WEBVTT - #298 Packers Unscripted: Upping the experience 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:20.120 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.520 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my trusted colleague 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.120 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:28.960 at lambeau Field and West. We have to begin this 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:33.800 show talking about magic numbers, because three hundred is a 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.479 pretty good batting average for a baseball player. It's a 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:40.239 perfect game in bowling. It's a pretty good day passing 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:43.640 for a quarterback. Three passing yards. This is our three 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:49.280 hundredth episode of Packers Unscripted. Congratulations, my friends, Thank you Michael. 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:51.040 We hit number three hundred, you know, And it was 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:53.080 one of those things that when you every great show 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:58.000 starts up, done, Smoke Seinfeld, whatever it is you hope 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:01.600 to someday reach those milestones. One hundred, two hundred and 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:04.040 here we are Packers on scripted and we did it 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:08.759 in just two years. Three al right, Well, it's uh 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:11.759 three hundred half hours of my life. I didn't get back. 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:13.680 I guess that's one way to look at it anyway. 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.720 I'm just kidding, my friend. Um, but we have another 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.280 piece of news to talk about here, because since our 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:24.120 last show, the Packers added yet another veteran player in 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:26.720 UH I guess what you call the late free agency 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.360 period here in offensive lineman Byron Bell, most recently of 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:33.640 the Dallas Cowboys, now a Green Bay Packer and a 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:37.000 guy who depending as we've talked about on the recovery 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:39.600 of Brian Bulaga from his a c L injury from 0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:42.320 last season, this is a guy who could be in 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:44.560 the mix to compete for a starting spot at right 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:46.880 tackle for Week one. Could be in the mixes started 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:49.040 a different bunch of different positions. He's played guard in 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:51.320 the past as well, going back to his time with 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.440 the Tennessee Titans. I think he started seven games at 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:56.160 guard that year. He played bolth spots and when he 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:59.920 started in Carolina. A very experienced guy still only twenty 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:03.840 nine years old, six ft five pounds, certainly passed the 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:06.920 eye test in that regarden. He's a guy to the 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.040 Packers have had interested in the past. I mean I 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:10.800 wrote about this in the five Things to Know about 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.360 him story on Packers dot Com. He was in for 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:16.080 a visit last year right before I think it were 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.639 right after the free agency started. A week later, he 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.440 ends up signing with Dallas, where he backed up Tyron Smith. 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:23.680 Last year at left tackle and made two spots starts, 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.720 so a wealth of experience. Has started seventy four career 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.040 regular season games out of the ninety that he's played. 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:30.680 So this is a guy that came in as an 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:32.960 undrafted free agent with the with the Panthers in two 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:35.680 thousand eleven and ended up starting twelve games for him 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:38.160 right away, the first one of those being against the Packers. 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:39.959 So he's been in the league for a long time, 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:41.840 knows all the tricks, and now he's gonna see what 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:44.320 he adds to all these competitions. Yeah, an undrafted guy 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.040 who definitely is has made his way in this league, 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.640 as you mentioned, became a starter fairly early on with 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:54.080 with Carolina. Yeah, and you wonder, and I don't know 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:56.600 this this this is just me speculating a little bit, 0:02:56.639 --> 0:02:58.840 but with him coming in for a visit last year 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:02.040 as a potential free agent coming into Green Bay for 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.320 a visit, you wonder if the Packers were looking at 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.640 him potentially as a starter at guard, because that would 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:10.560 have been before Jarry Evans had signed, because Evans didn't 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.600 sign until closer to the draft at the end of April. 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:17.480 So um, nonetheless a player the packers have had their 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:19.720 eye on a little bit and UH and an opportunity 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.040 to bring him in. If he is going to compete 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.919 at right tackle, it'll be Jason Spriggs, Kyle Murphy, those 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.120 guys we've talked about. I also look at this move 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:31.040 because we talked about Justin McCrae on our last show. 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.960 I think this is another move potentially that sends an 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.120 even stronger signal that Justin McCrae is going to get 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.320 the bulk of his work at guard and get an 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.600 opportunity to start at guard there because you're bringing in 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:46.120 a guy who the majority of his experience in the 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:49.600 NFL is at tackle. When I worked at McDonald's, this 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.680 is going back many years now, fourteen years ago, not 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:55.720 as many as you think. Go ahead. When I started there, 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:58.120 they put me on everything. I was working fries, I 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:01.120 was working drive through, front desk, cleaning the parking lot, 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:03.280 whatever they needed me to do. Eventually I settled it 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:05.760 is the morning cook and that was the position that 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:07.720 I played for a number of years. You're the egg 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.840 McMuffin guy exactly. And I look at the Justin mccraie 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:13.040 is a very similar situation. This is a guy that 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:16.040 played all over the place. Last year, James Campin taught 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.360 him how to play center. He never played center before. 