WEBVTT - #884 Packers Unscripted: Early impressions 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:09.920 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.560 Packers dot com. I am Mike Spaffer, joined as always 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.000 by my trusted colleague Wes Hodkoitz. We're coming to you 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:20.240 here from our new studio inside the halls of lambeau 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.200 Field and wes it Is. We have a lot of 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:26.880 topics to cover there, but we will start with last 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:31.000 weekend's rookie mini camp. We got a chance to meet 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.680 some of these players see them on the practice field 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:35.880 thoughough it was admittedly just kind of a jog through 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:40.120 workout with some drills. Nothing too exciting there. But what 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:44.120 were your first impressions of this small six player draft 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:45.000 class for Green Bay. 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.120 Well, it's funny, right because yes, small in terms of 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:50.280 the numbers, but I mean some big people and it's 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:52.280 no longer I think. One of the big changes that 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:54.760 I remember. I remember my first few years on the beat. 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:57.840 You know, you'd get in a fabians of belly in here, right, 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.640 it was like six foot eight tackle. You get some 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.360 of these massive dudes at these various positions. And as 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:06.600 time has passed on in the NFL, one thing I've 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.199 noticed is it's not so much just about the size 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:12.080 of the player anymore, it's about the proportionality of him 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.280 and at his respective position. Right when you see Brandon 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:19.480 cc and Demani Jackson at the cornerback position, they're not 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:23.720 that much bigger than you and I, but just how 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:27.520 thick they are, right, just how strong they are in 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:29.800 that type of you know, body type. These aren't just 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.880 five foot eleven cornerbacks that are one hundred and seventy pounds. 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:34.400 I mean, these guys are hovering right around the two 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:37.240 hundred pound mark and still being able to possess that 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:39.560 type of speed that they have, in that explosiveness that 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.560 they have. And then probably the most fascinating of all 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:45.520 for me was Chris McClellan because you and I wrote 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:47.840 all the stories this past week, we had the conversations 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.000 on on scripted about him, but then you see him 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:52.560 in person and when you think about, you know, low 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:56.800 man wins, I mean, it's tough just looking at him, 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:01.160 probably for an interior offensive linemen to anchor get down 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:03.960 and move that type of body type with his length, 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:08.240 his physicality, in his size. So it was an eye 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.440 opening experience because as far as the actual practice itself, 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:13.360 Matt Lafuir touched on. I mean, this thing is not 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.320 the way it was even when I started covering this 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.440 team in twenty twelve. There's no helmets, there's no shells. 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:20.920 These guys are going out there almost for like a 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:26.480 jog through type practice while putting a heavy emphasis on 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:28.960 the mental side of things. So when we get them 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:30.639 in pads, when we get them in helmets, when we 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:32.320 get to see a little bit more of them in ota, 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:34.600 you can draw bigger conclusions as far as the players 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:38.200 were dealing with. But when you're talking about investing those 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.280 six picks into these type of prospects, you can clearly 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:42.360 visibly see why. 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:44.600 Yeah, with some of these guys, when you get that, 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:47.079 you get that first physical impression, when you get to 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.400 see them in person. I mean we've seen, you know, 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.320 all the highlights on the videos and all that kind 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:53.920 of stuff, but when you actually get to see them 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.560 in person, it's like there's always sort of a one 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.320 word initial reaction for me that comes to mind, the 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.960 word thick with regard to the cornerbacks, being you know, 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.440 the smaller body types, but there's a solidness there. The 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:09.320 word thick is what came to mind for me with 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.320 Jagger Burton as soon as I saw him. That is 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:15.560 not a small man. I mean, he he has got 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:19.160 he has got some size and some stoutness to him. 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.200 With Chris McColl and, the word leverage comes to mind, 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.480 right because of the body type that he has. And 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.480 then when I see denied Dennis Sutton, it's the word 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:31.200 length because it's not something I really noticed watching his 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:34.000 highlights from Penn State, but getting to see him in person, 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:38.440 it's like, Wow, Not only is he so tall that 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:41.080 he kind you know, his head kind of stands up 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:43.960 a little bit higher in the defensive huddle, but then 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:45.880 the length of his arms when you look at like 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:48.680 the wingspan, and we were talking about, you know, separation 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:51.560 with you know why they measure arm length and all 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:53.600 this kind of stuff that goes on at the combine. 