WEBVTT - #765 Packers Unscripted: Back from a busy offseason 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:11.840 Hi, everybody, Welcome back to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.680 I and Mike Spofford, joined as always by my trusted 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:18.680 colleague Weston Hodkoitz and Wes. We are back about three 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:21.640 months ago I think was our last show, and with 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:25.080 this one we will kick off season number nine, season 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:25.880 number nine. 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:28.720 Putting up with me for eight years. Can you believe. 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:34.519 That season number nine of Packers Unscripted as twenty twenty 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:37.000 four gets rolling here, we have a lot to catch 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:41.000 up on as far as a very very busy off 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:43.720 season for the Green Bay Packers. But I'm not going 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:47.160 to go in chronological order here because where I want 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:52.239 to start is with what turned out to be a 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:56.120 wild and crazy and frenetic first forty eight hours or 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.360 so of free agency in the middle of March, during 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:05.440 which time Aaron Jones, David Baktiari, and Devondre Campbell were 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.759 no longer Green Bay Packers, but two of the top 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.080 prizes on the free agent market at their respective positions 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:15.280 became Green Bay Packers. And of course I'm talking about 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:19.520 running back Josh Jacobs and safety Xavier McKinney. What were 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:22.280 your thoughts on how those first couple days of free 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:23.319 agency unfolded. 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:27.240 Well, the interesting thing about the NFL, Michael, and the 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:29.840 free agency time in particular, is that you can never 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:34.240 plan for anything. What you expect to happen isn't always 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:38.399 what happens, and honestly, very rarely does. You were the 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:41.880 one in Indianapolis listening to Brian Godkuz him talking about 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:44.640 you know, we're expecting Aaron Jones back, trying to make 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:48.280 something work. But even though you know Aaron is such 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.480 a beloved player here, you can tell them how to 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.320 respect the coaches, the front office, everybody has for him. 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.080 It's a game of finances, and it's a game of 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.240 money and Aaron doing what's best for himself and his 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.080 family in the Packer trying to do what's best for 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.160 them moving forward. So if you would have ever told 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:06.520 me a scenario in which not only is Aaron Jones 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:08.400 not going to be a Green Bay Packer in twenty 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:12.679 twenty four, but Josh Jacobs, one year removed from being 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:16.160 the NFL's rushing champion, Yeah, an all pro, a two 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.560 time Pro bowler, he ends up being the one that 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.320 emerges out of free agency, I would have told you 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:21.880 you're crazy. 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:22.520 I mean when you. 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:25.000 Look at it, Michael, the fact that it had been 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:29.280 over fifteen years since the last time, actually over almost 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:31.760 twenty five years since the last time the Packers had 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.880 signed a running back as an unrestricted free agent. There 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:38.280 has been a homegrown aspect to this thing. The Packers 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:41.040 went out, they found a guy three years younger than Aaron, 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:44.520 coming off a down season with the Raiders, but a 0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:46.639 lot of things that were working against him, a lot 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:49.760 of inconsistency in that offense, that offensive line, the change 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.120 with Josh McDaniel's mid season, and now he's here in 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:55.560 Green Bay hoping that the stability really kind of propels 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:57.680 him back towards being that all Pro running back that 0:02:57.720 --> 0:02:59.119 he was in twenty twenty two. 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:01.880 Yeah, and you were down just a couple of weeks 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:05.880 after the Josh Jacobs signing. You were down in Florida 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.480 at the owners meeting, and you heard from Matt Lafleur. 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.280 And as much as Matt Lafleur is sad that Aaron 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.560 Jones is no longer a part of the Packers offense, 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:20.680 he's awfully excited about getting Josh Jacobs in this offense. 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:23.160 And both Jacobs when he spoke to the media for 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:26.640 the first time after signing his contract and Lafleur speaking 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.640 with the media down in Florida. They both talked about 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.560 being more involved in the passing game, not just being 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.960 that you know, that bellcow running back, the workhorse that's 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:37.839 going to get you know, the twenty to twenty five 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.920 carries a game, but it's about utilizing him even more 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.120 in the passing game. Now. It's not that Jacobs hasn't 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:47.640 been He averaged I believe, forty receptions or so per 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:52.000 season during his years with the Raiders, But that's an aspect. 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:55.960 I think that that Jacob's welcomes and Lafleur welcomes as 0:03:56.000 --> 0:04:00.440 far as you know, getting him the ball in different ways, that. 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:02.800 In different ways, and you've seen the last few years 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.000 the way the Packers use those running backs in Matt 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:07.920 Leafloor when you get the multiple options. Certainly, we've talked 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:10.840 numerous times about the pony package and being able to 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:12.800 get two backs on the field and how being able 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.440 to manipulate a defense with multiple looks. But the thing 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:19.919 that's the most incredible thing to me about Jacobs is 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.479 he has forty six rushing touchdowns and not a single 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.720 receiving touchdown during his career, I mean everything. As much 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.039 as he's been a belcow type back, a guy that 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.200 averages three hundred touches a season throughout his five seasons 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:35.880 with Las Vegas, he hasn't had any of those receiving touchdowns. 