WEBVTT - #372 Packers Unscripted: Opportunity knocking

0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:21.119
<v Speaker 1>Hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.

0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:24.200
<v Speaker 1>I am Mike Spofford. He is my trusted colleague West

0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:27.000
<v Speaker 1>Hodkowits were coming to you here from our studios at

0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:30.120
<v Speaker 1>lambeau Field, West. We are one day closer to the

0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:33.600
<v Speaker 1>interim head coaching debut of Joe Philbin. It'll be Packers

0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:38.880
<v Speaker 1>Falcons at noon Central Time Sunday kick off at lambeau Field.

0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.280
<v Speaker 1>And um, we heard from Joe Philbin for a second

0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:46.839
<v Speaker 1>time since the decision was made on Wednesday, and I

0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:49.400
<v Speaker 1>think if there was one really key thing I took

0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:53.479
<v Speaker 1>out of his address to the media is something that

0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:57.480
<v Speaker 1>he actually reiterated from his initial chat with the media

0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:00.920
<v Speaker 1>on Monday, and that is that just because you're changing

0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:03.320
<v Speaker 1>coaches and maybe you're changing up a few thoughts in

0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.480
<v Speaker 1>the game plan, it doesn't mean there are some magic

0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.520
<v Speaker 1>plays that somebody's going to take a magic pill and

0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.000
<v Speaker 1>all of a sudden things are going to turn around

0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:14.760
<v Speaker 1>and everything's gonna look different. It still comes down to

0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.440
<v Speaker 1>playing the game the right way, playing it hard, executing,

0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.200
<v Speaker 1>doing things in the crucial situations, and you're one on

0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:24.000
<v Speaker 1>one matchup, whatever that is, that's what's going to turn

0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:26.840
<v Speaker 1>this thing around. And that's the message that Joe Philbin

0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.039
<v Speaker 1>has for his football team. Yeah, Mike, and I was

0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:32.120
<v Speaker 1>handling insider inbox for what would be Thursday, and one

0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:34.240
<v Speaker 1>thing I wrote in there was, I I look at

0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:36.480
<v Speaker 1>it no matter if you are the Patriots or the Browns.

0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.680
<v Speaker 1>Every season starts off as a baseline. You're at an

0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:42.560
<v Speaker 1>average point. The winds you start to move up, the

0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:44.720
<v Speaker 1>losses you start to move down. When you're looking at

0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.320
<v Speaker 1>just momentum. And as you get more of those wins,

0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:49.000
<v Speaker 1>it pulls you higher, and as you get more of

0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:52.440
<v Speaker 1>those losses, it pulls you lower. So as as you made,

0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:54.640
<v Speaker 1>you know your point there, And as Joe Wit or

0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.600
<v Speaker 1>Joe Philbin said, excuse me, you're not gonna be able

0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:59.720
<v Speaker 1>to just do something that's just gonna turn everything on

0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.880
<v Speaker 1>its head. But the one thing I think potentially Joe

0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.320
<v Speaker 1>Philbin coming into that head seat now does for this

0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:08.640
<v Speaker 1>team is allows them to reset a little bit, allows

0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:12.400
<v Speaker 1>them to potentially change not necessarily the culture, but maybe

0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.640
<v Speaker 1>just some of the momentum, just some of the feel

0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:17.840
<v Speaker 1>around this team. I don't want to call it a

0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:21.440
<v Speaker 1>superstition or anything like that, but just doing something a

0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.320
<v Speaker 1>little bit differently to maybe just give you that type

0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.640
<v Speaker 1>of spark. But to your original point, what Joe Philbin

0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.360
<v Speaker 1>was saying, when you're at this point of the season,

0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:33.200
<v Speaker 1>you're in week fourteen, there's four more weeks left here,

0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.080
<v Speaker 1>You're not going to be able to just do things

0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:39.120
<v Speaker 1>completely different. You're not gonna be able to just go

0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.120
<v Speaker 1>and change everything about the playbook or the overall scheme

0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.400
<v Speaker 1>because you've spent the last six seven months perfecting it

0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:48.960
<v Speaker 1>one way. So while they're gonna be some things they're

0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.000
<v Speaker 1>gonna look to streamline, there's gonna be some things they're

0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.080
<v Speaker 1>gonna be able to potentially change up, but maybe some

0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:58.080
<v Speaker 1>personnel combinations, the overall scheme is going to remain the same.

