#300 Packers Unscripted: Prepping the D

But one area that he touched on that we didn't quite get to was what he said about the Packers young cornerbacks, specifically your Alexander Josh Jackson, the top two draft picks, and with his tongue at least partly planted in his cheek, he sort of tossed out a warning like, Hey, I'm coming after you guys in training camp. This could get pretty interesting in late July. What do you think? This is the thing I enjoyed the most. As we're

getting done with the offseason program. You always think every year about who's most excited about training camp. It says probably a lot about your football team. When it's your fourteenth year quarterback, is the one that is most excited about the upcoming training camp? Aaron Rodgers without a shadow of a doubt. I don't want to speak for you. For me personally and all the years I've covered sports,

he's the most competitive person I've ever seen. I think that goes almost without saying that I would, I would have to agree. So, you know, there's a lot of hoot and holler and going on over in the cornerbacks and defensive backside of the locker room. Jo your Alexander not short on confidence whatsoever. Josh Jackson not as vocal, but you can tell a very confident individual as well. Aaron Rodgers is looking forward to this. And I'll say

this too. That competition, that's something I think we really need to see. I mean, when you're getting into training camp, you need both of those two sides, offense defense, pushing and pulling against each other. H Aaron Rodgers is going to bring it. And the nice thing is, regardless of how this turns out, those two young quarterbacks are going to be going against the game's very best. There is no better way to get ready for a season than

have that a kind of opportunity. Yeah, if you're Mike Petton, you absolutely love the fact that your top two draft picks, those two young cornerbacks on the defensive side are going to be able to get ready for their rookie season in their rookie training camp, going up against the best quarterback in the league, and it's a it's an opportunity

for them that that they certainly don't take lightly. Alexander, I believe it was the prior week he had an interception against Rogers when we were there watching practice at the at the public workout. But even he said he took it with a grain assault. Hey, it's just practice. I know, guys are working on stuff as far as routes and timing and stuff. And he was pretty excited about that interception though, and he said, you know, he

just looks forward to making some more plays when they count. Yeah. And Ahmad Thomas also had an interception during that practice, and I think the jubilation and celebrations that happened afterwards. They love it when they get Rogers they have, They absolutely love it. There's a lot of entergy you there. But he he's right, you do take it with a grain assault, and one interception in one offseason program practice does not make a career. However, and I wrote about

this an Insider inbox this week, Mike. That is the thing that stands out to me though about Alexander. The small things that you can actually take out of this is his closing speed. It's remarkable, and he has incredible quick twitch and that interception that he had, uh seemed like there's a little miscommunication there between Rogers and Geronto Allison on a back shoulder, but Alexander's ability to react to that and pick it off in a red zone period.

If this would have been a game simulation, that's a potential pick six. That really impresses me because it shows headiness there with a young player, and it also shows the one thing you can't quite coach, which is even if you see it, can you get to it? And I think Alexander is shown he definitely has that kind of ability. Yeah. I mean we heard when the Packers drafted him all about his ball skills, and that was

that was a perfect example of it. When you mentioned the quick trip twitch, the reaction to when he's got a chance to make a play on the ball and in that particular instance he made it. You mentioned his confidence before the swagger, whatever term that you want to use. One thing that I think is interesting about these two guys, and I don't mean to continue talking about them like two p's in a pod, but in a sense that they're probably going to be connected like that throughout theirs

in a lot of ways. But both of these guys strike me as very, very confident young players who believe that they belong in the NFL. They just carry themselves very differently in that respect. Alexander much more outgoing. He you know, he talks a lot. He does have a little bit of that swagger on the practice field. Josh Jackson much quieter, much more reserved, but in my opinion, no less confident in what he can do out there

on the field. Yeah, exactly. That is the thing that stood out to me, even going back to the scouting combine, when we're listening to him talk there in Annapolis. He is very sure about himself and what his abilities are. He talked about himself in February as if he is the best cornerback in this draft class, even though we only had that one year of really true production as a starting cornerback at Iowa. Now coming to Green Bay,

he said it. Since the beginning, I think there is a little bit of chip on the shoulder there for him, wanting to prove that he was the best cornerback, a first round draft pick type caliber player, and yet he lasted till the middle of the second round, which the Packers felt was a great value pick to get him there for sure, And if they didn't, they wouldn't have taken him in that spot, you know, with already having Alexander, so with both of those young guys coming in, with

Tremon Williams, Devon House coming back, Quentin Rollins made it back in the off season program from the Achilles injury. They have fourteen guys I think I counted in the entire secondary, including the defensive backs, with NFL experience. Now in addition to the young guys they brought in. They wanted depth at that position. They wanted to give themselves more cushion at that position. They accomplished that this summer.

