WEBVTT - #664 Packers Unscripted: Saints synopsis 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:10.600 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:14.200 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:16.680 by my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz. We're coming to you 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:20.680 here from our studios at lambeau Field West. Two major 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.119 topics today, both related, of course. One is that we 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:26.560 will look back at the two joint practices with the 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.360 New Orleans Saints and share some of our observations, and 0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:32.400 then we will look ahead to the preseason game against 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:35.680 the New Orleans Saints, which which is slated for Friday night, 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:39.440 seven pm kickoff at lambeau Field, the only home preseason 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:43.839 game for the Packers. In turning the clock back to 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:46.479 the last couple of days, the two joint practices at 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:51.400 NIKI Field Packers and Saints, what's the I guess the 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.880 first thing that comes to your mind when you think 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:58.440 back at those two workouts. No, no, no, it was 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.360 it was really it was only one minor little only 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:05.160 one scuffle. Scuffle, yes, scuffle would be the correct would 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:08.319 be would be an appropriate a Stokes and you know, 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.319 Jarvis Landry just getting into it a little bit. But no, 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:13.959 it wasn't. Nobody was throwing punches at helmets or anything 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:19.160 like that. Uh, No, really competitive two days and obviously, 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:22.120 and I talked with our our friends over with the 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:26.160 New Orleans Saints dot com website, it really was a 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:28.840 matter of defense, sort of controlling the tempo on both 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:30.640 sides of the field. And some of that is to 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:33.480 be expected. Both of these offenses are going through transitions, 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:35.360 and and you know, right now the Saints don't have 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:38.280 Jameis Winston, he's still been held out. And then obviously 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:40.800 on the Packers side of things, they're trying to find 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:43.800 their way here offensively with these new receivers and a 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:48.840 different structure. So what I was most encouraged by over 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:52.160 these two practices is everything we've seen from the Packers 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:56.000 defense and the dominance and in moments of really uh 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:59.480 just being able to control the tempo that that translated 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.880 against Saints. Yeah. Uh. And Mike, I don't know if 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.640 this is the third time, right, we've had joint practices 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:09.240 during my time here, third time in four years. I 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.200 don't know if I recalled a moment where the Packers 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:17.560 consistently down after down or pressuring the quarterback the way 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:20.120 they did in this practice, I don't think it really 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.480 would have mattered if Jamis Winston was back there or not. 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:25.560 The Packers were getting home and it wasn't just Rashaan 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:29.800 Gary or Preston Smith or Kenny Clark. You saw Kobe Jones, 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:33.440 you saw Kingsley and Nigba A. You saw everybody being 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:36.040 able to pressure that The Saints had a real difficult 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:37.840 time with some of the double A gap blitz is 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.200 and some of the looks that they gave with the cornerbacks. 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.360 This was really the type of performance you wanted to 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:46.640 see from Green Bay's defense after having a lot of 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:48.799 success to the first two and a half weeks of camp. Yeah, 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.280 and I had mentioned with regard to the defense when 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.600 we were previewing the joint practices that I was interested 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:58.800 to see that cornerback trio that we didn't really see 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:00.720 on the field at all last year. Of course talking 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:04.400 about Alexander Douglas and Stokes and uh. And Yes, the 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:07.959 what the defense was doing up front was impressive, There's 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:11.280 no doubt about it. But this defense in the back end, 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:16.280 as far as covering uh, Michael Thomas, Jarvis, Landry Cristal 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.880 Lave the rookie out of Ohio State, Now, I mean 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:21.280 they made some catches here and there. Let's let's not 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:24.760 you know that this was not literally complete and total 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:28.600 shut down like inability to move the ball. But there's 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.399 a hundred yard football field and defenses get a lot 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:35.320 of territory to defend, and offenses need to put something together, 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:38.480 sustained some kind of rhythm and some consistency with moving 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:42.160 the ball, and the Saints really