Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by the
Speaker 1: one and only Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here
Speaker 1: from our studios at lambeau Field and West. Since we
Speaker 1: last spoke, the Packers conducted their first full pads practice.
Speaker 1: Monday was just a shoulder pads practice. Tuesday was full
Speaker 1: pads And the biggest thing that stood out to me,
Speaker 1: and I think you would agree with me as well,
Speaker 1: is we saw one of those days where the progress,
Speaker 1: the development um of quarterback Jordan's Love was on display.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't just a couple of really, really good quality,
Speaker 1: impressive throws that he made, but it was that he did.
Speaker 1: He executed a couple of those throws in the blitz
Speaker 1: period where the defense was coming after him. He had
Speaker 1: guys in his face, and now, of course he can't
Speaker 1: get hit, but he stood in there and delivered. And
Speaker 1: I thought, Tuesday's practice We're gonna see obviously more in
Speaker 1: the preseason games coming up here in August, but Tuesday's
Speaker 1: practice was a significant step forward, I think for Jordan's Love.
Speaker 1: And Love had such an interesting first week of training
Speaker 1: camp because you and I were remarking going into what
Speaker 1: would be Monday, you know, he was pretty like steady,
Speaker 1: quiet but really steady, yeah, and no issues in that regard.
Speaker 1: And then he has that two minute period during Monday's
Speaker 1: practice where three plays in he gets picked up by
Speaker 1: Vernon Scott to play that. You know, he admits he
Speaker 1: wanted back not not the way you want to end practice.
Speaker 1: I mean that's the kind of thing that that had
Speaker 1: to stick with Jordan's love, you know, all through the
Speaker 1: rest of Monday, until he could get back on the
Speaker 1: field Tuesday, that interception, and yet he responded, he answered
Speaker 1: the call. He really did. And it was a day
Speaker 1: in which there was a lot of pressure. It was
Speaker 1: just the blitz is or just a little bit of
Speaker 1: you know, you know, breakdowns on the line where he
Speaker 1: had some pass rushers in his face. Matt wellfre said,
Speaker 1: you know, if it was a game situation, he's not
Speaker 1: sure whether or not he would have been able to
Speaker 1: get it off or not. But that being said, he
Speaker 1: stood and delivered the football. He did it with authority.
Speaker 1: Love talked to his locker for a long time on Tuesday,
Speaker 1: but it was really Aaron Rodgers in his session where
Speaker 1: they were talking about Tom Clements and the kind of
Speaker 1: the difference he's made the Packers long time quarterbacks coach
Speaker 1: you returned this offseason, and the stress on fundamentals and
Speaker 1: how he feels like that's sort of rubbing off on
Speaker 1: love now. And he mentioned that it wasn't just if,
Speaker 1: for example, that that deep over route that he was
Speaker 1: able to hit Sammy Watkins on the one that basically
Speaker 1: everybody said was sort of his best play, uh in
Speaker 1: terms of really being able to make a downfield throw
Speaker 1: and make it accurately, but it was the way in
Speaker 1: which his his footwork was in sync with everything. And
Speaker 1: as Rogers sort of explained, when you're lining up and
Speaker 1: there's no waste in motion at all the throw in
Speaker 1: some ways almost it kind of makes it for you.
Speaker 1: And that's what happened on that play with Watkins. Later
Speaker 1: on in practice, you know that they were able to
Speaker 1: I think he had the pass also to Dobbs if
Speaker 1: I remember correctly, that was him that threw that in
Speaker 1: the end zone, right, Yeah, it was love to Dobbs
Speaker 1: with with Rico Gafford right on him, and Dobbs was
Speaker 1: able to snag it and and get both feed in
Speaker 1: right by the pylon. Offense had a nice celebration after that.
Speaker 1: So like and as Matt laf said, in three years now,
Speaker 1: three camps of working with Love, this is potentially one
Speaker 1: of his very best. And to me again, we always
Speaker 1: hold that June nine practice and mini camp up as
Speaker 1: sort of the gold standard of love, but this wasn't
Speaker 1: that far off of it. The young man came to play. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: and a couple of things that that I really liked
Speaker 1: and that were somewhat educational for me as well. One
Speaker 1: is that you know, Jordan's Love for all of the
Speaker 1: all the scrutiny he's been under, the criticism that that
Speaker 1: he has taken the fact that the start against Kansas
Speaker 1: City last year didn't go all that well, the second
Speaker 1: half against Detroit in week eighteen didn't really go all
Speaker 1: that well. So everybody's been been waiting to see and
Speaker 1: as I say, we're gonna have these preseason games coming
Speaker 1: up here in August. But after a really really good
Speaker 1: practice on Tuesday, Jordan's Love didn't stand at his locker
Speaker 1: and and talk to reporters in any sort of like
Speaker 1: you know, well I've arrived moment, And yeah, this was
Speaker 1: this was a great day. He was like, yeah, I
Speaker 1: made some good throws, but you know, I want to
Speaker 1: be better. I want to be more consistent. He's after
Speaker 1: a practice like that and he's answering questions from reporters
Speaker 1: about these really good throws he made in some tough situations.
