WEBVTT - #543 Packers Unscripted: In a good place 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:14.720 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted Social 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:18.360 Distancing Style from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:22.439 joined by my trusted colleague West had kuwits West. We 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:24.880 are just a couple of days away from training camp 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:29.000 officially being over and the roster cuts, roster decisions and 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:31.960 all that will be made over the weekend. But before 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:35.800 we get into some of those rules and ramifications, I 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:41.760 want to talk about Aaron Rodgers media session over Zoom yesterday, 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:46.879 which was after Wednesday's practice, because he uh, he was 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:50.800 full of positive thoughts, full of positive attitude, and you know, 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:54.160 it turns out it wasn't just a piece of two 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:58.319 thousand ten practice film that he took out to the 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.000 field with him when things started to click in for 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.920 him for camp this year. It sounds like he spent 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.920 a good part of the off season reviewing a lot 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.800 of his own film to get ready for this, as 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:12.959 we like to call it, a season unlike any other. 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:16.559 He showed up for camp with a whole different mental 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.240 preparation that he went through, uh during the months of 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:23.440 the pandemic and the quarantine period. Yeah, he really did, Mike, 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:25.720 and it was interesting listening to speak. He talked to 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:28.320 the media for about twenty minutes and and too Roger's credit. 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:31.000 Correct me if I'm wrong here. I don't remember him 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:33.720 speaking this often in previous training camps. It would typically 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:35.800 be a lot of Tim Boyle, a lot of the 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.600 backup quarterbacks. But I would say he, I would say, 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:42.600 he still usually would talk during training camp. Yeah, but um, 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:46.479 but yeah, I couldn't remember. But this probably feeds into 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:48.400 what I want to say, and that's it's this year 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:50.320 really left an impression on me. I don't know if 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:52.280 it's the fact that he was able to be more 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:55.240 reflective this offseason in what was going on and in 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:57.560 his life and and how he wanted to approach football, 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:00.920 but he's just had this different or about him. Jason 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:03.720 Willdy had to ask the question, uh the way he did, 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:06.600 which was, you know, guys are saying you're a lot more, 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:09.560 you know, seemed to be having a good time, not 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:11.880 that you necessarily were in a bad mood before, but 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.560 you're in a pretty good place right now. And honestly, Mike, 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:16.240 I think we could kind of sense that too, just 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.840 based on the three availabilities we've had with him this summer. 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.360 He just seems very at peace and very at easy. 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:24.320 Had his Mark Freaking Eating shirt on when he did 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:27.440 his conference call. I mean, just was really chill. And 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:30.640 the thing I keep thinking back to when he mentioned 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:32.720 the two thousand ten things we did. We talked a 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:36.480 lot about the film and what he potentially saw in 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:38.640 that practice tape or whatever tape it was that he 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:40.880 picked up on. But I think if you go back 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:42.480 and look at it ten years ago too, he was 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:45.560 in an entirely different place. He wasn't the two time 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.920 m v P. Yet, he wasn't the franchise quarterback. He 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.679 was a really talented young guy who ended up leading 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:53.760 a team to a super Bowl at twenty seven years old. 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:56.120 You wonder how much of that he wanted to be 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.959 able to get back, and it just kind of get 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:02.240 back to the loving nature of the game. I've sensed 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.000 that I've noticed it and the way he actually is 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:07.160 out there on the practice field, and he talked about 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.920 Mark quisbelt is scantling in the way that he's impressed 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:13.040 him coming back this year. He's interacting with guys. The 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:16.320 video that Olivia Reiner tweeted out from the press Casette 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.720 and him, you know, throwing, the kind of joshing around 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:20.840 a little bit with Boyle kicking the ball away from him. 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:22.919 He just really seems to be having a good time. 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:24.680 And to be honest with you, my going into the 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:26.799 start of the regular season here and now ten days, 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.160 I think that's a really good sign. I just think 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:31.079 he's loose, he's comfortable, and during a time with so 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:34.880 much uncertainty, Aaron Rodgers just really seems to be himself. Yeah, 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:37.240 And he he was talking a lot about where he is, 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:40.080 both personally and professionally, and he talked about sort of 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.440 in the offseason from a personal standpoint, finding his center 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.760 a little bit, getting comfortable with just who he is, 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:48.240 where he is in his life. That's all. That's all 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:52.240 fine and good. I was frankly fascinated in some ways 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:54.040 by what he was talking about with the on the 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:56.240 field stuff, and not that it was so much a 0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:01.480 groundbreaking um discussion, but a reminder in a sense of 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:05.040 of how everything at the quarterback position works together and 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:07.360 how there's a chain reaction with everything. And he kind 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:09.800 of went through it where it's like, Okay, his comfort 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:12.840 level in the offense, he feels like he's got some 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.760 better footwork and then the better footwork leads to being 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:19.160 a little bit quicker through his progressions on the past plays, 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:22.280 and being quicker through the progressions leads to better balance 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:25.600 when he's dropping back in the pocket and and setting 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:27.760 his feet, and then the better balance leads to better 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.720 accuracy with the throws. And it's like you can see, 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.599 it's like everything is connected. There's there's this chain reaction. 