May 7, 2026 • 31 mins
Mike and Wes share their takeaways from the assistant coaches’ media sessions, starting with DL coach Vince Oghobaase (1:11), DB coaches Bobby Babich and Daniel Bullocks (3:47), LB coach Sam Siefkes (9:30) and WR coach Noah Pauley (13:36). They also discuss the thoughts from passing game coordinator Jason Vrable on WR Savion Williams (16:45), OL coach Luke Butkus on C/G Jacob Monk (16:45), and RB coach Ben Sirmans on RB MarShawn Lloyd (26:08).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hm hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted
from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spaffer, joined by
the one, the only Weston hod Koitz. We're coming to
you here from our new studio inside the walls of
lambeau Field.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
How long is it a new studio for? When do
we when do we pivot away from the new studio?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
That's that's yeah, maybe by training cap it'll be the it'll.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Be an old studio. And you need to start saying
that too, the old studio.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
No longer news. So the last couple of days, Wes,
we have heard from various assistant coaches on both sides
of the ball had their media sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Defensive assistance were on Tuesday, Offensive assistance on Wednesday. So
we'll start on the defensive side here and just your
(00:54):
I guess your impressions are anything, anything that stood out
to you? You know, one of those sort of off
season comments that you will that you will take with
you between now in training camp when things start to
get a little more real.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, like the way you structured that. The one thing
I will say, it's it's it's partially laiden in the
comment and it's also about the person. It was really
interesting listening to Vince Ogabazi for the first time because
it's it is always, It's happened a couple times in
the past. Luke Getzi's one of these guys too, right
where he was a quality control coach. You don't talk
to him, you don't interact with him in terms of
(01:28):
the podium stuff, and then he moves into a receiver's
coach job, and then suddenly a couple of years later,
here you are talking to him on a weekly basis.
Ogabazi came here with Jeff Hafley and he's I believe
the only guy that's still here from Jeff when he
came over from Boston College. But he was the assistant
defensive line coach, so we didn't talk to him the
last two years of the podium. This is the first
(01:48):
time this week where we got a chance to really
interact with them and understand, you know, sort of what
makes them tick because we've seen him on the field
as he even asked him. I mean, he's a very
expressive person. The play ends, he's running over to his
defensive lineman as soon as it's done. And today was
the day where this week was where we finally got
a chance to understand the person a little bit more.
And what an engaging guy. What an interesting interview to
(02:10):
kind of hear his perspective on things where he came from.
Obviously incredibly appreciative that, you know, Matt Lafleur and Jonathan
Gannon gave him this opportunity to get this promotion. He's
now fully in charge of that interior defensive line and
he's super excited about what potentially they have there at
that position. This is one of those spots, Mike. There
was only a couple moves made, but it really was
(02:31):
an invigoration of the position. I feel like, right, I mean,
you have Javon Hargrave comes in now thirty three years old,
he's been in the league for ten years, and now
you're gonna partner him up with Devonte Wyatt, who's been
the young up and comer guy that was probably on
the verge of maybe a Pro Bowl season last year
before his injury. Right, and then Chris McClellan joins that
group as well. So the philosophy there and he talked
(02:52):
about it. He's played in three fours, he's played in
four threes. He's not too concerned about that, but just
what the mentality of those defensive linemen is going to
be this season, I think thought was really one of
the biggest noteworthy things that came out of these availabilities.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Yeah, I And I asked coach Ogobasi, as you said,
about sort of his animation on the practice field, because
it's been really fun the last couple of training camps
when they get into the eleven on eleven and you know,
you hear, you know, some helmets cracking and stuff in
the trenches, and you'll hear just this exclamation from the
(03:25):
sideline from one of the coaches, and as you said,
come like running in to talk to his guys, and
it's v O. He's known as VO around here, Vince Ogbasi.
And so when I think of when I think of that,
that's going to be continuing on the sideline at training
camp this year. And then what I saw from the
(03:45):
podium as a certain level of intensity I guess from
Bobby Babbage and from Daniel Bullocks, the two essentially the
two secondary coaches that the Packers will have this year,
and those are the new additions to the group. I'm
getting the feeling that that we're gonna see, you know,
(04:06):
a certain level of intensity on the practice field at
training camp, or at least in terms of you know,
the the animation and the vocals and everything that goes
on from like play to play during the eleven on eleven.
I think we're gonna be hearing it this summer because
because it just seems like that's how this defensive coaching
staff is built.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, and it's funny too listening to Babbage and Bullocks
because they're they're different, like they're terms of like how
their personalities are. Where Bobby, I mean, there's definitely he
walks into the room, there's an aura involved there, right,
I mean we and we talked about it a couple
of years ago when he was in the process of
interviewing for the defensive coordinator job. He ended up staying
in Buffalo at the time with Sean McDermott, but now
he has the opportunity to come to Green Bay. He
(04:45):
said he's had some connections and interactions not only with
Jonathan Gannon having run in those circles, but then also
kind of being sort of an offshoot of that Kyle
Shanahan tree. He was on those fabled Mike Petton coaching
staffs in the early twenty tens. I mean these Cleveland Browns,
you know that were seven to nine and there was
I think the Johnny Menzel things sort of overcame everything.
(05:06):
And then you look at that coaching staff and what
it produced, the amount of head coaches, the amount of
offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators. It's quite the you know, extension
right in terms of how that the Shanahan's from Washington
sort of got to Cleveland and then now it's just
taken off. Yeah, and Babbie was a part of that.
Whereas with Bullocks, I mean, he's very interesting in that
(05:28):
this is a guy that was a second round pick
in the NFL in the late two thousands from Detroit,
had a slew of injuries and has worked his way up.
Also off the Shanahan coaching tree, Kyle over in San Francisco,
So there is a certain I thought it. One of
the interesting things about the conversation where it went with
both of them was the idea of takeaways. And obviously
(05:49):
last year Green Bay just really struggled to get the interceptions.
I mean, if I remember correctly, I think Xavier McKinney
had more picks in twenty twenty four than the Packers
had defensively last year, I think, to seven. So figuring
out exactly what that formula is. I mean, you obviously
don't want to chase it, but at the same time
being able to pull those opportunities down when you get them.
(06:10):
And as Bavich even talked about, it is about taking
the ball away. That is the goal of that secondary
And certainly you look at his track record with Micah Hyde,
with Jordan Poyer, all those guys in Buffalo for those years.
I mean, they were prolific at finding ways to make
explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball, and that's
what he hopes to bring now a Green Bay. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
I thought it was an interesting comment too from coach Bullocks,
and because he was talking about the takeaways, as you said,
and he made the comment and I don't have the
exact wording in front of me, but it was something
along the lines of the hardest thing for the defender
is essentially to finish the takeaway. It's the challenge at
the catch point. Yes, right, And that's exactly what we
(06:50):
saw was the issue with the Packers last year because
the opportunities were there. The Packers had numerous opportunities for
takeaways and they just woren't able to secure the interceptions
which they did secure the previous year as McKinney and
others racked up a you know, an impressive total for
the defense as a whole, and that just didn't happen
(07:12):
last year. And it wasn't just one guy. I mean
McKinney missed his, you know, Carrington Valentine missed his, Keshawn
Nixon missed his. I mean, all those guys went into
the offseason, I'm sure you know, looking at when they
went back through the going back through the clips and
everything from last year, they were reminded, Oh yeah, they
look at those opportunities, look at those chances that we had.
