WEBVTT - #423 Packers Unscripted: Camp rolls on 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:21.080 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:24.200 I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my trusted 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.160 colleague West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:30.520 studios at lambeau Field and West. We are back from Baltimore, 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:34.080 where the Packers played their second preseason game, and we'll 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.080 certainly get into more specifics from that game in a minute, 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:41.320 but the big news from last Thursday night in Baltimore 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:44.600 was that quarterback Aaron Rodgers was a late scratch due 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:48.040 to some tightness in his back, a precautionary measure. He 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:50.200 was held out of the game. He did not play. 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:54.520 He also was held out of practice on Sunday when 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:58.320 the Packers got back on the practice field. Again, they're 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:02.440 talking precautionary. His back still just isn't quite a percent 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:05.399 and they're not taking any chances. But give us the 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.679 rundown on where things are with Aaron Rodgers. Yeah. So 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:11.720 the most salient thing that Matt Lafleur said is if 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.839 this was a regular season week, if if everything was normal, 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.280 the games mattered, Aaron Rodgers probably be out there with 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:19.399 everybody else. Would be something he would just deal with. 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:21.560 But this time of the year, you don't want to 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.520 take any chances with it. So they found out last 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:27.160 Thursday morning that you know, he he woke up be 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:30.319 what have you a little bit of back tightness. Deshaun 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:32.560 Kaiser gets told, Okay, you're in with the ones for 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.120 the first two series. They proceed from there. Sunday's practice 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.760 comes around. It's again Kaiser working with the Ones, with 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:40.960 a little bit of tim Boil mixed in there as well. 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:44.040 And the main reason for Rogers getting an extra day 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.920 here to come back from that. Now, the question is 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.480 gonna be the way I had it schemed up and 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:51.240 how I thought it was gonna lay out, is that 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:53.600 probably might have been the only game that Rogers played 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.080 in this preseason. That's going off the last year. He 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:57.800 played in the second game and set out the third 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.480 and fourth. Now you kind of throw those things up 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:01.640 in the air a little bit. Do they want to 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:04.720 run them out there in Canada given all the different 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:09.320 circumstances the game being, you know, abroad, being a CFL stadium. 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:10.959 Those are all things that the Packers are going to 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.680 have to determine. Uh, Matt Lafore did basically wipe out 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:17.959 any possibility of him playing in the finale though, especially 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.080 since they have the opener against the Bears on a 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.040 Thursday night, So the short turnaround there is gonna make 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:25.640 it work. So it's gonna be determined on how his 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:28.079 back's feeling and if it feels okay, if they want 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.400 to take a shot at it up North. Yeah, and 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:32.600 just to be clear, we are taping this episode on 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:36.240 Monday morning before Monday afternoon's practice, so we don't know 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.919 at this point as we're talking whether Rogers is going 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.960 to be practicing at all this week prior to the 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:46.840 trip to Winnipeg. But if there was a significant piece 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:50.200 of news that came out of Sunday's practice, it was 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:54.799 the return of running back Jamal Williams from a hamstring injury. 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.600 He had not practiced at all through training camp. Um 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.600 not being thrown in eleven on eleven right away by 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:04.800 any means, but number thirty back on the practice field. Well, 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:06.280 and like I said, I've wrote in a story on 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.639 Packers Dot Come, he wasn't in eleven on eleven's But 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:11.720 I wish you could a saucepot these these wind sprints 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:13.880 he was running off to the side. I mean, it 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:16.040 looks like his hamstrings. Okay, the way he was kind 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:17.760 of exploding off of that thing he said he did 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.240 eighteen of them. Wasn't even supposed to do that many. 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:23.880 But he wants to be great, so here, But I mean, 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:25.920 you break it down, the Packers have been off to 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.079 a slow start with their ground game so far without 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:31.840 him and Aaron Jones. Jones actually advanced to the team 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.840 portion of practice after last week coming back on a 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:37.480 limited basis and then not playing against the Ravens. So 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.920 if the Packers could get Aaron Jones out there against 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.640 Oakland this week, I think that could be really big 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.840 for them, getting some more momentum built up there. In 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:49.200 terms of just Jamal Williams, though he's excited to get 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:51.520 back at it. He feels like he's in tremendous shape. 