August 10, 2023 • 16 mins
Mike and Wes give their impressions of the Packers’ joint practice with the Bengals (:34), including the work along the offensive and defensive lines (2:01), the challenges for QB Jordan Love (5:17), and another standout day for CB Carrington Valentine (7:55) in place of Jaire Alexander. They also preview the preseason opener (12:01).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hi, everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to an on location edition of Packers Unscripted. We
are here in Cincinnati, a day ahead of the Packers
pre season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. I am Mike
Spaffer from Packers dot Com, joined as always not really
you by my trusted colleague Weston Hankowitz. We haven't done
the show next to each other for quite some time,
(00:34):
but we were here yesterday as well, West for the
Packers joint practice with the Bengals, which was just outside
of pay Corp Stadium where the Bengals have their practice
facility and practice fields.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
So I'll just.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Throw it to you open ended at the beginning. What
were your impressions of that workout?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah, tough, physical, It was pretty much everything I kind
of expected it to be with the joint practice, especially
when you look at the Cincinnati Bengals both offensive and
defensive lines. They've put a lot of resources into those
two spots, and I felt like you saw some really
good competitive work between the two teams. Certainly from Jordan
Love's perspective, I think that was probably the most beneficial
of everything he got those reps in with Christian Watson.
(01:14):
We saw the fifty yard touchdown during one of the
team periods. Over to Romeo Dobbs, they're looking to build
up the synergy of this group right now, and every
rep matters, so we don't know exactly how this is
gonna work out. On Friday night, there was some overtures
made that maybe Jordan plays in this game. Maybe we
do see the starters out there. I think it was
Pete Doherty if I remember correctly, that asked Matt about
(01:37):
what does this mean about David BACTERI he was Bill
or somebody, I forget who it was.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Doesn't mean David's gonna go. He's like, David won't golden, right,
He's like, well, why would you say that? Right?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
So, I just feel like with this team right now
and where they're at, I don't think you can go
wrong either way with how they deploy their preseason starters
in this thing. But I really felt like that practice
against the Bengals. It got heated at times, but I
felt like it really good work for this football team.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah. The thing that really stood out to me Wes
was watching the guys in the trenches because that Cincinnati
defensive line, that defensive front that is that is a
as Larry would like to say assaulty bunch, right, I
mean those guys, Sam Hubbard, Trey hendrickson DJ Reader like
that is you can see why this Cincinnati defense has
been one of the best in the AFC and in
(02:22):
the entire NFL the last couple of years. These guys
got to a Super Bowl a couple of years ago,
back to an AFC championship last year. I thought it
was really really good work for the Packers offensive line
and comment I believe John Runyon made a comment to you, yeah,
to you after practice because one of the things that
was so beneficial about this work that the offensive line
(02:44):
got is this Cincinnati defensive line is built differently than
the Packers. So the Packers have a lot of, as
Runyon said, a lot of quick, quick twitch, and you know,
gap shooting type of guys. This Cincinnati defensive line is
built on power and they just they play the differently.
Their bodies are built differently, and it was a great
change of pace for the Packers' offensive line to get
(03:06):
them ready for a different opponent, even if those may
not be the guys who were out there on Friday
night in the Price Season Open, but this is about
getting ready for the regular season.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Well, one of the points John made too after practice,
I didn't even think about it this way. It's not
like they were going to go down and break down
all this film on the defensive front of Cincinnati. Obviously
you have an idea what Trey Hendrickson can do and
DJ Reader these guys, but it was mostly about adjusting
and relying on your technique and your fundamentals. And you're
gonna need to do that through the course of a season.
You're not gonna have every single aspect of an opponent scouted.
(03:38):
You're gonna have to make some in game adjustments. And
that's where John felt like it was very beneficial for
him in this group. For me personally, I also thought
seeing how the Packers stepped up to that, you know,
we'll just talk about it quickly now. The Elton Jenkins
little scuffle that he had sure starting with Pratt and
then going over with Reader later in practice. You know,
as John said, he's like one of the things, you know,
Mattleflore's talking about. We're all out here trying to build
(04:00):
some chemistry, right, trying to build some team camaraderie. Seeing
the way guys stepped up in those instances, certainly you
don't want it to get physical. There was the agreement
beforehand there won't be physicality. There's gonna be no fighting.
