WEBVTT - #776 Packers Unscripted: OTAs ongoing 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:11.160 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:14.480 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spoffer, joined as always 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:17.080 by my trusted colleague Weston Hodquitz, coming to you here 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:20.079 from our studios at lambeau Field. After taking a week 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:24.400 off from the show Wes, but OTAs are still going 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.400 here for the Packers, and shortly after we are done 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:29.920 recording this episode, you and I will be heading out 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:34.600 to the practice field for the open ota of week 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:38.760 number three. But let's get caught up on our observations 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:41.520 from last week, since we did not do a show 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:44.280 to talk about those, and I think really the conversation 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:49.360 starts with one position in particular. You wrote a story 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:51.319 about one guy, I wrote a story about the other, 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:56.000 and I'm talking about the cornerback position. Jyr Alexander and 0:00:56.160 --> 0:01:01.680 Eric Stokes both soundlike young men with a new lease 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:04.679 on life in twenty twenty four with the Packers, four 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:08.720 different reasons. I'll let you start with Stokes because you 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.839 were in on the media huddle around him last week. 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:18.440 And a guy who has dealt with a lot injury 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.960 wise over the last year and a half and seems 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:24.200 to be getting to the point that he's putting that 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:25.040 stuff behind him. 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:25.399 Yeah. 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:27.800 And I made this comment to you a couple weeks 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:31.280 ago about how in twenty twelve, thirteen fourteen, I learned 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:35.440 more about cervical neckfusions than I'd ever known, just because 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.119 of the injury that the Packers kept getting in that area. 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:42.240 I've learned more about the hamstring muscle than I think 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:45.360 I ever wanted to know and will ever know. But 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:48.720 here's what was interesting about Stokes and I sat there 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.040 for fifteen minutes with Christian Watson. I sat there for 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:55.960 fifteen minutes with Eric Stokes last week, and they're completely 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:58.440 different injuries, but they both ended up going to Badger 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:02.120 Athletic Performance to try to get some answers on why 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:06.920 they had these recurring hamstring issues last season. For Watson, 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:09.920 it was an imbalance. They were looking for more symmetry 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:12.639 between his two legs and the strength in them, the muscles, 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.519 everything that attaches to that. As it turns out, with 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:19.120 Eric Stokes, everything for him started back in Detroit in 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:23.119 twenty twenty two, really where he suffers that devastating list 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.560 Frank injury. Also, I believe had a meniscous injury to 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.720 his knee. Goes through an arduous rehab to get back 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.320 on the field. He's gonna get back out there for 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:33.880 training camp, and then he tweaks the hamstring. So when 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:35.959 it looked like things were starting to clear for him, 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:38.320 he ends up having this hamstring injury that will not 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.400 go away, and much like Watson, exervads it multiple times 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.600 during the season, and as they found out after the year, 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:49.160 it all started with that Liz Frank and the fact. 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:54.000 That Frank being a very very serious foot injury sort 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.320 of deals with the arch of the foot and what. Yeah, 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:59.440 but it requires surgery to get it fixed, and it 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:01.160 is not an easy Recovery's not. 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.320 An easy recovery, especially because I think there's some tool 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.720 parts that have to go in there as well, and 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:10.480 trying to build up the strength not just in the foot, 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.720 but in all the muscles that support the foot. Right. 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:15.240 As it turns out, it was the same exact type 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:17.880 of origin story as what happened with Watson. When you 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:21.840 are lacking in one area, you're going to overcompensate in another, 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:23.200 and that's where you increase the. 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:25.920 Risk for injury. So here we are with Eric Stokes. Now. 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.680 Now, Matt Lafleur is always one to coach his statements. 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:33.320 He never wants to make two overwhelming comments on players, 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.000 especially this time of the year. But I still think 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:38.960 it was illuminating that he said this is the best 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.400 he's looks since he's seen Eric Stokes mentally on the field. 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.760 He just looks like he is kind of mentally clear 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:48.880 of everything he dealt with last year. He's feeling good again. 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:51.640 You have to get through training camp, you have to 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.120 get through the season. But I think at the very least, Mike, 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.160 what we've learned with both Watson and Stokes in the 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.640 last three four weeks is these are guys who. 0:03:58.520 --> 0:03:59.600 Got their confidence back. 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:02.160 They have confidence back in their bodies, and they feel 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:04.080 like they can get back to playing the game they 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:04.720 way they did. 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:05.320 Once again. 