WEBVTT - #410 Packers Unscripted: Loss of a legend 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:20.880 M Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.919 I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz, 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:27.960 were coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field. 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:31.560 Excuse me, certainly. Hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend. 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:35.520 But west some sad news came through Packer Land over 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.920 this Memorial Day weekend. And I'm talking about, of course, 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:44.760 the passing of the great, the legendary Bart Star, Hall 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:50.280 of Fame quarterback, former Packers head coach. And if there's 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:52.479 a Hall of Fame for human beings, he would certainly 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.680 be in it, and a first ballot Hall of Famer, 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.680 I think in that respect. Just your reflections on the 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.560 new was regarding Bart Starr and any interactions you may 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:05.640 or may not have had with him over the years. Yeah, 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:07.840 you know. It's so it's interesting, Michael. I woke up 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:13.200 on Sunday morning and got the news through our message 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:19.080 and channels that Bart had passed. And it's difficult because, 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:21.320 I mean, everyone knows what Bart was dealing with the 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.759 last four four and a half years. He really fought, 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:27.920 He fought every single day, He fought to get back 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:32.039 for Brett Farve's Jersey retirement. He fought to be able 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.480 to be here for the fiftieth anniversary of the Ice Bowl, 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:38.240 and every single day it was about, you know, his 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:45.600 passion for life helping. It really strikes you, and it 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:47.880 caused me to do a lot of reflection. We we 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:50.480 got a Cliff Crystals wonderful oh Bit, which is on 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:53.920 Packers dot Com right now, got sent through and our boss, 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:58.560 Duke Boberum said, you know, headline, subhead We do that 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:03.320 for every story to much and you mentioned legend at 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.200 the beginning. We're always so very careful to use that term. 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:09.639 But as I was trying to figure out exactly what 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.280 the title should be for that oh bit, nothing else 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:16.480 really seemed sufficient. It just seemed like he was one 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:21.720 of those people there were that term fit. He was 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:23.880 everything he did as he was a Hall of Fame quarterback, 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.720 As I said, he was a legendary leader. Everything him 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:31.920 and his wife Cherry did, they did together. And I 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:33.920 don't know, Michael, it was one of those deals where 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:38.600 he's gone, but the impact that he has now, the 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:42.640 lives that he's touched a few people in the world, 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:45.360 they are able to ever accomplish that Bart Star was 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:48.480 truly somebody special. Yeah, I mean, and just reading as 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:52.280 you put together over the weekend the excuse me Insider 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.880 Inbox column for Monday morning, where you gave a few 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.760 thoughts and just kind of stepped aside. And I'm sure 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:01.280 there were a lot of missions to the inbox to 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.560 sift through, but you just posted a lot of people's 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:08.240 reflections and some of the stories in there of you know, 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:11.240 and their stories that a lot of people have heard. 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:15.400 But the thing is, you know, for each individual who 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:18.280 you know encountered that you know, well, no, I'm not 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:20.839 going to sign an autograph on a cocktail napkin. Give 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:23.720 me your name and address, and you know, next week 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:27.760 I'll mail you an autograph picture. Bart did that for 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:32.280 countless Packers fans. And one of the things I do 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.680 know about him too from people that I've talked to, 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:39.400 is that he personalized every single autograph. He would put 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:42.720 your name on it, you know, and and then obviously 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:44.440 signed it. He did that for a couple of reasons. 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:47.280 One because that's partly his personality. He wanted to get 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.600 to know and he would try to remember anybody's name 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:52.600 that that he would meet, along the way. But it 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:54.920 was also his way of saying, I'm not giving you 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.080 this autograph so that you can just go sell it 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.880 on eBay as a Bart Star autograph. He personalized every 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:04.120 autographed because it was for that individual and for that person. 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:07.040 And those are just a couple of things. Those are 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.280 just the little things when when you read through, if 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:11.640 you have a chance to read through Monday's Insider inbox, 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:15.080 com a lot of really great reflections from from fans 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:18.719 there um and uh, a lot of really just really 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:25.240 touching stories of small but meaningful interactions with an individual 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:28.599 like Bart Star. And that's the thing at Bottoms. Any 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:31.560 interaction you had with the guy, he made it meaningful, 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:34.040 he did. I really enjoyed your talking about how he 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:37.200 personalized everything. There was one comment or uh in the 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:40.000 inbox that had mentioned that he had written him about 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:43.040 this group of friends that he had uh and and 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:45.320 was you know, basically just kind of making small chat, 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:47.279 you know, just typically like you'd send a letter to 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:49.880 someone you idolize, especially way back when when you didn't 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:53.440 have those social media era and Star wrote back, and 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:56.159 I think he was He signed football cards for each 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:57.680 one of the kids, even though it was just the 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:01.400 one kid. He had personalized footpunk for every single child. 