(07:32):
I just thought it was interesting that Bullooks had said,
you know, it's as though everything you have to do
defensively to put yourself in the right position to make
the play, and you have to time your brake on
the ball or whether it's the leaving your feet to
jump in whatever, but the hardest thing is to finish
it is to catch the ball. It's like your your
concentration on your focus level has to get even higher
(07:56):
when the ball arrives than everything that it takes to
just be in that position in the first place. So
I thought that I thought that was just a very
poignant comment relative to how things went for the Packers
last year when Bullocks wasn't even here.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Yeah, and I'm reminded too of that play where you know,
Isaiah McDuffie ends up colliding with Javon Bullard right where bullet.
If you look at his season last year, what is
separating Javon Bullard from a Pro Bowl? It's just the picks.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, it's just the stats. That's it.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
If you watched him week in and week out, you
don't just look at a stat sheet or a box score.
You saw how impactful he was for this defense, how
good he slid into the slot and made that his home.
It was just a matter of just trying to get
those takeaways and when he had the opportunity for it. Unfortunately,
it's kind of like two fielders coming in colliding with
each other, you know, underneath the fly ball. Yeah, when
him and McDuffie kind of ran into each other. But
(08:44):
unfortunately that's sort of underscored. I think some of the
issues for the Packers defensively last year they were better,
I feel like than the twenty twenty four unit in
terms of playing to their identity and what they wanted
to do, but they weren't able to cash in as
much as they did in that debut season with Jeff Hafley.
So that is going to be the challenge for them
now moving forward. And I think the really exciting aspect
of it is too, is that you bring back virtually
(09:06):
everybody in the secondary, whether it was the corners or
the safeties, and you got to imagine a guy like
Zavier McKinney, who still did get a second team All
Pro nod, but someone that's talked about wanting to establish
himself as a Pro Football Hall of Famer and have
that type of career. That is his goal, his long
term aspiration. That he's going to be energized now to
show out now that they got this scheme going.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, And one last thought on the defensive side before
we switch to the offensive coaches. The new linebackers coach here,
Sam sifkis interesting story because a Wisconsin native, he's from Economawalk,
went to college at uw Lacrosse and now here he
is coaching with the Green Bay Packers. Now he's been
other places and you know, certainly has an impressive coaching resume.
(09:54):
I need to get a chance to talk to him, however,
about I was waiting for this, Yes, his thoughts about
a about my hometown of Platteville, because for a few
years earlier in his coaching career, he was the defensive
coordinator for the UW Platteville Pioneers the Ralph E. Davis
Pioneer Stadium, which my parents' house is in the shadow of,
almost the shadow of the just Dock Stadium there. So
(10:18):
I need to talk to I need to talk to
coach Sikis about his memories of Platville and what stood
out to him. But you talk about you talk about
a guy living out a dream, right, I mean, you
go into coaching, you're from Wisconsin and still fairly young,
fairly early in his coaching career. When you look at
(10:41):
the big picture, here he is as the linebacker's coach
of the Greenmaer.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
I'm trying to think I'm gonna look this up. Remember
we had the whole conversation years ago, all now like
thirteen years ago, about how Randall Cobb was the first
player that was drafted from the nineteen nineties birth year. Yeah,
I'm wondering if Cekus is no actually Sean Manyon probably
I was gonna say, is he the first position coach
for the Packers that was born in the nineties. Man,
it might have been, though, because I think Manion was
(11:05):
only thirty two. Okay, so, but because we're seeing it
now now, obviously they got some quality control guys, some
dudes in their twenties be in terms of actually having
a position. Yeah, this guy has climbed very quickly. I
honestly was waiting at the press conference for you to
bring up Platfelm. I know, I was stunned that that
did not come out. Their word plattevill had not been
uttered at least fifteen times during that press conference. But
listen to this, though, Mike, I think this is such
(11:27):
an intriguing and actually another conversation probably is, Hey, are
you how familiar are you with Brian Gudikun's story, because honestly,
him and Sefhkiss their stories almost are parallel to each other,
right where they.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
One went into coaching, one win into scouting. But yeah,
very similar.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
They both played at lacrosse and their careers both ended
due to injury, and they both ended up as student
assistance at Lacrosse, and then that was sort of their
gateway into getting into this thing. But the thing here
with sef Kiss, it was lacrosse, and then he got
a really quick internship down at FIU Florida International. The
conversation came up about how he kind of got in
with Wisconjohnson and being able to help out there with
(12:02):
Dave Randa for a year, and then it was do
it You talk about a guy that just completely crawled
his way up, just tooth and nail, just one step
after another. The two years at plattfor at Platteville, goes
to Wafford for three years, and then he gets the
defensive quality control job with Minnesota and that was sort
of his entry way two things. He ends up latching
on with Jonathan Gannon and Arizona has the time there
(12:22):
with him. Goes to Virginia Tech as a defensive coordinator.
Now here he is in Green Bay back with Gannon.
So certainly you don't go that far, you don't climb
that quickly if you don't have the aptitude for it,
if you don't have the skills for it, and like
he talked about, and we'll talk about this with the
offensive coaches too, but how many of these young guys
have come up and yeah, they're football players, they obviously
(12:42):
have aspirations, but they also are teachers, right, And he
mentioned that too, that he was kind of going down
the teaching route and regardless of what the subject matter is,
he likes working with kids, he likes working with players,
and that's what allowed him to kind of stick, you know,
go down this path. But thirty four years old now
taking over the line back room. I think he's what
four years older than Xavier zier Franklin.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yeah, so that's right.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now he's gonna be coaching that position.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, there you go. Well it's been it's been fun
to get to know at least get that introduction to
some of the new coaches. And I do want to
switch over to the offensive side of the ball. But
very quickly, let's hear a word from our sponsor. Serious XM.
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(13:28):
to seven, three sixty five. Welcome back to Packers unscripted.
All right, Wes offensive assistant coaches that we heard from
on Wednesday. I'm gonna let you start with this one
because I know it's someone that you've developed a connection
with over the years, going back to when Christian Watson
was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second
round a handful of years ago. And that is the
(13:49):
new receivers coach Noah Pauley, who also was Watson's receivers
coach at for the entirety of his career at North
Dakota State.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yeah, almost all of that, other than I think maybe
as freshman year and he got recruited there. But poly,
I mean, this guy has had an unbelievable rise. He
kind of like Sef Kiss as well. But I mean
he's been with you know, Matt Campbell at Iowa State.
He was going to go to Penn State with him. Yea,
now that he got that job. He mentioned he had
that seven weeks there, had been living in an airbnb
with the other coaches. He's getting ready to move his
(14:18):
family out there, and then this opportunity comes along and
obviously he had to jump at it. Duluth Minnesota was
a really good player there too. Smaller, dude, you know,
he's on my eye level, so it's always gives you
an idea of kind of the type of player you're
looking at here. But the thing that's really neat about
him that I enjoyed is when you go back and
(14:38):
you know, we've all done these stories when you talk
to college coaches or just people that know these prospects
when they get drafted, when you hear them talk about
a particular player and then you get to know the player, right.