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:55.120 We made a lot this offseason, myself included Mike about 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:59.080 the condition that Aaron Jones came back in uh, you know, 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.200 following his office season. Jamal Jamal Williams also made a 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.160 lot of changes as well. He came back as lean 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:08.080 as ever. So those two guys trying to be the 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:11.920 face of this run game now it's gonna be, you know, 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:14.320 a work in progress. You need to get them back 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:18.080 assimilated into this scheme. But we've been talking about it 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.240 since April. There's a lot of optimism with both Aaron 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.320 Jones and Jamal Williams at this scheme of Matt Laflour's 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:24.839 is going to compliment them very well. Yeah, Well, looking 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:27.160 back to the Baltimore game, there were a couple of 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:29.640 things that stood out, as I guess you call them 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:33.719 sticking points or disappointments as far as Matt Lafleur was concerned. 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:35.839 One was the running game, the other was the tackling 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.279 on defense. But since we're talking about the running backs 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:41.960 the running game, how much of a difference is it 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:45.559 going to make for the Packers to get Aaron Jones 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:48.400 and Jamal Williams back There is running backs. Taking nothing 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.800 away from Trey Carson Dexter Williams, They've gotten a lot 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:55.000 of work. They've had some nice runs, but overall, the 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:57.520 production in the run game in the two preseason games 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:02.000 hasn't been where the Packers wanted to. But they haven't 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.039 handed off in a preseason game to either of the 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.760 top two running backs yet exactly. Yeah, they're averaging three 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:09.120 point four yards per carry among their four running backs 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:11.920 in these games. That number actually dwindles to two point 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:14.880 eight if you take away Darren Hall's yard, the one, 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.880 the one explosive one from the baltimoreket Yeah, so it's 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:20.120 been it's been tough for them trying to get things going. 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.159 Dexter Williams actually was pulled out of the first child 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:26.640 the Packers open practice on Tuesday. With the competitive period 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:28.400 that they've been using at the end of practice, Matt 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:30.039 Lafleur wanted to put it right away to kind of 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:34.320 get the competitive juices flowing on Sunday. Sorry, uh, And 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:37.680 you know, because of that situation, Dexter Williams was out 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:40.520 there right off the bat. Lafleur wasn't completely happy with 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:42.920 something happened on the play, pulled him out, and then 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:45.760 Trey Carson goes in. So the point I'm trying to 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:48.240 illustrate with it there is you have Aaron Jones and 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.040 Jamal Williams. Yes, this is their first offseason the scheme, 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:53.559 but is their third NFL season and they've been working 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:56.279 with the majority of that offensive line for those past 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:58.920 two seasons. There's going to be certain things that they 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.280 just understand that the younger guys are the guys that 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:03.360 have coming off the street over the last few weeks 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:05.400 aren't going to pick up on right away. So when 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.040 you ask me what the difference is going to be, 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.560 I think it's going to be significant. I think they 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.240 are the identity of this run game. That's not to 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.680 understate the fact that you need to establish a number three, 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.719 number three threat, whether that's Trey Carson, who appears to 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:19.640 probably the most well rounded of the group when you 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.000 look at his pass protection and also his blocking and 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:24.080 in some of the things he can do as a 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.839 pass catcher, or a guy like Dexter Williams, who is 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.080 incredibly shifting and dynamic when he's running between the tackles. 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:33.240 So that's gonna be the two things I think Matt 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:35.800 la Floor, Nathaniel Hackett, Ben Sermons are gonna have to 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.640 look at here the last two weeks. Is getting their 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:40.720 run game where it needs to be for Week one 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.839 against the Bears, but also being confident in whoever that 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.400 option is going to be behind Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams, 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.960 because there's the last few seasons have shown you need 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.480 to have a player there just in case. Yeah, and 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:54.920 we've been talking all offseason about really the way this 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:57.839 offense sets up for a guy like Aaron Jones, and 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.080 as much as he's worked on his pass catching and 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:03.240 the route running and all that out of the backfield 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:07.640 and the dimension that he as a singular weapon in 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.600 this offense can bring to it. And the bottom line 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.440 is as far as the eleven on eleven against another opponent, 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:16.600 we haven't seen it yet this preseason. And we also 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.000 haven't seen Aaron Rodgers take a snap in the preseason, 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:21.200 so there there's still a lot of unknown here with 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:25.680 the Packers offense. That being said, some of the disappointments 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:29.120 from the Baltimore game also carried over to the defensive 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.080 side of the ball, because the tackling from the Houston 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:36.360 game in the preseason opener wasn't really any better. The numbers, 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:38.679 if you want to go by Matt Lafleur's film review, 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:43.480 twenty four miss tackles against Houston, nineteen in Baltimore. However 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.120 you want to count it up, it's not good enough. 