#295 Packers Unscripted: OTAs are underway

helmets and shorts. Um. Really, what it boils down to is the Packers using the next few weeks to install their playbooks on offense and defense, which makes this set of O t A sessions not quite your garden variety annual O t A s Because the Packers have brand new offensive coordinator, brand new defensive coordinator. There's a lot of work to be done, a lot of change, even for the veteran players who are coming back with what

they need to learn. Yeah, I mean, and I think this is a really interesting year because you have guys like Clay Matthews who are going to be learning a new playbook for the first time in their career after working solely and Dom's Caper system for being the better

part of nine years. So yeah, it's always interesting. There's always some small minor tweaks that you notice, whether it's how players are utilized or you know, just changes that players have made in their own you know, body and conditioning. The thing I guess I look for the most in

this and you touched on it was the installation. Uh So in some ways this is sort of like an exaggerated walk through, but at the same time, you're getting so many different guys meeting at a center point, the rookies coming in for the first time, uh and practicing now with the veterans and having to catch up to speed the veterans in this particular instance, both on offense with Joe Philbin now back his offensive coordinator and with

Mike Petton as a defensive coordinator, learning what's going to be asked of them in the scheme, Jimmy Graham coming in as a free agent. So it's like it's been four months of build to this point and now you have everybody kind of meeting at the crossroads on this ninety man roster. And if people are wondering just how how okay, So how do you go about installing a playbook? Like,

what does that mean? Well, it's about breaking down the playbook into the different segments, and the different segments being the different situations that are part of a football game. That's really the best way I can describe it. And what I mean by that is you have your what are called your normal down and distance, you know, kind of your first and ten, second and seven all that

kind of stuff. But then the rest of the game of football is all about situations, third downs, red zone, short yardage, goal line backed up, which is when your offense is back like on its own five yard line, you know, where you have to kind of be careful how to how to make your way out. So it's all about the playbook has a certain set of situations and plays for all of those, uh, circumstances that come up and then obvious, so you have them both on

offense and on defense. So that's what they're walking through. As you said, it's kind of an exaggerated walkthrough, although they do some stuff pretty close to full speed, but it's not full contact because you don't have pads on, yeah, exactly, and you've got guys that you know you're hoping for at this point, and Mike McCarthy talked about it is Tuesday morning news conference, you know, mental errors, cutting down on that, making sure the tempo is where it needs

to be. Now, is it going to be at the same tempo that you're going to have in July or what you expected to be in July. No, but if you're able to stay to that script and be efficient in the time that you have. These practices are so important from the standpoint of we know the restrictions that are in place now with the offseason program, and they've been in place for the last seven eight years. Coaches have had to tailor their game plans that players have

had to adapt to it. Guys had to do more studying, you know, and being in their playbooks so when they are on the field, they're making the most of that time. Uh. And I think the thing for me that's always interesting as well as you know Aaron Rodgers, is at these practices you have the top guys and at least the way the Packers do it with their workoup bonuses and whatnot.

More often, not every year that I can remember, the top guys have been here with maybe the exception of one year I think where maybe Sam Shields wasn't, but other have their incentives incentives there. So what the point I'm trying to make with that is you have these rookie receivers coming in, this is their first work with

Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Graham's first work with Aaron Rodgers. These guys getting up to speed not only with the playbook but also with the very best in the game at quarterbacks. So yeah, in some ways it doesn't really have like this big hype and build like Training Camp does. The twenty Training Camp practices where you know every day is so important, but it's still in its own right and

own regard. It's in a very important time for these guys because after this, when you get through this segment of practices and you get to mini camps, once you know, July comes around, guys have to be up to speed. Yeah, and that's that was a key point that Mike McCarthy made in talking about particularly the rookies and the young guys. And we'll talk a little bit later in the show about maybe some competitions that are getting started to keep an eye on, but you don't want to overplay the

competition part of it. At this stage, it's really with especially with regards to the young players. Mike McCarthy made it very clear it's about keeping up. He wants to see guys who can keep up mentally in the playbook not look completely lost out there with the other veterans.

And there will be stages through O t a S in the mini camp between now in the middle of June, where veterans will be given the day off and then the coaching staff actually goes back through all of the things that haven't gone quite so well in the O t a S to that point with the rookies, and they review everything and give them a practice where they can focus on maybe some do over, so to speak, so that come the end of July, it's like everybody you know is in the starting blocks and let's go. Yeah.