weren't able to do 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.480 that against the Packers number one defense. And it was 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.080 the combination of what those guys were doing up front 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.560 with with the pressure on the quarterback. Um I only 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:53.200 saw maybe over the course of the couple of days 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.280 one or two runs leak out. Otherwise it seemed that 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:59.080 the run defense was was holding up pretty well. And 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:01.800 then those guys in the back in even without Darnell Savage, 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:05.040 with the ones with with Vernon Scott, that that secondary 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:08.880 just doesn't give receivers a whole heck of a lot 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.240 of space and and uh yeah, there are gonna be 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:15.240 quarterbacks who can hit those pinpoint throws. But the windows 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:17.400 to me, when I was watching the defense, the throwing 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.359 windows for Andy Dalton were awfully tight. They really were. 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:24.479 And it was funny too, because well, one the gire 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.120 Alexander Michael Thomas matchup that we talked so much about. 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.279 We got a chance to see some of that, but 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.159 ultimately the way that the Saints moved Thomas around, he 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.000 saw a lot of Russell Douglas too, I mean, Eric Stokes, 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:38.400 I mean there was It wasn't just specific players matching 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.320 up against specific guys and man demand coverage there. It 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:43.760 was a really I don't want to say exotic because 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.560 it wasn't that far, but both of these teams were 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:49.240 pretty much open things up a little bit. They showed 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:51.479 more looks. You remember, one of the big criticisms Aaron 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.360 Rodgers had with the first joint practice against the Texans 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:57.000 a few years ago was it was basically a glorified 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.960 preseason game. The Texans weren't really given them their play 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.600 if they were doing things that you really wouldn't do, uh, 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:07.680 if you're actually trying to practice and refine some stuff. 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:10.279 I felt like the Saints and the Packers both did that, 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:12.880 and that's a credit to Matt Lafleur and Dennis Allen 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:15.360 and in seeing a lot of these guys step up 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.800 and you know, even you know, you talked about the 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:19.960 cornerbacks but even look at a guy like Vernon Scott, 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.359 like how valuable these last two days have been. A 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:25.239 guy that question didn't play really at all last season 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.560 and then suddenly he's the every down safety with the 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.160 number one defense, lining up next to Adrian Amos. So 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.200 you know, kuay Walker's getting his first big run being 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.600 inside with Devondre Campbell, guy that he probably won't play 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:40.440 with in the preseason at all. So again, by and large, 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:42.920 was really happy with the defensive work. Offensively, there were 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:46.400 some things to clean up, but but certainly I felt 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:48.240 like coming out of this thing, this was probably the 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.320 most productive joint practice session they've had so far. Yeah, 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:53.720 I would agree in terms of the three different years 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.320 we've seen this, the Texans, the Jets last year, and 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:59.480 the Saints, I I thought, I thought this was this 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:02.599 was the the best. It was the most competitive work 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:06.000 where you know, guys were playing clean. There wasn't there 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:09.919 wasn't you know, the extracurricular you know activity that that 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:11.800 kind of thing. And God bless the Jets, but I 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.479 mean those are two teams going in very different directions 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:16.000 in terms of their seasons. I mean, I don't think 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:18.200 the Jets were any under any disillusions that they were 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:20.800 gonna be a super Bowl team. The Saints have those 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:24.039 kind of aspirations, so watching those units work has really 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:26.480 been impressive. Yeah. Well, the big story on the offensive 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:29.120 side of the ball, of course for the Packers was 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:33.520 UM Aaron Rodgers when he spoke at his locker following 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:37.640 the first of the two joint practices on Tuesday. Um, 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:39.800 he sort of let his offensive unit have it a 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.479 little bit in terms of the sloppiness, the pre snap penalties, 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:47.440 mental mistakes and things and and uh Um. It was 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:50.200 in part directed at the whole unit, but there were 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:54.400 also parts of his comments directed specifically at the young 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:58.280 receivers in which he was talking about you know, wrong routes. 