#305 Packers Unscripted: One week in

fairly significant injuries. To a report from Monday's practice, we saw both safety Kentroll Bryce and inside linebacker Jake Ryan carted off of Ray nitchky Field. You never like to see that. Now, the initial reports are may not be as bad with Kentroll Bryce as it might have looked at the time, but there are some outside media reports

that Jake Ryan's knee injury is season ending. So where we are is that, regardless of the length of the absences of these players, a spotlight is getting brighter, shining very brightly on a couple of young players. And I'm talking about safety Josh Jones and rookie inside linebacker Warren Burke's. Yeah, And it's the reality of this time of the year. Mike, I remember Mike McCarthy a few years ago when Packers are going through kind of a tough injury stretch, address

some of these things. And you know, I think he said the NFL average was right around you know, two kind of significant injuries per training camp for NFL teams and and you hate to see it. You hope that you can buck that curve. But I'd be lying to you if I told you that when the Packers went on in the practice field for the first time last Thursday, that wasn't That was something that did cross my mind, because it is just the nature of the beast that

sometimes these things happen. It's the reason why you build a deep roster, it's the reason why you look for as much competition as you can at multiple positions. And now you look at those two spots and again we'll see where things stand with Bryce. But a young guy

like Josh Jones, uh. You know, Jermaine Whitehead has had a pretty big role in this defense over the last year, between what he can do at safety, his special team's acumen, and then also playing that slack cornerback position at sub packages. Guy like Marwin Evans is also in that equation to now going into his third NFL season, But Jones specifically was the second round pick, and you know, you look

at his athleticism just completely off the charts. Packers allowed him to focus on that safety spot, and for as long as Bryce is out here, it's going to be a big opening for him to show what he can do in the field. Yeah, no question about it. And with regards to Mike Petton and his defensive scheme, I think we're going to see as this preseason goes along, and certainly in the in the early stages of the regular season, just how much how much flexibility there is.

We may see more packages with only one inside linebacker Blake Martinez on the field instead of needing to or in Burke's will see exactly what what role he ends up filling. And with Josh Jones, we saw him sometimes playing a hybrid linebacker position as well as deep safety. You don't want to, you know, as we've talked about many times, you don't want to put too much on the plate of young players in terms of the schematics and the xs and os and different things they have

to learn. But there are times that it becomes necessary and we'll just have to see how the Packers coaching staff decides to handle this because especially at inside linebacker, now you really have Blake Martinez and a whole bunch of guys who don't have any NFL experience, So how

are you going to handle that. I'm glad you brought up that point because I had a chance to talk with Oren Burke's in the locker room on Tuesday UM along with another Beat writer, Jason Wildy, and he was he had He's such a He's a big thinker, a

very intelligent young man, very well spoken. Absolutely, and he said, going back to his pre draft interview with the Packers and that visit, these are conversations he's had with Patrick Graham, the Packers inside linebackers coach and a defensive run game coordinator. And the reality is, as he even talked to Blake Martinez one of the first times they've ever had a chance to meet each other, is the nature of that position.

You have to be ready to play. You don't want to see it under these circumstances with what happened with Jake Ryan, But you look back the last three or four years, Mike Joe Thomas was a part of that inside linebacking crew too, all those guys ended up playing.

I think Joe Thomas ended up leading them and tackles two years ago as a situational player at that position, So orn Berks knew regardless if it was going to be as a coverage linebacker in the dime or uh, you know, specific packages from Mike Petton, he was going to get a chance to play. So none of this is new to him. And he said the big lesson he took away from both Graham and Martinez is you have to be ready to play because at some point your number is gonna get called. Are you ready to

step up into that spot? Is it going to be perfect? No, we saw that with Blake Martinez during his rookie year. As intelligent as he is coming out of Stanford. It's a big jump going to the NFL. But the more preparation you have both on the field and off of it and mental being cuted into everything, this is a big opportunity for him. And as Burke said, this is

my shot. Now, you don't want to see it under these circumstances, but that's the reality, and the Packers are going to be counting on him in a big way. And as he said, he wants to prove that he was worth that third round pick right from day one. Yeah, And Josh Jones is a guy I think who's who's

