August 19, 2025 • 23 mins
Mike and Wes review the preseason game vs. the Colts (:26), including rookie RT Anthony Belton’s response to a rocky first half (6:40) and the injuries added to the list (9:03). They also discuss Monday’s practice with QB Jordan Love returning (15:14) and the LT competition between Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan (19:35).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
by my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz. Coming to you once
again from our studios here at Lambeufield West. We're back
from Indy. A lot of ground to cover on today's show.
Quite frankly, we'll start with the preseason game from Saturday
in Indianapolis. And whether you're talking about the reserves on
(00:29):
offense the reserves on defense, this game was all about
the response because things were not going well for the Packers.
The score was thirteen to nothing at one point, but
by the end of the day the scoreboard read twenty
three to nineteen in favor of Green Bay. And you
can talk about whether it was twos versus threes and
this and that and the other, but the Packers found
(00:51):
out that the guys they have that are going to
be filling out this depth chart, they proved they could
respond to some adverse circumstances.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, this was a yeoman's effort
on so many levels, right, I Mean, it wasn't just
it was one big seventy five yard touchdown pass or
interception return for a touchdown. It was kind of this
all three phase effort, and I felt like the second half,
the beginning of the third quarter, everything kind of switched.
You know. We talked after the game, was talking with
(01:20):
Israel about a Conda about this. You know, they had
that fourteen play drive and as he ended up getting
a game ball, he had eleven carries on that drive,
and he just kept thinking to himself, I got to
get in the end zone. Ben Sermons talks all the
time to these running backs, you have to be the
tone setters. The Packers needed something to change their momentum.
They did it on that drive. And the most impressive
(01:41):
thing of all was they started stringing together these longer
series without the penalties. And we're chatting with Sean Clifford
about this after the game, and he said, you know,
that was really the only thing that held us back.
Was not just the penalties, but it was pre snap penalties.
It was those concentration penalties that you don't want to see.
Other than that, I actually think the Packers it was
(02:01):
a pretty good accounting for themselves. They had to play
a lot of the starters in the first half of
the Indianapolis Colts, and they made some plays against them
despite the fact that they obviously, as you mentioned, trailed
thirteen to zero at one point, and then in the
second half to see them pull themselves back into this
thing and then have a rather dramatic ending to the
game with Tehran Hopper getting a PBu on a play
(02:24):
that went right down to the wire.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And officials had to Ron Herring, Ron Herring, excuse me? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Too many? Yeah, I got too many names, too many names.
I'm getting past all the Israels right now, getting too.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Many names to keep track of. Yes, Tyron Harry with
a heck of a play at the pylon there on
the final play of the game. It sure looked like
the Colts either were going to have a touchdown or
we're going to be marked out at the one yard
line inside the one with a couple seconds left on
the clock, But replay showed that the hit that took
him to the ground, he wasn't able to maintain possession
(02:57):
of the ball, so the game ended there. Because that
was on fourth and ten, we saw Taylor Elgersma direct
multiple touchdown drives for the Packers. I thought the young
quarterback from Canada acquitted himself pretty well. I mean, yeah,
a couple of decisions I think he'd like to have back.
But considering he only had one series in the first
(03:20):
preseason game, and this was really his first extended chance
in a preseason game to kind of get into a rhythm,
get out there for you know, come to the sideline,
go back out, you know, all of those kinds of
things that get you into the flow of a game. Though,
I thought on balance, he performed pretty well. Certainly when
the protection was there and he had the conviction on
his throw, you could see the arm strength. You could
(03:41):
see that this is why the Packers brought this guy in.
And then Sean Clifford, whom we've seen in these preseason
games over the last couple of years. He ends up
taking the ball on the final drive, converts a fourth
down by himself, ends up getting the touchdown, you know,
kind of calling his own number, a little bit of
improv there, but makes the sprint to the pylon. So
I thought both of the Packers' young quarterbacks, and we
(04:02):
don't know how this is going to shake out in
terms of who's going to be the number three, but
I thought both of them had something that they could
take some pride in from those performances.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I asked Sean after the game. I was like, what
did you see on that touchdown run? He's like, I
saw a holding and I saw a wide open lane
to the end because he was actually, as I wrote
in our notes package, he was looking at Cornelius Johnson.
That was the read that he had, but he kind
of got held up in the end zone. So as
it turned out, there ended up being eleven yards in
front of him and nothing but Peter there. So he
(04:32):
took it himself. He called his own number, and then
the Packers were able to hold on for the victory.
But yeah, I just felt like that competition, but at
the quarnerback position, this is where it always starts. To
get a little bit more spotlight on it, right, and
for Eldersma to be able to get the work that
he did. I mean, he ended up going what was
a three or four series. He was obviously the one
that started getting that kick started with this Packer's comeback.
(04:54):
The thing I like about it, Matt Leffuor said at
his press conference on Sunday, you do need to be smart.
He took some contact, made some tough throws, there at
times that could have potentially put in the ball at danger.
But I honestly believe that's what you want to see
from a guy competing for the third quarterback spot. You
want to see them trying to go out there and
make plays. And I felt like he did that and
(05:15):
more than anything his arm talent from the day that
we saw him at the rookie mini camp on tryout,
he could throw football. In one story I didn't really understand.