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:07.360 I did a Packers Daily a couple days ago with 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.800 Adam Hobelheinrich that's also on Packers dot Com. Going back 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:12.560 and looking at some of those highlights of Stokes from 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:14.880 twenty twenty one when he was almost he was this 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:19.640 close to being an All Rookie PFWA remember that year, 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:22.440 just narrowly missed out on it, and he just hasn't 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:25.120 been able to get those trains back quite on the tracks. 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:27.080 You hope that this is hopefully the start that he 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:28.120 needs to be able to do that. 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.200 I think it's been very interesting with regard to Stokes 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:35.320 that again, it's OTA's you take everything with the proper 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:38.240 perspective for where things are this time of year. But 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:42.480 basically a guy who, other than a few cameo appearances 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:46.240 last year in between his hamstring injuries, really has missed 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:49.440 the last season and a half of football. Yet here 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:53.080 we are in OTA's heading into twenty twenty four and 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:56.320 he's running with the first team defense, you know, And 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.160 that's taking nothing away from Carrington Valentine, what he did 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:01.840 as a seventh round rookie and everything last year. But 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:04.160 Stokes is the guy with the ones right now. And 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.440 that took me back, As I mentioned in our Insider 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.800 Inbox column, it took me back to the Combine when 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:13.800 we're at a you know, at one of the hotels 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:16.160 at the Combine, a bunch of the members of the media. 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.599 I know you weren't on that trip. I was. We're 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:22.000 sitting around at big conference table talking with Brian Gudokunst 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:25.720 kind of an annual thing that's done in Indianapolis, and 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:28.480 we didn't know anything about where Eric Stokes was at 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:30.320 in his recovery, how things are going. 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:30.599 You know. 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:32.919 All we knew was that was that he seemed to 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.480 be getting past the foot injury last year. But then 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.520 all the hamstring stuff started coming up. And I asked 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:42.360 Gudakun sort of out of the blue, do you see 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.480 Eric Stokes playing a big role in this defense in 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:48.200 twenty twenty four and with the changes that defensive coordinator 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.400 and everything that's going on, And it was like Guducun's 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:55.600 almost couldn't start answering the question soon enough as if unequivocally, 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:59.760 unequivocally to say yes that he believes Eric Stokes is 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:01.640 going to be a big part of this defense in 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:06.000 twenty twenty four. And that reinforced for me at the time. 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:08.160 And then now what we're seeing in OTAs with him 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:11.359 running with the ones that the decision makers here really 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.000 believe in Eric Stokes and they are going to give him. Now, 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.800 nobody's going to hand him anything, but they are going 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:20.840 to give him every opportunity to regain the status that 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:23.200 he had as a first round draft pick a few 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.840 years ago and a guy who played a whole bunch 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:28.560 of snaps as a rookie and played pretty darn well 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.800 because he led the team in passes broken up if 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:36.080 I recall correctly, in twenty twenty one. So it's going 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.000 to be interesting to see how this evolves because because 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:42.560 Carrington Valentine certainly did some good things there. You know, 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.479 Corey Ballentine is a veteran that they brought back for 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:46.440 depth and all that. 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:48.240 You know, there's a. 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.719 Lot of curiosity around Kalen King and how you know, 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:52.839 why he fell the seventh round and what can he 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:55.520 do as a rookie in the NFL. But this is 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:58.200 a pretty big spotlight and a big time opportunity for 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:02.120 Eric Stokes to really move forward in his career. And 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:06.160 I will say because of the injuries, the Packers passed 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.039 on the fifth year option that goes with the first 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:12.520 round draft picks, so he is in the last year 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:15.040 of his contract. Now. This is a contract year for 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:16.200 Eric Stokes as well. 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:18.480 And Stokes said he feels like he because of all 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:19.680 this leg work he's done. 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:20.280 He feels fat. 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.560 He's just as fast, if not faster, than he ever was. 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:24.840 Obviously a guy that was running in the four threes 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:27.120 at the time the Packers drafted him. Didn't get the combine, 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:29.240 so we didn't get that cement type of score like 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:31.880 you usually do in that area. But the other thing 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:33.400 I really like about Eric and I thought it was 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:35.920 a testament to the type of dude he is. You know, 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:37.960 he said, because he was asked the question of like, 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:40.080 you know, they could have easily taken a cornerback in 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.440 the first round. They've done it before, They've taken defensive backs, gudakuns, 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.680 that's the position he's drafted more than any other in 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.080 the first round so far. They didn't do that, And 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:49.760 you know what did he make of that? And he's like, listen, 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:51.880 I would have been totally fine had they done that, 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:54.200 because he looked at Kevin King and a guy that 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:57.080 he actually trained with this offseason down in Atlanta as 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:59.560 Kevin's trying to get his career restarted after a couple 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:04.080 devastation injuries. Kevin King did never treated Eric like he 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.040 was going to be a threat, like he was somebody 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.360 that I have to knock this kid down. He's like 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:10.119 he helped him from the day he walked in the building. 