Now the task for Alexander and Jackson is going to be rising up that depth chart in training camp and showing that they can contribute right away, No question, I

bought it. With that, we'll go to a break back with more on Packers unscripted right up to this Welcome back to Packers unscripted Mike Spofford in this chair, Wes Hodkowits and that one west last week another topic that we didn't quite get to, maybe in the most timely fashioned but we heard for the first time really since he was hired from new defensive coordinator Mike Petton, and we got a little bit of insight into his philosophy, which also told us a little bit about how things

have gone this offseason, both in free agency and the draft in terms of the Packers priorities. Because a very interesting thing that he said in talking about the pass rushes, he values inside pass rush equally, if not more so, than the edge rush, which is where all the attention obviously is the Clay Matthews and the Nick Perry's of the world. But that inside pass rush, he's really building this defense, building this past defense around collapsing the pocket,

isn't he He is? And when he said that, I honestly was fist bumping a little bit, because I've been trying to tell people this that since January, you know, an insider in box, and when people ask, because everybody thinks of pass rush, they think abo outside linebackers, and rightly, so I get that That's a big part of the equation. But you gotta look, the only thing we have to go off of until pet and talked last week, was the fact that you had these transactions, you had these

roster moves. You have to be able to read the tea leaves a little bit there. Mohammed Wilkerson getting added at what could conceivably be the Packer's biggest position of strength. What does that tell you? The fact that they drafted two cornerbacks with our first two picks when there were outside linebackers on the board, what does that tell you? This is a part of the plan. They aren't just neglecting or or just you know, diverting their attention away

from certain areas. The Packers feel like if they have Clay Matthews and Nick Perry healthy, along with the returning players they have there, that is the necessary compliment to the inside rush. The Packers went out, they got Wilkerson, they have Mike Daniels coming back office first Pro Bowl, Kenny Clark coming off of a breakthrough season, the quickest way to the quarterbacks through the middle of the field. I say that time and time again. They feel like

they have the horses to do it. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how this develops now, because what it comes down to for any defensive coordinator is, in a scheme sense, he's trying to scheme things to get certain guys in one on one matchups and then you win that one on one to get to the quarterback and disrupt the play, disrupt the timing, whatever it might be.

Mike Patton likes his chances with Kenny Clark, Mike Annals, Mohammed Wilkerson in some combination, maybe two of them on the field, maybe all three in certain situations at the same time, but one of those guys getting a one on one opportunity against an interior offensive lineman and beating him and getting to the quarterback. Now, the flip side of it is, if the defense becomes so reliant on the inside pass rush, of course offenses are going to adjust,

they're going to start to take that away. But then that means you're outside guys absolutely have to be able to win one on one. And now Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, we know their injury history. The guys who are behind them when they're called upon are going to have to step up and win those one on ones. Whether you're talking about Chris odom or Kyler Facral or Vince Bagel or Kendall Donnerson, the seventh round pick who was the only edge rusher of the Packers took in this last draft.

At the end of the day, West and I said this in our Insider Inbox column. It comes down to winning a one on one because at some point the the the offense is going to take away what you do best. So then when you have a one on one somewhere, that guy gotta win. And this is the thing I look at to Mike outside linebacker. They have Perry, they have Matthews. Two first round picks have done in a long time at the league. Both have had over

ten SAX seasons. The one difference, because everybody talks about two thousand four, the one difference is Julius Peppers. I don't care which way you break it down. He was the difference maker. He's not here anymore. But trying to act like the rotation is just suddenly so much different or just so much on a so much more unaccomplished. And in the past, that's a lie that that that's it's not it's not true. And I've said it time

and time again. I've covered this team when Desmond Moses started six games at outside linebacker in two thousand twelve. You've seen Frank Zambo starting on a Super Bowl team. Got a sack in the Super got a sack. They got contributions from guys to complement what they had. Kyler Facker is the third round pick, Vince Biegel's a fifth round pick. They like what they have in Reggie Gilbert. If those guys Gilbert Gilbert was the other guy was

trying to think of, and I neglected to mention it. Yeah, I mean those guys are gonna fact during into this. Kendall Donnerson coming in as well. They have a core there. At the end of the day, they need Claim Matthews and Nick Perry to stay healthy. But it's one of the things that's really bothered me about this offseason, people asking repeatedly about the depth that outside linebacker. They've gone into seasons with less. Yeah, so I we'll see how

