Speaker 1: Hi, everybody.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another edition of Packers unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 2: I am like Spofford, joined by the one and only
Speaker 2: Wes Hodkowitz.
Speaker 1: We're coming to you.
Speaker 2: Hear from our studios at lambeau Field. Wes our comeback episode.
Speaker 2: I know you don't want to call it that, but
Speaker 2: I'm going to our comeback episode. On Tuesday, we reviewed
Speaker 2: the off season to this point for the Green Bay Packers,
Speaker 2: looking at various key positions and how things have changed
Speaker 2: shape for the twenty twenty five Packers. I want to
Speaker 2: continue to review the twenty twenty five off season to
Speaker 2: this point, but in a little bit different way in
Speaker 2: that I'm going to throw a question at you, okay,
Speaker 2: and then I'll let you answer it, and then I
Speaker 2: will also answer it. And as usual, I didn't prep
Speaker 2: you with the questions in advance. You're perhaps going to
Speaker 2: steal one of my answers and I will just have
Speaker 2: to react.
Speaker 1: And deal with it if that happens.
Speaker 3: Nice.
Speaker 2: But first question, of all of the off season moves
Speaker 2: the Packers have made, and here where I'm talking about
Speaker 2: signings in free agency, re signing your own players, what's
Speaker 2: happened in the draft, what's happened with the coaching staff,
Speaker 2: like any and everything that encompasses the Packers off season.
Speaker 2: What would you point to right now as the most
Speaker 2: significant Brandon McManus.
Speaker 3: Okay, and let's just be honest, Mike. I mean, the
Speaker 3: green Bay Packers went through a roller coaster through the
Speaker 3: first relatively month and a half, and really the whole
Speaker 3: off season I think they went and cycled through was
Speaker 3: at seven different kickers before ultimately McManus ended up coming
Speaker 3: and sort of saving the season for green Bay. The
Speaker 3: fact that the Packers ranked in the middle of the
Speaker 3: pack and field goal accuracy after how things started. In
Speaker 3: no disrespect to Brandon Narvisen, but you had a rookie
Speaker 3: kicker coming in that gets claimed at the end of
Speaker 3: kay and has to come in and he's in a
Speaker 3: new spot, and I felt like McManus was the one
Speaker 3: that started the turnaround for green Bay special teams. It
Speaker 3: felt like, yes, it was the field goal unit and
Speaker 3: all of that, but it also just felt like everything
Speaker 3: sort of synked up a little bit more in You
Speaker 3: and I on Tuesday's show, we were discussing these different
Speaker 3: positions and potential battles. Michael, when was the last time
Speaker 3: the Packers on this day, you know, in May of
Speaker 3: twenty twenty five, third week of the offseason program, have
Speaker 3: had one kicker, one punter in one long snapper in
Speaker 3: addition to obviously Alex Hale the international player exemption. But
Speaker 3: right now, it's about his stables. It's been in years
Speaker 3: as far as being able to maintain and keep Brandon
Speaker 3: McManus in the fold and for him to have the
Speaker 3: season that he had with only two miss field goals
Speaker 3: the entire way. Certainly one of them was obviously in
Speaker 3: the game against Philadelphia, but this was such a massive
Speaker 3: sing for Green Bay in the middle of the season,
Speaker 3: and to be able to extend him and keep him around,
Speaker 3: I think is going to have a huge impact on
Speaker 3: those we fence and the special teams units going forward.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I like that. I like that choice. I
Speaker 2: think for me as far as as of right now
Speaker 2: looking at things right now, the one that I feel
Speaker 2: is the most significant was the free agent signing of
Speaker 2: Nate Hobbs at cornerback. And I say that for a