0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:00.720
<v Speaker 1>It's just about being effective in a fiship within that

0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.800
<v Speaker 1>same Yeah, another thing that I was interesting that Philbin

0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.920
<v Speaker 1>talked about. He actually talked about it, maybe more so

0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.080
<v Speaker 1>on Monday than he did on Wednesday, but it was

0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:11.760
<v Speaker 1>in terms of on both sides of the ball, even

0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:16.280
<v Speaker 1>special teams for that matter, but finding focusing in on

0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.799
<v Speaker 1>those three or four things that I like to call

0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.760
<v Speaker 1>him the hanger hat, on things, the things that everybody's

0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:24.320
<v Speaker 1>confident in that you can run on either side of

0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:27.360
<v Speaker 1>the ball in certain situations. And you know, when you

0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:31.760
<v Speaker 1>apply that to the Packers struggles on third down, which

0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.639
<v Speaker 1>has lasted all season long, it really comes down to

0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:38.320
<v Speaker 1>the fact that they never found those hang your hat

0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:41.080
<v Speaker 1>on type of things that, Okay, when it's third and four,

0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:43.880
<v Speaker 1>this is the concept we're gonna run. Now, nothing's gonna

0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.920
<v Speaker 1>be a hundred percent. But the Packers never found that

0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:50.120
<v Speaker 1>thing on third down in certain very manageable third down

0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:53.640
<v Speaker 1>situations that they felt they could rely on for a

0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:58.960
<v Speaker 1>high probability of success. And and it's easier said than done, obviously,

0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:01.360
<v Speaker 1>but Rogers I asked him about it at his locker

0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:03.760
<v Speaker 1>as well, not specifically about third down, but just about

0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.760
<v Speaker 1>Philbin's comment there, and he said, yeah, it's it's a

0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:09.600
<v Speaker 1>process to find those. We're gonna be working on that

0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.320
<v Speaker 1>this week. And he suggested that it's it's going to

0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:14.480
<v Speaker 1>take a couple of weeks to, you know, to try

0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:16.440
<v Speaker 1>to find those. It was almost as though the Packers

0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:19.919
<v Speaker 1>third down situation was a monster that fed on itself

0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:22.920
<v Speaker 1>because they just never they never found anything they could

0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.920
<v Speaker 1>sink their teeth into. Yeah, it's a microcosm of everything,

0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:28.599
<v Speaker 1>to be sure, and and you I don't ever, I

0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.560
<v Speaker 1>don't recall you never played Madden, right like going back

0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:35.560
<v Speaker 1>to the nineties, never busted out the PlayStation. Okay, but

0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.400
<v Speaker 1>I will say this, and this is completely simplifying everything

0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:40.560
<v Speaker 1>and dumbing it down and not making myself an NFL

0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:43.000
<v Speaker 1>head coach, But if you ever played your buddy in Madden,

0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:45.440
<v Speaker 1>you know that if it was third and four, there's

0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.560
<v Speaker 1>that one play, maybe two plays in the playbook that

0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:50.160
<v Speaker 1>you could run and you know you're gonna get five

0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:53.120
<v Speaker 1>yards out of it. And historically the Packers have had

0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:55.159
<v Speaker 1>some of those that you know, you know, if you

0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.160
<v Speaker 1>need to be able to move the chains the stop

0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:00.000
<v Speaker 1>wrote with James Jones, like those kind of places where

0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.040
<v Speaker 1>you could run in a hundred times, you know ninety

0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.240
<v Speaker 1>times you're gonna be able to be able to actually

0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:06.960
<v Speaker 1>convert on it. That's what's lacked this year. Just I

0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:09.240
<v Speaker 1>don't think they've had to your original point to hang

0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:11.599
<v Speaker 1>your hat on type plays, the plays that you just

0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.800
<v Speaker 1>know that if you're closing your eyes and throwing the

0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:16.640
<v Speaker 1>ball out there, that you're gonna be able to complete

0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:18.039
<v Speaker 1>the pass or you're gonna be able to move the

0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.680
<v Speaker 1>pile to get the first down. That's what's haunted this team.

