WEBVTT - #601 Packers Unscripted: Preseason prep 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:11.480 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:15.000 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by the 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:18.840 one the only Western Hodkowits coming to you hear from 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:23.400 our studios at lambeau Field West. The first preseason game 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:27.960 of one, the first preseason game in two years, is 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:30.880 upon us. The Packers will take on the Houston Texans 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:34.440 Saturday night at lambeau Field. So I want to spend 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.519 today's show just talking about, Hey, what are we going 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:42.080 to be watching for here in this preseason opener? And 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:45.919 I think it starts first and foremost with quarterback Jordan's love. 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:48.720 First time Jordan's love hopping under center and an actual 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:52.239 regulation football game in really twenty months is what it 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:55.200 boils down to. You know, this is a young man 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:58.400 that he's done everything he can do over the virtual 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.800 zoom meetings. Last year he was he had three weeks 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.360 worth of training camp where he saw a little bit 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:06.920 of snaps and some of those young guy developmental periods. 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:09.679 Then he's holding the clipboard the rest of the the 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.760 you know, the season, he's had to train, He's had 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.240 to do all this other stuff, kind of like the 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:18.360 build up to Christmas. He's been waiting for that opportunity 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:20.440 to sort of put everything to work, and now it's 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:22.480 before him. And you know, the thing I want to 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.360 see the most from Jordan's love is just how he 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:27.960 responds to the variables. Because he's had some really good days. 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.000 He's had some days to learn from in practice. But 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:33.920 no matter what, you can see the intangibles, you can 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:36.000 see the arm talent, and you can see the what 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.440 you know, the characteristics that made him a first round pick. 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:42.160 Now can he apply them to an actual in game situation. Yeah? Absolutely, 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:45.880 And you know, right or wrong, fair, unfair. The pressure 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:47.600 is going to be on him here. He knows the 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:50.160 spotlight is on him. Everybody is going to be watching 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:54.240 to see how he performs. I just hope that the 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:58.960 general media, the fans, that they keep this in perspective 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.440 because this is this is one game. As you said, 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:03.560 it's his first game in twenty months. He's going to 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:07.680 have two more preseason games. Um. Just take a look 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:12.079 at almost any NFL quarterbacks first preseason game, like they 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:15.680 don't They normally don't go very well or they're full 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:18.639 of you know what, Whatever is good can be offset 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.120 by the bad. That's just the way this goes. I'm 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:24.480 very curious to see how he performs, but I think 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:26.680 we all have to be careful not I mean this. 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:29.359 I said this an insider inbox. This is not going 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:32.600 This performance Saturday Night is not going to define Jordan's Love. 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.639 It is just the beginning of this next chapter, the 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:38.959 beginning of this next piece of the story. We're all 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:42.119 very excited and anxious and eager to see what it's 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.639 going to be. But it's not going to be some 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:48.079 sort of definitive statement on who Jordan's Love is or 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.040 what kind of quarterback he's going to be in the NFL. 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:53.440 Until three weeks ago, no pack of fan and really 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:57.720 ever seen him play at all, practice anything other than 0:02:57.760 --> 0:02:59.480 maybe a few clips that they caught on the local 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:03.760 news or on our website. So the fact that he's 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:05.720 going to finally be in an in game situation, you 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.519 know how society is, they're going to rush to conclusions. 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:11.280 If he has a hundred fifty eight points re pass rating, 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:14.480 this guy's the goat. If it doesn't work out that way, 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:17.400 what the heck are the Packers doing the difference here 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.040 with Love as opposed to any other quarterback I've covered 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.160 You can't say this. Your situation was a little bit 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:26.040 different with Aaron Rodgers, But there actually are expectations. Really 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:28.480 weren't a whole lot of expectations on these quarterbacks, these 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:31.239 backups during my time covering the Packers. People wanted to 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:33.560 see Brett Hunley, but Brett Huntley was a fifth round pick. 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:35.680 People wanted to see if Graham Harold could hold onto 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:37.800 the backup job, but grand Harold was a former undrafted 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:41.080 free agent. Taysom Hill was a pleasant surprise. Nobody really 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.120 expected a lot from Tim Boyle. Well, this young man 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.640 has a lot of expectations on him. But the thing 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:47.400 about it that I think people have to realize is 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:49.080 Jordan's love. This isn't a guy that just flew into 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:51.080 Green Bay and decided to play quarterback. He's been playing 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:54.320 quarterback his entire life. And while he isn't the most 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:57.000 you know, expressive guy when it comes to being in 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:59.880 a news conference or wanting to speak his mind, he 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:03.360 goes about his business in a very professional manner. In 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:05.680 this sport