Speaker 1: He's still thinking about the ones that you know, kind
Speaker 1: of got away from him, or maybe he didn't quite
Speaker 1: hit the right hot read against the blitz, and those
Speaker 1: are the things he's thinking about. Is he's about to
Speaker 1: take his iPad after he's done, you know, talking to reporters.
Speaker 1: He's going to take that tablet and go eat lunch
Speaker 1: and watch the film of practice before he even goes
Speaker 1: into the meeting room um with Aaron Rodgers and Tom
Speaker 1: Clements to then review the practice again. So just getting
Speaker 1: a little bit of insight into into the psyche as
Speaker 1: well as as the routine there. And the other thing
Speaker 1: you mentioned what Rogers was talking about it his locker
Speaker 1: after Wednesday's practice and in saying that, I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: and Aaron Rodgers has been doing this for so long
Speaker 1: as as one of the best, if not the best,
Speaker 1: in the league, and he talked about, you know, if
Speaker 1: if your footwork is right, the fundamentals are right, if
Speaker 1: your eyes are in the right place, if the timing
Speaker 1: of everything with regard to the to the protection, the rollout,
Speaker 1: what you know, whatever else goes into the play, the
Speaker 1: play action fake. If all of that timing and everything
Speaker 1: is right and all those fundamentals are right, the throw,
Speaker 1: whether it's a ten yard hitch or whether it's a
Speaker 1: forty five yards shot down the scene, the throw is
Speaker 1: the easiest part when you get all of that other
Speaker 1: stuff together and in sync. And those are the kinds
Speaker 1: of things I think when you know, we watch football,
Speaker 1: we see the highlights, you look at the great throws
Speaker 1: and all of this. We talked about how Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: can make that stuff look so easy. He makes it
Speaker 1: look easy because in those instances sometimes the throw is
Speaker 1: the easiest part for him because everything else plays such
Speaker 1: a big part in getting that play to work and
Speaker 1: be executed properly. Absolutely, and it's ultimately really what has
Speaker 1: separated him at the top of this game for so
Speaker 1: long when you look at how his fundamentals, you know,
Speaker 1: from day one, I mean, he mentions, even talking with
Speaker 1: Clement said, what he's enjoyed is is he knew what
Speaker 1: it looked like when Aaron wasn't refined. He knew what
Speaker 1: it didn't look like when the footwork wasn't maybe necessarily
Speaker 1: right to be. And being able to have that voice
Speaker 1: back in the room this year, he thinks, not only
Speaker 1: does it help love, it's it's going to help him
Speaker 1: in the long run and being able to actually, you know,
Speaker 1: find his own way again and and try to put
Speaker 1: together a third consecutive m v P season. But it's
Speaker 1: just such a complicated position, Like there's so many times
Speaker 1: where I almost kind of get almost a little bit
Speaker 1: of a anxiety attack when when you listen to all
Speaker 1: of them and new usha that's involved with playing that position.
Speaker 1: It just isn't going out there, dropping back and throwing
Speaker 1: a football as hard as you can. There's so much
Speaker 1: that plays into it. Because he said, it's not just love,
Speaker 1: it's also Danny Etling. It's these young guys that when
Speaker 1: you come in understanding what's going to be asked of
Speaker 1: you in that position and ultimately being able to improve
Speaker 1: your yourself to get yourself in the best position possible.
Speaker 1: So Aaron Rodgers was not making any predictions on the preseason,
Speaker 1: did not go there when he was asked about the preseason.
Speaker 1: But we know we're going to see a lot of
Speaker 1: Jordan's love and a lot of Danny Etling and for love.
