Season 4 Debut - Brewers, Packers & Badgers

Wayne and Matt discuss the upcoming Packers and Badgers football seasons, as well as the hottest team in Major League Baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It was cool. It was a great atmosphere, a great
little town, and we all enjoyed it. And then there
was a speed race coming out of Platte film, the
Walter Payton, who was kind of a race car driver himself,
at least to one point in his career. He used
to win that race down the Interstate all the way
back to Chicago, and the state police would kind of

(00:21):
just monitor it. They wouldn't ticket anybody, but they'd monitor it.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
This is the Laravian La Pey Podcast, a production of
iHeartRadio Podcasts with hosts Swayne Larvie, the voice of the
Green Bay Packers, and Matt Lapey, the voice of Wisconsin
Badgers football and men's basketball. The Lervian La Peye Podcast
is presented by Pottawatamy Casino Hotel. Your win is waiting.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Hi everybody, I'm Wayne Lervie and I'm Matt lape Welcome
to the Laravia Labay Podcast, presented by Pottawatabe Casino Hotel.
Coming up on this episode, football seasons us, Matt and
I will chop it up about Badgers and Packers. But
here Wisconsin and for those of you who don't live
in Wisconsin, The big story is in football. It's the

(01:10):
Milwaukee Brewers, who own the best record in baseball by far.
I my dad and have been on a heater since May.
We'll discuss all of that coming up on this edition
of the Learra Vie Lape podcast. All right, Matt, you're
a recent voice of the Brewers a couple of years ago.
You've seen this team up close. You know this organization.
How are they doing it? Nobody expected them to be

(01:33):
the top team in baseball at this stage of the season.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
You mean, we didn't predict this back in May when
they were three or four games under five hundred and
it was all they could do to score a run.
This has been one of the more remarkable stories, I
think in all of major professional sports. You're with what
they're doing. We all know they're the small market, the
limited payroll, and the way they started, Wayne, I was

(01:58):
brasen for a tough year. You know they were nondescript.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
They weren't.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
You know, they were battling through the injury issues with
their pitching staff, but they couldn't score runs. The key
was they didn't get buried. You know they're three or
four under five hundred. Is you get it to the
third week or so of May, which obviously isn't good,
but it's not hopeless. It's not a hopeless situation. So
they hung in there. They hung in there, and then

(02:24):
all of a sudden, household names like Isaac Collins, Yaleb Durbin,
Andrew Vaughan now and they just are as we record this,
they are playing out of their minds, and I just,
you know, it's fun for me just to sit back
and watch this now as a fan. Yeah, because they're

(02:46):
at a point now every game, even if they fall
behind early, which they've had a habit of doing, you
hang in there because they're going to find a way
to come back. They don't strike out, they will put
pressure on defenses. They can run, they're very athletic. And
now suddenly they're showing more pop, which is that was
the concern right or has been the concern. But they

(03:09):
have guys hitting the ball out of the ballpark. Yelich is,
you know, coming back into form. Bryce Terrange is showing
some power. Collins gets a walk off a couple of
games ago against the Mets. They right now are doing
everything right. The paranoia in me is saying, don't peak
too early. But right I cannot imagine any team of

(03:31):
the National League that's going to be in a real
big hurry to face these guys in the postseason.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
It's just an amazing run they've been on. I think
they lost like what four games in July something like that,
some in godly small number like that. And you knew
the pitching was good, okay, even though they got off
to a rocky start early in the season, but you
knew once they got healthy the pitching would be there.
This is a good defensive team and as you mentioned,
very athletic. The one question they have is the hitting.

(04:00):
And yet they're putting double digit runs on the board
on some of their games recently and seemingly don't have
a problem scoring runs. Now. Do they have a sho
Heyltane at the top of the order hitting home runs
or an Aaron Judge like that? No, But this vond
guy over the last how many weeks has certainly been
that guy.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
They got him out of Chicago the White Sox too,
you know. And it's always that big question way, you know,
is it the chicken or the egg? What comes first? Here?
Is it the winning or the culture?

Speaker 1 (04:31):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (04:32):
And I think we're finding out with the Brewers that
if you have a good if you have a good clubhouse,
if you have a good mix of players, a good culture,
that can help lead to the winning. I mean, you're
seeing that Andrew Vaughan is doing things right. What like,
who's this guy? Uh, you know, you're not even hitting
his weight in Chicago and now he has been one
of the key bats with this with this Brewers team,

(04:54):
it's been and look from the top on down and
tak for the baseball operations, Matt Arnold, that group, they
just have a fun They just have a way of
finding guys under rocks, you know. I mean, Isaac Collins,
here's one for you, Brad Davison, the former Badger basketball player.
He and Isaac Collins are from the same town in Minnesota,

(05:15):
Maple Growth. Collins is a couple of years older than Brad.
Believe it or not, like Brad was here just you
know for a long time. As we all know, he want.
I talked to Brad back and talked to Brad in
June at a charity golf outing here in Madison. I said,
tell me about your guy, because Collins was a really,
really good all around athlete. Brad was a quarterback in

(05:39):
high school. Isaac Collins was a do everything guy, and
Davison was rave it about this guy's athletic ability, his
ability as a runner. He could make people miss he
could it's high school, but he could pop through people
if he needed to. He sounded unsurprised at what you're like.
We're learning about this guy, you know, the twenty eight

(06:00):
year old rookie, but he's just it. It's been such
a fun story to watch. And I do think with
this team, you've got such a mix of young guys
who are maybe too young or too inexperienced to know better,
and the veteran players are good dudes. Christian Yelich, Freddie Perolta,

(06:21):
Brandon Woodruff, you know, guys who get it. And a
manager who can kind of go about his business in
some ways, probably like he did as a college coach
at Notre Dame and at Arizona State, because he can
get on guys. But then he also knows how to
have a little fun, as we've all seen with the

(06:41):
pocket pancakes and all, as he calls his team a
bunch of woodpeckers, and you know, he knows how to
play it. And I think it's just right now. There's
a long way to go, and I'm not throwing dirt
on the Cubs, the Mets or anybody else. Too many
examples of how things look now can look a lot
different in October. But man, this team has been so
much fun, and because it doesn't just rely on the

(07:04):
three round hole, you know.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
And it's interesting. I know the Dodgers aren't quite whole,
They've had injuries and all that stuff, but the Brewers
swept the Dodgers twice in a three week period home
and away, and you know, hey, I understand the Dodgers
have a very deep team with the biggest payroll or
one of the biggest payrolls in baseball for the Brewers
to do that, so I keep asking myself, is this sustainable?