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.800 You see like, oh, that's what the scouts like to see, 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:00.000 That's what they're interested in, right, So you get those 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:05.800 you get those initial physical impressions at first glance. I 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:07.920 thought some of the stories that we heard too, just 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:10.240 in the in the media scrums at their lockers. I 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:14.640 mean hearing that Tray Smack, who was a lacrosse player, right, 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:20.240 how he basically became a kicker because of the COVID pandemic, 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.240 Like he's looking for something to do outside, doesn't want 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:25.440 to be, you know, all cooped up inside all the time. 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:29.080 And his high school took down all the lacrosse goals, 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.000 you know, so he couldn't go out and just practice 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:33.640 lacrosse on his own with nobody around. But what couldn't 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.279 they take down the goalposts on the football field. So 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:39.200 he started kicking field goals like on his own, and 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.039 lo and behold, a handful of years later, he's a 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:45.640 decorated kicker at a major college program like Florida, and 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:49.840 he gets drafted in the NFL. You know, stories like that, 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:54.200 and then and then to watch Deny Dennis Sutton introduce 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:56.880 himself to every member of the media that came over 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.760 to his locker before we all started asking questions and stuff. 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:04.560 I mean, just getting that first taste of the personality 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:06.720 of these guys in a little bit about their backgrounds 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:07.320 was fun too. 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:09.280 And if you looking at smack too, if you want 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:10.680 to talk about I don't know if you don't call 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:13.840 it divine intervention or just destiny, but the fact that 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.400 he makes that decision to start kicking right and then 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:18.760 what ends up happening one of his teammates on the 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.880 lacrosse team. Oh yeah, his dad's Matt Stover. So it's 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:23.840 like you got a guy that kicked in a league 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.839 for what fifteen years, just happens to be a parent 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:30.200 on your lacrosse team. And then is a guy that 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:32.800 Trey was able to use as a resource early on 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:36.280 as well. The pathway and we talk about it every year, 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:38.640 but the path that these guys take and how you 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.279 bring together all these guys from all these various colleges, 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.640 from the SEC and one from the Big Ten, it 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:47.320 allows you to kind of gain an appreciation for just 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:49.560 how I don't want to say random, because certainly all 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:52.120 these guys have worked hard to get here, but just 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:55.520 how fortuitous it is for these guys to land in 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:59.279 Green Bay, Wisconsin. And every single time we walk in 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.040 there for the rookie orientation camp and after the practice 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:06.000 when we have the locker room availability, I'm constantly teleported 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:08.080 back to the first time we talked to Aaron Jones 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:11.680 in twenty seventeen, the first time we talked to Rashan Gary. 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:13.599 I wasn't there for it, but I'm sure you remember 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:16.760 when BJ Raji and Clay Matthews both came into town 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.479 for the first time. Absolutely, you don't know who these 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.000 players are going to become. You don't know when you're 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:25.200 gonna eventually stumble on the next Jordan Love or Aaron 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:29.479 Rodgers or Jordy Nelson, Right, And for these guys to 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:33.279 come in now, get their feet wet and understand the 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.919 system and seeing if they can integrate themselves now in 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.080 time for OTA's in mini camp. This is where the 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.479 journey starts. This is the beginning of the board game. 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:42.720 And I want to close on this as well because 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:44.680 I'm glad you brought up the pointball Burton because when 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:46.920 I looked at him for the first time when he's 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:50.320 standing at his locker, his body type and I don't 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:52.400 know the comparables at all in terms of bench or 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:55.840 forties or he reminds me so much of Corey Linsley 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.080 in the way that his shoulders are, the way his 0:06:58.200 --> 0:07:01.080 body is, and I think it just goes back to 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.600 just that center sort of prototype, the traditional center prototype. 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:07.400 And as Adam Stenovich said in the availability we had 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:09.720 with him afterwards, you know, he looks at Burton as 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:11.920 a guy that that is his natural position. They'll obviously 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.480 see what else he can do at that interior spot, 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:18.000 the two guard positions. But the Green Bay Packers, again, 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:20.200 my whole point has been, we did total Packers yesterday. 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:22.240 We shot that. I didn't feel like they needed a 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:24.920 dozen picks in this thing. They found a few good men, 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:26.920 and I feel like that's going to be exactly what 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:29.480 they need now to get them across the finish line 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:30.520 here in twenty twenty six. 