WEBVTT - #413 Packers Unscripted: More from OTAs Week 3 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:20.160 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.959 I am like Spofford, joined by my trusted colleague West Hodkuitz. 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:27.320 We're coming to you here from our studios at lambeau 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:29.560 Field and West a little bit of travel news to 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:32.440 talk about. In a couple of months, We're going to Canada. 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:35.280 We're going to Canada. Baby. I don't know the last 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:36.720 time you were in Canada. What was the last time 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:42.040 you're in Canada? Um? I was in Canada somewhere a 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:45.200 year or two after I got married. We actually crossed 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:48.680 the border at like Niagara Falls. Sure, so I actually 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:51.080 been to Canada more recently than you have. I was 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.120 in there in two thousand and twelve, before I started 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:56.880 my freshman year at Bayport High School. My parents were like, 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:58.840 we're gonna go on a big family trip. So we did. 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:01.640 We drove up, we of up, crossed over. I believe 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:03.680 we're in Toronto briefly, but then the big part of 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:05.920 the trip was in Niagara Falls. Got a chance to 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.399 see that. That was seventeen years ago. Michael A lot 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:10.760 has changed. Excited to be going to Winnipeg for the 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:15.000 first time. Yeah, Winnipeg Manitoba will be the site of 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:18.800 the Packers Raiders preseason game August twenty two. It will 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:22.160 be the third preseason game of the four in green 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:26.640 based schedule. Now technically this is Oakland's home game, yeah, 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:31.120 within their preseason schedule. I G field, I believe is 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:34.080 that the name of it thirty three thousand, thirty three 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:36.679 thousand seat venue. It is the home of the Winnipeg 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:40.280 Blue Bombers of the CFL, And uh, I'll just be 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.440 curious to see how the whole thing gets set up 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.520 because the CFL has, you know, the larger field and 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:47.840 everything compared to the NFL, so they have to kind 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:51.280 of remark everything and reline it, have the goal posts 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:53.600 in the right spot, you know, all that kind of thing. 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.040 So it'll be neat trip. I think from what I 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:57.800 was looking at too, it looked like Winnipeg has like 0:01:57.880 --> 0:01:59.680 is it like a twenty one day roads, Like they're 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.520 not going to be home for like one something. So 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:04.400 that's what sort of lent itself to being able to 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.040 do this. But that being said, I am going to 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:09.000 be very interested to see what the setup is like. 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:11.160 Aaron Rodgers said he was excited about it. He's never 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:13.280 been to Winnipeg either, so that'll be a need for 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:14.679 him to do that for the first time. He said. 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:16.919 He still hopes that doesn't mean they won't be able 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:18.720 to go to London, though he would still like to 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:20.480 do that. There are a lot of guys in the 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:22.760 Packers locker room who would like to who would like 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:25.120 to make that trip to London. Hopefully it happens at 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:27.640 some point. But my bigger thing is is it's the preseason. 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:29.359 You and I have been through this so many times. 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:31.000 A lot of times we end up in Kansas City. 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:32.920 A lot you and I are going out in Tennessee. 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:35.720 You get those same sort of core teams that you're 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:37.760 traveling to usually in the midwest of the a f C. 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:39.639 So have a chance to throw a little bit of 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:41.799 a curveball in there and go check out Canada. I 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:44.480 think it's gonna be a need experience, something totally different. 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:46.120 But the big thing is it is going to be 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:48.440 interesting to see how they are able to format at 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:51.320 CFL stadium to fit in NFL teams needs. Yeah, and 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:53.960 just for the historians out there, the last time the 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:58.440 Packers played a game in Canada preseason August of n 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:05.480 played the Buffalo Bills in Toronto. It was yeah. Yeah, Actually, 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.040 the as everyone knows, the second of the back to 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:10.720 back Super Bowls in the five years, Packers played a 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:13.520 preseason game in Toronto against the Buffalo Bills. That's the 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:16.440 last time they crossed the border. Which year were they 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:21.639 in Asia? Tokyo? Yeah, Tokyo was I'd have to look 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:24.160 that that was it was, it was in It was 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:27.240 in the nineties. It was lying around there for a bit. 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.440 I was not aware that the Toronto Argonauts, right, Yes, 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:33.480 the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. Yes, but the Buffalo 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:37.560 Bills hosted a preseason game, so that that would be 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.520 twenty two years ago if my sports math is correct. 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.520 It was interesting this week and the announcement was made 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:45.880 by Winnipeg that that they're going to be going out 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:47.480 there for this the Raiders and Packers will be coming 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:49.520 out for this game. It was interesting though, around the 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:51.920 building this last week hearing some of the players talking about, 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:55.240 you know, setting up their their passport, you know, going 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.280 through and having to do that. I had to do it. 