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.680 Obviously there were you know, some drop passes in there. 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:05.440 It was a very uneven two days really for the 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.800 Packers offensively against the Saints defense. But I think we 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:13.800 saw after Rogers comments following the first practice, we saw 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.920 a little bit more sharpness. We saw some more plays 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:20.200 from those young guys in the second practice. They We 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.520 then also found out there was a meeting that morning, um, 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:26.520 that was conducted with the quarterbacks and the receivers, UM 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:30.760 veterans and young guys all alike, you know, all getting together, Um, 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.600 a sign of just how dissatisfied everybody was with how 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:38.560 things went offensively on Tuesday. And then we saw on Wednesday, 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:44.680 we saw Romeo Dobbs, Samori toure um Amari Rodgers. We 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:47.720 saw the young guys who you know not we're not 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:50.840 necessarily mentioned by name by Aaron Rodgers, but we saw 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.720 those young guys respond. Now, of course you want to 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.240 see them carry that over now and respond also in 0:07:56.280 --> 0:07:59.880 the game on Friday night. But but it's just another 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.840 um reminder I guess of how how much of a 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:07.400 work in progress things are with this receiving corps because 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.640 because Aaron Rodgers nos, he's got al Lazard and Randall 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:13.760 Cobb and he's doing everything he can to get Sammy 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:15.640 Watkins up to speed. And I want to talk a 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:19.000 little bit more about Watkins in a minute. Um, But 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.480 Roger said, the time is running out on the young 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:23.920 guys in terms of the regular season is right around 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.240 the corner here. We've got to get things cleaned up, 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.920 you know, from Roger's point of view there, Um, things 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:33.080 need to get sharpened up. And uh, and we saw 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:36.280 a response, and now we'll see how they respond through 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:39.080 the rest of training camp. From here, Mike, it transport. 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:42.840 It transported me back to two thousand sixteen when I 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:45.440 started at Packers dot Com and you pulled me into 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.480 an office that neither of us have and and kind 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:50.760 of laid it into me a little bit and told me, hod, 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:54.840 it's just not clean enough. This copy is not clean enough. Now. 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:57.760 But what I enjoyed the most about I hope you 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:00.880 appreciated that. What I what I like the most about 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.440 what Rogers did was he's talked about the time and 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:05.680 time again. He even mentioned again this week Al Lazard. 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:08.360 That's his his wide receiver one right now. You know, 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:11.040 he mentioned Randall Cobb is like a pre eminent slot 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:13.040 receiver in this league. One of the most proven slot 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:17.240 receivers in this league in Sammy Watkins, number four overall 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:19.120 pick a number of years ago, has seeing a lot 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.920 of football, has won some Super Bowl. These guys get it. 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:26.040 If he didn't want the young guys to succeed, if 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:28.280 he didn't want them to be a factor this season, 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:32.280 he wouldn't care. He wouldn't be pulling these guys together. 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:34.920 He wouldn't be, you know, saying things he mentioned this 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:36.720 at the beginning of the camp. If I'm not saying 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:40.280 anything to you, that's a bad sign, if I'm not 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:44.480 actually talking to you at all, Because Rogers does get it. Lazard, Cobb, 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.280 and Watkins. Those are the one two three right now. 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:51.199 Nobody's discounting that they're actually even on the preseason program 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.680 cover if you pick one up on Friday night. But 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.040 the fact of the matter is one of those guys 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.480 might get hurt. You're going to need the rookies to 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:00.400 step up. You might see the rookie in there for 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:02.120 a handful of plays at the bend of the season, 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:05.560 and Rogers wants them to be ready and for everything 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:07.280 that didn't go great on Tuesday, and it was not 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:10.640 a great offensive performance for the Packers on Tuesday. Wednesday 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:12.640 was a step in the right direction. They are going 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:16.040 up against a very tough, very veteran defense in the 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:19.640 New Orleans Saints. But they won more in the areas 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.319 that I think Aaron Rodgers wants