Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to another edition of Packers Unscripted
Speaker 1: from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spoffer, joined us
Speaker 1: always by my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz. We are back
Speaker 1: from our summer break training camp West. The first practice
Speaker 1: is right around the corner. It is tomorrow. We are
Speaker 1: going to preview training camp here on this show. But
Speaker 1: as some famous song likes to introduce things, my question
Speaker 1: for you is, are you ready for this?
Speaker 2: Gotta be ready for this.
Speaker 3: It's crazy. I always like to tell the little bit
Speaker 3: of a dad joke about how this is the fastest
Speaker 3: six months of the year.
Speaker 2: But here we are.
Speaker 3: And for the green day Packers, I think all these
Speaker 3: years that I've covered the team and you have a
Speaker 3: couple more on me. I don't know if there's ever
Speaker 3: been a time where I feel like there's more need
Speaker 3: for football.
Speaker 2: Than right now.
Speaker 3: I just feel like we've talked so much and there
Speaker 3: have been so many narratives and honestly a lot of
Speaker 3: swerves throughout the off season, a lot of questions from
Speaker 3: pretty much every interval through this process, beginning with the
Speaker 3: extensions back at the beginning of the year, and then
Speaker 3: kind of.
Speaker 2: Trickling into who came, who left, and now.
Speaker 3: Certainly all these player extensions that Green Bay has done,
Speaker 3: there's been a lot of movement and a lot of developments,
Speaker 3: and now we finally get to see on the field
Speaker 3: what the twenty twenty six Green Bay Packers have capable
Speaker 3: of them.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, for all of the good news that has
Speaker 1: transpired this offseason, the contract extensions and one that was
Speaker 1: the most the latest one just to announce yesterday defensive
Speaker 1: tackle DeVante Why getting extension. We talked earlier in the
Speaker 1: offseason Jaden Reed and Christian Watson and all the talk
Speaker 1: about guys coming back from injury and all of that.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of excitement and everything building up to this.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, and I think this goes
Speaker 1: to your point of you know, it's time for football,
Speaker 1: because the Pack ended last season on such a downer,
Speaker 1: the five straight losses, the blowing the lead in the
Speaker 1: playoff game in Chicago and all of that, and you're
Speaker 1: never really going to get past that until you get
Speaker 1: to the new season, until you start playing games again,
Speaker 1: and it's it's a clean slate, it's a fresh start,
Speaker 1: and that fresh start begins with training camp in that
Speaker 1: and that first practice tomorrow. So I'll throw this out
Speaker 1: to you, and you and I can just kind of
Speaker 1: go back and forth on maybe what's top of mind
Speaker 1: for us, but there'll be a lot of storylines that
Speaker 1: we'll be following throughout the course of training camp. Here,
Speaker 1: what is at the top of the list for you?
Speaker 3: Well, I think when you begin training camp two things
Speaker 3: are always and I hopefully don't steal both of these
Speaker 3: from you, but the two things that always jump out
Speaker 3: to you the first time we step out at rain
Speaker 3: Ichkie Field, we look out on the grass, we have
Speaker 3: our pen in our paper and all that it's okay,
Speaker 3: who's practicing and who's playing where.
Speaker 2: With the first and second team offense and defense.
Speaker 3: Right, you go through the years, Michael, you know, whether
Speaker 3: it was twenty twelve where Jared Bush getting the first
Speaker 3: shot at the perimeter cornerback job, as Charles Woodson began
Speaker 3: that transition to a playing safety in the base, and
Speaker 3: you go through all the Okay, in twenty fifteen, who's
Speaker 3: going to be lining up? Is this gonna be, you know,
Speaker 3: an offense that's predicated on you know, Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 3: passing the football or running the football.
Speaker 2: Is this is this Eddie.
Speaker 3: Lacy's offense that like, there's always been these question marks
Speaker 3: that go into these seasons, and for me, it's it's
Speaker 3: just seeing what we've watched from the outside the entire
Speaker 3: way while Matt Lafleur and the coaching staff have built
Speaker 3: their game plans, have devised their schemes, and now we
Speaker 3: get to see, Okay, what was their thought process? Who
Speaker 3: are they going to be building this thing around. And
Speaker 3: to me, that's always one of the most exciting things,
Speaker 3: in addition to the fact that, hey, where's Tucker Kraft
Speaker 3: at DeVante White just signed the extension?
Speaker 2: Is he good to go?
Speaker 3: You know, Zach tom coming off of the knee injury
Speaker 3: last season, is he ready to go? All those things
Speaker 3: that were kind of hanging on from the offseason program.