Speaker 2: couple reasons. One, obviously, the situation with Jay or Alexander
Speaker 2: is still not resolved. We're not quite sure where that's
Speaker 2: gonna go. At the time that the Packers made the
Speaker 2: signing of Hobbs, there there wasn't any certainty as to
Speaker 2: as to how things were gonna unfold with Alexander, So
Speaker 2: so it's significant from that standpoint. I think it's also significant,
Speaker 2: as we talked about on our last show, how the
Speaker 2: Packers are investing in another defensive back who they feel
Speaker 2: they can line up in different places. You know, it's
Speaker 2: another key Sewn Nixon, who whom they feel can line
Speaker 2: up and defend on the boundary but also line up
Speaker 2: and and play in the slot, and giving Jeff Haffley
Speaker 2: and this defense that many you know, yet another movable
Speaker 2: part among many movable parts in his secondary And then
Speaker 2: the other reason I would say it was significant. And
Speaker 2: this is a little bit sort of revisionist history in
Speaker 2: a weird sort of way if you follow if you
Speaker 2: follow along here, But I think but it became significant
Speaker 2: because the I would have I would have almost bet
Speaker 2: my house that the Packers were going to draft a
Speaker 2: cornerback within the first four rounds of this draft, not
Speaker 2: saying it was had to be the first round pick,
Speaker 2: but I thought just within the first one hundred and
Speaker 2: fifty picks of this draft, the Packers were going to
Speaker 2: take a cornerback and the board just didn't fall that
Speaker 2: way for them. I think if the board falls a
Speaker 2: certain way, they probably do, but the board didn't fall
Speaker 2: that way, and they end up actually not getting a
Speaker 2: cornerback until the seventh round with Micah Robinson and then
Speaker 2: as I mentioned, also bringing in a highly touted, undrafted
Speaker 2: player in Jonathan Baldwin who many people thought would be drafted.
Speaker 2: But the reason that it makes the Hobbs signing that
Speaker 2: much more significant, not only because of just what you
Speaker 2: did for the cornerback room and bringing in a veteran,
Speaker 2: but with the board not falling the way you were
Speaker 2: hoping or maybe thinking it would fall during the draft,
Speaker 2: they didn't have to just go out and reach for
Speaker 2: a cornerback and oh, we got to make sure we
Speaker 2: get one of these guys before they're gone. The signing
Speaker 2: of Hobbs, like even with the cornerback board didn't fall
Speaker 2: quite right in the draft, but Brian Gudacunz could still
Speaker 2: just sit back and say, hey, it's okay, We're all right,
Speaker 2: you know we you know, the Alexander thing is still
Speaker 2: up in the air. But we brought in Hobbs, we
Speaker 2: have Nixon, There's Carrington Valentine, you know there. So I
Speaker 2: think the I think the Hobbs signing was was really
Speaker 2: significant for a lot of reasons. There question number two,
Speaker 2: which off season move of everything that has happened to
Speaker 2: this point, are you most curious to see.
Speaker 1: What results from it?
Speaker 2: Oo?
Speaker 1: Wow, I know that's a tough one.
Speaker 3: Mike's I'm putting off for bringing fast On.
Speaker 1: I'm putting you, I'm putting you on the spot here.
Speaker 3: Okay, So this is accounting the draft class as well. Sure, yeah,
Speaker 3: it's the use I could answer this two ways. Okay,
Speaker 3: but can I start with the draft class? Pudes, because
Speaker 3: we were asking me the question, which which move entices
Speaker 3: me the most? Which will move I'm most excited to
Speaker 3: see it's saveon Williams because it's just because when you
Speaker 3: have a guy that is utilized the way he was
Speaker 3: utilized at TCU, and I think you and I would
Speaker 3: both agree just based on the depth of the received position,
Speaker 3: he's not going to have that many opportunities, you would think.
