WEBVTT - #885 Packers Unscripted: Coaching commentary 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:09.120 Hm hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:12.680 from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spaffer, joined by 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:15.960 the one, the only Weston hod Koitz. We're coming to 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.279 you here from our new studio inside the walls of 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:20.280 lambeau Field. 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:22.079 How long is it a new studio for? When do 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:23.720 we when do we pivot away from the new studio? 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:27.240 That's that's yeah, maybe by training cap it'll be the it'll. 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:29.040 Be an old studio. And you need to start saying 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:31.200 that too, the old studio. 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:35.880 No longer news. So the last couple of days, Wes, 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:41.080 we have heard from various assistant coaches on both sides 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:46.240 of the ball had their media sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:50.479 Defensive assistance were on Tuesday, Offensive assistance on Wednesday. So 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.680 we'll start on the defensive side here and just your 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.480 I guess your impressions are anything, anything that stood out 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.680 to you? You know, one of those sort of off 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:03.880 season comments that you will that you will take with 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.000 you between now in training camp when things start to 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:07.840 get a little more real. 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:10.320 Yeah, like the way you structured that. The one thing 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:13.440 I will say, it's it's it's partially laiden in the 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.360 comment and it's also about the person. It was really 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:19.319 interesting listening to Vince Ogabazi for the first time because 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:21.959 it's it is always, It's happened a couple times in 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.040 the past. Luke Getzi's one of these guys too, right 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:26.679 where he was a quality control coach. You don't talk 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:28.400 to him, you don't interact with him in terms of 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:31.560 the podium stuff, and then he moves into a receiver's 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:33.280 coach job, and then suddenly a couple of years later, 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:34.920 here you are talking to him on a weekly basis. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:39.160 Ogabazi came here with Jeff Hafley and he's I believe 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:41.840 the only guy that's still here from Jeff when he 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:44.600 came over from Boston College. But he was the assistant 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:46.840 defensive line coach, so we didn't talk to him the 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:48.760 last two years of the podium. This is the first 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:50.760 time this week where we got a chance to really 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:52.800 interact with them and understand, you know, sort of what 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:54.600 makes them tick because we've seen him on the field 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:56.600 as he even asked him. I mean, he's a very 0:01:56.680 --> 0:02:00.280 expressive person. The play ends, he's running over to his 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:03.240 defensive lineman as soon as it's done. And today was 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.400 the day where this week was where we finally got 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:07.080 a chance to understand the person a little bit more. 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:10.480 And what an engaging guy. What an interesting interview to 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:12.880 kind of hear his perspective on things where he came from. 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:17.640 Obviously incredibly appreciative that, you know, Matt Lafleur and Jonathan 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:19.920 Gannon gave him this opportunity to get this promotion. He's 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:22.880 now fully in charge of that interior defensive line and 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:25.919 he's super excited about what potentially they have there at 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:29.040 that position. This is one of those spots, Mike. There 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:31.800 was only a couple moves made, but it really was 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:34.600 an invigoration of the position. I feel like, right, I mean, 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:38.440 you have Javon Hargrave comes in now thirty three years old, 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:39.960 he's been in the league for ten years, and now 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.280 you're gonna partner him up with Devonte Wyatt, who's been 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:44.560 the young up and comer guy that was probably on 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.440 the verge of maybe a Pro Bowl season last year 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.120 before his injury. Right, and then Chris McClellan joins that 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.959 group as well. So the philosophy there and he talked 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:53.720 about it. He's played in three fours, he's played in 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.120 four threes. He's not too concerned about that, but just 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.560 what the mentality of those defensive linemen is going to 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:01.840 be this season, I think thought was really one of 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.920 the biggest noteworthy things that came out of these availabilities. 