Speaker 3: Seeing who's able to go right from the get go,
Speaker 3: and also who maybe are those guys that sit out
Speaker 3: the first week and then you get to you know,
Speaker 3: family night and they're back in the fold.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Big Four, as far as the injuries are concerned,
Speaker 1: I think are the names that everybody is going to
Speaker 1: be following as far as when they get back on
Speaker 1: the field. Now we are not expecting the biggest of
Speaker 1: those names, Micah Parsons to be on the field during
Speaker 1: training camp, But you mentioned three of the other ones,
Speaker 1: Tucker Craft, Zach Tom, DeVante Wyatt. Those guys were all
Speaker 1: missing when last season ended on a sour note. And
Speaker 1: there's a process for all of them obviously to get healthy,
Speaker 1: to get ramped up and ready to go. But you
Speaker 1: just know, you sense with this fan base and with
Speaker 1: all of the chatter that's around the team this year,
Speaker 1: that a lot of eyes are going to be on
Speaker 1: those players and when they're back, when they're ready to go,
Speaker 1: and the hope is that as many of them as
Speaker 1: possible can be good to go for Week one in Minnesota.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And the one thing I was reminded of throughout
Speaker 3: this offseason, if there was ever any question at all
Speaker 3: that Tucker Craft might be already in a pantheon of.
Speaker 2: His own among Packer fans.
Speaker 3: That was reiterated because not only is this guy a good, talented, young,
Speaker 3: ascending tight end, but he's taken on cultiro status.
Speaker 2: With this team.
Speaker 3: Again, how many times, Mike do you and I open
Speaker 3: insider inbox right now? And among those questions is where
Speaker 3: are the Packers at in an extension with Tucker Craft.
Speaker 3: Why isn't that deal done yet? And I will just
Speaker 3: continue to assure fans that if unfortunately that knee injury
Speaker 3: didn't occur, I assume this would have been the off
Speaker 3: season of Tucker Craft in that regard, and instead it's
Speaker 3: been an offseason or rehab for him.
Speaker 2: But the way.
Speaker 3: This guy has attacked this thing, the videos that he's
Speaker 3: put out, the way he's talking, I mean, he is
Speaker 3: completely invested not only in becoming the best tight end
Speaker 3: in this league, but doing it with the Green Bay Packers.
Speaker 3: So I've urged a little bit of patience. I think
Speaker 3: both of these teams, you know, with both the Packers
Speaker 3: and Craft and his team, I think they're going to
Speaker 3: do right by each other. But you just got to
Speaker 3: breathe for a second here. But one, once number eighty
Speaker 3: five is cleared, when he is back out on the
Speaker 3: practice field, the shot of juice that that's going to
Speaker 3: give this team and this fan base. Just like with
Speaker 3: Micah Parsons on the defensive side of the ball, I
Speaker 3: don't think there is a tangible value you can put
Speaker 3: on that.
Speaker 2: It is immeasurable.
Speaker 1: There's almost this expectation for me that there's going to
Speaker 1: be some kind of a harness put on Tucker Craft
Speaker 1: because it's like the medical staff, the coaching staff is
Speaker 1: going to have to hold him, like physically hold him
Speaker 1: back from, you know, from going just full bore, all out,
Speaker 1: like right from day one, because that's just his mentality. Yeah, exactly,
Speaker 1: He's he has been. He has been full speed ahead
Speaker 1: throughout h throughout this entire process. And the anticipation of
Speaker 1: seeing him back on the field throwing a block on
Speaker 1: the edge, catching a pass down the scene from Jordan Love,
Speaker 1: I mean though, the anticipation of those things is kind
Speaker 1: of palpable.
Speaker 2: I will not name names.
Speaker 3: That is not the game I play here, but I
Speaker 3: will tell you between Watson last offseason and Draft this offseason,
Speaker 3: the way those two guys attacked the rehab, I have
Speaker 3: seen guys practicing with less effort at times than those
Speaker 3: two did in their actual physical rehab to get back
Speaker 3: a very true They just wanted to be back with
Speaker 3: this football team and show what their cape Love.
Speaker 2: And I'll tell you this one. If Tucker Craft comes back.
Speaker 3: At half of what he was doing last season, you're
Speaker 3: already looking at one of the top young tight ends
Speaker 3: in the league. But if he comes back the way
Speaker 3: that Christian Watson did last year, yeah, I mean look out.
Speaker 2: Yeah wow.
Speaker 1: Well, there are going to be some positional battles, roster battles,
Speaker 1: all that kind of stuff going on over the next month.