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.160 It's like you know that old schoolhouse rock you know 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:38.760 song video that I used to watch as a kid. 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:44.480 It's it's it's a reminder of how complex the quarterback 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:48.920 position is and yet how easy somebody like Rogers, who 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:52.839 was so experienced and so accomplished um can make it 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:55.479 look at times. And yet it sounds like he really 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:58.320 went back and did a lot of studying of himself 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:01.679 in the offseason, say, oh kay, how do I really 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:04.719 get back to where I was when I was playing 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:06.440 at my best? Even though I'm not as young as 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:08.680 I used to be obviously, But how do I get 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:10.520 back there? What's it going to take? And he's been 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:13.760 he's been putting that chain reaction together and it showed 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:16.360 on the practice field for sure these last few weeks. Yeah, 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:17.880 I'm glad you brought that up. I most of glad 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:20.200 you brought up a schoolhouse rock. I'm on the I'm 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:22.120 on the northern end of that eighteen to thirty four 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.120 demo now, So there might be more kids out there 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:26.440 that don't know exactly what you're referring to, but I 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.520 did and I appreciated it. No, But the thing about 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:33.600 the quarterback position, like, there's only two maybe three positions 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:36.600 where I think you are able to actually four, and 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:39.599 when you look at Larry Fitzgerald, probably four positions where 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:41.760 you're able to kind of reinvent yourself throughout the course 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:44.120 of career. A lot of times NFL careers don't last 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.960 long enough for you to evolve. Quarterback is one of 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.680 those spots, though, And that's what kind of hit home 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.080 with me with Rogers is that, yeah, there are certain 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:53.640 things he's going to be able to do ten years 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:56.080 ago that he wasn't able to do that he's not 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:58.360 able to do now. But that goes vice versa. I mean, 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:00.520 there's things that he's picked up on the last ten years. 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:03.520 It's bringing back maybe some of those ideas. And again 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.320 this is all speculation on my part. He's not going 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:06.919 to go into it right now, what he's seen or 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.479 what he thinks. But I just think that when you 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:11.440 have a fifteen year career like that, there's so much 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:15.080 you can learn from not only knowing what you know now, 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:18.960 but seeing what you did then and how that potentially 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:22.919 equated to games. One. The thing that really does stand 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:24.440 out to me, Thoway, is the second year in Matt 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.040 Lafleur's offense. And you've talked about it a lot this summer. 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:29.680 I even wrote about this an Insider inbox. I don't 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:31.560 know if you agreed with me or not, but you know, 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.440 someone had asked if if he just you know where 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:35.960 the offense is and and and are they you know, 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:37.919 are they clicking and all those sort of things, And 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:41.000 the way I looked at it was relative to the competition. 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:44.240 I think they are much farther ahead right now than 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:46.080 they were last year. I think they look a lot 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:49.200 better going into the regular season than they did last year, 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:52.000 keeping in mind grading on a curve with everything that's 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.600 happened with the COVID offseason, And to be honest with you, 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:57.640 when this thing started a month ago and we started 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.960 watching practices three weeks ago, I was really kind of 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:03.240 holding my breath. I wasn't sure exactly how this was 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:05.040 gonna look. You know, when you have a virtual off 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.640 season program, you are going through the installs, you are 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:11.920 having the classroom sessions. But Mike, you've been on online classes, 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:13.800 you know what these things are like. I mean, it's 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.600 not always easy to keep someone's attention for six hours 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:19.920 when you're just doing conversations and interactions this way. But 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:23.360 to Matt Laflore's credit to Nathaniel Hackett, whatever they did 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.000 during the virtual off season, it allowed them to really 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:29.760 pick up and every organization did it differently. But those 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:32.000 words that Mark Murphy said right at the beginning of 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:34.160 this pandemic, I think was probably the first comment out 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:36.640 of the organization after we were all kind of in 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.840 the holding pattern about how teams that respond the best 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:41.280 to this are gonna be the ones that get out 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:44.240 of the gate fastest we can. We will only know 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:45.640 what we know when we see them get out on 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:47.800 the field at US Bank Stadium in two weeks. But 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.880 agreement Packers, for my eye for what I thought this 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.840 camp could be, really exceeded my expectations. Yeah, I mean, 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:57.640 I think there's no question based on what Rogers said 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:00.679 based on what we've seen from guys like Aaron Jones, 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:04.760 Jamal Williams, Davante Adams, all of the main states on offense. Now, 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.160 obviously the Packers still have to figure out exactly what's 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.760 going on on the right side of the offensive line. 