it goes. They needed. There isn't a Julius Peppers type player there. I mean, there's only one of those guys in the entire league. But to act like this outside rush is just so much vastly different from when they want a super Bowl or in two thousand and eleven. It's it's not true. Yeah, and maybe the one guy as far as the inside passed us that we don't even really know yet what he brings to the table

as montrevious. Absolutely a third round draft pick last year, he's now in that mix with Daniels, Clark, Wilkerson and Dean Lowry who's coming into his own now in his third season. So a lot to look forward to here in Adams. The reason they draft him in the third round last year. Obviously there's a run block, you know, run defending element to it, but it was his pass rush inside pass rush. They liked him there. They think

he's explosive. You have a chance to show it now in acamp alrighty with that, we'll go to another break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford here, Wes Hodko, it's there, wes Um. We talked a lot about Justin McCrae and where he's headed now on this Packers offensive line and the opportunity in front of him. Another guy sort of lumped into that same category with McCrae in some senses

with the way things went last year as Lucas Patrick. Now, unfortunately he's going to be known as the guy who hit the line drive off Clay Matthew's face and broke his nose and sent him to the operating room for surgery and all that. But aside from that something I'm sure he doesn't feel too good about, and it does and wishes and wishes wouldn't have happened. But um, he's had an opportunity here this spring because Lane Taylor, starting

left guard, has been out with an ankle injury. Packers being a little cautious with that, you know, kind of saving Taylor, just letting him get healthy for training camp. But that means Patrick has taken a lot of reps with the number one offensive line at left guard. Now I see him from a starting job perspective, competing at right guard with with Justin McCrae to try to get

into the starting lineup. But whatever position, if you're taking reps with the number one offensive line, that's a good way to uh to to continue developing and progressing in your career. Yeah, and this is a young man to Mike that finished last season starting at right guard when Jerry Evans ended up having to set out a couple of games. Um and you know, dealt with the hand injury, was wearing a club. He was knocking on wood that

that won't be an issue. He's had to deal with it twice now so far during his short tenure in Green Bay. But here's the thing that's interesting about it. Mike, him and Justin McCrea are really good friends. They've developed into you know, their roommates, uh that you know, they're just they've grown incredibly close. But yet their story has sort of been tied together the entire time. Last year, it appeared that they both were competing for one spot.

They end up both making the roster due to some injury situations, and both sort of came out of nowhere to contribute in some shape or former fashion. Patrick is probably one of the more unique stories you're gonna find. I wrote about it last year, we talked about it on the show. The fact that he was a guy that when he graduated from Duke a really productive career for them, didn't even get an undrafted free agent offer. His only tryout opportunity was in Green Bay even then

he didn't get a contract out of rookie camp. He had to go back home, was planning the next step of his career and you know, and then got the call back to football. And he's really not taking that for granted. His mindset has stayed the same the entire time. He's still a tryout guy, trying to make the most

of that. At the same time, he understands the opportunity before him right now and that both he and mccraine not only are gonna have a chance to potentially started right guard, but have a chance to be that number five or number six guy on the offensive line. And he said every single rep he's taken this offseason, he's gone back afterwards, he's talked with Lane Taylor. He's helping him walk through exactly all the progressions. Last year was a nice building block for him to come up and

step up in spite of the club. But at the same time, he has loftier goals and one of them is to, you know, go into training camp here and compete for a starting job. Yeah. I remember talking to him last year at the end of the regular season, after he had he had essentially played the last two games because he stepped in after the very first snap of the Minnesota game in Week sixteen, played the rest

of that game, and then started against Detroit. So those two games the most important um snaps that he's put on film in his NFL career so far, and he's doing it with a club on his hand. And I remember asking him, you know, so, do you feel like you know you're even able to show in that film, like what kind of player you are? And and he said no, I mean, he knows he can play better. He knows that if he's healthy and has the full use of both of his arms, both of his hands,

that he's got more to give. Even though he held up just fine in those in those two games, considering all the circumstances. So this is an interesting guy to watch. As you said, teams are always looking for those reliable backups, swing guys that can play multiple positions if they don't crack the starting lineup, but but they can be ready

to step in there. Now. He's not a guy who has experience at tackle, but certainly on the on the interior, he's the guy who's going to have a very good chance to uh to make his mark on the Packers, and he gives you versatility too because he picked up that center position along the way. I go back to that Minnesota game, Mike, I still don't know how he