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:35.120 Yeah. Well, we also heard from on Monday this week 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.200 the Packers coordinators, and we're going to be hearing from 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:40.280 the other assistant coaches on both sides of the ball 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.120 over the next couple of days, and on our next 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.080 show we'll be able to talk about what we heard 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:46.840 from them. But as far as the coordinators go, this 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:50.840 was our first time, our first chance from the media 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.920 to get a chance to talk to new defensive coordinator 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:59.640 Jonathan Gannon, new special teams coordinator Cam Acord. And it's 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:02.880 funny because you know, then, like Adam Stenovitch also what 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:05.560 he walks into the new media auditorium and he's like 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:07.560 never been in there, right, He's got to like take 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:10.000 a moment to soak it all in because I mean 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:12.800 for so long. I mean all you know, the first 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:15.600 you know, twenty years that I've been here, it was 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.280 that other media Like this is the first time other 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:20.040 than when you kind of do a one off somewhere 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.520 upstairs on the fourth floor or whatever, like all the 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:24.840 media stuff has always been in the same place, and 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:27.120 now there's this whole new room and everybody's getting used 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:27.320 to it. 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:30.760 Where was it physically before that? Before in twenty three, 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.120 when they did the renovations for the I never saw 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:35.400 the original media auditorium, do you remember it? All? 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.320 It's it was basically the same place where the yeah, 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.079 where the one was, and then they just did a 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:41.640 little bit like of a renovation. 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.040 Yeah, yeah, thanks for answering that question for me. 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:47.520 But but yeah, it was it was I would say, 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:51.960 a little bit smaller though not and didn't have you know, 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:55.520 didn't have like the kind of the fancy permanent background 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:57.280 and the nice chairs and all that. It was. Now 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:58.800 we got a digital a little bit was a little 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.120 bit more primitive. But yeah, now we have this like 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.760 digital screen back there that flips around with the different 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:07.280 advertisements and and everything else. But but I want to 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:09.440 ask you, I mean, I guess again, it's another first 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:12.199 impressions kind of question. But you know, whether you want 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.840 to talk about Gannon or a Chord, which of the 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:18.439 two new coordinators? What were what were your first thoughts. 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:20.280 Well, let's start on Gannon because obviously that's been a 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.760 popular topic throughout the offseason. I thought you wrote a 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:25.360 really nice story on packers dot com. Uh, kind of 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.920 exploring his philosophy as a coach, as a defensive mind, 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.040 and obviously the new chapter that he's starting in his 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:34.280 career here. He had those three years in Arizona and 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:36.440 he mentioned, you know, the learning experience that that was 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:39.520 for him and realistically how much he enjoyed these last 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:41.840 two and a half months just sitting down and kind 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:43.679 of talking shop with matt Le the Fluyrd, learning how 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:48.240 he runs his program, what he looks for in you know, 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:52.120 building culture and unity, and obviously the success that Green 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:54.880 Bays had over the last seven years. But beyond that, 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:59.040 now Gannon inherits this defense that helped catapult Jeff Hafley 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:02.400 to an NFL head coach opportunity in Miami and seeing 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.360 what his stamp is going to be there. And in 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:06.079 one of the big takeaways was I know it was 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:09.560 the center of your story. It's the idea of the personnel. 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:12.720 Over the playbook. They will have concepts, as he said, 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:14.760 they'll have their bullets, their staples, the things that they 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:18.960 want to do defensively. But more than anything, he's going 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.360 to look at the totality of this roster and OTAs 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:24.120 in mini camp, get through training camp, and then that'll 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.080 be them deciding, Hey, what direction they're going to go, 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:28.840 what they're going to do well. And you know, I 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:31.319 saw some fans, you know, I think there's some people 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:33.640 that want to hear more absolutes. They want to hear 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:35.800 you know, this is what the playbook is, and this 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:37.240 is what the players are going to need to do it. 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:38.600 And if you can't do it, we're going to find 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:40.360 somebody else. Right, That's the way fans like to think 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:44.720 a lot of times. Yeah, but in a way it 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.680 was more after the fact. It wasn't foreshadowing. But this 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.080 is what Jeff Haffley did over the last two years. 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:52.920 Jeff Haffley came in talking about a four to three front, 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.560 talking about it being a vision based defense and whether 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:57.560 it was injuries or just figuring out what the players 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:01.160 are doing best, they made those adjustments. The thing I 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:02.920 get a big kick out of, and then I'll toss 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:04.480 this back to you, is this idea of the three 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:07.280 four four three. It's been almost become a cliche about 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:09.400 how that doesn't really matter anymore. Yeah, but if you 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:11.680 want the ultimate example of why that doesn't matter, just 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.040 look at what Green Bay did defensively last year. Lucas 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:17.839 Vaness was standing up at times, Kingsley inning Bari was 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.680 standing up at times, Rashaan Gary was standing up at times. 