(07:29):
Is this really where the Brewers are? And then I
come back to what, you know. I believe in bio rhythms,
you know, because we're all human beings, We're all flesh
and blood. We have good days and bad days, we
have good streaks and bad streaks. All of us do,
and teams are made up of human beings. So consequently,
I just wondered, can they maintain this level of play.

(07:52):
Can they play like this in October because that's what
it will take to win in October.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yeah, that's where they it's the push pull of being
as good as they've been as long as they've been.
I see this up most with Wisconsin basketball regular season.
It's great. Okay, then why make Sweet sixteen? And I
think with the Brewers given their history where they've advanced
in the postseason twice since getting to the nineteen eighty
two World Series, and they haven't advanced. Yeah, it was

(08:20):
in twenty eleven and twenty eighteen where they got to
the LCS in both of those years. But again, I
just think the way these guys played out is what
they're doing now sustainable. Probably not because they're like twenty
five and four that's nuts. But the thing about a
way and we saw this last year with this team,

(08:41):
even though it's a little different cast of characters, but
it maybe it just goes back to the culture because
they've been able to avoid the prolonged losing streak and
it's but you know, I think all anybody who has
been at that level and same thing in the NFL.
You get in the postseason, it's a little different animal.

(09:01):
So I think this team has the chops to advance
because they can score in different ways. That's provided they
continue to show the pop that they've been showing of late.
I was one of those I was hoping they would
make a move to get a power bat at the deadline,
but maybe they already did when they got Andrew Vaughan
and you got some other guys heating up. But I

(09:22):
think as long as you can score in different ways,
the way this team has has shown for a while now,
then that gives them every opportunity to make October a
lot of fun.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
Well, and of course in October, you know, and the
Yankees and Dodgers have relied a lot on power, But
in October, you have to be able to manufacture runs,
manufacture offense, because I guarantee in October the pitching is
going to probably shut down their big hitters, not completely,
but for the most part. And then you've got to
be able to manufacture runs. You have to win in

(09:56):
a different way. Your pitching staff has to be a
little bit different, maybe getting into three starters and stacking
up your bullpen, that type of thing. The Brewers, to me,
have that kind of versatility. They're not dependent on the
long ball. Thus, as you just pointed out, I think
being able to manufacture runs and doing what they do
the way they do it is something that's going to

(10:18):
be a factor in October. But it gets right down
to this, and it's very simple, folks, And I know
this is not x'es and o's and coaches roll their
eyes about this stuff. But it gets down to are
you playing well? You know what I mean. I don't
care how good you are. You playing well at that
time of year. Are you playing your best baseball or
your best football? You know, that's the whole thing, you know.

(10:39):
Do you have momentum going down the stretch. I'll go
to the Packers. The last two years they had that
youngest team of the league, that team that kind of like,
would you describe the Brewers as a bunch of young
guys that didn't know the season was supposed to be
over when they were like four and six, and they
made a run down the stretch, got to the playoffs.
They're playing very well, won a playoff game. Last year.
They won eleven games they got down the stretch and

(11:01):
they lost two in a row going into the playoffs,
three of their last four and they just weren't playing
that well for whatever reason. Nobody knew. Why wasn't injuries
or anything like that. It did. They just weren't playing
that well, and they were a quick exit in the
Philadelphia game. But so a lot of it, it's very simple.
How are you playing in October by the time you
get to October and we're barely the middle of August here.

Speaker 3 (11:25):
Yeah, that's the cautionary tale that I just know people
even in our industry. But and I can never tell
a fan how to fan. But I will present this
because we know the Brewers have been undefeated. As we
record this, they have yet to lose in August. Two
years ago, on August eleventh, twenty twenty three, the Arizona

(11:47):
Diamondbacks lost their ninth consecutive game. They were zero for
August through August eleventh. They fell to fifty seven and
fifty nine. They went on to win the Pennant with
a whopping eighty four victory reg hitars season. So it's
to your point, once they got into the postseason, then

(12:10):
they got hot, you know. And it started by coming
into Milwaukee and taking down the Brewers in two games,
and then you can go I think it was at
the Dodgers and then the Phillies. They eventually lost in
the World Series. But they were lurking. They hadn't They
were a Joe average outfit. They're lurking, and then bang,

(12:32):
everything falls into place. Even four years ago with the
Atlanta Brays, they did make moves. They had a key injury,
they made some moves at the deadline. There are a
couple of games above full. They never got above five
hundred for good until the second week of August. They
won the World Series. Yeah, they won the World Series.
They beat the Brewers in the divisional round, and you know,

(12:54):
Freddie Freeman. It's a big home run. And that's all
the rehashing of that series we need to do, but
theying on to one at all. So it's those A
lot of folks are having fun at Craig Council's expense
right now, and the New York Mets expense right now.
They're lurking, And the Cardinals aren't that far out the

(13:14):
Reds aren't that far out herefer you know, enjoy this,
But I don't know if I would be. I don't
think i'd be killing those, particularly teams like the Cubs
and the Mets. I don't think I would. They're not
disqualified yet, let's put it that way.

Speaker 1 (13:31):
Well, coming up, we're going to have to get our
guy Todd Rosiak, the great beat writer, or Jeff Levering,
the outstanding play by play voice on here in the
next couple of weeks. If this thing continues this way, man,
this has.

Speaker 3 (13:42):
Been absolutely This is the Larabie and Lapey Podcast presented
by Podawadabe Casino Hotel. Your win is waiting.

