WEBVTT - #409 Packers Unscripted: Powerful praise 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:21.120 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:24.960 I am Mike Spofford. He is my trusted colleague. Wes 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:28.200 hodkuwits for coming to you here from our studios at 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:32.479 lambeau Field West. We got an opportunity to watch an 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:35.080 o t A practice earlier this week, the one that 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:37.880 was open to the media and the public. We also 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:41.200 got to hear from players in the locker room and 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:45.559 from the defensive and Special teams assistant coaches. And I 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.120 want to start with this. We don't normally start a 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:52.000 show with something that an assistant coach says on this show, 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:56.120 but if there is one thing to take away from 0:00:56.120 --> 0:01:00.920 that availability with the defensive assistant coaches, it's that outside 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:05.399 linebackers coach Mike Smith could not be more fired up 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:10.520 about Rashaan Gary being in his room with his guys. 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:12.760 You know what it reminds me of I remember as 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:15.440 a kid, right, you have a Christmas morning Santa puts 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.800 out all the presents. I remember there was this one 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:20.280 year where I think I had said I wanted like 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:22.280 I don't know if it was like a cactus Jack 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:26.440 or Mick Foley like figurine type deal. For like WWF 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.160 and I really wanted this thing. It was like a 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.440 three different figurines and I got it and as soon 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:34.640 as I got done, I didn't even touch the other presence. 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:36.920 I got done with this box, I ripped it open, 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:38.720 ran downstairs and played with it. Numind I was like 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:40.120 ten years old at the time, so give me a 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:42.319 break here. But I was like ten years old and 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.480 I I just sprinted. Did that not seem to you? 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:48.080 Like what Mike smith did the night that they drafted 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:50.600 Rashawn Gary. He actually made a comment that he like 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:53.560 was running up and down the hallway, which I'm not 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:56.920 sure if it was too much of an exaggeration. He's 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.920 he's really really excited about the fact that the Packers 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.840 drafted Rashaan Gary at number twelve overall and that he's 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:04.440 going to get a chance to coach this guy. And 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.320 everybody always says they like their guy, their guys always 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:09.560 the number one player in the position their draft. But 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.840 Mike Smith Man listen to him talk, I believe it. 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:15.799 I mean this guy, I mean, I'm a non athlete here, 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.200 five ft nothing, hundred and nothing. I wanted to run 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:20.840 through a wall for the guy. By the time he 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:23.920 got done talking, he was fired up, and he's excited 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:27.480 about Sadarius Smith, Preston Smith, all of the resources they've 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:29.920 added into that room. But as he said, when he 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:32.680 looks at Gary, he doesn't care what the pundits say. 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:36.040 He's not paying attention to who's writing what about these prospects. 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:38.760 He's just looking at them at face value. And he 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:42.320 said afterwards, with all the criticism that Gary received for 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:46.000 his motor, how much you know, taking plays off at Michigan, 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.120 He's like, you go and find anybody at the University 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.000 of Michigan that said that. He's like, trust me, I 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.400 talked to him, all, you're not going to find anyone 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.320 they believe in the kid. Yeah, he didn't get as 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.839 many sacks as maybe people want for a top you know, ten, 0:02:59.880 --> 0:03:03.280 top pick. But as Smith said, he's like, I'm not 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:06.360 as interested in that as as much of him affecting games, 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.160 affecting plays, and that's something he did at Michigan. He 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.240 made people around him better. Yeah, I mean that was 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:13.960 the thing we heard in a very general sense from 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.000 Mike Smith throughout his discussion with the media as he 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:20.480 talked about affecting the quarterback and there are all kinds 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:22.280 of different ways to measure it. I know you and 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:25.480 I had talked about it when the Packers signs Darius 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.320 Smith and Preston Smith. Neither one of these guys is 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.320 a double digit sacker, you know, doesn't have fifty sacks 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:34.200 in his career anything like that. But when you look 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:36.160 at some of the other metrics that are used by 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:39.440 Pro Football Focus and other websites and other analysts out there, 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:43.000 when you talk about pressures and the times that a 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:47.800 quarterback is affected by a certain individual individual, it's guys 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:50.960 like the Smiths who ranked pretty high across the league 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.240 in that even if they didn't ultimately get the sacks. 