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:03.720 And the other thing that really struck me. And I 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:05.360 don't know how much you know obviously with the men 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:07.359 Memorial Day Week and how much you're on social media, 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:13.000 but the amount of people Michael that tweeted out photos 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:16.400 with Star when they were children. Uh, you know, Steve 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:18.640 Mariucci had a wonderful tribute. I don't know if you 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.640 caught that on NFL network and a photo of him 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:23.440 actually at a Packers training camp. I think it was 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.839 in X three or something like that, because you know 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:28.880 his family, they weren't able to afford to go to 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:30.919 Packer games, so their big trip was going down for 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:33.960 training camp and then lo and behold, Steve Miriuchi becomes 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:38.240 the quarterbacks coach for Brett farven Is. Suddenly, you know, 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:43.359 right there having conversations with bart stars childhood idol. I 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:45.160 think it's really important for people to really you don't 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.240 really have to be a professional athlete to be able 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:51.159 to appreciate this, but it's about doing things for people, 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.320 no matter how small. You don't know who that kid 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:58.240 that's four or five, six years old is gonna end 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:01.000 up being. I think it was it was a Zion Williams. 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:04.600 Is that that the duke basketball Williamson Williamson. Sorry, I'm 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:07.120 not a big basketball fan, but he had mentioned a 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:09.120 couple of weeks ago too, he signs an autograph for 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:11.680 every kid he comes across because he was that kid, 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:15.200 and he had professional athletes turned him down. There are 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.800 so many people, Michael, in that simple gesture of star 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:24.040 doing that that became better children, better husband's, better wives, 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:28.320 better human beings. If we had more bart stars in 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.359 this world. It's a cliche, but it truly would be 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:34.000 a better place. And what him and Cherry did in 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.720 their extensive efforts in Green Bay, he did a lot 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:39.320 of great things with Vincelentbardi. You don't take any of 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:43.000 those away, but it's what he did afterwards that made 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:47.920 him the ambassador that he was and truly made him, Uh, 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:50.279 as you said, a Hall of Fame human being. Yeah, 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.240 it's just it's emotional. It's emotional. Think about it. Yeah. Absolutely. 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.280 In your sports writing career, did you ever have an 0:06:56.279 --> 0:07:00.479 opportunity to interact with Never interviewed him, but a very 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:02.359 good friend of mine. You know, here's the thing, is 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:05.520 I got onto the beat um part already was starting 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:07.400 to there was some rumblings with some of the health 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:09.880 issues he was already sharing with two thousand and fourteen. 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:13.080 Obviously has a stroke and and and whatnot. But Mike 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.480 vander Moss, my mentor, uh, someone I hold in really 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.600 high regard. He interviewed Star a lot, and I heard 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.520 a lot of the stories through him. It's it's so funny. 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.800 I mean, it's just hearing it through my grandfather and 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:25.760 in his experience as him a player and talking to 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.600 guys like Mike who interacted with him. And the other 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:30.640 thing is too. I remember when Pete Doherty, my former 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:32.800 colleague at the Press Becauette, went down an interview him. 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:34.840 I think, honestly it was probably one of his last 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:38.280 interviews that he conducted, maybe the last down in Alabama. 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:40.680 Sat down with him, and just the way that that 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:44.080 operation was run. He had a secretary and it was 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:46.680 it was just like a small business that they had there. 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:48.720 I mean, you just called that up. Okay, here's Bart 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.240 Star and he set it up. He went down and 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.800 interviewed him, and just the humility that he showed, the graciousness. 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.000 There are a lot of people that reached down inbox too. Saying, 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:59.760 you know, they interviewed him as a young radio personality 0:07:59.880 --> 0:08:03.800 or a writer, and just how gracious he was in 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:06.280 those settings when he did not have to be. Yeah, 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:09.840 Bart start once he was, once he made it, he 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:12.000 didn't have to do all that stuff. I think that's 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:14.720 my biggest takeaway from this is that he had this 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:17.200 great line about how the true mark of a man, 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:18.920 the true mark of a human being, is how you 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:21.400 treat people when they can do nothing for you, and 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.000 Bart stars somebody that really gave back in that way. Yeah. Well, 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.760 fortunately I did have an opportunity to interview him two 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.080 times over the phone. I did meet him once in 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:34.040 person as well later on. But when I met him, 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.079 or when I came about him, um, I met him, 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:38.520 he was he came to Green Bay and I'm trying 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:40.800 to remember