I didn't know it. Obviously didn't understand, but I didn't
know until Matt Schneidven brought it up during the press
conference with assistant coaches on Sunday, was that Packers pass
game coordinator Jason Rabel actually coached him when Eldersma was
(05:39):
invited to go to.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The Senior Senior ball down and Mobile. Yeah, Jane, I
didn't know that either.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, So I guess if I would have just looked
at a roster, I would have figured that out. But
be that as it may, I just felt like there
were a lot of young guys that really stepped up
and competed. Julian Hicks had a beautiful catch. I believe
that one was from Eldersma down the sideline, but it
got wiped out by a holding penalty.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Might have been from Willis actions. Actually it might have
been earlier in the game when Malik Willis was in there,
when there was a stretch there where the Packers, essentially
the number two offense was going against the starting defense
for the Colts. And same thing as you mentioned before
with the Colts starting offenses. They're trying to sort out
Daniel Jones Anthony Richardson at quarterback. Their starters were going
against the Packers' reserves on defense, and I thought, I mean, yeah,
(06:24):
you're not expecting, you know, domination, But I don't think
the Colts starters dominated the Packers. I thought I thought
the Packers reserve units did well there. And of course,
probably the epitome of the respond to adversity, the bounce
back type of nature of this game was embodied in
(06:47):
the rookie second round draft pick Anthony Belton that right tackle.
He ends up getting called for five penalties a variety
of different things. There was a personal file on the sideline.
There were a couple of alignment issues when the Packers
were driving to try to score at the ind of
the first half, and a couple other things in between,
and he went back out there. The coaches put him
(07:08):
back out there in the second half. They said, all right,
young man, like, let's clean it up, let's get things going.
And to Belton's credit, he went out there and and
suddenly his game was cleaned up, though the entire offense
quite frankly, you know, as you mentioned, the penalties were reduced.
And I just I give Anthony Belton a lot of
credit because because that that's a moment for a rookie
(07:33):
in a preseason game. Guys can shrink from that and
he and he absolutely did not. He was put back
out there, he took charge of the situation and then
he performed the way the Packers coaches expect him to perform.
And I tipped my hat to the young man.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
And I tipped my hat to the Packers coaching staff.
They didn't just let him go through that first half
and say all right, we're gonna switch things up, We're
gonna go a different direction, right. They let him work
through it, and I mean, it was obviously a low point.
When you go back to back plays with the legal formation,
as Matt Lafloyd talked about, you know, that is somewhat
on it not just Belton that's on the offensive line.
Because Belton's lining up to where the foot is of
(08:12):
his right guard next to him, the quarterback has to
make sure you're right there as well. There was multiple
people in play. But at the end of the day,
I felt like, and I wrote this an insider inbox,
we learned a little bit about the man in Anthony
Belton though, just the prospect as a tackle, and in
the second half I thought he played exceptionally well. I
mean that Lamar Johnson run was all Belton in the
(08:34):
offensive line, just second effort, just pushing their running back
into the end zone, you know, Johnson trying to keep
his feet moving and seeing if you can make something happen.
And again I felt like, when you're looking at a
young football player, a second round pick, but yet still
a guy that is four months into his NFL career,
here there's going to be adversity, and I felt like
(08:54):
Belton met that adversity in the first half and found
a way to respond to it in the second.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah. Well, unfortuntunately, there were some more injuries to come
out of the game in Indianapolis. At the top of
the list second year running back Marshall Lloyd, the third
round draft pick from USC a year earlier. He finally
gets back into action. He makes a great play, a
great catch on a wheel route down the sideline, but
(09:19):
takes a hit and puts his leg in an awkward
position and he's out once again with a hamstring injury.
Extremely unfortunate there. I'll just run through a few others
quickly and we'll get back to Lloyd. Baron Surrell, the
rookie fourth round draft pick, he sustained a knee injury.
I believe it was on special teams if I'm not mistaken.
(09:40):
Sounds like he's going to be out for a little bit.
The young safety Omar Brown, who was the star family night,
he ended up having to spend some extra time in
Indianapolis over the weekend, did not come back with the
team because of a chest or lung injury and he
needed to go to the hospital. So hopefully everything with
Brown is okay. But getting back to Lloyd, Look, I
(10:05):
know the fans are frustrated. I'll I'll just say this,
if you're frustrated as a fan because of everything that's
happened with Marshawn Lloyd and he hasn't been able to
stay healthy and hasn't been able to be on the
practice field and in the games as frequently as everybody
would like. Just try to imagine how frustrating this is
for him, because this is a player with a ton
(10:28):
of promise and he does everything right and for some reason,
you know, his body is just betraying him at at
you know, strange moments and it isn't. Believe me, if
there were other things that could be done, the Packers
and Lloyd would be doing it. And I think you
just have to chalk this up to some really really
(10:51):
bad luck and you hope the young man can get
through it and come out the other side. As Ben
Sermon said when he spoke to the media on Sunday,
this is a supporting him. This isn't about getting down
on him because oh geez, he's heard again. You know.
This is about supporting him and trying to get him
through it and get him to the other side. Because
the Packers feel like there is a player who can
(11:11):
help this team in that unfortunately troubled physical body. Right now.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Yeah, this isn't West showing up for work and being
like I don't feel like doing this right. I mean,
you got scans, you have cat scans all this that
show you that what his body's going through, the soft
tissue injuries that he's been weathering. Going back to his
time at Madison in January, going down there to try
to find out more about his body and what he
can do to align himself properly. I think the toughest
thing for me with Lloyd. And again another thing I
(11:39):
touched on an insider inbox. This is a young man
that has done everything right in the standpoint of trying
to get his body right, but then also the way
he's handled this, he's been accountable. He hasn't run away
from this. In the locker room, you know, when guys
come and talk to him, whether it's him not being
able to practice or whether it's him coming back. He
(11:59):
always has this infectious enthusiasm about the game of football.
