WEBVTT - #659 Packers Unscripted: Early observations 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:10.800 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:13.800 Packers dot Com. I am like Spofford, he is the 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:16.200 one and only west Hodkowits for coming to you here 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:19.480 from our studios at lambeau Field West. There are five 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:23.319 training camp practices in the books, one of them in 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.640 pads and shoulder pads on Monday at the time that 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.440 that we are taping this episode. So I'm just gonna 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:33.120 go through here the three different phases of things and 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.280 ask for your early impressions. I'll I'll respond and share 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:39.480 some of my own offensive side of the ball. Your 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.479 early impressions through these first handful of practice, Well, I 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:45.280 thought Aaron Rodgers said it perfectly from the beginning. He's like, 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:47.320 there's gonna be good days. There's gonna be days where 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:49.880 the defense wins, and certainly the first day in pads, 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.400 by and large, it was a defensive winning kind of day. 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.200 But what impressed me was how the offense came back 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:57.880 in the two minute period and you saw guys, you know, 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.800 Josiah Deguire making a key catchdown the scene that's set 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.280 up the field goal that won the drill or whatever 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.440 you wanna call it. Uh and Also Sammy Watkins came 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:08.840 in and also had to move the ball kind of 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:10.720 you know, play to get him in territory. For that, 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:13.880 this offense, I know a lot is gonna be on 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:16.919 Aaron Rodgers shoulders this year, but there's so many guys 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:18.840 that he can rely on and count on. I think 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.320 you're seeing the way they're using these running backs right now. 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:23.800 Certainly they have to figure out what they're starting. Five 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:26.000 is gonna look like. Here, you gotta see what happens 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.880 with David baktr But ultimately, as I've said it time 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:31.959 and time again, for but as much as people were 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:34.560 stressing about Davante Adams, and there's a big reason for that, 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:38.280 Matt Lafleur mentioned in the playbook or whatever it was, 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:41.600 ran through him last season, there are guys ready willing 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:43.840 and able to pick up that slack. And that's what 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:46.880 I saw in some of those adverse type of situations. Yeah, 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.080 I agree with you that first practice in Pads, the 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:52.400 defense was definitely getting the better of things. Um, But 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:55.000 then you saw towards the tail end of the practice, 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:58.600 you saw Rogers and that first team offense kind of 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:01.240 snap out of the appinis a little bit. They kind 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.840 of got things going. They had they did put together 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.440 a solid two minute drive. There. The biggest things that 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:08.840 jump out at me in general with regard to the 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:14.320 offense in these first five practices, a that rookie receiver 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.440 Romeo Dobbs has carried over what looked like a very 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:20.079 strong spring in the practices we got to see. Now 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:21.799 we didn't get to see all of them in the spring, 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:23.639 but it looked like he got off to a good 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:26.119 start in the spring and he's carried that over, I think, 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:29.680 into a good start to training camp. But the other thing, 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:32.520 and you just hinted at it in your last comment, 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.880 is how much these running backs Aaron Jones and a J. 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.040 Dillon are going to be involved in the passing game 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:40.720 for Aaron Rodgers. You can see it in the play designs. 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.440 You can see it in you know, the way Rogers 0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:47.680 looks to them in certain situations and not just this 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:50.000 isn't just the checkdown stuff when he needs to get 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.840 rid of the ball. This is this is design stuff 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:56.239 that Aaron Jones and a J. Dillon wherever they might 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.760 line up, usually if they're both on the field together. 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.440 Dylan's the one of the backfield and Jones has lined 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:03.200 up somewhere as more of like a slaughter or a 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:06.240 wide receiver, but wherever they're lined up, there a threat 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:08.880 to catch the ball in the passing game in a 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:12.440 in a designed, purposeful type of way. That's what That's 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:14.239 what I've seen. As much as it's been good to 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:17.120 see what al Lazard's doing, what Romeo Dobbs is doing, 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:20.200 and and now Sammy Watkins getting involved in eleven on 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.520 eleven now a few days into camp. What we're seeing 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.800 from these running backs I think is the biggest sign 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.239 of what we're going to see come September and October. 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:30.960 And when you talked about that transition point in that 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.720 practice of where things start to turn around for the offense, 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.880 I personally felt like it was that the steam route 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:39.800 that A. J. Dillon ended up running, because it wasn't 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:41.760 just that Rogers made a nice throw to him, it's 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:44.520 how Dylan adjusted his body to the ball. He looked 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.080 like a receiver on that play. And for a kid 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:49.120 that so many people were questioning, you know, how he 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:51.800 catches the ball. He didn't do it often at Boston College. 