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:12.320 There are some depth chart decisions and whatnot that need 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.520 to be made. But in terms of the main stays, 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:16.120 the guys you know are gonna be there. You're gonna 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.520 be counting on them every week. There's no question that 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:21.520 being in the second year of the system has has 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.400 put everybody just at a greater ease in terms of 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:27.320 how to go how to go out and execute and 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:29.960 uh and and get the job done. So obviously the 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:31.840 proof will be in the pudding, as you say, come 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:35.280 the game against the Minnesota Vikings and and moving forward 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:39.320 from there. But the big news that will be happening 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:44.040 this weekend is by three pm Central Time on Saturday, 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.040 that is the deadline by which the Packers and all 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:50.199 teams in the NFL have to trim their rosters to 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.000 fifty three. Pretty much everybody has been at an eight 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:56.040 man roster at this point, which is ten players less 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:59.440 than the usual ninety man um at this stage of things, 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:01.960 but the roster will be reduced to fifty three on 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:06.000 Saturday afternoon, and then after a waiver period of slightly 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:10.559 under twenty four hours, then teams can start to build 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:13.280 their practice squads. Players that have cleared waivers, they can 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:15.520 they can sign them with the practice squad. And there 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:18.160 are a lot of different rules and and whatnot this 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:20.520 year with regard to the practice squad West. So I'll 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:22.720 start with you. We can talk about this a little 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:25.240 bit just to explain to the fans how things are 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:27.480 going to be a little bit different this year after 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.400 the cutdown to fifty three. There's some different rules and 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.319 regulations that have been put in place because of the 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:36.720 the COVID nineteen pandemic. Yeah. So the thing that's actually 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:38.640 kind of eye opening with this, I was thinking about 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:41.680 this coming into work today. This practice squad has doubled 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:44.720 in size in like four years. Yeah, it's pretty incredible. 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:46.800 I remember listening to Mike McCarthy talk about this and 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:48.920 probably must spent two thousand fourteen or fifteen when the 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.319 ideas started coming out of moving it to ten. Well, 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:52.920 then with the new c b A it was going 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:55.800 to twelve, and then with the like two thousand two, 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:59.000 they're gonna go to fourteen. And then this year. One 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:00.800 of the measures that they it in place, and this 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:02.800 was put in place when teams weren't even allowed to 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:05.760 bring guys in for workouts at the time, was a 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:09.360 six team player practice squad with four of those players 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:11.960 basically for the simplicity of this and you and I 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:14.720 not having to read off a piece of paper, basically 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:17.480 allowing any type of veteran to be on the practice 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:20.560 squad as well. In the past, there was originally there 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:22.320 was a rule that if you were on an active 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:24.360 roster for more than nine games in a season, you 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.920 no longer were practice quade eligible. They threw that out 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:29.040 a few years ago, which was a good move. The 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:32.000 one thing I've been stumping for the last few years 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:36.280 is until a guy reaches veteran vested status, they should 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:38.800 have the ability to be on a practice squad. I 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:40.480 don't It doesn't make sense to me why you wouldn't 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:42.840 want to give them that opportunity because for a veteran, 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:44.959 I'm gonna use the example of jay Ron Elliott. It's 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:47.000 been very tough for him to get going again here 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:50.480 because he doesn't have any practice squad traditional availability left. 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.440 So what I'm interested to see what the Packers do 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:57.880 here is you always hate this process. Guys didn't get 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.520 preseason games to prove themselves. But at the same time, 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:02.600 there are only eighty guys on the roster right now. 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:04.120 They do have to get down to fifty three, but 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:05.720 as soon as they're done with that the next day, 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.560 they're gonna add sixteen more guys. They're gonna have sixty 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:12.440 nine guys in practice on Monday at least eligible to practice. 