And listened to him last week before the game talk
about how he just wants to play again. It had
been almost a year since the last Colts game and
it really he considers it back to college is the
last time he's really truly played in a game. And
then unfortunately this happens, and unfortunately it also happens on
a play in which he really shows his potential as
(12:19):
a pass catcher. Yeah, that thirty three yard wheel route
was one of the plays of the game, one of
the highlights of the game, and unfortunately at the tail
end of it, he gets banged up. The one thing
I'll mention too, Brian Goodekuntz was kind of asked about
him in a backdoor kind of way about the injuries
he's weather, and he used, you know, Mike Flanagan in
his example, to be honest with you. This kind of
(12:40):
reminds me of the James Stark situation when he first
got to Green Bay, where he obviously missed most of
his rookie year. He comes back for the playoff game.
He had to weather some soft tissue injuries and some
knee injuries early on, but then ultimately ended up becoming
a pretty stable piece for Green Bay. You hope that
that's where Lloyd can get to, but obviously right now
we're back in a holding pattern and seeing when number
thirty two can get on the field.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Yeah. I actually liked that that comparison with Starks. Obviously,
starts rookie year ended in very different fashion than than
Marshawn Lloyd's Lloyd's did you wonder and I just say,
obviously everything is hypothetical. You wonder where Marshaw Lloyd's rookie
year goes if not for suddenly the appendicitis.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I mean, this was not even something that was football related,
something that can happen to anybody in their life at
any time, and it just so happened with him when
he was right about to get back on the field
last season. He gets the appendicitis, has to have the appendectomy,
and then of course you just need the recovery time
because you can't send your body out there to get
you know, pounded by all the core muscle tacklers. Yeah, exactly.
(13:42):
So anyway, our fingers are crossed for Lloyd and uh
and hopefully at some point here he gets he gets through.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
All of them before we move on. He's just gonna
give a hat tip to Omar Brown. To Matt Lafleur
mentioned that that injury, the lung contusion, everything that happened
that actually happened earlier in the game. I stayed on
the field, I think it was was it through the
beginning of the third quarter, then finally had to pull
himself out.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, Lafleur said he played about twelve more minutes of
game action before he before he took himself out.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And that's toughness, dude.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Yeah, and you and you want to know just how
just how badly these guys want to perform and to
make the team when you're fighting for a roster spot
in this league. I mean that was exhibit A right there.
A couple other things to get to with regard to
Monday's practice after we got back to Green Bay, But
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Minards Welcome Back to Packers unscripted Wes. The Packers got
back on the practice field on Monday. It was a
(15:14):
practice that was closed to the public but open to
the media. We did find out about a few more injuries.
We don't necessarily know the severity on these, but Lucas
van Ness, Kenny Clark, and Aaron Banks were all resting
during Monday's practice because of back issues. Jacob Monk, the
young offensive lineman, second year player, he has a hamstring issue.
(15:35):
So we'll see what happens going through the rest of
this week with a full pads practice on Tuesday, and
then obviously the joint practice with the Seahawks coming up
on Thursday. But the bigger news from Monday's practice is
that quarterback Jordan Love was back at practice and Matt
Lafleur and the coaches they modified things to incorporate a
(15:58):
couple of seven on seven periods, which is not something
that Matt lafler likes. He doesn't like that drillly doesn't
feel it's realistic. But the seven on seven where essentially
it's just the quarterback with the receivers against the linebackers
and dbs, so there aren't any linemen out there. It
was really the only way for Jordan Love to sort
(16:18):
of make some live throwing reps, but without putting his
left hand in any kind of harm's way, so to speak.
There wasn't gonna be any chance that it would hit
on a helmet of alignment, or or there'd be any
contact with the left hand. And the way Love conducted
the practice with taking the ball off of a stool
for like a regular snap and just holding it in
(16:40):
his hand in his right hand for a shotgun snap,
it was all about basically him going through the practice
as though he didn't even have a left hand. I
believe he ended up with twelve reps twelve throws in
each of the seven on seven periods. So we'll see
what happens from here again the rest of this week
and then heading into next week as the Packers then
(17:02):
start ramping things up for the regular season. But it
was awfully good to see Jordan Love back on the practice.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, and for them to be able to find a
way to incorporate him. You have your franchise quarterback, one
of your superstars of your team. You don't want them
just standing on the sideline, you know, just waiting for
this ligament to heal back up. You want to try
to incorporate him if there's a way to incorporate him.
I felt like the seven on seven accomplished that. I
think one thing mattl Floor did too that was a
good adjustment was they prioritize the red zone at the
(17:29):
end of practice as well. That probably is where it
gets a little bit more realistic because now you're condensing
the secondary. Yes you're not throwing over offensive lineman, Yes
you don't have a rush in your face. But it
does make the quarterback make some of those decisions he's
going to have to make rather than just trying to
do a goal ball or something during the regular midfield practice.
So and in that period, I felt like Love made
(17:50):
one of the plays of the day. I mean, he
had showed remarkable touch on that corner route to Matthew Golden.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Yeah, kudos to Golden.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I mean this practice, man, it poured midway through practice.