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.840 That was certainly his phrase, and this is just something 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:53.440 that Packers have two preseason games to shore this up 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.440 a little bit. Now, there are a number of those 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.360 miss tackles by players who are not going to make 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:01.880 the fifty three man roster, so let's just be real 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:06.720 about that. But there were players, and Lamar Jackson is 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.360 a singular talent in the NFL, and he's a tough 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.360 guy to bring down. But the Packers knew that going in, 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:16.200 and unfortunately they just weren't as sharp and as clean 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:18.480 as the head coach really really would have liked to 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:20.640 have seen. The general sentiment I picked up in the 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.600 locker room after that game was not necessarily disappointment. I 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:25.200 don't want to label it as that, but I think 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:27.680 the off the defense have been flying pretty high, and 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:30.440 to some extent, they got right back on that in 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.560 practice on Sunday. I think there was a little bit 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:35.800 I'm going to use the word disappointment though, in that 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:38.000 they just weren't able to carry that over against Lamar 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.280 Jackson in against the Ravens offense, because let's be real, Mike, 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:43.600 more so than any other team in the league, they're 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:45.800 very multiple and how they run the ball, but they 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.760 are as singular as you're going to face in terms 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:52.000 of the what construct of an offense? You know, it's 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:55.240 you're not really worried about the big play down the 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.439 field passing threat, You're worried about the misdirection, You're worried 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:00.560 about what happens when Lamar Jack's and gets out of 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.360 the pocket. The Packers just didn't do that well enough. 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:05.640 I'll be honest with you, though, I felt like there 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:08.800 were some positive signs in Sunday's practice, especially with those starters. 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:12.040 I thought Preston Smith had his best practice, best training 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:15.559 camp practice to date. He was physical, he was tough, 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:18.360 and although David boc Terry wasn't at practice because of 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:20.880 a personal matter, he was getting some pressure on the 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.439 quarterback off of that what would be you know, his 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:27.600 right side. So all those things are out there. I 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:30.960 just think going into this game against Canada, you want 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:34.040 to see progression. But you know, Mike Petton said, they're 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.079 not going to change anything. They're not gonna start tackling 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.040 to the ground. It's just re emphasizing what they've been 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:42.760 emphasizing and making sure that they drive that point home. Yeah. Well, 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:44.400 I want to talk about a couple of guys that 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.520 did certainly did catch our eye from an individual standpoint 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:51.800 in Baltimore, but quickly here West select Cousin subs locations 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.640 are now offering delivery. Whether you're ordering catering or your 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:58.440 favorite sub, they're delivering right to you when you order 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:02.720 online at Cousin Subs dot com. Cousin Subs, we believe 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.560 in better. Okay, Sticking with the defensive side of the 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:09.760 ball for a moment, the Packers did the highlight defensive 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:14.600 play was was made by Curtis Bolton, A couple of 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.640 young players. Really. Tony Brown, a good cornerback that we've 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:21.319 talked about, made the deflection. Curtis Bolton, who has been 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:24.040 getting the reps with the number one defense next to 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:28.520 Blake Martinez, an inside linebacker with Orren Burke's currently being sidelined. 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:31.920 He comes down with the interception. Um. The young man 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:34.360 was pretty fired up on the sideline after he got 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:36.720 that one, and rightfully so. I mean, this was a 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.400 big test for him in terms of being thrown in 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:43.880 there with the ones in the game setting like that, 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:46.480 and quite frankly, I would say, as far as a 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:49.439 preseason test goes, he passed. Yeah, just don't ask him 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:52.120 about it, Like I love talking to him after the game. 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.440 I'm sitting there trying to write our our locker room report. 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.400 It was kind of tough finding quotes for Curtis Bolton 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:00.199 talking positively about his day. He was very critic cool 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:03.280 of himself. Fortunately, his defensive coordinator stepped up to the 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:06.040 plate on Saturday and was effusive in his praise for 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:09.360 how he stepped up in that spot. I'll say this 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.760 right now, the Packers still are not doing any timelines 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:15.040 with orn Burke's but Patton kind of still left it 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:17.800 out there like, yeah, Bolton had filled in nicely and 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:19.760 looks like he could fill in nicely until we get 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:21.880 Burks back. So one, it makes you think that maybe 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:23.760 you do have Burks back in the fold at some 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.760 point this season. But two, it also speaks to what 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:28.959 this young man did with the opportunity when he was 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:31.560 given it, not only in that game against Baltimore, but 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.160 in that those practices leading up, what he did again 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:36.600 on Sunday when he was back out there with the ones, 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:39.480 and what he did on special teams in a couple 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:42.120 of a couple of tackles on the coverage units where 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:44.240 he was the first guy down there, he laid the hit, 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.560 got the guy on the ground, and you know, quite 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:49.040 frankly strutted off the field a little bit