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:54.400 I think over the last sixteen months you've seen him 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:58.160 make big strides in that area and and realistically, you know, 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.800 one of the conversations this week with Dylan and Aaron 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.000 Jones at their lockers was the idea of, you know, thirty, 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:06.320 you know, three thousand yards between the two of them 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:08.640 this year, you know, kind of metrics that they're putting 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.280 out there that are achievable, not just about what they're 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.280 gonna do and running the ball, but how they can 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:16.000 affect the passing game. And I feel like the more 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.720 you can keep Aaron Jones healthy, the more opportunities that 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.440 you give Dylan in this passing game. I feel like 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:23.960 that is going to be the really the recipe here 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:25.919 for Green Bay early on as you wait for some 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:28.280 of those young receivers to really develop. Yeah, I think 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.160 I think one of the biggest adjustments schematically that I 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.920 think Matt Lafleur and Adam Stanovich and this offense are 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:39.720 going to make is in order you had your automatic 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:43.280 stressor for a defense when Davanta Adams is on the field, right, 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:45.599 we saw how the Baltimore Ravens would lie, you know, 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:48.320 line up three guys in a triangle on one side 0:04:48.760 --> 0:04:51.240 of the field to make sure Davantae Adams didn't really 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.760 have anywhere to go. He was the automatic stressor. I 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:59.000 think the stressor that they're going to try to employ 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:03.240 in two is make the defense react to both of 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.600 these running backs being on the field at the same time. 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:08.240 How do you want to match up with an extra dB, 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.640 with an extra linebacker? And you know, and then you 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:13.920 have a guy like Aaron Rodgers at the controls who 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:16.839 can look at how the defense is matching up and go, Okay, 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:19.200 this is what we want to do to get ourselves 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:21.960 in the best possible play. I think those two running 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:24.359 backs are the guys that the Packers are going to 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.480 use to try to dictate to the defense or at 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.600 least test the defense see how they react, and then 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:32.880 you let Aaron Rodgers do his thing, because the more 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:34.919 eyes that are ultimately going to be on those backs, 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:36.760 the more opportunities it's also going to open up for 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.840 the passing game. And the Packers have all these guys 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:43.000 that play different positions and play all those positions differently 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:45.400 in and of themselves that I think really that's going 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.640 to be a massive opportunity for them. Again, going back 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:51.800 to that Daguara play Daguia and that f tight end role, 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:55.560 that h back type role. That was a hallmark of 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:58.480 what Kyle Shanahan did. You look at what's happening now 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:02.039 in Miami with them signing INGLED and and I see 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:04.160 Daguires being a guy that can fit into that as well, 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:06.760 along with Dominic Dafney, depending on all that shuffles up. 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.760 There are so many different mechanisms in scheme variations that 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:13.599 the Packers can work into this thing. It's just not 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.320 your traditional eleven personnel. Over and over again, the Packers 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.160 are gonna hit you with different waves, and that's ultimately 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:20.480 what you have to do when you lose a guy 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.359 like Davante Adams. Yeah, well, shifting gears to the defensive 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:25.800 side of the ball. I don't think we can start 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:29.479 a conversation about early impressions on defense without mentioning the 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:33.320 name Rashan Gary. We were there at practice every day. 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:35.640 We see all of the eleven on eleven reps, and 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:40.559 the guy's just a presence on the field, play after 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:42.680 play after play. Now, I think we're going to see 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:44.800 potentially even more of that now that the pads are 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.360 going on. We're going to see him in you know, 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:51.720 the one on one pass rush, pass protection, drill. But 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.880 Rashan Gary, the guy just shows up to play every day, 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:58.479 whether it's a game, whether it's a practice, even in 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:00.240 the jog through, He's going to find a way to 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.560 make his presence felt on the field. And and you 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:05.560 can just you can just see now, you know, year 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:10.119 number four for Rashan Gary, he's growing into that, really 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:14.040 growing into that stand up outside linebacker, that classic edge 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:18.080 rusher set the edge player, but also becoming you know, 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.600 I know it's a cliche, but becoming a true leader 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:23.080 by example on the defensive side in terms of how 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:26.000 he carries himself. It's the blueprint. It is the way 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.080 in which you not only look for a first round 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:31.720 pick to to work in to to really harness his technique. 