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:16.400 So in compared to what traditionally was the cutdowns, there 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:19.400 isn't as many guys that are necessarily gonna not have 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:21.920 jobs come a week from now. But it's going to 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:24.160 be seeing what the Packers decided to do with those 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:26.880 four veteran spots. Do they use them? Do they just 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:30.559 keep it with young guys. That's what I'm really fascinated by, 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:32.720 because I have to be honest with you, I don't 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.439 even know if those contracts have to be different than 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:39.760 the than the traditional uh you know, practice squad salary, 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.160 which has a base but really not a ceiling like 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:44.160 our guys gonna be trying to get bigger deals out 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.400 of that. I don't know, but the fact of the 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:49.880 matter is, without having these weekly workouts, are being able 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:52.280 to have as much freedom to bring guys in or 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.760 claim a guy like maybe you know Tyler Irvin and 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.240 just have them play the next Sunday like they did 0:11:57.320 --> 0:11:59.280 last year. They're gonna have to be a little bit 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.360 more creative the last thing with the practice squad this 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:05.480 year and actually moving forward now, I believe you have 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:08.280 the ability to bring up guys on a weekly basis, 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:10.720 two players from your practice squad to put on the 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:12.640 game day roster, and they will get a game check 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.040 and you can bring them back down without having to 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.880 have this big waiver process and signing guys and cutting 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:20.000 them like they had to do with Evan Bayliss last 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:21.880 year when they were working through some injuries at tight end. 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.040 It's going to be fascinating. There has nothing, but never 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:26.839 been anything like it before. It's the closest thing I 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:28.839 think you're seeing too, like a Triple A minor league 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:31.800 system in the NFL. And I'm personally as a nerd 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:34.520 with this kind of stuff, I'm just captivated to see 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:36.760 how teams go about utilizing this because I think there's 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:39.040 gonna be a lot of movement. Yeah, there's a couple 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:42.280 of things that work here that is going to be 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.160 uh you know, part of this process throughout the weekend. 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:50.200 One is that without any preseason games, there isn't anything 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:55.960 really for teams to study recent film of players on 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:58.800 other teams who might get released and then be available 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:02.120 on waivers. So I think now not to say that 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:04.800 there won't be any waiver claims across the league, I'm 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.200 not saying that, but I think there's a there's a 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:10.160 good chance that there will be fewer because you're just 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:13.600 not gonna know as much about those players all you all, 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:16.120 you still have to go on on somebody else's player, 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:18.520 is their college film and where you had them ranked 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:21.400 going into the draft, so to speak, as opposed to 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:24.120 getting to see three or four games of preseason film 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:26.520 and go okay, yeah, that guy is actually better than 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.480 a guy that we have here, so let's make a 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.839 claim on him and put him on the roster. So 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.800 with there being less of that going on, and as 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:38.560 you said, West, there are a lot more restrictions this 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:40.880 year as we get into the regular season in terms 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:43.280 of bringing guys in for workouts, being able to sign 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:45.280 a guy off the street, and then suit him up. 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.400 You know, with the testing protocols and and other things, 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:50.600 it's not going to be as as simple and as 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:53.720 easy as it used to be. So in that respect, 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.000 you have the fifty three man roster four Week one 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.000 against Minnesota, but there's gonna be just as much int 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:02.480 as to who those six team guys are on the 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.480 practice squad, because if you're going to be making roster 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:08.560 moves here and there throughout the season, it's it's going 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.000 to be, for the most part, be those guys on 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:15.400 the practice squad, And looking at it from a math perspective, 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:18.480 eighty guys in training camp if it's going to be 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.240 reduced to sixty nine, And as I said before, if 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:23.080 you're not going to be claiming a bunch of guys 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:27.760 from other teams, you're only really moving on in essence, 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:31.400 from eleven players potentially from what you've had on the 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.960 practice field so far this year. So you're gonna know 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.160 a lot about these guys you're you're And then, as 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:40.960 you said, the veteran exemptions and whatnot, how teams use those? 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:42.760 Are they going to have four and five and six 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.680 year veterans like sort of in reserve ready to go 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.240 if they need, you know, an extra guy for a 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.160 game day, that kind of thing. So there are a 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:51.960 lot of things that are going to be different this year. 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:54.200 I think it's going to be just as intriguing to 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.880 see who ends up on the practice squad as who 0:14:57.920 --> 0:14:59.720 ends up on the fifty three because in a lot 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.440 of way is that fifty three is just for week one, 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:04.960 and there are a lot of things that could change 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.760 about that active roster, even right away heading into game 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:12.040 number two, after whatever happens on the first weekend. Yeah, 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:14.040 and it's funny you mentioned that to about the eleven guys. 