them to win. There 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.960 was more preciseness with the routes. There were fewer penalties 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:29.319 at the line of scrimmage procedural penalties. Matt for saying 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:32.160 that he counted up seven in that first practice and 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:35.319 then honestly it wasn't Rogers on the field, but when 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:37.280 they're in the two minutes and Jordan's Love airs it 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:39.600 out there for Samori to Ray, probably one of the 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.160 best balls that Jordan's Love has thrown yet in a 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:46.319 Green Bay Packers uniform too. Ray caught it in stride 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:49.160 and not just making the touchdown, but because of the 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:51.760 game situation them needing to get the two point conversion 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.600 to win, he has to come right back in despite 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.160 kind of having his hands wrapped up by the defensive back, 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:00.160 he still catches the two point conversion. Those of the 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:03.280 small things that need to happen because this if you're 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:05.839 not doing this in these settings, you're not going to 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.000 be able to do them on Sundays in September. Yeah, 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:10.360 it was. It was a good sign to see those 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:14.240 those young guys respond make some more plays on on 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:18.160 Wednesday and you know, sort of reset the course hopefully 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:20.240 for for where the group has set it. I thought, 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:25.040 in terms of um strictly the starters, the number one offense, 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:29.280 to me, the most encouraging thing that I saw in again, 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.480 what was what was a very up and down couple 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:34.040 of practices because that is that is a darn goood 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:37.600 Saints defense, and the Packers weren't entirely sharp. But those 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:39.880 two days Tuesday and Wednesday, I thought were the best 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.720 days that we've seen from Sammy Watkins since since he 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:46.320 put on a Packers uniform. Watkins himself said, you know, 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:49.960 he wasn't so crazy about Wednesday. You know, Tuesday was 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:54.960 definitely his best day. But in terms of putting together 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:59.400 those practices backed back against another opponent, Watkins talked at 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.319 his locker, Wait a bit, I have a story up 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:03.760 on on Packers dot com right now for anyone who 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:07.720 wants to check it out. He's being very as a 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:11.520 veteran receiver, being very demanding and exacting of himself to 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:16.559 try to learn all of the checks and the adjustments 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:19.520 and the nuances and everything of the way Aaron Rodgers 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:23.480 wants to run this offense. Um, Sammy Watkins is being 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:27.200 is being absolutely meticulous with it. Now he has an 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:31.120 opportunity to do that because he's not swimming in the 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:33.720 playbook as much as a rookie is right learning an 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:35.880 NFL playbook for the first time, and this is a 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:40.120 transition that Watkins has gone through before he's joined the 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.120 Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. Last year it was the Ravens 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:46.160 and Lamar Jackson. You're talking about other m v P quarterbacks, 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:49.560 but even Watkins said, you know Aaron Rodgers eighteen season 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:52.320 fifteenth as a starter four m vps on the shelf. 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.000 This is a guy who who is very demanding and 0:12:56.080 --> 0:13:00.560 exacting of himself and his teammates, and wa Kins wants 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:02.880 to match that in terms of in terms of how 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:04.960 he goes about it to get on the same page 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:07.839 with his quarterback. What we saw the last two days, 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:11.440 it's coming right. We can see, we can see the progress. 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:13.440 We can see Watkins getting there, but he was also 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.360 very careful to say I'm not there yet. I'm I 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:19.480 still need to push. I still need to tell myself 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.280 that I'm not all the way there mentally, because when 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:25.960 it comes down to a crucial situation in a two 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.600 minute drill and a third down and whatever, I have 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:31.000 to be out there not thinking about what I'm doing. 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:33.720 I have to know exactly what to do and exactly 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:36.280 what Aaron Rodgers wants me to do. That's where Sammy 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:38.880 Watkins wants to get to Mike. And when I think 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.760 about everything Watkins said. It was funny to me because 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:43.959 people just we do all these press conferences, right, we 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:46.240 do these interviews, and you see these media huddles on 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:49.520 packers dot Com and everywhere else, and guys talk and 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.160 they'll talk for ten fifteen minutes, and you never neally 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.080 know you know what topics are going to come up. 