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:37.839 I think that's going to change in this offense. 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:40.200 And as I wrote about in the pre draft picture 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:43.120 series that we're currently running on our website, it's not 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:44.880 just going to be him. They were able to bring 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:48.320 back A J. Dylan. They also have Emmanuel Wilson coming back. 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:52.040 There is a sense of familiarity with this backfield, despite 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:53.719 the fact there's a new guy that's on the top 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:54.360 of the depth chart. 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:56.840 Yeah, when you look at the other big free agent 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.880 signing for the Packers, this dovetails very nicely into the 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:03.320 the other really really big piece of news in the offseason, 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:07.040 which is that Jeff Hafley has been hired from his 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.960 job as the head coach at Boston College to be 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:15.320 Matt Laffer's new defensive coordinator. Some other assistant coaches on 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:19.960 the defensive side, some new faces are coming in to 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:21.279 Green Bay as well. 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:23.159 But when you. 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:28.000 Look at you Halflee and what he has said about 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.640 his defense and the types of players that he's looking for, 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:33.720 and specifically when it comes to how he wants to 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:37.440 utilize safeties in the back end of the defense and 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:39.960 what he wants what he's going to demand as the 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:44.480 defensive coordinator out of that position. Xavier McKinney, to use 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.320 an overused phrase, checks all the boxes. And it was 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:51.040 not a surprise at all really, even though the Packers 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.520 aren't normally this involved on the opening days of free agency. 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.239 You have to go back to kind of twenty nineteen 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:00.839 for the last time that these sort of signings occurred. 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.560 But Xavier McKinney is a guy that the Packers feel 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:08.479 not only fits this defense that Hafley's going to run 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.280 very very well, but also as a player that I 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:16.400 think Halfley is expecting to showcase from a playmaking standpoint 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:20.280 and give him opportunities to make some game changing plays. 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.240 Yeah, And as Brian Gudikuin's told us in Orlando, I 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.359 mean it was kind of a question there whether or 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:27.880 not either him or Josh Jacobs would even make it 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:28.200 to the. 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:28.919 Free agent market. 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:33.400 Yeah, the option with the franchise tag when McKinney was there, 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:35.760 He's you know, Brian said, it himself. I mean, that 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.800 is an unusual player to be available. I almost liken 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.640 it to the Shaquille O'Neill effect. Not to put those 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:44.760 that lofty of expectations on McKinney, but it's very rare 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:46.760 that you see a guy that hass been as productive 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:49.560 as he's been and is only twenty four years old 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:53.320 when he reaches unrestricted free agency. I mean, as Brian said, 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:55.040 right from the get go, they feel like his next 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:56.680 three years are going to be his best seasons in 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:58.680 the National Football League. We haven't even seen the best 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:01.440 version of this guy yet. So when you're paying top 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:03.960 dollar for a safety, it's one thing. Packers did it 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.200 back in twenty nineteen with Adrian Amos when they were 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.600 really switching things up with that defense the first time. Well, 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:11.880 now you not only get McKinney, who I think buy 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:14.600 and large everybody would agree was the top target for 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.880 safeties on the market, you're getting him before he's even 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:20.600 reached his prime. And I feel like for the Green 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:23.160 Bay Packers, what they need from that safety position, all 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:27.720 the ebbs and flows that they went through last year, injuries, inconsistency, 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.440 if they're going to switch to this type of scheme 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:32.000 where maybe you're gonna see a little bit more of 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:34.280 the single high. Look again, you need a guy that 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:36.320 is going to be able to handle that patrolling of 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:37.920 center field. You're gonna need a guy that's gonna be 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:40.800 able to close quickly to the football. Jeff Hafley said 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:42.760 it in his opening news conference. He wants a guy 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:45.320 that's going to race things on defense, and Xavier McKinney 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:46.080 definitely does that. 