Speaker 1 (13:51):
You're listening to the lair vill on pay podcast. You've
been down to Platteville, Wisconsin, where I once spent fourteen
summers in Plattville. Was kind of that was broadcasting the Bears.
Oh man, you realize people still chisee me on that.
And I keep telling him every time somebody says, well,
you were the Bears announced, and I keep saying, you

(14:11):
know what, you're really dating yourself on that. Now I've
been with the Packers for nearly thirty years, so my gosh,
but it still happens. But anyway, Platfell, wis constant back
in the eighties and nineties with the Bears doing their
summer camp there every year. Was it was cool, It
was a great atmosphere, a great little town, and we
all enjoyed it. And then there was that speed race

(14:33):
coming out of plattfilm. The Walter Payton, who was kind
of a race car driver himself, at least a one
point in his career. He used to win that race
down the interstate all the way back to Chicago, and
the state police would kind of just monitor it. They
wouldn't ticket anybody, but they'd monitor it.

Speaker 3 (14:51):
It's the facilities, I would dare say are probably nicer
now than they were. They were probably perfectly fine when
the Bears were there, otherwise they wouldn't have trained there.
But it's pretty. It's just you know, the stadium, it's
a very pretty setting. It's a really it's a really
nice college town. I know Luke fickle uh has really

(15:11):
he's liked being their Platteville. The folks that at u W.
Plattville have loved the Badgers being there, the players, They've
raved about the food and just the way. It's that old,
you know, goods getaway, which we used to see a
lot more in the NFL. Obviously, as you mentioned with
with the Bears, and you know, you had the Saints,
the cheese, he had the old beas League days and

(15:34):
for a variety of reasons that you know, we don't
see that very much anymore. But for for these guys
who have been there for the for about two weeks,
they're back finishing their training camp portion now they're back
in Madison. Then they'll soon enough be getting into two
specific game preparation. But it's uh, it was good. They
had a fan and open to the public scrimmage on

(15:56):
Saturday night, which was a rainy, tropical kind of NYE.
Not nearly the issues that they had over in Milwaukee
with the fourteen inches or whatever it was of rain,
but it was not an overly comfortable night, but you
had you had a nice, you know, nice gathering there.
I'm not going to say it was packed because it wasn't.
But they're they're a team that you're right, they're flying

(16:16):
under the radar right now. And it's a lot of
teams are getting talked about in the Big ten. Wisconsin
is not necessarily one of them. So they know they
have to earn that, you know, they have to through
their play through production. Then they'll start to get talked
about more and more. So it's going to be with
a schedule they have and all of that. You know,
we can get into that as we move forward here.

(16:37):
But I think just those guys being in Platteviell, that's
something that Luke Fickle likes to do. He'd stay there longer,
but Plattfell's got a season to get ready for as well.
They're starting their camp today Tuesday, so but I think
he has found it to be very beneficial for his guys.

Speaker 1 (16:53):
What kind of team are we looking at, Matt? A
few years ago we were talking about how Luke is
going to take some time to get his program in place,
that type of thing that's happened.

Speaker 3 (17:02):
Now.

Speaker 1 (17:02):
What kind of a football team are we looking at?

Speaker 3 (17:05):
Yeah, they're trying to the way I'm describing it way,
trying to re establish Wisconsin's identity. You know, for years
and years you knew it, right, they were gonna be
a physical team. They're gonna run the ball, maybe take
some shots. So they're going to run the ball and
there'll be a team that's going to be tough to
move the ball in the ground against them. That has
not been the case this the last five years. Wisconsin's

(17:26):
averaging twenty four and a half points a game. That's
it and in college football, that won't get it done,
and they know it, and they were less than that
last year. So they brought in a new offensive coordinator,
spend one year with Lance Leipold at Kansas. Lance, with
his Wisconsin background the great years, he had a Whitewater Schematically,
you're going to watch it and you're going to say,

(17:48):
this looks similar to what we saw with some of
Paul Chris better team's offensively with the pre stab motion,
the misdirection and wanting to be physical, wanting to control
the line of scrimmage, run the ball work off of that.
So that's what they're trying to get back to. And
on the defensive line, which was second or the defense

(18:08):
against the run second worst in the Big Ten last year,
they gets got shoved around, especially in the stretch drive
of the season. They try to use the transfer portal
to their advantage. They believe, well, they know they're bigger,
they believe they're deeper up front, so they know they
have to be better against the run, and they know

(18:29):
they have to get some pressure on the quarterback. They
know they have to get tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
They were the worst in the NACHE last year at
tackles behind a line of scrimmage. So it's about re
establishing the identity of being that tough, physical team that
for a variety of reasons, lack of depth, so on

(18:51):
and so forth, they just haven't been that kind of
a program here in the last few years.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
Everybody on the outside wants to know Wisconsin's quarterback situation.
What are you seeing there and is that quarterback whoever
it is, Are they going to be able to take
this team to places that haven't happened in recent years.

Speaker 3 (19:10):
Well, one of the things they've done is that's been
a little bit different from the last Cup for the
first two years with Luke Fickle, they brought in Billy Edwards.
It's another one. Heed to go out one year here
and then that wrap up his college eligibility. He was
at Maryland last year and Maryland had a bad year.
Their offensive line was a hot mess. But Edwards put
together some pretty impressive numbers under the circumstances. Statistically, he

(19:34):
was right there, in fact, slightly better than Dylan Ryola,
the very highly regarded quarterback in Nebraska who's going into
his sophomore year. Edwards's numbers were actually slightly better, and
they handed him the keys when he came in as
a transfer rather than a competition. You know, coaches will

(19:55):
say that you're always competing, but he came in and
they said, you're our guy lead this team. And he
seems to have all the chops score that. You know,
he spent some time as a backup to Talah Tungue
by a law, tongue by law to his younger brother.
But there's a toughness to him. He's six three between
two hundred and twenty five two hundred and thirty pounds.

(20:16):
So if I'm not going to say he's you know,
he's not a justin fields with the feet kind of guy.
But if he has to run, he's got the ability
to get you some some tough yards with his feet.
But he also looks like the kind of guy who
can make all the throws as well. So I mean,
is he a jaw dropping oh my god, Look, I don't.

