WEBVTT - #789 Packers Unscripted: Here come the Ravens 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.320 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.680 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:24.040 by my partner in crime, Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:27.200 you hear from our studios at lambeau Field and West. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:31.480 The Baltimore Ravens are in town. Shortly after we are 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.360 done recording this episode, we will be heading to the 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:38.559 practice field to watch the joint practice against the Ravens 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.880 and the bottom line er I guess the big picture 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:46.400 is this. This is a team coming into Green Bay 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:51.440 that is going to present an interesting challenge on both 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.400 sides of the ball for the Packers here, because if 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:58.280 you look at what Jordan Love and the offense will 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.800 be up against, that's the defense that led the league 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:05.200 last year in points allowed or allowed the fewest points 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.120 in the league and ranked sixth. I believe it was 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:13.120 in yards allowed on the flip side of things. The 0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:15.840 quarterback on the other side, when the Packers' number one 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:18.800 defense is on the field getting their work this afternoon, 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:23.959 will be two time MVP and Raining League MVP Lamar Jackson. 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:27.640 In some ways, you couldn't ask for a better challenge, 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:30.760 a better tune up regardless of whether the starters play 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:33.559 on Saturday in the preseason game or not. For either team, 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:38.679 This joint practice is about as intense and exciting a 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.000 way to wrap up training camp as you could ask for. 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:42.800 Yeah, I'm sure that was part of the alchemy too, 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.280 and they were figuring out exactly this training camp schedule 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:46.360 and what they were going to do as far as 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.160 joint practices and how that's going to be concerned. I mean, 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:51.320 I go back to twenty nineteen and I know it 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.880 was something we all kind of remember, was the Packers 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:57.040 played a lot of their defensive starters against Labar and 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:59.720 the starting offense from the Ravens in the first half, 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:02.440 and Jackson really took it to him in that matchup. 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:05.440 I mean it was he was pretty flawless. I don't 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:08.600 maybe there was like two or three incompletions. I mean, 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:11.680 he was very efficient. And when you have somebody that 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:15.280 is his mix of size, athleticism, speed, there's just so 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.919 much to like about that. And there's a reason why 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.200 he's a multiple time MVP now because of what he 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.000 brings to the table in that capacity. So, yeah, that's 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:25.079 going to change. That's going to change, you know how 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:26.920 these guys rush him. It's going to change how you 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:29.760 defend him. It's going to change all these different attributes 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.720 that you have to account for in the quarterback position, 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:35.240 in addition to the fact they have a lot of 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.480 really talented weapons around them too. And you look at 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.839 Mark Andrews and you know the receiving corps, certainly Dereck 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:42.400 Henry now being in that backfield. 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:45.160 Yeah, that's another that's a new look for a Baltimore backfield. 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.680 Suddenly Derrick Henry, the old Tennessee Titan is is back there, 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:49.679 ready to carry the rock. 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:52.920 Yeah, So it'll be uh, you know, it's the challenge 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:55.200 you look for in these matchups and seeing exactly what 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:56.280 you can get out of them. Yeah. 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.680 And on the defensive side, I was looking up some 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:02.440 of the statistics the the Ravens bring back two of 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:06.400 their top three pass rushers in terms of sacks from 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:10.079 last year, justin Mattabueke if I'm pronouncing that, Correll done, 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:12.680 and also Kyle van Noy. Those two guys combined for 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:16.880 about twenty two sacks last season. And then in the secondary, 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:21.120 their leading interceptor last year was Gino Stone, who is 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.600 no longer with them, But you still have a cornerback 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.240 like Marlon Humphrey. You have and a safety, a guy 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:32.400 who's really rising to become one of the more well 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:35.560 known and more dynamic safeties in the league. And Kyle Hamilton, 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:39.480 the Notre Dame product who they was a first first 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.920 round pick. On Hamilton, I can't remember for sure now 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:45.920 if it was, if he was a late first round pick. 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:48.360 He was a first rounder, I was a second Okay, 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.560 Oh my god, dude, he was. He was fourteenth over. 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:52.480 Oh he was fourteenth overall, so he's a mid first 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:56.760 round Okay, okay, But anyway, Kyle Hamilton a very dynamic 0:03:56.800 --> 0:04:01.280 player and a guy who's really start to get a 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:05.960 lot more national recognition. This is gonna be an interesting 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:10.160 test for Jordan Love for this receiving corps. You know, obviously, 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.280 with the running game and Josh Jacobs, I'm sure he's 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:16.360 gonna get work like he did in the joint practice 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.160 with the Broncos where Jacob's got the ball quite a bit. 