Speaker 3: I mean, it was like they were building the whole
Speaker 3: offense around him. Uh. At Texas Christian so what aspects
Speaker 3: of him his game. Does Matt Lafleur, Adam Stenovich, Jason
Speaker 3: Rabel do they look to extract and utilize right out
Speaker 3: of the gate, because I think he can help them,
Speaker 3: But I couldn't tell you, based on his workload and
Speaker 3: the multitude of ways that he was utilized in college,
Speaker 3: exactly what he's going to do in Green Bay. Okay,
Speaker 3: Be that as it may. The Isaiah Simmons one is
Speaker 3: really interesting to me with the Packers signing him, and
Speaker 3: it was the last move they've made in the free
Speaker 3: agency window here. But this guy is five years removed
Speaker 3: from being the eighth overall pick in the NFL Draft
Speaker 3: and he's never missed a game because of injury. Incredibly durable,
Speaker 3: played a lot of football for the Arizona Cardinals the
Speaker 3: first two and a half years, and it's just sort
Speaker 3: of been trying to find his spot, you know, ever
Speaker 3: since that Cliff Kingsbury era ended in Arizona. So is
Speaker 3: he going to be on special teams? You know? Is
Speaker 3: he going to be a guy that you could potentially
Speaker 3: sprinkle into the defense, will even up earning a role
Speaker 3: on the defense, We don't know. But when you're talking
Speaker 3: about low risk, high reward signings. I think Isaiah Simmons
Speaker 3: might take the cake because the more I was listening
Speaker 3: to Matt Lafleur discussed, you know, the conversations with him,
Speaker 3: they brought him in for a visit, they signed him
Speaker 3: two weeks later after the draft, when they didn't really
Speaker 3: add any other inside linebackers, natural inside linebackers, right, So
Speaker 3: it almost in a way sort of felt like the
Speaker 3: Devandre Campbell's signing to me in twenty twenty one, where
Speaker 3: it's this guy that's sort of sitting out there trying
Speaker 3: to find the right opportunity and ultimately he settles on
Speaker 3: green back.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's an interesting way to look at it.
Speaker 2: And with regard to bringing Simmons in for a visit
Speaker 2: and then you know it, at the signing ends up happening.
Speaker 2: A couple weeks later, we heard from Matt Lafleur like
Speaker 2: they were doing some more checking. They checked with Xavier
Speaker 2: McKinney because he played with them, you know, with the Giants,
Speaker 2: and you know, they were wanting to get more opinions
Speaker 2: and more thoughts about him and whatnot. The two thumbs
Speaker 2: up came from Xavier McKay and that was a factor
Speaker 2: in that move as well. The most curious one for
Speaker 2: me that I am I am interested to see what
Speaker 2: results from it is the change at defensive line coach. Yeah, sure,
Speaker 2: DeMarcus Covington being brought in to take over running the
Speaker 2: Packers defensive line with with Jason Rebovich being being let go.
Speaker 2: The reason this one stands out to me so much
Speaker 2: is because for all of the discussion outside the building
Speaker 2: about what are the Packers going to do about their
Speaker 2: pass rush?
Speaker 1: You know, et cetera, et cetera. And we heard.