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.640 I think the thing that stuck out to me the 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.160 most and continues to stick out to me the most 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.760 with regard to McKinney is that last season he had 0:07:55.880 --> 0:08:00.360 one hundred and sixteen tackles, and the various know pro 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:04.440 football focused metrics and whatnot, the analyzes that are out 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.520 there said that he only missed seven tackles. One hundred 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:11.600 and sixteen tackles and only seven misses. And then when 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:15.239 McKinney spoke to reporters for the first time after signing 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:19.200 his contract, I actually I tried to ask him in 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.040 a kind of roundabout way, well, what makes a good tackler? Like, 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:23.680 how did you get so good at this when you 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:26.239 can get one hundred and sixteen and only miss seven 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.080 over the course of an entire season, and his immediate 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:31.960 response was, the seven is too many. I've got to 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.040 get that number down. This is a guy who's one 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:38.720 of the better tacklers in the league, and yet he 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.000 doesn't look at himself that way. He looks at it 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.240 as I still have to get better. If I'm in 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.320 a position to make a tackle, I've got to make it. 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:49.400 And miss tackles they're going to happen in the NFL. 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:51.680 They happen to everybody. I think we've seen over the 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:53.480 last couple of years that the Packers have had a 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:55.920 few too many of them, and not just one person 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.199 or one position, but it's been kind of an across 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:02.680 the board thing. Things go have gone a little sour 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.800 on defense, and I think having a guy like McKinney 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:09.800 as as a leader, as a veteran guy who's who's 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:11.880 been there and done that, and then with this transition 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:14.400 to the new defense, it seems like the right fit 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:16.719 for everything that halfway in the floor looking for. 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:18.880 And it's a high wire act back there. Even if 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.040 you're playing too high safety, it's not just that if 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.800 you miss a tackle, it's what are the replication the 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.520 ramifications of that mistackle? And that's where I think when 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:29.240 you mentioned a couple times, green Bay got kind of 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:31.800 burned by that last year. It's not an easy position 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:33.960 to play. For whatever reason, the NFL is kind of 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.200 downgraded a little bit. People aren't willing to spend the 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:38.440 money on safety like maybe they were ten years ago. 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.199 But you see the value in it when you look 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.079 at a player like Xavier McKinney. He's versatile and he's 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.360 sort of that five tool player that you really need 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.480 back there. He can, he can hit, he can hit 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:50.360 the you know, the running back. He can be able 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:52.480 to cover downfield by himself if he needs to. You 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:54.920 saw those interceptions he had towards the end of last 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:58.280 seasons against Philly. There's some instinctual things that he does 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:00.800 along with that speed that he carries that's gonna keep 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:02.280 him in this thing for a long time. And I 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:04.640 don't know what exactly is gonna happen alongside of him. 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:06.400 The Packers still have a big hole there as the 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:10.280 safety two spot. Anthony Johnson Junior is gonna come back, 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:12.400 maybe the addresses through the draft, maybe there's a free 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.160 agent out there that they like. But whoever that is, 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.480 you have a pretty good feeling that McKinney's gonna be 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:19.720 able to work with that individual and help bring them along, 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.760 much like what Adriannamus did with Darnell Savage in twenty nineteen. 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:26.840 Yeah, and to dive a little bit deeper into the 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:32.160 switch at defensive coordinator with Halfley coming from Boston College. Numerically, 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:33.960 it's about going from a three to four to a 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:37.160 four to three, right. We don't want to overplay that necessarily. 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:41.160 It does turn guys like Rashan, Gary Preston Smith, Lucas 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:45.680 Fans into more traditional defensive ends. We will see if 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:47.640 they play with their hand on the ground or whether 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:51.640 they still stand or yeah, yeah, or maybe or maybe 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:53.880 it's a you know, it's a combination of things based 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:57.320 on what package you know, down in distance, situation, all 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:02.559 of that. The what I am most curious about. I'll 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.160 ask you what you're most curious about to see develop 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.560 in this first year of Jeff Haffley's defense. For me, 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:13.080 it's how is how does Jeff Hafley go about utilizing 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:17.880 an athlete and a talent like Quay Walker. Because we 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:21.480 saw Walker make some pretty good strides from his rookie 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:24.160 year to his second year. We saw him in Week 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.319 one of his second season get a pick six that 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:29.960 Soldier field. But then, you know, not that I'm not 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:32.400 saying he had a bad season. He was better in 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:34.920 year two than I thought than in year one. But 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.040 we didn't see a whole lot of the splash plays, 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:40.520 the flashy stuff, you know, the game changing type of plays. 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:43.040 But kuay Walker is the kind of athlete in the 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:46.200 middle of a defense who can make those kind of plays. 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.480 And I am very curious to see just how Halflee 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:54.600 in his defensive assistance go about trying to showcase quay 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:56.960 Walker at the linebacker level, as we had talked about 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:58.520 with McKinney at the safety level. 