out to prove a little something as well. Had a decent finish to the season last year with the big overtime interception in Cleveland in December, but a lot of ups and downs through his rookie season, and we had talked about how he was trying to play a lot of different positions and they did put a lot on his plate. So we'll see how things evolve in the

second year for him. But another second year guy we definitely need to talk about here, and this is a guy coming back from an injury as well, but certainly looks no worse for wear. And I'm talking about cornerback Kevin King. Now he's he's out there on the practice field with a small, I guess I would say harness type of thing on his left shoulder, which is the one that was surgically repaired in the off season. But I tell you, wes he uh, he looks like he's

out there to bring it this year. Yeah. And here's the thing about King too, He was back for the off season program that was a big plus. I thought for him to be back, but the Packers were very cautious with them. Yeah, they limited, they limited the snaps. They really kept him out of the eleven on eleven stuff during O t s, but he was working on a lot of other drills and as you well documented, he spent most of that those team periods just doing

push ups on the sideline, trying to strengthen that. That shoulder is something that he took from his father many years. You'll drop and give me twenty exactly. But when he gets back into training camp, he said he'd be silly if he went out there without a harness and then

something happens. He has full confidence in the shoulder. His hope talking with the training staff, talking with the team doctors, is that once the regular season comes around, he can drop that be able to get his full reined of motion. But with it being his first contact work, the first time really throwing that left hand again, he wants to be cautious. They want to take the smart approach with it.

That's why you're seeing it right now. But as he said, he's going to get into some of these preseason games. He's actually looking forward to being able to falling on it a little bit, being able to get physical. Uh, And I think you've seen in very small doses so far him doing that with Davante Adams. The kind of report those two have that goes back to last season, because you remember, during those five starts, during the stretches where the Packers were down and kind of hurting at

the cornerback position. King ended up being the number one cornerback against Davante Adams a lot last season. You know, that Pro Bowl talent, getting a chance to see a j Green, Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, there's a big benefit to that. That's something I wrote about this week on

our website. And now he's trying to take that what he learned, the experience of playing through last season with that shoulder injury and now being healthy for the first time in quite a while, and channel that into being the player that he believes he can become in the

Packers really are counting on him. Yeah, I remember, I remember talking to him in the spring about some of those matchups where he was lined up across from Julio Jones or even Antonio Brown for up being his last his last game before the Packers shut him down, and he said, yeah, I'm I'm a rookie out there, but I'm learning what the gap is between where I am and where the best in the league are. And he and he says, hey, I never surprised myself. I'm going

to go out there and compete. This is a This is an ultra confident guy. UM a quiet guy in a lot of ways, but a confident guy who is not interested in backing down from anybody. He knows, he knows where the gap is. I think he found out that maybe the gap isn't as big as a lot of others were making it out to be. But he still knows that it's going up against the best in the league that is going to get him to where he wants to be amongst the best in the league. Right,

And there's a lot to learn at that position. But six ft three twounds and running a four or four or forty, he's gonna help you close that. It's it's a good place to start. Yeah, it's a good place to start, no question about it. I do want to add him quickly before we close this chapter. One other thing that came up and I ended up adding it to my story after the fact was this quote he gave, and it was about going back to challenging yourself, and

this time of the year he goes. He mentioned this when he was at Washington and a lot of times in college, those practices are closed, so you can try stuff, you can do things, and nobody sees it. You get beat by John Ross, doesn't matter. But in the NFL, especially with training camp, so many eyes are on him, those reactions are getting posted to social media. Social media's drawing those conclusions, and he cautioned everybody against that too.

