WEBVTT - #541 Packers Unscripted: Veterans in their element 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:14.880 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted Social 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.160 Distancing Style from Packers dot Com. I am Mike spoffor 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:22.920 joint as always by my trusted colleague Wes Hodkuits, coming 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:25.520 to you from across the hall from one another actually 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:29.240 here at lambeau Field West, the Packers. I would say, 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:31.480 I'm not sure what number to put on. It feels 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:34.680 like we're roughly halfway through training camp at this point, 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:38.239 as far as the padded practices go. And I know, 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.839 usually we spend training camp shows talking about younger players 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:45.080 and you know who's climbing the depth chart, etcetera, etcetera. 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.880 But I wanted to start this show talking about three 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.239 veterans in particular, because they can get overlooked sometimes in 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:55.720 training camp. But I tell you what, Aaron Rodgers looks 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.920 as sharp as ever, Mason Crosby looks as locked in 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:04.000 as ever. Mercedes Lewis, he's still going west, and he's 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:06.839 a He's an important leader on this team, not only 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:08.640 for the tight end group, but in this locker room 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:11.119 as a whole. And Mike, you know me, I want 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:14.399 to talk about Mercedes Lewis until next Tuesday. But I 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:18.280 got a touch on something first, Mason Crosby in practice 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:22.319 so far, he's been exceptional. He did have some kicks 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:26.360 during practice. I believe it would have been on Sunday 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:29.800 where Pete Doherty and I over in the fans section 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:32.920 there the stands. We weren't sure whether or not they 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:36.800 went in or not. Okay, Pete and I asked you. 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:38.920 I was like, spot, did they go in? He's like, oh, yeah, 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:42.080 they went in. He went nine for nine and Pete. 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:45.400 Pete still went and asked Mason during his media availability 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:47.600 on Monday, what did we learn, Mike? What are the 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:52.800 lesson we learned? Never doubt Mike Spofford, don't do it, um, 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:55.120 So I have to tell that little story. No, Mason 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.800 has been great. He's been off to a really strong start. 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:00.760 As you said, it's really interesting that you point this out, Mike. 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:03.480 It's the three guys in the thirty five plus club 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.240 for the Packers that you that you mentioned there, Aaron Rodgers, 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:10.280 Mercedes Lewis and obviously Crosby. And this is a very 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:13.000 young football team. I know someone in insider inbox asked 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:15.200 me a couple of days ago. Okay, so like, what 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.120 are how do they rank against other teams, and it's 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:19.880 so difficult to tell that until we get to fifty 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:23.160 three players. But when they finally do, I think it's 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:24.560 going to be one of the younger teams that I 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.680 think I've covered here in Green Bay. Now that being said, 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:30.239 it comes down to your leadership, and the Packers have 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:32.160 a lot of it. When you look at Rogers, Lewis 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.919 and Crosby. You asked me about Mercedes Lewis, I'll give 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:37.720 you an answer to that. You have three really talented 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:40.320 young tight ends in that room. And then no disrespect 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:42.839 Evan Bayliss also coming off the practice squad last year, 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:45.560 guys they want to develop, guys they see as the 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.520 future of this offense. Mercedes Lewis is a big part 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:51.799 in helping bring those guys along, along with Justin out 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:54.600 In the tight ends coach. And you can just tell 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:57.240 Mike from his twenty minute conference call with us this weekend, 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:01.240 how excited Mercedes Lewis is about this opportunity, how much 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.240 he's still driven to compete going into year fifteen. And 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:05.920 I'll be honest with you, Mike, You're going into your 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:08.120 fifteen of your occupation here at the Green Bay Packers 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:10.680 in ten more years. I hope to be as excited 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:12.480 about it as Mercedes Lewis. I mean, this is a 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:14.639 guy that, despite all of his interests out of off 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:18.280 the field, uh, still has a lot to give on it. Yeah, 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:22.200 certainly the guy a veteran player who's you know, searching 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.720 for that elusive championship as they say. But that's not 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:27.040 the only thing driving him. The other thing driving him 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:29.519 