Speaker 1: Hi, everyone. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford, joined by the one and only
Speaker 1: West Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from our studios
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field and West. Preseason Game number three is
Speaker 1: almost upon us Packers at Raiders in Oakland on Friday night. Now,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a late one if you're not on
Speaker 1: the West coast nine thirty Wisconsin time kickoff. So while
Speaker 1: I am not looking forward to the essentially red eye
Speaker 1: flight we'll be taking back after the game, I am
Speaker 1: looking forward to seeing a few players maybe work their
Speaker 1: way into preseason action here for the Packers in preseason
Speaker 1: Game number three. Who do you want to start with? Well, honestly, Mike,
Speaker 1: I would have liked to have started with my plans
Speaker 1: for this trip and how I'm going to be able
Speaker 1: to make sure I get the most sleep out of it.
Speaker 1: I'll be bringing my neck pillow, I'll be bringing everything
Speaker 1: that I need to do to be comfortable on the
Speaker 1: flight home so that I can have a decent Saturday.
Speaker 1: But if you want to talk specifically about the game,
Speaker 1: I guess we can do that too. For me, I
Speaker 1: think it really starts with Aaron Jones. Now, Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: wouldn't commit to him playing when he when he did
Speaker 1: his Wednesday morning news conference, So I guess we'll have
Speaker 1: to see whether or not he goes. But let's say
Speaker 1: he does and he does get those reps after working
Speaker 1: some team stuff this week, I think this could be
Speaker 1: a really good opportunity for him. And if it isn't
Speaker 1: this week, maybe it's next week. But he's coming back
Speaker 1: from that hamstring injury. We know he's not gonna be
Speaker 1: playing in the first two games of the regular season.
Speaker 1: For me, and I'm not a guy that gets all
Speaker 1: up at the about preseason reps and snaps, but I
Speaker 1: just think for a guy like him, especially when not
Speaker 1: knowing what the reps are gonna be like, you know,
Speaker 1: through the first months of the season, with having Time
Speaker 1: Montgomery and Jamal Williams, I just think this is a
Speaker 1: really valuable time for him. And I think one of
Speaker 1: the things you pointed out to in some of the
Speaker 1: analysis we've done this week is whether it's Aaron Jones,
Speaker 1: whether it is Time Montgomery, the reps the Packers, and
Speaker 1: the snaps the Packers are gonna get with this run
Speaker 1: game are going to be really important because a lot
Speaker 1: of people they just fixate on what the stats look like.
Speaker 1: And it happens every single year with the running game
Speaker 1: in every single NFL city. Unless the guy's burning everybody
Speaker 1: for an eighty five yard touchdown, people are wondering what's
Speaker 1: going on. But Mike McCarthy mentioned it. They're seeing things
Speaker 1: they like on film. It's about correcting some of the
Speaker 1: things that could potentially break those plays out a little bit.
Speaker 1: More so whether or not it's Jones, whether or not
Speaker 1: it's Montgomery, could be La Shaun Daniels, the the undrafted
Speaker 1: rookie that just came in, or undrafted free agent that
Speaker 1: just came in. You want to see those guys stepping up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we may see the first action of Lashun Daniels from Iowa.
Speaker 1: Brunson Hill the other running back the Packers have brought
Speaker 1: in as they've dealt with some injuries and other situations. Here,
Speaker 1: Jamal Williams, we should point out he is already back
Speaker 1: on the practice field. He made it back this week
Speaker 1: very quickly from that ankle injury, So hats off to
Speaker 1: him in that respect. Another guy, I've got my eye
Speaker 1: and West and I think a lot of Packers fans do,
Speaker 1: and not trying to put too much pressure on him
Speaker 1: because he's certainly, you know, putting plenty of pressure on himself.
Speaker 1: But rookie receiver Jamon More, this is a guy who's
Speaker 1: had some chances to make some big plays in the
Speaker 1: first couple of preseason games. It hasn't gone his way.