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.160 It's the way you want to see from any player 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:36.800 to have that much, you know, kind of fire in 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:40.360 the belly, so to speak. And until he stops playing, 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:42.400 until he's no longer in Green Bay. That the thing 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.360 I'm always going to go back to with Rashan Gary 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:46.840 is the first thing that Mike Smith was saying during 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.640 his rookie year. When a guy is that physically gifted 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:54.080 and he works that hard, those individuals do not fail 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.720 because everything, Every bad box is checked in that way. 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:00.360 It's just allowing your body to catch up. People forget 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.480 I mean, Rashawn Garry's not going to be what four 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.480 years old until December. I mean this time, he was 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:08.600 a guy who came into the league making a position transition. 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:12.120 He went. He was a down lineman at Michigan, not 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:14.440 a nose tackle, not saying he was an interior guy, 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:17.280 but he was a down lineman, hand in the dirt, uh, 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:20.679 down lineman at Michigan, and the Packers drafted him twelfth 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.800 overall with the immediate plan to convert him into a 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:28.200 stand up outside linebacker, slash pass rusher and UH and 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:33.360 the transformation, yes, it did take some time, and he 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:35.640 is there now. But yet at the same time, you 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:39.480 can see the transformation isn't totally complete because he hasn't 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:42.440 he hasn't reached his peak yet. I don't think it's 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.840 just watching him. We had our first opportunity to see 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:47.400 the one on one pass rust trails and I wrote 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:49.520 in our insider inbox, Colum, I mean, the guy is 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.400 just shot out of a cannon. And I understand it's 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:55.440 a drill that is designed for the defense. They they 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:57.480 they're the ones jumping it. It's a one on one 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:00.079 situation there, pinning their ears back. They don't have to 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:03.320 worry about the run, but it's when the whistle blows 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:07.280 and the ball is snapped. The amount of kinetic energy 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:12.280 that this young man develops in an instant is special. 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.679 I've never seen anything quite like it. I wasn't here 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:18.440 for Clay Matthews and like his absolute zenith and oh 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:21.640 nine and ten in those years, maybe that's how it looked. Yeah, 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.240 he was. He was pretty darn impressive right from the gift. 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.000 But the speed to power of this kid is just 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:29.240 off the charts. And again, as long as he can 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:31.080 stay healthy and as long as the Packers can find 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.040 a way to get some snaps off of him throughout 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:34.760 the course of the season, I mean, the sky is 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.200 the absolute limit. Yeah. Well, also worth mentioning a couple 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.680 other things on the defensive side. One with regard to 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.319 the two minute drills that we've seen the last few 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:47.520 days in practice, Very very competitive. It's always my favorite 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.040 eleven on eleven to watch is the two minute because 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:52.960 you know they'll pit ones against ones and you know 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:56.679 there's seventy seventy yards to defend. The clock is running, 0:09:56.720 --> 0:10:00.320 there's time outs, whatever, here we go. The d fence 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:05.880 has had really really good opportunities to win those uh shama. 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:08.920 John Charles and Adrian Amos in the last couple of 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:13.319 two minute drills both had great chances for interceptions to 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:17.000 beat Aaron Rodgers to win to win that that two 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.280 minute drill against the number one offense, but came up 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.000 just a little short. John Charles was ruled to have 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.360 bobbled the ball and was out of bounds out the 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.040 back of the end zone. And then on the next 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:29.280 play Aaron Rodger sits Alana's arn't for the touchdown. Then 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:32.559 yesterday Adrian Amos has a great chance for an interception 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:35.320 at the goal line, can't quite bring it in. Still 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.160 a solid pass break up, but because the offense only 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:40.320 needed a field goal, they send out the kicker and 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:43.480 they win the drill, whereas the defense is kicking itself 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:46.280 because because the unit knows that it should have had 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:50.480 an interception there. That's been fun to watch. The other thing, though, 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:52.920 I want to touch on, is a story that you've 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:56.200 got on our website now with regard to the defensive line, 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:58.240 and we talked about this leading up to training camp 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:01.000 and the changes personnel wise that were made in the 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:05.880 off season, but those the two biggest personnel additions to 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:09.880 that defensive line, Jarren Reid and Davante Wyatt, both starting 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:13.199 to show up in practice. They really are. And this 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:15.520 is the part of it that I wrote this in 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:18.280 the story. I mean, every year around this time, you'll 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:20.880 hear Jerry Montgomery talk about it. You heard Mike Petton 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:24.040 talk about it, and obviously you know the transition to 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:27.760 Joe Barrier's defensive coordinator finding ways to to kind of 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.600 reduce the workload on Kenny Clark and by proxy, you 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.280 know Dean Lowry, and it's just been so difficult to 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.000 get those guys off the field. I mean, they basically 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.920 both played every snap just about in that playoff game 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:40.880 against the forty Niners. Trying to find ways to deepen 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.320 that rotation. Well, they did it this offseason, and it 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:47.720 came from three different levels. It was draft taking t 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:51.040 J Slaton, a guy that projects as a true nose tackle. 