WEBVTT - #428 Packers Unscripted: The other side 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:20.600 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:24.759 I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside my trusted colleague Wes Hodkuitz. 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:27.000 Were coming to you here from our studios at lambeau 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.520 Field West. Packers Bears Week one, the kickoff to the 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.840 NFL season. It's just a couple of days away now, 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.640 and we spent a lot of time talking yesterday's show 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:43.600 previous shows about finally getting to unveil this new Packers offense. 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:47.040 Matt Lafleur, Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Davante Adams, the whole 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:50.240 cast of characters. But we haven't spent much time talking 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:53.680 about the Packers defense, and I think we do need 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.600 to spend some time on that because, quite frankly, for me, 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:04.400 I'm almost building more anticipation for what this defense is 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:06.800 going to look like as opposed to last year when 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:10.120 Mike Petton was in his first year, because it was 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:12.680 this kind of the same cast of characters last year. Yes, 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.320 you had a new coordinator, you added JayR Alexandra and 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.840 Josh Jackson, but otherwise it was all the same crew. 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:23.240 And this year you have a returning crew that learned 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:26.160 the system the first year, and then you have this 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:30.640 influx of guys essentially a fifteen draft class that was 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:34.080 purchased in free agency, the Smith's and Adrian Amos, and 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:36.399 then your twenty nineteen draft class at the top of 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:40.080 the board and Rashaan Gary and Darnell Savage. This is 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:44.640 really interesting now that we're finally going to see what 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.400 Mike Petton's year two defense is gonna look like. Do 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.720 you like to cook, Mike? Sometimes? Sometimes? Sometimes Do you 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:55.800 ever find yourself going to the grocery store, You come home, 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.280 there's a couple of different ingredients, a couple different things 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:01.000 you're really excited about. You find a good I don't know, 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:03.280 spare rib that you're really excited to throw in the 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:06.640 oven and whatnot. That's the way I feel about the 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.440 Packers defense, and I think that's what Packer fans should 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:11.640 be excited about right now, is that you have all 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:14.320 these new ingredients to work with with Mike pett and 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:16.200 his defense. Now we got an idea of what he 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.639 can offer, and not saying that those ingredients weren't grade too, 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:21.360 but you kind of knew what you were dealing with 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.080 at that point. Everything was sort of the same. You 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:26.920 can only shine a penny so many different ways. What 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.560 I like about this influx is because there's so many 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.520 different types of acquisitions that they made. When you look 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:35.200 at the rookie class, like you said, when you look 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:38.200 at the two thousand fifteen free agents that have been 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:40.800 signed that came through that draft and then not, you 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:43.120 also have this two thousand sixteen draft coming to the 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:46.679 prime of their careers, throwing Jaire Alexanders throwing some of 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.440 these other people. This is to me, and I wrote 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.200 this an insider inbox, this is the most intriguing a 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:54.440 Packer defense has been, at least during my time on 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:57.959 the beat, because there's so many new, uh different areas 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.600 to work off of. Now, I'm not saying they're going 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.040 to go out there and just dominate from day one. 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:04.680 I think you have to be realistic. I think you 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:07.720 have to understand that this is eleven players working as 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:09.600 one and it's going to take time to bring those 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:14.079 materials together, bring those players together. But at the end 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:16.160 of the day, I think, is this team, if they 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:18.079 can stay healthy, if that unit can stay healthy, And 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:19.800 you and I have talked about a time and time again, 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.880 seeing the progression that this defense can make with Mike 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:25.800 Petton scheme and those principles behind it, I think it's 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.680 very exciting. Well, it was obvious what the targets were 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:32.160 to revamp this defense in the off season, and it 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:36.400 was two positions. It was outside linebacker and safety. You 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.040 brought in too free agent outside linebackers in Zadarius Smith 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:42.200 and Preston Smith, and you spent your first round draft 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:45.720 pick on an outside linebacker and Rashawn Gary. And then 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:48.040 at safety you brought in a new starter in Adrian 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:50.320 Amos and you spent your second first round draft pick 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:52.920 on a safety in Darnell Savage. Those are the two 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:59.160 positions that have gotten the makeovers here heading into and 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.560 when you're when you're talking about trying to make impact 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:08.280 plays in football games, you know it's sacks and its turnovers, 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:12.160 and outside linebackers and safeties have a lot to do 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:17.400 with sacks, fumbles and interceptions. And I think it's going 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.240 to take some time for everything to come together because 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:24.039 there's so many new guys in this system. But I 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.800 still think the Packers are heading into Week one here 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:30.920 