because he 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:51.440 was he was a standout player, there's no question. Yeah, 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.360 and you actually hit on the Bolton train a little 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.160 bit faster than I did in what he offers and 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:58.760 what his story is. So it was interesting from my 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:01.080 perspective talking to about it the first time after the 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:04.079 game and in listening to him discuss about how, you know, 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:06.560 to some extent, he's not supposed to be here, especially 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:10.120 at this point right now, an undrafted free agent that 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:12.959 was sort of looked over by everybody, only started one 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:16.120 year at Oklahoma, and now he's working next to Blake 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.600 Martinez and in the value that there is in those 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:21.160 reps and being able to see the game at this 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:24.120 fast of a speed, and with with Baltimore having their 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.560 starters out there for pretty much two pier you know 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:30.480 to you know, strives. So it's it's gonna be interesting 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:32.960 that that competition is by no means over. But as 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.000 I wrote an Insider Inbox this week, I just think 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:37.400 it's such a different scenario this year than it was 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:39.720 last year when Burke's had the shoulder injury. I just 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:41.440 feel like the Packers in the way that they're set 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.400 up right now, not to say they're more prepared for it, 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:46.160 because it is an undrafted rookie in there, but I 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.120 just feel like Bolton fits this defense maybe a little 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:50.760 bit better than when they had to go get Antonio 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:53.400 Morrison in a trade last year. Yeah, and switching to 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.720 the offensive side of the ball. We've been talking about 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:59.280 the wide receiver competition a lot, obviously pretty much every 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:02.600 show when we turn on the cameras here, But when 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.160 you look at the Baltimore game, to me, the two 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:09.360 guys that made the strongest impression in terms of building 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.160 on what they've been doing throughout training camp. Alan Lazard, 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:16.400 the young receiver from Iowa State, was undrafted a year ago. 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.840 Um joined the Packers practice squad late last season, and 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:22.960 uh and is here making a bid for a roster spot. 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:25.400 And then you've got Darius Shepard, the undrafted rookie from 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.840 North Dakota State. He's been stepping in as the first 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.600 option in the return game with Trevor Davis out with 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:36.680 a stinger. Davis was back in practice on Sunday, though, 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:40.920 so we'll see um how Trevor does again here moving forward, 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.360 and and hopefully for him picking up where he left 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.840 off because he was having a really really strong training 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:48.800 camp when he got hurt. But Shepard took the first 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:52.280 kickoff against the Baltimore Ravens. Hit the seam. It was 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:54.640 nicely blocked, but he hit it, got got it all 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:56.520 the way out to the forty yard line, the equivalent 0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:58.240 of if the kicker had kicked it out of bounds, 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:00.480 which you always look at as a nice moment. Him shift. 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.120 He gave the offense some nice field position there at 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.000 the forty yard line, and then he makes the touchdown catch, 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.000 the only touchdown the Packer's head in Baltimore. A little 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:11.080 tiptoe job there in the back of the end zone, 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:15.280 gets his feet down on the throw from Tim Boyle. This. Uh, 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.640 this Darius Shepherd young man we talked about. It was 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:22.840 unsigned after the draft, was a tryout player during the 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:27.680 Packers rookie mini camp. He gets that contract after um 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:30.760 the tryout and after that mini camp and uh, and 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:33.360 here he is making his state in his case. Yeah, 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:35.480 let's be real, Mike. When a guy signs as a 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.240 tryout player like that, in some regard, and I'm not 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.120 trying to dismiss the process, you sometimes wonder if they're 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.960 even gonna be here once training camp gets around. So 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.200 often some of those guys signed and then they literally 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:49.840 are in the roster. Something happens. They have to make 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.000 a move when you're gone. Yeah, they don't even survive 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:53.840 the first couple of weeks of O T a S. 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:56.520 And off they go. But but what what do you 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:58.320 have to do to survive? You have to show out 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.320 right away. He did from beginning with O. T A S. 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:03.240 I remember talking to Tim Boyle and some of these 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:06.040 other guys. They knew that this guy could play immediately, 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.720 and he has a track record. He was incredibly successful 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:12.840 at North Dakota State. He just doesn't have the size. 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.200 He's a hair taller than I am. Probably a little 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:17.560 bit faster though. And the other thing that I like 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:20.760 about his game though, is that it's one thing to 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:24.119 be a slot receiver and do quick, shifty slants and 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.720 hitches and things of that nature. You know, an end 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.280 around here and there. But there was actually one play 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.160 in that game against the Ravens where he got open 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.680 over the top of the defense. Now the past was 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:36.400 not there, but if it would have been in that spot, 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:40.080 if that's Aaron Rodgers, that's six points. That's the dimension 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.440 that he needs to show to make this team, and 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:44.560 it is very interesting, and I'm glad you brought it up. 