Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. He is my
Speaker 1: partner in crime, Wes hod Kuwitz. We're coming to you
Speaker 1: here from our studios at lambeau Field and West. The
Speaker 1: Packers have established their initial fifty three man roster for
Speaker 1: the season, as well as the bulk of the practice squad.
Speaker 1: At this point, all of that was happening on Tuesday
Speaker 1: and Wednesday. I'm just gonna throw you an open ended
Speaker 1: question to begin here. What was your top observation or
Speaker 1: thing that sort of caught your fancy with regard to
Speaker 1: how this fifty three shook out? We are finally seeing
Speaker 1: how the practice squad rules changing is starting to alter
Speaker 1: the complexion of a fifty three man roster. I totally
Speaker 1: agree with you. The first and foremost agreement Packers making
Speaker 1: the decision to keep two running backs to traditional running
Speaker 1: backs on their fifty three man roster, and Aaron Jones
Speaker 1: and a J. Dillon. You might have heard of them.
Speaker 1: If you go back, and I always start in two
Speaker 1: thousand nine because that you can go back farther if
Speaker 1: you want. But that's when the Packers made the switch
Speaker 1: to the three four. I consider that to be kind
Speaker 1: of the modern era underneath my own unofficial metric. Well,
Speaker 1: going back to two thousand nine, there's only been two
Speaker 1: instances where the Packers got through. The initial cut to
Speaker 1: fifty three with only two running backs on the roster
Speaker 1: was two thousand eighteen, and that's when Aaron Jones had
Speaker 1: to be suspended for a week miss week one. They
Speaker 1: signed Darius Jackson the following day. And then there's two
Speaker 1: thousand and ten where James Starks started on PUP, So
Speaker 1: you had Ryan Grant in Brandon Jackson, but they also
Speaker 1: had three fullback three fullbacks that year. This particular year,
Speaker 1: yes you have Kylan Hill on PUP, but there are
Speaker 1: no more fullbacks and the Packers are just going with
Speaker 1: Joe and Dylan. Brian Goodquin's mentioned yes, if worst case
Speaker 1: scenario and you don't have somebody else elevated, you do
Speaker 1: have a Mari Rodgers potentially being able to play that spot.
Speaker 1: But the Packers have this little wild card now where
Speaker 1: they can bring up up to three times elevate a player,
Speaker 1: one specific player from the practice squad up to three times.
Speaker 1: So Tyler Goodson squeaks through to the practice squad. Patrick Taylor,
Speaker 1: who's been here for two years now, he's on the
Speaker 1: practice squad. So you're gonna see this a lot, you know,
Speaker 1: and I think even you know Joan Winfrey, the reports
Speaker 1: out that he's going to be coming back, there's going
Speaker 1: to be these guys that aren't on the fifty three
Speaker 1: that are still going to collect a traditional game check
Speaker 1: because of the ability now to call people up, and
Speaker 1: that is altering the way we're seeing some of these
Speaker 1: initial active rosters. Yeah, I I totally agree with you.
Speaker 1: I think it's a I think it's a very it's
Speaker 1: it's it's an obvious shift in the thinking, the process
Speaker 1: how some of these final decisions are being made. Because
Speaker 1: the Packers are not going to go into a regular
Speaker 1: season game with just Aaron Jones and a J. Dillon
Speaker 1: is the only active running backs for a game like,
Speaker 1: because anything happens to either one of those guys, suddenly
Speaker 1: you're taking a huge chunk of the game plan or
Speaker 1: the playbook and throwing it in the garbage. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can't, you can't take that risk. You have to
Speaker 1: have a third running back. But as you said, West,
Speaker 1: the rules, the practice squad rules, and the multiple elevations
Speaker 1: mean that you don't necessarily have to have that third
Speaker 1: running back on the fifty three man roster. The Packers,
Speaker 1: in in essence, I don't know if it's going to
Speaker 1: play out this way. This is one way to look
Speaker 1: at it. Dave in essence, bought themselves six more weeks,
Speaker 1: the first six weeks of the regular season to decide
Speaker 1: who really is the number three running back, because they
Speaker 1: can elevate Patrick Taylor and or Tyler Goodson three times apiece,
Speaker 1: and then at that at that point one or both
Speaker 1: of them needs to be on the fifty three or
Speaker 1: then uh, you know, you would have to x bose
Speaker 1: them again or they would end up having to stay
Speaker 1: on the practice squad the remainder of the season and
Speaker 1: getting no more elevation. So all of this, you know,
Speaker 1: it's almost as though this battle for the number three
Speaker 1: running back spot, maybe the coaches know who it is
Speaker 1: and who's going to be the one elevated for Week one,
Speaker 1: But in some senses, it's the competition is continuing. Right
Speaker 1: there's still whether Patrick Taylor's in the lead or Tyler
Speaker 1: Goodson's in the lead. Right now, there's still a chance
Speaker 1: for that to shift because either or both could be
Speaker 1: elevated on a on a game day coming up here
Speaker 1: in September and coming up in a couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: you know, they could theoretically also returned Kylan Hill to practice.