(20:36):
I wouldn't put him in that category, but I do
think he's got winning qualities that this team will benefit from.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
The running game. Matt is that are they getting back
to making that the central feature of the offense, or
at least the starting point, Yes they would.

Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yes, that's there is a strong desire of this program
right now. And Dylan Jones, who's a red shirt freshman,
played in three games last year, really highly regarded. You know,
somebody who they think can break off big runs as
well as get the tough yards. Derry On Dupree who's
a sophomore, he can catch the ball out of the
backfield and he can show a little bit of toughness

(21:13):
as well. Saw him some a year ago. And then
a guy named Kad Jacamelli who's been in the program
for a long time, didn't play a lot last year,
but Wayne when they gave him the ball, he averaged
better than eight yards are carried.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (21:25):
So now that wasn't against you know, Penn State or
Oregon or you know, the top teams on the schedule.
But he there's an ability there to get something done
when he has the ball in his hands. So but
the thing is with you know, with all of this,
those are running backs. I think Jones in particular can
be a big time difference maker. But they're trying to

(21:46):
with this offense. It's about putting the onus on the
offensive line. Wisconsin football their better years, they they'd taken
great pride. You know, Joe Thomas and Mark Toucher and
Chris McIntosh, Casey Roboch and I'm just rathering off a
few names I could be that we could go down
that list. It'd be a long one. They've got a
left tackle who's a transfer from Central Michigan, Davis Hinsen.

(22:10):
He's from Manitolac, Wisconsin. These are left tackle and there's
a learning curve there as you move from the Mac
to the Big Ten. Jake Renfrow, they're starting center from
a year ago transfer from Cincinnati, has been held out
of some work with a lower body injury for the
last week or so, so they're still trying to get
that solidified in if slash. When they do, then that

(22:34):
will go a long way and allowing this team to
be able to run the ball and be more like
the better Wisconsin teams that fans have seen. How good
are they going to be this year? We'll find out together,
but at least they're on a path schematically that has
proven to be pretty successful for this team in years past.

Speaker 1 (22:56):
And when you're looking at the Big Ten, you know,
we know Ohio State, you know Michigan. A couple of
years ago won the national title. Oregon is in there
now and their big Penn State had a great year
last year. Tell me give me the feel for just
the feel for the Big Ten. Who are the big
boys in this conference now? And what do you expect?

Speaker 3 (23:15):
Well, the one team that people are if you had
to pick a team to win the league, Penn State's
getting a ton of love right now. A lot of
players back from a year ago, all Big Ten caliber players,
including Drew Aller, the quarterback they're running back tandem. Could
be as good as it gets, certainly in the Big
Ten and probably will be in that short list nationally.

(23:36):
But they have an offensive line which includes a transfer
from Wisconsin, Nolan Rucchie, who's probably best known as a
Badger for catching a touchdown pass against Illinois a couple
of years ago on a tackle eligible play in the
fourth quarter. But they believe their offensive line could be
as good as it gets in college football. Their question
is can they have better receiving threats? That might have

(23:59):
been the one thing that held them back a year ago,
but I'd say held them back. They were very close
to getting to the national championship game. They lose all
last second field goal in the semifinals to Notre Dames.
So they're the team that I think most look at
Ohio State because it's Ohio State. As we talked, there's
a quarterback battle going on right now. Will Howard obviously
with the Steelers, learning everything he can from Aaron Rodgers

(24:21):
as an NFL rookie. Talk about Howard, Will Howard, but
you figure it's Ohio State. They're gonna have a ton
of talent. They're going to be picked their preseason top five,
top three whatever. Oregon reloading, very very good and a
team that I can't even call them an outlier because
they're considered to be a top twelve, top fifteen caliber

(24:45):
program right now. Is what Brett Beelima has at Ilamo.
A lot of returning players. They won a ton of
close games last year, and that's is that the good
news are the bad news? Well, it's the good news.
They found a way to win those games. But they're
not They were not a year ago a terribly explosive offense,
but they made the plays when they had to. And
they're a team way with an identity. They're a physical

(25:07):
Brett you know, it certainly carried on the tradition here
from Barry Alvarez. When Brett took over in two thousand
and six, they went through a tough stretch and then
went through years where they were the kings of the
Big Ten. So they know who they are. So this
is one of those years. Again in an eighteen team
league will say the same thing. We get into basketball season,

(25:28):
you could be really good and be like sixth place. Yeah,
so it's or or at least fourth. Last year, the
fourth place team in the Big Ten won the national championship.
People forget that about Ohio State.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
Isn't that amazing?

Speaker 3 (25:42):
There were fourth in the Big Ten?

Speaker 1 (25:44):
Fourth in the Big Ten? Wow? And when I just
think about this, everybody talks about the sec uh and
you know, but hasn't the big hasn't a Big Ten
team won the national championship two of the last three
or four years.

Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yeah, the last two years they have, which gets the
Paul Fine Baumbs and the SEC loffers a little. Now
they're the tradition of the SEC. It's like, yeah, we
know you're really, really good.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
But now the.

Speaker 3 (26:10):
Big Ten fan base is getting a little they're they're
getting their jabs and Paul Fine Baumb is not above clickbait.
So he's having this. Apparently he said if a Big
ten team wins another national championship, he's leaving the country.
So it's get those clicks, ball, we get those clicks Paul.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
I love Paul finebaumb but he is a little bit
you know, it's all about Paul Fine Bonds, it really is.
And we're just living in that world. But now it's
very interesting. The Badgers are up against in a great
conference in uh and it'll be interesting to boy the
home schedule. I mean, people complain about, you know, oh,

(26:49):
they got a bunch of dogs in the home schedule
this year. They got some good teams coming in.

Speaker 3 (26:54):
Yeah, you've got you obviously, you've got Iowa come in here,
and that's always a big rivalry game. Wisconsin hasn't beaten
i Was since twenty twenty one. Ohio State October eighteenth,
and that's a big weekend. They're they're celebrating their rose
bowlt championship teams that they had in the nineties. As
many of those guys who come back to town as
possible will be here, so that'll be a celebration kind

(27:16):
of a weekend. Illinois comes here in November, and yeah,
who knows what's on the line. They also have the
really tough road games too, the Alabama. They should be
pretty good. That's Week three. They'll go to Michigan, they'll
go to Indiana, which that's another interesting, interesting program based
on what they did last year. Kirk Signetti the biggest

(27:39):
character among the coaches in the Big Ten and his
team was a playoff team a year ago. So now
can they can they sustain it? That's the question everybody
is eager to see answered.

