WEBVTT - #309 Packers Unscripted: What to watch for 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:21.000 Hi, everybody, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:23.759 I am Mike Spofford, joined by the one and only 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:26.640 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.200 at lambeau Field West. Preseason game number two is upon 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:35.080 us Thursday night, lambeau Field Packers versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:40.360 and it's possible that number twelve quarterback Aaron Rodgers could 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:42.199 get a little bit of playing time here at the 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:44.960 start of this game. Some other factors may go into that, 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:46.960 but give us the update, you know, it's interesting. So 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:49.800 obviously you were in the huddle with Rogers earlier this week. 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:51.599 He said it is his intention to play in this game. 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:53.559 He wanted to huddle at his locker, not on the 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:57.520 practice field, just to clarify differentiate that uh and and 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.360 he said he he really wants to get work in 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:02.240 front of the land. Both field crowded. My mind immediately 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:04.119 went to the fact that he hasn't played at lambeau 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:08.120 Field since September of last season because then they went 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:10.040 on the road for those games. Obviously, he got hurt 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.399 in Minnesota and then came back in Week fifteen at Carolina, 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:15.880 so that made me kind of look up the stats 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:18.320 a little bit, and I was really surprised when I've 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:22.240 realized that Rogers hasn't played a home preseason games since 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:25.160 two thousand fourteen, just based on some of the corks 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:28.000 with the schedule. You know, the Packers opened, uh, some 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:30.800 on the road, or as some at home, closed some 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:33.520 at home, So typically those second third games have been 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:36.240 the games where he's played. But Mike McCarthy said, it's 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.040 the goal for the Green Bay Packers to get him 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:40.800 out there, get him on the field. There are factors 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:43.399 that play into this, namely the offensive line and the 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.360 health there. Can Brian Belaga suit up at right tackle 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:48.360 a little more than nine months after tearing his a 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:51.840 c L last November? Can you know David Baktiari make 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:53.840 his way back. Both of those guys look really good 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.200 in practice the last week and a half since they've returned. 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.680 So if you can get them on the field, I 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:01.880 think the odds, you know, really do increase quite a 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:03.960 bit for Rogers being out there. But as Mike McCarthy 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:06.400 also said, you go back two years ago, they played 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.560 a preseason game two with Rogers in there and Kyle 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:10.519 Murphy a rookie at the time going up against Vonn 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:12.320 Miller's So there's a lot of different things they have 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:14.840 to consider, but I think everybody would be in an 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:17.200 agreement that for Rogers it's in his best interest to 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:19.160 at least get some snaps in this contest. Yeah, and 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.040 I would imagine he would get the most of his 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:25.200 preseason work would come in the third game at Oakland 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:28.440 next week. But there have been some instances in other 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:32.160 years where that second preseason game he's played a series, 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:35.240 maybe two. We'll have to see how it goes. As 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.560 you said, the health of the offensive line. If David 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.760 bak Try in his recovery from the ankle, if the 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:43.480 doctors are saying David Bakti is only going to play 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:46.840 six snaps, those might be the only six napster Adaron 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:48.800 Rodgers plays, and it might might not even be a 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.200 whole series if they're driving down. I mean, we don't 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:55.080 know necessarily how this is going to go. But there 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:59.320 are some other guys that we're kind of hoping maybe 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:02.520 we'll see the first preseason action of the year. And 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:06.960 some of those guys I'm talking about, jayro Alexander, Jimmy Graham, 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:10.440 Aaron Jones, who's back on the practice field from his 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:14.200 hamstring injury. The whole Jimmy Graham Aaron Rodgers thing I 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.680 think is the most interesting thing from the offensive side, 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:21.240 because we've seen what they can do on the practice field. 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.440 It's definitely coming along and you know, you'd like to 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:27.280 see them, you know, connect a couple of times against 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:29.480 an opponent and whether it happens this week or next 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:31.720 week in Oakland. I've often said, Mike, and you know 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.120 you've read you've read me, you know, writing this an 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.360 inbox and what we've talked about it on shows in 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:39.320 the past. To me, tight end pound for pound is 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:41.240 probably one of the most difficult positions to play in 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:43.960 today's NFL one because if you're a young guy, you're 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:46.520 not getting those reps in college in two. If you're 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.160 a veteran that's coming into a new location, it's not 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:53.080 always just snap your fingers and ready set go and 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:55.800 everything's fine. Joe Philman kind of talked about that a 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:57.680 little bit when he met with the media on Tuesday, 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:01.000 and that Jimmy Graham's uh five times, six time All 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:04.080 Pro or Pro Bowl type player, Aaron Rodgers two time 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:07.280 m v P in isolation. It just seems like the 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.000 perfect marriage. But you know they need to get their 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:12.000 fades together. They need to know how to run the 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:14.040 route tree with each other and know what they're going 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.159 to anticipate. I think Graham has done everything and more 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.560 that Rogers could ask of him so far to this point. 