Speaker 1: And now Kylin Hill is stating his claim after a
Speaker 1: pretty impressive start with Green Bay last summer, right with
Speaker 1: with the pup now the regular season pup being just
Speaker 1: a four week minimum instead of the six week minimum
Speaker 1: from previous years. Another change in the rules in terms
Speaker 1: of the roster manipulation, and Rogers kind of talked about
Speaker 1: that Aaron Rodgers that is at is Cokker on what
Speaker 1: would be Wednesday. I'm trying to get my days down, Mike,
Speaker 1: when you work like fourteen in a row and you
Speaker 1: start losing track of which one it is. But you
Speaker 1: know about how there's going to be some of these
Speaker 1: changes now because conversely, the Packers kept all eleven of
Speaker 1: their draft picks on this fifty three man roster. They
Speaker 1: went with seven receivers for the third time in five years.
Speaker 1: And then one other change that the NFL implemented that
Speaker 1: I think you're always gonna see loaded offensive lines is
Speaker 1: you need to have eight offensive lineman active on game day.
Speaker 1: To be able to have forty eight players dressed for
Speaker 1: the game. You don't do that. You only get forty seven.
Speaker 1: So yeah, a lot of these teams now you're gonna
Speaker 1: see nine ten offensive linemen making this roster. The Packers,
Speaker 1: there were a lot of difficult decisions they had to
Speaker 1: make during these final cuts. Danny Etling goes on the
Speaker 1: practice squad, Caleb Jones goes on the practice squad. You
Speaker 1: keep a guy like Rashid Walker on the fifty three,
Speaker 1: who finished camp really strong, had a nice showing at
Speaker 1: right tackle in Kansas City, had to come back from
Speaker 1: an injury during training camp. Once he got out there
Speaker 1: in the preseason, the film look pretty good. And that's
Speaker 1: the that's the toughest part of this job for Brian
Speaker 1: goodcuts in the scouts, they lost one guy to waivers.
Speaker 1: That was Tye Summers. I think everybody kind of expected
Speaker 1: that's what was going to happen once they decided to
Speaker 1: release him ahead of time before the final cuts, and
Speaker 1: you know, it worked out the way it worked out.
Speaker 1: There was some great stories like Mica Abernathy making the
Speaker 1: fifty three after only being here for twenty days. But
Speaker 1: then there was also the reality of what the National
Speaker 1: Football League is like where Rudy Ford was signed the
Speaker 1: next day and Abernathy was released. So, uh, Mason Crosby's
Speaker 1: back there. There's so many different scenarios and storylines that
Speaker 1: came out of this cutdown day that I think one
Speaker 1: it made for a huge day on our website numbers wise,
Speaker 1: but too, I just think there were so many questions
Speaker 1: that people had that weren't going to be answered until
Speaker 1: you know, Brian Goodacuins filled out that personnel report and
Speaker 1: sent it to the league office by three pm on Tuesday. Yeah,
Speaker 1: from a news perspective, Mason Crosby was activated off pup.