wasn't just an absolute turnstyle. Looking at those defensive tackles that they have, the stuff that Mike Zimmer throws at you, the fact that he was able to hold up to it really impressive. And you know, talking with about Patrick with Corey Lindsley this past week, Lindsley said, you know, even though he was a tryout guy, you could see from the beginning that this guy belonged and that there was something there that people just hadn't seen. And I think his time has gone on here. Some of the

stuff he's done this off season two increases hip flexibility. Uh, he's really showed that he's not he wasn't a camp body. He's not a roster you know, at the edge of the roster guy. He's a guy that's here to compete and you know, hopefully, you know, turn this thing into a long career. Alright. 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 Hodko.

It's West final segment today. Definitely need to mention because we talked the other day about the fact that we were recording our three hundredth episode of Packers unscripted. For those who are the podcast listeners, not the television watchers, this is podcast number three, and I know that's created some consternation about from the the loyal podcast listeners will where are these long lost episodes that supposedly aired and we weren't able to listen to them on the website. Well,

it's just a matter of timing. There were a couple of I believe it was Monday episodes if I'm not mistaken, before Monday night football in a preseason games. Yeah where because the podcast wouldn't be available until the next day because the game was played in between. It would be useless for podcast listeners to listen to a game preview

after the game has been played. So they weren't podcasts, and that's why we have the discrepancy in the number of episodes versus the number of podcast But anyway, now we've hit three hundred in both, so so here we go. But to wrap up today, the Packers this past week did their annual team building exercise where they surprised the players and say, hey, guys, no practice today, Let's all hop on the bus and go have some fun somewhere.

And they went back to an activity that they've done at other times in past years, which is to go clay shooting with um On out at the out at a local range just outside of Green Bay here in Little swam Coo. You went out to kind of take in some of the action and stay safe. But but what were your impressions of the whole excursion Little Creek Lodge and never all my years of living in Green Bay in northeast Wisconsin, obviously I'm not a big outdoorsman,

so I didn't know what existed. But it is out there and it it was a cool experience and it was fun getting to see the guys that do this like recreationally, like Jake Ryan. Um. Yeah, I've been I've been out there in the past in past years when they've done this, and there are some guys who are awfully good marksman. There are three different types of players. I figured out by the being out there for two hours with them. They're the guys that do it recreationally.

I think Jake Ryan among them. It sounds like Joe Carriage, although I didn't see him, it sound like Joe Carriage is very good. The fullback. Um, there's the second guys which are probably naturals to it, like Lance Kendricks. Kendrick said he doesn't really get out to, you know, these kind of ranges very often, but he credited his marksmanship to call of duty. So the video game, I'm sure you're familiar with that a game place. And then three

there's the guys that have never done this before. Uh you know, Fortunately there's there's officers at every station that helped them with loading and telling them what to do and with safety locks and all that. But they are not going to hit the broadside of a bar. So uh, seeing all those different types of personalities, it's interesting to watch.

And I followed a couple of groups around, including one with offensive line coach James Campen and Dean Lowery was one of those guys that he went basically half the day without hitting anything, but when he finally did, the entire group just went nuts. So it's those kind of small victories too in themselves that that lead to some neat bonding experiences. Yeah, and if people wonder, Okay, how does this actually you know, help in the team building

and the bonding experience. They group these guys into teams for the day. They sort of have a very informal competition. But it's uh, it's having offensive coaches on a team with defensive players. It's having wide receivers on a team with defensive lineman. Guys that they're not in the meeting rooms with each other, they don't know each other as well. It's a big football team, it's a ninety man auster.

It's hard to get to know everybody. This is an opportunity based on how they pair guys up in the teams of four or five players and coaches for for a little more interaction than maybe they would normally have through the course of of a football day. Yeah, there are several veterans I talked to that they're meeting some of these rookies and first year players for the first time during these excursions, and you find some interesting bonding

opportunities among them, chance to tell their stories. And they've done this in the past. They've gone bowling, they've had you know, Olympic type events. Um, you know, going back to two thousand eight, I think they did paintballing dodgeball. Mike McCarthy always tries to find ways to sort of take guys out of their element a little bit, and then the nice thing about it too, As Leans Kendricks said, it's a day to get away from the practice field, but sometimes can go a long way. For these guys,

it definitely can. With that, we're going to call it a wrap on this edition of 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 account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time. The b