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:23.080 You and I see his competitiveness and practice every single 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.880 time he's on the field. There's nobody, I think, on 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.200 that field, maybe aside from Rogers himself, that really takes 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:31.919 practice as seriously as Jimmy Graham. I mean, every touchdown 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:34.480 he scores, it's a touchdown on game day, it almost 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.520 seems like and he made a spectacular one hand of 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.040 grab earlier this week in practice, and those are the 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:42.520 kind of plays you look for because it's not just 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.000 beating your man and winning your route, it's all the 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:47.280 other games that go along with that. Jared Cook was 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:49.560 able to accomplish that with Rogers late in the season. 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:52.960 At times, Jamichael Finley did it. Now. Can Jimmy Graham 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:55.599 come into this offense and sort of re emerge again. 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.080 Is one of the NFL's top and most feared tight 0:04:58.160 --> 0:04:59.560 ends in this league, and he feels like this is 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:01.760 the place that do it. Yeah, that was quite the 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.520 the acrobatic catch and emphatic spike of the ball in 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.200 the end zone there after that touchdown. He was pretty 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:10.159 fired up on that one. What I've seen so far 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.080 on the practice field from Rogers and Graham, it seems 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:16.440 to me like it didn't take long for the middle 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:19.400 of the field, the between the twenties stuff too, for 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:21.640 them to connect and to really be on the same page. 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.440 We've seen them hit the crossing routes, the seam routes, 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:26.720 those kinds of thing. Not a hundred percent of the shine. 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.080 It seems like the red zone, the you know, the 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.599 tight quarters type of stuff in the red zone around 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.119 the goal line is what has taken some more work 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:37.440 and some more reps. And so you'd like to see, 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:39.800 you know, the Packers get down there, say first down 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:42.440 from the fifteen yard line. Okay, let's throw the fade 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:44.760 to Jimmy Graham. Let's see if that get you get 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:48.560 that timing down with a with a an opposing defensive 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:50.960 back on the field, did you play Saturday like sixth 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:54.920 grade basketball at all? I was right, and I've always 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:58.400 been short, but I always remember in those specific specific 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:00.839 instances there would always be that one kid that was 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:02.680 like six two and it's like a sixth or seventh 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.200 grade and just towers over everybody. You just put him 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.960 in the middle of the court and he just you know, 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:11.359 not quite dunks, but it's basically scoring on everybody. To me, 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:13.040 that's what it kind of looks like a little bit 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.560 at times with Jimmy Graham, not just in Green Bay, 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:17.800 but over the course of his career, and that he's 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:19.359 able to be a presence in the middle of the 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:21.600 field because he is as tall as he is, as 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:24.480 let athletic as he is. I mean when you factor 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:28.400 in his his speed, his vertical jump, everything that that 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.200 makes Jimmy Graham who he is, that catch radius is 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:33.839 just ginormous and and I think you've seen some of 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.359 those signs so far. Yes, you know, he is thirty 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:38.560 thirty one, now he's in that that back you know, 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.560 nine of his careers what we always talk about, but 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:44.599 you've seen guys like Tony Gonzalez and and other players 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.160 around this league be really effective into their thirties. And 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.080 you know, the thing that's interesting about Graham is as 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.320 much as was made of him not maybe having the 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:56.360 explosive plays as much in Seattle, very underrated was how 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.360 efficient and effective he was in the red zone and 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:01.280 how many tough stones he ended up scoring. I think 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:02.960 you've seen a guy evolved. I think you've seen him 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.040 get smarter and again getting into an offense that Taylor 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:07.960 is a little more tailored to him like it was 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:10.600 in New Orleans. I think it's ultimately going to make 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.520 him the player that the Packers think he can still be. Yeah, 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.880 moving on to some other players, Jaire Alexander, Aaron Jones, 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.760 a couple other guys I mentioned. We saw Josh Jackson 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.200 quite frankly take advantage of the fact that Alexander and 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:26.080 Kevin King did not play in the opening preseason game. 