Speaker 1: There'll be family Night, there'll be three preseason games, lots
Speaker 1: of stuff to sort out. And as much as they
Speaker 1: are going to be many in the media sphere who
Speaker 1: are going to try to pick the fifty three man
Speaker 1: roster before the pads even go on, we're here to
Speaker 1: talk about some of those competitions and what we will
Speaker 1: have our eye on. For me, the one that's at
Speaker 1: the top of the list is at cornerback and Jonathan
Speaker 1: Gannon's new defense because the Packers have Keyshawn Nixon as
Speaker 1: their number one corner But you have this collection now,
Speaker 1: Carrington Valentine, free agent, Benson Benjamin excuse me, Saint just
Speaker 1: and then the second round draft pick, the first pick
Speaker 1: the Packers had in this past draft, Brandon Sisa from
Speaker 1: South Carolina. Those three guys, only one of them can
Speaker 1: be the number two cornerback. I like where things are
Speaker 1: from a depth perspective, regardless of who wins the job
Speaker 1: and who's gonna come off the bench and be the
Speaker 1: sub package guys, et cetera. But that competition for a
Speaker 1: starting cornerback job is it feels to me out of
Speaker 1: the gate here, partially since Cisa is a rookie and
Speaker 1: was just getting his feet wet in the spring, and
Speaker 1: Saint just missed a large portion of OTA's and mini
Speaker 1: camp and whatnot because of an injury. It feels like
Speaker 1: this is a competition that is going to take the
Speaker 1: entire training camp to sort.
Speaker 3: Of yeah, and just extremely high stakes, right, And they're
Speaker 3: all play the position differently, they are all built differently,
Speaker 3: their strengths are different, and the Packers have cast such
Speaker 3: a wide net here to try to find that guy
Speaker 3: that's going to start opposite Nixon.
Speaker 2: And also the fact of building depth at that position
Speaker 2: that by the end of last year they really lacked.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna tell you a little bit of a cheat
Speaker 3: sheet that I've devised now, in probably fifteen years, if
Speaker 3: I'm still employed, I'm guessing you'll be on a beach somewhere.
Speaker 3: I'll be telling the other young writer at Packers dot com.
Speaker 3: This is the way I always approach things. When you
Speaker 3: ask what's the biggest competition in training camp. It'll always
Speaker 3: come back to me, which position did they add the
Speaker 3: most bodies in? Which position did they draft multiple players
Speaker 3: this offseason? It was the cornerback position. Brian good Against
Speaker 3: telegraphed it. Yeah, he told everybody he was going to
Speaker 3: do it, even after signing Benjamin Saint just and he
Speaker 3: invested those resources.
Speaker 1: And even with the limited draft picks, he used multiple
Speaker 1: at that position, which is also a big side.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I was super impressed by what I saw
Speaker 3: from Cisa during the off season program, the way he triggers,
Speaker 3: in the speed with which he plays. I don't know
Speaker 3: if it's tomorrow, I don't know if it's next month,
Speaker 3: but this guy is going to make an impact for
Speaker 3: this football team.
Speaker 2: You can see it.
Speaker 3: It's in the DNA, in the way he attacks it,
Speaker 3: and the fact that he's as young as he is
Speaker 3: playing in that position.
Speaker 2: I mean, his upside when.
Speaker 3: You're looking at what I referred to is like the
Speaker 3: de facto number one pick for the Packers because there
Speaker 3: was no first rounder, but to make that investment in
Speaker 3: the second round. We saw it with Casey Hayward right
Speaker 3: out of the gate in twenty twelve. We've seen it
Speaker 3: time and time again. Where these guys can come in and
Speaker 3: men impact. I think Brandon Ceesay on the field, you're
Speaker 3: gonna see him doing something sooner rather than later.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so too. I think he's going to
Speaker 1: have an impact here. How the competition itself sorts out?
Speaker 1: You know, Benjamin Saint just a three year starter in
Speaker 1: Washington but probably had the best year of his career
Speaker 1: in more of a part time role with the Chargers
Speaker 1: last year, which really attracted the Packers. Then to add
Speaker 1: him to the mix and to see what he can bring.
Speaker 1: And then you have Carrington Valentine, who, in my opinion,
Speaker 1: has shown a lot of what needs to be shown,
Speaker 1: but then it always feels like because of an injury
Speaker 1: or something that slows him down or sets him back,
Speaker 1: he hasn't quite you know, fully hit his stride yet,
Speaker 1: Like it's there, we see it at times, but then
Speaker 1: something always kind of gets in the way. And is
Speaker 1: this the year that nothing gets in the way for
Speaker 1: Carrington Valentine and he really takes off. I mean that's
Speaker 1: certainly a possibility. But the competition is going to be
Speaker 1: there and whoever it is that's lining up with the
Speaker 1: number one defense come Week one opposite Keishawn Nixon is
Speaker 1: going to have to earn it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the stakes I was talking about a high
Speaker 2: they are.
Speaker 3: I don't know if there's any player on the roster
Speaker 3: that there's higher stakes for than Carrington Valentine. I mean,
Speaker 3: this guy has started all these postseason games but never
Speaker 3: really been a starter Week one for the Packers and
Speaker 3: their defense. I think last year had a golden opportunity
Speaker 3: but didn't come away with any interceptions. There were some bits,
Speaker 3: you know, fits and starts and inconsistency there.
Speaker 2: But the guy has it.
