WEBVTT - #699 Packers Unscripted: That’s a wrap 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:11.080 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:14.319 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. He is the 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:16.880 one and only Weston Hotkoits. We're coming to you here 0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:19.880 from our studios at lambeau Field time for a bit 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:23.239 of a season wrap up show. Wes and Uh. I've 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:25.560 got a list of questions here, and as this show 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.320 is truly unscripted, I did not share them with you 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:32.440 before we turned on the cameras. Here. I'm just gonna 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:34.559 start with this, and this is a This is a 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:37.479 wide open You can take this any direction you want to. 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:40.519 I will give my thoughts as well. What will you 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:46.520 remember most about the Green Bay Packers season? Man, there's 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:49.400 so many different ways you can go with this. Um, 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.080 I'll do the old down capers here. Let's start with 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:56.120 the positives. Uh, this team did not quit. Uh. They 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:58.960 could have easily pitched the tent, been done with the 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:02.520 season right after Philadelphia. You know, at that point they 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:07.360 lost and what was at six of seven, Mike, things 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.560 were not going well. It was not looking promising to 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:12.800 make the playoffs, and these guys kept themselves in it. 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:16.160 They went and had a very gutsy performance down in Miami. Uh, 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:19.160 they imposed their will on the Minnesota Vikings here at 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.880 lambeau Field. The ability to overcome some of the injuries, 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:26.280 to overcome some of the inconsistency and still stay together, 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:28.640 I think is one of the big hallmarks this team 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:31.160 and a testament to the job you know that locker 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:34.640 room did, and also the coaching staff, and then on 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:37.920 the other side of it, certainly the the you know 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.000 inability to to meet the expectations for this season. It's 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:46.640 probably the lasting image, just because I don't think you 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.120 and I I'm not saying I never take anything for granted, Mike. 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:51.840 We've seen these seasons can go any sort of different ways. 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:53.960 Look at the l A. Rams I didn't think. I'm 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:55.840 guessing they did figure that this is how their year 0:01:55.920 --> 0:02:00.160 was going to go. But I definitely thought that was 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.400 for sure a playoff team. Yeah, me too. I thought 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:03.880 this was a team that was going to contend in 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.960 a wide open NFC race, and the Packers couldn't get 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:11.360 themselves into that dance. Early in the season, the offensive 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.200 game just wasn't there. The passing games struggled. I I 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.520 the running game wasn't as domineering as I thought it 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.360 was going to be, and then defensively as well as 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:22.000 I thought the Packers played in the first half of 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:25.000 the season, there was sort of that midseason laps and 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:26.560 and kind of picked it back up at the end 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:29.919 of the year. Uh, they're they're just when you look 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:32.200 at the record at eight and nine, I think it 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.280 is a good reflection of the fact that Green Bay 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.280 just was too inconsistent this year and and they kind 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:40.240 of ended up being. It was reflected in that in 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.880 the winning last column. Yeah, I echo those thoughts in 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:46.560 terms of I will remember that this team certainly did 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:50.120 not quit, but but that it also just it fell 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:54.440 so far short of expectations based on where everyone including us, 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:57.160 thought the season was going to go. A couple of 0:02:57.200 --> 0:03:00.080 things that I will remember most about this season, more 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.440 more so specific moments than than overarching that I'll share. 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.120 One is that I will always remember the last play 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:10.080 of the game in London, because I'm always going to 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:14.200 wonder what might have happened had Aaron Rodgers not broken 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:16.400 his thumb and he you know, he got that broken 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:18.799 thumb on the hail Mary attempt. When that whole second 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.360 half in London went sideways for the Packers and and 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.200 U if that game doesn't come down to a Hail 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:28.040 Mary attempting that thumb is not broken, I'll always wonder 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:31.520 where this season might have gone. The other thing I'll 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:35.200 I will remember is the win in Christmas. Win on 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:39.600 Christmas in Miami for a couple of reasons. One, you 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.200 coming back to the press box after doing pregame radio 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:46.240 and telling me the story about making your way through 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:51.160 the hard rock nightclub or whatever that's buried somewhere in 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:54.400 hard rock stadium and uh, and the fact that you 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:56.280 came to the press box and didn't spend the game 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:58.800 in the nightclub. Appreciate it because we did have we 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.840 did have, we did have some work to do. Um. 