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.440 Neither did Tremont Williams, and Josh Jackson, you know, lining 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.400 up in the slot sometimes on the boundary really performed 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:37.200 quite quite well. Excuse me, and maybe a little little 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:39.600 bit of a fire under Jaire Alexander, not in the 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.560 not in the necessarily the competitive sense, but in in 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:44.640 the sense of, you know, hey, I want I want 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:46.120 to get out there. I want to I want to, 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.120 you know, really get ready for this season. And and 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:52.080 you know, Alexander, another guy that the packers have lined 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.440 up in some different spots. He seems pretty comfortable wherever 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:57.720 they put him. So now let's see what happens against 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:00.320 an opponent. Earlier this week in the locker room, Alexander 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.520 was asked if there was any feeling of fomo at 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:04.680 all with him not being in that game. Now, fomo 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:06.600 is an acronym that I probably hate more than any 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:08.600 other in the end of in that really the world 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.520 right now or in the English language. Uh, but you know, 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:13.400 he said, while there isn't. He didn't feel like he 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.559 was missing out on anything. He was motivated to see 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:19.320 Josh Jackson have that success and to be like, Okay, 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:21.080 he did it. I can want to go in there 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:23.320 and try to do it too. That's cool. Let's see 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:25.560 what I can do. What I love the most about 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:27.720 Jackson is I think a lot of people pigeonholed him 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:32.840 till being a boundary outside cornerback and that's all he 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:35.520 did because, as we talked about on the show earlier 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.040 this week, that's what he did. In that one season 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:40.040 where he started at Iowa. They didn't move him around. 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:41.960 He wasn't a guy that started in the slot and 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:43.880 then worked his way to the boundary like Kevin King 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.880 did during his time at Washington. But I don't think 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:50.880 you really can say what a guy's really capable of 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.040 until you see it, unless it's already been shown in 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:55.439 the college levels to extent, like what Alexander did a 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:58.240 little bit at Louisville. I was really impressed by what 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.240 I saw with Jackson when he pushed inside. I think 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:03.640 he can be a press man boundary cornerback. You know why, 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.880 because he looks like a press man boundary cornerback. And 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:10.600 getting Alexander and his athleticism in this defense. Now again, 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:12.599 you'll have to make sure everything checks out with a 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:15.440 groin injury, but if he's on the field, whether it's 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:17.959 on defense, whether it's even on special teams, punt returns 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.720 potentially with ron zook Uh, he has a lot of 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:22.880 ability and and it's gonna be interesting and fun to 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:24.360 finally see it kind of get put to work a 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:27.120 little bit. Yeah, and potentially some important snaps here in 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:29.800 the preseason coming up for Aaron Jones. He's missed some 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:32.920 time with a hamstring injury. DeVante Mays is still out 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:36.720 with a hamstring injury. Saw Jamal Williams score touchdown on 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:40.640 a swing pass last week against Tennessee. But as we 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:42.760 all know, Aaron Jones is going to miss the first 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.960 two games of the regular season. He needs some work 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:47.880 in the preseason. You have to get the other guys 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:50.160 ready for weeks one and two, but you also want 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:53.240 Aaron Jones to be ready when he's back in week three. 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.000 It's kind of a delicate balance the Packers have to 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.360 to uh to figure out here in terms of the 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:01.760 reps and and the distribution. But I'm interested to see 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:04.040 Aaron Jones get back into some game action. Yeah, I 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.320 am too, And out of those three options that you gave, 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:07.679 I think he's the one right now. I think it's 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:09.280 probably the most up in the air as far as 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.960 whether he's on the field against Pittsburgh. But that being said, 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.560 him getting back into practice week was huge. So regardless 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:18.480 of his availability on Thursday night, he plays, he doesn't play, 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:20.360 I really want to see him in these next two 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:22.720 games really try to build up some momentum there so 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.280 that he has a base when he goes into that break. 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:28.800 Unlike before probably about five six years ago, players who 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:30.520 are going to be placed on the suspended list, they're 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:32.520 able to stay with the team. Now they can't practice 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.160 with them, they're not in meetings, but they can use 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.080 the facilities. They can stay in the rotation, whereas before 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.200 you basically got shipped off to a training center or 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.680 something until you are allowed to come back. I think 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.040 that's really gonna help Jones a lot. And one other thing, 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.480 just to touch on with Jamal Williams. We talked so 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:49.520 much about Time Montgomery and his receiving ability, and rightfully so. 