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:08.480 Yeah, I And I asked coach Ogobasi, as you said, 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.280 about sort of his animation on the practice field, because 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.400 it's been really fun the last couple of training camps 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:18.800 when they get into the eleven on eleven and you know, 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:21.680 you hear, you know, some helmets cracking and stuff in 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.480 the trenches, and you'll hear just this exclamation from the 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:27.640 sideline from one of the coaches, and as you said, 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.560 come like running in to talk to his guys, and 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:34.440 it's v O. He's known as VO around here, Vince Ogbasi. 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:40.120 And so when I think of when I think of that, 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.760 that's going to be continuing on the sideline at training 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:45.720 camp this year. And then what I saw from the 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:51.400 podium as a certain level of intensity I guess from 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:55.520 Bobby Babbage and from Daniel Bullocks, the two essentially the 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.360 two secondary coaches that the Packers will have this year, 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:02.800 and those are the new additions to the group. I'm 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:06.080 getting the feeling that that we're gonna see, you know, 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:08.960 a certain level of intensity on the practice field at 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.320 training camp, or at least in terms of you know, 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:15.400 the the animation and the vocals and everything that goes 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:17.960 on from like play to play during the eleven on eleven. 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:20.400 I think we're gonna be hearing it this summer because 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:24.000 because it just seems like that's how this defensive coaching 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:24.799 staff is built. 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.320 Yeah, and it's funny too listening to Babbage and Bullocks 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:29.800 because they're they're different, like they're terms of like how 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.960 their personalities are. Where Bobby, I mean, there's definitely he 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.320 walks into the room, there's an aura involved there, right, 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:37.080 I mean we and we talked about it a couple 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:38.599 of years ago when he was in the process of 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:40.880 interviewing for the defensive coordinator job. He ended up staying 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:43.880 in Buffalo at the time with Sean McDermott, but now 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:45.479 he has the opportunity to come to Green Bay. He 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.640 said he's had some connections and interactions not only with 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.159 Jonathan Gannon having run in those circles, but then also 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:53.440 kind of being sort of an offshoot of that Kyle 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:57.480 Shanahan tree. He was on those fabled Mike Petton coaching 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:01.400 staffs in the early twenty tens. I mean these Cleveland Browns, 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.440 you know that were seven to nine and there was 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.000 I think the Johnny Menzel things sort of overcame everything. 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.080 And then you look at that coaching staff and what 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.159 it produced, the amount of head coaches, the amount of 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:14.880 offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators. It's quite the you know, extension 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:19.680 right in terms of how that the Shanahan's from Washington 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.320 sort of got to Cleveland and then now it's just 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:24.280 taken off. Yeah, and Babbie was a part of that. 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:28.039 Whereas with Bullocks, I mean, he's very interesting in that 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:29.480 this is a guy that was a second round pick 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:32.359 in the NFL in the late two thousands from Detroit, 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.520 had a slew of injuries and has worked his way up. 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:39.720 Also off the Shanahan coaching tree, Kyle over in San Francisco, 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.760 So there is a certain I thought it. One of 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.520 the interesting things about the conversation where it went with 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:49.400 both of them was the idea of takeaways. And obviously 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.680 last year Green Bay just really struggled to get the interceptions. 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.360 I mean, if I remember correctly, I think Xavier McKinney 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:58.279 had more picks in twenty twenty four than the Packers 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:02.279 had defensively last year, I think, to seven. So figuring 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.320 out exactly what that formula is. I mean, you obviously 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:07.039 don't want to chase it, but at the same time 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:10.200 being able to pull those opportunities down when you get them. 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:13.640 And as Bavich even talked about, it is about taking 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:15.880 the ball away. That is the goal of that secondary 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:19.359 And certainly you look at his track record with Micah Hyde, 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:22.680 with Jordan Poyer, all those guys in Buffalo for those years. 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:25.240 I mean, they were prolific at finding ways to make 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:27.360 explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball, and that's 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:29.040 what he hopes to bring now a Green Bay. Yeah. 