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:20.560 He was a natural right guard, but he ended up 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:23.719 starting however, many games that was at right tackle. They 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:26.279 saw a lot they liked in Justin mccraige. But it 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.880 is probably time for him now to settle in and 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:30.960 focus on one position because at the end of the day, 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:33.560 the job is always the same, that the goals are 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:35.960 always the same. These guys want to start in this league, 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:38.839 and I think everybody would agree. Justin mccraige's best chance 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:40.880 to be a long term starter is probably going to 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:43.960 be at the guard position. Packers drafted two tackles two 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.400 years ago, Jason Spriggs who has made a big change 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:50.279 in his body, Kyle Murphy coming back off injury, and 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:51.880 Brian blog is one of the best there is at 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:53.880 right tackle. So a lot of things have to get 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.240 shuffled out there. What you get though, and Byron Bell 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:58.560 now is a player, a veteran that comes in and 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:00.719 can fill in a number of different spots and really 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.040 compete to push all those other guys that are now 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:05.640 trying to, you know, get a hold on a roster spot. Yeah, 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:07.920 and For all the trouble the Packers had last year 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:11.000 with getting settled on the offensive line, it was nobody's fault. 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.360 Injuries happened. Guys are shuffling around, moving around. If there's 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.960 a benefit to it, it's certainly the experience that guy's got, 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:20.839 because we don't know how this roster is going to 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:22.760 shake out, how the depth chart is going to shake 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:24.720 out at the end of training camp in the preseason. 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:26.560 But you just look at all these guys were talking 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:31.120 about McCrae, Lucas Patrick, Jason Spriggs, Kyle Murphy, Byron Bell. 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:34.920 Whoever ends up starting whoever, and you know, and this again, 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.440 assuming Brian bulag is not back for Week one, which 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.240 there's always a chance that he could be, but whoever 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:43.039 ends up starting Week one, and whoever ends up being 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:45.920 the backups at the start of the season, everybody's played. Now, 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:48.800 these guys have experience, they've been they've been there and 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.200 done that at least a little bit. And that's gonna 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.320 matter if potentially more injuries strike down the road, because 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:56.120 look at Justin McCrae. I mean, this is a guy 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:58.200 that was a long shot to make the roster last year. 0:05:58.200 --> 0:05:59.600 He ends up kind of getting his foot in the 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:01.800 door as a backup center. It's really the only position 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.280 he ended up not playing during the season. Lucas Patrick 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.200 was a fringe guy who ended up making the roster. 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.479 You don't know what the roster is gonna look like 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:10.640 by the end of August, but you can prepare for 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:13.040 different scenarios. I think this is another thing the Packers 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.600 are doing to really give themselves that kind of cushion. Yeah, 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:17.080 no doubt about it. With that, we're going to go 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:19.480 to a break back with more on Packers Unscripted right 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:39.760 after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:42.039 this chair, Wes Hodkowits in that one, and West. We 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:45.880 ended the last segment talking about experience and depth that 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:48.960 the Packers are are starting to develop here on what 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:51.159 appears to be the right side of the offensive line. 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.560 There's another position that the Packers probably have more experience, 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:58.480 maybe than they've ever had at this stage, and I'm 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:01.360 talking about tight End. We we discussed the edition of 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:05.200 Marcedes Lewis in our last episode, but when you look 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:08.119 at the tight End group as a whole, you've got 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:10.800 the young guys, Emmanuel Bird, Robert Tony and a couple 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:13.360 of other young guys who are trying to make their way. 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:15.280 But the three guys at the top of the depth 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:17.160 chart right now and whatever order you want to put 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:21.240 him in, Jimmy Graham, Lance Kendricks, Marcedes Lewis. That's an 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.480 awfully experienced group that has a lot of games under 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:26.520 their belt in this league. Yeah, over thirty years of 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:30.160 experience all told there. And I think the thing about that, really, 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:31.920 I don't want to say, stung me the most about 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.560 the Mercedes Lewis signing is the really the reality afterwards 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.000 that yeah, you already do have Jimmy Graham, what nine 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.080 years and in now, uh, Lance Kendricks with seven or 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.600 eight under his belt, and now you get Louis coming 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:45.840 in and and obviously still playing at a high level 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.600 at thirty four and year thirteen. So it's gonna be 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:51.520 interesting to watch all these these chips fall. But the 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.000 fact that they have as many moving pieces as they have, 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.680 and Mike McCarthy addressed it when he met with the 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:59.920 media on Thursday morning, they're gonna be able to do 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.080 from tip types of things now with Jimmy Graham, the 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.160 versatility and how they're gonna be able to use these 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.800 guys around in the you know, really the different pieces 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:08.240 that they have to work with in those two tight 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:11.080 end packages. It's gonna be something he's never really had before. 