Speaker 1: The Packers feeling very good about his progress. This Week
Speaker 1: one still the target for him. We will see what
Speaker 1: we will see what happens there. But the backup kicker
Speaker 1: um Ahmed Ramis Ahmed Um He was released but did
Speaker 1: clear waivers in his back on the practice squad. So
Speaker 1: depending on what happens with Crosby again, because of these
Speaker 1: elevation UM game day elevation rules, the Packers will have
Speaker 1: another option there for Week one UM if they were
Speaker 1: to need it. That you mentioned the ten offensive lineman
Speaker 1: I think as training camp in the preseason developed, and
Speaker 1: certainly with the remaining uncertainty with regard to David baktr
Speaker 1: and Ellen Jenkins, I think, I think we saw the
Speaker 1: ten offensive lineman coming and we're wondering if maybe even
Speaker 1: they would go with eleven Um and Uh And as
Speaker 1: it turned out, as you said, Caleb Jones, Um did
Speaker 1: make it through waivers in his back on the practice squad.
Speaker 1: And yeah, the cruel world of of NFL roster decisions
Speaker 1: with Mica Abernathy, a great story shows up, gets signed
Speaker 1: because of injuries at safety, gets signed two days before
Speaker 1: the first preseason game. Um absolutely balls out in all three.
Speaker 1: I mean he's on the field in a preseason game
Speaker 1: two days after he arrives in Green Bay, which is
Speaker 1: pretty remarkable in in and of itself. Then a week
Speaker 1: later he gets an interception and a tackle for loss
Speaker 1: in the preseason game at lambeau Field. Um makes the
Speaker 1: initial fifty three. But then when a safety and special
Speaker 1: teams stalwart from Jacksonville named Rudy Ford becomes available, the
Speaker 1: Packers decided to sign him and Uh and Abernathy is
Speaker 1: released one day after being this great Cinderella story that
Speaker 1: had made the fifty three. But that leads me to
Speaker 1: I think another very obvious observation with regard to how
Speaker 1: Bran gudacoonsten his staff Matt Lafleur, the coach, is how
Speaker 1: they went about putting together this fifty three man roster.
Speaker 1: And of course I'm talking about special teams because as
Speaker 1: I pointed out on the three Things video that we
Speaker 1: shot with Larry yesterday, this the mindset, the approach that
Speaker 1: they want to take with special teams. This wasn't just
Speaker 1: about changing the coaches. It's about changing the personnel, and
Speaker 1: it's about having guys like Keyshaw Nixon and Dalen Levitt, who, yes,
Speaker 1: they will be reserves in the defensive backfield, but the
Speaker 1: the the top item on their job responsibility list is
Speaker 1: going to be special teams because they've done it a lot,
Speaker 1: they can be leaders in that area. Obviously, the Packers
Speaker 1: also brought in a new punter, a new long snapper.
Speaker 1: The undrafted rookie Jack Coco does make the team, and
Speaker 1: then Rudy Ford ends up getting signed here just as
Speaker 1: as the roster reductions are made, and then you can
Speaker 1: you can potentially have some of these rookies from the
Speaker 1: draft class we may see Romeo Dops on special teams.
Speaker 1: We may see Trek Carpenter the seventh round pick um
Speaker 1: at at safety, kind of an oversized safety who might
Speaker 1: be an interesting, intriguing prospect on special teams. The makeover
Speaker 1: of the special teams has been months in the making
Speaker 1: here and uh, and now it's time for new coordinator
Speaker 1: Rich Pisaccia. Byron store his that that that group of coaches,
Speaker 1: they've got their guys now, this is this is who
Speaker 1: they've got, so they're going to move forward and uh.
Speaker 1: And the idea is obviously for the Packers to be
Speaker 1: much much improved in that phase of things. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: that was one of the big reasons why I also
Speaker 1: implored people not to get too over the top about
Speaker 1: how the preseason looks. Yeah, I was. I was doing that.
Speaker 1: I was doing the same thing. It was a search
Speaker 1: for personnel. That's that's the way I looked at. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and the way of which they're trying to augment those teams.
Speaker 1: You know, there there's going to be a lot of
Speaker 1: established veterans playing for Ritz Besaccia too. I think about
Speaker 1: the field goal protection unit and the amount of starters
Speaker 1: we saw on this um. This past summer. There were
Speaker 1: times last season where I don't remember there being a
Speaker 1: quote unquote starter on field goal protection. It was a
Speaker 1: lot of backup offensive lineman. It was a lot of
Speaker 1: backup defensive linemen. But there's a huge emphasis there. I
Speaker 1: never saw Corey Lindsley play on a special teams unit.