Speaker 1: We know that when he was drafted in the fourth
Speaker 1: round out of Missouri, the knock on him was that
Speaker 1: his hands weren't consistent. He did have some issues with
Speaker 1: drop passes in college. We have seen that he hasn't
Speaker 1: necessarily been able to shake that reputation. But it doesn't
Speaker 1: sound like he's, you know, that this is some sort
Speaker 1: of crisis of confidence or anything. He you know, and
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers even said at his locker the other day,
Speaker 1: sometimes all it takes is one big play for a
Speaker 1: young receiver to just relax, find the mojo, get into
Speaker 1: the get into the rhythm, get into the groove. Jamon
Speaker 1: Moore is a guy who's gonna have a chance, I think,
Speaker 1: to do that on Friday night in Oakland. Hopefully he
Speaker 1: takes advantage of it. Here's what I love about Jamon Moore. Uh,
Speaker 1: he did. He didn't go into a shell about this.
Speaker 1: He sat at his locker and every time somebody goes
Speaker 1: up to him and asked for an interview, he accepts it,
Speaker 1: and he takes responsibility for what's happened. He's not living
Speaker 1: in his own micro climate and trying to just, you know,
Speaker 1: put together some mental idea or excuse for what's happened.
Speaker 1: He knows he's not catching the football, and he's trying
Speaker 1: to do something about it. The thing I was most
Speaker 1: impressed with Mike I was going down to practice on Tuesday.
Speaker 1: Before I even got down to the field, I could
Speaker 1: already see the jugs machine running and Jamon Moore doing
Speaker 1: the man hands drill directly in front of it. He
Speaker 1: was doing that before practice. He did it for I
Speaker 1: think fifteen minutes after practice or something like that. This
Speaker 1: is a young man that understands the urgency. He knows
Speaker 1: there's two weeks left to prove what he has and
Speaker 1: he wants to tell the Green Bay Packers that he's
Speaker 1: a fourth round pick and they made the right decision
Speaker 1: taking him in the fourth round. He has all the
Speaker 1: ability in the world. Truman Williams said it when where
Speaker 1: it was an immedia scrum with him earlier this week.
Speaker 1: You can tell looking at him on the field what
Speaker 1: this guy possesses, but that's not nearly what it takes
Speaker 1: to succeed in the NFL. There's a mental perspective to it,
Speaker 1: and for Jamon Moore, he's trying to work past it
Speaker 1: right now. Yeah, this could be the game of opportunity
Speaker 1: for him really, because we don't know what exactly the
Speaker 1: playing time plan is going to be at this point,
Speaker 1: but based on how the practice reps have been divvied
Speaker 1: up this week, it doesn't look like Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 1: some of the starting guys on offense, Davante Adams, Randall Cobb,
Speaker 1: it doesn't look like they will play much, if at
Speaker 1: all in Oakland. And then you add on top of that,
Speaker 1: Jake Kumara has been injured injured his shoulder in the
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh games. So that's another young receiver who looks like
Speaker 1: he'll be out of the mix for Friday night. You know,
Speaker 1: Jamon Moore mvs. Eq St. Brown, these guys, this is
Speaker 1: going to be a big opportunity for them to shine.
Speaker 1: And you know that that Jamon Moore knows that knows
Speaker 1: that the spotlight will be pretty bright on him Friday night.
Speaker 1: I think the Packers offensive coach have done an exemplary
Speaker 1: job of giving all those guys opportunities. I don't know
Speaker 1: off the top of my head what their repcounts look like,
Speaker 1: what their snaps have been in preseason games, but you
Speaker 1: and I have watched enough of these practices and seen
Speaker 1: the two preseason game to understand that there's been a
Speaker 1: pretty good rotation going there. D'Angelo Yancey, the fifth round
Speaker 1: pick out of Purdue, also factoring into that, So I
Speaker 1: would imagine you're gonna see much of the same. And
Speaker 1: with Davante Adams and in Randall Cobb, you know who
Speaker 1: knows how much they're gonna play in this game. If
Speaker 1: Jake Kumerou isn't out there, a lot of it's gonna
Speaker 1: be those three young receivers. And we're at a point
Speaker 1: right now where this is that final stretch. There's one
Speaker 1: practice public practice, still open to the media. There's two
Speaker 1: preseason games. If you're Jaymon Moore, if you're e q
Speaker 1: st Brown, Marquess, Veldo Scantling, this is where you've got
Speaker 1: to really sort of have that final burst towards the
Speaker 1: finish line and showing that I'm worthy of a spot
Speaker 1: on that fifty three man roster. And if you want
Speaker 1: to keep your eye offensively on anybody in the trenches,
Speaker 1: so to speak, as we head to Oakland for preseason
Speaker 1: game number three, one guy to watch, I'll give you
Speaker 1: a couple names, but one guy to watch for sure
Speaker 1: is Byron Bell. The veteran that the Packers brought in.