But it is pro football. It's not badminton. I mean,
these guys think about it. You and your family members, brothers, siblings,
what have you. You're out playing football in the backyard,
(04:21):
You're you're rough housing and wrestling in the house. If
you compete, it's going to bring the fire out, and
sometimes that fire ignite. So I wasn't really put off
by that at all. I mean, obviously it made for
some good headlines and the media and some good interview
questions and the postgame post practice locker rooms. But Elton Jenkins,
I'll tell you what, man, he's a guy since the
day he got here.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
You want to be in the foxhole with these kind
of kids.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I mean, they are the guys that are going to
step up and they're going to own their situation and
they're not going to back down. And you know, with
John mentioning that, I thought all of that was very
important because you're seeing, both on the field and off
the field, the way the team has to carry itself.
And maybe the most important comment that run you and
made in that little media scrum we had afterwards, was
you know, we know how good the Cincinnati Bengals are.
(05:04):
They're going to be again one of the top teams
in the AFC, especially once Joe Burrow gets back. Sure,
Packers still feel like they're a pretty darn good football
team too, even though there might be so many people
questioning them. You have to rise to those challenges. I
felt like Green Bay did that during that joint practice.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, and everybody's asking, of course, you know, how did
Jordan Love and the number one offense look against a
defense like Cincinnati. Well, I think predictably, there were a
lot of ups and downs in the practice. You mentioned
the long touchdown pastor Romeo Dobbs absolutely perfect on the
money deep ball from Jordan Love there, but earlier he
had had an overthrown deep ball. He had another underthrown
(05:38):
deep ball. He hit a Christian Watson on a great,
you know, deep crossing route on one play, hit Jayden
Reid on a really nice underneath crosser where they got
to the rookie from Michigan State the ball in space.
But there are also times where he was under pressure,
had to move in the pocket, had to take the checkdowns.
Everything was thrown at at Jordan Love. In this practice,
(06:00):
the Cincinnati Bengals were blitzing like they sent a slot
corner here and there. Aj Dillon had to pick up
a blitz or or the running back had to help,
you know, provide the chip, help on the edge rusher
Trey Hendrickson for example, coming off the edge, and then
allow Jordan Love to get the ball downfield. Everything was there,
and a practice like this, there's so much more that
(06:23):
number one offense is going to see compared to anything
you're going to get in the preseason games, as important
as those reps will be. With the Packers having such
a young offense and trying to figure things out this practice,
with the Bengals having all of their ones out there,
that was really good work.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And that door swings both ways, right because when you
were watching some of the offensive stuff, I went over
to the other field watching the defense. Green Bay was
throwing the same type of looks at Trevor Simmon and
Jake Browning. Over on Cincinnati's side of things. We saw
corner blitz as we saw guys coming on stunts. This
is the type of stuff you're not going to say,
see in a preseason game, right, Sean Clifford after it saying,
you know there's gonna be a lot of vanilla ice
stream out there. I love that line because in these settings,
(07:02):
that's where you got to let it all loose. And
when you go back to the original first practice we
saw against the Houston Texans now four years ago, when
Aaron Rodgers and people talked about not really liking these things,
it was because it was almost like an extension of
the preseason, except you're also getting guys like Jake uh
whatever his name was, the uh Jake Sternberg, Sternberger, Stenberger Stormberger,
(07:24):
the other tight end we have.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
But but situations like that where guys are getting hurt, right, yeah,
you don't want that.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
As Runyan said after practice, nobody got hurt. Everything was professional,
And I think that is the key right now in
these type of practices is getting in that type of
stuff and making sure that you get back to the
huddle afterwards fine and okay and moving forward. This was
the type of practice, as David Baktiari said afterwards, when
you were a part of that scrum, it kind of
if you had some questions about joint practices and the
(07:50):
value of them. At first, I think these are the
type of situations I kind of show you the true
benefit of it.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Absolutely, And as far as the Packers defense is concerned,
I wanted to ask because you mentioned it on our
three Things segment that we did with Larry after practice.