It was something I always go back to in twenty
twenty when I did my profile on Jordan Love and
you know, talking to the people around him and his
cool demeanor and just the way he led and all that,
(15:00):
and then here we are six years later. No, those
are all the staples now with number ten on the field.
Christian Watson was the same way. This is a guy
that was extremely lightly recruited despite being in Tampa. He
ends up in North Dakota State, Polly and that staff
come on and he ends up becoming a legitimate NFL prospect,
And you know, mentioning Polly had talked about the relationship
(15:20):
that they had built together and just coincidentally, that same
year that Watson got drafted in the second round by
Green Bay. Polly ended up coming up here for the
Bill Walsh internship that summer during the off season pro Right,
so he got a chance to be around Jason Vrabel.
He explained some of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon
as far as what their connection is, and then being
able to get around Matt Lafleur four years past. He
(15:41):
works himself up the coaching ladder and then here he
is now with this with this chance and in kind
of like I said with Sefkiss, I mean this guy
again who you know he talked about his dad, you know,
working in criminal justice in that sort of thing. I mean,
he was a guy that just wanted to help people,
it didn't matter if it was a kid. He even
mentioned one of the years that he was out of
football and coach, he was putting together a k through
(16:01):
a curriculum you know, and a sports plan you know
for a school. These are the type of paths that
these guys sometimes travel. And for Polly to come in
now and inherit that room, I think it's really important
because yeah, Jason Brabel is obviously we always he'll go
to the podium, We ask him tons of questions about
the receivers. But Polly's the one that's going to be
(16:21):
in there in the weeds with them, and to have
that relationship with Christian Watson and how far they go
back and using those in roads now to understand and
learn about the rest of the guys in that room.
There's probably no position, I don't think Mike with a
higher ceiling going into twenty twenty six in the Green
Bait Packers' receivers room, and Matt Leflour has entrusted Polly
to be the one that helps them get there.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yeah, and that brings me to another comment. There are
a couple of comments that stood out to me from
the Packers coaches and for the most part, other than
Polly on the offensive side, these are all guys that
we know that you know, they've been been around here.
But when you talk about the receivers, we heard from
Jason who had been the receivers coach and he's the
(17:03):
passing game coordinator. He's been with Matt Lafleur now for
a long time.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
One of the originals.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
And yeah, and we're gonna spend certainly plenty of time
talking about Christian Watson. Jaden Reid Matthew Golden looks like
very clearly the Packers top three at wide receiver you're
heading into twenty twenty six. But what I heard from
Vrabel was sort of a very subtle message of don't
sleep on Saveon Williams. Right. Did you hear it too?
(17:32):
I mean he he talked about Savion coming back, you know,
dealing with the foot injury his rookie year. It kept
him out of practice, you know, so he was just
you know, basically practicing when he could, but on a
limited basis. And and you know, he was out there
doing some of the return game during the season. The
Packers were trying to work him in offensively and then
(17:54):
and then at at some point it got to where
they just had to shut him down and and and
that was it. But when you hear Jason Vrabel talk
about the size and the power in the body of
Savion Williams and what they feel he can potentially do
with the ball in his hands, this is a guy
(18:14):
I think, even though he will probably be listed on
you know, everybody's depth chart as wide receiver four, Yeah,
I think this is a guy who's who's going to
have a role in some way, shape or form on
this Packers offense and potentially on special teams as well.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Great point you raise, Mike, And for me, the moment
that he was talking about it, I was almost reminded
the old Buzz Williams Marquette paint touches, where every possession
he wants that ball in the paint at some point,
right because of what it does to collapse a defense.
That's kind of what I'm thinking now with Savian Williams
me personally, I even wrote this in inbox. I really
want to see him run more routes this year because
he's a really good contested catcher. Like that's why. It's
(18:52):
not like this guy's just oh, he has some blazing speed.
He gets open you throwing the ball. No, we saw
several times last year when he needed to make a
catch at the high point he needed to beat a
cornerback and be physical. He can use that body to
do that. But it really comes down to I think
he just needs to touch the ball five six times
a game and just see what happens with it. I
think they got to be somewhat pragmatic about how often
(19:12):
they use him as a as a ball carrier, just
based on the attrition and what happened with his body
last year. But listen, so many people focused on, Okay,
well they're extending Jaden reed. They got to give Matthew
Golden more opportunities. That's why Dontavian Wicks was traded. That's
why Romeo Dobbs you know, was like, you know, allowed
to leave in free agency, and so much that focused
(19:34):
on those big three and how it affects them. I
think the other thing is too, is you wanted to
see Savian Williams as a third round pick last year,
rise up the depth chart, and then you obviously got
to build out options too, right, whether it's Bo you know,
whether it's some of these other guys that are available.
They brought back a ton of dudes from the practice
squad two last year. But the fact is is that
Williams has such a unique skill set that I just
(19:55):
think the packers got to find a way to integrate
it in this offense, assuming can keep him healthy. And
I think that was a lot of this stuff that
vverybel was talking about. It's all right there for them,
They just need to get number eighty three out there.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah, it's definitely something that that sort of peaked my
curiosity in hearing him talk about Savion in that way,
So something to file away kind of in the in
the back of our minds as the summer and early
fall roll around here. Eventually. The other comment that stood
out to me was the second time, it's really the
(20:28):
second time this offseason, once from Brian Gutakunst and now
from Luke Butkus that we've heard that the film of
the Week eighteen game at Minnesota was really really impressive
in terms of what Jacob Monk did at center on
the offensive line. He essentially played the entire game. And
(20:51):
when you're looking at okay, yeah, the Packers obviously they
signed Sean Ryan to a three year contract to be
the center after he played you know, roughly the second
half of the season last year at that position, and
they really liked what they saw. When you're talking about
the depth and how you know, how this is going
to shake out, the Packers feel like they Jacob Munk
(21:12):
gave them a really big vote of confidence, or I
should say he earned their vote of confidence in terms
of what he can be at any of those interior spots.
I think in terms of center or either guard they
drafted jagg Or Burton, who is the same type of
player in that regard, and as we talked about after
(21:33):
the draft, it kind of shifts the idea of the
backup tackles being you know, Travis Glover, Darien Canard, you know,
guys like that. So just the fact that that it
was the second time this offseason that we've that we've
heard some very very positive comments about that Week eight,
which was otherwise a forgettable offensive performance because of the
(21:53):
struggles at quarterback. But what Jacob Monk did and what
he put on film was really something that caught the
Packer's eye.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
I'm going to put you on the spot here because
you and I did not talk about this in our
pre production meeting and staph dining.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
But what was show truly as unscripted folks, Can.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
You tell me the two things that were different about
that game with Minnesota with Jacob Munk than anything else
we'd seen the rest of this season. And if you're stumped,
I'll be able to hit you with him right away,
if you want to go ahead. He's playing his natural
position and he was healthy, now you know, and I'm
with you, like the Packers have cross trained him, they
worked him at guard. But yeah, let's be honest, when
they moved up to get him two years ago, they
(22:29):
moved assets to go get him in the fifth round. Yeah,
fifth twenty twenty four. He was They were working him
at different spots, but they and he played different spots.
