sort of saw his future. And and and one of 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.679 the most reoccurring themes in that Mike was, you know, 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:35.560 he's a scout and at the end of the day, 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:37.360 he's always going to be a scout at heart. So 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:40.160 looking at this position, a lot of things yet to 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:43.640 be decided about how exactly you know, the job, responsibilities 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:45.640 and what he'll you know, what he'll be looked for. 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:47.960 But as Murphy said, the number one thing is it's 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:49.440 gonna allow him to probably still be a part of 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:52.680 the process and a guy he'll be, you know, almost 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.680 like a special assistant to the GM as he said. 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:57.880 As Murphy said, I mean just invaluable. The amount of 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.360 resources and experience that Thompson as, Um, you know, some 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:02.880 of that could be based in Green Bay, some of 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:04.800 that might allow to travel. We'll wait and see. But 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:08.320 at the end of the day, Uh, the reason why 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:09.960 I think this is going to be such a coveted 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:13.040 job is really goes back to what Ron Wolf did, 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:15.760 what Ted Thompson did to put the Packers in this position. 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:19.639 Now six years later, Um, it comes back to being 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:21.800 able to uphold that standard, and that's something that Thompson 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:24.120 did for thirteen years. Yeah, you'll have a new GM 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.120 coming in here who has a franchise quarterback in place, 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.280 thanks to Ted Thompson as he made the transition as 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:32.480 rocky as it was at the time, but he got 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.240 the Packers through it successfully, the transition from one Hall 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.560 of Fame quarterback to another, Brett Farve to Aaron Rodgers. 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:41.720 This is a very attractive job. And one thing I 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:44.120 thought was interesting that Mark Murphy said is he's not 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.720 necessarily going to limit himself in terms of uh the 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:51.160 search for Ted Thompson's successor. There are certainly some candidates 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.519 in house here in Green Bay. Elliott Wolf, Brian Gudicun, 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:58.400 Salonzo Highsmith, senior personnel executives with long, impressive resumes. You 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.400 have Russ Ball, who has been managing the Packers salary 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.160 cap probably as well as anybody in the league over 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:09.120 the last several years, alongside Ted Thompson. But Mark Murphy 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:12.040 said there will be outside candidates as well. A consultant 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.760 will be will be brought in to help with the 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:18.560 search to help identify potential candidates. There's going to be 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:21.120 a lot going on. It sounds like something could happen 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:23.640 fairly quickly. Mark Murphy is not going to sit around 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:26.920 and wait. This is not something that UM that you 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.240 just put on the back burner. You get going on it, 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:30.920 and he's going to make sure that he hires the 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:34.200 right person. But one thing we do know for sure, 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:36.280 and that is that the head coach of the team 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:40.200 will be Mike McCarthy. The new the new GM who 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:42.960 whoever it is that takes over, we'll have Mike McCarthy 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:45.600 as his head coach. In Yeah, Ted Thompson actually one 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:47.480 of the things he did this past season was actually 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.760 extending McCarthy through two thousand nineteen now, given him a 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:53.920 one year extension, so that stability is there. It's in 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:56.520 place for McCarthy now as he goes about figuring out 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:58.880 his coaching staff and in all those things that go 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.040 along with that. UM And as Murphy said to McCarthy 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:03.680 has been a part of a lot of winning ways 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.040 and a lot of tradition and success here. He hopes 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:08.840 that that's something that continues to come. UM. But looking 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.240 more towards Thompson's side of things and where they go 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.000 as far as the GM position. Murphy said, they will 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.520 have a search form that will be involved with this, 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:18.360 but at the end of the day, it ultimately is 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:21.080 going to be his decision on what and who's gonna 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:25.080 be handling that job. And realistically, I think it is 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:28.000 the right approach kind of keeping things open, you know, 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:30.920 going through all the avenues, whether it's internal candidates, whether 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:34.280 it's in you know, scouting backgrounds, different types of backgrounds, 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:38.000 looking at guys across the league. Um, the branch and 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.320 the tree of of Ron Wolfe has spread throughout the 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:43.719 entire NFL, and there's a number of guys that have 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.880 already been in general manager spots. There's other personal people 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:49.279 around the league that have been tied to Wolfe UM 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.200 that that came through Green Bay. So I think when 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:56.200 you look at those abundance of resources and and executives 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.000 that have sprouted from Green Bay, Wisconsin over the last 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.159 twenty five