WEBVTT - #706 Packers Unscripted: Passing the torch 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.600 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:13.520 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. On the other 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:17.680 screen is Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to you from different 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:21.639 locations here at lambeau Field, and it is Thursday, which 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:26.760 is also schedule release day in the NFL, And while 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:31.560 things are being prepped and discussed and talked about in 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:36.599 anticipation of the evening NFL Network show on the schedule, 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:39.680 we are going to put off talking about the schedule 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.479 until our next show because, actually, Wes, there was an 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:47.599 interesting off season day at Lambeaufield on Wednesday, the kind 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:50.400 of day that doesn't happen all the time. And what 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:54.280 I'm talking about, of course, is the first news conference 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:58.160 for a new QB one here in Green Bay. Jordan 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.200 Love addressed the media in the lambel Field Auditorium along 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:05.800 with teammates Kenny Clark and Aaron Jones, and just wanted 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:08.639 to ask you for your impressions, your thoughts on Jordan 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:10.440 Love at the podium, not that we haven't seen him 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:12.679 there before, because he started a game. You know, he's 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:15.399 gotten some playing time and preseason games and all that 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:18.320 we've certainly you know, had many media sessions with him, 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.200 but this was the first time, you know, with the 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:23.000 official QB one title. 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:25.840 So it's funny. This week, I've been going back over 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:28.480 some of the things I've written about Jordan Love over 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.120 the last three years, and I was going through a 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:33.319 profile that I did on him after the draft in 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:37.560 twenty twenty and actually, as I found out while doing that, 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.360 Panini ripped off one of my quotes from that and 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:42.520 put it on their trading card. So I really appreciate 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:46.040 that without attribution. I may add, not better or anything, 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:50.360 but that quote that they took was from David Yost, 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:54.440 the former offensive coordinator at Utah State, and the quote 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:56.520 he gave me back for that story is one that 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:58.840 really resonated with me while he was at the podium 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:03.840 on Wednesday, and it went like this, Mike, the kid 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:08.079 is always going to be even keeled if you think 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:11.160 any better, you know, listening to him, you would think 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:14.919 his heart rate is like at about thirty good, bad 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:18.840 or indifferent. Jordan Love is such. I mean, when you 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:24.360 talk about the construct of a quarterback NFL, college, high school, 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.480 whatever level you want to talk about, there is a 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:32.239 certain amount of confidence, a certain amount of quiet calmness 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.280 around them that I think you need to excel at 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.160 this level, and Jordan Love has that. Mike, you asked 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:41.960 me my perceptions, my thoughts, my my you know, takeaways 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:45.519 from Jordan Love's presser for seventeen minutes. I thought he 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.079 showed that he can be the face of this franchise. 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.600 I thought he showed he can be the one standing 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:54.480 up in front of the room and handling all types 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:57.399 of questions. Jordan Love was asked six different ways from 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:01.639 Sunday about handling pressure, and I felt like his comments 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:05.359 were very salient in that there's always pressure. It doesn't 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.639 matter if it's Aaron Rodgers, you're succeeding. It doesn't matter 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.280 if your first round pick, doesn't matter if you're Brock Purdy. 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.680 He didn't say that. I'm saying that the quarterback is 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.720 always going to have that on his shoulders. Jordan Love 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:18.960 is ready for that, Mike. And it was funny near 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:21.359 the end of the presser, Mike Clemens, one of the 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.680 radio guys, says to him, you know, people ask me 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.720 about you and they don't really know you yet, and 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:31.120 you know, basically just just what's he like. And I 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:33.200 think to a certain extent. We do know what Jordan 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:35.560 Love is like. He is a guy that is going 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:37.440 to come in and he's going to do his job 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:41.080 with a personality that I think resonates with that locker room. 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:44.000 I'll give you something to talk about here. I won't 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.680 steal everything, but the comment that Aaron Jones gave us 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:50.400 about how you know for three years you haven't heard 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:53.080 a peep out of this guy, right, I think speaks 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:56.440 to the character of both the man and also the 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.680 type of teammate that Jordan Love has been in Green Bay, Wisconsin. 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.680 Yeah, I think what struck me the most, quite frankly, 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.320 is that in some ways, and I'm not saying this 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:07.800 as a knock on Jordan Love, but I wasn't. I 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:12.160 wasn't struck by anything really in the press conference, and 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:14.640 I think I think that's because, you know, we did 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:17.800 see the same guy that we've seen when he's talked 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.080 to the media at his locker during training camp or 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:22.600 after a preseason game, or when he has been at 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:26.960 the podium after some of his regular season action. Jordan Love, 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.839 as you said, he's he's an even keeled guy, and 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:33.600 that's that's who he is on and off the field. 