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:56.000 Where Shawn Gary by all accounts that it sounds like 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:59.080 it sounds like he had a very similar type of 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:02.520 career at Michigan, but also in the sense that there's 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:04.600 a lot of film that shows him being double teamed 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:07.600 and whatnot, you know, freeing up his teammates to to 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:09.880 do things. I don't see Rashan Gary as a rookie 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:13.200 in the NFL getting double team So if he's single blocked, okay, 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.479 let's see what happens here. And Mike Smith's biggest point 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:19.680 at the end of it was if I've got a 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:21.440 bunch of guys in that room that are all worried 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:23.960 about how many sacks they're gonna have, they're gonna be 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.560 really disappointed football players because it's hard to get him 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:28.920 in the NFL. The way they're going to be evaluated 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.520 is how they affect the quarterback. And he's excited about 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:34.200 the group he has. Yeah, And one thing I thought 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.080 was really interesting too that he pointed out he looked 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:40.240 at de Ford and Justin Houston to Pro Bowl pass rushers, 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:43.680 edge rushers, outside linebackers that he had his book ends 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.440 in Kansas City, his time in Kansas City, and he mentioned, 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:48.599 you know, when you look at the getoff that Ford 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.360 had and just the pure power that Houston had, he 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.120 sees both of those trades in Gary. And another thing 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:55.920 he mentioned as well, when people want to talk about 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.560 the sack numbers at Michigan, they had him playing with 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:01.320 his hand in the dirt is a six It's really 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:04.240 difficult to get pressure on the quarterback as a five TECH. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:07.159 That a five tech you're already on the outside shoulder, 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:10.080 you know, basically lined up with the tackle. Six tech 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:12.800 you're even wider as a defensive alignment in terms of 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:14.720 what his assignments are there. He's not just an edge 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.280 rusher in a two point stance, just jet rushing towards 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:20.440 the quarterback. There are assignments that go along with that. 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.599 He said that that also factored in in Green Bay, 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:26.960 as I believe it was. Also it was either Smith 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:29.880 or it was Jerry Montgomery had mentioned, you know, they're 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.839 already in some of these practices, Zadarius Smith and in 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.520 Rashaun Gary, they're working with the defensive alignemen and some 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:39.159 of these drills, uh, these positional drills. They're trying to 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:41.719 cross train these guys and working together to make sure 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:44.520 that yeah, they're good on their stunts, but also so 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.160 that when Zadarius Smith has to go inside or when 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.720 Gary's going to go inside, those guys can you know, 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.600 fit the bill and those one and three techniques and 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:56.560 sub packages. So it's a very interesting blend of talent 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.080 that they had. I think the biggest change that you've 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:02.320 seen from last year this year. Claim Matthews was very versatile. 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.000 Claim Matthews wasn't gonna play one tech nos in a 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.760 dime package. Nick Perry did a little of it, but 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:09.960 in the in the end he was mostly an outside guy. 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.520 Both of the Smiths Gary they're gonna move around, They're 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:16.200 going to use these guys in different ways, and as 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.520 Mike Smith said, they're gonna have four outside linebackers on 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:22.240 the field again. Packers at times last year didn't have 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:25.479 four outside linebackers on the fifty three man roster. So 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:27.760 I just think it's a it's a new day for 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:30.480 the defensive line. There's an energy there in Mike smith Man. 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:32.560 We've only had two interactions with them so far in 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:34.680 the media, but this is the type of guy that 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:36.360 I think i'd want to play for. Well, this is 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:40.040 another interesting thing I'm gonna throw out there too, because, 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:42.680 as you know, about a week ago, I got a 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:45.440 one on one interview with Mike Petton for a Packers 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:47.920 yearbook story that I'm working on that will be published 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:52.120 in the Packers Yearbook later this summer, and just going 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:55.000 over different things, different position groups, all the change that's 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:58.880 going on on the defense, and completely unprompted, Mike Petton 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:02.479 said he called Mike Smith the best outside linebackers coach 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.680 in this league. Now, he wasn't as animated about it 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.720 as Mike Smith was at the podium talking about Rashaan Gary. 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.240 But Mike Petton's been around the block. This this is 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:15.520 not his first rodeo, and I sense just from that 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:19.200 comment how excited he is as a defensive coordinator that 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:21.600 a guy that played for him and a guy that 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:25.120 he knows as well as he does and has followed 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.040 Mike Smith's coaching career, even if they haven't worked together 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.280 at every stop, that this is the guy that's coaching 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:34.400 his outside linebackers in this defense. There is definitely, uh, 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:38.160 there's a there's a palpable excitement to how this is 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:39.840 starting to come together. And the other thing you have 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.160 to take in consideration too, I mean, the proof is 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:43.640 in the pudding when you look at some of the 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:46.960 guys that Smith has developed Kansas City. I know they 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.080 had their ups and downs as an overall defense these 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.920 past few years, but they've had so many young pass 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.640 rushers emerge underneath him, and before that during his time 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:57.880 with the New York Giant New York Jets being able 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.840 to have the success that they did. So oh, I 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:02.560 just think it's a new day. I think there's a 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.600 