Speaker 1: Josh Myers is playing as a wing right now on
Speaker 1: the field goal protection quay walker Adrian Amos. I think
Speaker 1: the plan is to hopefully not have to use Amos,
Speaker 1: but when Daln Levitt went down with the shoulder in
Speaker 1: San Francisco, Amos was the one feeling and his personal
Speaker 1: protector on the punt team, Russell Douglas, Eric Stokes. There
Speaker 1: was a line that really stood out to me during
Speaker 1: Brian and Brian Goodicuns and Matt floor Ball talked about
Speaker 1: this emphasis. But when Brian Goodicun said we had to
Speaker 1: get out of our comfort zone a little bit with
Speaker 1: how we're building these teams, that really I thought was
Speaker 1: telling because he admitted we've not been good enough for
Speaker 1: far too long. We need to be better in that area,
Speaker 1: and I feel like the resources have been committed. Certainly,
Speaker 1: you and I watched these practices having Rich Pisacchi as
Speaker 1: that the general there I think has made a huge difference,
Speaker 1: the tempo, how they get in and out of periods,
Speaker 1: the urgency when they do have the special teams period.
Speaker 1: You know, this goes back years. This isn't just about
Speaker 1: you know, Modraton or or anybody's in specific, but you
Speaker 1: know there there was a lot of years Mike where
Speaker 1: I would cover these training camp practices and be like, Okay,
Speaker 1: team periods are done, We're gonna do some special teams.
Speaker 1: Al Right, everybody, ten minutes, we'll be back. We'll do
Speaker 1: some more team periods. Now Man special teams. This year
Speaker 1: that was a period in and of itself. When they
Speaker 1: were doing their lineups, whether it be for kickoff return
Speaker 1: or punt return. Even the way they integrated their their
Speaker 1: field goals I thought was really interesting. There wasn't a
Speaker 1: set Okay, we're just gonna kick eight field goals. No,
Speaker 1: it was okay, we're gonna do a team period and
Speaker 1: we're gonna do two field goals. Quick, do another tum period,
Speaker 1: go back a couple more yards and do some more
Speaker 1: field goals. They're just the the urgency is there. You
Speaker 1: need the execution, you need to be able to turn
Speaker 1: the owner in the regular season, but certainly everybody from
Speaker 1: the top down understands why that phase needs to improve
Speaker 1: and really what happens if you don't get it to
Speaker 1: where it needs to be. Yeah, and we actually got
Speaker 1: to look not that the Packers wanted to punt as
Speaker 1: often as they did in Kansas City in that preseason finale,
Speaker 1: but we gotta look at what Pat O'Donnell might be
Speaker 1: able to do here as a as a veteran punter.
Speaker 1: I thought he I thought in mixing and matching, you know,
Speaker 1: the Aussee style, the swing away. I mean, he kind
Speaker 1: of showed it all in in in Kansas City. Now
Speaker 1: they get the personnel they want to cover those punts,
Speaker 1: and and you know, the the fifty five yard gross
Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily just become a forty yard met because of
Speaker 1: a fifteen yard return. You cover those better and uh,
Speaker 1: and that net average on the punt gets to where
Speaker 1: Rich Pisacci wants it to be. And it isn't interesting
Speaker 1: after that game in Casey Mattlaflore talking about, Yeah, there
Speaker 1: were some things going on there with the returns, and
Speaker 1: then within five days here comes Rudy Ford was considered
Speaker 1: one of the fastest best gunners in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: When I go back to thinking about when special teams
Speaker 1: appeared to be turning the corner of the first time,
Speaker 1: for Green Bay, it was because I thought Jeff Janis
Speaker 1: was an excellent gunner, Dmitri Goodson. They had guys that
Speaker 1: sort of stepped up in that Jared Bush roll, and
Speaker 1: then they kind of fell off a little bit in
Speaker 1: terms of the team that having a rudy for their
Speaker 1: potentially using some starters. I think that's going to make
Speaker 1: a big difference. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to
Speaker 1: see how that evolves now with the with the regular
Speaker 1: season right around the corner, and who is on the
Speaker 1: field for those snaps um some sponsor business. Here West
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Speaker 1: of better. An interesting final day, I I say final day,
Speaker 1: last day of practice on Wednesday, but for the players
Speaker 1: get kind of an extended break here through the weekend
Speaker 1: and then they'll return after the weekend to begin the
Speaker 1: full fledged preparation for the Minnesota Vikings in Week one.