Speaker 1: This was the perfect way and my estimation going into
Speaker 1: Family Night trying to build some momentum up into that
Speaker 1: game against San Francisco. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, next up for
Speaker 1: the Packers a padded practice, full pads practice on Thursday,
Speaker 1: Family Night on Friday, and then heading into the following week,
Speaker 1: the preparation for the preseason opener at San Francisco. I
Speaker 1: want to shift gears here to a completely different topic
Speaker 1: here for the rest of the show. But first I
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Speaker 1: the rest of the show West we need to talk
Speaker 1: about Well, first off, I'm gonna say bond Voyage because
Speaker 1: you are off to Canton, Ohio for an extended weekend
Speaker 1: to cover Leroy Butler's long awaited but i'll say better
Speaker 1: late than never long awaited Hall of Fame induction. And
Speaker 1: I've been to Canton a couple of times. I covered
Speaker 1: Brett Fire's induction as well as Jerry Kramer's UM in
Speaker 1: my time here before that, you know Vic Catchman, your
Speaker 1: predecessor here as as you know the two man writing team.
Speaker 1: Vick covered Ron Wolf and Dave Robinson being inducted into
Speaker 1: the Packers Hall of Fame. So a lot of Canton
Speaker 1: trips over the last decade here, which is a good
Speaker 1: thing um for the franchise. But anyway, I wish you
Speaker 1: save travels and uh. And with regard to Butler's induction UM,
Speaker 1: the Kramer induction a few years ago was one thing
Speaker 1: right because of how long he had to wait. But
Speaker 1: with with Butler, it's almost With Kramer, there was a
Speaker 1: sense of relief because it seemed like it was a
Speaker 1: fifty year like wrong that finally had to be righted.
Speaker 1: With Butler, I just I've never been around a Packers
Speaker 1: player where the Hall of Fame induction And I should
Speaker 1: mention Charles Woodson as well last year. Because of COVID
Speaker 1: restrictions and all that, we weren't known any cover it.
Speaker 1: We didn't cover it in the same way that we've
Speaker 1: covered other inductions. Although I would have loved to have
Speaker 1: been there for Charles le roi'son induction. There is a
Speaker 1: there is a true celebration and joy and everything that
Speaker 1: that is going into this for for him, for his
Speaker 1: family because they've had to wait a little bit longer
Speaker 1: than you would have liked. But I think in a
Speaker 1: lot of ways it's made it even that much sweeter
Speaker 1: for Leroy to get to this point. It has and
Speaker 1: I think everybody involved with this process. I mean, Leroy
Speaker 1: is going in and he said this time and time again,
Speaker 1: and you know the conversations he had with his mom,
Speaker 1: who's since passed about the Hall of Fame, and you know,
Speaker 1: it's not the headline is not Leroy, Butler's going to
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame. It's everybody around him. And while
Speaker 1: he certainly was built by, you know, a village of
Speaker 1: of contributors, coaches, teammates, loved ones that helped him get
Speaker 1: to this point, I also think about all the people
Speaker 1: that have been around him that are kind of going
Speaker 1: on this journey to UM. I can't and I and
Speaker 1: I no longer do I have to act like I'm impartial.
Speaker 1: I'm not um. But I did radio for four years
Speaker 1: with Leroy, and that was the first time I really
Speaker 1: got a chance to meet him. I knew him a
Speaker 1: little bit beforehand from Rob Dmowski and some of my
Speaker 1: colleagues at the Press Gazette, but it was when I
Speaker 1: started doing radio with him in thirteen I got to
Speaker 1: know him better as a human being. And the thing
Speaker 1: that stands out the most to me was what he
Speaker 1: meant to this fan base and what that fan base
Speaker 1: means to him. It is a popular cliche for people
Speaker 1: to talk about the Packers having the best fans of football,
Speaker 1: you know, and some guys, you know, I'm not saying
Speaker 1: they don't mean it, but I'm just saying it's always
Speaker 1: something easy to go back to Leroy. Butler it's a
Speaker 1: different deal and it always has been that way, going
Speaker 1: back to when he invented the leap, which is now
Speaker 1: almost thirty years ago. That he lives for his fans
Speaker 1: and to see this celebration when he finally does get
Speaker 1: in because there were guys like me that were obviously
Speaker 1: really discontent with Steve Attwater getting in first and John
Speaker 1: Lynch getting in first, and obviously, you know, trolly Paula
Speaker 1: Maller was a first ballot Hall of Famer. I don't
Speaker 1: think anyone was arguing that but Leroy was waiting and
Speaker 1: waiting and waiting, and it's like, this is the guy
Speaker 1: that was the first one with twenty sacks and twenty interceptions.