But where did he ultimately settle in a duke? What
was he known for a duke? He was known for
what he did at center. That is his home base,
and he was able to go out there despite everything
that was going against Green Bay that day. He was
able to play his natural position and the hamstring injury
(22:50):
was behind him that landed him on injurieserve for half
the season.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah, that's and that's why we didn't see him during
the preseason last year, and there wasn't any talk about
him and whatnot because he was dealing with the injury
and just trying to get back on the practice field
and so he wasn't part of the depth mix last year.
But then lo and behold, he got himself healthy by
the end of the season. He got the opportunity against
Minnesota and showed out pretty well.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And that's why I'm really excited about this bunch in general. Now,
I think there are some I don't want to call
him limitations, but there are huge question marks right now
at the tackle position because they were last year you
had Rashid Walker and you had Jordan Morgan. You had
two guys that you were pretty confident, both major in
left tackle. That isn't really there right now. Morgan is
(23:33):
going to be the incumbent there, but his potential backups
may be starting at other positions, whether it's Anthony Belton,
whether it is act tom Over at right tackle. But
what's still intriguing about, even though you don't have necessarily
a LT two right now, is how many of these
guys depth wise green Bay has assembled. Whether it is Monk,
(23:53):
whether it is Burton coming into this room right now,
Donovan Jennings returning right, The list goes on and on.
They re upped Darien Kinard after they traded for him
last year from Philadelphia. There are so many guys, and
not every thing on the board is gonna hit right.
You're not gonna hit every number, but the hope would
(24:13):
be by green Bay putting this many chips out on
the table, you're gonna find a guy there that could
be the dude that's gonna be the next to step
up and then maybe if they need to be the
guy that could start this season if injuries happen. You're
hoping that you can find two or three of those
guys that are going to differentiate, They're gonna separate themselves
from the pack and for Monk to be able to
put the setbacks behind him, and there's been plenty of
(24:36):
them the last two seasons and finish out the season
the way that he did. I think that was one
of the one few silver linings from that game with Minnesota,
because what were the Packers looking for into that game.
They wanted to see them come out of that healthy
going into the wild card weekend, and they want to
see who's gonna step up and if you're doing the
(24:58):
three stars of the game that day, For disappointing as
the outcome was against Minnesota, Jacob Mounk definitely gets one
of those.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Yeah, we hear all the time. We hear from the coaches.
We hear from Matt Lafleur, from Brian Guda Kunst, who
is going to make the most of his opportunity, who
is going to seize the day, you know, take advantage
of that chance when it's handed to him and Jacob
Monk did that in Week eighteen.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
You know who else did that back in the day,
Lane Taylor, Right, Lucas Patrick, TJ. Lang. These are the
when you're gonna be on the bench for a few years. TJ.
Lank could go in here and do a seminar every
year with the Packers offensive line. Talk about the fact
that it took two and a half years for him
to find that starting spot, whether the opportunity or just
himself getting him you know, being professional, getting himself I
(25:40):
maturing as a player into that spot. But it's not
always going to happen overnight. Everybody wants to be David Bakhtiari, right,
the Cinderella story, fourth round pick that comes in and
suddenly you're the starting left tackle the Green Bay Packers.
It's not always going to be that path, And I
think that's an important lesson for all these guys to learn. Certainly,
Sean embodies that too. A guy that barely played his
rookie year, had to rotate for two years, better part
(26:01):
of three years before getting a shot, and now he
is the incumbent at center.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah, any other before we go, any other thoughts from
the offensive assistance that stood out to you.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
I got to talk about Marshawn Lloyd. And I know
it's a little bit of this Voltemore thing. You don't
want to jinx anything with him. But here's the deal,
and I use it as my insider inbox headline the
day that this is airing on Thursday. This guy has
done every single thing right that he can possibly do right.
(26:31):
He has listened to every single thing the training staff
has told him. He's seen the experts in Madison, He's
seen the experts now on the West Coast. He has
his own separate workout process now for these practices, this
warm up for getting ready for practices and knock on
what he's been healthy so far. This is a massive
year for him, obviously trying to get his career jump started.
(26:52):
But Michael, the runway is clear with respect to Chris Brooks,
because Chris is a very good asset. The Packers signed
him to a two year deal for a reason. He's accountable.
He's obviously really good in pass pro. He can catch
the ball out of the backfield and he can run
with the football too. But they drafted Marshawn Lloyd in
the third round for a reason. There is a reason
(27:13):
Daniel Jeremiah said that this is the best running back
in this draft class. He has things that you cannot coach,
and the Packers have been just trying with all their
might to get him out on the field. You're crossing
your fingers, you're dotting your eyes everything to get him
out there. But Ben Sermons a guy that has talked
about just the challenges that marshaw On has faced, mentioning
(27:36):
just how good he's looked here early on. That's the
best you can do right now. That's all you can
hope for. We're gonna get some OTA practices, We're gonna
get some mini camp practices. He's gonna have a small
break and then it's gonna be go time during training camp.
But for him to be in this position, you hope
that his headspace is clear, he's confident and can finally
(27:57):
start to be the player everybody wants him to, because, honestly,
the Packers him. He is a change of pace for
that background that nobody else is right now. And they
didn't draft a running back. They haven't really. They signed
Nixon as an undrafted free agent, but there's no veteran
that just got brought in through unrestricted free agency Marshawn
Lloyd Brooks. Those are the guys, yeah, and the Packers
need them to be the guys. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
And I and I would just say and you and
I sort of answer this and insider inbox a lot
other chats that I've done, whatnot. I understand the frustration
from the fans of Packers spent a third round pick
on this guy. He hasn't been able to stay healthy.
And you know, here we are, he's going into year
three now and we've hardly seen him on the field
(28:38):
at all. Right, And and I get it, I get
the I get the fans. You know, the patient's wearing
thin and all that kind of stuff. Just take a
deep breath and realize that however frustrated you are as
a fan with this situation with a very very promising player,
just imagine how frustrated he is right and what he
is working on, what he is putting himself through to
(29:02):
try to get to the point that he can deliver
on what everybody believes he can deliver for this team.
So just always remember there's a you know, there's a
human behind that face mask, and you know you and
I have talked to him you've talked to more than
I have. This is a this is a young man.
(29:23):
As you said right at the beginning, he does everything right.
There is ample reason to root for him and hope
that this is the year that he begins, and hopefully
it's just the beginning that he begins to fulfill his
NFL potential.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Yeah, without a doubt. And obviously his mom raised him right.
And the fact is too, Mike. I'm not gonna name names,
but you and I have been in these locker rooms.
Guys can get really punchy about injuries. And it doesn't
have to be even a string of injuries like Marshall,
as it could be one thing that keeps you out
for a few weeks. Right, I'll name one name. I
love the guy, but like Jordan Nelson, did not like
talking about his injuries, Right, Marshawn has been asked about it,
(30:02):
maybe more than any player that I can ever think
of here because of the what he plays for a
position where he was drafted. The light is shining really
brightly on him, and every single time he does it
with a smile, he does it with professionalism. He doesn't
get testy, he doesn't get curt about it. He understands
(30:25):
where the media is coming from. And I think honestly
the people that have covered him understand where he's coming from,
because how many times have we seen him people make,
you know, their little comments about all he's you know,
he's with the trains up. That dude is putting everything
he has into making sure that he can be the
player that the Packers want him to be. And I'm
excited to see what happens. And obviously there's a lot
of question marks. You have to do it on the
(30:46):
grass at the end of the day, you have to
be available there in week one. But you know, Marshawn
Lloyd is here for a reason and hopefully he gets
a chance to show everybody why absolutely.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
With that, we'll call it a rap on this edition
of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
coverage of the team on Packers dot com for Wes.