Speaker 3: He's had it since he walked into the building as
Speaker 3: a seventh round pick. I mean there's a swagger there,
Speaker 3: there's a confidence there that you cannot coach.
Speaker 2: Can he put it all together? Can he show the.
Speaker 3: Packers that despite these resources that you've invested in this position,
Speaker 3: despite signing Saint Juice, I can still be the guy
Speaker 3: for this defense. And what I like more than anything
Speaker 3: at completely is the fact that there are no questions
Speaker 3: now about depth on the perimeter. That was a real
Speaker 3: thing last year at the end of last season, especially
Speaker 3: after Kamal hadn't went down right. Okay, if somebody goes
Speaker 3: down outside who's going in. Fortunately, Keyshawn Nixon has been
Speaker 3: a rock and for the large part, Carrington Valentin has
Speaker 3: been able to stay out there. But you need to
Speaker 3: have bodies to navigate a season. I like the versatility
Speaker 3: they have in that secondary right now and the fact
Speaker 3: that if somebody does go down, they have somebody with
Speaker 3: credentials that can step in well.
Speaker 1: I think the other competition on defense that we will
Speaker 1: be watching directly tied to Micah Parson's absence at this point,
Speaker 1: and that is at the edge rusher spot. We're expecting
Speaker 1: Lucas Fans to take on a major major role here.
Speaker 1: Hopefully he's got his injury issues behind him, that foot
Speaker 1: injury that he got off to a really solid start
Speaker 1: last year first five six games of the season. Then
Speaker 1: the foot injury crops up when he gets the sack
Speaker 1: of Joe Flacco, and then that ended up being a
Speaker 1: much more difficult and troublesome injury that anybody thought it
Speaker 1: would be initially. And then he doesn't really get back
Speaker 1: until the very end of the season. But then he
Speaker 1: gets a sack in the playoff game of Caleb Williams
Speaker 1: in Chicago, right so it's all there for Lucasfanas and
Speaker 1: the opportunity is there. But what's going to be happening
Speaker 1: on the other side. There's Baron Surrell and Colin Oliver,
Speaker 1: two draft picks in the middle rounds from last year.
Speaker 1: You have a fourth round pick from this year denied
Speaker 1: Dennis Sutton. You have a veteran guy who dealt with
Speaker 1: injuries last year. Kind of twenty twenty five ended up
Speaker 1: being a wash for Brenton Cox Junior. But this is
Speaker 1: a guy that at the end of twenty twenty four, Yeah,
Speaker 1: after Preston Smith was traded, Brenton Cox really showed that
Speaker 1: he belonged in the NFL and that he can be
Speaker 1: an impact player here in Green Bay. So you have
Speaker 1: all these guys in the mix. There are only so
Speaker 1: many snaps to go around. But you talk about you
Speaker 1: talk about a competition and a battle for who's going
Speaker 1: to be out there and who's going to earn something.
Speaker 1: Until Michaeh Parsons gets back, that edge rusher spot is
Speaker 1: one to watch.
Speaker 2: It's all the play for right now.
Speaker 3: I mean Aaron Moseby factors into that too, although he's
Speaker 3: been more of a special team's Nige Leik Kelly out
Speaker 3: of UCF. That was their highest guarantee for an undrafted
Speaker 3: rookie that they made. Dude has credentials too, played at
Speaker 3: Miami before transferring to UCF. There are so many guys
Speaker 3: that could factor in this competition. What I like about
Speaker 3: it is, Yeah, in the interim, they have to figure
Speaker 3: out how they're going to replace Michael Parsons. But Mike,
Speaker 3: what's really the biggest question when you get to week
Speaker 3: whatever it is. Let's say it's mid season, Let's say
Speaker 3: it's the second half of season. Whenever, it could be
Speaker 3: Week five against the Bears, when Parsons is back on
Speaker 3: the field, who fills out that rotation. That's what the
Speaker 3: Packers have to decide right now, because everybody's gonna get
Speaker 3: a shot at this thing.
Speaker 2: There might be a starter.
Speaker 3: Baron Surrell might be the starter in week one, but
Speaker 3: Colin Oliver, if healthy, will get snaps. Brenton Cox junior
Speaker 3: will get snaps. I really like Deny Dennis Sutton. That
Speaker 3: was one that you and I talked about in the post,
Speaker 3: you know, kind of wake of the draft. The way
Speaker 3: that this guy is built, the production that he's had
Speaker 3: with different players across from him. Whether he did have
Speaker 3: a first round pick or the guy produced. He has
Speaker 3: a tremendous build for the position. He's lengthy, he's got
Speaker 3: the size. So there's been these people. No disrespect to them.
Speaker 3: I appreciate every single one of their fans that checks
Speaker 3: out Insider inbox and helps pay like and ized mortgage.