Speaker 1: A couple of visitors to practice. First off, Morgan Burnett,
Speaker 1: former Packer safety who came back to Green Bay to
Speaker 1: officially retire as a Packer, hasn't played in the NFL
Speaker 1: for a couple of years, played his first he was
Speaker 1: a third round draft pick in two thousand and ten,
Speaker 1: played his first eight years in the NFL with Green Bay,
Speaker 1: a couple of other years with with a pair of
Speaker 1: a f C North teams. Um he officially retires as
Speaker 1: a Packer and then newly enshrined Pro Football Hall of
Speaker 1: Famer Leroy Butler also was at practice, and we found
Speaker 1: out that both of those individuals, who happened to both
Speaker 1: play the position of safety and played it quite well
Speaker 1: here in Green Bay, both had a chance to talk
Speaker 1: to the team give a little bit of an inspirational
Speaker 1: message and message excuse me, and it sounded like, um,
Speaker 1: it was both of both of those who were received
Speaker 1: quite well. Yeah. Starting with Butler, Aaron Rodgers even mentioned
Speaker 1: he felt like that was one of the best kind
Speaker 1: of pre practice camp speeches they've had in his time,
Speaker 1: at least over the last ten years, I think, is
Speaker 1: what his quote was. Uh. And and Butler's message was
Speaker 1: one that I can see why it hit home with
Speaker 1: Rogers but definitely the entire football team, and that it
Speaker 1: goes by fast, so enjoy it. You know, Leroy played
Speaker 1: twelve years in the National Football League, took him a
Speaker 1: couple of years to find his way, and then obviously
Speaker 1: the shoulder injury ended his last season. But in between there,
Speaker 1: I mean, what did a remarkable run he got on
Speaker 1: And we talked at nauseum this summer about you know,
Speaker 1: his Hall of Fame candidacy and finally getting in Trine
Speaker 1: and Canton to be able to bring him back. I
Speaker 1: thought was such an important thing because you know, we
Speaker 1: talked about Leary being long winded, and he can be,
Speaker 1: but I think, as he also showed in Canton, you know,
Speaker 1: he can be really concise with his thoughts too, and
Speaker 1: make a point, um, not just with his words, but
Speaker 1: how he says things. And kind of reflecting on this
Speaker 1: and and mentioning afterwards that Morgan Burnett spoke to the
Speaker 1: team after practice. You know, that idea of being in
Speaker 1: the present. I think the way Randall Cobb termed it was,
Speaker 1: you know, standing in your shoes, you know, not worrying
Speaker 1: about what's happened in the past, not trying to think
Speaker 1: about the future, but literally just being present right now. Um,
Speaker 1: not just in the practices, not just in the games,
Speaker 1: being in the cafeteria, being in the locker room, just
Speaker 1: being able to to enjoy this with people around you,
Speaker 1: um that are kind of living out their dreams as well.