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:13.880 You know, I honestly was, you know, wrapping my brain 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:16.000 around it too. I mean, I would say it's probably 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:20.560 what the late nineties, since Shimura, Keith Jackson, maybe Tyrone 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:25.040 Davis or Tyrone Davis. Yeah, maybe that is a comparable group, 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:27.640 But I mean in terms of their accolades too. I mean, 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:31.200 first round pick for Lewis, second rounder was Lance Kendricks. 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:33.560 Jimmy Graham's a five time pro bowler. There is a 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.560 lot of experience, a lot of accomplishments among that group. Yeah. 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.559 One of the interesting comments that McCarthy had, I thought 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:43.520 in talking about Louis, because you know, Mike McCarthy likes 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:45.600 tight ends, he talks about that all the time. And 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:47.720 he said, yeah, this is the guy who can block 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.280 any defensive end in the league. Now, we would not 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:54.360 specifically talking about necessarily protecting the quarterback, but in terms 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:58.040 of blocking setting the edge for the running game, you know, 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:00.840 being able to do something on the edge against against 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.560 a defensive end with the running game with with the 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:06.720 tight end, which then obviously frees up other linemen for 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:09.120 for other assignments on the second level things like that. 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:13.079 I think a guy like Lewis, I think McCarthy has 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:15.199 wanted a tight end like this for a while. It's 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.120 a big reason they brought in Martellis Bennett last year. 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:22.080 It didn't work out, but his blocking ability was definitely 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:24.920 something that attracted the Packers to that acquisition, and I 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.880 think it's what it's what attracted them to Marcedes Lewis. 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:31.240 They're they're given another shot here and um and I 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:33.480 know McCarthy is excited about it. And let's be honest too. 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:37.080 I mean, Mercedes Lewis has been in Jacksonville for twelve years. 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:39.200 He was a former first round pick and they remained 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:43.920 committed through him, through other coaches, changes, different schemes, different 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:47.280 running backs. He was the constant. He started all sixteen 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:49.679 games last year. I think this year they felt a need, 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:51.800 a desire to get a bit younger at that position, 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:54.040 but certainly he did not wear out his welcome by 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:55.360 any means. This is a guy that I think they 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.080 hold in very high regard in Jacksonville. Now he gets 0:09:58.080 --> 0:09:59.880 a chance to try something different, to get in a 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.080 different scheme, to see what he can bring to this offense. 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.000 I think we haven't at the time in which we're 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:05.440 taping this, we haven't had a chance to talk to 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:08.000 him yet. But based on his Instagram account and just 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:10.960 the excitement in signing that contract, you can tell this 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:12.920 is something that has rejuvenated him a little bit. And 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.600 now coming to Green Bay, getting the opportunity to be 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:18.120 in that room with Jimmy Graham and Lance Kendricks, I'm 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:20.760 really interested to see what it develops from it. And 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:23.560 and Brian Angelico. You go to his track record of 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:26.760 developing tight ends and you know, the Gary Barnages of 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:30.760 the world. Absolutely, he has three remarkable athletes to work 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.920 with now and also being able to teach those different concepts, 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:35.840 whether it is as an inline tight end or splitting 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.480 these guys out wide, just a lot of versatility. And 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:40.560 then also for those young guys, the emmanual birds in 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:42.840 that room, a lot of guys to learn from as well. Yeah, 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:47.400 another interesting aspect with the addition of Louis because he knows, 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:49.720 I'm sure he's a realist, he knows he doesn't have 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:51.840 a lot of years left in this league as long 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.720 as he has played, but last year he came oh 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:58.400 so close to getting to a super Bowl, and uh 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:02.120 and again that different types of motivations for different players, 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.520 but you've got to believe that is a huge motivator 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:06.840 for him right now at this stage of his career. 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:08.720 And then coming to a team with Aaron Rodgers, and 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:10.160 how many times did he have to go through a 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.760 rebuild in Jacksonville. Now, they did make the playoffs with 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:14.640 Jack del Rio. I think it was in two thousand 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:17.600 seven or two thousand eight. Been a while ago, but 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:20.080 I mean to go through all those losing seasons and 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.000 now having the chance to get that close, he keeps 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:25.080 him right in that race now and and certainly by 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:28.040 no measure, I mean, this is the most accomplished quarterback 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:30.680 he's going to be working with now to Aaron Rodgers. 