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:06.360 But also just walking out of that stadium, walking out 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:08.920 of that press box in Miami on Christmas, after that 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:13.000 big victory and sort of going okay, like the playoffs 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:16.080 are actually a realistic possibility, Like that was the moment 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:19.400 for me. You know, I didn't I didn't really want 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:22.000 to to buy into everything with so much that had 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:24.120 to go right and so much that had to happen, 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:28.600 um and UH, and that weekend is kind of when 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.720 it came together and and the playoffs went from you know, 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:33.800 for for a team that had been four and eight, 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:37.000 went from being a total pipe dream to a very 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:41.240 realistic possibility, and the Packers ended up putting themselves in 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:45.120 that position. So that the feeling, the feeling of walking 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.760 out of that press box in in Miami on Christmas 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:50.120 is something I'll remember because that was that was the 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:55.120 first really truly uplifting feeling after a game that we 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:58.400 had had really quite some time, going way back to 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:01.960 to the Bero. Probably it's the walking out of the 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:04.920 press box in Tampa Bay after the after the two 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.359 point victory, when the two point conversion was stopped and 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:10.240 you felt, Okay, Packers got a big road win here. 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:11.760 You know this, this is a good one. This will 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:14.680 mean something as the season goes along. And that feeling 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:17.400 didn't really come back, and at least for me, until 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.679 the win on Christmas. No, because until that day everything 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:22.240 was kind of by the skin of their teeth. I 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.680 mean you kind of forget that, you know, you got 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.520 out of Chicago after being down nine points going into 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:29.880 the fourth quarter against the Bears team that ultimately won 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.280 three games. The Dallas game went right down to the 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:36.480 wire like it was such a tight season. I mean, 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:38.440 I was thinking about that in the fourth quarter of 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:40.120 the Detroit game. I'm like, well, of course, this is 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:42.320 how this is gonna go, maybe not necessarily from the 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:44.400 losing standpoint, but that it was gonna come right down 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.200 to those last fifteen minutes because that's the way it 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:52.200 was absent basically one game the entire season for green Bay. Um. 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.760 But yeah, it is funny you go back and you 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.720 think about that game in Christmas. You hope everything ends 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:02.119 up being okay for Tua, But those the three interceptions 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:04.800 back to back to back, the way that the tide 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:07.360 had finally shifted for Green Bay. You don't wish that 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:10.839 for Tongua Bloya at all in terms of the injury 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:13.000 and the long term implications of that. But it was 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.760 the first time for Green Bay it felt like, Okay, 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:19.839 the floodgates had finally opened in their favor, as opposed 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.080 to a lot of these games where they had a 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:23.400 hard time taking the ball away early, then when they did, 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.039 they weren't scoring points off of it. That was the 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:29.000 game where it was like, Okay, maybe green Bay can 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:31.760 do something with h Yeah. Alright, My next question, do 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:37.440 you have a favorite play or favorite moment from this season, 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:40.760 the Christian Watson end around in Chicago, because that was 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:43.680 the one where it was like got him right. It 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:45.680 wasn't like a really good catch, it wasn't like a 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:48.120 really good throw. It wasn't this big interception, It was 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.400 a It was one of those plays where they just 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:52.760 caught the Bears with their pants down, I mean, honestly, 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.640 and unfortunately for Green Bay they were on the receiving 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:57.800 end of that a couple of times this season, but 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:00.160 in that specific instance, it went back in their aver. 