exactly what it was. It was. It was 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:43.800 for some sort of a street naming type of thing 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.320 that was that was going on, And I just I 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:49.160 had interviewed him on the phone a couple of times 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.880 in a couple of years prior, and he didn't necessarily 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:55.360 remember me, and that was okay, But he didn't remember 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:58.199 Mike Spofford well. But having had an opportunity to talk 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:01.240 to him on the phone. I wanted to. I wanted 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:04.200 to just introduce myself for a brief moment. But it's 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.040 interesting because the first time I did get a chance 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.400 to interview him on the phone, I felt really horrible 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:13.720 about it because what it was. It was after his 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:18.400 Hall of Fame center, Jim Ringo had died and uh no, 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.200 it's two thousand seven. Actually it was two thousand and seven. 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:24.640 It was my second year here with Packers dot Com 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:29.680 and Lo and Behold. I actually, and very unfortunately, ended 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.240 up being the one who informed him that Jim Ringo 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:34.760 had died. He didn't know, and I was making some 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:38.439 phone calls to write a story reflecting on Ringo's career 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.800 in his life and all that, and I felt really 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.760 really bad about it. He was as expected, He was 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:47.440 extremely gracious about it. But what I remember the most 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.120 is that after our brief conversation, I didn't want to 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:51.800 hold him up on the phone too long. I just 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:55.880 wanted a couple of thoughts on Ringo's career. But I 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:58.800 could tell that as I was getting ready to say 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.200 goodbye and hang up the phone own he was getting 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:03.600 ready with his whole list of phone calls that he 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.440 was going to make so that none of his other 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:09.000 former teammates were going to find out about Ringo the 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:10.560 way he just did, you know what, you know what 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:15.439 I'm saying, Yeah, like he he was. He felt badly 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:19.080 that that the news hadn't maybe spread as quickly as 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:21.720 it should have about a Hall of Fame teammate. And 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:24.480 as I said, I felt badly about about being the 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:27.000 one to tell him the good news. Is then later 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:29.800 that season, I got another chance to call him, and 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:31.560 it was when he was going to be coming up 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.880 to Green Bay to be the honorary captain for the 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:38.200 two thousand seven NFC Championship game, you know, the second 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:40.720 Ice Bowl, so to speak, against the New York Giants. 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.200 And what I remember most about that conversation, aside from 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:47.959 the fact that Bart was absolutely totally convinced the Packers 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:49.680 were going to the Super Bowl and there was no 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:51.600 way the Giants were going to come into a freezing 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:55.200 cold lambeau Field and beat the Green Bay Packers. Unfortunately 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:57.880 it didn't work out that way. But what I took 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.760 away the most from that conversation is how much he 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:05.520 was absolutely relishing in the team's success and that there 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:09.720 was again this sort of mini revival of the team 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:13.520 after some down years and the coaching change to to 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:17.520 Mike McCarthy and Mike McCarthy and Brett Farve. We're, you know, 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.680 we're we're pushing the Packers back into prominence once again. 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:23.439 And he was absolutely loving every minute of it. He 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:26.760 really really enjoyed it. And it wouldn't have mattered if 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:29.400 it was going to be twenty degrees or negative twenty 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.360 degrees that day to be able to walk out for 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:35.240 the coin toss for the NFC Championship game for his 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.400 Green Bay Packers at lambeau Field. He was really looking 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:40.920 forward to, you know, coming up from Alabama that day 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:42.760 to do that. That's why I wrote an inbox. I 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:44.160 think it was in the Tuesday one. A lot of 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:48.440 things happened this weekend um that to me, for my money, 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.800 him and Jerry Kramer are the greatest ambassadors of Packers football. 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:54.480 I couldn't again. I would love to get Cliffs perspective 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:56.480 on that. But the reason I said it as a 0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:59.760 thirty something now is the fact that Star and c 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:03.640 are the ones that tied generations together. It wasn't just 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:05.480 about what they did in the sixties or their Hall 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:07.800 of Fame careers or anything of that sort. It was 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:11.200 the fact that you know, I'm sure your son knows 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:13.840 about him. My son is going to know about him. 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:15.960 There are so many people that have been touched by 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:21.240 him in the spans of generations. Grandfather's father's son, daughters. 