Speaker 1 (27:50):
And Media Days wasn't Media Day out in Vegas?

Speaker 3 (27:55):
Yeah? I took a pass on that way and I was.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
Going to ask you.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
You do but at the table, you know, those things
are so much different from what they used to be.
We used to go, uh, full transparency. It was very
much a social event. Uh you see your colleagues around
the league. But there was actual content to like, we

(28:20):
throw the word content around right now and I think
we confuse content with crap. But there was actual stuff
you could there are things you could have learned.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
And now it's and I get it.

Speaker 3 (28:31):
I fully understand it now. It is really it's pretty
much a made for TV. It's for for the Big Ten. Network,
our guy Dave Repson, and they do a great job,
and national platforms will will be out there, and it's
much less locally driven. And it used to be fan
driven too, Wayne. They used to have the luncheon that

(28:52):
ever since COVID, that's that has not returned. So it's
it's just about television packages, which is fine, but go
on going out to Vegas as much as there could
be a lot of fun out there, Like eh, I
went to the cabin instead.

Speaker 1 (29:08):
Boy. Let me you know, it's interesting because they used
to do this in the old Big A Conference when
I was down in Kansas City, they had the Writers
Tour and they'd go every you know, for about a
week and a half, every camp, every team, and that was,
you know, that was really good stuff. It really was
getting it getting it ready for the season. But this

(29:29):
day and age, not much.

Speaker 3 (29:32):
They did the same thing in the Big Ten that day.
It does predate me, but not by that many years.
The skywriters, Yeah, that's uh. And then those who took
part in that, they said it was because you could
have you could have sit downs. I mean, there was
a day when Joe Paterno was coaching at Penn State

(29:52):
during the season. If if Wisconsin went into Penn State,
whenever it walks the Friday, you'd have a cocktail party.
It was like Vince Lombardi what he used to do,
the Five o'club writers. Yeah, it was, you know, Friday
evening happy hour, totally off the record. You're just you're

(30:13):
having a couple of pops, you're shooting the ball, you
listen to Paterno tell stories. And then over time that
faded away. I think some knucklehead may have broken a
confidence and it's just whatever. But the younger generation would
be stunned at what is that? What used to be?
And other than you, you and the boys having pizza

(30:35):
with Matt lafora you know Laflora last week that that
you just don't see that stuff anymore.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
You know, it's amazing. That's the first time that's happened,
you know that I can remember or a coach has
actually come to what is a media get together on
official media get together and just sat down and you
know what I got to tell you, Matt, it was refreshing.
You know, we didn't talk football, we didn't you know,
he he likes wine. He brought up nice bottle of wine.

(31:00):
I didn't partake because I'm not a wine guy. Why
waste it on me. You know, I'm drinking Miller a
Lite or wit whatever. But you know, and there was
no bourbon to drink there. That was well, I mean
there was bourbon there, but it wasn't the kind I
would drink. But anyway, you know, it was nice. And
those those things are where you get to know the
coach and the coach. I think it's good both ways,

(31:23):
and that doesn't happen today. There isn't anything you know,
we say public relations. There's no such thing as public relations, folks,
there is no such thing as that. It's called corporate communications.
And they are in the business and making you know,
the job of the media and the people who cover
the team as tough as possible, or you just get

(31:44):
what they want you to know and say and then
you're okay. But if you want to get a little
deeper than that, no, that's where they kind of draw
the line. And it's a fact. It's the way that
is in all these businesses around the country.

Speaker 3 (31:57):
I've been really lucky here, and I knock on word
when I say it, because I've been able. Now it's
not with all the media, but just traveling with them.
To be able to have a beer with Bo Ryan
Greg Guard Paul Christ when he was here, I've been

(32:18):
able to do that. Even Luke Fickle. I don't do
anything socially really with him necessarily, but we do have
good chats about stuff. And I don't know, even at
the college level, maybe in some cases especial at the
college level, how many of my colleagues can say that.

(32:40):
So it's you know, if you're I'm sure covering Urban
Meyer was not the most enjoyable thing. His teams are
going to be really good, but you probably weren't going
to spend a lot of time with him. You were
going to have a veno with him or beer whatever
during the course of the season. But the folks at
Wisconsint I've been pretty it's you know, I have zero complaints,

(33:03):
Let's put it that way. But you're right, it is.
It is more much more corporate communications now.

Speaker 1 (33:09):
Than yeah, you see it really yes, And you know,
occasionally when I get into the Big Ten to do
a basketball game or two, some of it is still
Wisconsin's folks, just and I'm not saying this because Matt's here.
Wisconsin's kind of an exception to this rule. I mean,
the guys you know in that department, they get it.

(33:30):
They understand what the whole thing's about.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (33:33):
They will help you out when you come in. They
won't just send you a packet of five hundred pages
and say go ahead, read this, everything's in there. They'll
they'll they really take the time. They're really good people.
Patrick and company over there are really just really good
and they get it. They really do.

Speaker 3 (33:52):
And I wonder, too, Wayne, how much of that you
Wisconsin needs to be that way. The Yankees probably don't.
The Dallas Cowboys probably don't. I know, they haven't won
a whole lot, but they're the Dallas Cowboys. And I
would say even with the Brewers. And I'm four years

(34:13):
removed from being a part time guy for them, so
if I didn't believe it, I wouldn't say anything. But
I think you reach out to them and they'll help
you out. They will help you get you know, the locals,
get interviews with if you want to try to get
time with Pad Murphy. I mean, it's within reason. Not
just any outlet is going to have a lot of success.

(34:36):
But I think a lot of the main ones who
might struggle with other organizations, but some of those like
it's kind of like knowing who you are and like, hey,
this is a chance to get people talking about us.
So the Brewers that think are really good with that.
I think historically the Badgers has certainly been pretty good
at that, And there are some organizations they probably don't

(34:58):
feel like they need to and that's unfortunate.