Speaker 3: But the fact is is that there's so many people
Speaker 3: that are like, well, what about you know, Jdeveon Clowney,
Speaker 3: what about you know some of these other guys Bosa
Speaker 3: these free agents, And it's like, folks, you do not
Speaker 3: sign a veteran like that on the precipice of a
Speaker 3: season if you don't believe in the pieces you already
Speaker 3: have in house. Injuries can happen, position depth can wear.
Speaker 3: That's where you'll see those guys eventually sign, and that's
Speaker 3: when they'll eventually land somewhere. But for now, I am
Speaker 3: so excited to see the runway be cleared for all
Speaker 3: these young guys. There is no people really holding on
Speaker 3: to like eighty percent of the snaps. There's no Zadaria
Speaker 3: Smith or Preston Smith, Rashan Gary that you know are
Speaker 3: going to play seventy five percent of Snaps. It's all
Speaker 3: out there, and I think it's going to bring out
Speaker 3: the best in that group. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, Well, we do need to take care of some
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Speaker 1: Serious XMNFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to
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Speaker 1: four seven, three sixty five. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted
Speaker 1: previewing Training Camp here with my partner in all Things Packers,
Speaker 1: Wes Hodkowitz, with the first practice of training camp roughly,
Speaker 1: I guess i'd say twenty four hours away from when
Speaker 1: we are currently.
Speaker 3: Recording, eighteen hours away from when it gets posted, yeah,
Speaker 3: hours ago when people finally listen.
Speaker 1: To something like that. Something, Well, there are a couple
Speaker 1: of we've been talking about the competitions and drilling down
Speaker 1: into some of the details and whatnot, but there are
Speaker 1: some big picture type of things to look at here
Speaker 1: in training camp too. Because the Packers have two new
Speaker 1: coordinators on the coaching staff. It's Jonathan Gannon running the defense.
Speaker 1: It is cam Acord taking over on special teams. I
Speaker 1: don't know how much we are necessarily going to learn
Speaker 1: from a schematic standpoint, et cetera. With regard to the
Speaker 1: look of the defense and the special teams. Usually it
Speaker 1: takes a handful of games before you really get a
Speaker 1: sense of that.
Speaker 2: But this is a big This is a.
Speaker 1: Big training camp when you're making that much of a
Speaker 1: transition in two of the three phases, and that is
Speaker 1: something to watch here as the month of August rolls along.
Speaker 3: I'll tell you what, Mike, more than anything with the
Speaker 3: off season program, I watched the first team defense. I
Speaker 3: really had my eyes locked into it because I was
Speaker 3: just curious about how it's gonna look.
Speaker 2: What kind of system are they installing here.
Speaker 3: Again, it's not in pads, so you can't really take
Speaker 3: too much away from like the combat aspect of it,
Speaker 3: but the mental side of it is important, and I
Speaker 3: was in I left that last practice of mini camp
Speaker 3: and looking at it as this is going to be
Speaker 3: an exciting defense to watch.
Speaker 2: I think the Packers have a lot of intriguing pieces.
Speaker 3: I think they've added a couple spots to you know,
Speaker 3: whether it's a guy like Zaire Franklin that I think
Speaker 3: has the largest chip on his shoulder that you could
Speaker 3: possibly have after how everything ended in Indianapolis, and wanted
Speaker 3: to prove that he's still an All Pro linebacker, even
Speaker 3: though somebody last night about three thirty in the two
Speaker 3: thirty in the morning sent me an email lambasting me
Speaker 3: in the story I wrote yesterday for referring to him
Speaker 3: as an All Pro linebacker.
Speaker 2: It's former All Pro linebacker.
Speaker 3: Somebody out there felt that that was necessary in the
Speaker 3: middle of the night to send me that message.
Speaker 2: I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: It's not like his All Pro honor was ten years ago.
Speaker 1: It was only two years ago.
Speaker 2: But yeah, yeah, sure, but former though whatever whatever gets
Speaker 2: you to sleep.
Speaker 1: But we digress.
Speaker 3: But no, Franklin's there, Yeah, you have you know, Javon
Speaker 3: Hargrave there, and these these pieces that they've added that
Speaker 3: have experience with Gannon mixed with all these guys that
Speaker 3: the Packers have coming back. I mentioned this an insider
Speaker 3: in that. I mean, if you want the ultimate like
Speaker 3: endorsement for Devonte Wyatt, Jonathan Gannon came in here, never
Speaker 3: saw the guy practice, never did anything on the field
Speaker 3: during the offseason program, and it's like, yep, let's get
Speaker 3: that done. We need that guy in this scheme. Yeah,
Speaker 3: Brian Goodikun's his scout. It's Matt Lafleur. They've seen it.
Speaker 2: They've seen how he's grown.
