#306 Packers Unscripted: Double duty

Some news with regards to the starting offensive tackles here Brian blog at David Botr. Why don't you get us up to date? Well? First off with Bloga being able to make it back to the practice field on Friday for the first time, getting cleared and activated from that physically unable to perform lest uh, less than nine months since his a c L that's last November against the Detroit Lions. I believe it was an unbelievable turnaround for

him to be back and play. I know he said he was pushing Doc mackenzie to be able to be cleared in time for training camp. That was his big goal. But as he also admitted, there was kind of this thinking they wanted to get closer that nine month mark with his recovery. Now he's coming along slowly. They're not just obviously throwing him back into team periods of that. They're they're just letting him get his feedback underneath him. He did on a precautionary basis, on a planned basis

set out of Saturday night's Family Night practice. But the fact that Brian blag is back out there is a big, big thing for this offensive line. Uh. And then David Batari actually exited that Family Night practice with an ankle injury. By all accounts so far, it looks like he averted disaster. Um, So we'll we'll see where all that lines up. Kyle Murphy got some extra reps at that left tackle position,

Jason Spriggs getting a lot of work as well. So UM, I think the hope is though insummation of all this is the pack is are hopeful their left tackle right tackle be in place for the start of the regular season. Yeah. And I just have to say, what an impressive recovery by Brian Bologa, because I'll admit, when Mike McCarthy said at the start of training camp that week one was on the table for Brian. I was. I was surprised.

It wasn't something that I expected to hear, just because these A c L recoveries can sometimes be so extensive and so difficult to get through. Blogg had already gone through one a few years ago. I'm sure that was a factor. But also just knowing having covered this team since two thousand and six, the conservative nature of Dr Mackenzie with regards to injuries and getting players back out

on the field. We saw it with Jordy Nelson when he came back from his A c L. I just really didn't think, even as hard as Bolaga, maybe you wanted to push Dr Mackenzie that he would necessarily get the medical clearance this early. But hats off to him, Kudos to him for where he is right now. Put in a lot of work to get to this point, and and you look at his recovery, his timeline, he

said it a couple of weeks ago. I mean he benefited, He feels he benefited greatly from that first experience back in two thousand thirteen, knowing what the aches and pains are gonna be, like, how you need to push yourself through that on a side, don't. I was actually talking in Dmitri Goodson for a story I'm working on this week about his own journey. Uh. He mentioned that the toughest thing is you've got to stay in a routine because if you don't, that's where the soreness comes from.

That's where you start to really feel it. And you just gotta trust that you're doing the right things day in and day out, so that as it gradually goes on, that soreness goes away. And and from Bolaga to be able to make this kind of turn around, Uh, it's a major boost for the Packers offensive line and obviously this offense and Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, And let me ask you this because I was long car ride with our video producer Mike Atkinson. He was, um, you know, gracious

enough to do the entire drive from green Beata Camp. Yeah, the big, the big avalanche truck. He had all his camera equipment loaded up in the back. But we're driving along the Ohio Turnpike late on Thursday afternoon to get to Canton, and I start flipping through Twitter and seeing what's going on and this, uh touchdown passed by Aaron Rodgers in practice on Thursday. It sounds like I missed something pretty spectac I really wish you could have seen it. Mike.

I wrote about that an inbox because for my money, this is training camp number eight that I've covered in some form or fashion um and we talked about it all the time. Aaron Rodgers makes amazing plays on a daily basis. Mike McCarthy even mentioned it. Nothing surprised you, Randall Cops said, nothing surprises you. I gotta be honest with you, though, that throw kind of surprised me a little bit. Because here's the thing you gotta understand about

Aaron Rodgers. So it's it's two minute situation. They're down, it's fourth and ten, they're at their own there, they're at the twenty six yard line at this point in time. Aaron Rodgers, like Aaron Rodgers does, coaxes the defense into an offside so now he's not getting one but two plays with those eight seconds left. So everybody runs their go route. Everybody's jetting off to the end zone. Aaron Rodgers rolls left and if you look at it, my he did one quick look to the right side of

the field. He's on the left side of the hash marks at this point, he did one quick look to Geronimo Allison's side of the field and then got his vision back over here, and without even looking at Allison, throws it pinpoint perfect pass, puts it in a spot that Allison six three about is only going to be the only player that's gonna be able to catch it. He jumps up, pulls it down. It was one of

those type of plays. And I was standing with a bunch of other reporters where we're just all like looking at each other, like did that really just happen? Because you gotta remember what's quarterback one oh one? Going back to high school. You're rolling left here on the other side, back across the field, don't throw the ball across the hash marks and and Mike McCarthy, I thought it's such

a great quote with it too. Every single practice you could almost create a library out of Aaron Rodgers in the pastes he makes that one though, is gonna get filed in that special library. It was one of those plays that only a handful of human beings on this earth that any point in time could ever make. Yeah, and I know a lot of the fans have been asking, well,

where's the video we want to see this. I'm sure they want to see the video of the play on the show, But just to explain, during training camp practices, there are certain periods, most of the eleven on eleven full scrimmage like periods. Cameras are not allowed to shoot those plays. So the only video of the play that exists are the actual um the video crew for the packers, for the team, the coaches and players. They're the ones who have the video of it. Like we don't have it.