Speaker 1: Started at multiple positions in his career with Tennessee Carolina Dallas.
Speaker 1: He's been played both guard and tackle. He's been the
Speaker 1: guy phil in at right guard for Justin McCrae while
Speaker 1: McCrae recovers from the calf injury from the Pittsburgh game.
Speaker 1: And this is the guy who's making making a statement
Speaker 1: that he belongs on this roster. The Packers like the
Speaker 1: versatility aspect of it that they could plug him in
Speaker 1: at guard or tackle if needed. And when you get
Speaker 1: thrown in with that number one unit when a starter
Speaker 1: goes down, that says something that the coaches want to
Speaker 1: take a really really close look at you. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy mentioned it that they've been trying to do
Speaker 1: everything they can, whether it's you know, Lucas Patrick working
Speaker 1: at center. That was the other guy I was going
Speaker 1: to mention because because the Packers are trying to find
Speaker 1: exactly who is going to be the backup center if
Speaker 1: something were to happen to to Corey Lindsley, And from
Speaker 1: what we've seen of the practice reps, Lucas Patrick is
Speaker 1: the guy who's getting a lot of opportunities. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: just like Dylan Day who is mostly taking those number
Speaker 1: two center reps throughout camp, he's getting some work now
Speaker 1: at the guard positions. So we saw Adam Pankey a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago when Patrick was working through some stuff,
Speaker 1: he got some work with the first team offense. So
Speaker 1: Packers have a big decision to make their behind that
Speaker 1: starting five. So you know, you want to find guys,
Speaker 1: as as McCarthy said, you want to find a guy
Speaker 1: that can play you know, two or three guys that
Speaker 1: can play the center position if they're called upon. But
Speaker 1: then you also look at a guy like Bell who
Speaker 1: has for so long in this league been able to
Speaker 1: show that he can step in at guard if he
Speaker 1: needs to be. I mean obviously last year in case
Speaker 1: of emergency, they threw him in a tackle and when
Speaker 1: Brian Goodakuntz was building this roster this offseason. It meant
Speaker 1: enough to him to get a veteran swing kind of
Speaker 1: tackle in there that they went out and pursued Bell.
Speaker 1: So he's in that conversation as well. And and not
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, I've been really impressed with
Speaker 1: what I've seen from him at GUARD. I don't want
Speaker 1: to speak for him, but it just seems like to
Speaker 1: me that is probably his quote unquote strongest positions. So
Speaker 1: to get some work there, get some familiarity there, and
Speaker 1: then also still have that flexibility to the tackle spots, Um,
Speaker 1: that goes a long way. And and and it's one of
Speaker 1: the reasons why you know, you think he's entering his
Speaker 1: eight year in the league now he's found a way
Speaker 1: to be dependable and really durable throughout the course of
Speaker 1: his career. Yeah, I would agree, Um, before we switch
Speaker 1: gears to the defensive side, West a little bit of
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Speaker 1: Cousins subs. We believe in better okay defensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball. Here for preseason game number three in Oakland,
Speaker 1: Who are you gonna have your eye on your Alexander
Speaker 1: is the number one guy that I'm gonna be looking
Speaker 1: at because I think everything checked out. It seems to
Speaker 1: have checked out okay with the groin injury that made
Speaker 1: him sit out of that opener against Tennessee. He only
Speaker 1: played ten snaps last week, but it was all exclusively
Speaker 1: as the Nicol slack cornerback. I think Alexander much like
Speaker 1: Josh Jackson, although their different body types gives you that
Speaker 1: inside outside versatility. But to me, it almost reminds me
Speaker 1: a little bit of what they did with Casey Hayward,
Speaker 1: where the starting point for him is going to be
Speaker 1: in the slot. We've seen the playmaking, we've seen the confidence,
Speaker 1: and you know, seeing that in a preseason setting is
Speaker 1: gonna be really important. Kenn and King mentioned it last week. Too,
Speaker 1: when he was asked about his shoulder injury and talking
Speaker 1: about how valuable this time is because when you're a rookie,
Speaker 1: you don't really have the luxury of just being able
Speaker 1: to sit out of this stuff. You gotta get in there,
Speaker 1: You've gotta get a feel for it. Josh Jackson has
Speaker 1: done that in the first two preseason games. I think
Speaker 1: he's much better for it. I think he's seeing that.