Speaker 2: From we heard from Brian Gutakunst at the combine in Indianapolis,
Speaker 2: at the owners meetings down in Florida. He has a
Speaker 2: lot of confidence in the players in that defensive front room,
Speaker 2: the guys who are going to make up the pass rush. Now,
Speaker 2: he said, Hey, guys need to progress, they need to
Speaker 2: get better. They need to be more consistent, you know,
Speaker 2: more reliable. You know, the as we talked about on
Speaker 2: the last show. The progression is from guys like Lucas
Speaker 2: van Ness the a little little more consistency and reliability
Speaker 2: is expected from Rashaun Garry, the you know, the veteran guy,
Speaker 2: and also from the interior guys Kenny Clark, DeVante Wyatt,
Speaker 2: the guys who have been who have been there, done
Speaker 2: that to this point, you know, need to need to
Speaker 2: step up their games as well. But hearing all of
Speaker 2: that throughout the off season about how Brian Gudokum's felt
Speaker 2: about the Packers pass rush tells me they really feel
Speaker 2: that Covington can make a difference with this unit, can
Speaker 2: take the guys that the Packers have and get more
Speaker 2: out of them and uh and try to push that
Speaker 2: group forward in the way that in the way that's
Speaker 2: been envisioned. So that's the one that has that has
Speaker 2: my curiosity. And I think it's also and this was
Speaker 2: pointed out a month or so ago by an insider
Speaker 2: inbox reader, and I apologize for forgetting exactly who it was,
Speaker 2: but it's also a very shrewd move on Matt Lafleur's
Speaker 2: part to bring in a guy like Covington. He had
Speaker 2: just risen over the last handful of years. He'd risen
Speaker 2: from the bottom of the totem poll on Bill Belichick's
Speaker 2: coaching staff in New England all the way up to
Speaker 2: defensive coordinator for Jared Mayo in the first year after
Speaker 2: Belichick is gone from the Patriots, and now New England
Speaker 2: decided to clean house with the Mayo coaching staff, and
Speaker 2: so this guy becomes available. But he's considered still a
Speaker 2: rising star in the coaching ranks. He has a year
Speaker 2: of experience as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, and
Speaker 2: we all know that all it took was one year
Speaker 2: for Jeff Hafley to be here, and he was getting
Speaker 2: some overtures for possible head coach vacancy. So in that
Speaker 2: larger picture of things, I think a very shrewd and
Speaker 2: also intriguing and curious higher by Mattliffe.
Speaker 3: And while you are not wrong with the Jeff Hafley comparison,
Speaker 3: I almost look at it, especially once I read more
Speaker 3: about Comington's you know, credentials, He almost kind of reminds
Speaker 3: me more of the Anthony Campinelli type higher where Campinelli
Speaker 3: was rising through the ranks, was well respected as a
Speaker 3: linebackers coach with Miami. He came here for one year
Speaker 3: and now he's gonna be the defensive corner of the
Speaker 3: Jacksonville Jaguars. Like That's the sort of trajectory Covington was on,
Speaker 3: and obviously, unfortunately New England kind of had to restart
Speaker 3: this year, and certainly I think there was that I
Speaker 3: don't want to call an infatuation, but definitely that flirtation
Speaker 3: with Mike Rabel going back there and you know, taking
Speaker 3: that over and sort of continuing that even though he
Speaker 3: didn't coach for him, that Bill Belichickian sort of mantra
Speaker 3: that they've developed there. So Coventin's available, and I think
Speaker 3: it's a great example of a guy coming in here
Speaker 3: now where this is a big undertaking for the Packers,
Speaker 3: and he also I think took on the run game
Speaker 3: coordinator role as well, where you're trying to maintain what
Speaker 3: you did against the run last year, as you've pointed out,
Speaker 3: while improving upon the natural pass rush and getting more
Speaker 3: out of those edge rushers. It's a big undertaking, but
Speaker 3: he has a ton of weapons and a ton of
Speaker 3: depth to be able to try doing.
Speaker 2: That question number three. I really like the comparison to
Speaker 2: the Campanelli higher though. By the way, that's a thank you, Tom,
Speaker 2: That's that's nicely done. Appreciate appreciate the addition to my
Speaker 2: answer that question question number three. For you, what off
Speaker 2: season move the Packers have made do you expect to
Speaker 2: pay the most immediate dividends, the most the greatest immediate impact.
Speaker 1: Which one would you go?