Poor you know, Malik Willis and Taylor Eldrisma and also
Sean Clifford. They had to go through the eleven on
eleven when it was just a monsoon out there, and
while it lightened up it still was very wet.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I was talking. It was still a steady rain throughout
the whole.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I was talking to Evan Williams at the end of it,
who was one of the corners or one of the
safeties that was defending on the golden touchdown, and he
actually ended practice with an interception. He's like, yeah, I was,
you know, it was slipping through my gloves with how
much water there was. Fortune I was able to crowd
against my body and he made a nice play. But
they had to adjust to it, and they did so.
But for Love to be able to get out there
(18:35):
in any capacity, again, as you mentioned the shotgun snaps,
he's starting with the ball already in his throwing hand.
When they were working under center, he was, you know,
doing the stuff off the stool, and you know, the
packers made it work. This was the practice where they
kind of had to get some work in with Jordan
Love because we don't know one what it's going to
look like at Tuesday's practice, which is going to be
more of a traditional public practice, and then obviously Thursday,
(18:56):
you're not going to do those type of drills against
the Seahawks. So they got in the work that they
could with the practice that they were allotted.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
It was kind of funny. I thought it was interesting.
A couple of times watching Love you could tell he
had to he had to resist the habit that he
has of patting the ball with his left hand. He
had to keep his left hand away, you know, as
he's as he's making the reads and and you know,
adjusting his feet and whatnot. And it was like, it
was like, no, that left hand is not supposed to
touch anything.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Like it's only like twenty years of habits.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yeah, exactly, leave it, leave it alone. Old habits die hard.
But he but he did everything he could to uh,
to protect that that surgically repaired thumb. So one other
thing to touch on with regard to Monday's practices is
we saw Rashid Walker is ramping up here getting back
to you know what you would consider, I guess, full
(19:45):
go or full speed, full complement of reps and everything
we've been told. Now Rashid Walker and Jordan Morgan, this
is a this is a full fledged competition for the
starting left tackle spot on the offensive line. Now, in
Monday's practice, Walker was taking all the reps at left
tackle and Morgan was taking the reps with the number
one offensive line at left guard because Aaron Banks was
(20:08):
sitting out with the back issue. So but this left
tackle competition is going to go all the way to
the end, and for all we know, it may not
even be decided at the end, because maybe ultimately, if
everybody else is healthy, they'll choose to rotate the guys
for a while and then see during games who ends
up winning it. I'm not saying that's what's going to happen,
(20:29):
but based on recent history, it's certainly a possibility. Here.
The challengers Jordan Morgan, the incumbent is Rashid Walker, and
everything that we've seen and heard from these players, they're
both taking the right approach to it. They're teammates, nobody's
taking anything for granted, there isn't any ill will about it.
The coaches are just letting them go at it and
(20:49):
see who emerges as the best guy.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yeah, this is an incredible situation for the Packers to
be in. I mean, Rashid Walker can be starting for
so many teams at left tackle in this league with
what he's put on tape over the last two year.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
So even thirty five starts, including playoffs, that left tackle.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, just to be able to do that now and
be able to get this type of work in and
certainly hoping to put this groin injury behind him. I
find it a bit quizzical, to be honest with you,
And I understand why these narratives get driven, but it
was funny to me where everybody we're even sitting there
on Saturday trying to figure out, Okay, well, if Walker plays,
how are they going to divide up the snaps. Well,
then you go into Monday's practice and Aaron Banks isn't available.
(21:27):
So I think this again speaks to the type of
flexibility they're going to have to have, not only with
Morgan but also Sean Ryan potentially this season. Agay, that
can play the three interior spots. That's how this game
is played, and you never know who you're gonna have.
You never know when someone might be unavailable, and you
have to be able to adapt to it. That be
in a position where Walker is there and Morgan is
playing as well as he has so far, it puts
(21:49):
screen By in a good spot there With that number
six swing tackle or whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Yeah, I mean that, As I've said before, this number
six guy on the offensive line could go any number
of ways, could end up being Rashid Walker. And if
that's a if a guy who started thirty five games
that left tackle is your number six guy, that's not
a bad spot to be in. It could be Jordan Morgan.
And if your number six guy is a first round
draft pick, that's not a bad spot to be in.
Or it could be Sean Ryan, a guy who has
(22:15):
started a good, you know, full season's worth plus at
right guard, but has also shown that he can play
center and whatnot. If that's if that's your number six guy.
The way this shakes out, that's a pretty good spot
to be in as well. So we don't know exactly
how this is going to go, but I think the
Packers feel pretty good about it as long as they
can keep all their main guys healthy.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
You wrote a really nice story on Walker and kudos
you for that. But I got to give him credit
for the SoundBite of the locker room that Monday, and
also maybe if training camp when we were reflecting on
all the issues and how difficult the first half was
for young Anthony Belton, Walker said he was eating a clementine.
I think it was at halftime or it was on
the sideline or something like that.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
I think I think it was that halftime.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
And he's just, hey, what do you say to a
guy that just got five penalties? Eat it?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah? And he's getting kind of getting yelled at by everybody,
coaches and everybody else, and he says, yeah, I just
threw him a snack. I just said, hey, eat this clementine.
Take a deep breath, like it'll all be good. And
he's like, he ate the clementine and he had a
good second half.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
It doesn't do it justice. You gotta go to Packers
dot com or you gotta go on to Twitter. You
gotta see the video of it, because the way that
Rasid tells the story, it just brought a smile to
my face. It was It was a good, lighthearted moment
amidst the calamity of training camp.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Totally agree, Totally agree, and with that, we're gonna call
it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be
sure to continue to follow all of our coverage of
the team this final week of training camp here. We'll
have it all for you on Packers dot com. For Wes,
I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will
see you next time.