years, it's one of the reasons why you 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:03.599 can see why Mark Murphy's talking about why he believes 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:05.240 this is a coveted job and why they think they'll 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:07.120 end up with a really strong candidate. Yeah, and as 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.440 much as this is a major change for the Packers, 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:12.320 organization for the first time in a long time. It's 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:16.360 important to stress here that overall the structure of how 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:19.360 things are going to operate in football is not going 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.159 to change. The general manager is going to have final 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:25.719 say on football operations. Mark Murphy was asked, well, are 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.400 you going to encourage the general manager to use free 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:30.799 agency more, maybe to do some things that Ted Thompson 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.400 didn't do as often as other gms in the league, 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:36.040 And Mark Murphy said, that's going to be the general 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:39.120 manager's call. That that guy is going to run the 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.080 football operations, just as the decisions with regards to the 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:45.479 coaching staff will be Mike McCarthy's call. That's how it's 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.080 operated here really since Ron Wolf was brought in and 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:50.720 hired Mike Holmgren. That's how things have been run here 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:54.080 for the last quarter century, and that part is not 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.360 going to be changed. Yeah. That chain of command from 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.640 you know, president CEO to general manager down to head 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:02.280 coach and so on and so forth is something that 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:05.480 Murphy says is really benefit of this organization when you 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:07.880 really break it down and look at it and how 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.640 they got to this point in time. It's been through 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.120 that process and that's something he definitely doesn't want to 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:15.800 firstsake through this. Uh. And I think really you look 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.440 at that that bond that can be built between a 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:21.560 GM and a head coach, um, you know, working hand 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.880 in hand together. I think that's important because we've seen 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.080 sometimes when people try to overextend themselves a little bit, 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.120 how that can throw a wrench into the whole thing. 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.479 And with Thompson and McCarthy was one of the most 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:34.520 successful duos in NFL history when you look at a 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:37.720 personnel executive and a head coach. And now we'll just 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:39.080 have to wait and see what the next step is 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.240 going to be. Yeah, for sure with that we will 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:43.640 toss to a break back with more and Packers Unscripted 0:06:43.680 --> 0:07:04.280 right after this h Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:06.880 Spofford in this chair, Wes Hodkowitz in that one in West. 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:09.240 Getting back to some more of Mark Murphy's comments with 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.400 regards to the transition ahead. Here at the top of 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:19.720 the Packers football organization, Ted Thompson's tenure thirteen years, half 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:22.480 a dozen. I believe it is division championships, the eight 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:26.920 straight playoff appearances, uh, nine playoff appearances overall. If I'm 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:30.760 not mistaken one Super Bowl Championship, obviously multiple trips to 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:35.240 the NFC Championship game. Mark Murphy acknowledged Ted Thompson has 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:38.400 been a lightning rod amongst fans. He receives takes a 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.400 lot of criticism. It's part of the territory. Anybody in 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:43.840 his position is going to have to deal with that. 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:48.040 But at the end of the day, history is going 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:51.880 to look back fondly on this GMS tenure. I believe Mark, 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.800 Mark Murphy believes, I know you do too. There aren't 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.720 too many who can a hold the job that long 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:01.280 and maintain that level of success that long, and Ted 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:03.280 Thompson deserves a lot of credit for what he's done. 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:07.000 Here here's the thing, Mike, I put Ted Chompson truthfully, 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.840 I put him in a mount rushmore of general managers 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:12.640 the NFL. I know that's high praise, but here's one 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.080 of the reasons why I do that. He had to 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:17.480 make for my money, and I'm sure San Francisco to 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:19.560 some extent went through this back in the nineties, but 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.160 he had to make the most difficult decision I think 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:26.920 in the modern era of the NFL. In Brett Favre 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:30.960 retiring wanting to come back and having to tell a 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.960 future Pro Football Hall of Famer that we've basically moved 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:37.480 on with our organization and we are going to hitch 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:43.760 our car here to an unknown former first round draft pick, 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:47.000 but a relatively unknown Aaron Rodgers. At that point, he 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:51.360 really staked his career on that move. Everything could have ended. 