Speaker 3: They saw after they lost Kenny last year, how he
Speaker 3: took over in that spot, how he ran away with
Speaker 3: that position. They have playmakers and impact guys at all
Speaker 3: these different spots. Now it's up to Jonathan Gannon with
Speaker 3: his scheme, with his deception. He's gonna be the one
Speaker 3: that gets to play with all these pieces. And I
Speaker 3: think that's really exciting. When you can take a defense
Speaker 3: in the positive things that Jeff Hafley did last year
Speaker 3: and now put a new twist on it with Gannon,
Speaker 3: I think it's only going to make the Packers better.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I'm very intrigued by a couple by those veteran editions.
Speaker 1: When you talk about Javon Hargrave in the middle of
Speaker 1: the defensive line, him lining up next to Devonte Wyatt,
Speaker 1: you know that sort of opens your eyes, like you
Speaker 1: know when when it gets to that point. But Zaire
Speaker 1: Franklin next to edgern Cooper at the linebacker level has
Speaker 1: me intrigued to and this is not meant as some
Speaker 1: kind of a knock on kuay Walker because it's it's
Speaker 1: gonna kind of sound like that, but it's not what
Speaker 1: I mean. But kuay Walker was almost as young a
Speaker 1: player as Edger and Cooper. And then Jeff Hafley comes
Speaker 1: in as defensive coordinator and kuay Walker has to learn
Speaker 1: a brand new defense as a young player. I've always wondered, Okay,
Speaker 1: Edgrin Cooper looks like, you know, a superstar in the
Speaker 1: making potentially with what he brings to the field. Is
Speaker 1: it going to be a true veteran, proven, been there,
Speaker 1: done that pro like Zaire Franklin that allows Edger and
Speaker 1: Cooper to really flourish, right, And again, I'm not knocking
Speaker 1: kway Walker. That guy played some really really good football
Speaker 1: for four seasons for the Packers, and kudos to him
Speaker 1: for the contract that he got with the Raiders, But
Speaker 1: the Packers decided to spend their resources elsewhere, and Edgerin
Speaker 1: Cooper is the guy at that level, at that second
Speaker 1: level of the defense who is potentially the next star
Speaker 1: in the making. And so how are they going to
Speaker 1: get the most out of Edger and Cooper? And I
Speaker 1: think the signing of Zayer. Franklin was partly with that
Speaker 1: in mind.
Speaker 3: I absolutely love that take because it reminds me of
Speaker 3: what Lucas Patrick and Corey Linsley and a bunch of
Speaker 3: guys had said to me. You go back to twenty
Speaker 3: seventeen when the Packers signed Jarry Evans and the impact
Speaker 3: that he had. He was a fine player that you're
Speaker 3: at NPS last year.
Speaker 2: In the NFL.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, he was finishing up Hall of.
Speaker 3: Fame type caliber dude, yep. But the takeaway for Patrick,
Speaker 3: for Lindsley, for David Baktiari, seeing that type of professional
Speaker 3: that's made it that long in the league at that position,
Speaker 3: how beneficial it was for those guys, whether you were
Speaker 3: an undrafted guy or whether you were already in that
Speaker 3: all pro echelon like Baktiari. I think that's what Franklin
Speaker 3: brings here. And when you look at it too, Mike,
Speaker 3: it's not just Cooper, right, it's Tyron Hopper has spent
Speaker 3: two years learning the mic position.
Speaker 2: What is that going to be like for him now?
Speaker 3: Seeing a guy like Franklin who's been in the league
Speaker 3: for almost a decade now that has done it at
Speaker 3: a high level, has had a scratch and claw for
Speaker 3: those opportunities. You know, Isaiah McDuffie is still in there.
Speaker 3: There are so many different types of linebackers that the
Speaker 3: Packers have acquired, and as they make this transition into
Speaker 3: gain and scheme not I can't remember if you were
Speaker 3: on vacation and not when I wrote this, but there
Speaker 3: was a time, man where the Packers were converting outside
Speaker 3: linebackers and you know, they were having Morgan.
Speaker 2: Burnette play inside numbers.
Speaker 3: This is as deep as the Packers have ever been
Speaker 3: at inside backers. It's been that way the last three
Speaker 3: four years because that's the way you have to play
Speaker 3: now in this league. And I think Franklin is a
Speaker 3: really intriguing piece to add to that mix.
Speaker 1: And my point about Walker, just so I'm clear here
Speaker 1: when I's he was he was a young player who
Speaker 1: still had a lot of his own stuff to figure out,
Speaker 1: and with you know, changes a defensive coordinator and learning
Speaker 1: a new scheme and he's wearing the communication helmet and
Speaker 1: all that. My point is, I don't know how much
Speaker 1: Kway Walker was actually able to help Edger and Cooper
Speaker 1: in his first two years in the NFL, because he
Speaker 1: had plenty of his own stuff to deal with, and
Speaker 1: he handled all that pretty well. I just think there's
Speaker 1: a whole other level for Edger and Cooper out there
Speaker 1: that in it with a different dynamic and a different
Speaker 1: set up here. And yes, now Edgrin Cooper has to
Speaker 1: learn another defense the second time, you know, in his
Speaker 1: three years in the NFL here he has to go
Speaker 1: through that process now as well. But that having that accomplished,
Speaker 1: all Pro caliber veteran player next to him, I'm really
Speaker 1: intrigued as to what that might mean.