Speaker 1: This is a guy that I think the people that
Speaker 1: could have stumped the hardest for him aren't here. You know,
Speaker 1: Reggie White passed away in two thousand four, Fritz Shermer
Speaker 1: passed away. They the people that knew what he could
Speaker 1: do and had the voices to tell it. A lot
Speaker 1: of those voices weren't available for him. And for a
Speaker 1: time I grew frustrated. But then when he did make
Speaker 1: semifinalist and you start to talk to him more about
Speaker 1: this and his vantage point on things and how his
Speaker 1: mom affected him in that way, this is a guy
Speaker 1: that was content, and he kind of had this sort
Speaker 1: of empowerment, like almost manifesting that I'm going to be
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame someday. I don't need to
Speaker 1: worry about it. I don't worry about the order that
Speaker 1: I think it. It made it even sweeter when he
Speaker 1: finally did get that knock on the door, when Charles
Speaker 1: Woodson did show up at his house and was able
Speaker 1: to actually tell him, you're going to be welcoming to
Speaker 1: the greatest fraternity and professional football. So it's an extremely
Speaker 1: long answer for you, Mike, But I guess the way
Speaker 1: I think as we go days out from this event
Speaker 1: is just the emotions involved with it, in the fact
Speaker 1: that this isn't just a guy, This isn't just a
Speaker 1: safety with stats that revitalized the revolutionize the position. Leroy
Speaker 1: Butler is a tried and true Green Bay Packer. He's
Speaker 1: from Jacksonville, Florida, but you might as well just put
Speaker 1: hometown of title Town on there. That's the way he
Speaker 1: approached this thing, and he still makes his home in Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: I could not be more thrilled for him. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: tell you it's it's interesting. And I don't know Leroy
Speaker 1: as well as you do. And this is not a
Speaker 1: story that he would remember by any stretch. And I'm
Speaker 1: not even sure if I've told you this story. But
Speaker 1: back in my early newspaper days, I was at the
Speaker 1: wasa daily Herald, as you know, and one of the
Speaker 1: first times I came over to Green Bay to provide
Speaker 1: some coverage of the Packers for the daily paperback in Wassa.
Speaker 1: It was training camp of n and of course we
Speaker 1: all know what happened in the Packers were coming off
Speaker 1: of reaching the NFC Championship Game UM and losing to
Speaker 1: Dallas the previous year. So I came over in training
Speaker 1: camp was doing was working on a set of stories
Speaker 1: for a special you know, football tab section for the
Speaker 1: paper that was going to include all the high schools,
Speaker 1: but then also some some exclusive Packer coverage. And I
Speaker 1: was able to get UM through Aaron Popkey, who's still
Speaker 1: one of our colleagues here. Popkey, Aaron was working UM
Speaker 1: in football communications then he's more in all of the
Speaker 1: involved in all the non daily football communications here with
Speaker 1: the organization now. But I was able to get after
Speaker 1: practice in training camp, was able to get a one
Speaker 1: on one interview with Butler just in a little side room,
Speaker 1: you know. And this is way before you know the
Speaker 1: renovation and everything, a little side room off to the
Speaker 1: side of of the locker room and everything. And uh,
Speaker 1: and he didn't he didn't know me from Adam. I
Speaker 1: mean I literally it was the first time I had
Speaker 1: been around lambeau Field and around the locker room at all,
Speaker 1: and uh um. And he sat down and talked with
Speaker 1: me for like fifteen minutes about the defense. You know,
Speaker 1: about Fritz and about Reggie and Santana Dots and and all,
Speaker 1: and you know, all the plans and what the you know,
Speaker 1: how confident they were in the unit they had, which
Speaker 1: ended up being the number one scoring defense in the
Speaker 1: league that year. And I was what would that have been,
Speaker 1: summer of ninety six. I was twenty three years old,
Speaker 1: pretty young cub reporter as they used to say. And
Speaker 1: he he gave he gave me such an amazing interview
Speaker 1: that helped me with these training camp stories that I
Speaker 1: was working. And he didn't he didn't know me, He
Speaker 1: had no he had no reason to give me that
Speaker 1: type of interview, give me that time of day. And
Speaker 1: I've always I've always remembered that, and I've and and
Speaker 1: the longer you're in this business, the more you realize
Speaker 1: that they aren't all made like le Roy Ball. So
Speaker 1: I just wanted to share that because because that's one
Speaker 1: for my very early days in this business, in in
Speaker 1: getting connected to the Packers and professional football, um right
Speaker 1: at the very very beginning stages. And he was a
Speaker 1: part of it for me and uh and I have
Speaker 1: a lot to thank for him, thank him for that
Speaker 1: um because of because of that particular day, I loved
Speaker 1: one of the stories. I was talking with Gilbert Brown,
Speaker 1: who's one of the presenters for Leroy, and he mentioned,
Speaker 1: you know, he gets basically signed from the Vikings. He
Speaker 1: was a third round pick, but he got cut right
Speaker 1: that first year. So what do the Green Bay Packers do? Well,
Speaker 1: they put him in a locker right next to Leewright Butler.