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:12.200 And Eric said, had they drafted a guy in the 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:13.880 first round, I would have been the first one reaching 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:15.800 out my hand to try to help that guy. They 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:17.560 didn't do that. But he doesn't look at that any 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:19.520 different than working with a Kaylan King. Now, he doesn't 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.000 look at that any different is dealing with the Carrenton 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:25.160 Valentines of the world. So he wants to earn this job. 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:26.720 He wants to be that guy, and he wants to 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:28.440 show that he can get this thing back going the 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:30.440 way it was going in twenty twenty one. And I 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:32.559 think for the Green Bay Packers' perspective, when you listen 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:34.400 to the guys talk about him, whether it's Matt Lafleur, 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:37.959 the fellow defensive backs, everybody in that locker room is 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:39.280 cheering for Eric Stokes. Yeah. 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:41.920 Absolutely, And he's an easy guy to cheer for too, 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.360 when you get to know him and you sense his 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:48.360 personality and and how he interacts and how he treats 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:52.480 other people. The other cornerback worth talking about here, of course, 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:55.280 is JayR Alexander. We heard from him as well after 0:08:55.400 --> 0:09:00.000 last week's open Ota session, and again another guy who's 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.400 seems to sort of have a new lease on life, 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:05.640 but for different reasons. He you know, he had a 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:08.360 very forgettable twenty twenty three season. You know, make no 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:11.000 mistake about that. He you know, injuries off and on 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.720 to completely different parts of the body. One was once 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.719 it was the shoulder, there was the back injury, all 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:19.000 kinds of stuff going on. Then there was the suspension 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.600 that was related to the coin toss captain stunt in 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:26.120 Carolina and all that. Then he came back from that, 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:29.320 played pretty good football down the stretch as the Packers 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:31.240 tried to make the run, had the big interception in 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:35.319 the playoff game off of Dak Prescott down in Dallas. 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:40.680 But JayR Alexander is everything we had heard until we 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.320 actually heard from him, hearing from Matt Lafleur, from Brian Gudakum's, 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:48.400 from assistant coaches, everything was that that JayR Alexander is 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:51.000 being is being the guy, being the locker room guy, 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.200 being the player on the field off the field that 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:55.840 the Packers want him to be. And then and he 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.640 confirmed that he sounds he sounds like a guy who 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:01.640 was so much more cited about where things are going 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:04.080 right now than maybe we've heard from him in a while. 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:08.320 And I know there is something about the new coordinator, 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.079 the whole change in defensive philosophy and everything that has 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.000 a lot to do with that. I think. I think 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:16.480 Alexander felt last year he lost, you know, one of 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:19.760 his allies when Jerry Gray left, you know, as far 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:22.280 as an ally on the coaching staff and whatnot. He's 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:25.160 trying to put all that behind him, and it's it's 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:28.400 moving forward now with Jeff Haffley and the staff that 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:32.520 the that the Packers have here. And I get the 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:35.479 sense that I get the sense that jay R Alexander 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:39.319 is out to prove that the twenty twenty two Alexander 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:42.320 that got an All Pro second team selection for the 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.800 second time in his career, that that's the guy the 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:49.040 Packers are going to see moving forward, not the you know, 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:51.760 I don't want to say malcontent, but the but the 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:56.600 less enthusiastic and somewhat selfish guy that we saw in 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:57.440 twenty twenty three. 0:10:57.559 --> 0:11:00.360 Couple things to all that. One, there is something to 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.679 be said for the even years in Jo's career tends 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:04.680 to be the big ones for him were kind of 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:06.199 like the present Smith thing a couple of years ago. 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:10.000 We've now entered that again. I've always said this, I 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:14.160 will continue to say this because just getting the conversations. 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:15.160 I've had with JayR. Over the years. 