August 20, 2020 • 18 mins
Mike and Wes discuss the early padded practices of camp, including the competitions amongst the defensive backs (3:05), running backs (8:41) and tight ends (13:14).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted Social
Distancing Style from Packers dot Com. I am like Spofford,
joined by the one and only Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming
(00:22):
to you here, both from lambeau Field. West is actually
across the hall from me in an office. I am
in the studio, but Western. Since we last spoke, the
Packers have had to training camp practices in pads out
at ray nitchki Field another one awaiting after this episode
post at lambeau Field, but in the first two padded practices.
(00:46):
Want to get thoughts on just your observations. Thing that
stood out to you will start on the defensive side
of the ball. Well, the thing that stood out to
me so far as Adrian Amos is just making play
after play after play. You wrote a out it really
well in our five Things Learned story on Tuesday. I
touched on it again in our five Things Learned story
(01:07):
on Wednesday, And honestly, Mike, there's just there's so many
good things you can say about Adrian Amos right now,
because first he's the most veteran guy now in that
defensive backs room that Tremont Williams isn't actually here at
the moment, went on signed to this point. So they
need him to be a leader. They need him to
be a guy that you're gonna be able to count on, uh,
(01:27):
to to be the guy that sets the tone in
that room. And I really feel like he's set the
tone in practice so far. He had the diving interception
on Tuesday. He comes back on Wednesday, he looks in
a nice deep ball, positioned himself well. Uh. Aaron Rodgers
trying to test that that second and third level of
the defense and Amos came right up and I felt
like that was an early teen period. Packers didn't have
(01:49):
a lot of them on Wednesday, and it really did
sort of set the tone for that defense. Adrian Amos. Uh,
he's a guy that, again we talked so much about
the Smiths, but when they drafted him, they felt like,
this is a guy that's gonna need to and not
really need to, but has his best years ahead of
him and they're gonna see him make some maturation and
some improvements. And I think going into year two you're
starting to see that. Yeah, it's pretty clear that these
(02:12):
first two days in Pads, I think the defensive backfield
is the one position group on the roster that has
probably stood out more than any other. Now that's not
to say that Aaron Rodgers can't complete a pass, or
Tim Boyle or Jordan's Love can't complete a pass. I mean,
the offense is making their share place too, But the
number of past deflections and the interceptions that the defense
has gotten in some of these early practices, they definitely
(02:36):
stand out. Kevin King had one, uh the other day,
to where Rogers tried to, you know, float one over
the top of his head to Robert Tonyan, you know,
going towards the back corner, and Kevin King, all six
three plus of him, with those lanky, long arms, he
just reached up and hauled it in right at the
goal line for an interception. Very reminiscent of a couple
(02:56):
of his interceptions from last year in the regular season. Actually,
and as you know, West, there there's a lot of
behind the starting the starting four and really starting five
if you count Shandon Sullivan as the as the main
nickel cornerback right now. But beyond beyond that front line group,
there's a lot of competition in there for the other
spots and other roles. You know, when you're talking about
(03:18):
Josh Jackson, Kadar Holman, other guys like that, Raven Green
in the secondary, along with Vernon Scott, the young rookie
out of TCU who has made a couple of plays
on the ball early on here in camp. Um, I've
been impressed so far with Josh Jackson. And I know
it's just a couple of days, but this is a
young man who's got a lot of talent and a
(03:38):
lot of ability. Had really kind of just a whole
setback second season when the the injury early on, and
you know, through training camp, wasn't able to get back
to where he was as as a rookie coming out
of Iowa's a second round pick and he's looking to, uh,
you know, to to make some more in roads and
and get back to where he was when he started
his career and very promising fact. Yeah, and if you know,
(04:01):
we could bring up the video. You actually asked me
that question earlier in one of the off season on
scripted who would you say would potentially be a breakout
candidate for the Packers this year? And my answer, and
I think yours also was as well, was Josh Jackson.
Josh Jackson had about his nightmarish of a two thousand
nineteen as you could ask for. He suffers that really
strange foot injury before he comes back when he reports,
(04:25):
so he's actually n f I when he actually starts
the season, um, so he ends up being behind the
eight ball there. So then what happens next, Well, he's
he's not able to be the next guy up when
opportunities do present themselves in the secondary. So he very
rarely played on defense. There was one game where he
was a healthy scratch completely so and then to throw
(04:46):
in late in the season. Unfortunately, he also lost his father.
I can't imagine just how difficult that season was for him.
But what impressed me with him, and one of the
reasons why I felt like he was primed to be
a big breakout Canada is the way he carried him self.