means a lot to him. So I have 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:07.800 to imagine he's champing at the bid here to get 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:09.720 out there to show what he has to offer, and 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:11.920 then you know, getting these bulk of the reps, we'll 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.640 see what that first team offensive line looks like. You know, 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.560 I don't know if we're gonna see Elton Jenkins or not, 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:18.039 but I mean there's gonna probably be a lot of 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:20.400 guys that will be on the NFL roster here at 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:21.840 the start of the season that will be blocking for 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:23.880 him at the beginning of the game. So a really 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:26.039 good opportunity for him to come out and show what 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:27.880 he has to offer. I think one thing we are 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:30.360 going to see on the offensive line more than likely 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:34.400 is the continued rotation of those three guards that are 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:38.279 battling essentially for the two spots at guard while Elton 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.599 Jenkins is playing left tackle with the number one line 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.680 here during training camp. And of course I'm talking about 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:49.240 Lucas Patrick, John Runyon, and Ben Braden, And you know, 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:53.360 really there's other than the fact that on Family Night 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:58.159 last weekend, the coaches went with Runyan and Patrick for 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:00.720 pretty much all of the snap with the number one 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:03.719 offensive line. Now, there were some practice periods that were 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.119 canceled and all that kind of stuff because of the weather, 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.960 so we don't know if they were planning to rotate, 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:11.080 But as far as the practices we've seen at Ray 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:14.320 Nitchky Field, it has been a steady rotation of those 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:16.840 three guys in the two spots with the number one line. 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:19.080 I think that's going to continue here in the preseason 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:22.000 and we'll see if somewhere along the line there's some 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:24.360 kind of a decision, some kind of a separation as 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:26.120 to how the coaches want to want to go with this. 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:28.360 The part I love the most about this. All three 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:30.320 of those guys are gonna play this season. If they 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:32.880 get through healthy through training camp, they're all gonna play. 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.640 One of my favorite stories was three two years ago now, 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.560 Lane Taylor competing with Elton Jenkins for what I think 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:41.360 was a starting right guard job. At that time, we're 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.560 starting left graf remember how that worked out, But it 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:46.760 was this whole camp competition. We talked about it the 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.120 entire way, and ultimately Taylor ended up starting. But then 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:52.080 they started working in Elton Jenkins for some snaps. Uh. 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:53.880 They bring him in for a series or two, and 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:55.960 unfortunately then Lane ends up having I believe it was 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.920 the biceps injury, and he misses the whole season. Elton 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:03.479 Jenkins had to be the eyes. So John Runyon, Lucas Patrick, 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:05.920 Ben Braden, Packers are going to need those dudes. I 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:08.159 don't want to put Braden on the roster, but where 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:10.560 he's been taking snaps, you would think that he's definitely 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.360 in this equation for the fifty three. In the other 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:15.719 aspect of this too, to keep in mind, Packers don't 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:20.600 have a proven, natural, established veteran backup center to Josh Myers. 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.000 They do have Jake Hansen, former sixth round pick who 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:24.960 played that position at Oregon, but he was on the 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:28.279 practice squad last year. So Lucas Patrick and John running 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:31.239 have both been rotating in that number two spot at center. 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:33.960 So there's a lot of snaps to go around. There's 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:35.560 gonna be a lot of guys playing in a lot 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.080 of different positions, I would imagine during that game against 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:41.000 the Texans and seeing who those guys are and how 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.320 they adapt to it, that's ultimately going to be the 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:45.880 big indicator I think on that first game against the Saints, 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:50.920 who's starting? Yeah? Absolutely? Um serious. X M NFL Radio 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.799 West delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:58.640 NFL news that true football fanatics need seven three, six 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.400 and at Cousins subs. We have something for everyone, like 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:05.599 our Wisconsin Cheese kurds, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:08.720 creamy shakes. I know you like those shakes, all paired 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:11.880 with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin subs. 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:16.400 We believe in better Well. We've heard from head coach 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:20.000 Matt Lafleur that we know they're going to be several starters, 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.480 if not the vast majority of the veteran starters on 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.680 this team will not be playing in this first preseason game, 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:30.000 and they may not play many snaps, if any at all, 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:34.600 in these three preseason games. It sounds like A. J. 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.320 Dillon is going to start at running back and maybe 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:40.560 get the opening series, but then after that, here we 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.360 go West. The competition for the number three running back 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:48.960 spot really gets going between Patrick Taylor Kyl and Hill 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:52.120 Dexter Williams. I think this is and this is not 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.280 going to be decided in one game either, but this 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.720 is where this is where it really kind of gets rolling. 