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:32.280 I thought it was an interesting comment too from coach Bullocks, 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:34.799 and because he was talking about the takeaways, as you said, 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:37.280 and he made the comment and I don't have the 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.320 exact wording in front of me, but it was something 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.000 along the lines of the hardest thing for the defender 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:47.520 is essentially to finish the takeaway. It's the challenge at 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.359 the catch point. Yes, right, And that's exactly what we 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:53.119 saw was the issue with the Packers last year because 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:57.719 the opportunities were there. The Packers had numerous opportunities for 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:02.520 takeaways and they just woren't able to secure the interceptions 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.600 which they did secure the previous year as McKinney and 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:09.960 others racked up a you know, an impressive total for 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.000 the defense as a whole, and that just didn't happen 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:13.800 last year. And it wasn't just one guy. I mean 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.520 McKinney missed his, you know, Carrington Valentine missed his, Keshawn 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:21.080 Nixon missed his. I mean, all those guys went into 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:24.400 the offseason, I'm sure you know, looking at when they 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:27.360 went back through the going back through the clips and 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:29.640 everything from last year, they were reminded, Oh yeah, they 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:32.160 look at those opportunities, look at those chances that we had. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:34.720 I just thought it was interesting that Bullooks had said, 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.560 you know, it's as though everything you have to do 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.840 defensively to put yourself in the right position to make 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:43.480 the play, and you have to time your brake on 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:45.760 the ball or whether it's the leaving your feet to 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:49.240 jump in whatever, but the hardest thing is to finish 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.000 it is to catch the ball. It's like your your 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.679 concentration on your focus level has to get even higher 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:58.840 when the ball arrives than everything that it takes to 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.320 just be in that position in the first place. So 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.160 I thought that I thought that was just a very 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:07.120 poignant comment relative to how things went for the Packers 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.040 last year when Bullocks wasn't even here. 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:11.640 Yeah, and I'm reminded too of that play where you know, 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:15.000 Isaiah McDuffie ends up colliding with Javon Bullard right where bullet. 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:17.840 If you look at his season last year, what is 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.880 separating Javon Bullard from a Pro Bowl? It's just the picks. 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:22.920 Yeah, it's just the stats. That's it. 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.400 If you watched him week in and week out, you 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:27.440 don't just look at a stat sheet or a box score. 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:30.080 You saw how impactful he was for this defense, how 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:32.480 good he slid into the slot and made that his home. 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:34.360 It was just a matter of just trying to get 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.320 those takeaways and when he had the opportunity for it. Unfortunately, 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.520 it's kind of like two fielders coming in colliding with 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.120 each other, you know, underneath the fly ball. Yeah, when 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:44.560 him and McDuffie kind of ran into each other. But 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:46.800 unfortunately that's sort of underscored. I think some of the 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:50.120 issues for the Packers defensively last year they were better, 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:52.240 I feel like than the twenty twenty four unit in 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:54.920 terms of playing to their identity and what they wanted 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:57.160 to do, but they weren't able to cash in as 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:59.600 much as they did in that debut season with Jeff Hafley. 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:01.120 So that is going to be the challenge for them 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.840 now moving forward. And I think the really exciting aspect 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.280 of it is too, is that you bring back virtually 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:09.280 everybody in the secondary, whether it was the corners or 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:12.000 the safeties, and you got to imagine a guy like 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.199 Zavier McKinney, who still did get a second team All 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:17.440 Pro nod, but someone that's talked about wanting to establish 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:19.560 himself as a Pro Football Hall of Famer and have 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:21.520 that type of career. That is his goal, his long 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:24.800 term aspiration. That he's going to be energized now to 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:26.840 show out now that they got this scheme going. 