0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.080
<v Speaker 1>And it's interesting listening to dan Quinn. Dan Quinn, by

0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.280
<v Speaker 1>the way, when it comes to conference calls with the

0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:28.240
<v Speaker 1>posing head coaches, and I remember this from the past

0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.719
<v Speaker 1>few years because the Packers have played Atlanta a lot,

0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.120
<v Speaker 1>dan Quinn is as good as it gets on conference calls,

0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:36.919
<v Speaker 1>and and just his honesty, his openness and just looking

0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:38.839
<v Speaker 1>at the big picture of things. Yeah, you kind of

0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:40.800
<v Speaker 1>feel like when you're talking to dan Quinn that you're

0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:43.719
<v Speaker 1>you're like sitting at a ball the beverage or something.

0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:45.720
<v Speaker 1>When when he's on those conference calls, I totally get

0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.000
<v Speaker 1>what he has a coold Miller light, I have a

0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:51.520
<v Speaker 1>nice sparkling water and we're just talking ball. And but

0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:55.120
<v Speaker 1>it was interesting hearing him talk about how maddening was

0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.080
<v Speaker 1>the word that he used. You know, when you look

0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:01.520
<v Speaker 1>at the sea the season that Matt Ryan has had

0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:05.479
<v Speaker 1>a hundred and ten passer rating, Julio Jones receiving yards,

0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.600
<v Speaker 1>Austin Hooper is breaking out. You have playmakers on both

0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:11.320
<v Speaker 1>sides of the ball, but they haven't executed enough. Their

0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.600
<v Speaker 1>run offense is thirty second in the league. The defense

0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:18.719
<v Speaker 1>didn't respond well enough to losing Dion Jones and Keyan O'Neill.

0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:22.279
<v Speaker 1>This is the situation they find themselves in. So I

0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:25.120
<v Speaker 1>think this is a big crossroads for both of these teams. Certainly,

0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:29.240
<v Speaker 1>you look at Uh, you know, Quinn has already gotten

0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.880
<v Speaker 1>the the go ahead. He's gonna be the coach of

0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.840
<v Speaker 1>the future there uh in Atlanta. They've given him that

0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:38.560
<v Speaker 1>vote of confidence. But at the same time, both of

0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:40.919
<v Speaker 1>these teams desperately need to put a win together, not

0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.760
<v Speaker 1>only for their you know, own success, but just to

0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.240
<v Speaker 1>change that momentum because with the Falcons coming in on

0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:48.960
<v Speaker 1>a four game losing streak, the Packers making a change,

0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:52.440
<v Speaker 1>only one team can win theoretically, and it's gonna be

0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:54.440
<v Speaker 1>big for that team going into this final stretch of

0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:56.719
<v Speaker 1>the season. Yeah, alright, I totally agree with you. There

0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:00.560
<v Speaker 1>with with that West, the powerful noise canceling tech achnology

0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:04.400
<v Speaker 1>that helps NFL coaches block out eighty thou screaming fans

0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:06.520
<v Speaker 1>can get you closer to the music you love. Learn

0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:11.000
<v Speaker 1>more at www dot bos dot com. Slash Packers Bows

0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.840
<v Speaker 1>the official headphones of the Green Bay Packers, and at

0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:16.360
<v Speaker 1>home or here in the stands, we all know that

0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.160
<v Speaker 1>Green Bay fans give it their all and that takes

0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:20.480
<v Speaker 1>a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl of

0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:23.280
<v Speaker 1>Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness of

0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:26.640
<v Speaker 1>Packers fans everywhere. Try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup.