is he really does still love the game. He loves 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:33.920 to play. I think he embraces whatever leadership role is 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:37.440 thrust upon him. And Aaron Rodgers talked about that, how 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.040 Marcedes Lewis as as a leader, even though this is 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.560 only his third year in this locker room, as a 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:47.240 leader for this team, he has the timing of when 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:51.640 to say something, how to say it um And you know, 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:54.080 Roger sort of drew the parallel to some of the 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:56.320 other leaders in the locker room in the past, like 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:59.080 a Charles Woodson or like a Julius Peppers, who they 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.080 just they just understand the right timing and the right 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:05.720 tone in order to lead the squad as a whole. 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:09.320 And that being said, Aaron Rodgers is certainly is certainly 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.200 showing his leadership on the field as as much as 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.800 off the field, because I know Monday's practice was kind of, 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.080 you know, a half speed jog through type of thing. 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:21.599 Nothing really to uh document as far as reporting on 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:26.160 the practice goes. But those practices on Saturday and Sunday, boy, 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:28.840 I tell you, the accuracy of his throws where he 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.599 was putting the football, it was really impressive to watch. 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:34.240 And then he capt off that practice on Sunday with 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:38.360 an absolutely picture perfect execution of the two minute drill. 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.160 I wrote about that on packers dot Com. I think 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:44.920 the most impressive thing about him pulling off that two 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:48.000 minute drill is there wasn't a single big explosive play 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.160 that made it really easy, like suddenly, oh, they're all 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:51.479 the way down at the other end of the field, 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:53.599 they're going to finish this off. It was it was 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:57.960 a matter of just being very methodical, very precise, managing 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:00.440 the clock. He spiked the ball three different times along 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:02.600 the way, he used the time out at the proper time, 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:05.200 just completely in command out there. And I thought the 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:08.440 way that ended Sunday's practice, after the way he had 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.640 thrown the ball all through Saturday and Sunday to full 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:15.480 speed full pads practices, I thought Rogers really showedy he's 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.760 on top of his game right now. Yeah, And unfortunately, 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.080 obviously fans can't see it right now because of you know, 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:22.240 the restrictions in place with COVID and not being able 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.480 to attend training camp practice and that is a non 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:27.240 shooting period. But I wish people could actually be able 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:29.239 to put their eyes on it, because it really, I thought, 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:32.440 encapsulated everything Aaron Rodgers is, especially at this juncture of 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:36.120 his career. He made a critical third down pass on 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:37.840 that play right down the middle, down the seam to 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:39.800 Robert Toany, and Tany did a good job bringing the 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.440 ball in. That's what extended the drive and from there 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.320 a lot of outroutes, a lot of stuff underneath, just 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:47.720 being as you said, methodical to get into range for 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:50.200 Mason Crosby to make that forty seven yard or but 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:52.440 beyond that, Mike, the way he's challenged the middle of 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:54.640 the field so far during camp, I thought has been 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:59.000 really good. And excuse me, his deep ball stuff right 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:01.520 now divine to Adams. I mean he opened up the 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:03.760 team period. I believe that was on Sunday, had a 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:06.240 deep ball off play action to Davante Adams would have 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:08.359 been a touchdown. He did it again later in practice 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.160 again to Adams. There are so many different ways that 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:14.200 Aaron Rodgers can beat you, and I found this very interesting. Mike. 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:16.040 He met with the media on Monday, and he talked 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.560 about when he was asked by Bill Hubert about just 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:20.600 the start he's off to and why he's feeling so good, 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:24.280 and Rogers, you can tell it wasn't just a talking point. 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:26.680 He legitimately feels like he's in a groove right now. 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:29.200 And one thing that he pointed out was he went 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.640 back and they were doing the installs, and with those installs, 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.320 they bring in cut ups of some of his old 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.760 work and there was a clip from ten years ago 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:39.039 and he found something in it. He wouldn't go into 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.680 exactly what it was, but there was something that he 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.280 saw in that that he brought to practice the next day. 