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.119 And as I was just talking about, when you lose 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:04.600 seven of eight, you come back in the fourth quarter 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:06.800 to win that game and score you know, however, what 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:11.720 was zero eight zero in the fourth quarter in Chicago? Yeah, 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:13.720 those were the Those are the turning point games. I 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.840 think it also was another reminder of this is what 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.080 this young man can really bring to this offense. I 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:21.960 think when you're talking about us getting back for the 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:24.800 off season program in April and then in o t 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.520 as a minicamp, Christian Watson is going to be the 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:30.640 big name because that is the brightest star right now 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:34.080 in this orbit for Green Bay. Yeah. Absolutely for me, 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:36.600 and that one certainly ranks up there for me. Although 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.760 it doesn't because I was actually sick and covering that 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:41.800 game from home. I was not in the press box 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.600 with you in uh in Chicago for that one. The 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:47.560 one for me is is Keshawn Nixon's hunter and five 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.680 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, because then I had 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:53.440 talked about this after the Vikings game, just that the 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.800 crescendo that was building with the crowd where you had, 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:59.200 you know, first and goal in the one second, and 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:01.080 goal in the one third, and goal in the one 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.040 and the defense gets makes that goal line stand, gets 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:06.760 to stop, and the Vikings kicked the field goal. The 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.240 crowd was really into it with the way the defense 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.239 had risen up in a difficult situation. And then Nixon 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:14.760 takes the ensuing kickoff, huge hole up the middle of 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:16.600 the field. We could see it from the press box. 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:18.440 It was sort of a by the time he got 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:20.280 to like the thirty yard line, it was like, oh 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:23.280 my goodness, like there's nobody going to stop him. And uh, 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.160 the fact, obviously that broke a really long streak, you know, 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:29.480 going back to Randall Cobb as far as a Packers 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:33.280 player taking a kickoff return, the distance and and all 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:35.559 that and what it meant, and you know, setting really 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.320 setting the stage for what became a big, a big 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:41.760 blowout win, and and setting things up for weekends. And 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:44.360 how much grief all the DBS and everybody we're giving 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:46.840 Nixon for being tackled at the seven the weeker, Yeah, 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:49.560 the week before, the week before in Miami's very I mean, 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:51.560 Devin Hester did it all the time, but it's very 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:53.880 rarely in the NFL do you see a guy have 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:56.040 a ninety three yard return or whatever it was and 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.680 then come back the next week. It was like, So 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:00.720 it's a lot of times those kids off returns, they 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:04.120 surprise you, right, you're not expecting them. And in this instance, 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:05.720 it was almost when he got that return at the 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:08.360 beginning of it, even before the whole opened, you're like, okay, 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:10.040 Keishaw Nicks and the ways returning the ball, are we 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:11.800 getting close here? Is this going to be it? And 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:14.920 obviously he punched it in. Yeah. All right. Um, I'm 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:19.160 gonna ask you for some various m vps in different categories. Here. 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:20.920 You get to pick first, and then I will have 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.880 to pick somebody else. Um, your offensive m v P 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:28.840 for Aaron Jones. He was the most consistent player for 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.640 them and Mike there when when Aaron Jones produced, the 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.360 Packers won football games. It's just the way this season went. 