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.160 We had really some explosiveness and twitch, a guy who 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:57.160 was really coming on late in his rest season. Took 0:11:57.240 --> 0:11:58.800 him a little while to get there, to kind of 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:01.360 get his feet under him, but we saw Slaton making 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:03.280 more of an impact later in the year than in 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:05.160 the early part of his sure And then you know, 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:07.079 you go and get Jarren Read, a guy that was 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:10.640 in that NFL draft class with Clark in Laurie, a 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.120 guy that's had ten and a half sacks in this league, 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:15.199 a guy that's also been a run stuffer and has 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:17.640 only missed I believe it was eight games in six 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.640 NFL seasons. And then lastly, it was getting Davante Why 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.120 for the first time in six years since Kenny Clark 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:26.520 actually investing a first round pick into that position, And 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:29.640 what stood out to me in practice on Monday, it 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:33.400 was twofold one. Just what Jaren Reid could potentially give 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:35.280 them in a base front when you when you mix 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.120 in Clark at a nose tackle position, when you have 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:41.439 Laurie had a four or five technique. Jared Reid is 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:43.200 a guy that's going to hold his own on his 0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:44.720 side of the line. You're not gonna have to worry 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:46.360 about him. I think we already knew that going in, 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:48.840 but actually seeing him in the paths really shows you 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.080 how he can really eat up some space with his 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:54.679 body type. And Davonte Wyatt again going back to those 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.640 one on one drills. That does not make a defensive lineman. 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:59.520 It does not make you a pro bowler. But I 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.120 remember watching him on the sled in the off season 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.920 program and just seeing the way his feet work, the 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.400 amount of mass that he has there, and how quickly 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:10.720 he can get from one side to another. Devonte White 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:12.920 looked really good in a three technique in the in 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:15.920 the one on one spot as well. So the Packers 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:18.599 need to find ways to to lessen the load on 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.199 Clark and Lowry, to to not only just keep them fresh, 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:23.839 but make them even more impactful when they're on the field, 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:25.520 and for the first time in a few years, they 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:27.920 might really have the core to do it. Yeah, the 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:29.520 way I look at the way I look at this 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:33.000 unit in this day and age, of the vast majority 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:38.199 of snaps, only three or two down linemen defensively are 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:40.680 on the field at any given time. That when the 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:45.800 Packers have a five s some of Clark, Lowry, Wyatt, 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.960 Read and Slaton, whatever order you want to put him in, 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:53.360 that's that's as deep a five at that position group 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:56.080 as I can recall being around here, probably since you 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:58.200 know the days of the old four three before Don 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:00.680 Caper's even even walked in the door, so to speak. 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:05.160 So um, that's that's going to be interesting and exciting 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:07.959 to watch. I do want to get to some sponsor business. Here. 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.280 West Serious x M NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.800 and up to the minute NFL news that true football 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:17.840 fanatics need two seven, three six, And at Cousin Subs, 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.600 we have something for everyone like our Wisconsin cheese curds, 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.680 mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.640 with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs, 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:30.200 we believe in better all right. I want to hit 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:32.760 on a few guys that I that for right now, 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:35.520 these early stages of camp, I consider sort of these 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.440 intriguing individual stories and I'm gonna throw one name your 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.000 way because you wrote about him. The story is still 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:43.840 on our website for those who want to go find it, 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:49.040 and I'm talking about Rico Gafford. Um interesting young man 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:52.520 with an interesting backstory. Here tell us what you've learned. 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.600 He's the hopeful right twenty six years old, was signed 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:58.400 as a futures signing back in January. Patricks have actually 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:00.680 had some good luck with that the last years, finding 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:02.200 guys on the practice squad in the end of the 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:04.880 roster um after the seasons over guys that are just 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:08.280 on the street. Gafford is so interesting to me, Mike. Obviously, 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:10.800 the four to two speed, going back to his Wyoming 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:12.480 pro dade. That's how this guy got on the map. 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.560 That's why the Raiders invested three years into him and 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:18.720 ultimately tried moving him to the receiver position. The Packers 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:20.640 have moved him back to cornerback. That started with a 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:24.040 conversation with Matt Lafloor Enrico this offseason, right after they 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:26.560 draft three receivers. You kind of look at the lay 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:28.600 of the land, you look at the investment the Packers 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:31.320 have made at that position. With Sammy Watkins also be added, 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.640 it was gonna be up, you know, uphill sledding there 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.720 for for Gafford to make the rosters. So what about cornerback, 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:41.160 the position he originally played to begin with. We're seeing 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.200 him being used on some of these special teams units. 