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:22.360 He still don't really know how to totally evaluate the 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:25.479 running game when guys aren't tackling all the way to 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:28.880 the ground and whatnot. But from what we've heard from 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:32.760 Matt Lafleur. It sounds like how this practice goes, and 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:36.200 how Matt Lafleur feels about the work that his first 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:40.920 units get and how they perform both offensively and defensively 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:44.360 against the Ravens in this practice will determine whether or 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:47.000 not the starters are going to play in Saturday afternoon's 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:50.200 preseason finale or if they're going to sit like the 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:52.640 Denver game. And then it all gets turned over to 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.000 the second and third units for the full sixty minutes 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:59.000 on Saturday. So that's the big TBD of the week, 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.320 so to speak. But I think this should be a 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:02.320 fun practice to watch. 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:04.279 Yeah, and also from the standpoint of you know, you 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:08.120 look at what Baltimore accomplished last year defensively, there's a 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:12.000 reason why their coaching staff got completely pilfered in terms of, 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:16.520 you know, head coaching opportunities, defensive coordinator opportunity. There's so 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.479 much talent there on that side of the ball as well. 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.840 And now as far as the team side of it goes, 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:25.520 most of it is still on this squad. So I'm 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:27.280 very interested to see. You know, when you look at 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:29.280 a guy like Kyle Hamilton, for example, I think it's 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.280 it's one of those guys that when we do our 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:35.080 draft prep every year, you see these names and you 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:37.760 see them become stars and in all pros in this 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.680 league and guys that have really been able to separate themselves. 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.360 Hamilton has been one of those guys and one of 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:45.640 the things I have the ultimate respect for, whether it's 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:47.719 bringing in a guy like Rokwan Smith or is it 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:50.839 just finding guys to the draft. The Baltimore Ravens always 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.800 develop defensive talent. Well, so when you're talking about a 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:56.080 Green Bay Packers offensive line that's still trying to answer 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:58.800 some questions here about what that starting five is going 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.320 to look like, who's going to be swing tackle, who's 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:03.560 going to be your next guy up at center. These 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:06.000 are the type of matchups, just even in just two 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:07.760 hour practice, that are going to be able to challenge 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:09.960 you schematically a little bit in that way. And then 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:13.000 also for the Packers' safeties and maybe even Keyshawn Nixon 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.240 seeing a guy like Mark Andrews lining up against you 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:18.479 as well. When the Packers this is you know, for 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:20.320 as much as has been made about them traveling for 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.360 these joint practices for as long as I can remember, 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.000 there's been opportunities for teams to come into Green Bay, 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:29.239 and yeah, you look think back to the Houston Texas practice. 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.839 It's not always perfect. Sometimes it's a little too vanilla. 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.440 Maybe nothing really happens other than you know, a player 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:38.280 unfortunately getting injured. But I think when you've seen the 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.440 practice against the New England Patriots, against the New Orleans Saints, 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:43.480 some of these ones we've had in recent years, Robert 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.039 Salain the Jets because there was that friendship factor and 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:49.920 that respect factor between the two head coaches. There's been 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:51.960 some really good work done on lambeau Field and with 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:54.280 somebody like John Harbow, one of the longest tenured, if 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:56.880 not the longest tenured coach now in the National Football League, 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.440 but him are or actually would probably Mike tom. 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:02.200 Think I think it's Mike Tomlin, but John Arbaugh is 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:03.520 not far behind. 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.720 Well established coach, well established program, and the Packers are 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.400 gonna get a real let miss tests there for where 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:11.000 they're at here during this final week camp. 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.880 Yeah, when you look at the defense having to deal 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:17.400 with Lamar Jackson, obviously you look ahead to week one, 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:20.160 it's like, oh, Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, now 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:24.080 not the same type of mobile, dualt dual threat quarterback, 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:28.240 but a very mobile dual threat quarterback. And at least 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:30.760 there's a little bit of preparation in that regard getting 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.640 the real deal, so to speak, as opposed to just 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.640 somebody running the scout team and whatnot in practice leading 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.160 up to Week one. When you talk about matchups, the 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:41.840 interesting one and it's not necessarily like a head to 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:43.640 head kind of thing or a one on one kind 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:47.640 of thing. But Lamar Jackson JayR Alexander. We don't know 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:51.360 if we will see it on Saturday in the preseason game, 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:55.400 but these two guys Louisville products, they go back quite 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:57.600 a way, as they've known each other for a long time, 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:01.680 and it's it'll be under to see, you know is 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:06.720 I would imagine we're going to get the rather vociferous 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:09.920 JayR Alexander on the practice field today. He's not gonna 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:13.040 hold back with the jawing and the talking and the 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:15.800 yelling and what not to just to see if he 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:19.000 can get under his old Louisville teammate skin just a 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:19.520 little bit. 