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:48.440 Trevor Davis is back now. Trevor Davis and Darius Shepherd 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:51.680 have emerged as one A one B in this kickoff 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:55.520 return punt return equation. Those two guys, and I never 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:57.600 boiled down to two guys fighting for one roster spot. 0:15:57.640 --> 0:15:59.600 They both can make it for all I know, But 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:01.440 those two guys over the next two weeks are gonna 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:03.200 want to put their best forward foot forward in that 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:05.800 competition because in terms of what the Packers put out 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:08.200 there against the Ravens, other than I believe it was 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:10.960 Malik Turner getting some some reps late in that game, 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:13.560 Darris Shepherd handled all the returns for most of the 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:17.040 you know, sizeable, meaningful portion of the contest. Yeah, Watching 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.920 him and Davis and how they that competition boils down 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.840 now over the next two weeks is gonna be really captivating. Yeah. 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:25.680 It's interesting you mentioned that deep ball in Baltimore where 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:28.800 Shepherd was heading down the sideline to the end zone 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:32.840 and Boil's throw was was to the other side of him, 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:35.160 so to speak. As I watched that and I looked 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.800 at the replay, I almost wondered if Shepherd didn't quite 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:41.440 see the ball soon enough, in that if he had 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:44.200 been able to pick up that ball sooner, he might 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:46.200 have been able to, you know, do the whole center 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.080 fielder thing where it's like you take your eye off 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:50.240 the ball and turn around and suddenly it's on your 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:53.080 other shoulder. Now, it still would have been a difficult 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:55.400 catch based on the ball and the sideline and getting 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.720 the feeted and whatnot. But it's one of those things 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:00.680 when I look back at it that I wish maybe 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:02.600 he had, you know, and maybe it was the lights 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:05.320 or just the timing or whatever, but if he had 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:07.560 been able to see that ball just a fraction of 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:09.560 a second sooner, I wonder if he would have been 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:13.080 able to make the adjustment and make a better attempt 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:15.679 at catching it. And uh, And you know, it's one 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:17.680 of those things that you just wonder about because we've 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:20.840 certainly seen that he has the ability and the wherewithal 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:23.119 to potentially make a play like that. Absolutely. And then 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:24.600 this is the part of the training camp that I 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:29.440 love as well, because everybody, every media outlet indubitably does 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:32.280 they're they're picking the fifty three at the beginning of 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.200 training camp, and then here we are ye who would 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:38.359 have I mean, in this wide receiver competition, you line 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:41.600 up all the wide receivers by number at the start 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.280 of training camp, who would have said Darius Shephard through 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.880 halfway through the preseason would be getting this much attention 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.040 and be making a legitimate bid to make this team 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.360 with all these receivers on the roster. Nobody. A lot 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:53.960 of times those are the guys that are filling out 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.040 the end of the fourth quarter and now here he 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:59.240 is getting reps with Aaron Rodgers in practice. Even a 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:01.560 guy like Alamos Are who even though he was on 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:03.520 the fifty three at the end of last season, he 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:05.280 only was here for a couple of weeks with Green Bay. 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:07.080 The Packers could have easily just washed him out of 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.800 the competition and moved forward. And he's put himself in 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:13.240 in the conversation as well too. And it's again, it's 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:15.480 gonna be fun. The last few years with these receiving 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.920 competitions have been really exciting to watch, and I'm sure 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:21.400 it'll play out that way here these last two games. Yeah, well, unfortunately, 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.880 West we need to end this show on a sad note, 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:29.199 and that on Sunday morning, the Sports World found out 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:34.760 that former NFL Texas Longhorn Chicago Bear Green Bay Packer 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:39.640 running back Cedric Benson UM was killed in a motorcycle 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:45.399 accident age thirty six, A very sobering piece of news, 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:49.080 very very sad news. Benson played one season with the Packers. 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:53.040 It was in two thousand and twelve. Um. I got 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:55.199 a chance to talk to him, only a couple of times, 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:58.600 but what I will say is I found him very engaging, 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:01.760 and I mentioned this in our Insider Inbox column. I 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:03.760 thought he was a guy for a guy who had 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.679 gone through his share of ups and downs in a 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:12.160 in a rather brief NFL career, he was truly appreciative 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.320 of the opportunity that was presented to him to to 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:17.320 come to Green Bay and try to make a difference. 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.240 And I really think he would have made a difference 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:21.000 on that two thousand and twelve team had it not 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.400 been for an injury that cut his season short. Yeah. 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:25.159