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:36.920 That really is the guy that the Packers now have 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.919 commanding the offense. And he didn't walk out there as 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:44.560 you know, for his for his first session with the 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:47.280 media as QB one and and feel like, Okay, I 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:49.520 have to win the press conference. I have to I 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:51.800 have to answer all these questions so that you know, 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:53.960 so that all the stories have you know, this certain 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:56.760 angle or you know. He he didn't take that approach. 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:58.800 He's he's just like, all right, you know, ask ask 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:00.760 what you want to ask. I'm gonna give. I'm gonna 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.960 give my honest answers and and uh, and I'm gonna 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:06.080 move on with with my day because at the end 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:08.479 of the day, he knows that it's not about what 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:10.880 he says in front of the media. It's it's the 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.120 it's the preparation he puts in, it's the way he 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.760 acts around his teammates in the locker room. It's about 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:21.159 going out on Sundays and winning football games when September 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:25.080 rolls around, and and that's that's really all he's all 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.680 he's focused on. And and uh, and yes, there is 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:30.560 going to be that that face of the franchise labeled 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:35.839 now that that he's the starting quarterback. But my favorite 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:38.880 line of of the whole thing is, uh, you know, 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:41.360 to follow up on what you said when he was 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:44.040 asked all these different ways about pressure, because you know, 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:46.159 he's following a four time m v P. You know, 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:49.200 he he's only under contract for two more years, you know, 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.200 with that extension, so he has to he has to 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:54.479 prove himself and you know, the to for perhaps another 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.000 contract and the pressure that comes with that. And he 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:59.039 just said, you know, pressure, He's like, that's what I 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.680 signed up for. That's what you sign up for when 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:04.520 you decide to be a quarterback in the game of 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:06.479 football and make your way all the way to the 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:11.080 NFL to play the position. It comes with the territory. 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.000 It's part of the deal. And he totally understands that 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:16.520 he is not going to be He's not going to 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:21.640 be overwhelmed, you know, by that aspect of it, because 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:25.159 quite frankly, I don't think he thinks about it. He 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:29.400 thinks about that those outside forces all that much. He's 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.640 really he's focused on himself and he's focused on his teammates. 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:35.920 This kid, ultimately, and I should say young man, he's 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:39.279 not a kid. He's twenty four years old. But you know, 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:41.760 he's going to be judged by what he does on 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:44.760 the field, and I think Jordan understands that. He appreciates 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:46.320 that he was talking about how he needs to protect 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:48.080 the ball better, that the things that he needs to 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:52.040 do as a leader, what he's basically expecting himself of 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:56.440 himself in this twenty twenty three season. But one of 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.279 the big comments I've made to you during this whole 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:02.839 journey is for all the outside consternation over Aaron Rodgers 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:05.159 and the Green Bay Packers and what was going to happen. 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:06.880 Is he going to leave after twenty Is he going 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:08.719 to leave after twenty one? Are they going to do 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:14.400 an extension with him? Jordan Love never made that situation 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:16.960 more difficult than it had to be. No One ever 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.720 thought about, well what does that mean for Jordan Love. 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:22.880 Love even said it. I think it was to your question. 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.880 You know, after Aaron signed the extension, that was probably 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:29.800 the moment where it was probably the hardest for him 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:31.640 because now it's like, Okay, well I've put three years 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:34.160 in here, what does this mean If Aaron Rodgers is 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:36.920 going to be here for another three years, I'm clearly 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.240 not going to be the guy Then but again that's 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:42.920 not anything he raised really in the media. He's not 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:47.960 gone around and made it about him. He was a 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.720 humble servant to what the Green Bay Packers needed him 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:56.480 to be during that time. And when his time did 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:01.920 come in Philadelphia last November, it was nine passes, six completions. 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:05.040 Aaron Jones joked about it probably should have been seven. Uh, 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:09.560 But the kid was just always the same guy. I know, 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:11.840 you always go to the podium after games and I 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.960 go to the locker room, and Jordan stood at his 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:17.680 locker in the away locker room. Now again a guy 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:19.880 that typically just gets dressed and leaves and gets on 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:21.680 the bus, grabs his food, he's all good to go. 