I thought this was a really important thing for him to say, because it's not like he's been playing poorly in the priests. In the training camp got off to a really nice start. But as he said, and I'm just gonna give the direct quote, there's a time to work on your craft. You're with your team, you're out there. I might try to do a brand new thing against Davanti is one of the top three top five receivers

in the league. It may not work using his own cadence there, but on film it's like Kevin King Kinnock guard Davante Adams. But you don't know what I was doing. You see the clips. It doesn't tell the whole story. It's all about getting better. It's like if you took your notes as a writer every day and posted them to Twitter. It's not the final draft. I'm not a finished product here. Just wait for the finished product. I thought that's really important for young players to learn in

this league because it is about getting better. It's about how you look in the Preseason's about what you're where you're at your game once you get into week one of the regular season. And that's tough for young players because I think the tendency is to want to be perfect right off the bat. Right You're not going to be perfect. You have to learn from those experiences. Trumon Williams did it, and Nick Collins did. The list goes on and on, and the Packers great cornerbacks, defensive backs

who have done it. King's trying to be the next one. Yeah, And I would say I'm certainly not as active on Twitter as you are. I try to promote some of the things on our website and whatnot. But if I were a player, if I were a Kevin King, I don't know if I would even look at anything on social media when I'm trying to work through a training camp through even through the entire season. It's it can be toxic and and uh, there are certain players who do that they handle it, you know, and that's fine.

There are other players who get caught up in it and and it does affect them psychologically mentally. What's going on out there in the social media world. If I were a player, I just shut it off. We're as interconnected is is we've ever been as a society that has drawbacks. That has positive elements to it as well. You get your message out there, but I think sometimes the drawback is is there's a lot of keyboard warriors out there that bring some pretty hot takes and sometimes

don't really know that they're talking to another human being. Yeah. Well, with regards to continuing our discussion about young players, there's a position battle going on west between a couple of third year offensive linemen and I'm talking about the right tackle spot with Jason Spriggs and Kyle Murphy. Now, the word at the start of training camp from Mike McCarthy was that Brian Bulaga should be ready for week one.

The start of his season was not in jeopardy. We've seen him working with the trainers off to the side, continuing his rehab. We'll see at what point Brian Bulaga perhaps gets back into practice. How much practice does he need to get ready. All of those questions still to be answered. But in the meantime, Jason Spriggs and Kyle Murphy have been alternating now trading off snaps with the

number one offensive line at right tackle. You got a second round pick a sixth round pick, both from the same draft, two guys who certainly looked the part in terms of their size and their stature. This is going to be an interesting battle through at least the first couple of preseason games, when presumably Bulaga still won't be full strength. The Packers draw it up how they want. You have David Bock tr sixteen starts every snap at left Tackley Brian blog of sixteen starts every snap at

right tackle. That would be nice. Yeah, do you remember? I think it was two thousand, twelve or thirteen. You have a better memory than I do. Josh sit and played every snap during the regular season. Do you remember what happened during that playoff game in San Francisco? His shoe broke, Her shoelace broke. That's right. He had to come out of the game, the only two snaps he missed all season. We're in a playoff game because his

shoelaces broke, and I think it was Don Barkley. Might have been Lane Taylor that had to go in there and replace him. I think it was Yeah, I think it was Barkley. It was the playoff game. It was playoff games. So the point I'm trying to make with this is that even if Bolaga and bok tr are healthy the whole slate of games, you never know what

might happen. So Jason Spriggs, Kyle Murphy, I think they've been doing a really good job with them so far, educating both of them on the left side right side. It's a tough call. They've talked about it numerous times, the reflectiveness. They're trying to mirror your moves, and it's not always easy to slide those two sides, but it's something you have to be ready to do at a whim because you never know what's gonna happen with the season. The fact that Spriggs was able to shake off the

knee injury put on the weight that he did. He looks a lot more full. We've talked about that several times. Yeah, you look at Kyle Murphy coming back off the foot injury. A great sign for both of those guys to be back. And if Brian blog is not going to be available right now in training camp, the fact that those guys get to alternate those reps with Number one next to

Justin to create at that right guard position incredibly valuable. Yeah, And I think it was valuable for both of them and fortunate with the injuries they were coming off of from last season that by the end of O T a S both of them were cleared for eleven on eleven.

They were doing the full teamwork in you know, the shorts and helmets, not the pads of O t S. But getting back out there for those eleven on eleven reps in the spring that helps them get to where they are right now, where okay there with the number one offensive line, they look like they belong. They don't look like a fish shot of water, so to speak.