He didn't hang his head, he didn't make excuses. He
actually was going to Jason Simmons asking if he could
take snaps at safety. He was just trying to find
(05:07):
an outlet to get back onto the field. And through
this week, Mike, he's made some plays. He's had some
nice pass deflections. He had that one deep ball against
him when MVS was able to connect with Tim Boyle
the first practice, but since then he's been pretty lights out.
And there was one snap in particular on Tuesday that
really I thought showed his development. It was that red
(05:30):
zone period where Aaron Rodgers only really through the ball
because it's the the end of that drill. They want
to make sure that you actually get a rep out
of it. Nobody was open, but that was because of
some of the coverage that Jackson had on Davante Adams
in single coverage, and then when Rogers did throw the fade,
Jackson was able to deflect it. Really impressed by that
young man, and he's going to need to be a
(05:51):
factor here the Packers. No, they're not going to be
able to just get through a season with their starting
three quarterbacks and everything's gonna be hunky dory. You're going
to have injuries, you're going to have a versity, and
the fact that Yourmon Williams isn't here right now, I
actually think speaks to the comfort level right now with
Josh Jackson and those young corners to potentially be the
next men out. Yeah, one last thing on the secondary too,
(06:11):
before we move on with we know we've talked a
lot about that combination at corner with Jaire Alexander and
Kevin King and what that has always meant to the
defense over the last couple of years when they've been
on the field together. You mentioned Adrian Amos at the
top of the show, and I couldn't agree more with
the way he has looked in terms of the playmaking,
the leadership, you know, settling in here in his second
(06:34):
year in Green Bay. I'm really curious how this safety
tandem Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage is going to develop
because Amos is a guy who's he's he's quiet, he's
kind of soft spoken, but definitely becoming a leader. And
as you said that the veteran guy in the room,
and then Darnell Savage being a year two first round
draft pick guy, you know, his arrow is pointing up.
You know, he's not a finished product yet. That combination
(06:57):
Amos and Savage as the as the earting safeties, that
could start to be as as an as intriguing a
combination in some ways as the corners on the outside
with King and Alexander. Yeah, that's the great thing too
about Adrian Amos. I love that quote he had when
he spoke to the media on Wednesday. You don't always
want you raw raw guys. I mean that there's something
(07:18):
to be said for that at times, but the reality
is that it's kind of one. It's hard to keep
that energy day in and day out, and that tends
to not be very balanced. It den's to not be
even keel. You need to be able to, you know,
have that that level headedness. That's what he provides. So
I've just I feel like he was the right guy
at the right time for the right defense. With Mike
(07:39):
Petton trying to change the culture, they're trying to find
a new way with the Morgan Burnett haw Clinton Dick's
era ending, they needed to find a new path. That
path is Adrian Amos, and it's gonna be Darnell Savage
And much like Amos when he was a very young guy,
sort of shepherd ng uh. When you go back to
Eddie Jackson and what he did in Chicago, there's a
lot of parallels now between what he's being asked to
(08:02):
do here in Green Bay. But the thing I like
about it is I still think there's a lot of
his own untapped potential playmaking ability that could be there
and with Cherry Gray now directing that secondary, you start
to get a feel you asked the question yourself today,
you start to get the field there that, Yeah, these
guys are gonna be ball hawking a little bit more
and those opportunities are going to be there for Adrian
n Amos to make an impact. Yeah, that's an interesting
(08:23):
point you bring up about Chicago and Eddie Jackson when
he came in from Alabama and joined Amos, a young
safety from Penn State, and what they developed there in Chicago.
So definitely something to watch moving forward, switching gears to
the offensive side of the ball, these first couple of
padded workouts, West, what has stood out to you, Well,
(08:44):
there's a lot that has stood out to me, Mike.
I just to quickly touch on a j. Dillon again.
I know we made so many remarks about the thighs
and that the quads and all that his lower half,
But the thing I love about him is just the
way he runs and you can see what he's in
through traffic. Why he's going to be so difficult for
the opposing team to actually be able to stop. It's
(09:05):
an incredible skill set that he has and he's very
decisive when he hits, the hits the whole. Now to
branch off of that a little bit, Jamal Williams spoke
to the media on Wednesday and he was asked the question,
I think a lot of people were wondering this offseason
they got a j Dillon. What does that mean for
the snaps of these guys? What's gonna happen there? How
are you gonna be able to divvy all this up?
(09:26):
And Jamal Williams, I think Mike, as you would expect,
he played it pretty cool. He's he's a guy that
he's not going to let that kind of stuff bother him.