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.760 But I saw a direct parallel between Watkins was saying 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:01.000 on Wednesday to what he said a few months ago 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.360 when he discussed how important this opportunity was to him, 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:06.480 and when he talked about this his back being up 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.680 against the wall. He doesn't want to waste time here. 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:13.120 He knows that opportunity is not available to him. He's 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.920 been with Baltimore, he you know, had the Super Bowl 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:20.960 run with Kansas City. But ultimately, individually, he still has 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.600 a lot to prove to himself. And if he's not 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:25.960 ready for this thing off the bat, it's gonna put 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.360 him behind because the Packers do have a lot of 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:30.960 young guys that they're excited about. He wants to go 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:32.600 out there and show that there's a reason why you 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:34.840 brought Sammy Watkins in here, and I'm going to be 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:36.560 able to be a veteran that not only comes in 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.720 and contributes, but immediately earns that trust of Aaron Rodgers. 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:42.160 Because as much as we talk about the rookies, the 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.400 veterans coming in, well, they have seen a lot of football. 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.920 He's played with a lot of great quarterbacks. This is 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:49.840 a different new quarterback that has to get familiar with him. 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:52.160 So the accountability side of it, and I heard this 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:54.080 about Watkins before he even got here, and the way 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.040 he carries himself, it's there. This guy is a professional 0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.000 and he's not going to back down from that. And 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:00.640 to be honest with you, when I was watching him 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:02.800 and that Tuesday practice, especially when I was seeing the 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:05.320 offense a little bit more, he was one of the 0:15:05.360 --> 0:15:08.320 better players on the field that day. He was making 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:10.680 the plays that you want to see Sammy Watkins, the 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:14.280 ninth year veteran, the former fourth overall pick make, And 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:17.400 I think that's the most exciting thing. Nobody is asking 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.080 Sammy Watkins to be a two thousand yard receiver this year. 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.360 They're asking him to be the best version of himself 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:24.760 to help this offense get through this in your interim 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:27.040 area where they don't have a Davante Adams, and I 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.480 think Watkins is definitely up to that challenge. Yeah, I 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:31.840 think he is too. I mean Aaron Rodgers has expressed 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:34.200 his confidence that Watkins is up to the challenge. Matt 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:36.840 Lafleur has said, so we know Jason Vrabel, who worked 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.760 with him in Buffalo, has that has that level of 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:41.600 confidence in him as well. And I just thought it 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.960 was interesting that that, even after you know, really his 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.160 two best days as far as back to back that 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:50.440 we've seen on the practice field so far from Sammy Watkins, 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:52.240 the first thing he was saying at his locker is 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:54.280 I'm not there yet. This is not that. This is 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.720 not like, hey, I've arrived, I've got this all figured out. Now, 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.720 I've been through this transition before. You know, We're good 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.360 to go. That's not where that That's not where he 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.680 is in terms of how he assesses his own situation. 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:08.040 He's gonna keep pushing, He's going to keep driving. He 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:12.120 wants to get to the Randall Cobb level as soon 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:15.640 as possible. Now that's going to be impossible quite frankly, right, 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.360 It's that that's an impossible task, an impossible standard for 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.840 somebody to meet in their first year with Aaron Rodgers. 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:24.880 But that's what he's going for. He wants Aaron Rodgers 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:28.160 to feel about him the way Rogers feels about Cobb 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:31.640 and Lazard in this offense. Absolutely, and and for me personally, 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.920 I'll just put it out there, if Sammy Watkins stays healthy, 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:38.640 you can time stamp this eight two thousand twenty two. 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:41.280 If if Watkins stays health throughout the course here, he's 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:43.800 going to win the Packers a game or two by himself. 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:45.440 I mean, he's done it a couple of times in 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.479 regular season openers over the course of his career already. 