Speaker 1: So when I was asking about it, like just his
Speaker 1: first impressions where he's like, I thought he ran his
Speaker 1: mouth too much because and he's like everybody and their
Speaker 1: mothers sitting there trying to get an interview with him.
Speaker 1: I can never get into my locker, like he basically saying,
Speaker 1: it's a little annoyed by this guy. But then there
Speaker 1: has a time, you know, turned out they end up
Speaker 1: becoming best friends almost mostly like brothers. And I think
Speaker 1: anybody that's met Leroy, whether it's whether you're meetinga or
Speaker 1: whether or not, it could have been a guy, you know,
Speaker 1: someone going to an event. He has a gift of
Speaker 1: gab unlike any other. And it was funny listening to
Speaker 1: his wife, Genesis talked about this because she said, what's
Speaker 1: really interesting about Leroy is one like he he understands
Speaker 1: he's never going to meet every Packer fan. There's too
Speaker 1: many of them, too many different states but in countries.
Speaker 1: But he in that moment when he talks to people,
Speaker 1: it maybe three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, whatever he gets.
Speaker 1: He's like, you know, there's a lot of times where
Speaker 1: he's at things and you know he has a line
Speaker 1: and he always steadily works through it. He has like
Speaker 1: the perfect process for wanting to actually show people the
Speaker 1: appreciation of being able to have that interaction and their
Speaker 1: support um and also being able to you know, try
Speaker 1: to get to as many people as possible. And that's
Speaker 1: something again that his mother instilled in him, and just
Speaker 1: the idea that you know, you're gonna have the leap,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have the interceptions, you're gonna be one of
Speaker 1: the highest paid safeties in the National Football League at
Speaker 1: one point in time, but at some point you won't
Speaker 1: be an NFL football player. Anymore. But if you if
Speaker 1: you care for and you appreciate your fans, they're still
Speaker 1: going to be there for you. So that's what has
Speaker 1: really stood out to me the most. One of the
Speaker 1: big reasons why I think Jerry Kramer, in addition to
Speaker 1: being a five time All Pro guard and all the
Speaker 1: things that he did in his career, one of the
Speaker 1: reasons that that that fire never died trying to get
Speaker 1: him into Canton is because of the fact he was,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, the greatest ambassador of Packers football there's
Speaker 1: ever been. The guy's done it all, see in it all,
Speaker 1: and he did it ten years fifteen years before anybody else. Right. Leroy,
Speaker 1: in my mind, is like a modern day Jerry Kramer.
Speaker 1: I think he's a guy that will continue to carry
Speaker 1: that green and gold torch for this organization. He's a
Speaker 1: guy that you can go and talk to and feel
Speaker 1: like you've known him for ten years. Oh and by
Speaker 1: the way, he's an incredibly deserving football player. The ways
Speaker 1: in which Fritz Shermer utilized him were unprecedented at the time.
Speaker 1: And you know, you had your Ronnie Lotts, you know
Speaker 1: you had your your you know you're Darren Woodson's You
Speaker 1: had guys that were making this transition at that time
Speaker 1: when defenses were starting to evolve a little bit and
Speaker 1: understanding you could just always live in your base unit.
Speaker 1: You're gonna have to have sub packages, and guys like
Speaker 1: Leroy were worth their weight in gold just based on
Speaker 1: what they could do and how really dependable they could be.
Speaker 1: The credit has to go first and foremost to Ray Rhodes.
Speaker 1: He was the one that started that switch in, but
Speaker 1: once Shermer got in and where they took that thing.
Speaker 1: I wrote this in my profile on him, fifteen and
Speaker 1: a half of his twenty and a half SAX came
Speaker 1: when he was operating those five seasons in Friz Shermer's defense. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he used him almost like another pass rusher to the point,
Speaker 1: like Gilbert was saying, some of the guys on the
Speaker 1: front were like, this guy's taking our set, you know.