As he said, he just loves to play the game.
And I love the analogy that he used when he
was doing that. He said, it does remind you a
lot of high school football. Again, it reminds you where
there's a lot of playmakers. So when you get your opportunities,
(09:46):
you have to make the most of them. And again,
it's going to be another month before we see any
of these guys hitting the field. I have to wonder, Mike,
it's I just feel like they're still gonna find a
role for all these guys that don't ask me what
the splits are gonna be or who's gonna be in
what situation. But Matt la Floor this wasn't a fluke man.
He said it in February. He wanted a third headed monster,
(10:08):
a three headed monster, a third head to that equation.
A G. Dillon's that guy, and you also have a
you know, a Swiss army knife. They're like Tyler Irvin
in the mix as well. I think Jamal Williams is
gonna get plenty of opportunities and Mike I don't want
to jinx anything, and I feel like I won't be
because we're still a month away from the Southern regular season.
Four hundred and seventy two consecutive touches right now for
Jamal Williams without a fumble in the National Football League
(10:31):
in exceptional mark something that's incredibly difficult to achieve. And
if he does fumble, I'm gonna blame you for bringing
it up on the show. I'm just kidding you. But
now what's gonna happen with this Packers backfield really will
be interesting to watch. As you said, Matt Lafleur has
made you know, no bones about the fact that he
wants to run the ball he wants to have options.
(10:52):
You talk about you know, Tyler Irvin as a as
a gadget type option. You've got a power guy like
like a j. Dillon, Jamal Williams, a power back in
his own right. Dylan certainly. I was talking with Larry
about this during our three Things video. Dylan is also
just shifty and quick for such a big guy too.
It's just it's such an interesting combination, an interesting package
(11:14):
of of attributes that he brings. And then of course
we all know what Aaron Jones can do, and I
mean quite frankly, Aaron Jones is the one with the uh,
you know, the toughest act to follow of his own
so to speak. When you score twenty three touchdowns in
eighteen games and then you know your your front office
brings in a second round draft pick at running back
(11:35):
to possibly take some touches away from you. But that
being said, that's what the Packers want. They want to
have options. You want to have a guy. Obviously, you
don't want anybody to get hurt, but if somebody does
go down for a game or a short period of time,
you just want to have other guys that you can
count on that you know, can step in and get
the job done, and the offense doesn't have to, you know,
(11:55):
tear a whole chunk of the playbook out and throw
it away just because somebody got hurt. That's what Matt
lafle Or offer it after in this offense. And uh,
he believes he's gonna have the weapons in the backfield
to get it done. And and God blessed Tray Carson. Uh,
you know, a very hard working guy that's made it
was his own way, a very difficult way in the NFL.
But the Packers at one point last season had to
call him up from the practice squad and he actually
(12:17):
ended up like carrying the ball in a game that
following weekend. That's not the way you draw it up.
That isn't the way you want to have to do
this thing. You want to have options. The Packers have
given themselves that with A J. Dillon. The one thing
I love is the fact that Mike, you and I
know what inbox was like that week and two after
the draft, people saying why did they draft a running back?
What is the point of all this? They needed a receiver,
(12:39):
they needed everything other than a running back. And then
it's just it's it's kind of it made me laugh
a little bit that the last two weeks here everybody's
talking about his thighs and Dylan's thighs and his upside.
People have him in the Hall of Fame already. It's
just the way that narrative swing. Uh, It's it's hilarious. Yeah,
(13:00):
you know, it's training camp. Everybody's everybody's just excited to
be actually seeing player football players out on a practice field.
But that being said, another position group, and I know
we've talked about a little bit already, but where things
are going to go at tight end here for the
Packers is going to be very interesting. You know, you've
got Mercedes Lewis, the fifteen year veteran, you know, the
(13:21):
guy he's sort of taking all of these young guys
under his his big wings, and he's got a lot
of experience, a lot of a lot of savvy, a
lot of knowledge to be able to share. But you know,
you've got Robert Tonyan, you have j Sternberger, you have
the rookie Josiah Deguarre, you have Evan Bayliss, all of
these very very young guys and you know, hats off
(13:41):
to Robert Tony and I think he's gotten off to
a great start here early on in training camp, and
he certainly wants to keep it going. But you know,
I can see a lot of these guys west getting
snaps and finding roles in this offense from Matt Lafleur.
Much like the backfield, we don't know exactly how it's
going to shake out, but sort of feels like a
lot of these guys are are are gonna find their
(14:04):
way onto the field and be able to play. Yeah.