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:23.880 I mean, it's just it's incredible, Michael, when you think 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:27.719 about that, because sometimes we lose history, right, But there 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.160 was something about bart Star and the fact that he 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:33.440 had that appreciation for Packer's history and what it stood 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:37.560 for and what this organization meant that it made it 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:42.320 really easy for anybody, regardless of your age, to just 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:45.600 respect what that man was all about. His legacy didn't 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.400 get lost in the time in which he played. It's 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:49.960 something that endures forever. Yeah, well, it's I tell you, 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:54.400 it's been something these last nine months that Jim Taylor, Forest, 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:59.359 Greg Now, Bart Star, all between October and now unfortunately 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:02.960 have left us. Yeah, that's right. Bob Scernsky another one 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:04.840 who is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.680 although bart Star, Bart started him in there, would say 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:11.680 Bob Scarnzi, Bob Scronsky does deserve to be in the profo. 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:13.680 I'm gonna put that out there too. I mean, Bart 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.040 Starr is one of the most mild mannered gentleman that 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:17.720 you've ever seen. I'm gonna put this out there because 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:20.559 now part second that man got is fired up? Is 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:22.319 I think you ever saw him get fired up when 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:24.760 it came to Bob Scorns. Yeah, he was convinced he 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:27.439 should be in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, completely felt 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:30.680 he felt he was maybe the most overlooked player of 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:34.280 a of a great era Packer football. Throw that in there, 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:36.920 Yeah for sure. Well West, the Green Bay Packers get 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:40.400 ready for game day with the powerful noise canceling technology 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.480 of Bo's Quiet Comfort thirty five headphones. To learn more 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:47.480 at www dot bos dot com, Slash Packers Bows, the 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.400 official headphones of the Green Bay Packers, and at Homer 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.680 Here in the stands, we all know that Green Bay 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:54.480 fans give it their all and that takes a lot 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.600 of energy. So grab a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup. 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.520 It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness of Packers fans everywhere. 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:04.640 Try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. Just visit your 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.600 local supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky Soup official sup 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:12.240 partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, moving on to 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.400 some of the here and now with regards to the Packers. 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:18.960 We are beginning week two of O T A S. 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:22.160 And one topic from last week I wanted to revisit 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:24.480 here you and I will get a chance to see 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:27.880 another practice and interview players in the locker room again 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:32.480 on Wednesday this week. But one leftover talk from last week. 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.280 I thought it was interesting to me how Matt Lafleur 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:42.960 talked about the building of a wide receiver corps for 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:45.800 his offense. And what I'm talking about specifically is he 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:49.040 said he kind of wants to get to know these 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:54.560 guys and figure out what what area of expertise each 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:57.640 of his receivers has, and then he says, then it's 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:00.080 up to us as coaches to take those area as 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.640 of expertise and use them in the best possible way 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:07.680 within the offense. And now my biggest takeaway from that 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.560 is that for all of the angst and discussion and 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:13.720 questions about, well, how are the Packers going to replace 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:17.080 Randall Cobb in the slot, departed free agent signed with 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:20.000 the Dallas Cowboys, had a great Packers careeries no longer. 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.360 Here I took away from that West that there may 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:25.480 not be when it's all said and done, in the 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:27.640 fifty three man roster is selected at the end of 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:30.360 training camp, there may not be anybody who's going to 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:34.480 get the label of slot receiver in this offense. Do 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:36.400 you think that's an accurate read on I think that's 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:38.600 an accurate read. I thought your story really outlined that 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:40.600 well to kind of looking at the skill sets of 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:42.960 these players and also how the offensive game has changed 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:45.520 a little bit. I go back to two thousand fourteen 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:47.800 when you think about when Julie's Peppers signed. Do you 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.040 remember the angst among Packers fans at the time about Hey, 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:54.600 this guy's pounds, how does he fit? How is it 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:57.200 gonna be an outside lineback? And then dom and when 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.200 we started talking to the coaches, they talked about elephant 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.760 rushers and things that sort. Let's be honest here, he 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:04.960 was Julius Peppers. He was going to get sacks, he 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:08.120 was going to be successful in the defense because news flash, 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.920 he was Julius Peppers. Now, I'm not trying to compare 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:12.600 any of these young men to Julius Peppers, but I 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:17.160 think sometimes we get so pigeon held into thinking, Okay, 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:19.920 you need someone that is five ft eleven weighs a 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.640 hundred and nine pounds. That's the only way you're gonna 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:25.040 be able to replace Randall Cop. It's not like that 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:27.840 Randall Cop had injuries in the past, Jordy Nelson had 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.520 to play the slot. Davante Adams has played the slot. 