And I strongly encourage people not to pay too much attention to the depth charts. I mean, I've covered practices where Alex Green took snaps before Eddie Lacey before his eventual Rookie of the Year season, Matt Blancher taking snaps before Brett Hunley back in two thousand fifteen. That's just the way this thing goes. Veterans are going to be the guys leading the groups at first, but once you get to train camp, you know those things will start

to sort themselves out. All right. With that, we're gonna go to a break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this chair, West hodk wits in that one. So okay, West. The Packers have three weeks worth of O T A s here. One each week is open to the public for those who are local. That would be May two, May thirty one, and June four before the mini camp. Then June twelve through fourteen, So three weeks of O

T as one week of mini camp. What's the kind of the biggest thing maybe you've got your eye on as you go out to watch some of these workouts, Well, if you think about it, Mike, the Packers had four big acquisitions in the off season, Jimmy Graham, mo will Kerson, Truman Williams, and then also Deshaun Kaiser, who was acquired in that trade from the Cleveland Browns. Mike McCarthy has talked a lot about Kaiser this offseason. He even mentioned, I think it was shortly after the draft um that

it was. It was a rookie orientation camp actually, where you know, he felt like if DeShawn Kaiser would have stayed another year at Notre Dame, he would have been in that same conversation with those top four or five quarterbacks in this year's draft class, as far as you know, the top ten and in that area they've Packers feel

really good about the prospect they're getting. But as he also talked about on Tuesday, I mean, he's young, and he's having to learn a new system after dedicating himself to being the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns for fifteen games as a twenty one year old rookie quarterback. So in some ways you have to flush that now move forward and understand your role behind Aaron Rodgers. That competition for the number two spot between him and Brett Huntley.

I've been very you know, open about this since the day that they acquired him. I think this is the biggest competition the Packers have had now in you know, really ten years. I think going back to when Brian Brown was drafted and Matt Flynn came in as the quarterbacks as far as the quarterbacks, absolutely, Uh, two guys that I think you have a lot of experience. I've had a lot of playing time now in the NFL getting a chance to you know, push each other now

for that number two spots. Yeah, it's an interesting challenge for Kaiser because he goes from Notre Dame to the Cleveland Browns and so you're learning a whole new offensive system as a rookie and now his second year in the NFL he's got to start over again and learn the whole new thing again. Now he did go to Notre Dame, so there's gotta be some you know, some smarts there. I think he's gonna pick things up, you know, fairly quickly, maybe relatively speaking. But but that being said,

this is this is a big challenge. This is not an easy situation for him to walk into. But he is walking into a situation where there's a coaching staff in a personnel department that really liked him coming out of college and they're very interested to see how he can perform in this offense and with this coaching staff. And here's the other thing too, Mike frank Signetti, the new quarterbacks coach, Mike McCarthy all these guys that are

going to be working with him. The one benefit that Kaiser had out of that season with the Browns is they have roughly eight offensive snaps to review last year what happened in Cleveland. Now, like I said, there's gonna be a transition going into this offense, but they can break down the mechanics, they can break down the decision making, they can look at what he did and where the emphasis needs to be. Now that he's in Green Bay.

That's a huge benefit. And in the same vein Brett Huntley is in the same boat after starting I believe it was nine games last season for the Packers, in the ups and downs that he experienced, the highs of you know, Pittsburgh and some of the lows along the way. Now, trying to have those guys take the next step. By no means is either one of those guys a finished product at this point. And I think that's the thing

Mike McCarthy has been preaching. In addition, um, you know, you also have have Tim Boyle in that conversation as well, that they're as an undrafted rookie now out of Eastern Kentucky. So a lot of different things for the packers to consider, But I think that that competition, seeing how all those guys push each other behind Aaron Rodgers, will be one of the more compelling things to watch in training camp. And as much as is going to potentially be written

about it, we'll be talking about it on this show. Uh. You know, through the spring, nothing is going to be decided as far as this number two quarterback thing until we get through the preseason. There isn't even a decision made. I don't believe as as to how many quarterbacks are gonna be kept on the fifty three man roster at the end of training camp. This is just the beginning of what's going to be a long process to sort things out here for who will be the number two

guy behind Aaron Rodgers should anything happen again. Hopefully it won't like last year. And Mike McCarthy has been very open about this. I'd seen in the last four or five years, if he had his druthers, he'd loved to have four quarterbacks on the roster at all times. You know, three guys on the roster, a guy on the practice squad. Sure, the mentality has kind of changed a little bit there and yeah, well that fourth guy, if you would ever

go that direction, isn't gonna get much work. There is a benefit to being able to have them constantly in the meeting rooms and have them involved because of all the time you're missing now in the off season program, and and obviously the encyclopedia of information that Aaron Rodgers is the situational play itself out. We've seen the Packers to four through the first three preseason games. We've see them,

you know, go with three right at the start. They've they've taken two in a season, they've taken three into a season. Basically, as you kind of alluded to it, there's really been no set patterns. So seeing how these guys perform and who rises to that challenge is going to be ultimately what dictates who's going to be on