0:07:57.920 --> 0:07:59.960 It does, and I want to talk about the running 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:02.040 x but before we do, I want to mention one 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.640 thing about the preseason. There's a lot of ways in 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.119 which I thought Madden Football the video game was actually 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:09.560 ahead of the NFL some of the trends I thought 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:11.800 you saw with with you know, play calls and the 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:14.680 way guys go about their offenses. Remember Mike McCarthy kind 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.280 of talking about that, that that that generation is starting 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.840 to have its impact on the actual game. Preseason allocation 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:22.880 of starters is also a part of that. When I 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:26.480 was a kid, Brett Farve, I'm on Green, none of 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.400 those guys ever saw action in the preseason. It's funny 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:31.680 to me now that in two thousand twenty one we 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:33.640 are getting to this place that, yeah, you're not gonna 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.280 see it was all in all likelihood, you won't see 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:39.400 Aaron Rodgers. I wonder if you'll see Devontas I wonder 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.520 if you see Jaire Alexander those type of players because 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:43.959 he needs them for Week one. It has been really 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:46.960 interesting watching that shift. I want everyone at lambeau Field 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:48.679 to have a fantastic time. There's gonna be some great 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:50.320 battles and we're gonna talk about one of them here 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:52.600 in a second, but that's really the biggest thing. Can 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:54.160 you get your guys to Week one? Because we saw 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:56.440 what happened with Jordy Nelson six years ago, and that's 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.679 not the scenario you want. That being said, the number 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:02.360 three back competition is as fun as I can remember 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:04.920 it because there's a legitimate spot there. The Packers need 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:07.880 three running backs. It's not like, Okay, these guys are 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:10.080 gonna compete, we'll see if any of them stick. No, 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.240 I mean one of those guys is sticking, and each 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:16.160 guy brings something different to the party. Kylan Hill has 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:19.800 tremendous one cut ability. His explosiveness is something that really 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:22.439 jumped off the page to me. Certainly was an ultra 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:26.559 ultra productive running back in the SEC at Mississippi State, 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.960 but trying to kind of get things back going again 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:32.239 after sort of that that that weird last year under 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:36.040 Mike Leach. But I wrote about Patrick Taylor, and Patrick 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:37.760 Taylor's a guy who had my eye on since the 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.640 Packers signed him last year. Because he had the List 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.400 Frank injury. He basically tried to do a six to 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:45.320 eight weeks surgery to get back, which he did but 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:48.040 just ended up making it worse, ends up having to 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:51.560 have another surgery. Dr Robert Anderson here in Green Bay 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.120 a month before the draft wipes out his rookie season. 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:57.600 The Packers still like this kid's a talent enough to 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.280 sign him, to keep him on the roster and give 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:02.640 him that red shirt. Ear Well, now I think we're 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:04.440 starting to see what they liked about him. Now it's 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:06.560 gonna be different once you get into a game. But 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:10.480 his build, his makeup, what he brings as an athlete, Uh, 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:13.400 it's not something that's your typical undrafted free agent. There's 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.400 a lot to make this guy tick. Yeah, That's what's 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:20.120 so intriguing to me about Taylor is we we've talked 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:22.200 a lot about Kyle and Hilen. As you said, we 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:25.800 can see the that one cut, explosive nous on the 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:30.280 practice field. Patrick Taylor is a completely different body type 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:34.120 from Kyle and Hill, you know. And there's uh, we 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:36.559 we've you know, we've we chat on the sidelines as 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:39.120 as practice goes along. That you see and I don't 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.800 want to draw to um Strong a comparison, but you 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:46.280 see a little bit of of James Starks in in 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:48.960 in Patrick Taylor, just in terms of in terms of 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.360 the size and and the body lean and the way 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.559 you know, the way he moves his shoulders to protect 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:56.360 the ball and this and that. Now we'll see because 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:58.600 you know a lot of this, a lot of this 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:01.040 starts to look different when the brackling is for real 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:03.400 and these guys have the ball in their hands. They're 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.080 trying to break tackles, you know, trying to you know, 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.480 shed guys. They have to take a hit, protect the ball, 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:12.320 all of that um and and that's where the separation 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:16.640 is going to come here in these preseason games to see, 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:18.920 you know, who's going to be that number three guy. 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:20.920 But the other thing we've got going on here to 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:25.360 West with these running backs is we have heard that 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:28.960 both Hill and Taylor are being looked at as possible 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:33.000 kickoff return options for Maury Straight and the new special 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:36.880 teams coordinator. We're expecting obviously a Marii Rodgers, the third 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:39.000 round draft pick, to be the number one part returner, 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:42.559 but the kickoff return and l granted, there's whatever percentage 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.319 of kickoffs or touchbacks these days, and to get that, 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:48.839 but um, but there are going to be some opportunities 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.040 to to return some kicks. And the Packers want to 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:53.080 try out these running backs and see and see if 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:54.959 one of these guys is the right fit for that spot. 