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.000 I think there is a level of multiplicity to this 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:36.200 defense that I think some people outside looking in casually 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.280 haven't quite been able to pick up yet. Slot receiver 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.880 is a valuable position in this league. It's the way 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:44.560 things are now, with eleven personnel and with how spread 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:46.640 out the game is getting, you need to have difference 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:49.680 makers inside. I think we are starting to realize you 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.280 don't need to have a certain height requirement or size 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:54.240 requirement to play there. You need to have quick twitch, 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:55.920 you need to be smart, and you need to be 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.440 able to catch the football and traffic. But beyond that, 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.240 what's the difference if it's Randall Cobb or Jimmy Graham. 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:05.160 Nobody seemed to be putting up any gripes when Jimmy 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:07.080 Graham was lining up in the slot last season. So 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:10.480 my challenge is is to understand the big picture here 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:12.480 and the fact that guys are going to be moving around, 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.080 and the more that you can have those guys playing 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:17.879 different positions, the more complex it ends up being for 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.159 the defense. Yeah, the way la Fleur talked about it, 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:22.560 he talked about it in terms of responsibility on a 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:24.760 given play. Now, the players they have to learn the 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:29.080 formations first where they line up, but then it's about responsibility. 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:30.879 And the way he put it is, you may have 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:34.120 somebody lining up in the slot position and he may 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:36.720 have what's called a choice route or an option route, 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:40.200 which is where you have to read the defense and 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.159 you have say a two way ago. Maybe you're supposed 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:44.760 to break to the left or you're supposed to break 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:47.280 to the right, and you have to make that choice 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.320 based on the leverage of the defender in front of you. 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:53.200 And the quarterback has to read the defense and see 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:55.439 it the same way as the receiver. That's where the 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:58.679 whole being on the same page line comes from. So 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:02.280 that's one thing. But Matt Lafleur also might have a 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:05.600 guy line up in the slot position, but he might 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:09.520 run a go route to occupy the safety to maybe 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:11.440 open something up on the other side of the field 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.800 because the safety has to worry about this guy running 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:17.000 right up the hash mark all the way down the field. Now, 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:20.720 slot receivers don't run go routes. But the only thing 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:24.200 about slot receiver in this instance is where he lined up. 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:27.000 What matters is the job that he's given on a 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.480 particular play. And you know what Matt Lafleur is gonna do. 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:31.760 He's gonna put the best guy at running the go 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.919 route in that position to do that, to occupy the 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.920 defense the way he wants the defense occupied. Right, exactly, 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:40.159 Slot receivers don't run go routes. You never played me 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:43.200 and Madden, I was all the way slot receivers go routes. 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:45.960 But to your original point, yeah, that's that's exactly right. 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:47.960 I mean, that isn't typically something you see. You see 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:49.680 a lot of slants, you see a lot of crosses. 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:52.520 The thing that's been exciting, and it's hard to really 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:55.920 lay out all the things that they're doing so far 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:58.840 through the mandatory or excuse me, the voluntary minicamp that 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:01.240 we saw and then the one o t A practice. 0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:03.679 But I don't know how you feel about this. It 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:07.560 is you're seeing different routes. You're seeing different patterns, you're 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:11.920 seeing different emphasis ease of what these guys are stressing. 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:13.800 I don't know how much I can get into all 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:15.720 that with some of the liberties that you have to, 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:18.000 you know, take with being allowed to watch practice. But 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.280 it does look different and what these guys are being 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:23.600 asked to do as receivers is going to be different 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:25.920 than in the past. And I think that's exciting because 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:27.600 if you can, if you can only go off of 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:30.159 what you've seen, with what Matt Lafleur and Sean McVeigh 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.399 have put on film, it is interesting to watch. It 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:36.240 is exciting, and it does move the football down field. 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:39.120 Now you have to make sure that Geronimo Allison, these 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:41.560 young receivers, all those guys can handle it. But when 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:43.720 you're talking about a slot receiver running a go route, 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:45.880 if you're getting some of these guys like MVS, let's 0:19:45.880 --> 0:19:49.000 say he's lining up there, that's four three seven speed 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:51.320 you're looking at in the middle of the field. All 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:54.760 things that your defense, your secondary have to take into account. 0:19:55.200 --> 0:19:58.360 To me, that's exciting because you really don't know where 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.480 all these pieces are gonna fit. And that's the thing too, 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:03.680 is we're going to go into training camp and as 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:05.439 we watch O T A s here, I don't know 0:20:05.480 --> 0:20:07.879 exactly how many receivers are on the roster, but it's 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.840 a lot. Right when things get paired down at the 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:14.080 end of the preseason, you're gonna have I mean, we'll 0:20:14.080 --> 0:20:18.359 see maybe five receivers on the roster, maybe six, will 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:20.600 see how that shakes out. So at the end of 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.800 the day, the guys who are the most well rounded, 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:26.760 you know, he said he's looking for areas of expertise. 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:29.800