I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in, everybody, and
we will see you next time.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
M
Hm hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted
from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spaffer, joined by
the one, the only Weston hod Koitz. We're coming to
you here from our new studio inside the walls of
lambeau Field.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
How long is it a new studio for? When do
we when do we pivot away from the new studio?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
That's that's yeah, maybe by training cap it'll be the it'll.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Be an old studio. And you need to start saying
that too, the old studio.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
No longer news. So the last couple of days, Wes,
we have heard from various assistant coaches on both sides
of the ball had their media sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Defensive assistance were on Tuesday, Offensive assistance on Wednesday. So
we'll start on the defensive side here and just your
(00:54):
I guess your impressions are anything, anything that stood out
to you? You know, one of those sort of off
season comments that you will that you will take with
you between now in training camp when things start to
get a little more real.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, like the way you structured that. The one thing
I will say, it's it's it's partially laiden in the
comment and it's also about the person. It was really
interesting listening to Vince Ogabazi for the first time because
it's it is always, It's happened a couple times in
the past. Luke Getzi's one of these guys too, right
where he was a quality control coach. You don't talk
to him, you don't interact with him in terms of
(01:28):
the podium stuff, and then he moves into a receiver's
coach job, and then suddenly a couple of years later,
here you are talking to him on a weekly basis.
Ogabazi came here with Jeff Hafley and he's I believe
the only guy that's still here from Jeff when he
came over from Boston College. But he was the assistant
defensive line coach, so we didn't talk to him the
last two years of the podium. This is the first
(01:48):
time this week where we got a chance to really
interact with them and understand, you know, sort of what
makes them tick because we've seen him on the field
as he even asked him. I mean, he's a very
expressive person. The play ends, he's running over to his
defensive lineman as soon as it's done. And today was
the day where this week was where we finally got
a chance to understand the person a little bit more.
And what an engaging guy. What an interesting interview to
(02:10):
kind of hear his perspective on things where he came from.
Obviously incredibly appreciative that, you know, Matt Lafleur and Jonathan
Gannon gave him this opportunity to get this promotion. He's
now fully in charge of that interior defensive line and
he's super excited about what potentially they have there at
that position. This is one of those spots, Mike. There
was only a couple moves made, but it really was
(02:31):
an invigoration of the position. I feel like, right, I mean,
you have Javon Hargrave comes in now thirty three years old,
he's been in the league for ten years, and now
you're gonna partner him up with Devonte Wyatt, who's been
the young up and comer guy that was probably on
the verge of maybe a Pro Bowl season last year
before his injury. Right, and then Chris McClellan joins that
group as well. So the philosophy there and he talked
(02:52):
about it. He's played in three fours, he's played in
four threes. He's not too concerned about that, but just
what the mentality of those defensive linemen is going to
be this season, I think thought was really one of
the biggest noteworthy things that came out of these availabilities.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Yeah, I And I asked coach Ogobasi, as you said,
about sort of his animation on the practice field, because
it's been really fun the last couple of training camps
when they get into the eleven on eleven and you know,
you hear, you know, some helmets cracking and stuff in
the trenches, and you'll hear just this exclamation from the
(03:25):
sideline from one of the coaches, and as you said,
come like running in to talk to his guys, and
it's v O. He's known as VO around here, Vince Ogbasi.
And so when I think of when I think of that,
that's going to be continuing on the sideline at training
camp this year. And then what I saw from the
(03:45):
podium as a certain level of intensity I guess from
Bobby Babbage and from Daniel Bullocks, the two essentially the
two secondary coaches that the Packers will have this year,
and those are the new additions to the group. I'm
getting the feeling that that we're gonna see, you know,
(04:06):
a certain level of intensity on the practice field at
training camp, or at least in terms of you know,
the the animation and the vocals and everything that goes
on from like play to play during the eleven on eleven.
I think we're gonna be hearing it this summer because
because it just seems like that's how this defensive coaching
staff is built.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, and it's funny too listening to Babbage and Bullocks
because they're they're different, like they're terms of like how
their personalities are. Where Bobby, I mean, there's definitely he
walks into the room, there's an aura involved there, right,
I mean we and we talked about it a couple
of years ago when he was in the process of
interviewing for the defensive coordinator job. He ended up staying
in Buffalo at the time with Sean McDermott, but now
he has the opportunity to come to Green Bay. He
(04:45):
said he's had some connections and interactions not only with
Jonathan Gannon having run in those circles, but then also
kind of being sort of an offshoot of that Kyle
Shanahan tree. He was on those fabled Mike Petton coaching
staffs in the early twenty tens. I mean these Cleveland Browns,
you know that were seven to nine and there was
I think the Johnny Menzel things sort of overcame everything.
(05:06):
And then you look at that coaching staff and what
it produced, the amount of head coaches, the amount of
offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators. It's quite the you know, extension
right in terms of how that the Shanahan's from Washington
sort of got to Cleveland and then now it's just
taken off. Yeah, and Babbie was a part of that.
Whereas with Bullocks, I mean, he's very interesting in that
(05:28):
this is a guy that was a second round pick
in the NFL in the late two thousands from Detroit,
had a slew of injuries and has worked his way up.
Also off the Shanahan coaching tree, Kyle over in San Francisco,
So there is a certain I thought it. One of
the interesting things about the conversation where it went with
both of them was the idea of takeaways. And obviously
(05:49):
last year Green Bay just really struggled to get the interceptions.
I mean, if I remember correctly, I think Xavier McKinney
had more picks in twenty twenty four than the Packers
had defensively last year, I think, to seven. So figuring
out exactly what that formula is. I mean, you obviously
don't want to chase it, but at the same time
being able to pull those opportunities down when you get them.
(06:10):
And as Bavich even talked about, it is about taking
the ball away. That is the goal of that secondary
And certainly you look at his track record with Micah Hyde,
with Jordan Poyer, all those guys in Buffalo for those years.
I mean, they were prolific at finding ways to make
explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball, and that's
what he hopes to bring now a Green Bay. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
I thought it was an interesting comment too from coach Bullocks,
and because he was talking about the takeaways, as you said,
and he made the comment and I don't have the
exact wording in front of me, but it was something
along the lines of the hardest thing for the defender
is essentially to finish the takeaway. It's the challenge at
the catch point. Yes, right, And that's exactly what we
(06:50):
saw was the issue with the Packers last year because
the opportunities were there. The Packers had numerous opportunities for
takeaways and they just woren't able to secure the interceptions
which they did secure the previous year as McKinney and
others racked up a you know, an impressive total for
the defense as a whole, and that just didn't happen
(07:12):
last year. And it wasn't just one guy. I mean
McKinney missed his, you know, Carrington Valentine missed his, Keshawn
Nixon missed his. I mean, all those guys went into
the offseason, I'm sure you know, looking at when they
went back through the going back through the clips and
everything from last year, they were reminded, Oh yeah, they
look at those opportunities, look at those chances that we had.