lot of excitement and anticipation that you know, whether it 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:07.280 is you know, we Shan Garry. We're not expecting him 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.200 to come out and have fifteen sacks out of the gate, 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:12.040 but as he develops and having Kyler Faco coming back 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.920 after ten sacks. They were both both Petton and Smith 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:19.400 were reffusive in their praise of of Gilbert, Reggie Gilbert 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.720 and being assignment. Sure, there's five guys there now in 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:25.360 addition to some you know, returning players, that all are 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:27.080 going to be competing for snaps in there, and the 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:30.360 figure that that rotation gets, the fresher that guys get, 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:31.720 and the more that you can do with them in 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:33.720 the third and fourth quarter. Yeah, Well, staying on the 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:36.360 defensive side of the ball, and speaking of competition, one 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:38.679 of the things that we had discussed in our O 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.600 t A preview was was how things we're gonna look 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:46.199 at the safety position. Darnell Savage is indeed with the 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:48.680 number one defense right from the get go. He's paired 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.040 with Adrian Amos when the ones are out there, it 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:54.320 is those two guys. But the other thing that's interesting 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:57.200 here West because as we had mentioned, Josh Jones is 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.360 not at O t A s there are reports that 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:03.360 he's potentially requesting a trade. We'll see what happens as 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.199 the rest of the spring goes along. We get to 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:08.520 the mandatory mini camp when all players are required to 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:12.240 be here later in June. But in Josh jones absence, 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:17.199 you talk about opportunity knocking on the door. Raven Green, Um, 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.280 this is the guy coming off of an injury last year. 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:22.560 You wouldn't know he missed a bunch of time with injury, 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.360 just based on physically like how he looks. And then 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.640 another young guy, Natrelle Jamerson, who came out of the 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.000 University Wisconsin, has bounced around to some different teams and 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.920 bounced around between cornerback and safety. He's also now getting 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.200 a look at safety with Josh Jones not being around. 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:44.320 So Um, there's definitely even though Amos and Savage they're 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:47.839 your they're your top pair, there's some legitimate competition in 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.760 that safety group for playing time. And Mike Petton said too, 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:52.480 I mean safeties are still going to be in play 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:54.800 at that inside linebacker position as well. I think if 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:57.600 they had their druthers, you're gonna have quit, i should say, 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.480 or in Burke settling in there. Yeah, but they still 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:02.640 need that hyper tendencies and some of these guys also 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:04.520 work the slot as well, So you need to have 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.400 a really good core of four and sometimes more at 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.000 that safety position. Jamerson and I think is one of 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:12.520 those guys that fits into what Jason Simmons, the defensive 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:16.600 backs coach, was talking about. There's no qualifications, no position 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:18.560 listed on him. They just want to get these guys 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:21.439 out there, give them the most opportunities they can. If 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:24.120 Josh Jones isn't here, that's gonna open up reps in 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.679 that second team defense. It's gonna open up and really 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:30.080 afford Darnell Savage the majority of the reps next to 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.960 Amos who those two guys are being viewed as the 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:36.320 cornerstones now for this defense and providing stability there. But 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:38.600 getting back to Raven green Man, I mean that reminds 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.600 me of a young Mike Spofford on the campus of 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.480 Lawrence University. Shot, got the sleeves up, the guns are out, 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:47.319 you know, kind of just putting out a vibe. I mean, 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:49.920 as I wrote an inbox, that's a young man that 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:52.600 did not take his offseason lightly. I mean he went 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.400 and put in some work. He did finish last year 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.240 on injured reserve, but he did some really good things 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:00.560 to make this roster as an undrafted rookie and to 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.000 be able to also contribute the way he did on 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.199 special teams. The Packers like him. I mean, coming out 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:08.000 of James Madison, he didn't have a whole lot of buzz. 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:10.320 He was viewed as one of those kind of diamonds 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:13.320 in the rough type player. But they've had success finding 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:15.560 those guys in the undrafted ranks that have been able 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:17.880 to contribute on special teams and at the safety position, 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:20.480 and right now, with the way that that depth chart looks, 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.400 the positions there for him to really, you know, solidify 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.360 himself in that number three role on the back end. Yeah, well, 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:28.360 you mentioned special teams and that's the point I was 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:30.360 going to make as well. When you're talking about these 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:32.960 guys who are getting their reps in the eleven on 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:35.760 eleven and the practices we watch when we see them 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.240 getting reps with the twos and the threes, especially the 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:40.120 guys who are with the two's, if that's where they 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.800 are on the depth chart right now, then it's like, Okay, 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.160 those are the ones you make the note of and 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:47.800 go Okay, when the preseason games roll around, we're gonna 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:52.240 be watching punt return, punt coverage, kickoff return, kickoff coverage. 