Speaker 3: You know what you touched on it. I'm gonna pull
Speaker 3: it back all right, and I'm gonna say Nate Hobbs signing, okay,
Speaker 3: because here here's the thing you have to edit my
Speaker 3: cider inbox column. Congratulations on that. And one of the
Speaker 3: points I raised this week is the walls are breaking
Speaker 3: down here between what teams consider to be perimeter cornerbacks
Speaker 3: and slot nickel cornerbacks. There was a time I'll never
Speaker 3: forget this in twenty fourteen where the Packers had this gridlock,
Speaker 3: this logjam of cornerbacks. They couldn't get Devon House on
Speaker 3: the field because he didn't play inside, but they had
Speaker 3: a lot of options outside with Tremont Williams and I
Speaker 3: believe at that time Sam Shields and what was his
Speaker 3: Pro Bowl season after he resigned, So they had guys
Speaker 3: they felt like could play, but they just couldn't get
Speaker 3: him on the field. Now you're seeing this Nate Hobbs,
Speaker 3: Keyshawn Nixon type of cornerback that depending on where you
Speaker 3: need them, what the scheme is, what the game is,
Speaker 3: what the matchups are and also what the injury situation
Speaker 3: is where you can move these guys around. And I
Speaker 3: think you're seeing that type of versatility and the value
Speaker 3: in that versatility league wide. And as you and I
Speaker 3: discussed with Hobbs and his signing, there's a lot of
Speaker 3: projection there, but there's some proven ability to play both
Speaker 3: inside and outside based on his time with the Raiders. Now,
Speaker 3: all that being said, another analogy I threw out there,
Speaker 3: another argument that I made in inbox was we always
Speaker 3: look at these starting fives of offensive lines in the versatility,
Speaker 3: I think you almost need maintain the same type of
Speaker 3: approach with a secondary because in a lot of cases,
Speaker 3: much like an offensive line, those guys are going to
Speaker 3: be out there. Four of them certainly are likely going
Speaker 3: to be out there at all times. Yeah, maybe five,
Speaker 3: depending on what the matchup is. If you have that
Speaker 3: many players that you're counting on to be on the field,
Speaker 3: you have to have not only depth, but versatility to
Speaker 3: replace that depth if injuries occur. I think Hobbs is
Speaker 3: gonna be a big part of that for Jeff Hafley's defense.
Speaker 3: And also the exciting thing is too last year it
Speaker 3: was Halfley trying to figure out a lot of these
Speaker 3: pieces that Green Bay already had in fitting them into
Speaker 3: his defense. Now he's having the opportunity to look at
Speaker 3: a guy like Nate Abbs and say, you know what,
Speaker 3: I can do something with that guy.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's a good point. My answer on
Speaker 2: the most immediate dividends, I was actually going to go
Speaker 2: with Brandon McManus on this because of just the idea
Speaker 2: that for the first time in three years, the Packers
Speaker 2: are heading heading into an off season, a training camp,
Speaker 2: the start of a season with no questions about kickers
Speaker 2: right since moving on from from Mason Crosby.
Speaker 1: So first time in three years they're in that.
Speaker 3: A better way of saying what I tried to say
Speaker 3: in the first time, it's just it was it was
Speaker 3: just it's not like Alex Haleyeah with him exactly.
Speaker 2: There are no questions about that position for the first
Speaker 2: time in three years. I will go a slightly different direction,
Speaker 2: but also rehash a little bit of what we talked
Speaker 2: about on our next show. As far as immediate dividends,
Speaker 2: I think it could be the selection of Matthew Golden
Speaker 2: at the top of the draft in the first round,
Speaker 2: because we saw and We've talked about so often, how
Speaker 2: different team, how different lee defenses have to defend the Packers.
Speaker 2: When Christian Watson is on the field, with the speed
Speaker 2: that he brings and that and that fear that he
Speaker 2: strikes of the big play, it just it dictates defensive alignments,
Speaker 2: It dictates the way teams scheme up against you. And
Speaker 2: when Watson has not been available, that's been that's made
Speaker 2: things a lot harder on the Packers offense. So until
Speaker 2: you get Christian Watson back sometime later in the fall,
Speaker 2: second half of the season, whatever it's going to be,
Speaker 2: even though he's golden, is a completely different player in
Speaker 2: terms of body type and a different type of receiver.