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:00.360 I haven't had I haven't been out of the country 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.520 in fifteen years or ten, twelve years now, So it's 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:05.240 like I had to go through the process too, so 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:08.480 it's different. It's going to be a new experience. But hey, 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:10.640 I mean, anytime you can get up to the the 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:14.840 Great White North in August, you gotta take advantage of it. Yeah. Well, 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:18.159 getting back to the business at hand right now, for 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.360 the Green Bay Packers, it is week three of O 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:23.320 T As. We had an opportunity on Tuesday of this 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:26.440 week to watch another practice practice that was open to 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:28.640 the public, open to the media. We got to see 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.200 head coach Matt Lafleur cruising around the practice field on 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:34.480 his golf cart and all that. We don't need to 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.600 get into that whole thing too much. He's obviously going 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:42.320 to hope that his recovery goes along as quickly as 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:44.479 possible so that he can be in a walking boot 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:47.280 and be able to get around in that fashion as 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:51.480 opposed to um the golf cart scenario as a training 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:56.400 camp unfolds later on. But uh, a big couple of 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.200 big highlights now again, as we talk about it's O 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:01.560 T A is there's no pads. We're only seeing one 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:03.920 practice a week. But if you had to point a 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:07.920 one offensive highlight from that practice on Tuesday, A heck 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.640 of a throw and catch Aaron Rodgers to Jimmy Graham 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:14.520 over the middle of the field. Preston Smith, the outside linebacker. 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:17.120 I thought he actually had pretty good coverage on the 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:21.000 play and the ball just in the perfect spot and 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:25.160 Jimmy Graham reaches out full extension and not only makes 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.760 the catch in his fingertips but keeps his feet and 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:32.440 you know, would have had a pretty monster gain. There 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:36.400 um interesting thoughts though. What I want to get to 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:39.560 about this with Jimmy Graham because we don't hear from 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:41.840 him much. He's not crazy about talking to the media, 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.960 which I personally think is unfortunate because the times I 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.560 have talked to him, I think he's a very engaging guy. 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.560 It's a very interesting guy, has a lot of a 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:53.880 lot of really intriguing things to say, and a good conversationalist. 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:56.919 But his choice. So we hear a lot about Jimmy 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:59.159 Graham from other people, and we heard one of the 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:01.680 things we heard from head coach Matt Lafleur after that 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:07.040 Tuesday practice was that Jimmy Graham is kind of a perfectionist. 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.880 He in learning this new offense and trying to do 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:13.159 everything right on the practice field. He gets kind of 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:15.680 down on himself when things don't go so well, and 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:18.440 Matt Lafleur said he's been trying to work on him 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:22.560 to say, hey, you know, you're a veteran leader on 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.039 this team. You know things are going to go wrong 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:27.839 when we're learning. Everybody's learning this thing from scratch and 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.159 learning it brand new. You just have to take it 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:32.839 in stride. You have to be a leader. He really 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:36.760 likes the energy and enthusiasm and everything that Jimmy Graham 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.839 brings to practice, but he's trying to channel it maybe 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.039 in a little bit different way, and I'll be interested 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:45.560 to see. Aaron Rodgers certainly spoke of a lot of 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.080 confidence that he's looking for a bounce back year from 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.560 Jimmy Graham. Yeah, Graham has made no bones about it. 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:52.600 I mean he wants to have a more successful two 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.039 thousand nineteen than two thousand and eighteen. He talked about 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:56.599 at the end of last year, and then again he 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:59.400 mentioned it at his Cornell tournament this past weekend talking 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:01.880 with reporter that you know, he wants to be able 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:05.000 to bounce back. He feels like he can still run 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.440 the way he's always ran in certainly he's still six 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:09.640 ft seven and two ur and sixty pounds or whatever 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:12.480 he is. And it was interesting listening to Rogers disgust 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:14.200 Graham because he said, you know, one thing, and I 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:16.640 mentioned this at the end of last year. Graham didn't 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:18.800 talk to the media a lot, and he also didn't 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.720 make many excuses. He had a knee injury that we 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:23.880 saw happen. I think it was in a training camp 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:27.360 practice pretty early on that he ended up being on 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:30.240 the injury report for the entire year. The thumb got 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:32.200 a lot of interest late in the season because he 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.720 had to wear the splint, but the knee was basically 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:36.840 an issue for a while year long. Aaron Rodgers mentioned 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:38.840 he's back to being healthy again. It's one of the 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:41.040 reasons why he believes he's gonna have a lot more 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.960 successful two thousand nineteen in his second year with the 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:46.720 Packers and getting back to that plane practice, it was 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.040 It was interesting listening to Preston Smith talked about in 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:51.720 the locker room because he was actually kind of proud 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.880 of himself the way he originally handled the zone drop. 