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:46.520 And then, as he put it, the next the you know, 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.719 the last few days had happened. So Aaron Rodgers is 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:51.880 in a groove. And you know, we always talked about 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:53.920 preseason games and all it does. He need the reps 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.920 and everything. What you need is practice and you need 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:58.840 to find yourself as a quarterback. And I think going 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.080 into two thousand twenties, fight all the obstacles that have 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:03.440 been put in his way, in this team's way. Aaron 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:06.320 Rodgers is doing that. Yeah, I'm really curious what that 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.159 thing is. I know everybody is curious just what that is. 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.160 From the two thousand and ten I think he was 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:14.360 talking about practice film. Sounded like that he saw and 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:17.440 you wonder, okay, is it's Was it something with his mechanics, 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:20.360 was it something with the timing, was it something with footwork? 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.560 Was it something that he saw with his eyes as 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:24.800 far as how he's looking at I mean, we don't 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:26.800 really know, and he wasn't going to tell us, which 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.480 is which is typical of Aaron Rodgers. But it really 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:31.880 was fascinating. I mean, something from ten years ago, and 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:34.320 he says he notices it, he took it out to 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:36.960 the practice field, and then suddenly on Saturday and Sunday 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.120 like boom, boom boom, like every throw is right on target, 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:43.200 right where it needs to be. And you know, Rogers, 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.840 Rogers seems to really be enjoying himself in this training camp. 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.960 As much as there are limitations and the players can't do. 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:52.520 You know, a lot of those off the field activities 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.200 and other things that you know that they might normally 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.840 do during a training camp. Some of those team bonding, 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.640 team chemistry type things, those are off the table at 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:04.280 least for the time being. But um, these uh, these guys, this, 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:06.440 this number one offense looks like it's having some fun 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.120 out there. He really does. And and the other thing too. 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:11.720 And I wrote about this an Insider inbox. Whether or 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:14.119 not it's it's the film clip, or it's the second 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.240 year in Matt Lafleur's offense, or it's like some of 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:18.400 his teammates have even said how much Rogers appears to 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.280 be enjoying himself this summer. There's just something about him 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:24.280 that has really allowed him to find that groove here early. 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:26.360 And I think there is something to be said for 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.720 the fact that that second year offense, the installs have 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:31.720 been in, they ran through them mentally before they finally 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:34.800 hit the practice field. Once they did, Matt laflor has 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:36.840 felt very confident about the run that they've been able 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.000 to get on. And here's the thing that I think 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.880 is most intriguing in terms of the pieces around Aaron Rodgers. 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:44.920 I've said this a couple of times, but Jordy Nelson, Davante, 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:47.400 Adams Randall, Cob James Jones. All those years, it was 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:50.480 always the same essential components of that offense and where 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:52.920 the ball was going to go. Who your primary skill 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:56.320 position players are, the way they've built the backfield, the 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:58.839 number of options they have at tight end. Uh, you know, 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.400 Josiah Deguara be able to play a hybrid role, and 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.160 then certainly a guy like Mark Quizvelde Scantlin coming back 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.440 with what he offers in terms of not only his 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.840 top end speed but also some of the underneath stuff 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:12.320 he's been showing early in camp. This isn't going to 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:14.840 be the offense whereas just the same three receivers for 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:18.240 sixty snaps. They're gonna be really multiple. But you can 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:20.360 tell that Rogers is game to rapport with a lot 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:23.280 of these guys already. In being able to establish that 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:25.640 this early, despite you know, everything they went through with 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.280 the offseason program, that could be something that really helps 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.160 put the Packers ahead when they get into these games 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:33.280 here in September. Yeah, and one other thought on Crosby too, 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.840 before we move on from these veterans we've been talking about. 