Speaker 1: But that's just the type of playmaker he was, and
Speaker 1: they entrusted him in a way in which few GET
Speaker 1: people have have really been trusted. You look at Leroy,
Speaker 1: butler you look at Charles Woodson in two thousand and ten,
Speaker 1: those type of defensive backs really had a huge contribution
Speaker 1: to Super Bowl Championships and ultimately keeping the title in
Speaker 1: Title Town. Yeah. Absolutely, When when you think of Leroy Butler, Uh,
Speaker 1: the words dependable and impactful are the ones that that
Speaker 1: come to mind for me and Um, Well, I certainly
Speaker 1: congratulate Leroy. I wish him the best. I hope he
Speaker 1: has the greatest celebration weekend ever um in Canton, Ohio.
Speaker 1: I'm excited for you to be able to be able
Speaker 1: to be a part of that one last thing before
Speaker 1: we go, because this is what always comes up already
Speaker 1: referenced the past decade, right, There's been Dave Robinson, Ron Wolf,
Speaker 1: Brett Farve, Jerry Kramer, Charles Woodson, now Leroy Butler. So
Speaker 1: who's the next Green Bay Packers individual icon? Who who
Speaker 1: may eventually enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame? And
Speaker 1: there are three legitimate possibilities here for the Class of three,
Speaker 1: because both for the Senior Committee and the Coach Contributor category,
Speaker 1: those groups have been whittled down to uh finalists and
Speaker 1: Sterling Sharp and cecil Isbell are both finalists in the
Speaker 1: Senior category, and then former head coach Mike Holmgren is
Speaker 1: one of the finalists in the in the Coach Contributor category. Now,
Speaker 1: to explain sort of how this works is with these
Speaker 1: separate categories from from what's sort of the the regular
Speaker 1: modern era induction process, which is how Leroy got in
Speaker 1: Charles Woodson, Brett farve Um. The Senior Committee looks at
Speaker 1: players who um who did not make it in through
Speaker 1: the normal modern error process and sort of re revisits
Speaker 1: uh certain candidates and then is able to nominate individuals
Speaker 1: to then get a full vote in front of the
Speaker 1: full selection committee. The coach Contributor category is a fairly
Speaker 1: recent one that's been that's been created. They get to
Speaker 1: do the same thing. Fore, the Senior Committee is going
Speaker 1: to get to put forward three players. Usually it's only
Speaker 1: one or two. They'll get to put forward three players
Speaker 1: for a full vote in front of the committee. They
Speaker 1: have a list of twelve finalists right now, it will
Speaker 1: be whittled to three the coach Contributor category as a
Speaker 1: dozen final if that'll be whittled down to just one.
Speaker 1: So Sharp and Isabel are in the senior category, Homegrown
Speaker 1: is in the coach contributor category. Going to be interesting
Speaker 1: to see how this falls. I think the best chance
Speaker 1: at this point because the Senior Committee is actually going
Speaker 1: to have three nominees for the next three years each
Speaker 1: of the next three years that that they can put
Speaker 1: forward for a vote to the full committee. I think
Speaker 1: the door is open for Sterling Sharp. If it's not
Speaker 1: this next year, maybe within the next couple of years.
Speaker 1: I think the door is open for Sterling Sharp to
Speaker 1: to maybe get the nod here. What do you think? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree. I mean the momentum is certainly there, and
Speaker 1: its momentum that we haven't felt for a number of
Speaker 1: years with Sharp in his candidacy. And you know, I
Speaker 1: keep going back to what his brother said, you know,
Speaker 1: and it's one of probably the most impassioned lines I
Speaker 1: can ever recall from Hall of Fame speeches when he's
Speaker 1: talking about going in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: but you know, probably not even being the best football
Speaker 1: player in his own family. Yeah, it was was something
Speaker 1: that really hit home. And I know how close those
Speaker 1: two are as brothers. I never covered, you know, Sterling.
Speaker 1: I just caught the tail end of it in terms
Speaker 1: of when I remember as a child. But that the
Speaker 1: story I always tell people is that if you would
Speaker 1: tell me that in this guy's last NFL game, he
Speaker 1: had nine catches for a hundred and thirty two yards
Speaker 1: and two in three touchdowns. I mean, I don't know
Speaker 1: about you. When you look at the rest of the resume,
Speaker 1: that's a Hall of Famer. And I think when you
Speaker 1: look at Megatron getting in when he did, I really
Speaker 1: honestly feel like Terrell. I understand the playoff implications of it,
Speaker 1: but I really felt like Terrell Davis getting in with
Speaker 1: something where it's like, Okay, we're starting to break down
Speaker 1: the wall here a little bit of guys that maybe
Speaker 1: didn't play ten twelve years, And I thought that helped him.