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:00.200 I just felt like it was one of the questions 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.520 I asked Matt Lafleur after the season about when he 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:04.960 was making this change where Joe Berry is out as 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:08.839 defensive coordinator is looking for somebody else. Was he specifically 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:10.520 looking to go to a four to three or was 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:12.800 that a byproduct of the coordinator that you're picking. And 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:14.800 it was a byproduct, is what he said. He wasn't 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.480 necessarily looking to make a change. But when I look 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:19.640 at where Green Bay was last year, I look at 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:22.800 their personnel there wasn't a lot there where I said, Man, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:24.480 they really got to fix this. They have to do 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.439 this differently. I just think sometimes when you're not getting 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:29.840 the results, you need to switch things up. And I 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.200 feel like this switch and again, I'm a guy that 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.440 you can read. You've read all my stuff for eight years. Yeah, 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:37.280 I love the three four. That's where I I've always thought. 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.640 But with some of the gap issues they had last year, 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:41.480 some of the times where they got gashed with the run, 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.160 I think sometimes you do need to try something different. 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:46.160 So when I look at kway Walker bringing it back 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.319 to your original point, I just think that this is 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:50.439 something that's going to compliment him. Well, he's going to 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.199 be able to read those defenses. He's going to be 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:55.120 able to act instinctually. He has a rapport there already 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.040 with Isaiah McDuffie, who in some form or fashion is 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.240 going to be incorporated into this defense depending on what 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:01.959 they do with that other inside backer spot. 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:02.559 I agree. 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:06.040 But overall, I feel like the construct is there. I 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:08.160 feel like the bodies are there. I feel like the 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.280 defensive line they got a lot of production from that 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:13.319 last year. The defensive line had almost half their sacks 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:16.120 of those forty five, with Kenny Clark having a career high, 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:18.520 Davonte Wyatt having five and a half, and when you 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.440 have somebody like kway Walker who also can contribute in 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.640 that fashion, I just feel like there's going to be 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:25.640 a lot for Halfway to utilize there. And he was 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.040 even asked about it during his original press conference and 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:29.920 he said, I mean, one of the first things you 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.040 do is a defensive coordinator come into Green Bay, you 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:34.240 look at kway Walker and you like what you see. 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:36.680 And I think the scheme overall is something that's definitely 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:37.920 going to benefit him in the long run. 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:40.240 Yeah. When I look at these young guys on the 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:43.240 Packers defense, obviously Kenny Clark is going to do his thing, 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.640 Preston Smith is doing his thing. Rareshaun Gary has certainly 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.400 come into his own, even though he missed half a season, 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.199 you know, with a torn acl When I look at 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.559 the young guys on this defense, the quay Walker, quay 0:13:55.559 --> 0:14:00.080 Walker and Devonte Wyatt and Isaiah McDuffie, I think if 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:03.959 Hafley wants to have these young defenders in attack mode, 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:07.320 not react mode. He wants he wants to get something 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.800 established where the defense, the defense is attacking more often 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:14.040 than it's reacting. You're going to have to play some 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.640 situations reactionally on defense. That's the nature of the sport. 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:20.080 It's the nature of the game. But the more times 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:23.480 you can create situations and create opportunities to be on 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:26.600 the attack and with as much young blood, so to speak, 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:28.400 as the Packers are going to have on the defensive 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:30.920 side of the ball. That's kind of in a general 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:32.000 sense where I see this. 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:34.000 Going, yeah, and I agree with you, and I think 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.040 that's going to be exciting because we'll preview the draft 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:38.800 a little bit later and we'll get going on how 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:40.880 these things are going to shape up and the twenty 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:43.440 four landscape is going to be. But Michael, with how 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.960 many guys stepped up last season, with how many rookies 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:49.040 contributed right away, I didn't go into this offseason thinking, man, 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:50.920 green Bay has a lot of holes to fill, and 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:52.440 they don't have a lot of draft picks. They don't 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:54.480 have a lot of money. No, they have more money, 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:56.840 they have more draft picks. Now, they still got to 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.120 build depth. They still have to find guys that can 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.920 challenge for position right away. They need to find that safety. 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:05.360 But my goodness, Michael when you compare what this conversation 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:06.840 was like when you and I came back for the 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.880 first episode of Unscripted last year as opposed to where 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:12.880 Green Bay is seating today, It's a night and day difference. 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:14.920 There's been a lot of guys that have contributed to that. 