(07:32):
I just thought it was interesting that Bullooks had said,
you know, it's as though everything you have to do
defensively to put yourself in the right position to make
the play, and you have to time your brake on
the ball or whether it's the leaving your feet to
jump in whatever, but the hardest thing is to finish
it is to catch the ball. It's like your your
concentration on your focus level has to get even higher
(07:56):
when the ball arrives than everything that it takes to
just be in that position in the first place. So
I thought that I thought that was just a very
poignant comment relative to how things went for the Packers
last year when Bullocks wasn't even here.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Yeah, and I'm reminded too of that play where you know,
Isaiah McDuffie ends up colliding with Javon Bullard right where bullet.
If you look at his season last year, what is
separating Javon Bullard from a Pro Bowl? It's just the picks.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, it's just the stats. That's it.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
If you watched him week in and week out, you
don't just look at a stat sheet or a box score.
You saw how impactful he was for this defense, how
good he slid into the slot and made that his home.
It was just a matter of just trying to get
those takeaways and when he had the opportunity for it. Unfortunately,
it's kind of like two fielders coming in colliding with
each other, you know, underneath the fly ball. Yeah, when
him and McDuffie kind of ran into each other. But
(08:44):
unfortunately that's sort of underscored. I think some of the
issues for the Packers defensively last year they were better,
I feel like than the twenty twenty four unit in
terms of playing to their identity and what they wanted
to do, but they weren't able to cash in as
much as they did in that debut season with Jeff Hafley.
So that is going to be the challenge for them
now moving forward. And I think the really exciting aspect
of it is too, is that you bring back virtually
(09:06):
everybody in the secondary, whether it was the corners or
the safeties, and you got to imagine a guy like
Zavier McKinney, who still did get a second team All
Pro nod, but someone that's talked about wanting to establish
himself as a Pro Football Hall of Famer and have
that type of career. That is his goal, his long
term aspiration. That he's going to be energized now to
show out now that they got this scheme going.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, And one last thought on the defensive side before
we switch to the offensive coaches. The new linebackers coach here,
Sam sifkis interesting story because a Wisconsin native, he's from Economawalk,
went to college at uw Lacrosse and now here he
is coaching with the Green Bay Packers. Now he's been
other places and you know, certainly has an impressive coaching resume.
(09:54):
I need to get a chance to talk to him, however,
about I was waiting for this, Yes, his thoughts about
a about my hometown of Platteville, because for a few
years earlier in his coaching career, he was the defensive
coordinator for the UW Platteville Pioneers the Ralph E. Davis
Pioneer Stadium, which my parents' house is in the shadow of,
almost the shadow of the just Dock Stadium there. So
(10:18):
I need to talk to I need to talk to
coach Sikis about his memories of Platville and what stood
out to him. But you talk about you talk about
a guy living out a dream, right, I mean, you
go into coaching, you're from Wisconsin and still fairly young,
fairly early in his coaching career. When you look at
(10:41):
the big picture, here he is as the linebacker's coach
of the Greenmaer.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
I'm trying to think I'm gonna look this up. Remember
we had the whole conversation years ago, all now like
thirteen years ago, about how Randall Cobb was the first
player that was drafted from the nineteen nineties birth year. Yeah,
I'm wondering if Cekus is no actually Sean Manyon probably
I was gonna say, is he the first position coach
for the Packers that was born in the nineties. Man,
it might have been, though, because I think Manion was
(11:05):
only thirty two. Okay, so, but because we're seeing it
now now, obviously they got some quality control guys, some
dudes in their twenties be in terms of actually having
a position. Yeah, this guy has climbed very quickly. I
honestly was waiting at the press conference for you to
bring up Platfelm. I know, I was stunned that that
did not come out. Their word plattevill had not been
uttered at least fifteen times during that press conference. But
listen to this, though, Mike, I think this is such
(11:27):
an intriguing and actually another conversation probably is, Hey, are
you how familiar are you with Brian Gudikun's story, because honestly,
him and Sefhkiss their stories almost are parallel to each other,
right where they.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
One went into coaching, one win into scouting. But yeah,
very similar.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
They both played at lacrosse and their careers both ended
due to injury, and they both ended up as student
assistance at Lacrosse, and then that was sort of their
gateway into getting into this thing. But the thing here
with sef Kiss, it was lacrosse, and then he got
a really quick internship down at FIU Florida International. The
conversation came up about how he kind of got in
with Wisconjohnson and being able to help out there with
(12:02):
Dave Randa for a year, and then it was do
it You talk about a guy that just completely crawled
his way up, just tooth and nail, just one step
after another. The two years at plattfor at Platteville, goes
to Wafford for three years, and then he gets the
defensive quality control job with Minnesota and that was sort
of his entry way two things. He ends up latching
on with Jonathan Gannon and Arizona has the time there
(12:22):
with him. Goes to Virginia Tech as a defensive coordinator.
Now here he is in Green Bay back with Gannon.
So certainly you don't go that far, you don't climb
that quickly if you don't have the aptitude for it,
if you don't have the skills for it, and like
he talked about, and we'll talk about this with the
offensive coaches too, but how many of these young guys
have come up and yeah, they're football players, they obviously
(12:42):
have aspirations, but they also are teachers, right, And he
mentioned that too, that he was kind of going down
the teaching route and regardless of what the subject matter is,
he likes working with kids, he likes working with players,
and that's what allowed him to kind of stick, you know,
go down this path. But thirty four years old now
taking over the line back room. I think he's what
four years older than Xavier zier Franklin.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yeah, so that's right.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now he's gonna be coaching that position.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, there you go. Well it's been it's been fun
to get to know at least get that introduction to
some of the new coaches. And I do want to
switch over to the offensive side of the ball. But
very quickly, let's hear a word from our sponsor. Serious XM.
NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the
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(13:28):
to seven, three sixty five. Welcome back to Packers unscripted.
All right, Wes offensive assistant coaches that we heard from
on Wednesday. I'm gonna let you start with this one
because I know it's someone that you've developed a connection
with over the years, going back to when Christian Watson
was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second
round a handful of years ago. And that is the
(13:49):
new receivers coach Noah Pauley, who also was Watson's receivers
coach at for the entirety of his career at North
Dakota State.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yeah, almost all of that, other than I think maybe
as freshman year and he got recruited there. But poly,
I mean, this guy has had an unbelievable rise. He
kind of like Sef Kiss as well. But I mean
he's been with you know, Matt Campbell at Iowa State.
He was going to go to Penn State with him. Yea,
now that he got that job. He mentioned he had
that seven weeks there, had been living in an airbnb
with the other coaches. He's getting ready to move his
(14:18):
family out there, and then this opportunity comes along and
obviously he had to jump at it. Duluth Minnesota was
a really good player there too. Smaller, dude, you know,
he's on my eye level, so it's always gives you
an idea of kind of the type of player you're
looking at here. But the thing that's really neat about
him that I enjoyed is when you go back and
(14:38):
you know, we've all done these stories when you talk
to college coaches or just people that know these prospects
when they get drafted, when you hear them talk about
a particular player and then you get to know the player, right.
It was something I always go back to in twenty
twenty when I did my profile on Jordan Love and
you know, talking to the people around him and his
cool demeanor and just the way he led and all that,
(15:00):
and then here we are six years later. No, those
are all the staples now with number ten on the field.