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.160 Well for that day, he had to sit at his 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:27.720 locker for probably twenty minutes and answer questions from waves 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:33.120 of media and same guy. So, to bring it back 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:35.520 full circle, when David Yos gave me that quote, you know, 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:37.000 you hear a lot of stuff. You and I will 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:39.400 do these profiles on kids, you know, after you know, 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:41.959 they get drafted to Green Bay, and you'll hear all 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:44.439 sorts of things, some of them spot on some things, 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.120 you know, maybe a little bit of you know, building 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:52.280 up and don't want to say exaggeration, but you know, different, 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:58.400 different information. David Yos's comments about that thirty Poulse Heartbeat, 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.960 good bad are indifferent Jordan Love. That's what you see 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:02.959 and that's what you're gonna get. 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:06.720 Yeah, so I need to clarify something here. So you're 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:11.559 saying that a quote that only appeared in your story 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.960 on Packers dot Com on Jordan Love showed up on 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:17.280 a Jordan Trading card trading card. 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:20.959 It's actually happened. It's happened three times now, believe it 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:21.240 or not. 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:22.640 Wow. 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:24.440 I thought it was cute the first time, but then 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:26.679 the next few it was like, oh wow, So Panini's 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:28.480 just ripping these things off. Okay, that's cool. 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.440 Well, I guess, uh they I guess they scour team 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:35.360 websites looking for uh, looking for looking for things that 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:37.240 they think are supposedly free. 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.760 I like, at the very least, credit you or something, 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.240 or credit packers dot com, give us something, Panini, I mean, 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:45.880 just just ripping it and put it on the back, 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.360 because like again, if it would be a quote that 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:50.880 I got from a group interview and they whatever, but 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:54.559 it's like all that was original content. Guys, Like, yeah, 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:57.040 you're kind of walking out of the grocery store with 0:09:57.080 --> 0:09:58.080 the with the produce. 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.520 But yeah, that's that's what I wanted to clear. I mean, 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:02.120 you know, if it's a comment that was you know, 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.120 said in a large press conference setting and you know, 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.520 has appeared in lots of different you know, media articles, 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:10.920 media outlets, whatever the case might be, like that, that 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.520 feels a little different. But when it's something that's something 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:19.440 that's exclusive, you know, to to one particular article that 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:21.880 just that that seems that seems strange. 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:23.720 Do you know where it was solicited? Mike? Where it 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:26.520 was recorded in my bonus room at my house when 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:26.959 we were in a. 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:30.439 Panama Yeah, during Yeah, that's right, the post the post 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:34.200 twenty twenty draft pandemic and we were all, yeah, we 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:37.640 were all doing our work from home. So well, the 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.719 uh another the other two players we heard from at 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:44.200 the podium on Wednesday, as it relates to the Packers 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:47.360 offseason program where they are right now, Aaron Jones and 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:51.600 Kenny Clark. Obviously, Aaron Jones spoke of you know, his 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:55.200 support for Jordan Love and and you know, really speaking 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:57.520 for the entire locker room, and and Kenny as well 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.360 that uh, that this is a locker room that that's 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.000 behind this guy. You know, they're they're going to lay 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:04.800 it out on the line for him. And and what 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:08.480 struck me there is that they both spoke of just 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:12.320 the the respect that they have for Love in terms 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:14.360 of the way he went about all this, like what 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:16.880 you were talking about before, how you know, he never 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:19.720 you know, he never said anything even when there was 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:22.760 so much uncertainty with with Aaron Rodgers signing a contract 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:26.000 extension and Jordan Love doesn't know what that means for 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.320 his future. He didn't cause he didn't cause a stir, 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.800 he didn't cause a problem. And that that alone earned 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.360 a certain level of respect in the locker room because 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:39.280 Jordan Love proved that he's a team player. He's he's 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:41.680 here in Green Bay to help the Packers win games 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:45.120 in whatever way the Packers want him to help win games. 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:47.080 And and I think that's going to go a long 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:52.680 way in this transition obviously, you know, as the Packers 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:56.800 are are, you know, making this youth movement so to speak, 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.120 with a lot of veteran players who've been around for 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:02.440 a while not not coming back, although the door isn't 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:04.760 closed on all of them, but the locker room is 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:08.320 definitely skewing younger, and there's a lot of guys in 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:11.640 the locker room that didn't play a whole heck of 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.520 a lot of years with Aaron Rodgers. So it's not 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.199 as though the transition is going to be something traumatic 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:21.600 or overly dramatic for those players. But for veteran guys 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.560 like Kenny Clark and Aaron Jones who have been around 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:28.000 for a while, they've made it very clear that they've 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:29.360 got their quarterbacks back. 