And we'll just see how these preseason games go, because you know how it is West, there are only gonna be especially the first couple of preseason games, only a handful of snaps where that number one defensive end or outside linebacker is the guy there, So then which of those guys is going to get those snaps against that top flight player. Not to say that you can't hone your craft and work on your game against the guys further down the depth chart, but it's going up against

the starters. That's what the regular season is about. And if Jason Spriggs or Kyle Murphy is needed in the regular season, that's what they're gonna have to do. Absolutely goes back to what you said about mon Trevia's Adams earning those reps against the top flight guys, and it's an opportunity for both of those guys, especially early in camp here, to potentially get that opportunity. Yeah. Well, one last thing before we go west, I actually have to

leave you for a few days. I know you're recovering training camp for a couple of days, all by your loan. So well, with LA three, you have to decide who gets to do two of the three things, because it's only going to be two and but that's uh, but that's because I'm off to Canton, Ohio for something that I've actually really been looking forward to it. I think this is going to be quite the weekend Jerry Kramer's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. UM as long overdue.

I think even longer than that library book you didn't return to elementary school. UM. But hey, we've talked about it. UM. This is uh, this is the greatest wrong of the Pro Football Hall of Fame that is finally being righted. And UM, I just like to say that I think it's absolutely fantastic and fortunate and all of that that Jerry Kramer, fifty years after his retirement, is still here to enjoy this and be a part of this, to

go in, because after everything he went through. Can you imagine if the Senior Committee, if it were still another fifteen or twenty years from now, and then they finally get around to this, and then and then Kramer's not here to enjoy it, that would be that would be a bigger shame almost than the fact that he didn't get in earlier. To be honest with you, and I don't know what the Kramer family would have done if

that situation played out. It's all hypotheticals, but at that point you almost wonder, well, what's the point the positive side of this? You and I can talk about the fact, it's been fifty years since his playing career ended. But let's look at the positive side of it. In addition to being the hundred seasons for the Packers, it's the

fiftieth anniversary of Jerry Kramer being retired. And to me, and I've said this numerous times, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is about people and individuals who changed the game of football. Jerry Kramer meets that criteria. He did it on the field. He was a part of some of the most iconic plays, one of the most iconic offenses in NFL history, but he also did it off

the field. He was really a trailblazer when it comes to kind of being able for for players to put their identity out there and become more than just somebody behind a face mask. You know, whether it was the books he wrote or the way he was such a big ambassador for the Green Bay Packers, I would argue, and I've argued on this before on these shows, is

that he is the greatest ambassador in Packers history. And what he's done consistently throughout the time that he got here to this point in time now he's still coming to the Lombardi Go the Hall of Fame, Packer's Hall of Fame, golf voting. He's a fixture around the stadium. He's the godfather of Green Bay Packers football, and it's

phenomenal to see him get this opportunity. Yeah, the irony is when you talk about the books and and the way he put himself out there and what he did for other players that sort of pull back the curtain. Look at the NFL and Instant Replay and other books. That's what some people think kept him out because that's a shame. But yeah, because the media didn't like it. You know, certain players didn't like how all that went down.

And you know, I don't know that was before my time, before your time in terms of when those books were in the news and on the bestseller lists and all that kind of stuff. But at least now everything's finally getting corrected. Jerry's going to be in Canton. He said that he's never actually gone there because I think he

drives by it. He's always driven by it because he didn't want to go there until he invited, and he's been saying now it's like, well now I'm invited, so we're gonna throw a heck of a party, and you know, his whole family is going to be there. It should be quite a weekend. It's just amazing to me, Mike, that it's been this long of a road for him, And I mean, anticipation sometimes can be the best part of things, and in that journey, and certainly you look

at what he's done. Um, Jerry Kramer didn't need this to add to his legacy people people already held him in such high regard, but it is the perfect capstone to a career in football, a career and uh, you know the NFL and and being able to finally do this. You're gonna be there, You'll be experiencing it. But I have to imagine the motions are going to be incredibly high for him, his family and everybody that knew him

and kind of going through this the last fifty years. Yeah. Well, we'll talk about it when I get back on our next show with everything that happens in Canton and everything that happens on Rainichi Field and at Lambeau Field at Family Night over the weekend. But with that we will sign off on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of West's coverage of training camp I coverage of the Hall of Fame induction in Canton over

the next several days. On Twitter, you can find him at west hot I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, We'll see you next time.