Speaker 2: You have replaced Christian Watson speed. Now you are putting
Speaker 2: a guy on the field with that speed element that
Speaker 2: defenses are going to have to account for now. So
Speaker 2: that's why that would be my other answer to paying
Speaker 2: the most immediate dividends, last one for you before I'll
Speaker 2: take care of some sponsor business. Most surprising offensive off
Speaker 2: season excuse me move for you?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean it's probably the Elton Jenkins him going
Speaker 3: to center. I didn't anticipate that. I thought there was
Speaker 3: a chance that Josh Meyers wouldn't be back. I remember,
Speaker 3: I could tell you exactly what it seems like whenever
Speaker 3: we always much as you and I joke about, like
Speaker 3: when you go on PTO, something big usually happens. It
Speaker 3: does seem like whenever the Packers make an unrestricted free
Speaker 3: agency signing, like I'm always doing something. I'm out in
Speaker 3: the area I'll never forget. I got done running over
Speaker 3: at Meadowbrook Park in Howard, Wisconsin. I got back to
Speaker 3: my car, I'm winded out of shape, sweating, and I'm
Speaker 3: just leaning against my car and I pull out my
Speaker 3: phone and says the Packers have signed Aaron Banks. And
Speaker 3: immediately I'm like, okay, the guard from San Francisco. And
Speaker 3: I'm thinking to myself, like, did he play center at
Speaker 3: Notre Dame, Like as I just remembered him being the guy, yeah,
Speaker 3: that replaced Quintin Nelson and then got drafted and basically
Speaker 3: started a bulk of four years for San Francisco. And
Speaker 3: it's like, no, he didn't. So once you step back
Speaker 3: from it, it's a very logical move. I would take
Speaker 3: Elton Jenkins at center over any of these guys that
Speaker 3: were available on the market. I don't know a lot
Speaker 3: about the draft class. But in terms of the unrestricted
Speaker 3: free agents, we saw Atlanta, I should say from Atlanta.
Speaker 3: The Bears sign was at Chris Dolman. I'm trying remember
Speaker 3: what his name was, the new center that they got there.
Speaker 3: I take Elton over that guy, like, I mean, it's
Speaker 3: just it's just the way that this thing goes, so uh,
Speaker 3: it surprised me. But that being said, uh, once you
Speaker 3: step back a little bit, you start to understand the
Speaker 3: method of the madness, so to speak.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that was but that was my pick as well.
Speaker 2: In terms of the signing of Aaron Banks, I thought
Speaker 2: that was the most surprising. Dalmon Dalmon, Yes, no, that's okay.
Speaker 2: It didn't come to me right away either. And I
Speaker 2: was gonna say Drew and then I couldn't think of
Speaker 2: the last name. So but no, I think the Bank
Speaker 2: signing was surprising because as we headed into free agency,
Speaker 2: all the talk goes, Okay, are the Packers gonna do
Speaker 2: something at receiver? Are they gonna do something you know
Speaker 2: with uh with the pass rush? Where are they gonna
Speaker 2: spend the money? And then and then you know, boom,
Speaker 2: the first the first one we find out about Oh,
Speaker 2: it's an offensive lineman and they're gonna take their two
Speaker 2: time Pro Bowl guard and kick them over to center.
Speaker 2: So I agree with you on that one being surprising.
Speaker 2: The other one I'll throw out there because it it
Speaker 2: kind of goes along with with what you were talking
Speaker 2: about with Isaiah Simmons. But it's a it's bringing in
Speaker 2: Mkole Hardman at at wide receiver because he wasn't a
Speaker 2: guy at the top of free agent market or anything
Speaker 2: like that at at wide receiver. And when it didn't
Speaker 2: surprise me that Gudakuns didn't go there at receiver, I
Speaker 2: did feel that he was going to go into this
Speaker 2: draft and I said it many times an insider inbox,
Speaker 2: that he was going to try to look for the
Speaker 2: next Christian Watson in this draft or the or you know,
Speaker 2: the next potential guy like that. And he did draft
Speaker 2: the fastest, the fastest receiver of all the guys at
Speaker 2: the combine. But once uh, you know, once free agency
Speaker 2: had sort of been going for a while I and
Speaker 2: the draft is still hanging out there, I didn't I
Speaker 2: just didn't expect him to bring in any receiver to
Speaker 2: a room that is already you know, kind of crowded
Speaker 2: when you've got when you've got a you know, wide
Speaker 2: receiver five six types like Malie Keith and bow Melton
Speaker 2: who had played and done some things and contributed in
Speaker 2: games and and still trying to establish themselves in the league.