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.360 You know, Mike, The thing that I loved about listening 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:37.360 to Aaron Jones and Kenny Clark in that whole situation was, 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:41.120 in a way the situation they are different. But my goodness, Mike, 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.600 when you think of the path that Jones and Clark 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.320 both came on, there are parallels to the situation that 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:51.040 love finds himself. And Kenny it made sense, right. He 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.320 plays a position where there's usually two or three of 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.160 the guys on the field at the same time with 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.120 him from his group, but he had to wait most 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:00.480 of his rookie year to finally get some of bigger 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.920 opportunities and then really came on late, then took off 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.640 towards the second half of his second season. Aaron Jones 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:10.880 every single week in twenty eighteen, and at the end 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.360 of the twenty seventeen season was basically being asked do 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:15.720 you want more touches? Do you need more touches? And 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:17.920 he just kept smiling and saying, I will do whatever 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:20.680 the team asks of me. You can tell both of 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:25.360 those guys appreciated the tact and the approach that Jordan 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:29.040 Love took in this situation. And again, when you're talking 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:33.040 about this next step of this organization, this next step 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:36.680 of this franchise, these are three of the players that 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:38.679 I think you want. We talk so much about who 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:40.240 do you want coming off the bus right who's the 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:42.840 most intimidating? These are the three guys I think you 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:46.360 want representing your franchise. And to add on one more 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:48.480 thing with Jordan Love for people that want to make 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:51.480 this Love or Rogers Rogers in Love, the fact that 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.760 Love talked about how he spoke with Rogers afterwards, and 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.920 Rogers telling him if you ever need anything, if you 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.600 ever have a question, you still got my number, Still 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:03.600 give me a call, Let's talk about it. I think 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.839 Aaron Rodgers too also appreciated the approach that Love took 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:11.320 to this thing that with his development process and now 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:15.080 finally getting this opportunity in the very much same way, 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:17.880 at least on the field as Aaron Rodgers did in 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:18.800 two thousand and eight. 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:22.240 Yeah, absolutely, I think that's I think that's very well said. 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:24.320 I'll take care of some sponsor business. 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:24.480 Here. 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.960 Wes Sirius XM NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:31.280 up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:33.920 need twenty four to seven, three sixty five, and that 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:36.760 Cousin Subs we have something for everyone like our Wisconsin 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.000 cheese curds, mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:42.520 all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:47.400 Cousin Subs fifty years of better. All Right, One other 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:49.560 subject I want to touch on here West before we 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.800 go today, and that is as it relates to Kenny 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:55.560 Clark speaking to the media yesterday. And I want to 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:57.840 dial it back a little bit to when we heard 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:00.680 from Brian gudakuns to a couple of weeks ago during 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:05.160 the NFL Draft, and particularly when another first round pick 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.520 was invested in the defense, in the selection of Lucas 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:12.240 van Ness out of Iowa. The Packers are going to 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.960 have a total of eight first round draft picks on 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:20.080 the field as far as the starting or you know, 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.720 if you consider the you know, twelfth and thirteenth guys, 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:26.520 you know, with sub packages, essentially you're starting defensive unit 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.680 eight first round draft picks. And Brian Gudokunz made no 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.640 bones about the fact that the expectations for this unit 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:36.360 are going to be very high, and even setting aside 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:39.760 the fact that that is a unit that the Packers 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:43.240 are going to be really counting on as they make 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:47.320 this transition to Jordan Love at quarterback and the franchise takes, 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:51.280 you know, takes this new road, and you know, you 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:53.520 go back to last year and we had talked about it, 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.280 where the expectations were very high for the defense and 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.200 the offense was making this a big transition, not as 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.080 big as this year, but still a significant transition without 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:04.440 DeVante Adams, that wide receiver, that was going to be 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:08.440 a big shift for the passing game, and there was 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:11.040 a lot placed on the defense to you know, sort 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.600 of hold up its end, at least in the early going, 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:16.360 while the offense could settle into this new reality and 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:20.840 get things going and and you know, really starting with 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:23.440 the starting with the London game. You know, the Packers 0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:25.400 were out to a three and one start. Everything looked 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:27.800 like it was all right. But then starting with the 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:30.360 London game, you know, things started to go south for 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:34.360 the defense and and it really didn't get back to 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.360 playing the way everybody had hoped and planned until the 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:41.560 stretch weren't run when the Packers were trying to steal 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:46.360 a playoff spot there at the end. Kenny Clark, you know, 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:51.920 is absolutely clear on what the expectations for this defense are. 