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:52.200 He's that type of receiver. And I really think Mike 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:54.640 in an offense where they're gonna spread people out and 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.560 they're gonna make these running backs think every time Sammy 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.520 Watkins has been in a situation where he can have 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.000 one on opportunities, the guys thrived in those offenses. I'm 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:06.160 just I'm just saying, yeah, I know, it's it's exciting 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:09.639 to see exactly where this can where this can go. 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:13.280 I wanna turn our attention to Friday night's preseason game, 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:16.639 but first some sponsor Business West Serious x M NFL 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:19.480 Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:24.480 NFL news that true football fanatics need seven three and 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:26.800 had Cousin subs. We have something for everyone like our 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.960 Wisconsin cheese curds, mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:33.040 all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:38.520 Cousin Subs fifty years of Better. Preseason Game number two, 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:44.920 Friday night, seven pm Central kickoff at lambeau Field. Now 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:50.320 we haven't heard anything definitively, but my expectation is that 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:53.439 the vast majority of the Packers starters are going to 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.560 be sitting much as they were last Friday night out 0:17:56.600 --> 0:18:01.480 in San Francisco. This is going to be the the two, 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.760 the twos, and the threes probably for probably for both teams. 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:06.600 We'll see what the Saints decided to do. I have 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:11.359 absolutely no idea what their plans are, but I think 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:13.520 when when we look at this, and whether you're talking 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:16.280 about Jordan's love or other guys you look at, you 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:18.960 look at a second preseason game. Now for the for 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.560 these young players, it's about it's about looking at the 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:27.840 guys who had their moments right, Um, who made an impression, 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:31.119 made an impact in that first preseason game, and can 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:35.159 they do it again? Um, Jordan's Love obviously has some 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:38.200 things with with the accuracy of his his throws. He'd 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.920 like to clean up. The receiving corps has some things 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:43.200 that that they need to clean up for Jordan's Love 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:46.040 and and catch the passes that that uh that are 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.120 catchable and keep the chains moving and keep their young 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:51.639 quarterback in a rhythm. For me, when it comes to 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:55.280 looking at those impact guys from San Francisco last Friday 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:58.239 night who are looking to to you know, proving that 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.040 they can do it again, that they can have that 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:02.879 kind of impact in the game again, two guys stand 0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:05.120 out to me West and it's one on either side 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:08.199 of the ball. On offense, it's a Mari Rodgers and 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.600 on defense it's Kingsley Nigbari. And I'll start with Rogers 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:15.320 because we saw the early in the San Francisco game, 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:17.920 the fifty yard kickoff return, nice moment for the special 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:20.919 teams there. Then late in the game, he catches the 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:23.159 pass in the flat from Danny yet Ling makes a 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:26.960 nice move up the sideline twenty two yard touchdown. UM 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:29.400 A couple of big moments there for a Mari Rodgers. 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:32.360 Can he make that kind of impact again? I think 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:34.320 That's what we're all waiting to see. I think the 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:37.399 most exciting thing when I watched that game against the 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:41.359 forty was it was sort of the precursor to me 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:44.760 the idea in my head of this is what Mari 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:48.200 Rodgers could do and when the Packers are at their 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:51.399 best underneath Matt the floor. As cool as it is 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:55.680 to have Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, ultimately I think 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:57.880 a lot of their best successes come from is when 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:01.800 guys fill a role in thrive in that role. Um. 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:03.000 It was one of the things I talked about with 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:05.840 Josida Deguire out of the gate. Nobody was asking to 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:08.439 guard to be a seven yard tight end, but he 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.200 has a role in his body type that he's gonna 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.119 fit that really nobody else on this roster was going 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:15.720 to be able to replicate. That's a Mari Rodgers to me. 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:18.639 He had the fifty yard return and Mike, can you 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:21.080 tell what that meant to the Packers to be able 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:24.960 to break that return that side that sideline was going crazy? Well, 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.040