I mean, the one given is that Mercedes Lewis is
gonna get his snaps this year. There's gonna be packages
that he's He's built for some of their two tight
end looks. You want to have a guy like him
on the field, and he is a guy that has
Aaron Rodgers confidence. The rest of that is going to
be determined, And I think the way I look at
this right now, Mike is a lot like how Mike
(14:25):
McCarthy used to always handle his running backs, where it's
going to be by committee. But if a guy establishes himself,
a guy sort of separates himself from the rest of
the pack, that guy is going to get the snaps.
I could very well see that being the case with
the rest of those tight ends with Robert Tannan, Jay Sternberger,
and then certainly you also have Josiah Deguar, who's gonna
(14:46):
probably fit in multiple roles. And and to give credit
where credit is due, Evan Bayliss is a guy who
played some snaps last year too. He was sort of
the guy that was the backup for Mercedes Lewis and
some of those those blocking tight end packages. So all
four of those guys are gonna be in the mix
here to find some playing time. But who's gonna be
the guy that sort of grabs that brass ring? To
touch on Tanyan for a second, you wrote about it
(15:08):
on Packers dot Com. He had a phenomenal performance against
Dallas last season, that huge catch, arguably the most competitive
best catch he's had of his young career, and then
he unfortunately ends up sustaining that hip injury. So what
does that mean? That means it set him back. He
wasn't able to have that breakthrough that I think a
lot of people were hoping to get out of him
where he became that legitimate third option, especially with Jay
(15:29):
Sternberger on i R for the first half of the season,
Tanyan's back, and I felt like he's really filled out
his body a little bit more. I don't know if
there's really much change in terms of what his makeup is,
but he just looks more like a tight end and
he has great size for the position already. This is
Tanyans big moment. He's a guy that has been in
the system now for two years. He ended the last
(15:49):
year before that on the practice squad. He's been going
through these repetitions for so long now. I'd really like
to see him be able to make that next step.
He worked the George Kittle in the off season again.
He worked at the Rain Burkes down in Nashville as well.
He's the guy who takes his job incredibly serious. He's
been through a lot of adversity in his life to
get to this moment. He's the guy for as much
(16:11):
as we talked about Sternberger and Daguerre, and as attractive
as those players are, his third round picks, Robert Tanyan
is a guy that Packers have invested a lot into
and it's because they believe in him. Well right now,
certainly the Packers are happy to see that that those
tight ends are healthy because, as you said, Tanyan had
the hip injury last year. It cost him five games.
He wasn't really quite a hundred percent you could tell
(16:32):
in some other games as well. And then Sternberger was
on I R for the first half of his rookie year.
And I give Sternberger. Sternberger a lot of credit for
all of the practice time that he missed as a
rookie to actually then be making an impact in the
postseason for the Packers when you know, I mean, I
can't even I couldn't even imagine, you know, counting up
(16:55):
how many practices he missed, I mean, that amount of
time missed as a rookie. Normally that sort of just
translates to a red shirt ear into his credit. It
wasn't a red shirt ear for him. He got in
there at the end of the season. They gave him
some blocking assignments. Then they started to expand his role
a little bit. He made some catches in the postseason.
So having both of those guys healthy now after after
(17:15):
they were both dealing with UM, you know, long term
so to speak from a football season standpoint, injuries UM
through en, it's a it's great to see that group healthy,
and you know Matt Lafleur is happy about that. Yeah. Absolutely,
And again there has been a shift and I wrote
about it as one of our Position by position series
previews going into this season, the Packers made a concerted
(17:38):
effort here to go young again at tight end. That
means being patient. That's me trusting the process and trusting
that development. And once you get there, I think you're
seeing a lot of teams in the NFL really benefiting
from that approach. So Mercedes Lewis, he's the guy right now,
you know, the thirty six year old veteran fifteen NFL seasons.
He's gonna lead that room. And he's a lot of
young guys that I think you look at what him
(18:00):
and Justin out in the tight ends coach, just so
many different pieces, so many talented players that they have
to work with, and the mentor uh tight end position
is gonna be huge and Matt Lafleur's office, it's going
to be this year and every year moving forward, as
long as the floor is in Green Bay and seeing
which guys emerge out of that that that's gonna be
something to watch because it's gonna have ramifications, not just
(18:21):
for this season, but you know down the line here
for who that next guy is going to be in
this offense to really become a playmaker. Yeah, no question
about it. Well, with that, we will sign off on
this edition of Packers Unscripted. But the next time we
come to you next week, there will be a few
more practices and some more observations and storylines of training
camp to talk about. So until then, for West, I
(18:42):
am Mike, thank you for tuning in everybody. We'll see
you next time.