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:23.400 It's all about what the vision is to the quarterback. 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:25.320 That's the only thing between the two and three point 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.800 stance that really matters anymore. And yes, while the base 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:32.640 front is a big point of interest for the run game, 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:36.640 we all know what third down pass rushes look like 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.560 now right, it's a four man front. It's two interior 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.839 mostly three tech defensive tackles and two guys coming off 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:45.400 the edges. Doesn't matter what your base defense is. 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.800 Right, And then are you gonna bluff with a blitzer 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:50.160 off the slot or bluff in the A gap or 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:52.040 you know who might be an extra guy that's coming 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:54.680 and you're trying to keep the offense guessing. Like all that, 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:59.040 everybody does. Everybody does the same stuff. It's just how 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:02.200 do they make it look so that they make it 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:05.000 more challenging for the offense to try to figure it out. 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:08.560 But everybody's doing the same thing. It's just it's what 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.200 the presentation of it is to try to get that, 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.520 you know, that extra half a step or that extra 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:16.920 half a second that gives you the edge on a 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:23.400 particular play. What I find with with regard to Gannon 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:25.959 and him putting this defense together, and you mentioned obviously 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:27.440 you just go back a couple of years and the 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:29.480 Packers are doing this with Halfley, and I said at 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:32.000 the time on this show, I said it an insider 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.920 inbox that a new coordinator comes in like this, there's 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:37.880 gonna be an evolution to the defense, right, And we 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:40.360 saw it in Halfley's first year, and Matt Lafleurs said 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:42.559 it several times. He thought they were just going to 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:46.040 be a rush for cover seven, vision to the quarterback 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:48.640 and all this. Well, the way things turned out, the 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:52.160 Packers weren't that great at rushing for and getting pressure 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:54.640 on the quarterback. So then Halflee had to get all 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:57.320 creative with you know, sending gays from different areas and 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:00.520 maybe dropping other guys into coverage, and you know, it 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.560 was still a lot of rush for it just wasn't 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.040 always the four guys that you thought were gonna rush 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:09.200 right like, and so they weren't just a conventional four 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:12.040 man front. You know, get after the quarterback and drop 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:15.400 seven into coverage. There was an evolution there with Gannon. 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:18.719 There's going to be an evolution as well, both from 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:21.880 the standpoint of Okay, him figuring out, Okay, what do 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:25.000 the guys do best? And then you know the new rookies, 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:26.720 the draft picks, is there a place for them in 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:30.679 the rotation, et cetera. But then you also have, okay, 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:33.480 at the beginning of the season, is Davante Wyatt gonna 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:35.760 be full go or there gonna be some ramp up 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:38.840 with him coming back from the broken leg? Micah Parsons, 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.400 we know he's most likely not gonna be ready for 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:43.360 week one, but when does he get back, and then 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:45.080 what does the ramp up look like for him? And 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.320 then when you get into October and November, this could 0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:51.520 be a totally different looking defense than the one that's 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:55.720 gonna start the season in Week one. So not only 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:59.440 is that sort of Gannon's approach, in general in terms of, 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:03.520 you know, he's not planning to walk into week one with, Okay, 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:05.640 here's our playbook for the season, and this is what 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:08.200 we're gonna do. He's gonna see what the guys do, 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:10.520 what they do well, and you're sort of building on 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.240 a playbook as the season goes along. Then you add 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.000 in the personnel stuff with guys coming back from injury. 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:20.240 We may not really know exactly what this defense is 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:22.440 going to hang its hat on, so to speak, until 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:24.920 we get halfway, two thirds, three quarters of the way 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:29.000 through the season, but it feels like this defense when 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.560 you look at Jonathan Gannon's track record what he did 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.920 in Philadelphia as a defensive coordinator, he certainly didn't have 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:39.800 the success in Arizona as a head coach, but hearing 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:42.280 from Matt Lafleuur having gone against him a couple times, 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:44.280 it was not an Arizona defense that was ever a 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:46.520 pushover by any means. There were a lot of challenges 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.680 in preparing for that unit, and that's partly what attracted 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:53.240 Matt Lafleur to hire Gannon. I think it's gonna be 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:57.360 fascinating to see just the process and the progress and 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:00.880 where this thing ends up in November in December with 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.440 Gannon at the controls of the defense compared to just 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:05.560 this starting phase right now. 