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
by my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz. Coming to you once
again from our studios here at Lambeufield West. We're back
from Indy. A lot of ground to cover on today's show.
Quite frankly, we'll start with the preseason game from Saturday
in Indianapolis. And whether you're talking about the reserves on
(00:29):
offense the reserves on defense, this game was all about
the response because things were not going well for the Packers.
The score was thirteen to nothing at one point, but
by the end of the day the scoreboard read twenty
three to nineteen in favor of Green Bay. And you
can talk about whether it was twos versus threes and
this and that and the other, but the Packers found
(00:51):
out that the guys they have that are going to
be filling out this depth chart, they proved they could
respond to some adverse circumstances.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, this was a yeoman's effort
on so many levels, right, I Mean, it wasn't just
it was one big seventy five yard touchdown pass or
interception return for a touchdown. It was kind of this
all three phase effort, and I felt like the second half,
the beginning of the third quarter, everything kind of switched.
You know. We talked after the game, was talking with
(01:20):
Israel about a Conda about this. You know, they had
that fourteen play drive and as he ended up getting
a game ball, he had eleven carries on that drive,
and he just kept thinking to himself, I got to
get in the end zone. Ben Sermons talks all the
time to these running backs, you have to be the
tone setters. The Packers needed something to change their momentum.
They did it on that drive. And the most impressive
(01:41):
thing of all was they started stringing together these longer
series without the penalties. And we're chatting with Sean Clifford
about this after the game, and he said, you know,
that was really the only thing that held us back.
Was not just the penalties, but it was pre snap penalties.
It was those concentration penalties that you don't want to see.
Other than that, I actually think the Packers it was
(02:01):
a pretty good accounting for themselves. They had to play
a lot of the starters in the first half of
the Indianapolis Colts, and they made some plays against them
despite the fact that they obviously, as you mentioned, trailed
thirteen to zero at one point, and then in the
second half to see them pull themselves back into this
thing and then have a rather dramatic ending to the
game with Tehran Hopper getting a PBu on a play
(02:24):
that went right down to the wire.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And officials had to Ron Herring, Ron Herring, excuse me? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Too many? Yeah, I got too many names, too many names.
I'm getting past all the Israels right now, getting too.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Many names to keep track of. Yes, Tyron Harry with
a heck of a play at the pylon there on
the final play of the game. It sure looked like
the Colts either were going to have a touchdown or
we're going to be marked out at the one yard
line inside the one with a couple seconds left on
the clock, But replay showed that the hit that took
him to the ground, he wasn't able to maintain possession
(02:57):
of the ball, so the game ended there. Because that
was on fourth and ten, we saw Taylor Elgersma direct
multiple touchdown drives for the Packers. I thought the young
quarterback from Canada acquitted himself pretty well. I mean, yeah,
a couple of decisions I think he'd like to have back.
But considering he only had one series in the first
(03:20):
preseason game, and this was really his first extended chance
in a preseason game to kind of get into a rhythm,
get out there for you know, come to the sideline,
go back out, you know, all of those kinds of
things that get you into the flow of a game. Though,
I thought on balance, he performed pretty well. Certainly when
the protection was there and he had the conviction on
his throw, you could see the arm strength. You could
(03:41):
see that this is why the Packers brought this guy in.
And then Sean Clifford, whom we've seen in these preseason
games over the last couple of years. He ends up
taking the ball on the final drive, converts a fourth
down by himself, ends up getting the touchdown, you know,
kind of calling his own number, a little bit of
improv there, but makes the sprint to the pylon. So
I thought both of the Packers' young quarterbacks, and we
(04:02):
don't know how this is going to shake out in
terms of who's going to be the number three, but
I thought both of them had something that they could
take some pride in from those performances.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I asked Sean after the game. I was like, what
did you see on that touchdown run? He's like, I
saw a holding and I saw a wide open lane
to the end because he was actually, as I wrote
in our notes package, he was looking at Cornelius Johnson.
That was the read that he had, but he kind
of got held up in the end zone. So as
it turned out, there ended up being eleven yards in
front of him and nothing but Peter there. So he
(04:32):
took it himself. He called his own number, and then
the Packers were able to hold on for the victory.
But yeah, I just felt like that competition, but at
the quarnerback position, this is where it always starts. To
get a little bit more spotlight on it, right, and
for Eldersma to be able to get the work that
he did. I mean, he ended up going what was
a three or four series. He was obviously the one
that started getting that kick started with this Packer's comeback.
(04:54):
The thing I like about it, Matt Leffuor said at
his press conference on Sunday, you do need to be smart.
He took some contact, made some tough throws, there at
times that could have potentially put in the ball at danger.
But I honestly believe that's what you want to see
from a guy competing for the third quarterback spot. You
want to see them trying to go out there and
make plays. And I felt like he did that and
(05:15):
more than anything his arm talent from the day that
we saw him at the rookie mini camp on tryout,
he could throw football. In one story I didn't really understand.