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted Social
Distancing Style from Packers dot Com. I am like Spofford,
joined by the one and only Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming
(00:22):
to you here, both from lambeau Field. West is actually
across the hall from me in an office. I am
in the studio, but Western. Since we last spoke, the
Packers have had to training camp practices in pads out
at ray nitchki Field another one awaiting after this episode
post at lambeau Field, but in the first two padded practices.
(00:46):
Want to get thoughts on just your observations. Thing that
stood out to you will start on the defensive side
of the ball. Well, the thing that stood out to
me so far as Adrian Amos is just making play
after play after play. You wrote a out it really
well in our five Things Learned story on Tuesday. I
touched on it again in our five Things Learned story
(01:07):
on Wednesday, And honestly, Mike, there's just there's so many
good things you can say about Adrian Amos right now,
because first he's the most veteran guy now in that
defensive backs room that Tremont Williams isn't actually here at
the moment, went on signed to this point. So they
need him to be a leader. They need him to
be a guy that you're gonna be able to count on, uh,
(01:27):
to to be the guy that sets the tone in
that room. And I really feel like he's set the
tone in practice so far. He had the diving interception
on Tuesday. He comes back on Wednesday, he looks in
a nice deep ball, positioned himself well. Uh. Aaron Rodgers
trying to test that that second and third level of
the defense and Amos came right up and I felt
like that was an early teen period. Packers didn't have
(01:49):
a lot of them on Wednesday, and it really did
sort of set the tone for that defense. Adrian Amos. Uh,
he's a guy that, again we talked so much about
the Smiths, but when they drafted him, they felt like,
this is a guy that's gonna need to and not
really need to, but has his best years ahead of
him and they're gonna see him make some maturation and
some improvements. And I think going into year two you're
starting to see that. Yeah, it's pretty clear that these
(02:12):
first two days in Pads, I think the defensive backfield
is the one position group on the roster that has
probably stood out more than any other. Now that's not
to say that Aaron Rodgers can't complete a pass, or
Tim Boyle or Jordan's Love can't complete a pass. I mean,
the offense is making their share place too, But the
number of past deflections and the interceptions that the defense
has gotten in some of these early practices, they definitely
(02:36):
stand out. Kevin King had one, uh the other day,
to where Rogers tried to, you know, float one over
the top of his head to Robert Tonyan, you know,
going towards the back corner, and Kevin King, all six
three plus of him, with those lanky, long arms, he
just reached up and hauled it in right at the
goal line for an interception. Very reminiscent of a couple
(02:56):
of his interceptions from last year in the regular season. Actually,
and as you know, West, there there's a lot of
behind the starting the starting four and really starting five
if you count Shandon Sullivan as the as the main
nickel cornerback right now. But beyond beyond that front line group,
there's a lot of competition in there for the other
spots and other roles. You know, when you're talking about
(03:18):
Josh Jackson, Kadar Holman, other guys like that, Raven Green
in the secondary, along with Vernon Scott, the young rookie
out of TCU who has made a couple of plays
on the ball early on here in camp. Um, I've
been impressed so far with Josh Jackson. And I know
it's just a couple of days, but this is a
young man who's got a lot of talent and a
(03:38):
lot of ability. Had really kind of just a whole
setback second season when the the injury early on, and
you know, through training camp, wasn't able to get back
to where he was as as a rookie coming out
of Iowa's a second round pick and he's looking to, uh,
you know, to to make some more in roads and
and get back to where he was when he started
his career and very promising fact. Yeah, and if you know,
(04:01):
we could bring up the video. You actually asked me
that question earlier in one of the off season on
scripted who would you say would potentially be a breakout
candidate for the Packers this year? And my answer, and
I think yours also was as well, was Josh Jackson.
Josh Jackson had about his nightmarish of a two thousand
nineteen as you could ask for. He suffers that really
strange foot injury before he comes back when he reports,
(04:25):
so he's actually n f I when he actually starts
the season, um, so he ends up being behind the
eight ball there. So then what happens next, Well, he's
he's not able to be the next guy up when
opportunities do present themselves in the secondary. So he very
rarely played on defense. There was one game where he
was a healthy scratch completely so and then to throw
(04:46):
in late in the season. Unfortunately, he also lost his father.
I can't imagine just how difficult that season was for him.
But what impressed me with him, and one of the
reasons why I felt like he was primed to be
a big breakout Canada is the way he carried him self.