in better shape defensively in terms of where they are 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.520 with the system than they were last year at this time, 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:35.760 and it's interesting to watch how this game has changed 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:39.240 over even the last six, seven, eight years. I remember 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:41.600 talking to Don Kaper's about this after the two thousand 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.120 and thirteen season when they went and got Julius Peppers 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:47.159 and they brought in some new people. They drafted ha 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.960 Ha Clinton Dicks. There was a time not that long 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:54.680 ago where you needed a dominant Pro Bowl pass rusher 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:59.559 off the edge the other outside linebacker. You didn't really 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:01.680 have a much of urgency there. I mean, there's a 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:03.960 reason why it was Frank Zambo lining up across from 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.680 Clay Matthews right during during a part of their career together. 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:10.360 Safety was in neglected position, not just by the Packers, 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.400 but a lot of NFL teams for a lot of seasons. 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:16.279 They wanted their cornerbacks, they wanted their inside linebackers. They 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:18.440 felt like that's where you win. But as the game 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:23.000 has evolved, you've needed versatile safeties. You need multiple safeties, 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.920 you need multiple outside linebackers. And I think the build 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:27.760 up and the makeup of this roster right now that 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:31.239 Brian Goodakins is put together reflects that, and it reflects 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:34.400 the idea too that unlike other years where you'd see 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.440 a guy like Rashawn Gary come in and you know, 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:38.599 as a first round pick twelfth overall, they might be 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.920 pushing him into the lineup day one, wanting production from him. 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:44.080 You're not in that spot with za Darius Smith and 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:47.000 Preston Smith, both twenty six years old, coming to the 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.599 prime of their careers and under contract for a long time. 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.120 I just I'm so intrigued, as I mentioned from the 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.960 get go, just to see those pieces come together, how 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:59.800 those free agents marry with the rookie acquisitions in the 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.520 arts in between. It's to me, it's it's a reason 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:06.320 to believe that this season could turn out differently for 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.080 that unit. Yeah, there are a couple of caveats though, 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:13.840 and I will mention these things. One is that for 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:17.240 all of the change and whatnot, on paper, you have 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:19.839 only one guy on this defense with a double digit 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.280 sack season in his career, and that's Kyler Facral. Now 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:24.960 the Packers are counting on the fact that, as you 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:27.760 just said, the two Smiths being twenty six years old, 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:30.200 they've had eight eight and a half sacks seasons in 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:33.600 their career, that the double digit those higher numbers are 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:37.000 on the way. So they're banking on that, and then 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:39.640 also obviously adding a guy like Rashan Gary to the 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.039 mix who they feel in a very short amount of 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.359 time could become one of those type of players. The 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:49.560 other thing is that we all know what shut down corners, 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:53.120 what having to top flight cornerbacks can mean to a 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:57.159 defense and can mean to a defensive coordinator in terms 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:00.760 of his flexibility with his packages and with his calls. 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:04.480 And that's Jiar Alexander and Kevin King. And once again 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:08.400 Kevin King spent a training camp injured, injured his hamstring 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:10.880 on family Night, missed several weeks. He's back on the 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:14.560 practice field. He's expected to play on Thursday. But just 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:16.560 how much Kevin King is going to be able to 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:19.840 play not only Thursday but throughout the course of the 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:21.840 season I think is also going to be a big 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:25.600 factor for Mike Petton And just how good potentially this 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:28.200 defense Absolutely, because as you wrote in the Packers year 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.240 book this year, when you have JR. Alexander and Kevin 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.640 King both healthy, that gives you, you know, too, potential 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:36.160 one A, one B type cornerbacks that you're gonna be 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.360 able to play with. But the one thing I do 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:40.840 like about in regards to just how the cornerbacks position 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:44.040 is structured. This year, it's as deep in terms of 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:46.440 not just what you would consider to be relative talent, 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.120 it's as deep an experience as they've had in a 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:51.240 number of years. When you look at Truman Williams right 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.280 now is the slot nickel guy, but could push outside 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:56.520 if you need him to. Tony Brown got a lot 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.360 of reps during the preseason during the time in which 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.760 Kevin King was out. Josh Jackson is back from you know, 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.600 the the injury with the Achilles foot, what have you. 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:08.120 And then you see the young guys that they kept 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:09.880 on this roster too. It's some It seems like for 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:11.480 a point in time, the Packers were either going to 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:14.800 go extremely young with their backups or they were gonna 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:17.120 have veterans and keep you know, they're young guys on 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.200 the practice squad. This year they have both, and you 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:23.000 obviously want if you're the Packers, you're hoping and knocking 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.360 on wood that Kevin King can play in all sixteen games. 