I didn't know it. Obviously didn't understand, but I didn't
know until Matt Schneidven brought it up during the press
conference with assistant coaches on Sunday, was that Packers pass
game coordinator Jason Rabel actually coached him when Eldersma was
(05:39):
invited to go to.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The Senior Senior ball down and Mobile. Yeah, Jane, I
didn't know that either.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, So I guess if I would have just looked
at a roster, I would have figured that out. But
be that as it may, I just felt like there
were a lot of young guys that really stepped up
and competed. Julian Hicks had a beautiful catch. I believe
that one was from Eldersma down the sideline, but it
got wiped out by a holding penalty.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Might have been from Willis actions. Actually it might have
been earlier in the game when Malik Willis was in there,
when there was a stretch there where the Packers, essentially
the number two offense was going against the starting defense
for the Colts. And same thing as you mentioned before
with the Colts starting offenses. They're trying to sort out
Daniel Jones Anthony Richardson at quarterback. Their starters were going
against the Packers' reserves on defense, and I thought, I mean, yeah,
(06:24):
you're not expecting, you know, domination, But I don't think
the Colts starters dominated the Packers. I thought I thought
the Packers reserve units did well there. And of course,
probably the epitome of the respond to adversity, the bounce
back type of nature of this game was embodied in
(06:47):
the rookie second round draft pick Anthony Belton that right tackle.
He ends up getting called for five penalties a variety
of different things. There was a personal file on the sideline.
There were a couple of alignment issues when the Packers
were driving to try to score at the ind of
the first half, and a couple other things in between,
and he went back out there. The coaches put him
(07:08):
back out there in the second half. They said, all right,
young man, like, let's clean it up, let's get things going.
And to Belton's credit, he went out there and and
suddenly his game was cleaned up, though the entire offense
quite frankly, you know, as you mentioned, the penalties were reduced.
And I just I give Anthony Belton a lot of
credit because because that that's a moment for a rookie
(07:33):
in a preseason game. Guys can shrink from that and
he and he absolutely did not. He was put back
out there, he took charge of the situation and then
he performed the way the Packers coaches expect him to perform.
And I tipped my hat to the young man.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
And I tipped my hat to the Packers coaching staff.
They didn't just let him go through that first half
and say all right, we're gonna switch things up, We're
gonna go a different direction, right. They let him work
through it, and I mean, it was obviously a low point.
When you go back to back plays with the legal formation,
as Matt Lafloyd talked about, you know, that is somewhat
on it not just Belton that's on the offensive line.
Because Belton's lining up to where the foot is of
(08:12):
his right guard next to him, the quarterback has to
make sure you're right there as well. There was multiple
people in play. But at the end of the day,
I felt like, and I wrote this an insider inbox,
we learned a little bit about the man in Anthony
Belton though, just the prospect as a tackle, and in
the second half I thought he played exceptionally well. I
mean that Lamar Johnson run was all Belton in the
(08:34):
offensive line, just second effort, just pushing their running back
into the end zone, you know, Johnson trying to keep
his feet moving and seeing if you can make something happen.
And again I felt like, when you're looking at a
young football player, a second round pick, but yet still
a guy that is four months into his NFL career,
here there's going to be adversity, and I felt like
(08:54):
Belton met that adversity in the first half and found
a way to respond to it in the second.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah. Well, unfortuntunately, there were some more injuries to come
out of the game in Indianapolis. At the top of
the list second year running back Marshall Lloyd, the third
round draft pick from USC a year earlier. He finally
gets back into action. He makes a great play, a
great catch on a wheel route down the sideline, but
(09:19):
takes a hit and puts his leg in an awkward
position and he's out once again with a hamstring injury.
Extremely unfortunate there. I'll just run through a few others
quickly and we'll get back to Lloyd. Baron Surrell, the
rookie fourth round draft pick, he sustained a knee injury.
I believe it was on special teams if I'm not mistaken.
(09:40):
Sounds like he's going to be out for a little bit.
The young safety Omar Brown, who was the star family night,
he ended up having to spend some extra time in
Indianapolis over the weekend, did not come back with the
team because of a chest or lung injury and he
needed to go to the hospital. So hopefully everything with
Brown is okay. But getting back to Lloyd, Look, I
(10:05):
know the fans are frustrated. I'll I'll just say this,
if you're frustrated as a fan because of everything that's
happened with Marshawn Lloyd and he hasn't been able to
stay healthy and hasn't been able to be on the
practice field and in the games as frequently as everybody
would like. Just try to imagine how frustrating this is
for him, because this is a player with a ton
(10:28):
of promise and he does everything right and for some reason,
you know, his body is just betraying him at at
you know, strange moments and it isn't. Believe me, if
there were other things that could be done, the Packers
and Lloyd would be doing it. And I think you
just have to chalk this up to some really really
(10:51):
bad luck and you hope the young man can get
through it and come out the other side. As Ben
Sermon said when he spoke to the media on Sunday,
this is a supporting him. This isn't about getting down
on him because oh geez, he's heard again. You know.
This is about supporting him and trying to get him
through it and get him to the other side. Because
the Packers feel like there is a player who can
(11:11):
help this team in that unfortunately troubled physical body. Right now.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Yeah, this isn't West showing up for work and being
like I don't feel like doing this right. I mean,
you got scans, you have cat scans all this that
show you that what his body's going through, the soft
tissue injuries that he's been weathering. Going back to his
time at Madison in January, going down there to try
to find out more about his body and what he
can do to align himself properly. I think the toughest
thing for me with Lloyd. And again another thing I
(11:39):
touched on an insider inbox. This is a young man
that has done everything right in the standpoint of trying
to get his body right, but then also the way
he's handled this, he's been accountable. He hasn't run away
from this. In the locker room, you know, when guys
come and talk to him, whether it's him not being
able to practice or whether it's him coming back. He
(11:59):
always has this infectious enthusiasm about the game of football.