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:53.720 If Aaron Rodgers didn't work out, that would have been 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:55.440 on the end of the road for everybody, and it 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:57.240 would have been something that I think would have been 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:01.080 talked about forever. So for this, this narrative about the 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:04.760 Lightning rod the Packers, in my opinion, could have not 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:09.320 won another game after two thousand ten. And I think 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:14.000 Ted Thompson is in a really elite class of personnel 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:18.520 executives because that takes confidence in your scouting ability, it 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:21.760 takes confidence in your coaching staff, and honestly, it takes 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.160 confidence in a young guy that nobody knew a heck 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:26.040 of a lot about at that time, in Aaron Rodgers. 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:28.880 He made that call and it's set up the franchise 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.480 for the next ten to fifteen years. Yeah, I think, uh, 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:36.520 I think his legacy in this organization will fall just 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.840 short of his mentors. Ron Wolf, And I say that 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:43.520 in the most complimentary You're comparing, like, you know, talking 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:45.920 about a Pro Football Hall of Famer and Ron Wolf, 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:49.440 who brought the Packers back from the depths of despair 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:53.240 and made the trade that brought Brett Farve to Green Bay, 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.000 brought Reggie White, brought Mike Holmgren, all of that that 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.880 that sent the Packers back to prominence. And it took 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:02.960 somebody pretty special and Ted Thompson to maintain that level 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.520 of success, to go from one Hall of Fame quarterback 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:08.520 to another, to win another Super Bowl with a completely 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.560 different roster and in and a different head coach at 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:16.840 different regime, the whole, the whole thing. I know, gms, 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:20.000 more than anything else, are evaluated on how they draft. 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:25.040 And you can't say Aaron Rodgers, But other than Aaron Rodgers, 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:28.040 who do you think was Ted Thompson's best draft pick? Oh, 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:32.840 this is tough, because Rogers, Aaron Rodgers, I mean, I mean, 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:34.679 there's so many. I mean, I think you can make 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:38.160 an argument his his best pick other than Rodgers was 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.880 his next pick with Nick Cole. That's exactly what I 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:42.640 was going to say. I think that was I think 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:45.640 that was his next best one after Collins plays his 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:49.720 entire NFL career, he may have actually picked his first 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:51.480 two picks at the Packers drum Mener might have both 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:54.400 been Pro Football of Famers. I know, I know, it's incredible, 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:57.000 but the list goes on and on. Mike, I know, 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:02.680 drive Marvin nuts upstairs in our production. But Clay Matthews, Um, 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:05.480 you look at a guy like David Bok tr might 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.960 there was what ten different offensive lineman taking before him 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.760 in two thousand and thirteen, he might. Him and Lane 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:14.800 Johnson are obviously the best ones. And in box tr 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.640 is actually a left tackle actually playing a position that 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.400 people put a lot of, you know, prominence on. That 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:23.040 was a heck of a draft pick. I mean Charles 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:27.679 Woodson getting signed as far as the free agency moved 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:30.240 back in two thousand six, that was just his second 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.920 year on the job, and he brought in another guy 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.080 who was gonna who is very soon going to be 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:36.720 in the Hall of Fame. So it's one thing to 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.000 be able to find Aaron Rodgers in the draft to 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:40.760 Nick coins and I have a couple of good years, 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:42.559 but how he was able to sustain that, And as 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.319 Ron Wolfe said, from day one, you get so many 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:46.960 bites at the apple in these drafts. You're not gonna 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.480 hit on every single one of these guys. But Ted 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:51.800 Thompson's batting average with that and how he was able 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:55.400 to really build a foundation, build a super Bowl team. Um, 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:57.560 coming from where it was in two thousand five and 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:00.600 five years later having them in that game, it's it's 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:02.480 the ultimate testament to how he was able to turn 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.319 this thing around. Yeah, when I look back at Ted 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.440 Thompson's drafts, aside from the first two picks, we discussed 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:09.840 Rogers and Collins back to back right off the bat. 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:13.959 I think what I will remember about Ted Thompson's drafts 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:17.000 the pick of Clay Matthews where he traded back up 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.240 into the first round to get a second first round 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:22.319 pick in two thousand and nine, and uh and draft 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:26.520 a guy who became that Lynchpin pass rusher in the defense, 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:29.760 and uh um, we all know how things have gone 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:32.120 from there. But the other thing is to me, it's 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.880 it's for his drafts, it's been about receivers in the 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:38.640 second round and offensive lineman in the mid to late rounds. 