0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.840
<v Speaker 1>Just visit your local supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky

0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.760
<v Speaker 1>Sup Official Sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay,

0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.000
<v Speaker 1>one of the things that we will definitely be keeping

0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:38.520
<v Speaker 1>an eye on this year as the rest of this

0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:42.000
<v Speaker 1>season plays out, and certainly the Packers personnel department g M.

0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.360
<v Speaker 1>Brian Gouda Kunts will be watching. As we mentioned on

0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.880
<v Speaker 1>previous shows this week is Okay, who are some of

0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:50.880
<v Speaker 1>these guys who are going to be part of the future.

0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.200
<v Speaker 1>There are gonna be a lot of personnel decisions made

0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:56.280
<v Speaker 1>in the offseason here coming up, whether you're talking about

0:07:56.280 --> 0:07:59.160
<v Speaker 1>free agency, whether you're talking about players to target in

0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.200
<v Speaker 1>the draft, all that kind of stuff. And there's a

0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:04.400
<v Speaker 1>lot of young players here for the Packers who have

0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:09.040
<v Speaker 1>an opportunity in front of them over these final four games.

0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.080
<v Speaker 1>And it's not quite the same as the opportunities we

0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.160
<v Speaker 1>talk about in August in preseason games, because yes, those

0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:19.160
<v Speaker 1>are those are situations you're trying to make an impression,

0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.880
<v Speaker 1>You're trying to make the roster, the fight for roster

0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:23.640
<v Speaker 1>spots at the end of the summer, all that kind

0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:27.480
<v Speaker 1>of stuff. But those preseason performance has always come with

0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:30.920
<v Speaker 1>the caveat of, well, yeah, that's against second string guys

0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:33.200
<v Speaker 1>and third string guys and these other guys who got

0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.840
<v Speaker 1>cut from those teams, and so what can they really

0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:38.400
<v Speaker 1>do well this last month of the regular season. This

0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:43.960
<v Speaker 1>is against full fledged NFL frontline players, and whether you're

0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:48.080
<v Speaker 1>talking about fullback Danny Vitally, whether you're talking about a

0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:51.880
<v Speaker 1>young defensive lineman and Tyler Lancaster, a seventh round pick

0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.959
<v Speaker 1>from Southeast Missouri, Kendall Donnerson, who spent the first three

0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:57.520
<v Speaker 1>quarters of the season on the practice squad. He's now

0:08:57.559 --> 0:08:59.760
<v Speaker 1>on the active roster for the final four games of

0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:02.280
<v Speaker 1>this season. Maybe he gets a chance either as an

0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.199
<v Speaker 1>edge rusher and or to do some things on special

0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:09.079
<v Speaker 1>teams over these last four games. The personnel department is

0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:10.960
<v Speaker 1>going to have their eye on these guys because you're

0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:14.200
<v Speaker 1>not going to get a better evaluation of them then

0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:16.440
<v Speaker 1>you will in these next four weeks. Well, and the

0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:18.520
<v Speaker 1>thing I really appreciate. I wrote about this an Insider

0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:23.040
<v Speaker 1>in Box talking to Tyler Lancaster on on Wednesday about

0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:26.319
<v Speaker 1>you know, this is incredibly important for him. It's almost

0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.280
<v Speaker 1>like a second preseason. Not necessarily, you know, the winds

0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.600
<v Speaker 1>certainly matter here, but it's a chance to ramp everything

0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:35.720
<v Speaker 1>up against teams and NFL starters and and you know,

0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.520
<v Speaker 1>next week a Bears team that's looking to you know,

0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.240
<v Speaker 1>position itself for the playoffs. Here in the stakes don't

0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:45.280
<v Speaker 1>get any higher for young players like that. The reality is, Mike,

0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:47.960
<v Speaker 1>there's fifty three players on this active roster right now.