Speaker 1 (35:02):
Yeah, it's uh, but at any rate, it is what
it is. You're listening to the lair Ville and Pay
podcast presented by Potawataby Casino Hotel. Your win is waiting
time to catch up on the Packers a little bit. Uh, Matt,
you didn't see much of it. I apologize. You listened
on your way back from Platteville to our broadcast, didn't

(35:24):
That's great. Let me apologize. First, we were shaking off
a lot of rust and the game didn't help us.
It was it was interesting.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
I'm driving back, I'm going this sounds like a baseball
game in May. I don't not not you guys, but
I wasn't hearing prow or gathering maybe by that point
because it was well into the third quarter by the
time I popped in the car and had had you
a rock on. Let me ask you this, because you've
done you did college football for many many years, the

(35:57):
ESPN plus days. What I'd be right or wrong if
I equate the first preseason game that you have in
the NFL with the first game period of college where
wisconstantly going to play Miami University, Ohio school the plays
of the American coffeence. Zero returning starters on offense, four

(36:20):
or five on defense. My point is, I'm going to
feel like I'm memorizing names out of a phone book
when you're preparing for the Packers Jets. Obviously with the Jets,
is it the same thing?

Speaker 1 (36:33):
It is the same thing. And you know, you get
to NFL teams, folks, for those of you who are
just tuning in, they're made up of ninety players at
this stage of the game. And I know college teams
are as well. But the difference in a college game,
Matt is when I was going to an early season
college game, non conference games, I knew there were a
lot of players, but I knew that the starters were

(36:55):
going to be in there, and there was this package
of starters in secondary people that come in and you
kind of had a feel for that in a freaking
preseason game, almost none of the starters play. They're running
backs in and out like it makes no difference. You know,
like at least in a college game, the full series
would be the two backs, or there'd be two backs involved,

(37:17):
maybe in the same wide receivers and all that. These
NFL preseason games, I mean, it's like, I don't know
what they're doing in terms of personnel. At one point,
I wondered, what are we doing broadcasting this? You know,
it's just like a fire drill. Every time you look up,
there's a different back in the game, and you know
it is what it is because they're just trying to

(37:38):
get a look at people and that type of thing.
I get that, But at least with the college early season, yeah,
you might not know a lot about the teams because
you haven't seen them yet, but you know the starters
are going to play, and you know there's going to
be a certain rhyme or reason as to who comes in,
who subs in and out in that type of thing.
NFL preseason game, there's no a reason none.

Speaker 3 (38:01):
Two names of people around here would recognize Justin Fields
and Brailan Allen. You know, Braylan ripped off some nice run.
Did you get any feel from talking to any of
the Jets people about about Braylan and the kind of
year that he might be able to have.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
I tell you what, they're high. They are really high
on him. I meant to talk to you about him.
They really like him. They think he's going to have
a breakout year this year. Now they have Breesce Hall
in that backfield, and if Priese Hall is healthy, he'll
get carries. But Brail and Allen, I think is going
to really make make some waves here with this ball club.
You know, he has had a great camp. I'm reading

(38:37):
my notes now. He's the Fondal Act Wisconsin Native University, Wisconsin.
I remember you and I am this podcast talking about
when he was coming out for the draft. You said
to me, there's a place for him in the NFL.
I don't know where of it drafted, but there's a
place for him. Oh yeah, there is. He was drafted
in the fourth rout and he's been very good. Second
leading receiver a year ago, ninety two rushes three hundred

(38:59):
and forty four yards. He'll double that easily this year.
And you know they he was he's a power back.
He's got enough speed, by the way to hit a
home run too, you could tell. But you know, if
he gets his pads low, he's hard to stop. And
this is a guy who's six one and two thirty
five now, so he's he's you know, Breis Hall is
a different kind of back. He's not a small back.

(39:20):
He's five eleven two seventeen, but he's more of the quick,
boom slasher type, whereas Braylan Allen is the power guy,
and he is going to play a big role in
this offense. Trust me.

Speaker 3 (39:31):
For the Jets always had a lot of respect for him.
I didn't know where he was going to go. I
thought I was kind of bracing for him to even
go in a later round than he did. But the
thing about him his senior year and it was frustrated,
and he went to the coaching transition, and you know,
there were a fair amount of things that didn't go
great obviously for the program during his time, but he

(39:51):
put together a really, really good college career. Yeah, and
I thought one of the more impressive performances he had.
If you just look at the statistics, you'd say, lookay,
what are you talking about? But he got banged up
in a game against Ohio State in October I think
it was late October and had to miss a little.
He had to miss a game at Indiana, and he
was really he was playing on a leg and a

(40:13):
half against Nebraska, big time win for Wisconsin. He got
really tough yards for this team. I think the final
rushing total was really mixed. It was like fifty some yards.
But he could have just capped out. He didn't. He
played in that game and then his last game as
a Badger he shredded Minnesota, and you know, he was hurt.

(40:34):
And in today's world, particularly when you know you're going
to go out and get yourself ready for the draft,
you're not playing.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
But he did.

Speaker 3 (40:43):
So that was one of those like this guy you never,
in my opinion, you never have to worry about him
putting in the work. I mean, just look at his bot.
So he's one of many who are very, very easy
to root for. I know they're in a transition again
in New York, but hopefully, you know with the Jets,
Braylen Allen's gonna get featured even more this year.

Speaker 1 (41:04):
Yeah, no question about it. Another Wisconsin kid who didn't
go to UW but one to Iowa State. Will McDonald
out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, played his last high school season
I believe at Walk Shawn North. He's a very impressive
young player, and this going into his third year, was
a first round draft choice. I understand that, but he's

(41:24):
a very impressive guy. He showed up early in the
ballgame in Green Bay the other night. Just not a
good night for the Packers in any respect. Meanwhile, the
quarterback Jordan Love suffered a left hand thumb injury on
a sack, and you know, Matt everybody, it was revealed today.