Jay R Alexander was not participating in the eleven on eleven.
He was just doing individual drills yesterday. So the rookie
seventh round pick, Carrington Valentine out of Kentucky, he was
(08:16):
the one running with the ones, you know, for the
Packers against Cincinnati's number one offense, granted without Joe Burrow,
but Carrington Valentine continues to show that A he belongs
in the NFL, and B He's going to have a
role somewhere somehow on this defense.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I really think so in Mike, what's funny to me
is that, you know, I'm no type of soothsayer at all,
but I remember just in the OTA's telling you, like
when he was going up against when JayR wasn't there
and Rasulle Douglass wasn't there, and these young corners had
to go in with the one defense against Jordan Love
and that offensive group and the weapons and the speed
and everything that the Green Bay possesses.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Valentine was out there.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
They gave him a chance to go out there and
go up against Romeo Dobbs, and that kid did not
back down. This guy, I believe is the youngest player
on this football team. Talking to him, I feel like
I'm one hundred and fifty years old. I mean, he
legitimately looks like, you know, a kid, but he also
plays with such an enthusiasm, in a humbleness and a
confidence that I think is critical at that position. I've
(09:14):
said it so many times, Mike, and at some point
I'll stop doing it. But that mel kiper assessment it
stood in my head ever since Draft night. How how
is this kid still there in the seventh round. I
get it he had one pick or whatever at Kentucky.
But the fact of the matter is there's certain guys
that go out there and are not scared of the spotlight.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Valentine is one of them.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yes it's not Joe Burrow, but that's still Jamar Chase,
that's still t Higgins. These are one of the best
receiving contingents in the National Football League, and they're trying
to make you look bad.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
They're trying to win their routes.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Valentine didn't let it happen, especially when they did some
stuff down in the red zone. The Green Bay Packers,
I think one of the things is you look at
how good they are at the top of their cornerback room,
right especially once Eric Stokes comes back. But how quickly
that that can get really and be able to get
the injuries and stuff.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
You need six seven guys to navigate a season.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Carrenton Valentine, I don't know if it's week one, I
don't know when it'll be, maybe not even the season,
but I think he showed enough that the Greenmit Packers
have to feel really good about that pick.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, and he's gonna he's a local kid, right, you know,
went to high school here in the Cincinnati area, went
to went to college just across the border in Kentucky.
And he'll be making his NFL preseason debut against the
Cincinnati Bengals. And the same goes for the Packers number
two quarterback Sean Clifford. Big star here at quarterback in
(10:34):
the Cincinnati area, and now he'll be making his his
NFL preseason debut in the stadium where he I believe
he had told you he had season six his senior
year of high school. Parents has season tickets for the
for the Bengals. He and his brother, his younger brother
who's also now at Penn State where Sean Clifford was
(10:55):
a star quarterback. So this is uh uh, it's it's
a really neat opportunity for both for both of those
young men to be back here, you know, spending even
a couple of extra days with the joint practice and
everything else.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
It's starting to sprinkle west.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
So it doesn't bother It doesn't bother you, that gamer,
as long as this isn't thundering, I'm really tough.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
All right, Well, we'll we'll keep plowing through and I'll
I'll take care of some sponsored business here in the meantime.
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Speaker 1 (11:22):
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found me. I couldn't hide. I couldn't hide forever. Oh no,
it's an ambulance, right, Maybe they found you too serious.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
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Speaker 1 (11:51):
Sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs fifty years of better.
All right, this is the cool thing. We'll be right
next to a hospital, by the way, I guess, so,
I guess so.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, before this rain picks up too much, we'll do
one other thing here on the show today. I have
a story to write for Friday that I do for
the preseason game. It's called what to Watch For? So
I'm gonna ask you to help me write the story.