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:58.040 He thought he had help over the top, though, and 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:00.760 as he found out, he most certainly did and when 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.120 you're Jimmy Graham and you get that kind of mismatch, 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.480 that's what happens. So for for Graham to be able 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:08.320 to build on that, I think is going to be important. 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:10.280 And the other thing is too, Mike. You listen to 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:12.440 Robert Tonyan and you know some of these guys that 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:15.760 talk about him, uh in how open he is with 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.120 being able to to be sort of an open book. Yes, 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.920 he's incredibly hard on himself, wants to be a perfectionist, 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.360 but he's always there too for for the young tight ends. 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.000 I thought that was a really important thing last year 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.240 for Tanya and being able to work with Lewis and 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:30.960 also with Graham, and hearing Jay Sternberger talk a little 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:33.720 bit this past week, he also said that, you know, 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:36.000 he's been very similar in that capacity as well well. 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:39.120 A couple other things on Graham. I know Rogers downplayed it, 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.920 but you have to believe that the injury, the knee 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:44.440 injury you talked about with Graham, and obviously the knee 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.760 injury Rogers was dealing with right from week one last season. 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:50.319 There was a lot of missed practice time in there, 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.120 so I have to believe that that had an effect, 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:56.559 had an impact in some respect on what Jimmy Graham 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:58.520 was able to do in his first year with the Packers. 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:02.120 But the other reason I brought up the point that 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:06.200 Matt Lafleur made about kind of that perfectionist thing and 0:09:06.200 --> 0:09:08.959 and how he's working so hard to do everything just 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:13.080 right the first time. It makes you wonder. At least 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:14.520 it makes me wonder. And I don't want to get 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:17.720 into a whole bunch of, you know, psychological analysis, but 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:20.920 you look at it, Jimmy Graham's first year with Seattle 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.240 when he left New Orleans was not all that good. 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.000 His first year with Green Bay was not up to 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:30.880 his standards. You wonder if this whole thing, this whole 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:33.439 thing about how he's been going about learning a new 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:36.280 offense and putting a lot of pressure on himself to 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:38.520 get everything right the first time and to be that 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:42.360 veteran guy that everybody needs to look to immediately, you know, 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:46.160 to to be the guy to follow. If that hasn't 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.640 worked his advantage, I guess, is what I'm saying. And 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:52.600 maybe now if Matt Lafleur is able to to channel 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:55.560 those things in in a little bit more positive direction, 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:59.440 if we might end and with good health, we might 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.280 see a little bit different dynamic between Aaron Rodgers and 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:04.280 Jimmy Graham and year two. I'm glad you brought that up, 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:06.319 because I wrote that article at the end of last season. 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:08.520 It was actually right after Graham made the comments of 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:10.320 that he wasn't happy with You know, the numbers are 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:11.760 what they are, but he wasn't happy with the way 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:15.320 he played. We tend to romanticize, and I'm guilty of 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:19.560 it too. The fans, in myself romanticized Jared Cook's time 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.080 his season in Green Bay. We think so much about 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.240 Dallas and how well he played in the playoffs and 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:26.800 down the stretch. You sometimes forget Jared Cook had like 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:30.720 three yards receiving that year before he had that injury 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:32.920 that kept him out for six weeks. He really had 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:34.839 sort of been a non factor through the first month 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.040 of the season. He came on against Washington and down 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:40.840 the stretch, but early on it was difficult so often, 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.000 and for good reason. I was talking about Brian Goodkin's 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:46.640 about this two weeks ago tight end position. It takes 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:49.280 time to learn as a rookie. It also takes time 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:51.480 to learn as a veteran, and for guys that are 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:53.880 moving into a new scheme in a new offense, and 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:56.079 I think that plays in't exactly what you're talking about. 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.120 Graham's second year in all those spots that you mentioned 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:02.400 was always were impactful than the first. So I think 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:04.080 being able to see what he can do now with 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.600 getting those reps with Rogers and them knocking on what 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:10.560 that he stays healthy, where that relationship goes in, what 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:13.440 kind of chemistry that generates on the field. Yeah, And 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.040 as I say, as much as we don't necessarily hear 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.640 from Graham directly in the media, we know he cares 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:21.600 about it. He takes a lot of pride in what 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.880 he does, and what little he has said about last season, 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:28.239 he wasn't happy about it. So um, let's see what happens. 