And listened to him last week before the game talk
about how he just wants to play again. It had
been almost a year since the last Colts game and
it really he considers it back to college is the
last time he's really truly played in a game. And
then unfortunately this happens, and unfortunately it also happens on
a play in which he really shows his potential as
(12:19):
a pass catcher. Yeah, that thirty three yard wheel route
was one of the plays of the game, one of
the highlights of the game, and unfortunately at the tail
end of it, he gets banged up. The one thing
I'll mention too, Brian Goodekuntz was kind of asked about
him in a backdoor kind of way about the injuries
he's weather, and he used, you know, Mike Flanagan in
his example, to be honest with you. This kind of
(12:40):
reminds me of the James Stark situation when he first
got to Green Bay, where he obviously missed most of
his rookie year. He comes back for the playoff game.
He had to weather some soft tissue injuries and some
knee injuries early on, but then ultimately ended up becoming
a pretty stable piece for Green Bay. You hope that
that's where Lloyd can get to, but obviously right now
we're back in a holding pattern and seeing when number
thirty two can get on the field.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Yeah. I actually liked that that comparison with Starks. Obviously,
starts rookie year ended in very different fashion than than
Marshawn Lloyd's Lloyd's did you wonder and I just say,
obviously everything is hypothetical. You wonder where Marshaw Lloyd's rookie
year goes if not for suddenly the appendicitis.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I mean, this was not even something that was football related,
something that can happen to anybody in their life at
any time, and it just so happened with him when
he was right about to get back on the field
last season. He gets the appendicitis, has to have the appendectomy,
and then of course you just need the recovery time
because you can't send your body out there to get
you know, pounded by all the core muscle tacklers. Yeah, exactly.
(13:42):
So anyway, our fingers are crossed for Lloyd and uh
and hopefully at some point here he gets he gets through.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
All of them before we move on. He's just gonna
give a hat tip to Omar Brown. To Matt Lafleur
mentioned that that injury, the lung contusion, everything that happened
that actually happened earlier in the game. I stayed on
the field, I think it was was it through the
beginning of the third quarter, then finally had to pull
himself out.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, Lafleur said he played about twelve more minutes of
game action before he before he took himself out.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And that's toughness, dude.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Yeah, and you and you want to know just how
just how badly these guys want to perform and to
make the team when you're fighting for a roster spot
in this league. I mean that was exhibit A right there.
A couple other things to get to with regard to
Monday's practice after we got back to Green Bay, But
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Minards Welcome Back to Packers unscripted Wes. The Packers got
back on the practice field on Monday. It was a
(15:14):
practice that was closed to the public but open to
the media. We did find out about a few more injuries.
We don't necessarily know the severity on these, but Lucas
van Ness, Kenny Clark, and Aaron Banks were all resting
during Monday's practice because of back issues. Jacob Monk, the
young offensive lineman, second year player, he has a hamstring issue.
(15:35):
So we'll see what happens going through the rest of
this week with a full pads practice on Tuesday, and
then obviously the joint practice with the Seahawks coming up
on Thursday. But the bigger news from Monday's practice is
that quarterback Jordan Love was back at practice and Matt
Lafleur and the coaches they modified things to incorporate a
(15:58):
couple of seven on seven periods, which is not something
that Matt lafler likes. He doesn't like that drillly doesn't
feel it's realistic. But the seven on seven where essentially
it's just the quarterback with the receivers against the linebackers
and dbs, so there aren't any linemen out there. It
was really the only way for Jordan Love to sort
(16:18):
of make some live throwing reps, but without putting his
left hand in any kind of harm's way, so to speak.
There wasn't gonna be any chance that it would hit
on a helmet of alignment, or or there'd be any
contact with the left hand. And the way Love conducted
the practice with taking the ball off of a stool
for like a regular snap and just holding it in
(16:40):
his hand in his right hand for a shotgun snap,
it was all about basically him going through the practice
as though he didn't even have a left hand. I
believe he ended up with twelve reps twelve throws in
each of the seven on seven periods. So we'll see
what happens from here again the rest of this week
and then heading into next week as the Packers then
(17:02):
start ramping things up for the regular season. But it
was awfully good to see Jordan Love back on the practice.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, and for them to be able to find a
way to incorporate him. You have your franchise quarterback, one
of your superstars of your team. You don't want them
just standing on the sideline, you know, just waiting for
this ligament to heal back up. You want to try
to incorporate him if there's a way to incorporate him.
I felt like the seven on seven accomplished that. I
think one thing mattl Floor did too that was a
good adjustment was they prioritize the red zone at the
(17:29):
end of practice as well. That probably is where it
gets a little bit more realistic because now you're condensing
the secondary. Yes you're not throwing over offensive lineman, Yes
you don't have a rush in your face. But it
does make the quarterback make some of those decisions he's
going to have to make rather than just trying to
do a goal ball or something during the regular midfield practice.
So and in that period, I felt like Love made
(17:50):
one of the plays of the day. I mean, he
had showed remarkable touch on that corner route to Matthew Golden.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Yeah, kudos to Golden.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I mean this practice, man, it poured midway through practice.
Poor you know, Malik Willis and Taylor Eldrisma and also
Sean Clifford. They had to go through the eleven on
eleven when it was just a monsoon out there, and
while it lightened up it still was very wet.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I was talking. It was still a steady rain throughout
the whole.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I was talking to Evan Williams at the end of it,
who was one of the corners or one of the
safeties that was defending on the golden touchdown, and he
actually ended practice with an interception. He's like, yeah, I was,
you know, it was slipping through my gloves with how
much water there was. Fortune I was able to crowd
against my body and he made a nice play. But
they had to adjust to it, and they did so.