All right, So what is there to watch for in
this preseason opener at pay Course Stadium?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
As I alluded to earlier, it sounds like Jordan Love
is going to play in this game.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Now. I'll believe it when everything's out there and we
see it.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
I never like to draw false conclusions, but the fact
of the matter is matt Lefluor talked about before practice,
and Jordan also kind of alluded to it after practice.
The Greenmit Packers are taking a little bit of a
different prochare and I honestly don't. As I said, I
don't think you can go wrong either way. You have
a thirty nine year old quarterback like Aaron Rodgers who's
seen and done everything.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
No problem.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Let's get the you know, let's get the young guys
in there. Let him take a break, get to week one.
Jordan Love needs every rep he can get, Mike. I
think it was something like, what was it, a one
hundred and eighty snaps he's played to this point in
the regular season during his NFL career, Right, you want to.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Be able to actually get him work. It's a great
way to do it. Now.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Gotta keep the pocket clean, gotta keep these guys healthy.
But I feel like that's probably the thing to look
for is just seeing what that first team offense looks like.
Who gets deployed, how long are they out there, and
then when they're not out there, who's coming in there next.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
With the receivers.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Bo Melton I think has had a phenomenal camp. A
guy that doesn't get talked about nearly enough, right, I
think you look at guys like Malik Heath who was
sort of this undrafted guy that did some good things
down in Mississippi, but for whatever reason, doesn't get picked
and as he told us last week after family and Night,
he has a list of everybody that was picked before.
I mean he knows all of them in, knowing exactly
(13:32):
what all their situations were, in him believing that he
should have been picked too. There are three really good
receivers at the top of this step chart right now,
right three guys I think are probably gonna be your
Week one starters in Christian Watson, Romeo Dobbs, and Jayden Reid.
But Samori two Rays stepped up, Melton Heath. These young receivers,
the quarterback that they're in there with, they've put some
good film on tape for these Packers coaches. Now it's
(13:54):
going to be about putting that forward against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
And I think the other things to watch too is
we've been seeing the safety competition take shape for a
while through training camp. Rudy Ford was running with the
ones alongside Darnell Savage. Now it seems to have shifted
to Jonathan Owens. But you know how this goes. Somebody
makes a big play, has a really good preseason game,
then we go to the practice field next week. In
the depth chart is shifted around a little bit, so
(14:19):
you never know what can happen there. And then also
with regard to special teams, there's a lot going on
on special teams with this group. You've got a rookie kicker,
You've got a punting competition, you have a long snapper competition.
You got all kinds of young guys trying to state
their case to Rich Basaci that they should be on
the field on kickoffs and punts and whatnot. So there's
a lot to watch here. And this is just the
(14:40):
first of three preseason games. But since your classes are
starting to get covered in rain.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Drops, can I say one thing before we leave? Yeah,
I feel terrible about that Jake Sternberger thing. I mean
that kidd I honestly, goodness forgot his name.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
That's gonna bother me.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
If they were back home, we would tell them to
cut it or we're not going to be able to
do that. But again, it just that's me one of
the things that's gonna hat a little bit. When I
look at the tape and look at the mas from
this appearance of Unscripted, that's gonna be high on that list.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, all right, Well, well, when we do another episode
like this, we'll get it cleaned up.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
I'm gonna go take a shower and then maybe just
throw a towel on.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
This ended up raining a lot more than I thought
it was going to.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, well, you were the one who said let's just
stay out here instead of going the hotel.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Fine, all right, Well, dude, back in the day when
I have to use to shoot some of my stuff
for Packers News and the Green Bay Press casette, we
did this thing in like four degree weather, in freezing
rain off the shore of Lake Michigan and Chicago. Pete
Doherty and Mike Vandermoss both got sick. They actually had
to miss work the next day after that game, and
I was the only one that was left standing.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
These bones are tough, all right.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
This has been the best episode to date, by the way,
take us home with another agreed that.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
No, actually, I don't know, maybe another ambulance will go
by while I'm trying to sign off, because we are
gonna call it a wrap on this edition of Packers
Unscripted's from Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
preseason opener from pay Course Stadium. We've got it all
for you on Packers dot Com. For Wes I am Mike,
Thank you for tuning in everybody, and we will in
drier settings.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
See you next time.