Speaker 1: Not saying that this game isn't as fast as it
Speaker 1: wasn't the Big Ten. You know that it's fast and
Speaker 1: it wasn't the Big Ten. But I think he's seen
Speaker 1: that his game can translate and that confidence this time
Speaker 1: of the year. Not saying that Jaire Alexander needs a
Speaker 1: boost of that at all, but it can go a
Speaker 1: long way for a young player, because Mike is we've
Speaker 1: talked about so many times. With all these six you know,
Speaker 1: defensive backpackages now and guys moving in different spots at
Speaker 1: any given time, you have to be ready to play
Speaker 1: from the go. And I think a game like this
Speaker 1: and maybe potentially next week in Kansas City can go
Speaker 1: a long way for Jaire Alexander. Yeah. Well, the game
Speaker 1: at this level definitely is faster than what any of
Speaker 1: these players experience in college, and you're right, there is
Speaker 1: there's that transition from a confident standpoint that Okay, I
Speaker 1: still understand everything that's going on, my skill set, my
Speaker 1: athleticism translates to this level. And once players mentally can
Speaker 1: can feel confident that even though they're playing a faster game,
Speaker 1: they can still play it and play it well, then
Speaker 1: that's when you that's when you start to see the
Speaker 1: big strides really being taken. You mentioned Kevin King a
Speaker 1: minute ago. That's another guy I'm going to be watching
Speaker 1: to see if he gets some preseason action for the
Speaker 1: first time because he's been limited well he's coming off
Speaker 1: of obviously the shoulder surgery from the off season, then
Speaker 1: a little bit of an issue with his other shoulder.
Speaker 1: But in terms of getting ready for the regular season,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't mind seeing Kevin King maybe get some snaps
Speaker 1: against a Jordy Nelson or a Mariti Cooper. You know,
Speaker 1: these number one receivers for the Oakland Raiders. This is
Speaker 1: an offense that has some pretty high hopes. Let's not
Speaker 1: you know, let's not mistake this. And with them playing
Speaker 1: their third preseason game at home, they might be showcasing
Speaker 1: their starters a little bit more say than than perhaps
Speaker 1: the Packers will will have to see how that shakes out.
Speaker 1: But um, but some action for guys like Kevin King
Speaker 1: j or Alexander could definitely be benefits. And it goes
Speaker 1: back to something I remember a conversation I had with
Speaker 1: Kevin King right at the beginning of camp. It was
Speaker 1: even before the shoulder, the other shoulder became an issue
Speaker 1: for him, in him saying that it was he really
Speaker 1: just wanted to get in a game and feel like
Speaker 1: a player again, feel like, you know what, I can
Speaker 1: push at the line of scrimmage, I can dive for
Speaker 1: a tackle and there's not gonna be any repercussions for
Speaker 1: that Physically, Mentally, he wants to get to that place again.
Speaker 1: And you know, and he hasn't spoken too much about
Speaker 1: the shoulder injury, so it's hard to say, you know,
Speaker 1: how much he could be available these next two weeks
Speaker 1: or what it's going to be like, you know, with
Speaker 1: him trying to play through that. But that being said,
Speaker 1: I I just think the ability to potentially get on
Speaker 1: the field for a guy that's as young as he is,
Speaker 1: I think we forget how young he was entering this league. Uh,
Speaker 1: this is this is a golden opportunity. He's a year
Speaker 1: older than these these rookies that came in now. But
Speaker 1: I still very much to view them in the same
Speaker 1: light in terms of trying to, you know, get that
Speaker 1: experience and having a guy like Tremont Williams and Devon
Speaker 1: House around too, that goes a long way for them
Speaker 1: trying to hone those skills. Yeah. Well, we mentioned a
Speaker 1: couple of guys to watch in the trenches on offense.