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:52.559 Jamal Williams is sneaky good and sneak effective as a 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:54.640 pass catcher, and I think when you look at him 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:56.880 in his skill set, I don't know how this is 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:58.439 going to shape out. I don't know who's going to 0:10:58.480 --> 0:11:01.080 get the reps once the regular season start. But Williams 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.520 is proficient as a pass blocker and he's profession as 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:05.320 a ball catcher. So in addition to what he does 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:07.480 as a running back, that's ultimately what keeps you in 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:09.959 that that plans for being a three down guy down 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:12.000 the line. Yeah, and what I pointed out this week 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:14.480 in our Insider Inbox column that I really liked about 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:17.959 that touchdown play of Jamal Williams against Tennessee is he 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:20.520 made a guy miss in the open field. That was 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.480 if there was one thing that was missing from a 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:26.680 very impressive rookie season from Jamal Williams, it was making 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.319 guys miss And to see that in the first preseason game, 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.040 really the first time he catches a pass out of 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:33.840 the backfield, I thought that was a really good sign. Um, 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:36.199 we got more to talk about. But before we get 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.480 to that, west a little sponsor business at home or 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:40.520 here in the stands. We all know that Green Bay 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:42.240 fans give it their all and that takes a lot 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:45.440 of energy. So grab a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup. 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:48.600 It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness of Packers Fans everywhere 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:52.000 tried the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. Just visit your 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:55.640 local supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky Soup, the official 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:59.320 sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, moving on 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:01.440 to some other guys here that we're going to have 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:05.319 our eyes on Thursday night at lambeau Field. I mentioned 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:08.400 this in our Final Thoughts video that that's on our 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:11.679 website that previews the game in a in a much 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:15.000 more condensed fashion than we do here on Unscripted. But 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.040 one thing I always look for in the preseason. When 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.160 you see a young player make a player too in 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:24.880 a game, it gives them a headline, It gets them 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:26.760 a lot of attention. You know, they're making a bid 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:29.320 for roster spot all that stuff. What do they do 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.439 the next game? Can they follow it up? Can they 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:33.640 make some plays again? And in that respect, I'm talking 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:38.000 about guys like Mark Quez Valdez, Scantling, Jake Kumero, Kendall 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.840 Donnerson who had the strip of the running back, created 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:43.920 a turn over there, Reggie Gilbert, you know, did some 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:47.160 nice things. So now it's about following it up. It's 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.400 it's it's about not just to being that flash player, 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:52.880 you know, who makes that splash play every once in 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:56.120 a while, but it's doing that on a consistent basis, 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.839 because that's that's when everybody starts to really notice your performance, 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:01.960 that hey, we can count on this guy to maybe 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.160 make something happen every time we put him out there. Yeah, 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:06.640 and Velda's Scandling And there's been a lot of receivers 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:08.880 that have come through here, uh in the last five 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:11.160 six years, young guys, you know, trying to make this roster, 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.760 trying to find roles on this offense. He has a 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:15.320 long way to go. I'm not trying to say like 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:17.320 he's finished product. I think he's had some you know, 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.440 there was some drops before. There's some obviously the you know, 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.200 different things that happened with being a rookie player. But 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:26.040 I love his skill set. I just the speed and 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.520 his size and uh, I know the story was written 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.000 a few weeks ago about you know, him working with 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:32.640 Randy Monster in the off season. He's just a guy 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.959 who takes this incredibly seriously. And you know the work 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:38.439 he put in this offseason, both on and off the field. 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.880 I think you're seeing some of that translate now again though, 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:45.480 much like with Jake Kumero too, it is really showing that, Okay, 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:47.719 you had five catches for hundred and ten yards or 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:50.720 whatever it was, can you have another performance, maybe not 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:53.120 necessarily hundred ten yards, but can you have another you know, 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:56.000 four catches sixty yards something that just shows the consistency 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.679 factor of it, where you just don't appear and disappear 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:04.320 some reliability, right exactly. For Kumero, he's in a position, Michael, 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:05.960 you know what this is like for an undrafted guy, 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.600 especially a guy that's coming off the practice squad. There's 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.120 no room for error. There just isn't. You you have 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:13.560 to be able to do it every single practice, every 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.360 single preseason game. There just isn't a lot of time 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:18.840 to take a breath. The thing that's impressive about him 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:21.680 is he understands that he's been in Cincinnati, he's had 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:23.800 a little bit of time in New England. He gets 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:25.800 where he's coming from and what he needs to do 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:27.640 to show that, you know what, I'm worthy of a 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.560 spot on the fifty three man roster in last week, 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:32.920 finishing that game with that big play. I know he 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:34.960 lamented about the place, he felt like he didn't make 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.080 over the course of the game, But to me, that 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.640 just screamed the type of player, the type of playmaker 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:42.600 that is going to find a way to make something happen. 