Hi, everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to an on location edition of Packers Unscripted. We
are here in Cincinnati, a day ahead of the Packers
pre season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. I am Mike
Spaffer from Packers dot Com, joined as always not really
you by my trusted colleague Weston Hankowitz. We haven't done
the show next to each other for quite some time,
(00:34):
but we were here yesterday as well, West for the
Packers joint practice with the Bengals, which was just outside
of pay Corp Stadium where the Bengals have their practice
facility and practice fields.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
So I'll just.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Throw it to you open ended at the beginning. What
were your impressions of that workout?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah, tough, physical, It was pretty much everything I kind
of expected it to be with the joint practice, especially
when you look at the Cincinnati Bengals both offensive and
defensive lines. They've put a lot of resources into those
two spots, and I felt like you saw some really
good competitive work between the two teams. Certainly from Jordan
Love's perspective, I think that was probably the most beneficial
of everything he got those reps in with Christian Watson.
(01:14):
We saw the fifty yard touchdown during one of the
team periods. Over to Romeo Dobbs, they're looking to build
up the synergy of this group right now, and every
rep matters, so we don't know exactly how this is
gonna work out. On Friday night, there was some overtures
made that maybe Jordan plays in this game. Maybe we
do see the starters out there. I think it was
Pete Doherty if I remember correctly, that asked Matt about
(01:37):
what does this mean about David BACTERI he was Bill
or somebody, I forget who it was.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Doesn't mean David's gonna go. He's like, David won't golden, right,
He's like, well, why would you say that? Right?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
So, I just feel like with this team right now
and where they're at, I don't think you can go
wrong either way with how they deploy their preseason starters
in this thing. But I really felt like that practice
against the Bengals. It got heated at times, but I
felt like it really good work for this football team.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah. The thing that really stood out to me Wes
was watching the guys in the trenches because that Cincinnati
defensive line, that defensive front that is that is a
as Larry would like to say assaulty bunch, right, I
mean those guys, Sam Hubbard, Trey hendrickson DJ Reader like
that is you can see why this Cincinnati defense has
been one of the best in the AFC and in
(02:22):
the entire NFL the last couple of years. These guys
got to a Super Bowl a couple of years ago,
back to an AFC championship last year. I thought it
was really really good work for the Packers offensive line
and comment I believe John Runyon made a comment to you, yeah,
to you after practice because one of the things that
was so beneficial about this work that the offensive line
(02:44):
got is this Cincinnati defensive line is built differently than
the Packers. So the Packers have a lot of, as
Runyon said, a lot of quick, quick twitch, and you know,
gap shooting type of guys. This Cincinnati defensive line is
built on power and they just they play the differently.
Their bodies are built differently, and it was a great
change of pace for the Packers' offensive line to get
(03:06):
them ready for a different opponent, even if those may
not be the guys who were out there on Friday
night in the Price Season Open, but this is about
getting ready for the regular season.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Well, one of the points John made too after practice,
I didn't even think about it this way. It's not
like they were going to go down and break down
all this film on the defensive front of Cincinnati. Obviously
you have an idea what Trey Hendrickson can do and
DJ Reader these guys, but it was mostly about adjusting
and relying on your technique and your fundamentals. And you're
gonna need to do that through the course of a season.
You're not gonna have every single aspect of an opponent scouted.
(03:38):
You're gonna have to make some in game adjustments. And
that's where John felt like it was very beneficial for
him in this group. For me personally, I also thought
seeing how the Packers stepped up to that, you know,
we'll just talk about it quickly now. The Elton Jenkins
little scuffle that he had sure starting with Pratt and
then going over with Reader later in practice. You know,
as John said, he's like one of the things, you know,
Mattleflore's talking about. We're all out here trying to build
(04:00):
some chemistry, right, trying to build some team camaraderie. Seeing
the way guys stepped up in those instances, certainly you
don't want it to get physical. There was the agreement
beforehand there won't be physicality. There's gonna be no fighting.