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.280 I told people even last year when things weren't going great, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:22.280 this is not a prima donna. This is not a 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:24.880 pretentious dude. This is not a guy that is going 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:28.600 to be a problem for a football team. But he's 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.760 very proud and if you understand where he came from 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:35.320 his upbringing, what he had to do to fight to 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:38.000 get to Louisville, to get to the National Football League, 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:40.200 there's a lot of pride that's involved in that in 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:43.920 his football game. And I think when he has had 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:45.719 a chance to kind of step back a little bit 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:48.760 and look at where he's at. How many times did 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:52.120 he say during that news conference Mike that press scrum 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.840 talking about him being a seventh year guy, a seventh 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.240 year VET, a guy that he wants to be a leader. 0:11:57.760 --> 0:11:59.679 And I think JayR, at this juncture of his career 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:02.800 is really fully embracing that. And I just want to 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.360 mention this too, because you know, some people have talked 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:08.679 about the Charlotte thing in Carolina, and I'm probably more 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:10.719 than anyone, the one that's kind of let Gyr off 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:14.160 the hook on that. But the thing I think people 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:15.800 need to understand, I want to make sure this gets 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:19.920 this point gets made. I can't imagine what that must 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.120 have felt like for him to be back in his 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:25.400 city because there isn't a lot of those opportunities the Packers, 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.080 you know, Caroline Panthers are not an uncommon opponent, but 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.120 the Packers have not played there very often, so oftentimes 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.480 I've kind of put myself in Gyr's shoes, and I 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.480 don't want to say I understood what he did, but 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:37.280 there's a part of me that when I look back 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:39.560 on it, I think the way that that got painted 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.559 publicly is a lot different than what it was in reality. 0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:46.800 And what I'm excited about listening to joh talk this 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.839 week is in addition to him saying the best cornerback 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:52.360 in the league has entered the chat. I enjoyed that intro, 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:54.959 but I think this is a guy that has always 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.480 been highly motivated. I don't think that's ever gone away, 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:01.120 but he just seems so focused on what his goals are, 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.319 on what the Packers' goals are, and the understanding too, 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:08.400 Mike that seven years in there's probably not another seven 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:08.880 on the other. 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:09.079 End of this. 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:11.360 Maybe he's Narl Green, who knows, Yeah, you know, but 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:15.520 I think JayR understands it's now about winning championships, it's 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:18.000 about building a legacy, and he has an opportunity to 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.000 do that with this football team. And I think that 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.000 is definitely something too when you look at this shift 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:24.240 and the coordinator of the shift in this philosophy that 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:25.600 I think really excites him. 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:29.200 And you mentioned how often during that media session he 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.520 brought up year seven, seventh year guy. The other thing 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:36.920 that he mentioned several times is that he's focused on 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:40.920 what he means to the team. Yes, not just what 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.920 he means for jay R Alexander at number twenty three, 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:46.000 It's about what he means for the team. And I 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:51.520 think that that mental shift is I think it's refreshing 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:54.280 to hear, and I think it's not only going to 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:56.120 be good for the Green Bay Packers, it's going to 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.439 be good for a JayR Elis sure as well. And 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.200 because I'm with you on the Charlotte thing, I think 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:05.600 there's I think there's a way to understand what happened 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:10.120 there without excusing it, right, you know, from the insubordination kind. 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:11.720 Of, and I understand why the Packers had to do 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:12.080 what they had. 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.560 Yeah, the one hundred percent you had to you can't 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.840 you can't not let something like that go by. And 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:22.840 we were told that that wasn't that that was sort 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.200 of like the last incident. There were some other things 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:29.040 to a lesser degree and obviously less publicly people didn't 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:30.880 know about him, that had gone on behind the scenes. 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:35.200 So but again, it's about for Alexander, it's about putting 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:38.000 all of that behind him. It's about moving forward with 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:41.160 a new focus, not only on the team, but but 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:44.440 on the new defense, the new coaches he's working with, 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.280 the new approach on the defensive side that he seems 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:50.440 to be really excited about. And uh, And as you said, 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.359 I think I think the word for a j Alexander 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:57.800 is focus. He's not he's not worried. He's not worried 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.280 about a contract right now. He's not worried about out 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:04.280 an injury, you know, a rehab recovery thing. Those are 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.360 the kinds of things that have been that have been 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:09.200 you know, a part of a part of his approach 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:12.040 to different seasons in the past. And and uh, and 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.400 none of that is on the table right now. It's 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:16.640 it's about Uh, it's about what's in front of him. 