(41:45):
He practiced yesterday, he had you know, tape on that thumb,
and he practiced, didn't seem to affect his workload there,
and then apparently today had surgery on it. We're speaking
Tuesday now, the twelfth of August had surgery on it,
and they wanted to get the certain Drew Dunzel wouldn't linger,
and so they he could be back at practice as
early as next week. There'd be no question about the

(42:06):
season opener. I'm not sure. The only thing he's going
to miss is the joint practice with the Colts this
week in Indianapolis, and he might miss the joint practice
with the Seahawks. I don't know if, like I said,
if he's back at practice next week, it would not
surprise any of us. But and again thankfully so not
on the throwing hand. Now, we've seen Aaron Rodgers and

(42:27):
Brett Favre go through thumb injuries on the throwing hand
and that affected dramatically their ability to consistently deliver the
football where it needs to be. This is a different situation,
you know. I would imagine it if the thumb wasn't
healing responding to treatment, and it will, but if it wasn't,
then they could go to something so instead of taking

(42:48):
snaps under center, which they're going to do a lot
of this year because they want a lot of that
motion and the orbit motion and everything else pre snap,
if that can't happen, then they can always push him
back into the shotgun that type of deal. So I
don't think it'll be a big deal, but you know,
he'll miss some reps and you know that's that's never good.

Speaker 3 (43:07):
Yeah, let it happen now, though, I guess if it's
going to ask for the game itself, and I always struggle.
I think you guys mentioned it on the broadcast and
I needed the I needed a reminder that well their
first game last year of the preseason, preseason twenty seven
or two. Oh, that was the second game, the second game,
but long long forgotten with me, I can't even remember

(43:29):
what game he But the one thing that I wonder Wayne,
if if the takeaway that the score was the score,
but the drops we know that was a big storyline
with this team last If there was one thing that
you think is a red flag, if there's only one thing,
is that it.

Speaker 1 (43:49):
Well, I mean that's a factor because Okay, Romeo Dobbs
drops a pass, that Malik Heath drops a pass, and
that was kind of surprising because we haven't seen that
in camp. They've been pretty sure handed, all those receivers
in camp. Matthew Golden jumped out, jumps right off the
screen at you. He's he's he's been as good as

(44:10):
it gets a camp and and he was good in
the game. He had two targets, one of which you
drew a past interference on Sauce Gardner, the all Pro
cornerback for the Jets, and the other one made a
tough catch on third down to convert. That kid's gonna
be a factor this year. How big a one, I
don't know. But the thing that kind of stood out
to me, Matt and I was looking at this game

(44:31):
in these preseason games, you know, do we have as
good a depth as I think the Packers have? Because
I don't know how you are. You get into camp
for two and a half weeks and it's you know,
you're going against each other and you're thinking, what this
guy did something? Because when you see something good on
the defense, that kind of stands out. And then you
see something good on the offense and that stands out,
and now all of a sudden, you think we had
all these players, we got great depth. You don't really

(44:54):
know about that depth to goes up against somebody else.
And then I was surprised. The Jets kind of kind
of look to me, just to my naked eye, they
kind of pushed the Packers around a little bit. You
know in that game, the Packers didn't play well, They
had too many penalties and all that stuff. I get it,
I get it, but you know, it made me think
about did we have we miscalculated on the depth of

(45:16):
this football team. I don't think so. I think they've
got a lot of good young players. But here's something
else about a preseason game that people should be aware of.
In a regular season game, everybody has the same objective.
Win the game. Doesn't matter how you do, it, doesn't
matter how you look. Win the game. In the preseason,
there are multiple agendas different for each team in these games.

(45:41):
For the Packers, they wanted to get their starters a
couple of licks in there. They wanted to see what
their young guys are in piecing the team together. With
the Jets brand new coach Aaron Glenn his first game
as a head coach, it's a preseason game, I get it, or,
as Bob McGinn used to say, exhibition game, much to
the chagrin of the NFL. But nonetheless, I think Roger

(46:02):
Goodell would agree with him. Roger can't stand preseason football,
and that's why he's trying to go to eighteen games,
one less ride of season. Giddon benefit all of us
actually wants to play by play guys. But no, I
mean I think that really when you look at it,
it's just like, yeah, is the depth as good as
you thought it was. But here's the objective. For the Jets,

(46:23):
it was different from the Packers. Aaron Glenn and his program,
and he mentioned it during the week leading up to
the game. It's important for them to win. It's important
for them to win a road game. They're a team
that's won what about five games each of the last
two years, haven't been to the playoffs in fourteen years.
I mean, they're trying to establish something here in terms

(46:44):
of a winning persona. So for some teams, preseason games
are important games to win.

Speaker 3 (46:50):
Yeah, that's why I asked. I probably should have phrased
it a little bit differently. If that was the only
red flag, maybe that was one of the bigger ones
that drops. But you don't want to see your offensive
line and it beat Malik Willister's the sack bumble score
in that ball game. But yeah, that was the first
thing I thought of what I was listening to you guys,
even driving back and thinking, okay, new coach, new staff,

(47:11):
you got justin fields, you know, try to find a
place now where he can truly shine. And they they
took winning winning was a higher prior work. Yeah, and
I'm sure you don't want to stink it up, but
even in an exhibition, in a preseason game. But the
Packers are They're just at a different stage, aren't they.
I mean, they're not great yet, but they're certainly closer

(47:34):
to it by a mile than what we've seen out
of the Jets.

Speaker 1 (47:39):
Yeah, you would think so, Matt, and I think that.
You know, again, like I said, the preseason game, I
try not to put too much on it, but there
were some veterans who kind of struggled that I was
surprised about. We've been really anxious to see Isaiah Simmons
in a real game, in a preseason game, you know.
And you know, he's the eighth overall pick in the
draft in twenty he's working at linebacker for the Packers.