Speaker 2: That you know, bringing in a veteran like Hardman, you know,
Speaker 2: kind of later in free agency into that room. Now
Speaker 2: they're gonna look at him as a returner. He's got
Speaker 2: some he's got some other abilities as far as different
Speaker 2: ways to get him the ball kind of thing like
Speaker 2: Lake Sabean Williams. But just that, you know, that move
Speaker 2: kind of surprised me because at that at that point
Speaker 2: in free agency I just didn't necessarily think the Packers
Speaker 2: are going to be looking at wide receivers there.
Speaker 3: The one thing that Brian has done, Godkuns has done
Speaker 3: an exceptional job of is he definitely has kicked the
Speaker 3: tires on players, more veteran players, more than Ted did.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Ted would do it occasionally, and it would usually end
Speaker 3: up being like during training camp when like a Cedric
Speaker 3: Benson would come in because there's just a deluge of
Speaker 3: injuries at a position like for example, in that case,
Speaker 3: running back. Brian since the day he got hired. I mean,
Speaker 3: I think a Byron Bell and some of these other
Speaker 3: guys I mean certainly Mercedes Lewis coming in and ended
Speaker 3: up playing five years for him. These guys that aren't
Speaker 3: the top of the wire, guys that are affected the
Speaker 3: pensatory process. Brian has been willing to take a look,
Speaker 3: and sometimes it doesn't work out, but then sometimes you
Speaker 3: do find somebody. And that's one thing I think the
Speaker 3: Packers have definitely benefited from over the last five six years.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, Well, one other topic I want to
Speaker 2: get to, but I will take care of sponsor business.
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Speaker 1: All right, last topic.
Speaker 2: To hit on today because and I wanted to talk
Speaker 2: about this before the draft. The draft being hosted by
Speaker 2: Green Bay gets too far into the rearview mirror. I
Speaker 2: think we can all agree that bringing the Draft to
Speaker 2: Green Bay, and as successful as the entire production was,
Speaker 2: the crowds, the spectacle, everything with the stage, and then
Speaker 2: the selections of Golden and Currel in the fourth round
Speaker 2: and just all that, the whole thing kind of becomes
Speaker 2: the crown jewel of Mark Murphy's tenure as president of
Speaker 2: the Green Bay Packers. And we know he is retiring
Speaker 2: later this summer. So my last question to you for
Speaker 2: this show is, aside from bringing the Draft to Green Bay,
Speaker 2: what do you feel will be the biggest part of
Speaker 2: Mark Murphy's legacy when he officially retires.
Speaker 3: Lambeaufield, Yeah, title Town, everything that has been developed in
Speaker 3: just the amazing advancement of this organization, in this franchise,
Speaker 3: I mean, the Green Bay Packers. We obviously always will
Speaker 3: give respect to Bob Harlan, his foresight, the need that
Speaker 3: for the renovations and the Lambefield Atrium, but for Mark
Speaker 3: to keep his foot on the gas throat all that.
Speaker 3: I mean, you listen to this and you see it
Speaker 3: now at the nfl PA rankings every year, the amount
Speaker 3: of investment this team makes in its football facilities you're
Speaker 3: seeing on the east side of the stadium the development
Speaker 3: of Title Town and a place that my son will
Speaker 3: go and ice skate at and play in the playground at.
Speaker 3: In Mike Frankly, the position that I'm in right now,
Speaker 3: the Green Bay Packers, the way that this organization has grown.