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:36.880 I mean, I don't have the exact stats in front 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:39.120 of me right now, but show me the games where 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:40.880 he had over a hundred total yards, show me the 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:44.000 games where he scored multiple touchdowns. He was the ultimate 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:47.400 reflection of what this offense was doing. He finished the 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:49.640 season with a career high one thousand, one hundred and 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:52.880 twelve receiving rushing yards. I would have liked to have 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:54.800 seen the passing game work out a little bit more 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:57.280 for Green Bay in the backfield. They weren't as dynamic 0:09:57.320 --> 0:09:58.679 in that area as I thought they were going to 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:00.440 be with the you know, the Poe only and some 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.160 of the stuff going into the season. But but certainly 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:05.280 keep this in mind too, Mike. He averaged five point 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:07.840 three yards per carry. Aaron Jones didn't have a carry 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:13.520 individually over thirty six yards on the season. His ability 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:17.360 just to run eight nine ten yards at a clip. Uh, 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:19.600 it was really a huge impact. I felt like in 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:21.920 this offense again, and he was a guy that was 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:25.760 there for them every week. Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly with 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.920 Aaron Jones offensive m VP. That would be my choice 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.679 as well. In order to pick somebody different, I'm gonna 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.439 say Christian Watson just because and I know he really 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:37.400 was only a big part of things for half the 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:40.560 season because of the injuries and and other things he 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:44.120 dealt with early on. But he changed Green Bay's offense 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:48.360 when the season was clearly going south, not going anywhere. 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:52.480 He changed things. He changed the way most defenses had 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:55.360 to defend green Bay. I mean that that stretch of 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.079 you know, eight touchdowns over a span of four games. 0:10:58.120 --> 0:10:59.960 And I know the Packers even lost a couple of 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:03.079 those games. You know, Tennessee and Philadelphia were a couple 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:06.040 of games in in that mix there, but eight touchdowns 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:08.640 over four games from a rookie, I mean it was 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:12.960 absolutely unprecedented, and he completely changed the tenor and the 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:17.000 tone of how people felt about the Packers offense. So 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:19.319 he so he would be my pick. That line Tony 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:23.520 and Robert Tonyan told me to after the game against Detroit, 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:25.480 how he's like, you know, our offense kind of got 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.720 going when Christian got back. Yeah. I think it's it's 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:31.400 one sentence, but it really encapsulates how things went for 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:35.840 them this season. Yeah, wholeheartedly defensive m v P. I 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.679 mean it's Jayre. It has to be. I mean, he 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:42.520 he's a shutdown cornerback in every uh sense of the word. 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:44.880 For him to have five picks this year was big too. 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:47.439 I mean, he's a guy that doesn't typically get thrown 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:50.720 out a lot um. He had to create some opportunities 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:52.800 for himself throughout the course here. I thought he really 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.200 improved his hands. There weren't as many drop picks as 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:57.920 there were his first few seasons. I mean, he had 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.000 five picks this year, the same amount as what he 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.520 had his first four seasons, which I guess was more 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:05.360 like three and a half. But still, you get the point. Uh, 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:07.480 A guy that got a big contract in the offseason, 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.880 a guy that welcomed the bright lights. You know, he 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:14.160 put down the challenge there to Justin Jefferson and the Vikings. 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:17.320 He met that challenge. I think the thing for green 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:19.760 Bay moving forward is finding even more ways to to 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:24.480 incorporate him into this defense. You know, I he's to 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:26.720 the point now, Mike, the way I look at him 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:28.840 where it's like, you know how we talk about you 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:31.240 build your offense around like your skill position players. It's 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:32.600 almost getting to the point where it's like, you want 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:36.679 to build your defense around what Alexander does best, And uh, 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:38.319 I think that's something Green Bay is really gonna have 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:41.240 to consider this offseason. Yeah, that's a valid point. Um. 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:45.800 Absolutely For me, my pick for defensive m VP is 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.720 Preston Smith. And I say that, Um, you know, no, 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.720 he didn't have the you know, dozen sacks that he 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:54.200 had you know earlier with you know, with the other 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:57.520 Smith bro previously in his time in Green Bay and 0:12:57.559 --> 0:12:59.360 all that, and you know, I think he ended up 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:01.800 missing what is that a million dollar bonus in his 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.200 contract by like one and a half sacks or like 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.400 you did with one and a half. Story short, he 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:11.400 did pay and he didn't didn't quite didn't quite get there. Um. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.079 But the reason I say Preston Smith is because this defense, 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:20.320 this defense was wildly inconsistent throughout the vast majority of 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.080 the season. It had even when the Packers were losing games, 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.520 It had stretches in those games where it looked really 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.240 really good and then suddenly things would turn and the 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.680 defense would look like it was really really struggling. I 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:36.200 thought Preston Smith was the most consistent, most reliable, most 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:40.360 dependable player on the defensive side of the ball. I 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:44.280 remember watching from the press box in Philadelphia one time 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:47.160 he got out of his rushing lane and Jalen Hurts 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:50.079 took off running. And that's one of the only times 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:52.480 I can remember watching a play, either from the press 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:55.080 box or looking on film where I just went, Wow, 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.079 Preston got like way out, way outside of himself there 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:00.880 and the defense got hurt. Right. You saw that with 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:03.960 a lot of other players throughout the course of the season, 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.440 and that one play in Philadelphia might be the only 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:11.240 really glaring negative mistake I saw Preston Smith make all season. 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.440 I thought, you know, he's become a leader on the 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:15.920 defensive side of the ball. Maybe not as as vocal 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:19.640 as some other guys, but a leader on the defensive 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:22.280 side of the ball and just a rock solid, dependable 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:24.640 guy who I think is going to be a big 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:28.440 part of the foundation for this defense still moving forward. Yeah, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.880 and he also remember what was asked of him after 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:34.480 Week nine, Right, Uh, that was the biggest travesty This 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:36.760 whole thing is we didn't get to see what him 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:38.960 and Rashaan Gary could do, right, Yeah, we only got 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.840 a half season of that. But when Gary goes down 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:45.520 it with all due respect to Kingsley, Nigbari, Jonathan Garvin 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:50.119 and eventually Justin Hollins coming it was Preston like everybody 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:53.160 is going to look at their pass rush uh challenges 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:55.320 on a week to week basis and planned for that 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:57.720 being the top edge rusher. Uh. And if you think 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.280 about it, for so long, he was always the compliment nary, 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:04.880 consistent guy that's playing off another pass rusher. Well, this 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.280 year the Packicks didn't have that benefit, and I thought 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:09.360 he actually brought his game up to another level, was 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.000 more impactful during the second half of the season when 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:15.680 Gary wasn't available. So uh, certainly an accountable player that 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:17.200 is going to be a part of this thing for 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.880 years to come. Down Green Band, All right, now, you 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.920 can't pick the obvious, which is Keishaan Nixon. But who's 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:26.720 your special team's m v P aside from Nixon? Who 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.560 is you know, clearly the obvious choice here. But so 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.480 this is like picking you know, m v P number 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:34.720 two on special team And what's funny? Can I just 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:36.800 make one little comment about Nixon before we do that? 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:39.880 It's if we were really picking one Kishan Nixon's obviously 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.440 yet But everybody's going to talk about the kickoff returner thing. 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:46.000 Keishaan Nixon, what him and Ruby Ford brought his flyers 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.160 the first two months of the season that changed the 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:52.320 tenor of Packers punt coverage. There were a lot of 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.920 years there where if the punter is not placing the 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:58.080 ball correctly, there's a big opportunity for a return there. 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:00.560 I thought both of those guys, they gave them no 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.600 room to operate within All that being said that that 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:08.280 was that those two guys in that in those positions 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:12.160 and what they were doing was was a big part 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:14.680 of the culture change on special teams. I think is 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:17.920 what you're getting my guy is going to actually be 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.600 down Levitt though the other guy they brought in last year. Now, 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:23.840 Levitt was not without flaw as a player this season, 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.960 but it was that conversation I had with Kenny Clark 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:30.840 mentioning how him and Nixon they changed the culture of 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:34.240 special teams. You saw it so many times this year, Mike, 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:37.360 the way that Levitt approached coverage teams, the way he 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:41.160 approached some of those grittier aspects of this thing. Guys 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:44.280 like he he approached that phase of the game like 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:46.400 it was the offense at the twenty yard line with 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.440 two minutes to go, and you gotta punch this thing. 