Christian Watson was the same way. This is a guy
that was extremely lightly recruited despite being in Tampa. He
ends up in North Dakota State, Polly and that staff
come on and he ends up becoming a legitimate NFL prospect,
And you know, mentioning Polly had talked about the relationship
(15:20):
that they had built together and just coincidentally, that same
year that Watson got drafted in the second round by
Green Bay. Polly ended up coming up here for the
Bill Walsh internship that summer during the off season pro Right,
so he got a chance to be around Jason Vrabel.
He explained some of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon
as far as what their connection is, and then being
able to get around Matt Lafleur four years past. He
(15:41):
works himself up the coaching ladder and then here he
is now with this with this chance and in kind
of like I said with Sefkiss, I mean this guy
again who you know he talked about his dad, you know,
working in criminal justice in that sort of thing. I mean,
he was a guy that just wanted to help people,
it didn't matter if it was a kid. He even
mentioned one of the years that he was out of
football and coach, he was putting together a k through
(16:01):
a curriculum you know, and a sports plan you know
for a school. These are the type of paths that
these guys sometimes travel. And for Polly to come in
now and inherit that room, I think it's really important
because yeah, Jason Brabel is obviously we always he'll go
to the podium, We ask him tons of questions about
the receivers. But Polly's the one that's going to be
(16:21):
in there in the weeds with them, and to have
that relationship with Christian Watson and how far they go
back and using those in roads now to understand and
learn about the rest of the guys in that room.
There's probably no position, I don't think Mike with a
higher ceiling going into twenty twenty six in the Green
Bait Packers' receivers room, and Matt Leflour has entrusted Polly
to be the one that helps them get there.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yeah, and that brings me to another comment. There are
a couple of comments that stood out to me from
the Packers coaches and for the most part, other than
Polly on the offensive side, these are all guys that
we know that you know, they've been been around here.
But when you talk about the receivers, we heard from
Jason who had been the receivers coach and he's the
(17:03):
passing game coordinator. He's been with Matt Lafleur now for
a long time.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
One of the originals.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
And yeah, and we're gonna spend certainly plenty of time
talking about Christian Watson. Jaden Reid Matthew Golden looks like
very clearly the Packers top three at wide receiver you're
heading into twenty twenty six. But what I heard from
Vrabel was sort of a very subtle message of don't
sleep on Saveon Williams. Right. Did you hear it too?
(17:32):
I mean he he talked about Savion coming back, you know,
dealing with the foot injury his rookie year. It kept
him out of practice, you know, so he was just
you know, basically practicing when he could, but on a
limited basis. And and you know, he was out there
doing some of the return game during the season. The
Packers were trying to work him in offensively and then
(17:54):
and then at at some point it got to where
they just had to shut him down and and and
that was it. But when you hear Jason Vrabel talk
about the size and the power in the body of
Savion Williams and what they feel he can potentially do
with the ball in his hands, this is a guy
(18:14):
I think, even though he will probably be listed on
you know, everybody's depth chart as wide receiver four, Yeah,
I think this is a guy who's who's going to
have a role in some way, shape or form on
this Packers offense and potentially on special teams as well.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Great point you raise, Mike, And for me, the moment
that he was talking about it, I was almost reminded
the old Buzz Williams Marquette paint touches, where every possession
he wants that ball in the paint at some point,
right because of what it does to collapse a defense.
That's kind of what I'm thinking now with Savian Williams
me personally, I even wrote this in inbox. I really
want to see him run more routes this year because
he's a really good contested catcher. Like that's why. It's
(18:52):
not like this guy's just oh, he has some blazing speed.
He gets open you throwing the ball. No, we saw
several times last year when he needed to make a
catch at the high point he needed to beat a
cornerback and be physical. He can use that body to
do that. But it really comes down to I think
he just needs to touch the ball five six times
a game and just see what happens with it. I
think they got to be somewhat pragmatic about how often
(19:12):
they use him as a as a ball carrier, just
based on the attrition and what happened with his body
last year. But listen, so many people focused on, Okay,
well they're extending Jaden reed. They got to give Matthew
Golden more opportunities. That's why Dontavian Wicks was traded. That's
why Romeo Dobbs you know, was like, you know, allowed
to leave in free agency, and so much that focused
(19:34):
on those big three and how it affects them. I
think the other thing is too, is you wanted to
see Savian Williams as a third round pick last year,
rise up the depth chart, and then you obviously got
to build out options too, right, whether it's Bo you know,
whether it's some of these other guys that are available.
They brought back a ton of dudes from the practice
squad two last year. But the fact is is that
Williams has such a unique skill set that I just
(19:55):
think the packers got to find a way to integrate
it in this offense, assuming can keep him healthy. And
I think that was a lot of this stuff that
vverybel was talking about. It's all right there for them,
They just need to get number eighty three out there.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah, it's definitely something that that sort of peaked my
curiosity in hearing him talk about Savion in that way,
So something to file away kind of in the in
the back of our minds as the summer and early
fall roll around here. Eventually. The other comment that stood
out to me was the second time, it's really the
(20:28):
second time this offseason, once from Brian Gutakunst and now
from Luke Butkus that we've heard that the film of
the Week eighteen game at Minnesota was really really impressive
in terms of what Jacob Monk did at center on
the offensive line. He essentially played the entire game. And
(20:51):
when you're looking at okay, yeah, the Packers obviously they
signed Sean Ryan to a three year contract to be
the center after he played you know, roughly the second
half of the season last year at that position, and
they really liked what they saw. When you're talking about
the depth and how you know, how this is going
to shake out, the Packers feel like they Jacob Munk
(21:12):
gave them a really big vote of confidence, or I
should say he earned their vote of confidence in terms
of what he can be at any of those interior spots.
I think in terms of center or either guard they
drafted jagg Or Burton, who is the same type of
player in that regard, and as we talked about after
(21:33):
the draft, it kind of shifts the idea of the
backup tackles being you know, Travis Glover, Darien Canard, you know,
guys like that. So just the fact that that it
was the second time this offseason that we've that we've
heard some very very positive comments about that Week eight,
which was otherwise a forgettable offensive performance because of the
(21:53):
struggles at quarterback. But what Jacob Monk did and what
he put on film was really something that caught the
Packer's eye.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
I'm going to put you on the spot here because
you and I did not talk about this in our
pre production meeting and staph dining.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
But what was show truly as unscripted folks, Can.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
You tell me the two things that were different about
that game with Minnesota with Jacob Munk than anything else
we'd seen the rest of this season. And if you're stumped,
I'll be able to hit you with him right away,
if you want to go ahead. He's playing his natural
position and he was healthy, now you know, and I'm
with you, like the Packers have cross trained him, they
worked him at guard. But yeah, let's be honest, when
they moved up to get him two years ago, they
(22:29):
moved assets to go get him in the fifth round. Yeah,
fifth twenty twenty four. He was They were working him
at different spots, but they and he played different spots.
But where did he ultimately settle in a duke? What
was he known for a duke? He was known for
what he did at center. That is his home base,
and he was able to go out there despite everything
that was going against Green Bay that day. He was
able to play his natural position and the hamstring injury
(22:50):
was behind him that landed him on injurieserve for half
the season.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah, that's and that's why we didn't see him during
the preseason last year, and there wasn't any talk about
him and whatnot because he was dealing with the injury
and just trying to get back on the practice field
and so he wasn't part of the depth mix last year.