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.760 Of yeah, and the love that those two guys have 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.160 for each other. I always go back to that twenty 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.280 eighteen draft where you know, Jaws and the Middle getting 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:30.640 interviewed about getting selected by the Packers. It's the end 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:33.560 of the first round and he's literally on camera as 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:36.840 Lamar Jackson is being taken thirty second overall by the 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:41.520 Baltimore Ravens, and JayR just completely stops everything he's doing 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:45.080 and just celebrates. Because one, there's a natural respect there, 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.040 there's a friendship there. But I think it's also the 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:48.880 fact that these are two guys that have had chips 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.880 on their shoulders. Now, Lamar Jackson has long been considered 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:55.680 an elite NFL talent, elite college prospect, but you go 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.040 back to those questions at the NFL Scout and Combine 0:08:58.040 --> 0:08:59.080 in twenty eighteen. 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:01.920 I remember, I remember that interview like it was yesterday. 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.640 That was That was where I learned a little something 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:07.240 about Lamar Jackson because he kept getting asked by all 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:10.200 these national reporters who are there about about moving to 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:12.320 receiver and you know, are you gonna try this? Are 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.120 you going to try that? He just he got to 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:18.800 where he was almost laughing because he just kept saying, 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.720 I'm a quarterback, I'm gonna play quarterback, and that wasn't 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.160 the consensus necessarily at the time, and maybe it was 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:29.680 more of a media narrative than it was an actual 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:33.440 NFL personnel narrative. I don't really know. I wasn't I 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:38.079 wasn't privy to all that, but he was absolutely one 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.160 hundred percent certain he was a quarterback in this league. 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:43.040 He was not going to be moved around to play 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:45.920 other positions. The guys won two MVPs and done a 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:48.400 heck of a lot. And what's left for him now, 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.319 which of course is the pressure that's on his shoulders now, 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.240 is to get the Ravens to a Super Bowl someday. 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.600 And from Jaiyere's standpoint, the story's well documented, the fact 0:09:56.600 --> 0:09:58.280 that you know, he was kind of an overlooked prospect 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:01.400 coming out of Charlotte. He eventually goes to Louisville, becomes 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:03.840 a first round plus, you know, first round draft pick. 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:06.240 The amount of success that he had there, not only 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:08.559 as a cornerback but as a punt returner. I mean, 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:10.880 those those two guys were just the cornerstones of that 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:13.280 program and the time that they were there. And now 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:14.719 to be on the other end of it, it's one 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.480 thing I'm really hoping to hear from JayR about this 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:21.040 on Thursday, where he took his himself and how he 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.720 made himself into this and just how far those two 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:26.599 guys have come now where you know, Lamar Jackson just 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.839 isn't an MVP. He's an MVP quarterback, right and Jai 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:32.760 Air is a two time All Pro cornerback. So you know, 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.200 but you know, by the time his post practice will 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.160 already be over. But it will be interesting to see 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:39.199 those two guys kind of joust a little bit. I'm 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:40.920 sure there's gonna be a couple times where Lamar is 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:42.960 gonna he's gonna test his old friend a little bit. 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:44.679 Oh yeah, you know, he's going to go after him 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:47.239 at some point. I think that's I think that's inevitable. 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:48.880 And you know that JayR is going to try to 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:51.720 bait his old friend into into throwing something you might 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:53.920 be able to get his hands on. So there's gonna 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:55.400 there's gonna be a little bit of a cat and 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:56.679 mouse game going on out there. 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:58.679 And that was one little interaction I had with JayR 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:00.240 in the locker room earlier this week, because I had 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.679 actually forgotten that they had played, that they both were 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.760 on the field during that twenty nineteen preseason game. I'd 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.400 forgotten all about that, and it was pretty interesting hearing 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:10.960 him talk about how he had not forgotten that. Yeah. 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.559 Over one of the points of that matchup, Lamar actually 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.520 jumped over him on a would be tackle, which was 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:18.880 going into the second season for both of those guys 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:22.040 at that point. It's special and it'll be cool to see, 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.960 if you know, maybe each shire can get a little 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:25.680 bit of retribution. 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.880 Yeah, well, I do want to get your thoughts on 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.400 what we're thinking about what we're watching for in this 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.319 preseason finale coming up on Saturday. But I'll take care 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:38.280 of some sponsor business. First. Serious XM NFL Radio delivers 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:40.800 hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:44.120 that true football fanatics need. Twenty four to seven, three 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:47.080 sixty five and had cousin subs. We have something for everyone. 