But it is pro football. It's not badminton. I mean,
these guys think about it. You and your family members, brothers, siblings,
what have you. You're out playing football in the backyard,
(04:21):
You're you're rough housing and wrestling in the house. If
you compete, it's going to bring the fire out, and
sometimes that fire ignite. So I wasn't really put off
by that at all. I mean, obviously it made for
some good headlines and the media and some good interview
questions and the postgame post practice locker rooms. But Elton Jenkins,
I'll tell you what, man, he's a guy since the
day he got here.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
You want to be in the foxhole with these kind
of kids.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I mean, they are the guys that are going to
step up and they're going to own their situation and
they're not going to back down. And you know, with
John mentioning that, I thought all of that was very
important because you're seeing, both on the field and off
the field, the way the team has to carry itself.
And maybe the most important comment that run you and
made in that little media scrum we had afterwards, was
you know, we know how good the Cincinnati Bengals are.
(05:04):
They're going to be again one of the top teams
in the AFC, especially once Joe Burrow gets back. Sure,
Packers still feel like they're a pretty darn good football
team too, even though there might be so many people
questioning them. You have to rise to those challenges. I
felt like Green Bay did that during that joint practice.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, and everybody's asking, of course, you know, how did
Jordan Love and the number one offense look against a
defense like Cincinnati. Well, I think predictably, there were a
lot of ups and downs in the practice. You mentioned
the long touchdown pastor Romeo Dobbs absolutely perfect on the
money deep ball from Jordan Love there, but earlier he
had had an overthrown deep ball. He had another underthrown
(05:38):
deep ball. He hit a Christian Watson on a great,
you know, deep crossing route on one play, hit Jayden
Reid on a really nice underneath crosser where they got
to the rookie from Michigan State the ball in space.
But there are also times where he was under pressure,
had to move in the pocket, had to take the checkdowns.
Everything was thrown at at Jordan Love. In this practice,
(06:00):
the Cincinnati Bengals were blitzing like they sent a slot
corner here and there. Aj Dillon had to pick up
a blitz or or the running back had to help,
you know, provide the chip, help on the edge rusher
Trey Hendrickson for example, coming off the edge, and then
allow Jordan Love to get the ball downfield. Everything was there,
and a practice like this, there's so much more that
(06:23):
number one offense is going to see compared to anything
you're going to get in the preseason games, as important
as those reps will be. With the Packers having such
a young offense and trying to figure things out this practice,
with the Bengals having all of their ones out there,
that was really good work.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And that door swings both ways, right because when you
were watching some of the offensive stuff, I went over
to the other field watching the defense. Green Bay was
throwing the same type of looks at Trevor Simmon and
Jake Browning. Over on Cincinnati's side of things. We saw
corner blitz as we saw guys coming on stunts. This
is the type of stuff you're not going to say,
see in a preseason game, right, Sean Clifford after it saying,
you know there's gonna be a lot of vanilla ice
stream out there. I love that line because in these settings,
(07:02):
that's where you got to let it all loose. And
when you go back to the original first practice we
saw against the Houston Texans now four years ago, when
Aaron Rodgers and people talked about not really liking these things,
it was because it was almost like an extension of
the preseason, except you're also getting guys like Jake uh
whatever his name was, the uh Jake Sternberg, Sternberger, Stenberger Stormberger,
(07:24):
the other tight end we have.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
But but situations like that where guys are getting hurt, right, yeah,
you don't want that.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
As Runyan said after practice, nobody got hurt. Everything was professional,
And I think that is the key right now in
these type of practices is getting in that type of
stuff and making sure that you get back to the
huddle afterwards fine and okay and moving forward. This was
the type of practice, as David Baktiari said afterwards, when
you were a part of that scrum, it kind of
if you had some questions about joint practices and the
(07:50):
value of them. At first, I think these are the
type of situations I kind of show you the true
benefit of it.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Absolutely, And as far as the Packers defense is concerned,
I wanted to ask because you mentioned it on our
three Things segment that we did with Larry after practice.