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:27.320 But if for whatever reason he can't, or GW your 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:31.440 Alexander can't. I just feel like this year's group they're 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:33.400 not necessarily in that position where you're gonna have to 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.560 end up putting, you know, a guy that maybe isn't 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.200 ready for that moment on the field like they had 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:40.000 to in some of these previous seasons. Yeah, I mean, 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.640 there's certainly a reason. I think there are multiple reasons 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.520 the Packers decided to keep seven cornerbacks on this roster. 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:48.080 I mean, one is that those guys earned the jobs. 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:51.520 But we all know how roster decisions and numbers can work. 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:55.640 But you keep seven cornerbacks because of a how the 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:58.280 game has played these days and how many cornerbacks you're 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.719 going to use at different points in time time. Be 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:04.920 Kevin King's injury history, and see Termon Williams and just 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:09.040 his age um and Rmon Williams has been fighting off 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:12.760 father time as well as anybody has for a while, 0:09:13.000 --> 0:09:15.720 but you just never you never know at what point 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:17.640 maybe it's going to catch up to him and he's 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:19.560 not quite going to be the player that he was. 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:23.320 So you've got seven cornerbacks, and as you said, West, 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:27.840 it's a mixture of some experienced guys and some younger guys. 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:29.720 But I think at the end of the day, and 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.880 I don't not not trying to pick on anybody in particular. 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.080 But this defense is at a point where you're not 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.360 going to have to line up Ladarius Gunter across from 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:39.600 Julio Jones in a big game, which is what where 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:41.800 the Packers were three years ago. Yeah, and and that's 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:43.920 that's ultimately what we're getting at here. You see just 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:45.760 some of these guys, And it wasn't just Gunter. There 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:49.040 were a number of undrafted rookies and first year players 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.040 that had to play in big key spots for this 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.120 team to match and tough matchups in games that matter 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.400 down late in the season. Now, that's gonna be a 0:09:56.400 --> 0:09:58.520 thing that happens, Mike. You're gonna need guys at certain 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:00.680 positions to step up. We even saw in some regard 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.880 to Curtis Bolton during the preseason before he injured his knee. 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:07.280 But you don't want to have that as a recurring 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.440 thing that you're dealing with weekend and week out. That's 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.360 where the Packers were in a lot of circumstances, and 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:14.360 I think it probably speaks of the direction the league 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:16.839 is going that this is the fifth consecutive year the 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:19.920 Packers have carried either eleven or twelve defensive backs on 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:23.199 this initial fifty three my first year in two thousand twelve, 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:25.160 when I cover this team, you're looking at eight or 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.520 nine at that position. In the fact that it shifted 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.360 like that, and you've seen sort of even Brian Goodkin 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.160 has talked about it. Inside linebackers aren't as prevalent as 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.160 they were before because you're seeing a guy like Raven 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.800 Green playing in the box. Now. You need to have 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:42.559 that multiplicity to be able to not only weather injuries 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:45.680 but also be able to take on those spread offenses. 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.600 And I think when you look on paper the way 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:50.480 the Packers are structured right now, and again there's a 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:51.840 lot of things that have to work out for that 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:55.280 to be relevant in December, But on paper, I think 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:57.280 you have to like what you're seeing. Yeah. Well, Patton's 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.719 big theme throughout this offseason training amp leading up to 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:02.679 the start of the season, his big theme has been 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:06.800 the two t s, tackling and turnovers, And quite frankly, 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:09.360 I'm I'm not gonna put a whole lot of stock 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:12.600 into what happened in the preseason, because yes, there were 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:15.840 a whole bunch of mis tackles, but the starters weren't 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:17.800 really on the field all that much and the time 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:20.400 that they were there trying to chase down what was 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:25.240 his name from Baltimore, Lamar Jackson. I mean, absolutely singular talent. 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:27.760 There's nobody else like him playing in the NFL. So 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:30.640 that was kind of an odd circumstance to me for 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:34.120 the starters to get their only really legitimate snaps of 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.840 the preseason. We also saw the defense turn the ball 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:38.560 over a bunch of the preseason. They did get a 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:41.440 bunch of turnomers, but again, the starters weren't on the 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:43.719 field that much. So I think there's there's a lot 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:46.719 of unknown as to just where this unit is going 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:49.800 to be with that big theme of tackling internal and 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:51.760 there's gonna be give and take with that whole scenario. 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:53.640 I mean, I think you look at Kadar Holman and 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:56.440 can't Chan and Sullivan, guys that made the roster. You know, 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.040 based on big plays in the preseason that gets you 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:01.400 on the roster. It doesn't build up much equity past 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.760 Week one, though. You need to be able to earn 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:06.040 that that starters need to be able to earn that 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:08.360 and build that momentum throughout the course of the season. 