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:45.000 And he's done that all throughout the preseason. Yeah, and 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.160 he knows, as you said, he's got the experience in 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.280 previous training camps, previous preseasons. He knows he can't just 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:53.480 disappear now. He can't just ride on the coattails of 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.120 a fifty two yard touchdown catch. As impressive as it was, 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:58.880 great play by both the quarterback and the receiver, Tim 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.480 Boyle hitting him right in stride there down the left 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:04.520 side line at lambeau Field. But don't disappear. Now, go 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:07.120 out and do something more and getting back to Veldes 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:10.760 scantling just for a second. Heard it from two different players, 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:13.600 very respected players, obviously in the locker room. Davantae Adams 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:15.760 and Aaron Rodgers have both said the same thing about 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:19.480 number eighty three. He plays fast, and you don't hear 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:22.640 that about rookies, because rookies are usually kind of swimming 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:24.800 in the playbook and trying to figure things out, and 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:28.040 all the thinking slows them down. Both of those guys 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:30.960 have been impressed, not to say that he hasn't made 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:34.120 any mental mistakes or has been perfect or anything out there, 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:36.760 but they've both been impressed with the fact that he 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.360 plays fast. He gets off the line of scrimmage and 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:42.080 uh and that's a heck of a start in you 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:44.400 know what, is not a simple offense. And it seems 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:46.880 to me, just watching that first preseason game, he's always 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.320 looking to make a play. Uh If and if that 0:15:49.400 --> 0:15:51.840 play is just a ten yard hitch route or something 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:54.080 like that, that's what the play is. But it just 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.360 seems like there's something about him just watching him even 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:00.920 in practice too, that you're only one mistackle away off 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:03.680 something really special happening. Now has to work on some 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:06.440 of the downfield stuff. Obviously the route running is something 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:08.400 that's going to come with him in time, But in 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.360 terms of just being able to to show your skill set, 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:14.160 I thought that debut against the Titan showed exactly what 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.800 he was all about. Yeah, I would agree. One other 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.560 guy I want to talk about here west before before 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:23.160 we call it a show, Davante Adams. If there was 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.680 a play obviously with the starters or the bulk of 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.680 the starters in the game last Thursday night, that that 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:31.400 was the highlight, real play. It was the over the 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:34.920 top throw Brett Hunley Malcolm Butler in coverage. You know, 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:37.320 I looked back at it a couple of times. I 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:39.320 thought this when I saw it, and then I wanted 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.840 to confirm it by looking back at the film. But 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:44.440 two things really really stood out to me about that 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.760 play that illustrate just how good Davante Adams is. One 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:52.280 he knew exactly where the ball was and but did 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.680 not change his route and start fading towards the ball, 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:59.160 because that allows the defender to get more into the path. 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:01.440 He still eight on the path that he was on, 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:04.320 knowing that he would sort of catch it over the 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:06.960 outside shoulder. But by staying on the path he was on, 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:10.240 he shielded Butler from having any chance of making a 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:12.400 play on the ball. And then the other thing, which 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.320 is something I've heard from a lot of the receivers 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:16.960 and I've talked to Adams about this too, the technique 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.520 right at the end what they call late hands, where 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:21.720 he doesn't stick his hands out to catch the ball 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.520 until the last possible second, because again that's a signal 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:27.840 to the defensive back, is to when the ball is 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.879 arriving and and when you you look at that play 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:32.960 and the two things that he did in order to 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:35.440 in order to make that catch. Heck of a throw 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.320 by Brett Hunley. But what Davante Adams did to make 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:40.640 that play work and to make it look so smooth 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:43.840 and so easy, it's just another example of where he 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:46.639 is right now in his career compared to a couple 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:49.560 of years for me, pound pound for pound to throw 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.119 that termount. Again, I think Davante Adam has had the 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:55.359 best camp of anybody. What he's done consistently in a 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:58.600 daily basis and practice has been fun to watch and 0:17:58.600 --> 0:17:59.920 and you know, to be honest with you, I think 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.480 surprise some people to some extent that Davante was out 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.760 there for that first preseason game, considering the eighteen players 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:09.040 that were scratches of majority of those guys healthy starters, 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:10.600 they just didn't want to just didn't want to put 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:13.160 out there. Adams went out there and he bawled out 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.479 and you know it was even the the forty eight 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:18.239 yard is going to draw all the attention, but just 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:20.240 that first catch for eight yards, I think it was 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:22.359 just on a quick stop route. I believe it was 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:24.520