Jay R Alexander was not participating in the eleven on eleven.
He was just doing individual drills yesterday. So the rookie
seventh round pick, Carrington Valentine out of Kentucky, he was
(08:16):
the one running with the ones, you know, for the
Packers against Cincinnati's number one offense, granted without Joe Burrow,
but Carrington Valentine continues to show that A he belongs
in the NFL, and B He's going to have a
role somewhere somehow on this defense.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I really think so in Mike, what's funny to me
is that, you know, I'm no type of soothsayer at all,
but I remember just in the OTA's telling you, like
when he was going up against when JayR wasn't there
and Rasulle Douglass wasn't there, and these young corners had
to go in with the one defense against Jordan Love
and that offensive group and the weapons and the speed
and everything that the Green Bay possesses.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Valentine was out there.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
They gave him a chance to go out there and
go up against Romeo Dobbs, and that kid did not
back down. This guy, I believe is the youngest player
on this football team. Talking to him, I feel like
I'm one hundred and fifty years old. I mean, he
legitimately looks like, you know, a kid, but he also
plays with such an enthusiasm, in a humbleness and a
confidence that I think is critical at that position. I've
(09:14):
said it so many times, Mike, and at some point
I'll stop doing it. But that mel kiper assessment it
stood in my head ever since Draft night. How how
is this kid still there in the seventh round. I
get it he had one pick or whatever at Kentucky.
But the fact of the matter is there's certain guys
that go out there and are not scared of the spotlight.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Valentine is one of them.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yes it's not Joe Burrow, but that's still Jamar Chase,
that's still t Higgins. These are one of the best
receiving contingents in the National Football League, and they're trying
to make you look bad.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
They're trying to win their routes.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Valentine didn't let it happen, especially when they did some
stuff down in the red zone. The Green Bay Packers,
I think one of the things is you look at
how good they are at the top of their cornerback room,
right especially once Eric Stokes comes back. But how quickly
that that can get really and be able to get
the injuries and stuff.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
You need six seven guys to navigate a season.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Carrenton Valentine, I don't know if it's week one, I
don't know when it'll be, maybe not even the season,
but I think he showed enough that the Greenmit Packers
have to feel really good about that pick.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, and he's gonna he's a local kid, right, you know,
went to high school here in the Cincinnati area, went
to went to college just across the border in Kentucky.
And he'll be making his NFL preseason debut against the
Cincinnati Bengals. And the same goes for the Packers number
two quarterback Sean Clifford. Big star here at quarterback in
(10:34):
the Cincinnati area, and now he'll be making his his
NFL preseason debut in the stadium where he I believe
he had told you he had season six his senior
year of high school. Parents has season tickets for the
for the Bengals. He and his brother, his younger brother
who's also now at Penn State where Sean Clifford was
(10:55):
a star quarterback. So this is uh uh, it's it's
a really neat opportunity for both for both of those
young men to be back here, you know, spending even
a couple of extra days with the joint practice and
everything else.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
It's starting to sprinkle west.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
So it doesn't bother It doesn't bother you, that gamer,
as long as this isn't thundering, I'm really tough.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
All right, Well, we'll we'll keep plowing through and I'll
I'll take care of some sponsored business here in the meantime.
So serious XM NFL Radio.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Delivers hard hitting it. And they found you, dude, they
found me. I couldn't hide. I couldn't hide forever. Oh no,
it's an ambulance, right, Maybe they found you too serious.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
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We have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin Cheese curts,
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Speaker 1 (11:51):
Sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs fifty years of better.
All right, this is the cool thing. We'll be right
next to a hospital, by the way, I guess, so,
I guess so.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, before this rain picks up too much, we'll do
one other thing here on the show today. I have
a story to write for Friday that I do for
the preseason game. It's called what to Watch For? So
I'm gonna ask you to help me write the story.
All right, So what is there to watch for in
this preseason opener at pay Course Stadium?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
As I alluded to earlier, it sounds like Jordan Love
is going to play in this game.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Now. I'll believe it when everything's out there and we
see it.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
I never like to draw false conclusions, but the fact
of the matter is matt Lefluor talked about before practice,
and Jordan also kind of alluded to it after practice.