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:17.360 But I just feel like for Jeff Hafley coming in 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.480 trying to implement his program, there are so many young 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:22.800 stallions here for him to work with to hopefully build 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.920 something that can become what everybody's expected this defense to be. 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:28.720 Well, I want to go through other players that the 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:32.120 Packers brought back, guys who left, will sort of analyze 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.240 a little bit where that is. But for some sponsor 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:39.080 business First, Serious XM NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:41.400 and up to the minute NFL news that true football 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:45.080 fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty five. And 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:47.360 at Cousin Subs, we have something for everyone like our 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:51.160 Wisconsin Cheese curds, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:54.440 all paired with your favorite sub or Submonabwle Cousin Subs 0:15:54.880 --> 0:16:01.080 fifty plus years of better all right elsewhere in free agency, 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:03.800 I'm just gonna rattle off kind of the names as 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.840 far as who's gone and who's been brought back, as 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.560 far as who has departed. The Green Bay Packers safeties 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:14.240 Darnell Savage and Jonathan Owens, offensive lineman John Runyon and 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:18.120 yosh Nyman, tight end Josiah Dguara, and running back Patrick 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:23.000 Taylor re signed by the Green Bay Packers Keishawn Nixon, 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:30.680 AJ Dillon, Eric Wilson, Corey Ballantine, Christian Welch, and Robert Rochelle. 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.400 Two things that jump out at me. One is that, 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.680 as we get asked a lot in insider inbox, almost inevitably, 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.240 as soon as a season ends and the free agent 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:44.600 lists get out there, who's the top priority for the 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:46.840 Packers to re sign in free agency to make sure 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.440 this guy doesn't get away. I think you and I 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:51.840 both answered the question exactly the same way. It was 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:55.240 Keishawn Nixon, not only because of what he did in 0:16:55.320 --> 0:17:00.400 a full season as the nickel cornerback and really him 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.320 playing that position full time for the first time in 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.200 his career. I think the Packers feel like there's still 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:08.560 some more growth and some more progress there, even though 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:12.000 Keishaw Nixon is not necessarily a young player anymore with 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:14.560 his experience in the league. But then you throw in, 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.520 obviously what he brings to the return game, and then 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:20.480 what the owners passed at the owners meetings as far 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.800 as the whole new setup and the rules and regulations 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:27.280 with regard to kickoffs that are going to promote kickoff 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:30.760 return opportunities and instead of as many touchbacks as we've 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:34.040 seen in recent years. I thought the re signing of 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:38.000 Keishawn Nixon was a big move for the Packers in 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.880 two phases, both defensively and on special. 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:43.360 It was the biggest move Green Bay made. And because 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:46.840 let's just start with defense, because Jeff Halfley. This was 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:50.600 another question that came up throughout the offseason with Matt Lafleure. 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:54.399 You know, they were the ones. Jeff Hafley comes in 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:57.520 as he talked about his family still in Boston. You know, 0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:59.760 he's sitting over here at Lodge Coal or just basically 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:04.199 breathing and eating football every single day, and he had 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:06.040 a lot of time to crunch film and a big 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.320 part of that was watching the nine hundred sum snaps 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:10.960 that Kishaw Nixon played last year and projecting whether or 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:13.119 not this would be a good fit, because if it 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:15.040 isn't this is the breaking point. This is where the 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:17.040 Packers can let him walk and they can move forward 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.280 in a new direction. Jeff Hafley looked at that film 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:21.280 and said, this is promising for a guy that finally 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.399 as a full time player, full time starter, is in 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:26.119 that role. He liked what he saw, and Brian Goodikin's 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.320 kind of expounded upon that when we were in Orlando, saying, 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:31.640 you gotta remember, it's not just about how you cover, 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:33.480 it's about how you tackle, and you need a guy 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:35.440 that's built for that contact. You need a guy that's 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:38.560 sort of like this hybrid pseudo safety type position, and 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:40.800 Kishawn Nixon in a lot of ways fits that bill, 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:44.040 especially with his explosiveness. I think the Packers saw what 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:46.520 he did last year. It wasn't error free, but they 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.560 felt like there's something to build off there now. And 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:51.080 obviously the fact his durability is such a pivotal piece 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:52.760 in Green Bay and he was the guy that ended 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:55.040 up being out there more than anybody with those cornerbacks. 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.160 And if I may just quickly with this kickoff return business, 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.400 we'll have to see what this all is. Are gonna 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:03.000 have plenty of opportunities to discuss this this summer. Will 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:05.560 it look different, Will it result in more explosive plays? 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.880 Will it results result in fewer everybody's got a theory. 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:09.000 On this thing. 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:11.320 Yeah, But all I'm gonna say is with the moves 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:13.640 that Green Bay made, and Kishaw Nixon is a part 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:14.800 of that, but he's not all of it. It's some 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:18.480