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.559 I mean, being able to see exactly where all these 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:32.679 young guys go. I think, for me, Mike and all 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:34.400 my time on the beat, this is the most exciting 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:36.840 the tight end room has been because it really does 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:38.520 seem to be a big emphasis on it based on 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:40.960 what we're seeing with Matt. Yeah, I think and and 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:43.080 and bringing in a third round draft pick as a 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:46.440 rookie and Sternberger to join the group. 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Okay, getting back to Tuesday's open practice 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:29.480 and the highlights they're in. Defensively, an interception that probably 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.520 goes for a pick six, I would think the way 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.480 things looked on the practice field, Tim Boyle unfortunately got 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:39.080 picked off by linebacker James Crawford. Now the interesting thing 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:42.640 here because when I mentioned Tim Boyle and James Crawford, 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:44.560 obviously this is not a one's This was not a 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:49.640 ones versus ones eleven on eleven situation. But it's not 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:51.680 the first time in O T as we've seen James 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:55.480 Crawford intercepted pass. This is a young g This is 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:58.280 a young guy. Wes, second year out of the University 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:01.680 of Illinois and undrafted rookie a year ago who walked 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:05.000 into Packers training camp essentially two weeks late. He was 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:08.920 signed on August eight, the day before the first preseason game, 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.120 managed to make the fifty three man roster as an 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:15.760 undrafted rookie, became kind of a dynamo on special teams 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:19.600 for the Packers. Now, Blake Martinez and Oren Burks very 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.800 clearly the one too at inside linebacker right now in 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:27.080 Mike Patton's defense, but as far as the reinforcements behind, 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.720 James Crawford looking like he's in line to potentially be 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.040 the number three, to be the first guy called upon 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:36.360 um to replace one of those two if something were 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.280 to happen. He's uh that we hear the phrase a 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.480 lot making the most of your opportunity, It applies to 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.280 James Crawford, Uh, up and down the line here. Absolutely, 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:47.800 I want to talk about Crawford, but first off, I 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.520 just want to talk about how much. I love Tim Boyle. 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:53.600 We're in the media, myself and two other reporters were 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:56.040 in the media scrum. They're talking to to Crawford after 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:00.280 practice on on what would that be Wednesday? Tuesday, Isy, 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.200 and Boyle sneaks up behind h He's like, guys, it 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:06.439 was one interception. I mean, just it just one interception. 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:08.800 What's the big deal? And then he gave was making 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:10.559 a joke and then gave Crawford a little bit of 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.199 a high five on it. But I just I love Boil, 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:15.560 I love his disposition about things. But as far as 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.199 Crawford is concerned, what a jump? And again, you can't 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:20.440 We're not handing out trophies. We're not gonna, you know, 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:22.240 many camp wraps up here. We're not going to put 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:24.880 on tuxedos and give away our awards for the off 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:27.200 season program. But this is what you want to see 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:28.720 from a young man like this. And I asked him 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:30.840 about that too. Last year at this time, he wasn't 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.520 in Green Bay. He was ven close. He was still 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:35.880 two months away from getting to Green Bay. So he 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:37.400 said that, you know, he got here. I think it 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:38.840 was I want to say it was August six or 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:40.280 something like that was like a weeker and a week 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:42.480 and a half in and he had to pick up. 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:44.360 But the one thing he was able to go back 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:48.520 to was the special teams. Yeah, all the playbooks are difficult. 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:50.360 You and I can't just go out there and play 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.440 for a lot of reasons, but I mean we can't. 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:55.920 You can't just get in a camp and just expect 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:57.640 to be able to do everything right. But special teams 0:14:57.640 --> 0:14:58.960 are the ones you can rely a little bit more 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:01.920 on instincts. I thought Crawford showed good instincts. I thought 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:04.240 you saw his aggressiveness in that game against Kansas City 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:07.040 is how he earned himself a roster spot. That being said, 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:08.960 the rest of the year was sort of trial and 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:10.560 error with him. This is a guy who started at 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:14.040 safety when he first got to Illinois, playing special teams 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.200 and doing a little bit of safety, ended up moving 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.600 to linebacker, finished his career at defensive end, and last 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.920 year was rotating between the inside and outside linebacker rooms. 