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.640 Yeah, And the two other things I really liked that 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.800 Jonathan talked about. One was the idea of that you 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:11.760 don't want to get check made it before the snap, 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.040 and that's where all the guy. You know, when you 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.880 look at the disguise of what defenses are doing, not 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.720 allowing offenses to catch wind of things before the play happens, 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.080 that's going to be critical. It was critical with Jeff Hafley, 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.480 It's going to be critical with Gannon. But you know, 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:27.280 when it comes to individual players, you know, he was 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:31.280 asked about Javon Hargrove and Hargrave excuse me, and the 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.520 time that they had together in Philadelphia, and he talked about, 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:38.600 you know that Hargrave was the one that made the plays. Yeah, 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:42.400 but I think that's a very humble, well done approach. 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.600 And Hargrave was a very good player even before Gannon 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:48.720 got there, but he took his game to another level 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.040 in Gannon's defense. He became a pro bowler. He had 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:55.280 an eleven and a half sax season. He made those 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.600 steps that you want to see from a guy entering 0:15:57.600 --> 0:15:59.600 the prime of his career. Then you go back to 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:03.960 last season in Arizona, Kalayas Campbell's thirty nine years old, right, 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:05.720 I mean, like, are these last few years like what 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:08.760 these guys have been able to do in his scheme? 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:13.160 He has found ways to make guys better. And when 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:16.960 you're looking at the transition here from Halfley to Gannon, 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:20.080 I think that's the parallel. It's gonna be different defenses, 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.480 it's gonna be different philosophies, They're gonna win in different ways. 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.040 But it's how do you take the guys that you have? 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.000 How do you take an Drin Cooper in his skill 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:32.240 set and elevate him? And I think that's gonna be 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:34.880 the most intriguing thing. The weird part is going to be, 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.920 like you said, this defense by year's end is likely 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:40.960 going to look vastly different than it will those first 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:43.200 few weeks, especially if Micah Parsis isn't back on the 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.600 field yet. But what does a Baron Surrell do, What 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:49.520 does a Lucas van Esk do? How do the guys 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:52.680 that get those opportunities early in the season maximize them? 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.280 And it's the biggest question mark but I think it's 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.800 also what allows this defense to have the highest ceiling. 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.360 Now going into twenty twenty six, Well, I want to 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.280 get your thoughts on new Special teams coordinator Cam Acord 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.399 as well. But take a quick break to pay a 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.880 couple of bills and hear a word from our sponsor. 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:14.360 Serious XM NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:17.360 to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need. 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:22.879 Twenty four seven, three sixty five. Welcome back to Packers unscripted. 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.399 All right, Wes, New Special teams Coordinator Cam Acord. I 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:29.639 don't know if I, in all my years of doing this, 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.640 if I have ever seen somebody's you know, coaching history 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:35.720 and we look, you know, whether you're looking at guys 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.960 like rich Basaccia or even Adam Stenovich for that matter, 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:40.919 like you always see, oh, he, you know, worked at 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:42.880 this college in this college and then you know, goes 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.480 to the NFL, maybe goes back to college like Jeff 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:47.440 Haffley did, and then you get back into the NFL. 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.680 All these guys have all these different histories. I don't 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:54.160 know if I've ever seen somebody like cam Accord who 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:58.679 went straight from working at the junior college level to 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.160 the NFL, and he talked about that it was his 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:06.480 connection with Joe Judge and getting an opportunity to h 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.280 to be hired by him and work alongside him in 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:14.720 the NFL. And he's, uh, he's made it work because 0:18:14.720 --> 0:18:17.000 he's been in the NFL quite a while now. He's 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.600 been a special teams coordinator in the past as well 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:22.800 as a special team's assistant, worked with some different programs. 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:24.560 I mean, he you know, he worked his way up 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:28.359 under Bill Belichick, so there's something to be said for 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:28.960 that as well. 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.160 I just don't know if I've ever quite seen somebody 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.760 with with his background in terms of making that jump 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:36.800 all the way from junior college to the NFL. It's 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:39.760 like he skipped Division III and Division one and the 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.080 Power Conference to you know, to get to the NFL. 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:44.520 It's like he skipped all of that. But man, he 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:45.320 sure made it work. 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:47.000 But I'll tell you what, man, when you when you're 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.000 talking about paying dues in the coaching realm and obviously 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.480 now last chance you those type of programs have kind 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:54.720 of shined a bigger light in junior college football. But 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:57.440 I remember even my first few years, the Packers had 0:18:57.520 --> 0:18:59.520 a number of players that had gone the JUCO route 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:01.919 at the event, they ended up drafting and talking to 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:05.800 those coaches about what those trials and tribulations can be like, 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:09.800 not just from the player standpoint, but recruiting, getting kids 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:13.400 to your program, not having a lot of resources. As 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:16.280