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:15.720 Will in that eleven, you're gonna be counting in the 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:18.040 I R guys and the pup guys. They all get 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:21.040 factored into that there might be like four guys that 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:22.880 are actually not gonna be able to be on this 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.400 year's team. I mean, that's just the way this process 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:27.840 has gone, the I R thing. I'll bring that up now, 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.440 well will I mentioned it? Now? You have the freedom. 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.760 Now the guys have to be carried through the fifty 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:34.680 three man roster in order to do this, but you 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:36.960 will have the freedom to designate those players to return 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:40.200 at any point after three weeks and after three weeks 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.080 usually it's six and then you have to be you know, 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:44.880 a two week acclamation period. Now it's three weeks they 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:46.840 can return to practice and then that opens a twenty 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.560 one day window for them to actually get activated. So 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.640 there is gonna be so much flexibility compared to two 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.160 thousand and twelve when this whole designated return things started 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.560 in At the moment that Cedric Benson got the list, 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:01.640 Frank the Packers had to say, okay, this is our 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:03.960 player who's designated to return, and when he had to 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:06.400 have surgery later in the season, that didn't matter. You 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.520 just lost it and that was the only guy you 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:10.840 could bring back on your fifty three man roster. I 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:12.800 like that. No longer a team is going to be 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:14.480 in a position where they have to carry guys that 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:17.040 are gonna maybe miss four or five six weeks, and 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.320 then you know, you potentially you're putting out other guys 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:21.360 that are banged up onto the field. They needed to 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:23.680 eliminate that. I thought this was a good first step. 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:27.280 And then also to mention this, someone else asked Insider 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:29.520 in box, well do you think you know, with the 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:31.800 way they're doing these rules, now could veterans. Do you 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:33.960 think you're probably gonna keep more veterans on the fifty 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:35.920 three and you keep more young guys on the practice squad? 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:37.800 Be honest with you, I'll be very interesting to see 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:39.800 how the league handles this. I think you're gonna see 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:41.920 more rookies on the fifty three, and I think you're 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.480 gonna see more veterans that could potentially be brought up 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.560 for games around special teams on practice squads. I really 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:49.920 do think that that's a possibility right now because teams 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:53.520 wanting to protect investments of other prospects out there that 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:55.720 other teams might have liked and not want them to 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:59.880 get away. Mike, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, I will be glued 0:16:59.920 --> 0:17:03.360 to my computer, screen, my iPhone, my television, uh, seeing 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:05.880 how these rosters take form before the Packers get back 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.520 out on the practice field Monday. It is going to 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:12.560 be some heck of television to watch well as we 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:16.119 get to Saturday afternoon and the selection of the fifty 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:18.520 three man roster. I know you and I have some 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.960 different thoughts on maybe what's gonna happen, maybe not. I 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:25.720 just want to throw this question out your way. An 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:30.359 undrafted rookie. Inevitably always there's at least one that makes 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:34.080 the Packers fifty three man roster. I'm curious what you 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:36.560 what would you set as sort of the over under 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:40.159 number this year on undrafted rookies? You think one? Do 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:42.520 you think too? Like? What? What? What are your thoughts 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.080 in terms of how many could h could make it 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:48.359 in the quest start of the season. Yeah, great question. 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:49.800 You know, last year there was only one. It was 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:52.720 Darius Shepard and he was a tryout guy that really 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:54.600 kind of blew me away. Now, there were some guys 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:57.520 that stuck around on the practice squad and eventually got opportunities, 0:17:57.520 --> 0:17:59.720 but that was something that was kind of like, oh wow, 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.000 that was sort of eye opening. The one thing that 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:03.919 has sort of changed with this is the Packers have 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:05.960 actually been using that practice squad is more of a 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:09.159 developed developmental system. So you've seen your your Robert Tonyans 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:10.840 and some of these other guys sort of rise through 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:12.560 the ranks and then they make the team for the 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:16.760 first time, but they're not typically like undrafted rookies. So 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:19.680 to your question, I would probably set the line at 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:23.240 maybe one point five, maybe two point five. I think 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.680 for sure there's gonna be at least one. There's always one, 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:27.920 and I think there's some really good candidates on this roster. 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:33.120 But the great thing about this process is inevitably every 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:34.840 year there's a couple of guys that make it that 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.680 you're like, oh, I didn't see that happening. I didn't 0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:41.800