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:43.600 Because he drafted Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobbin Davante 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:46.120 Adams all in the second round, throwing James Jones in 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:48.600 the third round just for good measure, and you mentioned 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.800 Box tr in the fourth round, Josh Sitton, T J. Lang, 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:54.640 also fourth rounders Corey Lindsley who just got a new 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:58.560 contract extension of fifth rounder J. C. Trader in there 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:00.960 is a fourth rounder, although he ended signing his second 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:05.040 contract elsewhere. Those are those are the trends, you know, 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:08.559 sort of the things that that you hang your hat 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:10.240 on in a sense when you look at the tenure 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:12.199 as a whole. Gonna be hard to forget some of 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:14.040 those picks. Yeah, and then also to throw it in 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.800 there too. Sometimes it's forget about this, but b J. Rogie, 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:18.559 I mean, the Packers might not win the Super Bowl 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:19.960 in two thousand and ten if it wasn't for that 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.439 pick up b J. Rogers as well, the highest pick 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.760 that he had aside from a J Hawk when he 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:27.120 picked a Hawk fifth in two thousand and six. And 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:29.199 and just to touch on briefly with Jordy Nelson, you're 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.040 absolutely right, I mean looking at him and a guy 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:34.520 that was a converted safety, a walk on player at 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.120 Kansas State. We'll talk about that shortly, But I mean, 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:39.800 how he really invested into guys who are relative unknowns. 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:41.559 I think it's probably one of the things that really 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.000 underscores his resume in green Back. Yeah, let's talk a 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:47.240 little bit about that more when we come back after 0:13:47.280 --> 0:14:09.680 this on Packers on script Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.800 Mike Spofford here, West hodkoit's over there, and Wes. You 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:15.280 mentioned at the end of our last segment the thought 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:20.080 of some of these unheralded guys that Ted Thompson brought 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.200 into the Green Bay Packers and who have gone on 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:25.800 to play some big roles over the years. I mean, 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:27.320 one of the first ones that comes to mind for 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.320 me is Sam Shields, a guy who converted from wide 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:33.640 receiver to defensive back his final year in college, comes 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:37.720 to Green Bay as an undrafted rookie, intercepts two passes 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.440 in the NFC Championship game and and helps the Packers 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:44.560 win a Super Bowl, and uh becomes a tremendous cornerback, 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:48.160 a top flight cornerback in this league before unfortunately, the 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.520 concussions caught up to him and he had to cut 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.360 things short. But you talked to a couple of guys 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.640 in the current locker room who are forever thankful to 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:01.840 a GM like Ted Hobson for taking a look and 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.320 giving him a shot. Um some interesting comments there that 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:06.080 you find. Yeah, And and the one thing is I 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:09.280 think if you look back and certainly Aaron Rodgers, Nick Collins, 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:12.240 claim Matthews, those type of players, multiple time Pro Bowlers, 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.520 all pro type players are always going to be the 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:18.520 guys that you associate coaches with GMS with. But I 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:21.880 think sometimes it's the guys that aren't necessarily the higher 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:25.400 round draft picks or guys that are gonna necessarily, you know, 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.960 command all that attention. The Sam Shields, the Tremon Williams 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:31.440 of the world comes into the practice squad player and 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.000 then you know, getting a chance to talk to some 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:35.320 guys in the locker room during the final media available 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:39.000 on Tuesday. You know Lane Taylor, a guy that forty 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.560 one offensive linemen were taken in two thousand thirteen, a 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:44.200 record number. Lane Taylor wasn't one of them. He was 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.920 a four year starting right guard at Oklahoma State. Nobody cared, 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.040 nobody noticed, and he had two offers. He could go 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:52.640 to Green Bay, you could have went to Cincinnati and 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.600 him and his agent, Matt Steagle, sat down and they said, 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:57.680 you know what, Green Bay, there's been a lot of 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:00.280 opportunity for guys who are undrafted that have had a 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:04.120 chance to prove themselves. He had to wait three full seasons, 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:06.920 but then he gets in the starting lineup last year 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.320 and then this year ends up signing an extension. In 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:12.560 talking with Lucas Patrick, the Packers reserve offensive lineman, also 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:14.480 on Tuesday, I mean, you can make a case that 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:16.520 Lane Taylor's in the top ten of guards now in 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:18.640 the NFL with the way he's able to develop his 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:20.720 game and how stout he has become as a run 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:22.800 blocker in addition to what he does as a pass blocker. 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.480 Those are the type of players that make a difference. 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.120 And then also to throw out there, guy like Justin McCrae, 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:31.440 who a year ago on New Year's Eve was working 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:34.720 at a as a bellman at a hotel in Orlando, 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:37.440 trying to find a way to get back into the NFL. 