He didn't hang his head, he didn't make excuses. He
actually was going to Jason Simmons asking if he could
take snaps at safety. He was just trying to find
(05:07):
an outlet to get back onto the field. And through
this week, Mike, he's made some plays. He's had some
nice pass deflections. He had that one deep ball against
him when MVS was able to connect with Tim Boyle
the first practice, but since then he's been pretty lights out.
And there was one snap in particular on Tuesday that
really I thought showed his development. It was that red
(05:30):
zone period where Aaron Rodgers only really through the ball
because it's the the end of that drill. They want
to make sure that you actually get a rep out
of it. Nobody was open, but that was because of
some of the coverage that Jackson had on Davante Adams
in single coverage, and then when Rogers did throw the fade,
Jackson was able to deflect it. Really impressed by that
young man, and he's going to need to be a
(05:51):
factor here the Packers. No, they're not going to be
able to just get through a season with their starting
three quarterbacks and everything's gonna be hunky dory. You're going
to have injuries, you're going to have a versity, and
the fact that Yourmon Williams isn't here right now, I
actually think speaks to the comfort level right now with
Josh Jackson and those young corners to potentially be the
next men out. Yeah, one last thing on the secondary too,
(06:11):
before we move on with we know we've talked a
lot about that combination at corner with Jaire Alexander and
Kevin King and what that has always meant to the
defense over the last couple of years when they've been
on the field together. You mentioned Adrian Amos at the
top of the show, and I couldn't agree more with
the way he has looked in terms of the playmaking,
the leadership, you know, settling in here in his second
(06:34):
year in Green Bay. I'm really curious how this safety
tandem Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage is going to develop
because Amos is a guy who's he's he's quiet, he's
kind of soft spoken, but definitely becoming a leader. And
as you said that the veteran guy in the room,
and then Darnell Savage being a year two first round
draft pick guy, you know, his arrow is pointing up.
You know, he's not a finished product yet. That combination
(06:57):
Amos and Savage as the as the earting safeties, that
could start to be as as an as intriguing a
combination in some ways as the corners on the outside
with King and Alexander. Yeah, that's the great thing too
about Adrian Amos. I love that quote he had when
he spoke to the media on Wednesday. You don't always
want you raw raw guys. I mean that there's something
(07:18):
to be said for that at times, but the reality
is that it's kind of one. It's hard to keep
that energy day in and day out, and that tends
to not be very balanced. It den's to not be
even keel. You need to be able to, you know,
have that that level headedness. That's what he provides. So
I've just I feel like he was the right guy
at the right time for the right defense. With Mike
(07:39):
Petton trying to change the culture, they're trying to find
a new way with the Morgan Burnett haw Clinton Dick's
era ending, they needed to find a new path. That
path is Adrian Amos, and it's gonna be Darnell Savage
And much like Amos when he was a very young guy,
sort of shepherd ng uh. When you go back to
Eddie Jackson and what he did in Chicago, there's a
lot of parallels now between what he's being asked to
(08:02):
do here in Green Bay. But the thing I like
about it is I still think there's a lot of
his own untapped potential playmaking ability that could be there
and with Cherry Gray now directing that secondary, you start
to get a feel you asked the question yourself today,
you start to get the field there that, Yeah, these
guys are gonna be ball hawking a little bit more
and those opportunities are going to be there for Adrian
n Amos to make an impact. Yeah, that's an interesting
(08:23):
point you bring up about Chicago and Eddie Jackson when
he came in from Alabama and joined Amos, a young
safety from Penn State, and what they developed there in Chicago.
So definitely something to watch moving forward, switching gears to
the offensive side of the ball, these first couple of
padded workouts, West, what has stood out to you, Well,
(08:44):
there's a lot that has stood out to me, Mike.
I just to quickly touch on a j. Dillon again.
I know we made so many remarks about the thighs
and that the quads and all that his lower half,
But the thing I love about him is just the
way he runs and you can see what he's in
through traffic. Why he's going to be so difficult for
the opposing team to actually be able to stop. It's
(09:05):
an incredible skill set that he has and he's very
decisive when he hits, the hits the whole. Now to
branch off of that a little bit, Jamal Williams spoke
to the media on Wednesday and he was asked the question,
I think a lot of people were wondering this offseason
they got a j Dillon. What does that mean for
the snaps of these guys? What's gonna happen there? How
are you gonna be able to divvy all this up?
(09:26):
And Jamal Williams, I think Mike, as you would expect,
he played it pretty cool. He's he's a guy that
he's not going to let that kind of stuff bother him.
As he said, he just loves to play the game.