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:57.720 You gotta remember, one of their big core special teamers 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.640 I mean he was the number two, but Paul Williams 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.320 did a lot on teams four years in Green Bay, 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:07.360 including returning kickoffs. There's something about the running back position. 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:09.200 I haven't quite put my finger on it yet, but 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:11.960 Mike McCarthy used to always talk about this too. They 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:14.720 liked back in McCarthy's time. They liked having that number 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.800 three guy as a kickoff return option. Remember Dawan Harris 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:20.440 did it a little bit, Jonathan Franklin did it, unfortunately 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.839 up until his neck injury. They liked incorporating that guy, 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:27.280 and obviously swerved last year. They like having them involved 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:29.520 in that. And the cool thing that I think it's 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.400 gonna be really fun to watch in the preseason because 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:34.000 you have to imagine they're gonna get some opportunities if 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:35.959 it's safe and it makes sense. I can see them 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:37.440 being a couple of steps in the end zone and 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:38.960 bringing it out to try to make a play and 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:41.199 make an impression. If the situation calls for it, well, 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:43.720 and they want to evaluate those other guys on the unit, 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:45.720 the blockers, all that kind of stuff. They want to 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.160 they want to take those opportunities. But I've never seen 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:50.280 a scenario in which one of the guys has returned 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:52.960 one kickoff in college. I don't know if the other guy, 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.200 kyl and Hill even did it. I mean, there this 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:56.959 is a little bit of a new era for them, 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.360 so to speak. But you know, as Patrick Taylor are said, 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:02.080 I'm sure Kyle and Old say it again when he 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:04.240 talks to us, is this is what you have to 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:05.800 do when you're trying to make the league as a 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:07.839 late round pick or as an undrafted free agent. You've 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:10.560 got to offer more than just what your natural position. 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.600 Is an incredible opportunity for them. If anything, I thought 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:15.480 it was more telling that they are not looking at 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:17.920 Amori Rodgers in that scenario. They see him as like 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:22.240 the starting punt returner guy, but you know, kickoff returns, 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:25.280 and maybe there's something because that way, if it's the 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.040 number three guy, then all they have to do is 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.319 focus on returning, and it's not a guy having a 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.079 return gas himself and then come out for the next play. 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:33.920 All those things kind of fluttered through my mind. But 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:36.920 either way, Uh, certainly some big opportunities for those young 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:39.400 men in that game. Yeah, and special teams in general. 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:41.360 This is really the start of the new era with 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:45.400 with modrat and they don't really do any live, fully 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:49.720 live special teams periods and practice. So whether it's the punt, 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:52.280 the punt return, the kickoff, the kickoff return, all of 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.040 these live reps that they're going to get in these 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.600 preseason games, guys are going to be evaluated. They want 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.160 to change the culture on special teams. The rankings past 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:02.200 year weren't good, as guys have talked about, as we 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:05.680 all know, they want to turn those things around. And 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:07.800 and it starts with finding the right players. And those 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.320 right players are going to step step up, step forward 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.120 in the preseason too, uh, to make a name for 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:16.480 themselves and and to get noticed. I want to ask 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:21.720 you a lot of a lot of players will be 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:25.160 essentially putting on a Packers uniform in a game situation 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:30.000 for the first time new Packers in who's the guy 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:32.680 that you're most interested to see play for the Green 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:35.720 Bay Packers for the first time. Well, I'm not gonna 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.000 I go myself, but Patrick Taylor is one of them, 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:40.520 just because there's so much intrigue I think when guys 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:42.760 haven't played for this long and you've been wanting even 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.720 wanting to actually see him out there. Um, this is 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:47.520 also kind of a copo. But I really want to 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:50.400 see Joe side Deguara. And I know he played a 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:52.680 little bit for them last year, but what but we 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:54.920 didn't We only saw those few reps in the regular season. 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:56.800 We never really got to see him in a featured role, 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:58.680 which is probably what more of what he would have 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.440 done in the preseason. So Deguar is one that I 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:03.680 really want to see. And then you know, you look 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:06.480 at these other positions like Eric Stokes. I mean, you 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:08.320 have to imagine Eric Stokes is gonna play a lot. 