0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:50.760
<v Speaker 1>There's seventies six guys that have some type of contract

0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:52.959
<v Speaker 1>though with the Packers when you factor in the practice

0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:56.160
<v Speaker 1>squad and injured reserve. So the reason why a lot

0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.480
<v Speaker 1>of these guys have gotten their opportunities has been because

0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:00.640
<v Speaker 1>of injury. It's been because of how the season has

0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:03.280
<v Speaker 1>played out. And you're gonna have to go back into

0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.160
<v Speaker 1>training camp next year in jockey for that same position

0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.120
<v Speaker 1>once again. The thing that's tough for the Packers at

0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.160
<v Speaker 1>this point in time you lose Kevin King, he goes

0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:13.720
<v Speaker 1>on i R for the year with the hamstring injury

0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:16.199
<v Speaker 1>that he was dealing with Trey Carson goes on I R.

0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:19.320
<v Speaker 1>So now you're claiming, guys, you have Natrelle Jamerson coming

0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:24.160
<v Speaker 1>in here, who was a safety for Wisconsin playing cornerback

0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.000
<v Speaker 1>now with the Packers. A guy like that is coming

0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:28.640
<v Speaker 1>in one to show what he can do and offer

0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.480
<v Speaker 1>the rest of the season. And getting back to the

0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:33.760
<v Speaker 1>first player you named, Danny Vitally, this is a great

0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:36.679
<v Speaker 1>opportunity for him. This is a young man that Caiman is,

0:10:36.679 --> 0:10:39.000
<v Speaker 1>a sixth round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The

0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:42.960
<v Speaker 1>super back coming out of Northwestern, did everything for the

0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:46.600
<v Speaker 1>Wildcats and now he's trying to make his way as

0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:48.800
<v Speaker 1>an NFL fullback. It looked like his place was going

0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.400
<v Speaker 1>to be in Cleveland. Played twenty four games, started nine

0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:54.320
<v Speaker 1>of them, lead them in special teams tackles last year.

0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:57.160
<v Speaker 1>While calf injury results in him going on I R.

0:10:57.520 --> 0:10:59.760
<v Speaker 1>He gets cut in mid October, and here's the Green

0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:03.920
<v Speaker 1>Bay Packers. The first year since maybe ever, they haven't

0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:06.280
<v Speaker 1>had a fullback on the roster. They signed to the

0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.760
<v Speaker 1>practice squad. Now he's up played in his first game

0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:12.280
<v Speaker 1>last week. Tell a guy like Danny Vitally that this

0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.000
<v Speaker 1>is not an important time for him. This is critical

0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:17.760
<v Speaker 1>because there's only nine of those positions right now in

0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:19.840
<v Speaker 1>the NFL, and he has one of them. He wants

0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.160
<v Speaker 1>to show the Packers that they had made the right move. Yeah,

0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:24.440
<v Speaker 1>I'll be I'll be really curious to see just how

0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:26.880
<v Speaker 1>this unfolds with the young players. And as I said,

0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.480
<v Speaker 1>the Packers are not going to go into full preseason

0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.160
<v Speaker 1>mode here in terms of in terms of resting the

0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:36.680
<v Speaker 1>frontline players and resting starters. They're going to work in

0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:39.800
<v Speaker 1>some of these younger guys to give them opportunities. But

0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.400
<v Speaker 1>this isn't about sitting Aaron Rodgers for three quarters of

0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:46.240
<v Speaker 1>the games, or or sitting Davante Adams so that he

0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:48.560
<v Speaker 1>doesn't get hurt. That's not what this is about. So

0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:53.120
<v Speaker 1>it's a it's it's a balancing act. But you know, my, my,

0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:56.440
<v Speaker 1>my personal opinion, four or five snaps for a guy

0:11:56.520 --> 0:12:00.200
<v Speaker 1>like Danny Vitally in a December regular season nf L

0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:03.760
<v Speaker 1>game is worth twenty five preseason snaps in terms of

0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.360
<v Speaker 1>the evaluation you get because of the competition he's going. Yes,

0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:11.040
<v Speaker 1>he's going against other guys who made NFL rosters. This

0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.840
<v Speaker 1>isn't the preseason where you don't even know if those

0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:15.440
<v Speaker 1>guys are ever going to make it in the NFL.