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.600 Kirk Oliver Datti mentioned that, Okay, he said a little 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:28.440 bit more with the inside linebackers this year, and I 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.440 think that cross training, I think that experience making him 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.760 kind of fire all those waves in his head of 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.760 what his responsibilities are have made him a better player, 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.040 and he showed some playmaking ability. I didn't get any 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:41.840 comments I should have. I forgot to ask if he's 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:43.880 going to mention that to his uncle and see what 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:47.320 Charles Woodson would think of all those interceptions. But that 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:49.240 being said, it was pretty impressive to see him doing 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:51.560 that well. He had a really funny comment and talking 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:53.520 to you, because I listened to the audio of your 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:56.800 your interview with him with those other reporters that he 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:58.640 was kind of joking that last year when he was 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:02.000 brought in couple of weeks into training camp, he was 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:04.440 expected to know the playbook without ever having seen it, 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.200 Like he just has to get out there and you know, 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.640 and you know, on the third or fourth string defense 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.080 or whatever in camp and try to make some plays. 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:15.000 So being here throughout the whole offseason and kirkol of 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:18.280 a Dotty, the new inside linebackers coach, mentioned that putting 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:21.440 him an inside linebacker is the best place to learn 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.200 the defense because there are you don't It's not just 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.240 about your responsibility. When you're an inside linebacker, you have 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:29.760 to know a lot more about the defensive front. You 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:31.920 have to know about what the outside linebackers are doing. 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:33.920 You have to know what the safeties are doing behind you. 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:38.640 So he's absorbing all those xs and ohs right now 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.720 and certainly making making the most of what he's able 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:45.680 to do with the second string defense on the field 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:50.760 here in O. T A. S. But the interesting thing 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:52.680 when you look back at his rookie year, and I 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.680 was just I looked up the stats. We know it 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:57.600 wasn't a good year on special teams for the Green 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:01.600 Bay Packers and tea. But if there was a bright spot, 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:05.960 it was this guy. Thirteen coverage tackles, which was tops 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.280 on the team. He also had a fumble recovery on 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:10.800 special teams. And the other thing I looked up west 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:15.280 those twenty six special teams penalties the Packers had last year. 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:18.000 Crawford only had one out of those twenty six. It 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.840 was an illegal formation he lined up wrong on on 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:23.879 a certain play. But all of the the holding, an 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:26.320 illegal block in the back, and all those other penalties 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:28.440 that piled up on the Packers special teams last year, 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.199 he wasn't flagged for any of that. This is a 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:34.399 guy that I think Sean Menninger, the new special teams 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.960 coordinator is really going to be relying on to be 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.560 one of those bell cows on special teams. And then 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:41.679 Kirk Oliver Dott, he's going to continue to work with 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:43.760 him to learn the defense to be one of those 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:46.719 next guys to step in at inside linebacker when they 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:48.840 need somebody. Yeah, and I like his body type too. 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:50.320 I mean you can kind of see me. He's not 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.600 a he's not a huge guy, but he sort of 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.240 has that movable athletic frame that lends itself to be 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.960 ineffective on special teams, but also if he gets called 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.320 in a pinch on defense. One story I want to 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:04.119 tell really quickly, going back to two thousand thirteen. It 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:05.720 seems like it's always the season I go back to. 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.320 But you're talking about how a guy comes in he's 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:10.840 expected to know the playbook right away. Packers had an 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:14.080 opening at safety. There was a guy who came in. 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.080 I don't even remember who what his name was. It 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:17.720 was like the first or second day at camp. I 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:19.879 think he was from Sacramento State. He was there for 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.080 two practices and I remember Joe Witt kept getting on. 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:24.520 It wasn't Joe Wyte, it was Joe Witt and Darren 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:26.560 Perry with some of the ball handling drills they were doing. 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:28.439 They kept getting on him. They mentioned his name a 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:30.240 couple of times. That young man was gone in like 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:32.679 a day or two. He was. If you either know 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:34.439 it or you don't, you gotta put in your hours, 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.760 you gotta stay up at night watch it. The next 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:39.320 guy to come in was Chris Banjo. Banjo wasn't even 0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:41.040 the next guy up. He was the guy after the 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.000 next guy up. And for Banjo to come in did 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:45.840 the same thing that Crawford did, was able to pick 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:47.960 up what he needed to pick up, learn at the 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:50.160