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.080 The tackling is a situation though that I think they 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.040 could really make a statement if they could come out 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:16.960 of the gate and actually look very competent and secure 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.480 and comfortable in that phase of the game. Because it 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:21.480 is going to take time. Every NFL team is going 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:23.840 to go through it. We know the storyline has been 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:26.480 beaten to death in terms of what teams are dealing 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:28.760 with now at the CBA environment, trying to find the 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.240 best way to prepare your football team with taking the 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:34.319 contact out of a lot of those offseason practices. So 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:37.640 everybody's starting from square one from that regard. But if 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:41.240 you're able to establish that early on, especially against the 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:44.439 team like Chicago that can be as multiple as they are, 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:47.280 I think that's something you can really propel yourself forward 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:50.000 with by making a statement. A soldier feel that, you 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:52.160 know what, it was a big emphasis and we're answering 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:54.080 that right off the bat. Yeah. Well, a couple of 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:57.480 these guys we've talked about actually have gone into Week 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.319 one here on the defensive side and they change their uniform. 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:04.120 They did. Darnell Savage, who grabbed number twenty six when 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:06.520 he was drafted in the first round. He has switched 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:09.600 and is now wearing number twenty one, and Raven Green, 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:12.760 who made the roster last year as an undrafted rookie 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:16.640 wearing number thirty six, has now switched to number twenty four. 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:18.679 What do you make of that? Well, first off, I 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:20.480 didn't get a chance to ask for Raven Green about 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:22.760 this little bit of a spoiler alert here. I'm gonna 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:25.320 try to do that once we're done with the unscripted today. 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.160 That's one of my topics for the last locker room 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:28.640 of the week is to figure out what exactly he 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.360 did there, because he didn't wear twenty four at at 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.120 James Madison. But on the other side of things, it 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.800 was really interesting listening to Savage discuss it. There is 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.280 a rapper I'm sure you're well familiar out of Atlanta 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:43.640 named twenty one Savage. He did a really nice collaboration 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:46.920 with post Malone Psycho. You're probably familiar with that as well. 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.400 Uh and I remember there was some hooting and hollering 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:54.959 when the Packers drafted Uh Savage and he was number 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:57.800 twenty one. That was pointed out to him yesterday where 0:13:57.800 --> 0:13:59.880 his selection was, and there were some fans are like, 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.920 got it, he has to be twenty one Savage. He wasn't. 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:04.600 He was twenty six. He went with the number that 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:08.880 he played with for two years at Maryland. Jamerson was 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.760 a hole over from the season he was wearing number 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:15.520 twenty one and he kept it. But Jamerson was released 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:19.320 at final cutdown. So Sunday morning comes around and Darnell 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:23.520 Savage goes, you know what, I'm sick. I think I 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.120 want to wear twenty one now. I think whether or 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:27.720 not he wants to admit it, I think it's a 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:30.440 great marketing opportunity for the young man. He's going to 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:32.160 show up on a lot of sites. He's gonna get 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.360 a lot of exposure they probably would have received otherwise. 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.160 And let's be honest too, I mean, you always want 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:41.680 to marry like you know, like whenever the popular stuff 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:43.160 is going on outside of what but you want to 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.320 have that together with NFL. I mean that's what any 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:47.200 industry wants to do, right, You want to build those 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:49.720 brands together. And now Darnell Savage gets a chance to 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:51.640 do it. I also want to point out with Raven 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:53.880 Green how special this is for a guy like this. 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:56.280 This is an undrafted rookie last year would have probably 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:58.680 taken any number that they wanted to give him. He's 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:00.560 now put himself in a position a year two to 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.840 be able to say, you know what, Yeah, give me 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:05.960 a note, give me a new uh, a new numeral 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.680 there on my on my green and gold jersey. UM. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:11.640 Another thing I want to get to and I'm not 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.360 trying to ignore the offense here. I just feel like 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:19.800 we've talked about the offense, ignored the defense yesterday, and 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:21.560 I'm sure we'll talk a little bit more about the 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.280 offense in our final preview show tomorrow before we hop 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.360 on the plane to Chicago. But I want to touch 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.400 on special teams here quickly. To West, Mason Crosby is 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:34.280 the kicker. The Packers made the decision to go with 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:37.920 him and released Sam Ficken. But the other thing that 0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:41.360 I think is interesting here with new coordinator Sean Maninger, 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:48.040 you have a couple of linebackers who were I guess 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:49.880 you could kind of call him the bell Cows in 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:52.200 some ways on special teams a year ago, a year 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.280 that did not go well on special teams. But two 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:57.920 guys who did perform well as rookies were or In 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.760 Burk's and James Crawford, and Or and Burke now is hurt. 