Speaker 1: And then also from the standpoint of you look at
Speaker 1: you really do take a look at the numbers he
Speaker 1: was putting up with the players that he was putting
Speaker 1: those and he didn't play seven years with Brett Farve.
Speaker 1: I mean, he he went through different quarterbacks and yet
Speaker 1: he always was an impact player. Yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 1: And we've talked about this, you know, amongst ourselves, even
Speaker 1: on this show. We've written about an insider inbox with
Speaker 1: regard to this idea of the you know, the players
Speaker 1: with the shorter careers, as you say, not the guys
Speaker 1: who played ten, twelve or fourteen years. The guys with
Speaker 1: the shorter careers getting into the Hall of Fame, Terrell
Speaker 1: Davis broke down a bit of a barrier there. But
Speaker 1: with him, you know, there was the caveat that he
Speaker 1: was he not only was you know, did what he
Speaker 1: did in a shortened career, but in the postseason with
Speaker 1: the Super Bowls with the Broncos, I mean and what
Speaker 1: Terrell davis Is postseason numbers were were like off the charts.
Speaker 1: That that that that was always something extra that was
Speaker 1: carried along with his shorter career. But then as you said, Megatron,
Speaker 1: Megatron got in, Calvin Johnson from the Lions didn't have
Speaker 1: the longest career, and now we've also seen Tony BASSELLI considered,
Speaker 1: you know, the premier left tackle in this game for
Speaker 1: a handful of years, but didn't have a very long
Speaker 1: career because of health concerns and injuries. And now Stirling
Speaker 1: Sharp here coming along as a as a very strong
Speaker 1: senior committee candidate, not having um not having even gotten
Speaker 1: to the finalist stage in in the modern era process
Speaker 1: at all. The thing the thing that I'll always remember
Speaker 1: about Sterling, and partly because partly because I was actually
Speaker 1: at the game. Um. I was at the game at
Speaker 1: the Metrodome against the Vikings when when Sterling broke Art
Speaker 1: Monks single season receptions record when he got a hundred
Speaker 1: and eight receptions in one season, and that I don't
Speaker 1: remember exactly when Monks at that record, but I want
Speaker 1: to say it had stood for about ten years give
Speaker 1: or take. Then Sterling broke that record with a hundred
Speaker 1: and eight receptions in one year, and then the following
Speaker 1: year he broke it again and got a hundred and
Speaker 1: twelve UM. And I mean he he was the best
Speaker 1: at his position for even though what he didn't play
Speaker 1: as long as Jerry Rice, he didn't play as long
Speaker 1: as Terrell Owens who came later. And so I I
Speaker 1: commend I commend the Senior Committee and the full Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame Selection Committee that has looked harder at the
Speaker 1: Tony Basselli's of the world that these guys who were
Speaker 1: the best of the best, even if they didn't have
Speaker 1: the super long career, they're starting to get their due
Speaker 1: and I hope, I hope it comes due for sharp
Speaker 1: here with the with the Senior Committee opportunity over the
Speaker 1: next few years. The other thing I'll say too, with
Speaker 1: regard to Mike Holmgren, UM, I think Mike Holmgren belongs
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame. You and I have talked
Speaker 1: about it before that if Bill Kauer and nothing against
Speaker 1: Bill Kauer, but if Bill Kauer with UH with one
Speaker 1: Super Bowl win and one Super Bowl loss as head
Speaker 1: coach of the Steelers, if Mike Bill cowers in the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame, Mike Holmegren should be in the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame, having been to three Super Bowls with two
Speaker 1: different franchises. I even though Homegron only has the one
Speaker 1: Super Bowl title, I think he's definitely deserving. That. Being said,
Speaker 1: with the coach contributor category right now, only being able
Speaker 1: to push forward one candidate this upcoming year, UM, I'm
Speaker 1: kind of pulling for Don coore Yell. UM. I think
Speaker 1: I think Don coore Yell, the former San Diego Chargers
Speaker 1: head coach, has been overlooked in this process for way
Speaker 1: too long with what his passing offenses with Dan Fouts
Speaker 1: and West Chandler and John Jefferson and Kellen Winzel and
Speaker 1: all those guys like what they did. So I'm kind
Speaker 1: of hoping that Corey Yell gets in and then maybe
Speaker 1: once he's out of the way then, Mike Holmgren, you know,
Speaker 1: starts to starts to rise closer to the top a
Speaker 1: little bit. That's just sort of how I see it
Speaker 1: from a personal stand. Yeah, I'm definitely with you on
Speaker 1: the Korey All front. It was interesting talking to Leroy
Speaker 1: a little bit about Homegren and his candidacy and and
Speaker 1: something else maybe put together later for a story because
Speaker 1: he sort of touched on what you just did there.