that fifty three and who will be around on week one. Yeah, another new acquisition you mentioned was Jimmy Graham, and I want to get to him after the breakback with Moron Packers Unscripted right after this Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford here, Wes Hodko, wits over there West, Jimmy Graham,

the Packers new tight end. Again, an interesting situation because this will be the third consecutive year that Aaron Rodgers and the offense will be incorporating a new tight end and a potentially significant weapon in this offense um into things. Jared Cook two thousand sixteen, Martella Spente and Lance Kendricks

now in it's Jimmy Graham certainly an accomplished player. When we heard from him at the start of offseason workouts in the middle of April, sounded he sounded to me like a guy who was awfully excited to be here and to learn this offense and to work with Aaron Rodgers and to and to get things going. Kind of a guy who feels like maybe he's still got a little bit to prove when some of his statistics numbers from those years in Seattle obviously didn't match up to

what he did in New Orleans. It's really funny, though, Mike, because if there's you know, the stats being what they are, there's still a lot of tight ends out there that would have taken those But you know, Graham set the standards so high in New Orleans with how he was utilizing his productivity those four or five years that you know, I don't know how many people could have reached that level moving on to the next spot, But I think he sees Green Bay's offense, He sees the connection with

Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy as a condo where to returning to that kind of form. Going back to the beginning of the offseason program, the first thing he stated when people asked, when reporters asked if he's still that same guy, he mentioned he still runs a four or five, he's still six ft seven, those tools he believes are still with him. And now having the chance to come into

Green Bay. Uh, this really you watch you look historically at the way the Packers offense is structured, and and there's so many guys that if a guy gets cut or he becomes a free agent, that fans are always like,

you know, they need to sign him. Probably more than anybody during my time on the beat that's been linked to the Packers that's made more like Jimmy Graham is the one that's made the most sense because of the parallels to what the Saints did and because of exactly how the Packers used the tight end in their offense. I thought Jared Cook was a great example of the type of body type and the type of player you want Jamichael Finley. I think they got away from that

a little bit with Martellis Bennett. But now bringing in Graham as a slot type receiver, a hybrid, I think it's gonna go a long way to get in this offense back to where once to be. Yeah, when you look back to two years ago when Jared Cook came in, the impression that I got is that I think everything with Cook would have progressed a lot faster and a lot more smoothly if not for the injuries he had. Something He had injury situations both in the off season

and in the regular season. And then we saw when the Packers were below five hundred in the middle of November, and when Jared Cook was back to full strength, suddenly the offense hit a different gear. You know, was was at a different level. Obviously, you don't want to have to wait till Thanksgiving for that to happen again here in eighteen. But if Jimmy Graham is healthy, with Aaron Rodgers his knowledge, his experience, I don't see the chemistry

the incorporation taking too long. As long as both guys are on the field and getting their work well, and might go back to let's go back to Michael Finley's rookie year in his second NFL season, um and as he started to really come into his own as a tight end, what was the thing that worked so well for him? It was the fact that he could be in the slot, he could be on the boundary, no matter where he was lining up, he could be in line tight end. The defense had to respect that, The

defensive coordinator had to account for that. And really that's why I've said before I think the Packers, when this offense is at its best, has that type of threat in the offense. Randall Cobb, you don't know where he's gonna be. Davante Adams has shown he can play anywhere he needs to be, although obviously he he got his contract and Pro Bowl accolades working from the outside. When you have that kind of multiplicity and that kind of versatility,

I think it adds a different dimension. I've said it before, I'll say it one more time. The threat of a healthy Randall Cob and having Jimmy Graham, their body types of the different ways that they can be utilized, I think could really be the backbone of this offense going

into two thousand eighteen. Yeah, I agree with you. I think I think if if fans are wondering, who is the biggest X factor when it comes to this Packers offense, when you're talking about you know, Philbin being back and the new playbook, and you know Time Montgomery being healthy again, the rookie running backs from last year having another year of experience. If I'm talking about one X actor for this offense and the guy at the top of my list is Graham, yeah it is. And I think, in

my opinion, we'll see again how it plays out. Guys up to stay healthy. But this is one of the deeper cores the Packers have had offensively in terms of the competition. So I think seeing that cream rise to the top during training camp and how that really influences what that week one lineup looks like is going to be something that's gonna be pretty exciting for fans. A track. All right, with that, we will go to another break back with more and Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome

back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford alongside West hodkuh its West. Before we go, we have to touch on the defense here, and we've been talking a lot of offense today on the show. You mentioned Mo will excuse me, Mo. Wilkerson obviously a key free agent acquisition in the off season. I'm not sure exactly how much we're gonna be able to see or tell about a guy like Wilkerson during O t A s when the pads aren't on, you know,