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:11.400 You got to be careful with it because we don't 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:13.040 know what the scenario is going to be or what 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:16.000 the timeline is for Kevin King. Eric Stokes might legitimately 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.360 have to play in Week one, but you just want 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.720 to see that guy after going up against Davante Adams 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.920 and Davante Adams and more Davante Adams. What does he 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:26.200 do when he's going up against other rookies, other guys 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.120 that are maybe number four or five on a depth chart. 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:30.960 How do his skills apply there? Sometimes you gotta get 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.520 some wins, you know, get your confidence up. And I 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:35.800 think for Stokes, this is gonna be a really good opportunity. Yeah, 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.120 definitely excited to see Stokes. Interested to see a Mari Rodgers. 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:41.280 As we talked about, I mean, he's he's gonna be 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.480 he's gonna be running the jet sweeps, he's gonna be 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:47.280 slot receiver as we talked about, he's gonna be returning punts. 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.400 Here's the other guy I'm interested in and I'm not. 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:52.680 I can't say for sure how much he's going to play. 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:56.880 We really don't know for certain. But Devandre Campbell the 0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:00.480 new linebacker, veteran linebacker that the Packers science find him in, 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.240 you know, early to mid June, right towards the end 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.160 of the offseason program, bringing in to have that one 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:09.960 veteran presence in in the room that has Chris Barnes, 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:14.280 Comal Martin, although Martin is injured right now, Ty Summers 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.320 and Oran Burke's who are your reserve guys at that 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:20.960 position and your leaders on special teams. But Campbell is 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:23.760 really intriguing to me because, as we've talked about, it's 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.040 a he's a body type at inside linebacker the Packers 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:29.960 really have not had around here. And when you look 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:33.560 at his production where he's been with Atlanta, with Arizona, 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:36.920 you look at his production. You just wonder, is there 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:39.840 is there another level with a guy like Campbell if 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.360 he if he gets he's in a new setting, maybe 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:44.640 the scheme ends up being the right fit for him. 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.720 The way he gets used. You wonder if there's another level, right, 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.960 I mean, indulge me for a second year. Charles Woodson 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.680 Hall of Fame talent in Oakland, became a Hall of 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:58.880 Fame player in Green Bay, right, Wes Hodkowitz Hall of 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.680 Fame talent at the Green Bay Press because that having 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:07.159 a Hall of Fame career with Packers dot Com? All right, now, sorry, 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.920 I just you gotta do it. You do it. I'm 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:12.359 not saying Devandre Campbell is the next Hall of Famer, 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:15.399 but you get what I'm saying that sometimes sometimes the 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.960 change of the change of scenery, the right environment, the 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:22.240 right scheme for a guy. Maybe there's another level to 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:25.119 Devandre Campbell's career that the Packers are going to find here. 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:28.200 And I don't know. I don't want to oversell it 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:30.960 because there's a part of me like I've been wondering, 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:33.560 like am I too excited about this guy? Just because 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:36.440 the Packers have been looking for that guy at inside 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:40.320 linebackers seemingly for so long now that that just because 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:42.720 that possibility is there, maybe I'm getting a little bit 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:45.440 too excited, so I'm trying to temper it a little bit. 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:48.280 But I am really interested to see because they a 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.359 six three six four inside linebacker just is not something 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.400 we have seen around here, and I'm really interested what 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.399 he can do. The last time I remember a body 0:17:56.440 --> 0:17:59.000 type like that playing that position, it was Brad Jones, 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.199 and when they first made that switch, I believe in 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.280 two thousand and thirteen, Jones end up having the best 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:05.439 season of his career in that role just because he 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:07.320 was a little bit more of a longer range year 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:09.760 athlete who could kind of trail on running backs and 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:13.000 things of that nature. But ever since then and credited 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.560 you know, Blake Martinez and Jake Ryan and these guys 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:18.720 they've had in here, Packers really have been searching for 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:21.400 a coverage type linebacker. I'm not saying that the mike. 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.320 I'm not saying a guy who's gonna play all three downs, 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:24.879 but I'm saying a guy that can allow them to 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.359 stay in Nickel Moore than what they've done the last 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:29.280 few seasons. And the other thing you got to keep 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:31.760 in mind too, Mike. For a number of years there, 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:33.800 they would get to the end of training camp and 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:36.679 whether it was you know, b J Goodson or they 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:40.560 had to make that trade for Antonio Morrison, they found 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:42.760 themselves for one reason or another having to bring in 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:44.639 a guy like a week before the start of the 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:47.359 regular season, and that guy ended up being that first 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:50.880 down and second down linebacker. Devandre Campbell is a guy 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:53.320 that I think, in most seasons would have gotten a 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:55.520 nice contract. He would have been able to you know, 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:57.560 maybe multiple years. Maybe it would have been another one year, 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:00.560