Speaker 1: In terms of the three Super Bowl appearances, Mike Holmegren
Speaker 1: basically covers all the all the different variations of what
Speaker 1: you look for in the Hall of Fame type coach.
Speaker 1: A guy that came into a situation where this was
Speaker 1: a downtrodden franchise for twenty nine years and was a
Speaker 1: part of the rebuilding plan of that was a part
Speaker 1: of them getting back to prominence within three four years.
Speaker 1: The other thing, too, is that, Okay, if you want
Speaker 1: to maybe right off some of his successes because of
Speaker 1: Brett Farve and Reggie White and everything and how prolific
Speaker 1: some of that talent was, well, then you also need
Speaker 1: to acknowledge what he did with Seattle and with all
Speaker 1: with no disrespect intended to Mann, Hasselbeck, who was a
Speaker 1: fine NFL starting quarterback. It was a different type of
Speaker 1: quarterback and they had to do things differently with Sean
Speaker 1: Alexander and a lot of those teams of that era,
Speaker 1: he established two basic turnarounds and in shepherded both of
Speaker 1: them in that regard. I think we all need to be,
Speaker 1: you know, need to take stock of that, and in
Speaker 1: my opinion, that's what put his resume higher than Bill Kers,
Speaker 1: especially considering car was coming after Chuck Noll. The other
Speaker 1: thing I just want to touch on very briefly before
Speaker 1: we go is Cecil as Abel because you know, I'm
Speaker 1: a huge Cecil as a Bell fan. It's well documented
Speaker 1: how much I feel about his his candidacy, and I'm
Speaker 1: putting it out there for for Cliff Crystal next year,
Speaker 1: next spring when we end the season, you know, and
Speaker 1: you're getting fitted for a Super Bowl ring. I want
Speaker 1: to be able to actually sit down with Cliff and
Speaker 1: go through Isabel Vern Llewellen in in Lavie Dilwig because
Speaker 1: those are kind of the three that everybody's talking about
Speaker 1: that we're sort of left behind in that pre Canton
Speaker 1: Hall of fame and and I honestly believe It is
Speaker 1: an oversight not not to have Llewllen on this list,
Speaker 1: but he's not there. Isabel is. So that's what we
Speaker 1: have to talk about. If Isabel would get into the
Speaker 1: Pro Football of Fame, would be tied for the second
Speaker 1: fewest games played by a guy in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: But we also need to respect the fact that this
Speaker 1: was a different time in National Football League history. When
Speaker 1: Isabel hung it up, it wasn't because he couldn't play.
Speaker 1: He was at the peak of his power. He had
Speaker 1: just fashioned almost a ninety passer rating in like through
Speaker 1: for yards, had twenty four touchdowns, a record that stood
Speaker 1: for forty years until Lynn Dicky broke it. You just
Speaker 1: have to be able to appreciate that money was different,
Speaker 1: time was different in World War Two. This is a
Speaker 1: guy that then went out of the coaching side of
Speaker 1: things because that's where you could actually make a true living.
Speaker 1: And you go back, just read Don Hudson's book, read
Speaker 1: some of these things on Cecil Isabel, this guy. If
Speaker 1: you're talking about a Pro Football Hall of Fame, it
Speaker 1: is about guys who changed the National Football League and
Speaker 1: in terms of the forward pass. Along with Curly Lambeo
Speaker 1: Isabel was a huge part of that. After the Arnie
Speaker 1: Herbert era, I was gonna say he followed a Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer in Arnie Herbert as a as a offensive
Speaker 1: back slash quarterback, the way they were the way they
Speaker 1: were used back then, and obviously Don Hudson was was
Speaker 1: a big part of of that era as well. Um, well,
Speaker 1: we've gone a little bit over time today, but you're
Speaker 1: heading off for a few days, so so have a
Speaker 1: safe trip, friend. I hope it all goes well for you.
Speaker 1: Say hi to Leroy for me and all of that,
Speaker 1: all right, and with that we'll call it a wrap
Speaker 1: on this edition of Packers Unscript. To be sure to
Speaker 1: follow all of our coverage on Packers dot com. West
Speaker 1: will have everything from Canton. I will have everything from
Speaker 1: training camp and Family Night and all that coming up
Speaker 1: here in the next few days. So for West, I
Speaker 1: am Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We'll see
Speaker 1: you next time.