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.160 Because if those guys who are with the two's are 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:58.000 also making a name for themselves on special teams and 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.560 getting noticed there, those are the guy eyes who are 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.360 gonna make the fifty three. We've seen, We've seen it 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:05.800 every year. They might not get a snap with the 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:08.720 number one defense or the number one offense all training 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:11.840 camp or even in any preseason game, but if they're 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:14.600 making plays on special teams in the preseason and they're 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.760 holding onto the number two spot at their at their 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:20.920 position with the second unit, those are the guys. Those 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:22.800 are the guys who make the fifty three, and they're 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:25.199 the guys that the coaching staff is counting on to 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:27.880 be impact players on special teams and to be able 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:30.120 to step in when somebody goes down. And one of 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.560 the things people always ask, especially in the days leading 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.240 up to final cuts and that last preseason game, is Okay, 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.480 who's in and who's out, who's on the bubble. There 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:39.240 is one litmus test for you to be able to 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.160 figure that out, and it's how specifically that I've always 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.160 the thing I've always used is how their kickoff coverage 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.560 unit looks, How their kickoff returning unit. Looks who's on 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:49.240 those number one teams. That's where we started to get 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.240 a hint that, yeah, James Crawford really has a chance 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:53.480 of this thing. Yeah, a guy that showed up two 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:55.679 weeks into training camp and all of a sudden, the 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.320 last preseason game, he's on all the number one special 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.560 teams units. He's making a bunch of plays, and you 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:03.160 and I are looking at each other in the press box, going, hey, 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:04.960 when this guy showed up, we didn't even give him 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.679 a second thought because it was September eight or September ten, 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:10.679 I mean sorry, August August eight, August tenth, whatever day 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:12.480 it was that he showed up all of a sudden 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.600 at the last preseason game. We're looking at each other going, 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:16.640 this guy's got a legitimate chance to make the teams 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:18.520 the one per center because there's so many guys that 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.040 get added after training camp starts. And to be honest 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:22.839 with you, Michael, I can only think of to him 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:26.680 and Chris Band. Chris absolutely, But getting back to that 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.400 point I was making about special teams, and I know 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:30.319 this will bring up some bad memories for Packers fan. 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:34.600 But Brandon Bostick in two thousand fourteen, d J. Williams 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.200 was the number one guy in the little posse on 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:40.800 that kickoff return unit, and then suddenly Brandon Bostick one 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.800 day at practice overtook him. Bostick made the fifty three 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:46.920 Williams didn't. So that's the thing to track. I mean, 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.440 there is some validation to what you see on the 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:52.719 field when you get to training camp. So whether or 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:55.800 not it's a Raven Green or James Crawford, when those 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.720 guys start to get that work, especially late into the summer, 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.720 that's when you can start to feel not necessarily good, 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:03.280 but start to get an idea of you know what, 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.120 I have a real chance making this thing happen. Yeah, well, 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.040 it's definitely something that we watch, you know, right from 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:11.560 the get go and training camp when the pads go on. 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:15.600 But quickly here West, the powerful noise canceling technology that 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:19.120 helps NFL coaches block out eighty thou screaming fans can 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.840 get you closer to the music you love. Learn more 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:26.000 at www dot bos dot com. Slash Packers Bows the 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:29.240 official headphones of the Green Bay Packers, and add Homer 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.480 here in the stands. We all know that Green Bay 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:33.280 fans give it their all and that takes a lot 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:36.000 of energy. So grab a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup. 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.200 It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness of Packers fans everywhere. 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.680 Try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. Just visit your 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:46.240 local supermarket and asked for Campbell's Chunky super official sup 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:47.960 partner of the Green Bay Packers. I have to be 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:49.480 my own own buds, been here to make sure I 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:51.280 get this right. I don't anything to be inaccurate. That 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:54.280 was two thousand thirteen, not two thousand fourteen when Bostick 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.080 overtook d J Williams. Yes, d J Williams was what 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:00.200 did not make the team in Well, we're all about 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:02.720 accuracy here on Packerson's We do our best we and 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:05.000 we know people will call us that when we're wrong, 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:07.760 so so yeah, we definitely try to stay on top 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:10.560 of that. Shifting gears quickly was to the offensive side 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.200 of the ball. We did hear from quarterback Aaron Rodgers 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:17.120 at his locker after that open practice earlier this week, 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:22.080 and he was asked a lot of questions, obviously about 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:24.920 learning and processing the new offense and how's it going, 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.080 and he's reserving a lot of judgment, you know, as 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.840 far as eleven on eleven type stuff. They had a 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:33.280 couple of days of a veteran minicamp before the draft. 