The Greenmit Packers are taking a little bit of a
different prochare and I honestly don't. As I said, I
don't think you can go wrong either way. You have
a thirty nine year old quarterback like Aaron Rodgers who's
seen and done everything.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
No problem.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Let's get the you know, let's get the young guys
in there. Let him take a break, get to week one.
Jordan Love needs every rep he can get, Mike. I
think it was something like, what was it, a one
hundred and eighty snaps he's played to this point in
the regular season during his NFL career, Right, you want to.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Be able to actually get him work. It's a great
way to do it. Now.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Gotta keep the pocket clean, gotta keep these guys healthy.
But I feel like that's probably the thing to look
for is just seeing what that first team offense looks like.
Who gets deployed, how long are they out there, and
then when they're not out there, who's coming in there next.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
With the receivers.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Bo Melton I think has had a phenomenal camp. A
guy that doesn't get talked about nearly enough, right, I
think you look at guys like Malik Heath who was
sort of this undrafted guy that did some good things
down in Mississippi, but for whatever reason, doesn't get picked
and as he told us last week after family and Night,
he has a list of everybody that was picked before.
I mean he knows all of them in, knowing exactly
(13:32):
what all their situations were, in him believing that he
should have been picked too. There are three really good
receivers at the top of this step chart right now,
right three guys I think are probably gonna be your
Week one starters in Christian Watson, Romeo Dobbs, and Jayden Reid.
But Samori two Rays stepped up, Melton Heath. These young receivers,
the quarterback that they're in there with, they've put some
good film on tape for these Packers coaches. Now it's
(13:54):
going to be about putting that forward against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
And I think the other things to watch too is
we've been seeing the safety competition take shape for a
while through training camp. Rudy Ford was running with the
ones alongside Darnell Savage. Now it seems to have shifted
to Jonathan Owens. But you know how this goes. Somebody
makes a big play, has a really good preseason game,
then we go to the practice field next week. In
the depth chart is shifted around a little bit, so
(14:19):
you never know what can happen there. And then also
with regard to special teams, there's a lot going on
on special teams with this group. You've got a rookie kicker,
You've got a punting competition, you have a long snapper competition.
You got all kinds of young guys trying to state
their case to Rich Basaci that they should be on
the field on kickoffs and punts and whatnot. So there's
a lot to watch here. And this is just the
(14:40):
first of three preseason games. But since your classes are
starting to get covered in rain.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Drops, can I say one thing before we leave? Yeah,
I feel terrible about that Jake Sternberger thing. I mean
that kidd I honestly, goodness forgot his name.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
That's gonna bother me.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
If they were back home, we would tell them to
cut it or we're not going to be able to
do that. But again, it just that's me one of
the things that's gonna hat a little bit. When I
look at the tape and look at the mas from
this appearance of Unscripted, that's gonna be high on that list.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, all right, Well, well, when we do another episode
like this, we'll get it cleaned up.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
I'm gonna go take a shower and then maybe just
throw a towel on.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
This ended up raining a lot more than I thought
it was going to.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, well, you were the one who said let's just
stay out here instead of going the hotel.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Fine, all right, Well, dude, back in the day when
I have to use to shoot some of my stuff
for Packers News and the Green Bay Press casette, we
did this thing in like four degree weather, in freezing
rain off the shore of Lake Michigan and Chicago. Pete
Doherty and Mike Vandermoss both got sick. They actually had
to miss work the next day after that game, and
I was the only one that was left standing.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
These bones are tough, all right.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
This has been the best episode to date, by the way,
take us home with another agreed that.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
No, actually, I don't know, maybe another ambulance will go
by while I'm trying to sign off, because we are
gonna call it a wrap on this edition of Packers
Unscripted's from Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
preseason opener from pay Course Stadium. We've got it all
for you on Packers dot Com. For Wes I am Mike,
Thank you for tuning in everybody, and we will in
drier settings.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
See you next time.
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