And I love the analogy that he used when he
was doing that. He said, it does remind you a
lot of high school football. Again, it reminds you where
there's a lot of playmakers. So when you get your opportunities,
(09:46):
you have to make the most of them. And again,
it's going to be another month before we see any
of these guys hitting the field. I have to wonder, Mike,
it's I just feel like they're still gonna find a
role for all these guys that don't ask me what
the splits are gonna be or who's gonna be in
what situation. But Matt la Floor this wasn't a fluke man.
He said it in February. He wanted a third headed monster,
(10:08):
a three headed monster, a third head to that equation.
A G. Dillon's that guy, and you also have a
you know, a Swiss army knife. They're like Tyler Irvin
in the mix as well. I think Jamal Williams is
gonna get plenty of opportunities and Mike I don't want
to jinx anything, and I feel like I won't be
because we're still a month away from the Southern regular season.
Four hundred and seventy two consecutive touches right now for
Jamal Williams without a fumble in the National Football League
(10:31):
in exceptional mark something that's incredibly difficult to achieve. And
if he does fumble, I'm gonna blame you for bringing
it up on the show. I'm just kidding you. But
now what's gonna happen with this Packers backfield really will
be interesting to watch. As you said, Matt Lafleur has
made you know, no bones about the fact that he
wants to run the ball he wants to have options.
(10:52):
You talk about you know, Tyler Irvin as a as
a gadget type option. You've got a power guy like
like a j. Dillon, Jamal Williams, a power back in
his own right. Dylan certainly. I was talking with Larry
about this during our three Things video. Dylan is also
just shifty and quick for such a big guy too.
It's just it's such an interesting combination, an interesting package
(11:14):
of of attributes that he brings. And then of course
we all know what Aaron Jones can do, and I
mean quite frankly, Aaron Jones is the one with the uh,
you know, the toughest act to follow of his own
so to speak. When you score twenty three touchdowns in
eighteen games and then you know your your front office
brings in a second round draft pick at running back
(11:35):
to possibly take some touches away from you. But that
being said, that's what the Packers want. They want to
have options. You want to have a guy. Obviously, you
don't want anybody to get hurt, but if somebody does
go down for a game or a short period of time,
you just want to have other guys that you can
count on that you know, can step in and get
the job done, and the offense doesn't have to, you know,
(11:55):
tear a whole chunk of the playbook out and throw
it away just because somebody got hurt. That's what Matt
lafle Or offer it after in this offense. And uh,
he believes he's gonna have the weapons in the backfield
to get it done. And and God blessed Tray Carson. Uh,
you know, a very hard working guy that's made it
was his own way, a very difficult way in the NFL.
But the Packers at one point last season had to
call him up from the practice squad and he actually
(12:17):
ended up like carrying the ball in a game that
following weekend. That's not the way you draw it up.
That isn't the way you want to have to do
this thing. You want to have options. The Packers have
given themselves that with A J. Dillon. The one thing
I love is the fact that Mike, you and I
know what inbox was like that week and two after
the draft, people saying why did they draft a running back?
What is the point of all this? They needed a receiver,
(12:39):
they needed everything other than a running back. And then
it's just it's it's kind of it made me laugh
a little bit that the last two weeks here everybody's
talking about his thighs and Dylan's thighs and his upside.
People have him in the Hall of Fame already. It's
just the way that narrative swing. Uh, It's it's hilarious. Yeah,
(13:00):
you know, it's training camp. Everybody's everybody's just excited to
be actually seeing player football players out on a practice field.
But that being said, another position group, and I know
we've talked about a little bit already, but where things
are going to go at tight end here for the
Packers is going to be very interesting. You know, you've
got Mercedes Lewis, the fifteen year veteran, you know, the
(13:21):
guy he's sort of taking all of these young guys
under his his big wings, and he's got a lot
of experience, a lot of a lot of savvy, a
lot of knowledge to be able to share. But you know,
you've got Robert Tonyan, you have j Sternberger, you have
the rookie Josiah Deguarre, you have Evan Bayliss, all of
these very very young guys and you know, hats off
(13:41):
to Robert Tony and I think he's gotten off to
a great start here early on in training camp, and
he certainly wants to keep it going. But you know,
I can see a lot of these guys west getting
snaps and finding roles in this offense from Matt Lafleur.
Much like the backfield, we don't know exactly how it's
going to shake out, but sort of feels like a
lot of these guys are are are gonna find their
(14:04):
way onto the field and be able to play. Yeah.