But then lo and behold, he got himself healthy by
the end of the season. He got the opportunity against
Minnesota and showed out pretty well.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And that's why I'm really excited about this bunch in general. Now,
I think there are some I don't want to call
him limitations, but there are huge question marks right now
at the tackle position because they were last year you
had Rashid Walker and you had Jordan Morgan. You had
two guys that you were pretty confident, both major in
left tackle. That isn't really there right now. Morgan is
(23:33):
going to be the incumbent there, but his potential backups
may be starting at other positions, whether it's Anthony Belton,
whether it is act tom Over at right tackle. But
what's still intriguing about, even though you don't have necessarily
a LT two right now, is how many of these
guys depth wise green Bay has assembled. Whether it is Monk,
(23:53):
whether it is Burton coming into this room right now,
Donovan Jennings returning right, The list goes on and on.
They re upped Darien Kinard after they traded for him
last year from Philadelphia. There are so many guys, and
not every thing on the board is gonna hit right.
You're not gonna hit every number, but the hope would
(24:13):
be by green Bay putting this many chips out on
the table, you're gonna find a guy there that could
be the dude that's gonna be the next to step
up and then maybe if they need to be the
guy that could start this season if injuries happen. You're
hoping that you can find two or three of those
guys that are going to differentiate, They're gonna separate themselves
from the pack and for Monk to be able to
put the setbacks behind him, and there's been plenty of
(24:36):
them the last two seasons and finish out the season
the way that he did. I think that was one
of the one few silver linings from that game with Minnesota,
because what were the Packers looking for into that game.
They wanted to see them come out of that healthy
going into the wild card weekend, and they want to
see who's gonna step up and if you're doing the
(24:58):
three stars of the game that day, For disappointing as
the outcome was against Minnesota, Jacob Mounk definitely gets one
of those.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Yeah, we hear all the time. We hear from the coaches.
We hear from Matt Lafleur, from Brian Guda Kunst, who
is going to make the most of his opportunity, who
is going to seize the day, you know, take advantage
of that chance when it's handed to him and Jacob
Monk did that in Week eighteen.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
You know who else did that back in the day,
Lane Taylor, Right, Lucas Patrick, TJ. Lang. These are the
when you're gonna be on the bench for a few years. TJ.
Lank could go in here and do a seminar every
year with the Packers offensive line. Talk about the fact
that it took two and a half years for him
to find that starting spot, whether the opportunity or just
himself getting him you know, being professional, getting himself I
(25:40):
maturing as a player into that spot. But it's not
always going to happen overnight. Everybody wants to be David Bakhtiari, right,
the Cinderella story, fourth round pick that comes in and
suddenly you're the starting left tackle the Green Bay Packers.
It's not always going to be that path, And I
think that's an important lesson for all these guys to learn. Certainly,
Sean embodies that too. A guy that barely played his
rookie year, had to rotate for two years, better part
(26:01):
of three years before getting a shot, and now he
is the incumbent at center.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah, any other before we go, any other thoughts from
the offensive assistance that stood out to you.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
I got to talk about Marshawn Lloyd. And I know
it's a little bit of this Voltemore thing. You don't
want to jinx anything with him. But here's the deal,
and I use it as my insider inbox headline the
day that this is airing on Thursday. This guy has
done every single thing right that he can possibly do right.
(26:31):
He has listened to every single thing the training staff
has told him. He's seen the experts in Madison, He's
seen the experts now on the West Coast. He has
his own separate workout process now for these practices, this
warm up for getting ready for practices and knock on
what he's been healthy so far. This is a massive
year for him, obviously trying to get his career jump started.
(26:52):
But Michael, the runway is clear with respect to Chris Brooks,
because Chris is a very good asset. The Packers signed
him to a two year deal for a reason. He's accountable.
He's obviously really good in pass pro. He can catch
the ball out of the backfield and he can run
with the football too. But they drafted Marshawn Lloyd in
the third round for a reason. There is a reason
(27:13):
Daniel Jeremiah said that this is the best running back
in this draft class. He has things that you cannot coach,
and the Packers have been just trying with all their
might to get him out on the field. You're crossing
your fingers, you're dotting your eyes everything to get him
out there. But Ben Sermons a guy that has talked
about just the challenges that marshaw On has faced, mentioning
(27:36):
just how good he's looked here early on. That's the
best you can do right now. That's all you can
hope for. We're gonna get some OTA practices, We're gonna
get some mini camp practices. He's gonna have a small
break and then it's gonna be go time during training camp.
But for him to be in this position, you hope
that his headspace is clear, he's confident and can finally
(27:57):
start to be the player everybody wants him to, because, honestly,
the Packers him. He is a change of pace for
that background that nobody else is right now. And they
didn't draft a running back. They haven't really. They signed
Nixon as an undrafted free agent, but there's no veteran
that just got brought in through unrestricted free agency Marshawn
Lloyd Brooks. Those are the guys, yeah, and the Packers
need them to be the guys. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
And I and I would just say and you and
I sort of answer this and insider inbox a lot
other chats that I've done, whatnot. I understand the frustration
from the fans of Packers spent a third round pick
on this guy. He hasn't been able to stay healthy.
And you know, here we are, he's going into year
three now and we've hardly seen him on the field
(28:38):
at all. Right, And and I get it, I get
the I get the fans. You know, the patient's wearing
thin and all that kind of stuff. Just take a
deep breath and realize that however frustrated you are as
a fan with this situation with a very very promising player,
just imagine how frustrated he is right and what he
is working on, what he is putting himself through to
(29:02):
try to get to the point that he can deliver
on what everybody believes he can deliver for this team.
So just always remember there's a you know, there's a
human behind that face mask, and you know you and
I have talked to him you've talked to more than
I have. This is a this is a young man.
(29:23):
As you said right at the beginning, he does everything right.
There is ample reason to root for him and hope
that this is the year that he begins, and hopefully
it's just the beginning that he begins to fulfill his
NFL potential.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Yeah, without a doubt. And obviously his mom raised him right.
And the fact is too, Mike. I'm not gonna name names,
but you and I have been in these locker rooms.
Guys can get really punchy about injuries. And it doesn't
have to be even a string of injuries like Marshall,
as it could be one thing that keeps you out
for a few weeks. Right, I'll name one name. I
love the guy, but like Jordan Nelson, did not like
talking about his injuries, Right, Marshawn has been asked about it,
(30:02):
maybe more than any player that I can ever think
of here because of the what he plays for a
position where he was drafted. The light is shining really
brightly on him, and every single time he does it
with a smile, he does it with professionalism. He doesn't
get testy, he doesn't get curt about it. He understands
(30:25):
where the media is coming from. And I think honestly
the people that have covered him understand where he's coming from,
because how many times have we seen him people make,
you know, their little comments about all he's you know,
he's with the trains up. That dude is putting everything
he has into making sure that he can be the
player that the Packers want him to be. And I'm
excited to see what happens. And obviously there's a lot
of question marks. You have to do it on the
(30:46):
grass at the end of the day, you have to
be available there in week one. But you know, Marshawn
Lloyd is here for a reason and hopefully he gets
a chance to show everybody why absolutely.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
With that, we'll call it a rap on this edition
of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
coverage of the team on Packers dot com for Wes.
I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in, everybody, and
we will see you next time.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
M
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