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:50.120 Look our Wisconsin cheese kurds, mac and cheese, golden fries, 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:52.600 and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:57.080 sub and a bowl cousin subs. Fifty plus years of better. 0:11:57.679 --> 0:12:00.360 All right, one last preseason game to go here. It 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:03.400 is Saturday afternoon, or I should say noon kickoff at 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:08.080 Lambeau Field. I love afternoon preseason football. Man. That doesn't 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:09.840 get much better than that one at Lambo. 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:11.760 We very rarely have gotten it at Lambo. 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.560 Yeah. Absolutely, You've got a couple of road ones looming 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.720 after that. After Saturday's game at lambeau Field will be 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:23.640 the rosters decisions. The cut down two fifty three players 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:27.680 will take place on Tuesday. The deadline is Tuesday afternoon, 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:31.000 and then there's actually it's less than a twenty four 0:12:31.000 --> 0:12:34.520 hour period there of the officially of the waiver wire 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:37.520 than before. Players who clear waivers that can then be 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.560 re signed to practice squads as all the teams around 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:45.000 the league get to their group of sixty nine, the 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:48.360 fifty three plus the sixteen that they will take into 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:52.280 Week one, and then everybody begins their preparations for the 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:56.680 Week one opponents. So, with the roster decisions looming and 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.560 everything that is on the line for so many of 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:03.520 these plays on Saturday at Lambellfield, what are you watching for? 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:07.480 Heart? The grit, the strain that that Matt Lafleur has 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:09.680 talked about, And obviously Matt kind of changed his tune 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.320 a little bit this week as he reviewed the film 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:14.400 from Denver. But I mean that is, ultimately the decisions 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.600 will be made on Tuesday based in terms of the 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:20.480 bubble players, based on a lot of how this stuff goes. 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.600 And I wrote about an insider inbox for Thursday Morning 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.319 in that you know, there's been a handful of guys 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.200 Mike and my twelve years doing this now that have 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:31.079 made the roster based strictly on how they performed. Obviously, 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:32.760 you had to have a decent camp. You could just 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:35.400 come out of completely no when, right, But you know, again, 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:37.559 I think the best example that was James Crawford, I 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:40.160 think in twenty eighteen, where this was a guy Mike 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.480 that came in during training camp and we all were 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:44.320 kind of like, okay, well, I think he was Charles 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:48.240 Woodson's cousin or there was some familiar relationship there, and 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:50.600 next thing you know, he ends up making the roster 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:51.680 as a special teams guy. 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:52.080 Right. 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:55.520 There are those stories every year, and also like the 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.200 Justin McCrae, the guys that end up playing two hundred 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:00.520 snaps in the preseason, although that's pretty hard to do 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:03.160 now with only three games, but back in the day, yeah, four, 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:07.680 and then suddenly they're starting eight, nine, ten games for 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:11.360 you during the regular season. This is about Jordan Love 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:14.400 and in the top skill position players and who's going 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:16.240 to be the starting right guard and who's going to 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:19.119 be the swing tackle, like those things all are are paramount, 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:22.080 but this is ultimately the final audition for the guys 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:24.720 that are trying to live their NFL dreams. Unfortunately, there 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:26.720 every year there are guys that will play their final 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:30.480 NFL game this weekend on both sides. For the Green 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:32.440 Bay Packers, trying to figure out who that that we 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:34.960 talk so much about the fifty three, they're trying to 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:38.000 find that seventy and who's going to ultimately be with 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:40.240 them on the practice squad and be available with them 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.040 throughout the course of the season, because as we saw 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:44.600 last year, it can be Christian Welch coming up, it 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.120 can be Corey Ballentine playing some major snaps in the 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:49.680 second half the season after they didn't make the final cuts. 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:53.640 So almost in another example, guy like Bowl Melton, who 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:57.440 did you know was that as well? I want to 0:14:57.480 --> 0:15:01.320 backtrack to what because you mentioned Matt Lafleur kind of 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:03.960 walking back his comments a little bit about the effort 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:07.520 and whatnot from the preseason game in Denver, because Sunday night. 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:10.840 He was clearly frustrated with how things had transpired there. 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:14.160 It had been such a struggle, particularly on offense, to 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:18.320 get things going, and he did kind of call out 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:20.480 the players a little bit for the effort and the 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:22.760 grid and whatnot. But then he walked that back after 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:26.320 he saw the film. But I was reminded then from 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:28.760 what he said when he did walk that comment back, 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:32.120 because he said he said it really was an execution issue, 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:37.480 and the lack of execution was rooted in mental errors 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:41.440 across the board. You know where players were, whether you're 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.080 talking about running the wrong route or just executing the 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:48.240 wrong assignment, whatever the case might be. And that's a 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.960 reminder for me, a reminder for us. I think that 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.040 when we try to make our little predictions, you know 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:55.680 who we think is going to make the team and 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.720 who's not. We don't know who's out there making mental 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.119 air right like we're trying to we're trying to judge performance. 