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:30.559 Yeah, And one last thought on the defensive side before 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:34.400 we switch to the offensive coaches. The new linebackers coach here, 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:40.240 Sam sifkis interesting story because a Wisconsin native, he's from Economawalk, 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:44.040 went to college at uw Lacrosse and now here he 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.360 is coaching with the Green Bay Packers. Now he's been 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:54.079 other places and you know, certainly has an impressive coaching resume. 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:56.800 I need to get a chance to talk to him, however, 0:09:56.960 --> 0:09:59.480 about I was waiting for this, Yes, his thoughts about 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:02.640 a about my hometown of Platteville, because for a few 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:06.360 years earlier in his coaching career, he was the defensive 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:10.360 coordinator for the UW Platteville Pioneers the Ralph E. Davis 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:14.240 Pioneer Stadium, which my parents' house is in the shadow of, 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:18.560 almost the shadow of the just Dock Stadium there. So 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.160 I need to talk to I need to talk to 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.559 coach Sikis about his memories of Platville and what stood 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:29.040 out to him. But you talk about you talk about 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:31.480 a guy living out a dream, right, I mean, you 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:38.280 go into coaching, you're from Wisconsin and still fairly young, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.440 fairly early in his coaching career. When you look at 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:44.240 the big picture, here he is as the linebacker's coach 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:44.800 of the Greenmaer. 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:47.800 I'm trying to think I'm gonna look this up. Remember 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.280 we had the whole conversation years ago, all now like 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:52.920 thirteen years ago, about how Randall Cobb was the first 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:56.240 player that was drafted from the nineteen nineties birth year. Yeah, 0:10:56.320 --> 0:11:00.000 I'm wondering if Cekus is no actually Sean Manyon probably 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:01.640 I was gonna say, is he the first position coach 0:11:01.640 --> 0:11:03.880 for the Packers that was born in the nineties. Man, 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:05.960 it might have been, though, because I think Manion was 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:08.440 only thirty two. Okay, so, but because we're seeing it 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:10.280 now now, obviously they got some quality control guys, some 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:12.080 dudes in their twenties be in terms of actually having 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:15.000 a position. Yeah, this guy has climbed very quickly. I 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:17.240 honestly was waiting at the press conference for you to 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.720 bring up Platfelm. I know, I was stunned that that 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.000 did not come out. Their word plattevill had not been 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:25.120 uttered at least fifteen times during that press conference. But 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:27.120 listen to this, though, Mike, I think this is such 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:30.920 an intriguing and actually another conversation probably is, Hey, are 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:34.080 you how familiar are you with Brian Gudikun's story, because honestly, 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:37.319 him and Sefhkiss their stories almost are parallel to each other, 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:38.440 right where they. 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:40.680 One went into coaching, one win into scouting. But yeah, 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:41.320 very similar. 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:43.800 They both played at lacrosse and their careers both ended 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:46.280 due to injury, and they both ended up as student 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:48.200 assistance at Lacrosse, and then that was sort of their 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:50.800 gateway into getting into this thing. But the thing here 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:52.880 with sef Kiss, it was lacrosse, and then he got 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:56.360 a really quick internship down at FIU Florida International. The 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.480 conversation came up about how he kind of got in 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:02.040 with Wisconjohnson and being able to help out there with 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.280 Dave Randa for a year, and then it was do 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:06.480 it You talk about a guy that just completely crawled 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:08.880 his way up, just tooth and nail, just one step 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.680 after another. The two years at plattfor at Platteville, goes 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:14.839 to Wafford for three years, and then he gets the 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:18.160 defensive quality control job with Minnesota and that was sort 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:20.360 of his entry way two things. He ends up latching 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.640 on with Jonathan Gannon and Arizona has the time there 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.240 with him. Goes to Virginia Tech as a defensive coordinator. 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.040 Now here he is in Green Bay back with Gannon. 