Speaker 1: I think if you're going to watch somebody in the
Speaker 1: trenches on defense in this game, I'll throughout a name
Speaker 1: for you, and that's Dean Lowry. Now. And there's a
Speaker 1: lot of excitement, and rightfully so, as to when the
Speaker 1: Packers are going to have Mike Daniels, Kenney Clark, Mohammed
Speaker 1: Wilkerson all on the field together on that defensive line.
Speaker 1: I think we're all very excited to see exactly how
Speaker 1: that will play out when the games are for real.
Speaker 1: But I mentioned this, I believe it was last week
Speaker 1: in our inside or in Box column. If you want
Speaker 1: a classic example right now on the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: of a guy who's not a superstar, not even maybe
Speaker 1: necessarily listed as a starter, but a classic example of
Speaker 1: a draft and developed guy in this program. Dean Lowry
Speaker 1: is one of those guys right now, because you and
Speaker 1: I have been watching him in practice. To me having
Speaker 1: seen him when he first came in as a fourth
Speaker 1: round draft pick out of Northwestern, not saying he was small,
Speaker 1: he's a big guy, and not saying that he had
Speaker 1: strength issues, but he just looks so much stronger out
Speaker 1: there now, whether it's in the one on one pass rush,
Speaker 1: whether it's in the run defense type of drills, when
Speaker 1: when you know when you've got to maybe take on
Speaker 1: a double team block or or just you know, two gap,
Speaker 1: be ready to go to one side or the other
Speaker 1: against that offensive lineman. I really like what I've seen
Speaker 1: from Lowry. I think he's potentially potentially going to play
Speaker 1: a key role on this defense as a rotational guy
Speaker 1: who can get in there and make a play once
Speaker 1: in a He really can, Mike and I, you and
Speaker 1: I have watched the one on ones. I mean, he
Speaker 1: is a bull, and it's he's he's tough to handle.
Speaker 1: And it's not that it's that much different or that
Speaker 1: much striking. It's not He hasn't changed his body or
Speaker 1: anything like that. He's been a he's been a big
Speaker 1: guy since he arrived. But particularly with that three technique
Speaker 1: is what I've really been impressed with. And you can
Speaker 1: go back and all my coverage over the years of
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers, going back to two thousand twelve,
Speaker 1: I was always clamoring or a six ft six defensive end,
Speaker 1: defensive lineman in this defense. They never really truly had that.
Speaker 1: They got by, you know, Johnny Jolly came back. They
Speaker 1: had some guys, you know, Josh Boyd, that were able
Speaker 1: to hold down those five techniques when asked, I think
Speaker 1: there's just really something interesting about having a guy like
Speaker 1: him that is your traditional I think you could refer
Speaker 1: to as a five technique base end, but also has
Speaker 1: that ability to be able to get pass rush from
Speaker 1: the inside. He's exactly where the direction the Packers wanted
Speaker 1: to take this defense. He exemplifies that. And I think
Speaker 1: when you go back to that six teen draft, that
Speaker 1: was such a statement for them to take Kenny Clark
Speaker 1: in the first round, in them to take Dean Lowry
Speaker 1: in the fourth round, because they're both completely different football players.
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day. I think they
Speaker 1: have the leverage you're looking for, and to throw them
Speaker 1: into the mix now with Mike Daniels and then bringing
Speaker 1: in Mohamed Wilkerson montrevious. Adams is at a really strong camp.
Speaker 1: There's a reason to be excited about that defensive line,
Speaker 1: and it goes past what I think you would refer
Speaker 1: to as your quote unquote starters. Yeah, I would agree. Well,
Speaker 1: you know what, gotta call it a wrap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of
Speaker 1: our coverage of the team and of Friday nights preseason
Speaker 1: game in Oakland on Packers dot com. On Twitter, He's
Speaker 1: at west Hod I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for
Speaker 1: the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you
Speaker 1: next time.