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:05.440 We see what happens, we see the results of plays. 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:08.480 We don't know the guys who are who are getting 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:10.840 you know, who are getting graded by the coaches in 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:14.200 the grade books with with mental mistakes and when you 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:17.920 get this far, you've had all of OTAs. Now, granted, 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.000 some players have come in at different times, but for 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:22.239 the bulk of the players, you've had all of OTAs 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:25.880 and a mini camp, all of these public practices, plus 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.320 numerous walkthroughs and jog throughs and everything else, and you 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:33.120 get all the way to the third preseason game. Nobody's 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.000 going to be perfect, but the expectation is that the 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.840 mental errors are going to start going down, and if 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.080 players are still out there making mental errors, they might 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.840 be able to make a splash player two. And everybody's 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:47.640 talking about, oh, well, that guy looks like he's going 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:49.240 to make the team. How can they leave him off 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.720 the team? Well, just remember there are things that we 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:54.440 don't necessarily know in terms of what's going on in 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:56.960 terms of how these players are graded. So that was 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:59.200 a reminder for me to hear him say that, Oh yeah, 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.520 like not every not every guy does everything he's supposed 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:04.800 to do on a give and play, and that's part 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:08.360 of how the players are evaluated. For me, two key 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:12.160 pieces that I'm watching in this last preseason game. One 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:16.600 is the obvious the backup quarterbacks Sean Clifford, Michael Pratt. 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:19.080 Neither guy was happy with how the game went in Denver. 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.160 Both guys, I think are very determined to bounce back 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:24.240 to play much more like they played in the Cleveland 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:29.240 game as opposed to the Denver game. And there's a 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:31.120 lot on the line for those guys, and we don't 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.359 know if the Packers are going to keep three quarterbacks 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:35.359 on the fifty three or if one of those guys 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:38.040 is going to get exposed to waivers and whatever the 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.600 decisions are there, we'll see what happens. But then the 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:42.879 other thing is kind of what you were talking about, 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:46.480 with somebody who can always rise up in that last 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.560 preseason game and get themselves a roster spot. It usually 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:53.880 would happen on special teams, and the Packers are still 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:56.879 trying to figure out exactly, you know, what is going 0:17:56.960 --> 0:17:59.600 to be the best combination of guys for special teams. 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:02.760 Are there certain guys they can keep on special teams 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:05.800 that they can still rely on as depth on defense? 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:09.280 Are there some guys that, even if you know they're 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:12.040 quite always down the depth chart on defense, but they're 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:15.560 good enough on special teams that Rich Bassacia needs those 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:20.879 guys for the kickoff and punt return and coverage units 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:22.880 and all that to be as good as the Packers 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:24.440 need them to be to get to where they want 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:27.080 to go. So those are the two biggest areas for me. 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:28.640 I know a lot of people are going to talk 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:31.920 wide receivers and et cetera, but for me, it's about 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:34.480 the backup quarterbacks and about the special teams units in 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:35.120 this last game. 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.560 Yeah, and it's funny too, because, like you'll see every year, 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:39.600 there'll be a receiver, it will be a cornerback that 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:42.280 have a big game, and in that matters. I mean, 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:45.359 it certainly matters trying to make a fifty three, but 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:47.920 a lot of times it comes down to wells, who's 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:50.840 on those first team special teams units, who's getting those reps, 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.919 who's being able to have that opportunity, who's making a tackle? 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:56.600 You know, I was last week. I mean, no one's 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:58.400 going to write about it, but you know, I think 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:00.840 Zan Anderson's had a really strong in terms of a 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:04.080 personal protector, sometimes a gunner, a guy that can get downfield. 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:07.159 We've talked about every single one of these safeties, but 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:09.880 you think about the special teams aspect of it, it's 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:13.200 a different game. It's a different phase and all that 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:16.480 stuff is ultimately, what comes down to how you construct 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.879 to fifty three. And I think Tom Silverstain asked a 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:22.159 really salient question to Matt Lafleur on Wednesday when he 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:24.000 was talking about, you know, now that this team's a 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:26.280 little bit older, you don't have as many young guys anymore. 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:29.080 Can you afford to keep maybe a couple more special 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:32.360 teams stalwart type players that aren't going to necessarily give 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:34.560 you a ton on defense or a defense, but are 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:36.320