Speaker 1: And for the packers, I mean, you look at this
Speaker 1: type of year, with the expectations being as high as
Speaker 1: they are, it is important at times to actually step
Speaker 1: back and reflect in and appreciate the opportunity that's in
Speaker 1: front of them. And I feel like, without hearing the
Speaker 1: message ourselves, it definitely sounds like that's sort of the
Speaker 1: thing that both Butler and Burnett hit home on. And
Speaker 1: I'll be honest with you, Mike, I tweeted or I
Speaker 1: put on my Instagram as I was getting ready for
Speaker 1: bed last night, the fact that Morgan Burnett is retired
Speaker 1: from the National Football League, Um, you got to see
Speaker 1: his entire career. I got most of it. That that
Speaker 1: kind of that hits even a guy like me a
Speaker 1: little bit because now I'm thirty four years old. I
Speaker 1: think Morgan might be thirty three. You know, it reminds you,
Speaker 1: you know, these guys come in at two years old
Speaker 1: in the blanket, and I you're thirty and you're onund
Speaker 1: to that next phase of your life. So you definitely
Speaker 1: do want to appreciate that moment when it's in front
Speaker 1: of you. Yeah, no question about. Well, the other thing
Speaker 1: with regard to Wednesday's practice UM, Matt Law flew through
Speaker 1: a changeup at the guys so to speak, because what
Speaker 1: he ended up doing and again before giving them a
Speaker 1: few days off, he set up practice UM with a
Speaker 1: lot of eleven on eleven essentially like almost like four
Speaker 1: quarters of eleven on eleven, you know, ones versus ones um,
Speaker 1: and also some twos versus twos, And we didn't get
Speaker 1: to see that. We're at the point, just so people understand,
Speaker 1: we're at the point with regard to practice, where as
Speaker 1: opposed to a regular training camp practice, when we get
Speaker 1: to watch the entire thing. Now in regular season practice mode,
Speaker 1: the media is allowed for the opening portion of practice
Speaker 1: and some of the individual drills, but then once they
Speaker 1: go to eleven on eleven, the media is dismissed and
Speaker 1: it's a it's a closed private practice. But it sounded
Speaker 1: like the eleven on eleven this four quarters and whatever
Speaker 1: running clock that they put on, and it was there
Speaker 1: were also some special teams snaps that were mixed in
Speaker 1: sort of between quarters. Everything that we found out about
Speaker 1: this practice in the locker room afterward, it sounded like
Speaker 1: it was pretty darn competitive and the guys really both
Speaker 1: sides of the ball, really really got after it. And um,
Speaker 1: the timing of it couldn't have been better because I
Speaker 1: can see from a head coaches perspective, Alright, guys, we'll
Speaker 1: go other than tackling to the ground, We're not going
Speaker 1: to be you know, laying guys out and everything, but go,
Speaker 1: We're gonna go really really hard today because now you've
Speaker 1: got a few days off to recover. Like, let's make
Speaker 1: this practice as game like as as we can. And
Speaker 1: it sounded like it was a hit with the players. Yeah,
Speaker 1: for Aaron Rodgers, you asked the question for Rogers to
Speaker 1: say right off the bat that it was the best
Speaker 1: practice camp. I think it really reiterated, um how successful
Speaker 1: it was and also the fact that Rogers the thing
Speaker 1: that sit out to me the most him mentioning that
Speaker 1: he kind of hopes that this is something that maybe
Speaker 1: they'll integrate into the traditional train. Yeah, something something to consider,
Speaker 1: something to consider in the future, sort of to to
Speaker 1: break up maybe to break up the monotony of the
Speaker 1: installations or this or that of of you know, weeks
Speaker 1: of training camp practices. Just one day go alright, guys,
Speaker 1: we're going eleven on eleven for four quarters. Let's go,
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, it would be that that would
Speaker 1: be a lot of fun. That would be a lot
Speaker 1: of fun for us and for the fans that the
Speaker 1: stands at Nichky Field. If that would be an open practice,
Speaker 1: that would be a blast for everybody to u to
Speaker 1: watch and see what unfolds. Yeah. One of the two
Speaker 1: very subtle things that happened though, when Rogers was explaining
Speaker 1: it is one it sounds like Robert Tonyan is doing
Speaker 1: really well. Um, this is a guy that was just
Speaker 1: getting back into the team program last week, just getting
Speaker 1: back into some of the individual periods and sound like
Speaker 1: he had a couple of touchdown passes as well. Uh,
Speaker 1: one I believe was from Rogers. Another one was in
Speaker 1: a two minute with George and you know, for for
Speaker 1: Tony in trying to get back into the swing of things. Uh,
Speaker 1: it sounds like that first week has gone really well.