0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.199
<v Speaker 1>Right and look at Lancaster. Tyler Lancaster's very suddenly the

0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.720
<v Speaker 1>Packers starting nose tackle. He started the year on the

0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:22.920
<v Speaker 1>practice squad. Yeah, when they're in their base. Look now

0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:26.319
<v Speaker 1>he's he's he's officially a start. He's one of the guys.

0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:28.920
<v Speaker 1>Kendall Donnerson who you talked to this week. I mean,

0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:31.080
<v Speaker 1>this is a guy that was a seventh round pick

0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.800
<v Speaker 1>for the Packers, had all the intangibles in the world

0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.120
<v Speaker 1>you look for, but was raw and now and making

0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:41.120
<v Speaker 1>kind of a position transition, being a defensive end from

0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.240
<v Speaker 1>you know, a smaller Division one school, but at two

0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:47.840
<v Speaker 1>fifty pounds, that's an outside linebacker in the NFL. Exactly. Yeah,

0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:50.200
<v Speaker 1>you know, Reggie Gilbert made the same transition. Right now,

0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:53.080
<v Speaker 1>Nick Perry's on I R. Clay Matthews is dealing with

0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:56.120
<v Speaker 1>an ankle injury. Kendall Donnerson's probably going to be in

0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.240
<v Speaker 1>that rotation Sunday against the Falcons. What can he do

0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:01.839
<v Speaker 1>with those what can he do with those snaps? And

0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.080
<v Speaker 1>then getting back to original point about fatality, was talking

0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:07.560
<v Speaker 1>to him about this as well. Listen, it's the NFC North,

0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:10.839
<v Speaker 1>the guys from the Chicago Land area. He he knows

0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:14.080
<v Speaker 1>what December football is like. He's been a part of

0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.959
<v Speaker 1>it his entire life, whether it was high school or

0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:20.080
<v Speaker 1>at Northwestern, So he gets what this is gonna be

0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:23.040
<v Speaker 1>like here and what the importance is of having a

0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:27.160
<v Speaker 1>more traditional type fullback in that role in having them

0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:29.959
<v Speaker 1>available in the NFC North. So he's definitely looking forward

0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.040
<v Speaker 1>to that. And then you look across the board, as

0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:34.320
<v Speaker 1>you said, it's not about guys that are gonna be sitting,

0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.400
<v Speaker 1>but Jake Kumro is gonna get opportunities now because of

0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.040
<v Speaker 1>the attrition at that position. You know, you're going to

0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:42.920
<v Speaker 1>get guys like Robert Tanyan that probably are gonna get

0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:45.640
<v Speaker 1>more looks. You've already seen how you know, Justin mccraize

0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.400
<v Speaker 1>suddenly finds himself back in the starting lineup again after

0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:51.400
<v Speaker 1>injuries to Lane Taylor and Byron Bell. So, yeah, the

0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:53.600
<v Speaker 1>way that this season works and the way the NFL

0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:56.480
<v Speaker 1>and December works for teams that maybe aren't necessarily in

0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:59.800
<v Speaker 1>the front of the playoff competition, there's still a lot

0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:01.400
<v Speaker 1>on the line there for the young guys in the

0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:04.280
<v Speaker 1>roster trying to prove to Brian good at Constant in

0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:07.840
<v Speaker 1>the front office that come January, come February, come March,

0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:10.040
<v Speaker 1>I deserve to be in this team's plans. Yeah. If

0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:13.760
<v Speaker 1>there's one thing I've learned in my thirteen seasons in

0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.680
<v Speaker 1>this chair, so to speak from you know, working for

0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.440
<v Speaker 1>Packers dot Com and and seeing things from the inside

0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:23.840
<v Speaker 1>and just being around it every day, the the competitive

0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:28.280
<v Speaker 1>nature of not only these guys as individuals and as athletes,

0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:31.840
<v Speaker 1>but the competitive nature of the business in general, in

0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:34.960
<v Speaker 1>terms of what it takes to make a roster or

0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.760
<v Speaker 1>even just get that opportunity to be on the practice squad,