(48:03):
The Cardinals who drafted him, the Giants who had him
last year didn't know what to do with him. Is
he a safety? Is he a linebacker? He's had kind
of a nice camp. He has great ability to be
a gunner on special teams, but you know, since they
put the pads on, been kind of quiet and had
a blown coverage in that game for a big gainer

(48:24):
to the full back, Anthony Back. So that was one
thing that kind of stood out. And then Mkole Hardman,
who's a vetter. He's got a couple of super Bowl rings,
he caught the game winning pass in the Super Bowl
a few years ago. He's trying to make it as
a receiver return man. A lot of possibilities with this guy,
but boy, he was trying to field punts and one

(48:45):
of them he tried to field of the five yard line,
got tackled immediately. The next one he let bounce in
front of him, try to recover it, muffed it, the
Jets got it and went in to score. Just decisions
that you didn't expect from a veteran like that. And
I wonder again, preseason, he's trying to make the football team.
Maybe he thought he had to make a play, but
you know, when it gets right down to it, make

(49:06):
the play that's there. Don't try to make a play
when it's not there. The battle of the five yard line.
If you're gonna catch it, make the fair catch or
let it hit and try to go into the end zone.
And you know that elementary stuff like that, which I
think surprised the coaches and everyone else. And then you
know the hey, the punt's coming up short, you go

(49:27):
get it or you just let it hit and get
the heck out of there. Because only bad things can
happen once you touch it.

Speaker 3 (49:34):
So you'll see some joint practices with the Colts.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
Keep an eye on the Hunter roller for me, I
was going to ask you about him.

Speaker 3 (49:42):
Yeah, love him. If you have a chance to say hello,
do so he's I will. He Actually, he was pretty
productive in their first preseason game. I think you Matt
team the tackles. He's just he's a dude. He just
he is a ballplayer. And I know he was a
later round pick and all all of that. But Chris
Ballard the GM there, he's a badger saying, I'm sure

(50:05):
he got a really good report on Hunter. Another guy
who could have just, you know, gone ahead and tapped out.
He was a banged up kid at the end of
the year, but he did everything he could and playing
the final game of a disappointing season. It was a
disappointing day against Minnesota. But he's he's the kind of
guy who's going to throw his body all over the
place to help his team.

Speaker 1 (50:26):
Yeah, Hunter Waller, folks, he's trying to make the Colts.
He's a safety. He's more of a box safety. He
was outstanding in their playoff game at Baltimore against the
Ravens all over the field. Like you said, Matt seems
to be a very smart guy. Seemed to be a
guy that makes plays on that second level, you know
what I mean. He's not a linebacker, but you know
the kind of they kind of been toying with him

(50:48):
on that second level in certain situations. I can't agree
with you more. Man, He's he's really the real deal.
I think he's the real deal. I think he's going
to be a heck of a special teams player and
he eventually someday may start a four because he seems
to have the if factor about him. But so the
Packers will be out there, will see the Colts and
then preseason game early Saturday afternoon, and then the following

(51:12):
week the Seattle Seahawks come in for a Thursday joint
practice that'll be the last public practice for the Packers
of the year, and then they'll play Seattle in a
late Saturday afternoon game at lambeau Field, and finally the
preseason will be over.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
Final question before we wrap up, when did you were
calling games when there were six preseason games? Were? Because
when did that? Was that late seventies maybe where they
dialed it back on the six preseason games, you weren't
doing it.

Speaker 1 (51:43):
No, this that predates you, right, the year before they
went from went from six to four. My first year
was seventy eight in the NFL. I was so happy
about that.

Speaker 3 (51:54):
But yeah, camp, do you imagine that now six pre
and you're right, it's going to be two and probably
and everybody's going to play an international game, right, that's
that's coming to There's so many more things we can
get into. But you gotta tell those young folks, you
think threes a lot, you think play guy it is, Yeah,
but imagine that times too.

Speaker 1 (52:15):
But you know what, It's funny, Matt, because in those days,
you would play your starters the first quarter in the
first game, into the second quarter in the second game.
In the third game was your dress rehearsal. They would
play all the way through the first half, halftime, come
out for the third quarter for a series or two,
and then you know you'd park everybody in neutral for
the final preseason game. But and that was fairly recent,

(52:38):
but now it's just, yeah, you know, some teams never
play their starters. I think Matt Lafleur did it the
right way. You play them early, You play them at home. Okay,
you play them there, you're gonna get two joint practices.
The one thing the quarterbacks, Rogers and Jordan Love have
told me about preseason games. You know, from their standpoint,

(53:00):
you're going up against a vanilla defense. Okay, you're not.
You're not getting ready for the regular season against that
vanilla defense. But in a joint practice, you're gonna see
more there than you will in a preseason game. So
you know, the joint practices have become very important for
these teams. Now. I'm surprised the Jets didn't come in
early to scrimmage the Packers, but they did not. So

(53:21):
this will be interesting to see how the next couple
of weeks go. And and we'll see, you know, and
then again get into these injuries and that's everything in
the NFL.

Speaker 3 (53:28):
Well, at least you will have a little video of
Indianapolis off yeah, preseason week one, so it won't be
completely foreign like that's what look at Looking back at
the Snoop Dogg Bowl, which is where the Miami RedHawks
played last year, that's not gonna do me much good
because their roster has changed dramatically. So unless I want

(53:49):
to see Snoop dogg in the booth that maybe'll get
the du.

Speaker 1 (53:53):
Or ass on that tape. Yeah, I don't value mean
all right, well that'll do it for us first edition
of what is this your for? Matt?

Speaker 3 (54:02):
Like, do you believe that they have asked us back
for year four?

Speaker 1 (54:06):
Well, you know, no one's more surprised than you or I,
but we're a first off set of the year. Dave McCann,
maybe he's also a recovering but you know, Dave, we
have smelling salts now approved of the NFL and the
way we can get you revived on that. I know
you're in shock right now that we're back for a
fourth Here our engineer, Dave McCann, the executive producer of

(54:26):
the Lera Vi La Pay podcast on iHeart is Monica
woodcop for Matthiss, Wayne. We'll see you next time on
the Lerra Vie La Pay podcast.

Speaker 2 (54:37):
The Leravian La Pay podcast is a production of iHeartRadio
Podcasts with hosts Way Larvy and Matt Lapey, with production
engineering by Dave McCann. The Laravian La Pey podcast is
presented by Potawatamy Casino Hotel. Your win is waiting. Listen
to other episodes available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.