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:30.199 So certainly you don't go that far, you don't climb 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:32.800 that quickly if you don't have the aptitude for it, 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:34.360 if you don't have the skills for it, and like 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:36.400 he talked about, and we'll talk about this with the 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.240 offensive coaches too, but how many of these young guys 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.880 have come up and yeah, they're football players, they obviously 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.960 have aspirations, but they also are teachers, right, And he 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:47.760 mentioned that too, that he was kind of going down 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.760 the teaching route and regardless of what the subject matter is, 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:53.840 he likes working with kids, he likes working with players, 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:56.520 and that's what allowed him to kind of stick, you know, 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:58.439 go down this path. But thirty four years old now 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:01.120 taking over the line back room. I think he's what 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:04.559 four years older than Xavier zier Franklin. 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:06.000 Yeah, so that's right. 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:07.680 Now he's gonna be coaching that position. 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:10.000 Yeah, there you go. Well it's been it's been fun 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:12.720 to get to know at least get that introduction to 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.160 some of the new coaches. And I do want to 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:17.280 switch over to the offensive side of the ball. But 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:21.440 very quickly, let's hear a word from our sponsor. Serious XM. 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:24.720 NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:28.199 minute NFL news that true football fanatics need. Twenty four 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:32.760 to seven, three sixty five. Welcome back to Packers unscripted. 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:35.600 All right, Wes offensive assistant coaches that we heard from 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.520 on Wednesday. I'm gonna let you start with this one 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.760 because I know it's someone that you've developed a connection 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:44.559 with over the years, going back to when Christian Watson 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:46.679 was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:49.200 round a handful of years ago. And that is the 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:54.319 new receivers coach Noah Pauley, who also was Watson's receivers 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:57.040 coach at for the entirety of his career at North 0:13:57.120 --> 0:13:57.640 Dakota State. 0:13:57.679 --> 0:13:59.240 Yeah, almost all of that, other than I think maybe 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:01.280 as freshman year and he got recruited there. But poly, 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.240 I mean, this guy has had an unbelievable rise. He 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:05.760 kind of like Sef Kiss as well. But I mean 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:09.800 he's been with you know, Matt Campbell at Iowa State. 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:11.760 He was going to go to Penn State with him. Yea, 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:13.520 now that he got that job. He mentioned he had 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.960 that seven weeks there, had been living in an airbnb 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:17.960 with the other coaches. He's getting ready to move his 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:21.280 family out there, and then this opportunity comes along and 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:25.160 obviously he had to jump at it. Duluth Minnesota was 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:28.280 a really good player there too. Smaller, dude, you know, 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:30.360 he's on my eye level, so it's always gives you 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:33.280 an idea of kind of the type of player you're 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:36.320 looking at here. But the thing that's really neat about 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:38.880 him that I enjoyed is when you go back and 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:40.760 you know, we've all done these stories when you talk 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:43.360 to college coaches or just people that know these prospects 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:47.360 when they get drafted, when you hear them talk about 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.960 a particular player and then you get to know the player, right. 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:53.400 It was something I always go back to in twenty 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.000 twenty when I did my profile on Jordan Love and 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:57.960 you know, talking to the people around him and his 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.080 cool demeanor and just the way he led and all that, 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:01.840 and then here we are six years later. No, those 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.440 are all the staples now with number ten on the field. 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:06.480 Christian Watson was the same way. This is a guy 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:10.080 that was extremely lightly recruited despite being in Tampa. He 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.640 ends up in North Dakota State, Polly and that staff 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:17.280 come on and he ends up becoming a legitimate NFL prospect, 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.320 And you know, mentioning Polly had talked about the relationship 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:22.720 that they had built together and just coincidentally, that same 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:25.600 year that Watson got drafted in the second round by 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:27.720 Green Bay. Polly ended up coming up here for the 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.560 Bill Walsh internship that summer during the off season pro Right, 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:32.800 so he got a chance to be around Jason Vrabel. 