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:45.240 You saw him going back for some some returns the 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.880 last few days. But really it's how he's performed in 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:52.200 these number two defensive periods that have impressed me. The most. 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:55.400 The guy's made quite a few, you know, past deflections, 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:57.880 broken up some stuff. He's not been an easy guy 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:01.320 to complete against. And when you look at speed, when 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:03.320 you add in the technique and you maybe give a 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:05.560 guy with those type of intangibles and you add him 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:08.320 with a Jerry Gray, you do kind of wonder what's 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:11.520 possible there for this young guy. Now again, this is 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.200 his fifth NFL training camp. He's trying to make this 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.720 thing work. I feel like the hunger is there with 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:18.960 Gafford knowing that he isn't sure how many more of 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:21.840 these opportunities he's gonna get, and he wants to find 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:23.240 his way on to the fifty three. And for the 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:25.840 first week of training camp, I think he's done everything right. Yeah, 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.080 that guy is he's lightning fast man cow. He can, 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:30.760 really he can. You're not going to get a goal 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:32.400 ball on him. I mean you might get him with 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.000 some stuff off the line of scrimmage, but if you're 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:35.960 trying to go downfield, he's going to catch up. It's 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:38.880 Harry Sam Seals esque. Yeah, and he's wearing Sam Shields No. 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:42.840 Number thirty seven, So go figure um. A couple of 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:44.680 guys I want to mention one we talked about on 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:47.400 our last show, and that's Jake Hansen on the offensive line, 0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:49.720 and I wanted to bring him up again. He's he's 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.560 in one of the two main number one line combinations 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.920 that we talked about on our last show. I talked 0:16:56.920 --> 0:16:59.840 with him yesterday and he's the lead item in yesterday's 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:02.760 five Things Learned from Training Camp for those who want 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.560 to check that out. He brought up a really interesting point, 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:07.280 and it's the kind of thing that even as long 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.040 as you and I are around this and we talked 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:10.960 to guys and we cover you know, the team on 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.560 a daily basis year after year, that we forget about. 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:16.439 And what he talked about is how last year he 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:20.159 pretty much spent all of the regular season practices on 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:23.199 the scout team. He was he was scout team offense, 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:26.120 either at center or guard, depending on you know, how 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.640 they were using him that particular day. Well what did 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.919 that mean for him? That meant every single day in 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:34.080 practice he's going up against Kenny Clark and Dean Lowry, 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.920 you know. And so when we talk about how Jake 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:41.080 Hansen is suddenly now because of you know, Elton Jenkins, 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:43.960 David Botr being out in the line being shuffled around. 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.040 Jake Hansen is one of the guys being looked at, 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:49.719 you know, ad guard on the offensive line. How does 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:51.760 a guy like that just come out of nowhere? Sixth 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.080 round pick? A couple of years ago practice squad, had 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.360 some injury, had a had an injury as a rookie, 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:00.240 hip injury that required surgery. All of this, then last year, 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:02.919 you know, barely appears in some games that you know 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:05.119 for some special team snaps. How does he get to 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:08.120 this point? It's because he spent every day in practice 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:10.600 last year going up against Clark and Lowry because he 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:14.040 was a scout team offensive lineman. He's a better player 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.160 now than he was, and the coaches are giving him 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:18.560 a chance to show that. So I wanted to just 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:20.920 try to expound a little bit on what we talked 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.480 about with Hanson last time in terms of how he's 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:25.960 gotten to where he is right now. And the other 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:27.760 one I'm gonna keep my eye on the rest of 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:32.359 training camp is Randy Ramsey at outside linebacker. This is 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.400 a guy he went down in the fifth training camp 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:37.760 practice last year a really nasty ankle injury. It was 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:41.359 a couple of torn ankle ligaments, as well as a 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:46.639 fractured fibula. He ended up being out almost to the 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:51.200 day a calendar year, and he's now returned to practice. 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.879 He's back out on the field. And while the Packers 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:57.920 know that they're one and two edge rushers are Rashawn 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:02.040 Gary and Preston Smith, number three on down the depth chart, 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:04.880 however far it's going to go is absolutely wide open. 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.680 And Randy Ramsey is a guy now that he's back 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.840 on the field, and with how much this organization believes 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.720 in him. When you only spend a fifth round pick 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:17.840 at edge rusher and you don't sign any free agents 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:20.760