I mean, the one given is that Mercedes Lewis is
gonna get his snaps this year. There's gonna be packages
that he's He's built for some of their two tight
end looks. You want to have a guy like him
on the field, and he is a guy that has
Aaron Rodgers confidence. The rest of that is going to
be determined, And I think the way I look at
this right now, Mike is a lot like how Mike
(14:25):
McCarthy used to always handle his running backs, where it's
going to be by committee. But if a guy establishes himself,
a guy sort of separates himself from the rest of
the pack, that guy is going to get the snaps.
I could very well see that being the case with
the rest of those tight ends with Robert Tannan, Jay Sternberger,
and then certainly you also have Josiah Deguar, who's gonna
(14:46):
probably fit in multiple roles. And and to give credit
where credit is due, Evan Bayliss is a guy who
played some snaps last year too. He was sort of
the guy that was the backup for Mercedes Lewis and
some of those those blocking tight end packages. So all
four of those guys are gonna be in the mix
here to find some playing time. But who's gonna be
the guy that sort of grabs that brass ring? To
touch on Tanyan for a second, you wrote about it
(15:08):
on Packers dot Com. He had a phenomenal performance against
Dallas last season, that huge catch, arguably the most competitive
best catch he's had of his young career, and then
he unfortunately ends up sustaining that hip injury. So what
does that mean? That means it set him back. He
wasn't able to have that breakthrough that I think a
lot of people were hoping to get out of him
where he became that legitimate third option, especially with Jay
(15:29):
Sternberger on i R for the first half of the season,
Tanyan's back, and I felt like he's really filled out
his body a little bit more. I don't know if
there's really much change in terms of what his makeup is,
but he just looks more like a tight end and
he has great size for the position already. This is
Tanyans big moment. He's a guy that has been in
the system now for two years. He ended the last
(15:49):
year before that on the practice squad. He's been going
through these repetitions for so long now. I'd really like
to see him be able to make that next step.
He worked the George Kittle in the off season again.
He worked at the Rain Burkes down in Nashville as well.
He's the guy who takes his job incredibly serious. He's
been through a lot of adversity in his life to
get to this moment. He's the guy for as much
(16:11):
as we talked about Sternberger and Daguerre, and as attractive
as those players are, his third round picks, Robert Tanyan
is a guy that Packers have invested a lot into
and it's because they believe in him. Well right now,
certainly the Packers are happy to see that that those
tight ends are healthy because, as you said, Tanyan had
the hip injury last year. It cost him five games.
He wasn't really quite a hundred percent you could tell
(16:32):
in some other games as well. And then Sternberger was
on I R for the first half of his rookie year.
And I give Sternberger. Sternberger a lot of credit for
all of the practice time that he missed as a
rookie to actually then be making an impact in the
postseason for the Packers when you know, I mean, I
can't even I couldn't even imagine, you know, counting up
(16:55):
how many practices he missed, I mean, that amount of
time missed as a rookie. Normally that sort of just
translates to a red shirt ear into his credit. It
wasn't a red shirt ear for him. He got in
there at the end of the season. They gave him
some blocking assignments. Then they started to expand his role
a little bit. He made some catches in the postseason.
So having both of those guys healthy now after after
(17:15):
they were both dealing with UM, you know, long term
so to speak from a football season standpoint, injuries UM
through en, it's a it's great to see that group healthy,
and you know Matt Lafleur is happy about that. Yeah. Absolutely,
And again there has been a shift and I wrote
about it as one of our Position by position series
previews going into this season, the Packers made a concerted
(17:38):
effort here to go young again at tight end. That
means being patient. That's me trusting the process and trusting
that development. And once you get there, I think you're
seeing a lot of teams in the NFL really benefiting
from that approach. So Mercedes Lewis, he's the guy right now,
you know, the thirty six year old veteran fifteen NFL seasons.
He's gonna lead that room. And he's a lot of
young guys that I think you look at what him
(18:00):
and Justin out in the tight ends coach, just so
many different pieces, so many talented players that they have
to work with, and the mentor uh tight end position
is gonna be huge and Matt Lafleur's office, it's going
to be this year and every year moving forward, as
long as the floor is in Green Bay and seeing
which guys emerge out of that that that's gonna be
something to watch because it's gonna have ramifications, not just
(18:21):
for this season, but you know down the line here
for who that next guy is going to be in
this offense to really become a playmaker. Yeah, no question
about it. Well, with that, we will sign off on
this edition of Packers Unscripted. But the next time we
come to you next week, there will be a few
more practices and some more observations and storylines of training
camp to talk about. So until then, for West, I
(18:42):
am Mike, thank you for tuning in everybody. We'll see
you next time.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.