Speaker 3: Age is not a bad thing, right, yeah. I mean,
Speaker 3: you don't want no disrespect to Washington. You don't want
Speaker 3: to be like the Commanders where it was like it
Speaker 3: seemed like that like their average aged last year's team
Speaker 3: was like twenty nine years old. But to have some
Speaker 3: veterans in the mix that can help bring guys along
Speaker 3: and while still competing at a high level, that's a
Speaker 3: good thing, especially if you're as young as the Packers
Speaker 3: have been. And there was someone I was talking to
Speaker 3: a couple of days ago, because we were going back
Speaker 3: and forth about, you know, three years in a row,
Speaker 3: the youngest team, and you know this is someone within
Speaker 3: the organization. The remark was well, you know, Tyrod took
Speaker 3: care of that, Zaira took care of that. You know,
Speaker 3: all these guys that they brought in, there's a different
Speaker 3: level to it. And mixing that in now with what
Speaker 3: the packers. Packers have a bunch of veterans that they've
Speaker 3: grown themselves, that they've developed themselves, and now you get
Speaker 3: some outside perspectives now to kind of balance all of
Speaker 3: that experience.
Speaker 1: And you said it from the beginning with regard to Franklin,
Speaker 1: a veteran guy who definitely has a chip on his shoulder.
Speaker 1: He's got something to prove. I mean, this is a
Speaker 1: guy who was an All Pro two seasons ago and
Speaker 1: then after statistically, you know, a little bit of a
Speaker 1: drop off, the Colts decided to trade him for a
Speaker 1: part time defensive lineman. That's something that's going to stick
Speaker 1: with a guy like Franklin, and he's going to be
Speaker 1: out to uh, he's going to be able to prove
Speaker 1: something here quickly on special teams before we go. A
Speaker 1: lot of eyes will be on the whole kicking situation.
Speaker 1: Sixth round pick Tray Smack out of Florida. Lucas Haversick
Speaker 1: is the competition. Brandon McManus is no longer here. As
Speaker 1: we had talked about during the off season, Packers have
Speaker 1: got to get this kicking position figured out. Really, when
Speaker 1: you look at the last three seasons, it feels like
Speaker 1: in the back half of twenty twenty four when Brandon
Speaker 1: McManus was kind of in that groove, that's the last
Speaker 1: time that really the only time in the last three
Speaker 1: years that the kicking comp the kicking situation has felt
Speaker 1: comfortable to a certain extent, and the Packers have to
Speaker 1: get back to that and hopefully Tray Smack is the
Speaker 1: guy to do it. If he's not, hopefully Lucas Haversick
Speaker 1: is up to the task. But that's something that's got
Speaker 1: to get figured out for this team to get where
Speaker 1: it wants to go.
Speaker 3: And everybody understands the sense of urgency with this, you know,
Speaker 3: I was talking with Lucas in the off season about this.
Speaker 3: I mean, the margin for era there is so small,
Speaker 3: and there's so many guys that can do this, not
Speaker 3: do it maybe at the highest levels, but there's a
Speaker 3: lot of guys that can kick a football fifty yards?
Speaker 3: But can you do it when the pressure's on? Can
Speaker 3: you do it with an offensive line? And a defensive
Speaker 3: line standing in front of you, and can you beat
Speaker 3: the guy that the team needs you to be. The
Speaker 3: Packers were lucky and that even through the highs and lows,
Speaker 3: Mason Crosby was that guy.
Speaker 2: There was with the exception of probably the.
Speaker 3: Twelve season, the middle part of the twelve season, there
Speaker 3: was never a time in which Mason Crosby went out
Speaker 3: there that I had a pit in my stomach, like,
Speaker 3: I don't know how this is gonna go.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he made some, made.
Speaker 3: A lot, he missed some, but you always knew that
Speaker 3: you were getting the best of Mason Crosby on that
Speaker 3: particular attempt.
Speaker 2: Now you look with what the Packers have dealt with.
Speaker 3: I know there's a lot of people like, why didn't
Speaker 3: you figured out this is a difficult thing to do.
Speaker 3: When you look at the money, like what Indianapolis threw
Speaker 3: up Matt Gay a couple of years ago, maybe the
Speaker 3: highest kicker in the league, he was out of there
Speaker 3: in a few years. You look at the situation that
Speaker 3: unfolded after the Bears moved on from Robbie Gold. You
Speaker 3: know they have a great kicker right now in Kyro Santos.