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.920 He catches the eye of the Packers at the u 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:42.960 c F Pro day after him and his brother beg 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:45.560 to get an opportunity to work out for them comes 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:48.080 the Green Bay ends up starting eight games for the 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:51.760 Packers this year, And as he said, I mean Ted Thompson, 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:53.640 the Green Met Packers gave him a shot when nobody 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:55.760 else did. And I think that is probably the ultimate 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.520 sign of what Thompson really meant two guys in that 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:02.080 locker room. Is he end up opportunities. He created opportunities 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:04.160 and and allowed guys to take advantage of it. Yeah. 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.000 I think of some of the other moves as well. 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:11.040 You talk about claiming guys on waivers early in Thompson's tenure, 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:13.639 a guy like Jared Bush who ends up being a 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:16.399 tremendous special teams player for a number of years, and 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:18.359 then he's thrown into action in the Super Bowl and 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:21.480 gets an interception against Ben Roethlisberger that helps the Packers 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:26.440 win a championship. Um, you've got a guy like uh yeah, 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:27.800 that was the next one I was gonna say. The 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:31.080 waiver claimed John Cooney's claimed from Pittsburgh goes on. I mean, 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.120 he becomes a you know, not just a cult hero, 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:36.040 but an incredibly productive member of the offense and a 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:38.879 very valued member of in the meeting room, in the 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:40.919 locker room, in the huddle, all of that, And who 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.119 could ever forget obviously the block on Julius Peppers in 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.760 regular season finale. Even I'll throw out a guy like 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:53.760 Frank Zombo, you know, undrafted playing a reserve depth role 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.879 as a as a rookie, gets a sack in the 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.040 second half of the Super Bowl to help the Packers 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:01.679 win that game. His career are is continuous, still continuing 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:06.400 in Kansas City, had some injuries that contributed to him 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:10.000 moving on and finding success elsewhere. But Ted Thompson and 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:12.440 his personnel staff unearthed a guy like that and help 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:14.600 the Packers win a championship. Those are the types of 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.400 things that that that you remember about a guy like Yeah. 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.760 And so many times people will always ask about, well, 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.440 you know, signing free agents or you know bringing in 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:24.639 you know so and so gets cut, why don't they 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:28.640 sign them? Because they see these guys, They see justin McCrae, 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:31.000 they see the put the work he put in since April. 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:33.399 And you know, after you spend that much time with 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:35.800 these young guys, Uh, if you feel like they can 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:37.920 make a difference for you once you get to training camp, 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:40.160 well then yeah, you want to see them playing a game. 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:41.680 You want to throw him in that fire. You want 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.560 to see how they respond. That's how they found Lane Taylor. 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:47.480 That's how they found t J. Lane. Even if you 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.000 want to, you know, even look at guys like Sam 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:54.320 Shields and and uh, you know, Trumont Williams. All those 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:56.760 guys didn't just walk in as undrafted free agents and 0:18:56.800 --> 0:18:59.359 just start now. They had to prove themselves. And that 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.560 investment and into that is I think one of the 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:03.840 things that not only helped the Packers win a Super Bowl, 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.160 but stay in that conversation for as long as they did, 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:08.280 as long as they have, yeah, no question about it. 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:10.320 With that, we'll toss to a breakback with more and 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:32.000 Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.000 Mike Spofford next to West, hod Kowits and West. Quickly 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:38.120 before we go, it's worth touching on again what actually 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:40.919 is going to go down? As I guess, one of 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:45.119 Ted Thompson's last official orders of business as the general 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:48.520 manager of the Packers, and that was the contract extensions 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:52.240 that were signed by Davante Adams and Corey Lindsley late 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:55.320 last week before the regular season finale. And we heard 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.760 from Adams for the first time since uh well since 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.280 the big hit from Thomas Davis and Carolina that put 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:04.480 it in the concussion protocol. And and then also since 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.000 he signed the contract obviously, and I don't know what 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:11.320 you thought of of his conversation with reporters, but he 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:14.040 struck me as a guy who is not wandering off 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:16.760 into the offseason to celebrate his big new contract. He's 0:20:16.760 --> 0:20:19.520 looking at what's ahead and what he still wants to 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:23.199 do to help this team win. That's that's where his 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:25.480 energies are focused. Yeah, there's still so much out there 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:28.320 for him to achieve, you know, as you wrote your 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:30.199 story on Packers dot Com as well. I mean, it 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:31.960 looked like he was on his way for a thousand 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:34.440 yards season a year after he came three are shy 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:36.760 of his first one, uh, and then that you had 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:39.440 to hit from Thomas Davis happened and that basically ended 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:42.560