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:39.200 He actually did miss the first few practices ever since 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.720 he came back. He's been absolutely locked in as far 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:44.160 as I'm concerned. But he did miss the first few 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:46.880 practices he was on the COVID reserve list. He actually 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:51.040 test did test positive for the coronavirus the second day 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.280 that the players were back in the and the testing 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:58.440 had begun. Fortunately for him, very mild symptoms, wasn't anything 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.520 that that required a major recovery. But then he did 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.360 have a lot of conversations with with his wife, Molly 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:08.440 and his family. Molly had a cancer issue a year ago. 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:10.680 She's been given a clean bill of health, which is 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:13.360 great news, but he had to think about, you know, well, 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:15.560 should I play, Should I take this risk, you know, 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:19.480 exposing myself with obviously what his wife went through last year. 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.679 And uh, fortunately for the Packers, Molly's Molly's doctors have 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:26.440 said everything's good to go. They gave him the thumbs 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:30.320 up and uh, and Mason Crosby looks, uh, he looks 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.600 as good as ever as as he is going to 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.200 continue to put all those scoring records he owns just 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.120 further out of reach. And yeah, this has been this 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:40.439 has been a wild twelve months for the Crosby family. 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:43.240 You know, Molly got diagnosed with her nero endocrine tumor 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.160 that she had on her lung right before the start 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:47.880 of training camp. She had the surgery to remove that 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:51.800 the day before. The Packers ended up playing the Kansas 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:55.600 City Chiefs in that preseason finale. So Mason's flip flopping 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.000 between Green Bay and the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis. He's 0:10:58.000 --> 0:10:59.520 trying to get all this stuff going on. Oh and then, 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.120 by the way, he also has the kicking competition at 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.559 that time with Sam Ficken, and through all that he 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.439 ended up having a career year ninety one point seven percent, 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:11.880 tied Yon Standards record for single season accuracy, and then 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.679 also got rewarded with the extension, being able to come 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:17.680 back now for a fourteen season with Green Bay the 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:21.240 second longest tenured player on this roster now to Aaron Rodgers. 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.239 So it's just it. I'm not saying the same apropos, 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:26.080 but it's just I mean, when you talk about all 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:29.280 the adversity they faced. Of course, when he comes back 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.040 to Green Bay, he ends up being surprised by a 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:34.320 COVID test, but he was able, as he said, he 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:35.600 was able to do a lot of his strength and 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:38.160 conditioning stuff away from the team, he had his ten 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:40.800 day quarantine. Once he came back, he felt good, he 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:42.800 felt strong. It was bizarre. I mean, he did have 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:45.599 a negative test that first day. The second day is 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:47.440 where he had the positive one, as you pointed out. 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.320 So whatever it is, they made the decision him and 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:52.440 Molly her doctors. They felt like it was safe for 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:55.160 him to proceed onto into this two thousand twenty season. 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:57.200 Might have been a different story if she would have 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:59.360 been in a different spot in this would have happened 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.000 last year. But all that being said, I mean, when 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:05.400 you have a kicker like Mason Crosby, the confidence, the 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:08.800 wherewithal and just being able to be, you know, sure 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:10.280 about who that guy is going to be, that is 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:12.760 such a value right now in today's NFL. Yeah, and 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:15.240 all three of these veterans we're talking about, Aaron Rodgers, 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.880 Mason Crosby, Marcedes Lewis, all members of the Packers what 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:22.680 they call the leadership Council as far as a group 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.080 of veteran players that meets on a regular basis with 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.000 Heath coach Matt Lafleur. They actually had an impromptu meeting 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:32.760 after Monday's practice to talk about the police shooting situation 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.480 in Kenosha, and I think we'll be hearing some more 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:38.040 as time goes on, as far as as far as 