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.280 There just a couple of days into O T A S. 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:37.880 He's not gonna draw any grand conclusions, but he did 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:41.520 say he's sort of laying it out there for himself 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:43.040 that by the end of these O t A s 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.560 and then that mandatory mini camp in the middle of June, 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:49.360 he wants to be at a certain comfort level with 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:52.880 this offense so that he can come back in training 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.280 camp and just be in a very different place. Now 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:58.280 they're still gonna be learning and installing and all of 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:00.840 that that goes on in training camp as well. But 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.400 I kind of get the sense, I'll just bounce this 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.600 off of you to see if you agree. I get 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:09.040 the sense hearing from Rogers the other day that he 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:11.000 knows that he has a lot to learn, but he's 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.560 also kind of looking at he he's like the kid 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.200 who has to go home every night and is doing 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:19.360 all of the extra studying and the extra homework so 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.640 that he comes back to the classroom the next day 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:25.360 and is raising his hand all the time because he's 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:28.720 taking what I'm saying is he's taking the leadership responsibility 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.440 of this, of the transition to the new offense, very 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:34.680 very seriously. He knows he's the singal signal caller, He's 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.120 got the ball in his hands every play, he's the 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:40.080 two time m v P. He's the guy who's got 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:42.200 to lead the charge here. The coaches are only going 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.000 to be able to do so much to teach these 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:47.400 guys this offense. Aaron Rodgers knows that there's a lot 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.640 on his shoulders, and he's not backing away from any 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:51.240 of it. No. It is funny you bring that up 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:52.960 because the way I did read that, especially if to 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.920 listen to the defensive assistant coaches, there were two players 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:57.880 on this team. They're probably the acception. Everybody else is 0:16:57.880 --> 0:16:59.960 trying to learn the playbook. Then you have Aaron rodd 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:03.080 Is on offense in Blake markin defense, and it's like 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.719 they have to be the master level, like the AP style, 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:09.679 like the one that's above that, and certainly both of 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.959 those guys embrace it. Rogers. It's very interesting to another 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:16.080 degree because, like as Matt Lafleur has said numerous times 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.359 this offseason, he's gonna still have a lot of freedom 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:20.120 at the line of scrimmage to check out of things 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.639 and to try to get the Packers offense into the 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:24.840 best play possible. Well, in order to do that, you 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.159 need to know this offense inside and out. And for 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.680 people unfamiliar with what the off season program is as 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:33.439 compared to training camp, at least during the time that 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:36.679 Mike McCarthy was here, those O t A practices and 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.400 then into the mini camp, those are basically used as 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:44.879 a avenue towards installing the entire offense. Then by the 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.640 time you get done, you dismiss players. They come back 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.120 five years later, and then you go through the process again. 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:54.920 It's almost like researching and then implementing. Now, Matt Lafleur said, 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:57.720 the way I understood it when he talked at the 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:01.520 podium a couple of days ago, was that, Okay, maybe 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.119 they won't have everything in, but we're gonna know what 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:07.080 this offense is by the time they break after mandatory 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:13.280 mini camp on January from June, and from Roger's perspective, 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.040 he wants to be on top of that because once 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:18.800 they get back July got that date right, it's it's 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:21.080 you know, your all systems go. Yeah, it's full speed 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:25.560 ahead come July. You know Rogers, he had said earlier 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.440 in the offseason program, he's talking about having You know this, 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:31.520 this is not a grace period year. I mean, this 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:35.760 is a veteran quarterback, a lot of veteran players on offense. 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:38.120 When you look at the offensive line, you look at 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.800 your number one and number two receivers, you look at 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:42.679 your number one running back. These are all guys who 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:45.200 have been in the NFL. Your top tight ends, guys 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:47.440 who have been in the NFL for a long time. 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.159 This is not this is not some kind of a 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:53.000 red shirt year for the for the offense just because 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:56.640 it's new. Come training camp, Rodgers wants to be able 0:18:56.680 --> 0:18:58.840 to hit the ground running. And that's what makes this. 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.080 These three weeks of O t A s and the 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:03.560 mandatory mini camp when they get they get a lot 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:07.120 of eleven on eleven makes it so important because as 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:11.440 you said, West, first they install the offense in the 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:13.760