But for Love to be able to get out there
(18:35):
in any capacity, again, as you mentioned the shotgun snaps,
he's starting with the ball already in his throwing hand.
When they were working under center, he was, you know,
doing the stuff off the stool, and you know, the
packers made it work. This was the practice where they
kind of had to get some work in with Jordan
Love because we don't know one what it's going to
look like at Tuesday's practice, which is going to be
more of a traditional public practice, and then obviously Thursday,
(18:56):
you're not going to do those type of drills against
the Seahawks. So they got in the work that they
could with the practice that they were allotted.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
It was kind of funny. I thought it was interesting.
A couple of times watching Love you could tell he
had to he had to resist the habit that he
has of patting the ball with his left hand. He
had to keep his left hand away, you know, as
he's as he's making the reads and and you know,
adjusting his feet and whatnot. And it was like, it
was like, no, that left hand is not supposed to
touch anything.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Like it's only like twenty years of habits.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yeah, exactly, leave it, leave it alone. Old habits die hard.
But he but he did everything he could to uh,
to protect that that surgically repaired thumb. So one other
thing to touch on with regard to Monday's practices is
we saw Rashid Walker is ramping up here getting back
to you know what you would consider, I guess, full
(19:45):
go or full speed, full complement of reps and everything
we've been told. Now Rashid Walker and Jordan Morgan, this
is a this is a full fledged competition for the
starting left tackle spot on the offensive line. Now, in
Monday's practice, Walker was taking all the reps at left
tackle and Morgan was taking the reps with the number
one offensive line at left guard because Aaron Banks was
(20:08):
sitting out with the back issue. So but this left
tackle competition is going to go all the way to
the end, and for all we know, it may not
even be decided at the end, because maybe ultimately, if
everybody else is healthy, they'll choose to rotate the guys
for a while and then see during games who ends
up winning it. I'm not saying that's what's going to happen,
(20:29):
but based on recent history, it's certainly a possibility. Here.
The challengers Jordan Morgan, the incumbent is Rashid Walker, and
everything that we've seen and heard from these players, they're
both taking the right approach to it. They're teammates, nobody's
taking anything for granted, there isn't any ill will about it.
The coaches are just letting them go at it and
(20:49):
see who emerges as the best guy.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yeah, this is an incredible situation for the Packers to
be in. I mean, Rashid Walker can be starting for
so many teams at left tackle in this league with
what he's put on tape over the last two year.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
So even thirty five starts, including playoffs, that left tackle.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, just to be able to do that now and
be able to get this type of work in and
certainly hoping to put this groin injury behind him. I
find it a bit quizzical, to be honest with you,
And I understand why these narratives get driven, but it
was funny to me where everybody we're even sitting there
on Saturday trying to figure out, Okay, well, if Walker plays,
how are they going to divide up the snaps. Well,
then you go into Monday's practice and Aaron Banks isn't available.
(21:27):
So I think this again speaks to the type of
flexibility they're going to have to have, not only with
Morgan but also Sean Ryan potentially this season. Agay, that
can play the three interior spots. That's how this game
is played, and you never know who you're gonna have.
You never know when someone might be unavailable, and you
have to be able to adapt to it. That be
in a position where Walker is there and Morgan is
playing as well as he has so far, it puts
(21:49):
screen By in a good spot there With that number
six swing tackle or whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Yeah, I mean that, As I've said before, this number
six guy on the offensive line could go any number
of ways, could end up being Rashid Walker. And if
that's a if a guy who started thirty five games
that left tackle is your number six guy, that's not
a bad spot to be in. It could be Jordan Morgan.
And if your number six guy is a first round
draft pick, that's not a bad spot to be in.
Or it could be Sean Ryan, a guy who has
(22:15):
started a good, you know, full season's worth plus at
right guard, but has also shown that he can play
center and whatnot. If that's if that's your number six guy.
The way this shakes out, that's a pretty good spot
to be in as well. So we don't know exactly
how this is going to go, but I think the
Packers feel pretty good about it as long as they
can keep all their main guys healthy.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
You wrote a really nice story on Walker and kudos
you for that. But I got to give him credit
for the SoundBite of the locker room that Monday, and
also maybe if training camp when we were reflecting on
all the issues and how difficult the first half was
for young Anthony Belton, Walker said he was eating a clementine.
I think it was at halftime or it was on
the sideline or something like that.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
I think I think it was that halftime.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
And he's just, hey, what do you say to a
guy that just got five penalties? Eat it?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah? And he's getting kind of getting yelled at by everybody,
coaches and everybody else, and he says, yeah, I just
threw him a snack. I just said, hey, eat this clementine.
Take a deep breath, like it'll all be good. And
he's like, he ate the clementine and he had a
good second half.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
It doesn't do it justice. You gotta go to Packers
dot com or you gotta go on to Twitter. You
gotta see the video of it, because the way that
Rasid tells the story, it just brought a smile to
my face. It was It was a good, lighthearted moment
amidst the calamity of training camp.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Totally agree, Totally agree, and with that, we're gonna call
it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be
sure to continue to follow all of our coverage of
the team this final week of training camp here. We'll
have it all for you on Packers dot com. For Wes,
I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will
see you next time.
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