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.199 some plans that the players have things that they want 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.240 to talk about, things they want to bring awareness to 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.720 as the season goes along. So we'll certainly stay tuned 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:50.280 for any news we hear along those lines. But Wes, 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.120 it would not be a training camp unscripted episode without 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:56.320 talking about some younger players who are getting noticed. And 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:58.280 I think the one guy we definitely have to talk 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:02.120 about here who is certain the U is getting noticed 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.880 by the coaches, by the reporters. Everybody who's out there 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:09.240 at practice is fifth round draft pick rookie linebacker Kamal Martin. 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:13.960 And uh, I tell you what, a lot of the rookies, 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.400 I think they're all in a really, really tough spot 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:19.960 in terms of trying to do something in a in 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:23.800 a regular role on offensive side, offense or defense, aside 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:26.360 from just special teams, because of not having any o 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:29.240 t a S, no mini camp, no rookie orientation as 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.240 far as any on field snaps until training camp rolled around. 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.080 But Camal Martin doesn't really look like that kind of 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.520 rookie right now. He looks like he's making a bid 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.600 to uh, to find a role somehow, some way in 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:44.120 Mike Patton's defense, and uh, it's it's been interesting to watch. Yeah, 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.000 And if you don't believe Mike, well you can't watch it. 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:50.400 But I'll just tell you about it. The hit that 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:53.920 he laid on De Marier. Crockett asked Maria Crockett about 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:56.960 what this guy can do at the inside linebacker position. 0:13:57.000 --> 0:13:59.959 The Packers did their live tackling drill. At the end 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.160 of I believe it was Saturday's practice. Correct me if 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:06.160 I'm wrong on that. Mike was Actually it was Sundays. 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.720 All the days go together. If you asked me, I 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:12.280 would have said today was Sunday. But at the end 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:13.880 of it they did a ten minute period. It was 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:15.960 just Jordan's love running the offense and it was the 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:17.880 young guys in the offense versus the young guys on 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:21.600 the defense. Kamal Martin sniffs out this this play he 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:24.000 blitz is to kind of does this a gap blitz deal, 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:28.560 gets past one two guards somewhere in there and just 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:30.400 ends up in the backfield and just puts a nice 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.040 thud on on crock A good clean hit and it 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.680 really he was. He was jacked about and the defense 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:38.360 was pretty excited about it too. I was talking I 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:40.200 wrote about this an Insider inbox, but I was talking 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.840 with Zach Helpern, who covers the Badgers. He's a friend 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.680 of ours, and uh, you know it works down in Madison, 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:47.720 and you know, he was saying and it was really 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:49.320 eye opening to me. I mean, I wrote, I read 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:51.720 your story in the offseason. I obviously did my research 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.200 on Martin, but when Zach kind of mentioned, He's like, 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:55.760 you know, that guy would have been a much higher 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.080 draft pick had it not been for the injury. What 0:14:58.200 --> 0:14:59.680 he would have been able to not what he had 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.720 already put on film largely got him a fifth round 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:04.960 draft choice, if he would have had a chance to 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:07.280 build upon that last year in a more meaningful way. 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:09.680 He Zach really felt like this would have been a 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:11.720 guy that that could have really opened some eyes on 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:15.040 people and for the packers to find him where they did. 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:16.840 I mean, when he stepped on the practice field the 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:18.520 first day, I was like, this guy is a little different. 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.480 I mean he's tall, he's lengthy, he's got good size, 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:23.920 he carries his weight well, and he he has some 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:27.000 real nice athleticism for the position. So for a fifth 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:29.880 round pick, it's very interesting. They can go either way. 