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:32.760 So trying to put all that together, you have to 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:34.120 put it out on the field. We'll have to see 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.680 what happens in training camp. But you do have to 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:38.960 like the signing because of how he compliments the other 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:40.880 pieces in that room. Yeah, I would agree with that. 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:42.839 We're gonna go to another break back with more and 0:11:42.880 --> 0:12:03.720 Packers unscripted. Right after this, Welcome back to Packers unscripted. 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:06.560 Mike Spofford here, West Hodko, it's over there, West shifting 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:09.960 gears to the defensive side of the ball. We talked 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:12.840 before as we got into O T A S here 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:16.640 with the Packers about this is the installation phase of 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.959 the off season. They're installing the playbooks, both on offense 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:24.000 and defense. There's been some changes obviously on the offensive side, 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:27.520 the bigger change on the defensive side with a new coordinator, 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:31.280 a whole new system that Mike petton Is is putting in. 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:34.680 Just to kind of, I guess, explain how this process 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.080 works a little bit, Mike McCarthy talked about how right 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:38.920 now in O T A S. This is actually the 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:42.559 third time that the players are going through the installation 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:46.760 now the first time really UM at this level in 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.920 the eleven on eleven setting on the field during O 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.040 T A workouts offense versus defense, but they go through 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.959 a whole installation in the classroom, and then they do 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:58.920 another whole installation of the playbook and sort of a 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:02.280 walk through, jog through setting without anybody on offense on 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:05.960 the other side, but the defensive players UM going through 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.840 a walkthrough setting. So this is sort of installation number 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.480 three in uh in the sequence, and then training camp 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:16.520 in essence becomes another review and and installation number four. 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.040 So it's there's a lot of repetition to this, but 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.880 in different settings that allow the players to to process 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:24.839 everything in the playbook in different ways. You know, I 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:26.800 kind of think of it as like a musical or 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.720 a play. I know, you over the years in the 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:32.320 history the work that goes into it to memorize the 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:35.120 lines and the scenes and everything like that, and then 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.800 you have the performance and I think ultimately that that 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:40.360 final performances training camp, that's where the packers are trying 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:41.679 to get to. That's not to say it's going to 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.960 be perfect, but it's that you're prepared and you can 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:48.800 hit the ground running once July comes around. Uh yeah. 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:50.160 I mean there's a lot of veterans here that I 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:51.720 think are still gonna have to, you know, learn some 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.480 new terminology and learn some new things. But it's really 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.080 for those younger players on the roster to understand what 0:13:57.120 --> 0:13:59.160 Mike Petton is going to be asking of them and 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:01.439 exactly how are gonna have to be utilized because I 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.040 think for even guys like Clay Matthews and Mike Daniels, 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:05.760 they've been in the league so long, they've seen so 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.720 many different concepts. By now they've said there's gonna be 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.480 some terminology changing. But for the most part, football's football. 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:13.679 It's these young guys now who have not been in 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:17.160 the offensive defensive scheme so far that have to see 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.040 that jump from the college level to the pros. And 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.520 that's what these three orientations, whatever you wanna call it, 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:25.040 really come down to. Yeah, and that's the added challenge 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:28.320 for the rookies because they miss some of that initial 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:30.920 classroom work and some of that walk through and jog 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:33.520 through work simply because they're not here yet. And they 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:37.360 go through their rookie orientation just getting acclimated to how 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:40.320 the Packers practice, what the day is structured like for 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.800 the in terms of the meetings and the practice field 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.000 and when you eat your meals and and all of 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.720 that kind of stuff. So then when they start going 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.720 through the installations, the veteran players, even when it's a 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.520 brand new system like Mike Patton's, the veteran players already 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.480 have a bit of a headstart on them. So that's 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:59.800 where the challenges for the rookies to try to absorb 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:02.600 as much as they can between now and the end 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:06.240 of Mini camp, and they'll have some days. Certainly in 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:08.880 mini camp there's usually a review day where the veterans 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:12.640 are excused and the rookies, so the practice is solely 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:15.360 focused on the rookies and the younger players, but to 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.640 try to absorb as much as they can so then 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:19.800 after the break when they come back at the start 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:23.200 of training camp, they're not quite as far behind as 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.200 they were when they first got here. Right, you're a 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:27.400 pretty big baseball fan, right, I think there's that one 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.720 gimmick one of the teams does, like where it's catch 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:31.480 the freeze or catch the flash or whatever it is, 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.920 where the guy you give the fan the running head 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:35.800 start and then the guy comes around and just laps 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.640 him pretty much the first you know, goes around the outfield. 