0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.480
<v Speaker 1>and then not that you're hoping for anybody to get hurt,

0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:42.760
<v Speaker 1>but you're on the practice squad hoping that by the

0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.000
<v Speaker 1>end of the season you're going to get a shot

0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.360
<v Speaker 1>on the fifty three and then from the fifty three

0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:49.400
<v Speaker 1>get on the game day forty six to get a

0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.520
<v Speaker 1>chance to get into games. This is this, This stuff

0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.480
<v Speaker 1>is not not to be taken lightly. Now, obviously the

0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.320
<v Speaker 1>Packers are you know, the playoffs and all the dominoes

0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.040
<v Speaker 1>that have to fall for that is a complete pipe dream.

0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:07.360
<v Speaker 1>This is about. This is about these guys proving that

0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:09.880
<v Speaker 1>they have a future in this league and they want

0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:11.840
<v Speaker 1>their here right now. So you know what, they want

0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.880
<v Speaker 1>to be here. They want to stay here, and they

0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:17.520
<v Speaker 1>don't they don't want to be the guy that's you know,

0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.000
<v Speaker 1>being discussed upstairs as to well should we move on

0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:21.920
<v Speaker 1>and should we look in the draft and stuff like that.

0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.160
<v Speaker 1>This is serious business. Well and how many times, Mike,

0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:26.560
<v Speaker 1>especially during your time covering this team, have you seen

0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:30.760
<v Speaker 1>a young player, undrafted, practice squad, draft pick, it doesn't matter,

0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:33.800
<v Speaker 1>in that December stretch really start to turn some heads.

0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.680
<v Speaker 1>Kenny Clark did it last year. Dean Lowry has done

0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:39.120
<v Speaker 1>it the past two decembers. Now has really come on

0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:43.720
<v Speaker 1>strong late. You've seen over the years different receivers running back,

0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:46.400
<v Speaker 1>even think of like Dewan Harris in two thousand twelve,

0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.120
<v Speaker 1>go from the practice squad and he's starting playoff games

0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:51.120
<v Speaker 1>for the Packers and then went into the following year,

0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.960
<v Speaker 1>is their quote unquote starting running back. Those type of

0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.840
<v Speaker 1>things happen, and they happen on the back of what

0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.120
<v Speaker 1>you're able to accomplish in that final slate of games.

0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:01.440
<v Speaker 1>I don't want to speak for Joe Philbin. He's his

0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:03.720
<v Speaker 1>own man. He knows what he's looking for from this roster,

0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:07.160
<v Speaker 1>but just reading between the lines of his words, the

0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:09.200
<v Speaker 1>number one thing he wants to see in this stretch

0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:11.200
<v Speaker 1>here as effort. It wants to see guys laying it

0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:12.840
<v Speaker 1>on the line. Wants to see who it matters to

0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:17.160
<v Speaker 1>the most, because that is really where you finally start

0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.440
<v Speaker 1>to learn the character of a team and what it

0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.200
<v Speaker 1>means to them, you know, depending on what happens he's

0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.520
<v Speaker 1>next few weeks and what exactly you're playing for at

0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:27.200
<v Speaker 1>that point, it is it's a matter of pride. It's

0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.080
<v Speaker 1>a matter of going out there and doing your job

0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:32.120
<v Speaker 1>and showing that you know you have what it takes

0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:35.440
<v Speaker 1>to play at this level in meaningful situations and have

0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:37.520
<v Speaker 1>a future in this league. Yeah. Well, we'll get to

0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:40.800
<v Speaker 1>the keys to victory and how this how the Packers

0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.400
<v Speaker 1>exactly match up with this Atlanta Falcons team on our

0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.600
<v Speaker 1>final show of the week tomorrow, but for now we're

0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:47.120
<v Speaker 1>going to call it a rap on this edition of

0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.080
<v Speaker 1>Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage

0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:52.880
<v Speaker 1>of the team on Packers dot com, on Twitter, at

0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.080
<v Speaker 1>west hod at, Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account.

0:16:56.080 --> 0:17:04.359
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for tuning in everybody see you next time. Don't