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:05.560 James Crawford has been released so I'm kind of wondering 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:09.200 just who are going to there's an opportunity here for 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.760 guys to emerge as leaders on special teams. I think 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:14.800 Raven Green, who we talked about, is one of those 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:17.560 potential guys. But who are some of the other guys 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:20.920 you see that maybe on these coverage units, return units 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:23.440 are are potentially going to rise to the topic. That's 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:27.480 a great question, first off, because you need those guys there. 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:29.720 I'm not saying you need to always have a Matthew 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:31.880 Slater on your roster who for ten years is going 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.600 to be a multiple time Pro bowler and can play 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.200 on all four core units. But you need to have 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.480 guys that you're comfortable with and you know, and they've 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.120 talked about that time and time again during this offseason. 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:44.960 When I look at it again outside looking in, I mean, 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:48.200 Kyler Facral is one of the core guys already. He 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:50.000 did have ten and a half sacks last year, but 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:52.520 he also did it while basically playing on every special 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:56.720 teams unit for the Packers. They reintroduced the fullback position 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.760 this year on this roster. Danny Vitally, people don't really 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.160 really lies this. During his rookie year with Sean Monega 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:05.800 at Cleveland. He was actually on the Pro Bowl ballot 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.439 that year as Cleveland special teamer. Had I think a 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:12.920 half or maybe a dozen tackles that season. As much 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:15.400 as he made the roster for his exploits as a fullback, 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:18.240 he was used on special teams as well that season, 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:21.840 So he has a certain capability there. Raven Green. But 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:24.679 let's be honest here, Mike, the the m v P, 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.919 if you can say it like that to me, is 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:31.440 Trevor Davis. And it's not just because of the return certainly, 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.200 he's a very capable kickoff and punt returner. He's also 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.760 their number one gunner. Uh. Their number two gunner, Econemius 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:41.080 st Brown is now out for the year after suffering 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.680 that ankle injury in Canada, so they need a big 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.200 performance out of Trevor Davis. I'm guessing you're gonna see 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:49.399 Will Redmond's take a step there and be one of 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:51.199 those core guys as a gunner, and on some of 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:54.560 those units, you can't replace a guy like Crawford. I 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:57.639 just think he brings so much in terms of energy 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.720 to that position. But I do feel like there are 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:04.720 guys that excel enough on that phase that they're going 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:07.440 to be able to sort of stem the tide without him. 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:10.320 I think what you said about Trevor Davis and a gunner, 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:14.639 that's a really good point because when we talk about 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:20.359 combinations that we haven't seen, j K. Scott as a 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:23.119 punter and Trevor Davis as the top gunner is not 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:26.000 a combination that we've seen. And a couple of years ago, 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:30.600 Jeff Janis as a number one gunner with quite frankly, 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:34.320 a less talented punter in Jacob Chum, the Packers had 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:36.920 a really, really good net punting average and they really 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:40.840 limited opponent's punt returns. Now you combine j K. Scott 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:43.560 going into his second year, he had a fantastic preseason. 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:46.560 All the arrows are pointing up for him. And then 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:49.959 if Trevor Davis can stay healthy and be that gunner 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.440 like Jeff Janis was a couple of years ago, that's 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:56.440 an interesting combination here for the Packers special teams and 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:58.840 and could be just as important as whoever else is 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:01.119 on those coverage units. And you're also going to have 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:04.159 Jake Kumerou as a guy that has established himself that 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:06.560 he's more than just a one particular phase guy that 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:08.639 he can play in coverage to you, and it's you know, 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:10.720 Robert Tanian has going to have a bigger role in 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:13.200 the offense this year, but he you know, turned into 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:15.040 one of the core guys last season. So there is 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:18.000 a lot of returning experience in that way. But what 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:19.920 I'm gonna have my eye on is the gunners spot 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:23.760 because it's so intricate to what you do on punts. 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:26.359 And you may probably don't even remember this, but we 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:28.880 got to see Trevor Davis basically do it in one 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:32.600 game last year and he had a great tackle after 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:34.720 a pretty nice punt from J. K. Scott. Don't ask 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:36.879 me which team it was against, but it remade me 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:38.840 kind of perk up and go, yeah, that's what you 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:40.320 can do when you have a guy with that type 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:42.480 of speed that puts on that pressure with that hang time. 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.320 Then unfortunately end up having another hamstring injury and that 0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:48.240 wipe that out. But I think you're gonna see him. 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:50.199