Speaker 3: It took them a long time. It took them a
Speaker 3: lot of legs to get to that spot.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 3: The Packers are trying to find that path and you
Speaker 3: know they're gonna We're gonna make a lot of the
Speaker 3: training camp practices and people will be charting to make
Speaker 3: and misses for Smack, They'll be charting to make some
Speaker 3: missues for half er Sick. I want to see Family Night.
Speaker 3: I want to see the preseason games, yep. I want
Speaker 3: to see those environments.
Speaker 1: That's when that's right, that's when the pressure is going
Speaker 1: to be on. And you know we've been answering questions
Speaker 1: and insider inbox about you know, Tray Smack and his
Speaker 1: leg strength is. You know, made ten fifty plus yard
Speaker 1: kicks in his career at Florida, which is a school
Speaker 1: record as long as fifty six. And I know there's
Speaker 1: going to be a lot when it comes to the
Speaker 1: practice field and Family Night. You know about the long
Speaker 1: field goals and all that, and I'm not even I'm
Speaker 1: not even worried about the leg strength. It's like in
Speaker 1: this day and age in the NFL, if if the
Speaker 1: if that kick is inside fifty yards, the expectation is
Speaker 1: that kick is going to be made, and yes, nobody
Speaker 1: is perfect, but the Packers need to have a ninety
Speaker 1: five percent proposition when the kick is inside fifty Yeah,
Speaker 1: the fifty five yarders and the fifty eight yarders, that's great,
Speaker 1: and Haversik made a sixty one yarder last year that
Speaker 1: proved to be big in a victory out in Arizona.
Speaker 1: But it's when that kick is inside fifty yards when
Speaker 1: the drive stalls and it's not fourth and one, but
Speaker 1: it's fourth and seven and you don't really have the
Speaker 1: option to go for it, and that kick is forty
Speaker 1: seven yards, that kick has got to be made.
Speaker 2: And for this.
Speaker 1: Offense to score the number of points that it's expected
Speaker 1: to score, those kicks have got to be made. And
Speaker 1: that's what the Packers are looking for.
Speaker 3: And it's got to be made under less than ideal circumstances, right,
Speaker 3: I mean, and this is not a dig on Brandon McManus,
Speaker 3: but when you look at the National Football League, you know,
Speaker 3: I think there's a lot of times where kickers will
Speaker 3: be like, well this tink go right?
Speaker 2: This think all right?
Speaker 3: I mean you go back to what was it, twenty
Speaker 3: twenty one, twenty twenty two, Mason Crosby gets a brand
Speaker 3: new holder in Corey bojork Haz before the start of
Speaker 3: the season.
Speaker 2: He's left handed, left footed, and.
Speaker 3: They're trying to figure out their rhythm, their battery there,
Speaker 3: and it was a tough road and I know Mason
Speaker 3: probably felt some type of way about it, but just
Speaker 3: kept digging away at it because that's the job, that's
Speaker 3: the requirement, and the packers aren't a good spot and
Speaker 3: that they have the punter. They figured the punter spot out.
Speaker 3: That was something that plagued them for a little bit.
Speaker 3: Daniel Wheelan, I think is going to be a Green
Speaker 3: Bay packer for a very long time. Matt Orzik is
Speaker 3: kind of settled into that long snapper role after the
Speaker 3: packers were on a little bit of an odyssey. There
Speaker 3: no pun intended with the cultural references at the moment,
Speaker 3: but the fact is is that now they got to
Speaker 3: get the kickers spot left. You know, they've invested two
Speaker 3: six round picks into the position. Now, they did sign McManus,
Speaker 3: They've been through you can see the list of all
Speaker 3: these kickers that have been through in the last few years.
Speaker 3: I think haversick when that question came up about well,
Speaker 3: if you cut McManus what does that mean for the competition?
Speaker 3: I think Lucas Harsick is going to provide plenty of competition.
Speaker 3: It's up to Tray Smack now to show, Okay, I
Speaker 3: was undisputed the top kicker in this draft and really
Speaker 3: the only one that got drafted. Yep, I can do
Speaker 3: this straight away in the National Football League. I can
Speaker 3: take everything I did in the SEC kicking in front
Speaker 3: of one hundred thousand people and translated here to Green Bay, Wisconsin, no.
Speaker 1: Doubt about it. Well, with that, we will call it
Speaker 1: a rap on this comeback edition of Packers Unscripted. Be
Speaker 1: sure to follow all of our coverage of the team
Speaker 1: on Packers dot com. Training camp. The first practice is Wednesday.
Speaker 1: We'll be back with another show on Thursday with our
Speaker 1: observations from that first practice, and then keep it rolling
Speaker 1: twice a week here for the next what five six months?
Speaker 1: Something like that?
Speaker 2: How seven months? All right?
Speaker 1: Seven months?
Speaker 2: West going to February? All right?
Speaker 1: Seven months? West says, So for Wes, I am like,
Speaker 1: thank you for tuning in and everybody again you will