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:40.520 I kind of look at that a little bit like 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:42.560 with the veterans in the rookies, and I think a 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:45.000 good example of that is like Justin mccrai. Again last year, 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.560 he signed on March twenty nine, so he had two 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:49.160 or three weeks to kind of get ahead start in 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.880 all those incoming rookies he got that, and he held 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.480 them off throughout that. A lot of times you get 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:56.920 those guys that have that experience. It's about how quickly 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:59.360 those rookies can close the gap. Some are able to 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.840 do it, some ow't, But whatever the case may be, 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:04.600 it is really about making sure that you're ready, you're 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.280 good to go once July rolls around, because that's when 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.880 the coaches are expecting not exactly perfection, because again, there's 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:12.760 always gonna be some room for error. There's gonna be 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.040 an understanding that everyone's human. But knowing what your assignments are, 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:18.440 knowing what that playbook is, and being able to keep 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.160 pace with those installs because now it's real. Now you've 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:24.720 got twenty practices, practices until the games matter. And I 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:26.600 think that's gonna be the ultimate thing for these young 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:28.600 guys coming in is understanding that the one thing they 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.360 have going for him though the fact that they got 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.480 rid of that college rule that no longer requires like 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:36.320 players on the West Coast trimesters to be the guys 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:39.160 on the different that the guys on the different college calendars. 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:41.360 They don't have to stay away anymore, and that's if 0:16:41.400 --> 0:16:43.160 they don't have the degree. So they're here now. So 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:46.120 that's the nice thing. You have ninety players, see, you 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:47.960 know who the best man may win. Yeah, and you 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:51.520 mentioned the coaches have the expectations come training camp. The 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:54.160 veteran players also do as well, the Aaron Rodgers, the 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.920 Clay Matthews, the Mike Daniels of the world. It's like, Hey, 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:59.360 we're not waiting around anymore. This isn't time to learn. 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:01.080 This is time to go. This is time to get 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:03.440 ready to play football in September. And I think Kenny 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:05.800 Clarkler there, remember that with Mike Daniels when he came 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.320 out during Daniels is barking and hollowing. The game changes 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.320 once those training camp practices started. Yeah, no question about it. 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:13.080 With that, we'll go to a breakback with more on 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:34.639 Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:37.679 Mike Spofford alongside West, Hod Kitwits and West. Before we go, 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:40.800 there are times on the show where we have talked 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:45.159 about the power of social media and how it changes 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.880 our perceptions of the world. We find out things that 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:51.280 we probably otherwise never would have known about. And there 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.520 was a little uh story along those lines that happened 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:57.840 this past week with packers running back Aaron Jones. I'll 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.400 let you fill everybody in, Well, this is it's fun 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:02.919 about this. Mike McCarthy even said it. You know, it's 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:05.240 it's one thing for the public to see the sides 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:07.000 of these people, but you know a lot of times 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.200 when you work behind the scenes or you know them, 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:12.200 it's not a surprise at all. I kind of get 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:14.720 that feeling already because of just all the stories I've 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:16.680 done on Aaron Jones and how many family members I've 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:19.439 talked to and friends I've talked to about him, But 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:21.840 this did not surprise me at all. The story, the 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:24.240 background of it is he was flying back into Green Bay. 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:26.400 Mind you, he was getting in a day early too 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:29.680 for O T A S. So he wasn't gonna risk out, 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:31.800 you know, potential plane delay. He was getting in a 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:35.160 nice two days early. Um, and he was I'm presumed, 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.520 going back to his car from the Appleton Airport or 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:39.919 you know whatever the connection maybe, And there was an 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.880 older lady there that that was in a wheelchair and 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:45.560 and you know, if you know airports, usually guys will 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:47.640 come around like workers will come around and push them. 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.919 But she didn't have anybody to help her. I'm presume 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.600 after she got off her flight, Aaron Jones stepped up 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:56.760 and pushed her that destination. Unbeknownst to him, there was 0:18:56.800 --> 0:18:59.280 evidently a packer fan because they identified him as Aaron 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:01.720 Jones that was sitting in the airport and flashed a 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:04.720 quick picture of him. Uh And and you know, just 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:09.159 a very small form of generosity. Obviously it didn't require 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:10.679 much from him, but for him to step up in 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:12.760 that way, I think says a lot about him. And 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:15.520 if you know anything about his upbringing, his parents background 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:18.199 in the military and military family, that's the way him 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.679 and his twin brother, Alvin Jr. Were raised. Yeah, they 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:23.399 absolutely were. And that's that's what I like about these 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:26.959