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.040 You can have a guy come in like Corey Lindsley 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.480 who just looks like he belongs from day one, and 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:35.920 then you get some of these guys that don't even 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.760 look like they necessarily can play at this level. I'm 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:41.080 not saying Martin is in Lindley's category. There's a long 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:43.000 way to go yet, but you just see a maturity 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.520 with him in the way the confidence that he has 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:47.560 and the way he plays the position, and certainly an 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.280 opportunity there if he continues to make the most of 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.800 those opportunities here in practice. Yeah, well, certainly what what 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.280 what Zach Helprin said is exactly what I heard from 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:00.280 Minnesota's defensive coordinator when I talked to him about Martin's career. 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:02.760 He actually put probably his a lot of his best 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.920 tape on film uh in the season and in the 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.400 first half of twenty nineteen. But then he started to 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:10.760 try to battle through this knee injury. It was slowing 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.440 him down a little bit. Eventually, the Gophers just shut 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:15.200 him down and they didn't even have him, you know, 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:17.840 prep or play in the bowl game at all at 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:19.320 the end of the season because they knew he was 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:22.040 headed to the NFL Draft. They didn't want to jeopardize that. 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:24.480 He you know, needed to uh to get that knee 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:27.480 taken care of, and and it's a it's worked out. 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.280 It certainly worked out for him. He's a really interesting 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.760 prospect at linebacker, as you mentioned, was because of the 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:35.880 size and the body type. This he looks like a 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:38.160 guy who can thump a little bit against the run, 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.200 but he's got he's got the length, you know, the arms, 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:45.000 the height and everything, and apparently the athleticism in in 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.560 coverage against against tight ends, potentially some tough matchups there 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:50.640 are running backs trying to sneak out of the backfield, 0:16:50.680 --> 0:16:53.680 that kind of thing. So it really, it really is 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.680 interesting to to watch him because I'll admit, you know, 0:16:56.920 --> 0:16:59.520 the fifth round pick. Now, this was the first pick 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:02.120 out of six that the Packers made on the third 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:03.600 day of the draft because they did not have a 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:05.720 fourth round pick. He was the first guy they took 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:09.000 on Day three in the fifth round, So that says 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:11.879 something in and of itself. But with the way everything 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:14.520 went in the offseason, I just figured, Okay, this guy 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.399 is probably going to you know, be a regular on 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:20.080 special teams right away, and then you see what happens 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:23.200 on defense, and uh, he's you know, like I said, 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.639 he's he's making a push to have a role on 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:28.359 defense right away, right away as a rookie, which I 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:31.360 think is pretty impressive all things consider. Yeah, I mean, 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:33.399 just a quick shout out too for this rookie class 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:35.400 you're talking about having just not really sure what you're 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.040 gonna expect with these guys, I've been impressed by a 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:39.879 lot of them, Mike. To be quite honest with you, 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:43.040 I mean A J. Dillon got a lot of attention 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:45.199 for his legs, but I think you and I can 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:47.360 both agree when you watch him hit the whole, especially 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.280 once the pads come on. The guy has a real 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.200 nice knack to him. I mean he isn't just all 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:56.600 size and no substance. I mean he brings it. And 0:17:56.640 --> 0:18:00.760 I even tweeted it. Someone asked about, you know, is 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.479 he elusive and all these things? Guys. I mean, if 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:05.800 he gets to the second he is elusive. But if 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.320 he gets to the second level, it is problems. It's 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.880 problems for linebackers, is pop problems for defensive backs. He's 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:14.320 not a guy you want to tackle. Um. You talked 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.000 about Martin, you talked about John Runyon. I thought has 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:18.640 come in and looked really good in the one on 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.359 one stuff so far. I was really impressed by the 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:23.800 way he carries himself. I mean, you know, talking with 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:28.080 his dad in the offseason, he his dad reminded John Jr. Hey, 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:30.280 I didn't come in as a first round draft pick either. 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.399 He was a fourth round pick. He ended up becoming 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:34.720 a pro bowler because he just had a grittiness and 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:38.159 a toughness and this kind of mean thing to him 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:40.920 that allowed him to succeed. Now, John Jr. Isn't that guy, 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:43.280 but I think you've seen the grittiness in his play 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:47.119 and his willingness to work for it. Vernon Scott, I mean, 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:48.879