Speaker 1: But Rogers again was effusive in his praise of Sammy
Speaker 1: Watkins and just the corner that he turned after that
Speaker 1: first practice against the Saints. I mean, Mike, you look
Speaker 1: at the stats. I talked about it frequently, but I mean,
Speaker 1: this guy is in the conversation as being among the
Speaker 1: best Week one receivers in the National Football League over
Speaker 1: the last you know, eight years in which he's been here.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's just it's one big performance after another,
Speaker 1: and I don't think that's a coincidence. I think everybody
Speaker 1: appreciates and understands what this young man is still capable
Speaker 1: of if he's healthy. And for him and Randall Cobb
Speaker 1: and being able to get all these guys that are
Speaker 1: figured to be important the list for this offense to
Speaker 1: the start of the regular season without injury. I think
Speaker 1: it's one of the things that Matt Lafleur did really
Speaker 1: well in this camp, and a part of that is
Speaker 1: not playing in the preseason, and a part of it
Speaker 1: is being really smart when you do decide to finally
Speaker 1: push that button to to get guys ramping up a
Speaker 1: little bit. Yeah, this and the players talked about how
Speaker 1: this for the starters, the veteran starters in particular, because
Speaker 1: we did see some of the younger starters on offense
Speaker 1: and defense taking snaps in the preseason game. But for
Speaker 1: the veteran starters, this was their preseason action. It was
Speaker 1: it was the ones versus ones in an intense environment
Speaker 1: on the practice field. Rogers did talk about Watkins. He
Speaker 1: also talked about how the last week to ten days
Speaker 1: that Randall Cobb has really come on UM. Somewhat quiet
Speaker 1: throughout training camp, just a veteran going about his business,
Speaker 1: but but the last week or so, Randall Cobb has
Speaker 1: gotten a lot more action in the eleven on eleven.
Speaker 1: And you mentioned Robert tunn In very recently returned to
Speaker 1: the eleven on eleven work um with with getting cleared
Speaker 1: through his A c L rehab, and it sounds like
Speaker 1: he's showing up quite a bit as well, even though
Speaker 1: we haven't had the opportunity to see it um as
Speaker 1: members of the media. So a lot going on there.
Speaker 1: The team now on a little bit of a break
Speaker 1: and uh, and then they'll come back and it will
Speaker 1: be uh, it will be a big turn the page
Speaker 1: moment because because the Minnesota Vikings will be right around
Speaker 1: the corner, big division rival on the road. All that
Speaker 1: and uh and an entire week to prepare. So it's
Speaker 1: almost here, my friend. Yeah, the transition is so interesting
Speaker 1: now with them making this switch to three preseason games,
Speaker 1: and everybody mentioned that's for the positive. Brian Goodkin's even said,
Speaker 1: as much as he would love the more evaluation opportunities,
Speaker 1: that this is the best for the league and for
Speaker 1: the players. But it does it creates this weird little
Speaker 1: vacuum um where you really don't know what to make
Speaker 1: of anything. You know, even those practices last weekend. We're
Speaker 1: getting ready for final cuts, but you want to keep
Speaker 1: the guys working. I felt like this was a perfect
Speaker 1: way to to make it a little it more competitive, uh,
Speaker 1: and and not just have it being okay, well, we're
Speaker 1: all just kind of sitting around looking for something to
Speaker 1: do this week now, I mean, get one more heavy
Speaker 1: practice in and then Monday comes around and suddenly you're
Speaker 1: game planning again. So, as you said, Mike, it's incredible. Um,
Speaker 1: it seems like juicy. Yesterday I was sitting on that
Speaker 1: bench waiting for Mark Murphy to come out at the
Speaker 1: shareholders meeting and give his speech, and then suddenly we're
Speaker 1: here and the Packers have a pretty pivotal division matchup
Speaker 1: coming out right at the gate. Yeah, it's going to
Speaker 1: be uh, it's it's going to be quite the start.
Speaker 1: Vikings Week one, bears in Week two and uh a
Speaker 1: lot on a lot on the line in the NFC
Speaker 1: North here in the early weeks. One last thing before
Speaker 1: we go. Running short on time, but wanted to give
Speaker 1: a quick shout out to two new members of the
Speaker 1: Packers Hall of Fame being inducted UH this week talking
Speaker 1: about Greg Jennings and Tim Harris. West and I will
Speaker 1: have stories based from their press conferences their induction on
Speaker 1: Packers dot com, so be sure to check those out.
Speaker 1: But congratulations to Greg Jennings and Tim Harris, very deserving
Speaker 1: new members of the Packers Hall of Fame. And with
Speaker 1: that we'll call it a rap on this edition of
Speaker 1: Packers Unscripted. We'll have everything for you on Packers dot com.
Speaker 1: Be sure to continue to check it out as the
Speaker 1: regular season rolls around. For Wes, I am Mike, thank
Speaker 1: you for tuning in. Everybody, We'll see you next time.