Speaker 3: From a staffing perspective. You can go talk to some
Speaker 3: of the people who have been here since the nineteen
Speaker 3: nineties and you can look at the old media guides
Speaker 3: and there's thirty five employees and there were over three hundred,
Speaker 3: and that just shows you the vision and being able
Speaker 3: to keep up in this race with billion dollar teams
Speaker 3: in some of the richest people in the world that
Speaker 3: own some of these ball clubs, that are the majority
Speaker 3: owners of these ball clubs. I just you want to
Speaker 3: win a Super Bowl, and the Packers did that as
Speaker 3: well underneath Mark Murphy's tenure. You want to go to
Speaker 3: the playoffs. They did that thirteen times more than any
Speaker 3: other team over the last seventeen years during Mark Murphy's tenure.
Speaker 3: But at the end of the day, it's taking this
Speaker 3: little light on the hill and making sure that that
Speaker 3: light doesn't stop shining. And Murphy definitely did that, so
Speaker 3: we got another couple months here to enjoy Mark before
Speaker 3: the transition to ED policy, who I think is going
Speaker 3: to do a fantastic job. But I tell people this
Speaker 3: all the time, and I wrote about it an inbox
Speaker 3: again today. If I did anything here, if you did
Speaker 3: anything here, I just hope it's that we really told
Speaker 3: people who Mark was, who he is, and just the
Speaker 3: type of leader, CEO president. It didn't matter if it
Speaker 3: was the Green Bay Pawkers or a local tire shop.
Speaker 3: I mean, the guy knows people, and he knows employees,
Speaker 3: and he knows how to lead, and he knows how
Speaker 3: to get people behind him. And I think the draft
Speaker 3: coming here is a good example that as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what lambeau Field became in two thousand and three,
Speaker 2: it was very much a part of one of the
Speaker 2: biggest pieces of Bob Harlan's legacy, among several big pieces
Speaker 2: to his legacy during his tenure as president. What lambeau
Speaker 2: Field and the entire Lambeufield campus, if you will looks
Speaker 2: like now is is definitely part of Mark Murphy's legacy.
Speaker 2: The other the other thing I will say that I
Speaker 2: think will be very interesting to see because the Packers
Speaker 2: the Packers are competing for championships. We know that they
Speaker 2: are close, and you know been to with the current regime.
Speaker 2: Brian Gudokuntz, Matt Lafleur been to a couple of NSC
Speaker 2: championship games, almost got there, didn't quite work out. But
Speaker 2: if this if this regime as currently constructed with Brian
Speaker 2: Gudokunz running the football operations and Matt Lafuur being the
Speaker 2: head coach, if they are able to win a Super Bowl,
Speaker 2: you can't forget that. Mark Murphy hired both of those guys.
Speaker 2: So part of I think there is potentially potentially a
Speaker 2: big piece of his legacy that maybe hasn't been written yet.
Speaker 1: So I throw that out there.
Speaker 3: Excellent point, Mike. And the other thing I will mention,
Speaker 3: I've said this numerous times. You know how this league works.
Speaker 3: You and I see it. There's franchises every two years.
Speaker 3: It seems like they're changing a GM, a head coach,
Speaker 3: people that are in a position of power. Mark Murphy,
Speaker 3: seventeen plus years, he hired one general manager, one head coach,
Speaker 3: and the Packers drafted one quarterback in the first round.
Speaker 3: That's something special.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2: With that we will call it a rap on this
Speaker 2: edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to continue following all
Speaker 2: of our coverage of the team on packers dot com
Speaker 2: and will be back next week with a couple of
Speaker 2: more shows, and in.
Speaker 1: The middle of next week the schedule gets released.
Speaker 2: On our second show next week, we'll be able to
Speaker 2: be talking about the twenty twenty five schedules.
Speaker 1: So for Wes, I am Mike, thank you for tuning in. Everybody,
Speaker 1: We will see you next time.