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:35.400 He explained some of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:37.920 as far as what their connection is, and then being 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:41.160 able to get around Matt Lafleur four years past. He 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.320 works himself up the coaching ladder and then here he 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:45.520 is now with this with this chance and in kind 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.400 of like I said with Sefkiss, I mean this guy 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:49.800 again who you know he talked about his dad, you know, 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.080 working in criminal justice in that sort of thing. I mean, 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:55.160 he was a guy that just wanted to help people, 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:57.920 it didn't matter if it was a kid. He even 0:15:57.920 --> 0:15:59.280 mentioned one of the years that he was out of 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.800 football and coach, he was putting together a k through 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:04.520 a curriculum you know, and a sports plan you know 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.560 for a school. These are the type of paths that 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.720 these guys sometimes travel. And for Polly to come in 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:14.760 now and inherit that room, I think it's really important 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.800 because yeah, Jason Brabel is obviously we always he'll go 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:19.600 to the podium, We ask him tons of questions about 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:21.880 the receivers. But Polly's the one that's going to be 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:23.640 in there in the weeds with them, and to have 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.320 that relationship with Christian Watson and how far they go 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:29.120 back and using those in roads now to understand and 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:30.920 learn about the rest of the guys in that room. 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:34.520 There's probably no position, I don't think Mike with a 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.360 higher ceiling going into twenty twenty six in the Green 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.600 Bait Packers' receivers room, and Matt Leflour has entrusted Polly 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:41.800 to be the one that helps them get there. 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.440 Yeah, and that brings me to another comment. There are 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:48.480 a couple of comments that stood out to me from 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.040 the Packers coaches and for the most part, other than 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.160 Polly on the offensive side, these are all guys that 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.400 we know that you know, they've been been around here. 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:59.360 But when you talk about the receivers, we heard from 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.320 Jason who had been the receivers coach and he's the 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:07.560 passing game coordinator. He's been with Matt Lafleur now for 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:08.600 a long time. 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:09.520 One of the originals. 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:14.120 And yeah, and we're gonna spend certainly plenty of time 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:17.919 talking about Christian Watson. Jaden Reid Matthew Golden looks like 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.280 very clearly the Packers top three at wide receiver you're 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.720 heading into twenty twenty six. But what I heard from 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:29.480 Vrabel was sort of a very subtle message of don't 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:32.240 sleep on Saveon Williams. Right. Did you hear it too? 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:38.119 I mean he he talked about Savion coming back, you know, 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:41.000 dealing with the foot injury his rookie year. It kept 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:43.879 him out of practice, you know, so he was just 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:46.080 you know, basically practicing when he could, but on a 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.920 limited basis. And and you know, he was out there 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.919 doing some of the return game during the season. The 0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:54.120 Packers were trying to work him in offensively and then 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:56.480 and then at at some point it got to where 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:58.320 they just had to shut him down and and and 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:02.360 that was it. But when you hear Jason Vrabel talk 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:06.760 about the size and the power in the body of 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:11.520 Savion Williams and what they feel he can potentially do 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:14.640 with the ball in his hands, this is a guy 0:18:14.720 --> 0:18:18.400 I think, even though he will probably be listed on 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:22.159 you know, everybody's depth chart as wide receiver four, Yeah, 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:25.159 I think this is a guy who's who's going to 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:27.320 have a role in some way, shape or form on 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:30.000 this Packers offense and potentially on special teams as well. 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.760 Great point you raise, Mike, And for me, the moment 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:34.639 that he was talking about it, I was almost reminded 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.600 the old Buzz Williams Marquette paint touches, where every possession 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:40.720 he wants that ball in the paint at some point, 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:42.760 right because of what it does to collapse a defense. 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:45.560 That's kind of what I'm thinking now with Savian Williams 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:48.000 me personally, I even wrote this in inbox. I really 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:49.720 want to see him run more routes this year because 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:52.200 he's a really good contested catcher. Like that's why. It's 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:54.040 not like this guy's just oh, he has some blazing speed. 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:55.960 He gets open you throwing the ball. No, we saw 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:57.800