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:51.040 And he approached it like a defense on the goal line. 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.480 He had an energy level at that position that I 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:57.440 thought helped bring along your your Turek Carpenters. You're in 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.480 it gains your Isaiah McDuffie's who ended up leading the 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.640 Packers and coverage tackles this year. You bring in I got, 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:06.639 you know, so many different players throughout the course of 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:09.239 this year that that ended up making an impact. And 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:11.600 I thought it really started with them bringing in Lovette 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:14.840 right before the beginning of training camp. Yeah, my pick, 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:17.480 my pick in this category obviously not being able to 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:19.879 pic NICs, and I certainly like Levitt as a choice 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:21.720 as well. This is going to be kind of an 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:26.160 odd pick, but I'm gonna pick Pat o'donnaldco. No, I'm 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.720 gonna pick Pat o'donald. And it's not because he had, 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:31.800 you know, a Pro Bowl season as a punter. Um 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:34.480 you know, he was certainly solid. There weren't any you know, 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.800 major issues in the punning game by any means, But 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:41.240 I felt like Pat O'Donnell was the guy, maybe more 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.880 than anybody else between the white lines who settled everything 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.680 down with the field goal operation and how everything had 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:50.879 gone so wrong with the field goal operation in one. 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:54.760 There weren't those issues in two, And it seemed almost 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.000 from the very beginning of the season with O'Donnell as 0:17:57.040 --> 0:17:59.760 the holder, experienced guy done it for eight years and 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:04.760 Cargo or whatever it was, and he pat O'Donnell helped 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.600 get Mason Crosby back to being Mason Crosby and not 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:10.520 the guy we saw in two that you could tell 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:14.760 was was rattled and bothered by all of the issues 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:18.200 that were going on with with the operation as a whole. 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:23.840 So um again, you know the I thought, I thought, 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.399 what I thought. What O'Donnell did just as a just 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:29.600 as a calming presence in in that area was was 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.359 really impactful. And twenty four punts inside the twenty this 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:34.919 year too. For him, there weren't the typical kind of 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:36.960 shanks that have been sort of plagued in Green Band. 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:38.879 I mean, they were able to win the field position 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:40.600 battle a lot of times because of what him and 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:43.679 the Flyers were doing. Yeah, yeah, I agree, all right, 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.959 last one of this type for you, And again this 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:49.840 is where you don't get to pick Christian Watson because 0:18:49.880 --> 0:19:00.800 he's the obvious choice rookie of the year. It's probably 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:05.320 the quietest that's ever gotten on Packers unscripted. Like I said, 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:10.760 I didn't, I didn't. I didn't give it because it's 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:13.160 easy to say kuway Walker. It's very easy to say 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:16.639 kway Walker. But I want to give a special acknowledgement 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.240 to Romeo Dobbs in this opera, in this chance, because 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:22.800 while Dobbs coming back from the ankle in Drew was 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:26.520 tough that first month of the season, Romeo Dobbs had 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.160 to be a lot more veteran of a player than 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:31.600 what Green Bay really had ever asked from a rookie. 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:34.679 Alan Lazard was dealing with the ankle and even you 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:37.320 know he had you had, you know, Sammy Watkinson's a 0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:42.320 pull in the hamstring. They really leaned on Romeo Dobbs 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:44.679 the first two months of the year and that that 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.480 performance he had in Tampa Bay, Michael Agreement. If he 0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:49.480 doesn't have three catches for seventy three yards in that 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:54.239 touchdown early, Packers probably don't win that game. He I 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:57.000 think it is just his consistency level. I think there 0:19:57.160 --> 0:19:59.640 was probably that rookie wall a little bit he hit 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:02.480 the ankle did not help in in Detroit. Yeah, I 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:04.840 mean he ended up missing a solid month of and 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:07.080