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:18.600 And uh, I think I think it's going to be 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:21.960 It's going to be very interesting to see how that evolves, 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:25.640 because for everything that has happened, there's absolutely no question 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:30.080 nobody is questioning whatsoever that JayR Alexander is the number 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:30.760 one cornerback. 0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:33.280 Yeah, this team and the thing I love too. 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:36.040 He mentioned the communication with Matt Lafleur and Brian Goodekuntz 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.560 as well, in addition to Jeff Hafley and the part 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:41.360 that I really and this goes back to when you 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.520 have a good culture and your football team, the fact 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.240 that you can have everything that happened at the end 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:49.520 of last season, Charlotte, him getting suspended from Minnesota and 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:51.840 at the end of the year, even before the end 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:54.040 of the year, everybody came together and put their cards 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:55.920 on the table. In the amount of maturity that was 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:58.480 shown both by the front office and Jai Air to 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:00.640 keep this thing going. How often do you that yarn 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.480 just continually unravel They nipped it in the butt at 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.000 that point, and Josh said, I mean he was back here, 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:08.080 you know, when he was asked the question why are 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:09.600 you here this year, He's like, well, I. 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.200 Was already here. We've talked about that before. 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:13.000 I mean, he'll train here during the off season when 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.480 they aren't here for OTAs and everything else, and he 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:17.800 decided to stick around and see where things took him. 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.480 The one thing I love about John and again, he's 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:24.640 the He's the type of dude that fascinates me as 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:28.720 a human being because money is important. Don't get me wrong, 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.200 It's very important. But if you remember when he signed 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.800 his contract extension, he mentioned he was wearing like a 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.480 polo shirt that he had bought from Goodwill. I mean, 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.440 this is a guy that he doesn't live extravagantly by 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.760 any means, but it is about what it meant to 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:43.760 him to be the highest paid cornerback in the league, 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:45.320 what it means to him to be a leader in 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.080 this locker room. And I think when you have that 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.080 type of drive in you, even if there's going to 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:53.600 be some moments of adversity, that's going to continually inject 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.560 that fuel back into the engine to keep this thing going. 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:58.240 And that's why I'm excited to see what Jock can 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:00.640 do now in twenty twenty four, for injuries aside, he 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:01.560 can get this thing going. 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.479 Yeah, absolutely, I'm with you one hundred percent on that. 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.600 A little bit of sponsor business here Wes Sirius XMNFL 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:10.520 Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.480 NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven, 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.160 three sixty five. And at Cousin Subs, we have something 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:20.679 for everyone like our Wisconsin cheese curds, mac and cheese, 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:23.280 golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.159 sub or sub and a bowl Cousin Subs fifty years 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.840 of better. All right, another guy worth talking about here. 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:33.120 I actually just posted a story on him on Monday 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:37.439 on our website from last week's interviews. And that's the 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:41.080 new number one running back in town, Josh Jacobs coming 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:45.080 over as a free agent from the Las Vegas Raiders. 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:48.320 And the crux of the story, and the crux of 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.520 a very long conversation with multiple reporters at his locker, 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:57.040 was that, and setting aside that a course in free agency, 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:58.639 a lot of times it does come down to the 0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:01.440 best offer, you know, the best contract. A big money 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:03.639 contract doesn't hurt a guy who'd been looking for that 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:06.399 kind of money and then played on the franchise tag 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:09.800 his his fifth year with the Raiders, but he's looking 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:15.160 for a place to establish a legacy, and for him, 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:19.960 a legacy for the best players in football is drawn 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:23.879 up in postseason football. He wants to play in the playoffs, 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.800 the biggest games, the ones that matter the most, and 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:30.400 he wants to prove in those biggest games that he 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:33.680 is a big time player. And in his five years 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:36.440 in Vegas he made exactly one playoff appearance. 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:37.200 Who is his coach? 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:41.440 Rich Basaccia as the at the time the interim coach 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:44.480 of the Raiders. Got the Raiders into the wild card round. 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.520 They were playing in Cincinnati, and Jacobs actually had a 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:49.160 pretty good game. 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:50.920 He was he had a hell heck of a game. 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:53.160 Yeah, he had. He had one hundred and twenty seven 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:55.399 yards from scrimmage. It was I believe it was eighty 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:57.480 three rushing, forty four receiving. 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:57.840 Game seventeen. 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:01.679 Yeah, he he had a heck of a game. The 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:06.399 Raiders came up short. They had basically what was looking 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:08.960 to be a game tying or potentially game winning drive 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.080