there isn't the contact. I mean, I'm sure he's gonna make his presence known, but we'll we'll definitely see more of that come training camp on the defensive side of the ball. Aside from that, anything else you in particular will have your eye on. For the first time in nine years, eight years, the Packers have a new starting safety that isn't Morgan Burnett, a guy that started every single game that he played for Green Bay Ha ha, Clinton Dicks. I think is obviously picked up that mantle

of leadership there. But who's going to be that guy that emerges? And the thing that's interesting about with Burnett is that it isn't just one spot. Really, it's inside hybrid linebacker. It was him playing slot cornerback. It was obviously his strong suit at strong safety. The ways that Dom Capers used him all right, that that that piece of the puzzle is no longer there. So who emerges in steps up to that challenge. The Packers had a lot of different ways they could have addressed this. Could

have went the draft, could have went free agency. They're sticking by their guy, and that's Josh Jones and Kentrol Bryce and Marwin Evans and the litany of We talked for these past two years about how deep the Packers are at safety. Well, they're gonna tap into that now and see who it will emerge. U Mike McCarthy talked about it on Tuesday morning. The fact that you know Josh Jones, the experience he had last year kind of getting thrown into fire in a lot of different positions.

Maybe it was a little too much on his plate. This year, the Packers are going to focus on one, maybe two positions with him and seeing how he responds to that. I think watching who emerges that that that safety spot next to Hahak, Clinton Dixon, who else could push for playing time in this nickel and dime packages. That's gonna be one of the intriguing things. And also how a guy like Mike Petton likes to use those players. Discovering that along this process will be will be something

to watch. Yeah, and that's what I'll be watching for two just in terms of because with Mike Petton, you know the question of you know, well do you run

a four three or three four? And his answer is yes, you know, so I want I just want to watch and see with regards to the front seven, when you're talking about Wilkerson, Mike Daniels, Kenny Clark, Clay Matthews, Nick Perry or In Burr exploit hunting as Jake Ryan, you know, Dean Lowry, all these guys that are in the in the front seven, you know they're going to be in

the mix. Okay, So how many how many different alignments, how many different combinations maybe are we going to see as as we head through the spring and get towards training camp. Will there be some four three looks? Will there be the classic three four looks? Obviously with the with the nickel um, you know you're only going to have the two inside linebackers. But then who are those guys on the edge? You know, who are who are the key interior rushers? The packers have a lot of options.

Certainly on the interior. With regards to the front seven, I think we're gonna be keeping an eye on just what further options developed on the edge aside from Clay Matthews and Nick Perry, the proven veterans, and the main reason in addition the fact that you know Petton is multiple, you know, his whole likable and learnable, but but appearing more complex than it is. That is a staple of the scheme that he runs, the state, the scheme that Rex Ryan ran, and how this defense has been passed

down to them. But if if you look just strictly at Green Bay's roster defensive line, this isn't in all due respect to Ryan Pickett, but this isn't the two thousand team great defenses. But those guys were just they were just in the middle of that guys up. Now, these guys the way that the league has evolved here with Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels and a guy like Moll Wilkerson, these guys can do it all. So how do you implement that? And then the other thing I'll

be tracking too. I don't know if we're gonna be able to see it all during training camp is Mohammed Wilkerson has played upwards of the defensive snaps throughout his NFL career. This guy doesn't come off the field, doubt. That doesn't happen often with defensive linemen. These guys get in rotations. Usually don't want them above six seven snaps. Well, Mike Daniels has been in that realm as well. Kenny Clark played a lot last season. How do you divide

that up? Um? You know? Wilkerson said he talked to Mike Petton about it the vision that they have for him in this defense. And obviously, while he did not tip his hand to what that vision is, he obviously liked what he heard because he's in Green Bay. Yeah, and I don't like to get into the the XS

and nose of things too much. And I'll be honest with you, and I'm watching practice from the sidelines, it's a lot harder to kind of follow the XS and nose than when we're sitting up in the press box during a game and you can see, you know, the chess pieces and how they're moving around, like how Clay Matthews is moving around, you know, as an example, which is something the Packers have done for a lot of years, so we'll be talking about this as we go through.

Things are just getting started here in the spring. But I'll say this was it's actually kind of fun that, you know, worked at least to this stage of the off season, because the draft is over, the players are here. Let's go dozens of inbox entries that we've rereading, speculating and how this all is gonna look, and it'll probably be nothing what we anticipated to be. That is always

the most important, important and fun part of the office. Yeah, all the changes and what changes and what we haven't expressed will certainly express on this show. So with that we'll sign off on Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com on Twitter. He's at West Hot, I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team McCown. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We'll see you next time. H m hmm.