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.800 And hearing from him, it sounds like the defense is 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:58.360 not going to run and hide from those expectations, even 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.080 as even as for a unit that didn't live up 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:02.800 to it last year, and he knows they didn't live 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:04.960 up to it last year, but they aren't going to 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:09.040 run and hide from those expectations. Again. The sense I 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:11.960 got is it's like, yeah, the expectations should be high, 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:14.359 Bring it on, we need to come through for this 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:15.120 football team. 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:17.800 Yeah. And that man, I mean Missus Clark. She raised 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:20.720 that kid so well because it's not just about the 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:22.520 football team. You go back at the end of last season, 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:24.359 I think it was Jason Wilde who did a feature 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:26.920 I did a story on Kenny talking about his own year, 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:30.680 how he expected more out of himself. You know, it's 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:32.359 never good enough, and he's never going to come up 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:36.160 with excuses to talk about not meeting expectations. He knows 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:39.240 what the expectations are being one of those eight first 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.399 round picks right now on this roster, including Lucas Faness. 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.840 The weird thing about the twenty twenty two season defensively 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:48.880 for Green Bay was I think they were at their 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:52.000 best in terms of the talent on the field early, 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:55.480 but it was almost like after the Rashan Gary injury 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:59.879 and also Eric Stokes, they had to reconfigure things. I 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.399 felt like they were the better team, the better unit 0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:06.520 later in the season. They're gonna get Gary back. They 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.080 need Rashaan Gary back, no questions about that. But I 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:12.919 think it's about understanding where guys fit in this scheme 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.280 and also where they're gonna get the most productivity from 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:19.800 the corresponding pieces. You can have the eleven best players 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:22.679 at their position together on the field, but if it 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.560 doesn't act cohesively, if it doesn't meet with the scheme, 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:28.639 if it doesn't if all the parts do not attach, 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.199 it's going to be a tough ghost still, and I 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:33.880 felt like in the second half they did a better 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.359 job playing together as a unit. The other thing that 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.119 Green Bay tapped into the second part of the season 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:43.240 that I think was important was after Stokes's injury. Rasseul Douglas, 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:48.040 to my eye, is his position's perimeter corner. I give 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:50.119 him credit for try and slot. I know there's a 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.520 lot of hubbub in the offseason about hey, could he 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.880 go to safety? Let Rasseull Douglas be a perimeter corner. 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:57.760 When he's a perimeter corner. The guy has what MI 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:01.280 like eight interceptions and like what seventeen games as a 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:03.920 packer at this point when he's playing outside, I mean right, 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:06.680 he is a good compliment to what they're doing with 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:09.159 jyr Alexander, especially with not knowing what's gonna happen with 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.600 Eric Stokes. I think you need dog mentality players like 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.359 Keishawn Nixon in this scheme. You know, you hope that 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:19.440 both kway Walker gets another year better and Devondre Campbell 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:22.080 being a little healthier this year is gonna help. But 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:25.399 everybody gets it. Joe Barry, we haven't talked to him 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.720 yet this offseason, but he gets it. The defense is 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:31.920 the area of this team that is fortified right now. 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:34.159 It is the area of the team that doesn't have 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.800 to make you know, big strides with a young unit. 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:40.040 They have experience coming back and they need to play 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:41.160 to that experience level. 0:19:41.520 --> 0:19:43.560 Yeah, and I think what was so mysterious, not that 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:45.960 we need to rehash everything with last year, but what 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:48.679 was so mysterious about what was going on with the 0:19:48.720 --> 0:19:54.480 defense last year is that we constantly regularly saw spurts 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:59.440 of really really good defensive play and what was expected 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:03.479 of the team was visible at certain times, but it 0:20:03.520 --> 0:20:05.600 was It was never for a full game. It was 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:07.760 never for a couple of games. I mean I think 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:10.080 back to, you know, the the game against the Jets, 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:12.240 the one that was right after the really tough loss 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.600 in London. The Jets had like eight consecutive possessions and 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:18.680 they scored three points. Now, the offense wasn't holding up 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:21.720 its end in that game, but the defense was doing, 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:23.720 you know, was doing what you thought you would do 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:26.800 with a young quarterback like Zach Wilson coming into lambeau Field. 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:27.640 But then as the. 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.280 Game war on, you know, suddenly things start to change 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:32.680