We weren't allowed to shoot it. Other TV stations locally around the nobody else was allowed to shoot it. So just to to clarify that, but let me throw this at you. You mentioned he got a defender to jump offsides and it was a free play. Does he even try that pass if it's not a free Probably not,

Probably not. But I thought the thing that was the most interesting about the whole course of events is that Alison talked about this as a rookie with thinking of the scrambled drill from a textbook perspective, his real instincts would have been to follow Rogers to trail left, But after being in the offense for two years, he understands his role is to stay in that area of the field because you just never know what's going to happen

with Aaron Rodgers. So it was such an interesting thing and as Rogers said afterwards, it was it was a heads up play by Alison and knowing where he's at. You wrote about him last week for our website. It's just the maturation and growth of a football player. And Allison had a heck of a family night too. I mean, this is a guy that you can tell he's not thinking anymore. I mean he's just doing what he's been coached to do, and he's and he's being able to

stay in the moment. That's so important. And I think you have Davante Adams, you have Randall Cobb. They've have numbers of years experience now. But in terms of that that big chemistry word we always talk about, Allison started to develop that. And yeah, you're right, if it's a fourth down they don't have the free play, maybe he looks a little differently, but at the same time, it's Aaron Rodgers. You never really can you know, kind of pigeonholed him to one thing and you never know what

he's gonna do. Yeah, as you said before hopefully all the ports on David bak tr you remained positive that that any sort of serious problem was averted there. What else jumped out to you as far as family and night goes. I know you wrote a little bit about the rookie receiver from Missouri, Jamon Moore. Jamon Moore was it was probably the highlight as far as the play

of the day was concerned. Um packers. You know that we had some storms rolling into uh so, I think you know, things was moving with a pretty good tempo, trying to get all their work in, and they were working just in this this red zone period, you know, pass under pressure type period, and basically More got himself isolated against I believe it was Josh Hawkins. Hawkins had really good coverage on the play, but Brett Hunley rolls back and he has a one on one situation in

the end zone in a red zone period. That's gonna be something where a quarterback, specifically, if you're looking at Aaron Rodgers in the regular season, he's gonna want to be able to trust that receiver to make that play in a fifty fifty situation. Jamon Moore did that, and this is a young man that I know. There were some questions about his hands coming out of Missoo. I think his athletic ability, his size is off the charts.

It's exactly what you want for the receiver position. But like any young player, you know, he's had those ups and downs of a training camp. And for him, he said it with two things that really stood out about that family night. One, it was his first chance really getting to play under the lights. Uh, not only of Lambeu Field, but you know practice in general. They've been all at eleven eleven fifteen Central time so far, so getting a chance to be in front of that crowd

really helped. And also the plays like that, he said, that's really what allows Brett Hunley or Deshaun Kaiser, even Aaron Rodgers when he gets the reps with them to have the trust in him to make that play. It was a really good situation, a really good opportunity, and he went out there and I thought, you look at his footwork, what he did on to being able to protect that ball, win the fifty battle. Uh. We need to get to some preseason games with all these young

receivers to see what they really have. But for him, I think that that was the right step towards that game against the Titans. Well, you mentioned it this week. The Packers are going to pivot their preparation to the preseason opener on Thursday night at lambeau Field before we pivot our discussion on this show. Though it's a little bit of sponsored business to take care of at home or here in the sta ends. We all know that Green Bay fans give it their all and that takes

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the official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, Wes I mentioned Thursday at the Long Drive to Canton, Ohio, And I tell you there were a lot of really really great moments throughout this weekend with um Jerry Kramer and covering his long awaited and long overdue and Shrineman in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But I'm gonna mention three of them to you that really stood out to me. Some of them I'm sure you saw on television.

One was when he got his gold jacket on Friday night, his daughter Alicia, who had begun a campaign to sort of keep his candidacy alive, something that you know, Jerry wasn't necessarily totally on board with when she started it, but she was there to put the gold jacket on him at the Civic Center in downtown Canton. That was That was a special moment. Then on Saturday, I was fortunate enough and and Mike Atkinson, our video producer, was with me as well to be at Jerry Kramer's private party.

And uh, I don't know if you saw the picture that I posted on Twitter, but I happened to get a snapshot of Paul Hornick sitting next to Jerry Kramer, both of them wearing their gold jackets. And there was something really really special about that. And then the speech on Saturday night, I mean, wow, blew me away, Absolutely blew me away. I had to I had to gather my thoughts quickly and get a story. I wanted to get a story up on our website about that speech

as quickly as possible. But the more I've thought about it since Saturday night, I've I've just been absolutely blown away by what he did up on that stage. And before I get into my little two cents on this, because I'll be honest with you, Mike, the show is unscripted. I was thinking all morning long of what I wanted to say in this segment and in indirect correlation with that speech. But if you haven't had a chance yet, check out spots column from Saturday night. It was exceptional.

I thought, really captured the moment and exactly what the emotions are like for a man that's now eighty two years old, is still a sharpened way he as ever aboutely to my for my money, Um, I think that asked to go down as one of the top ten top five all time Hall of Fame speeches, and and I have a number of reasons for this one. At no point in that speech did it ever really feel like it was about Kramer, do you know what I mean? It was about his high school coach. It was about

Vince Lombardi. And that was something that pointed out. Yeah, and that was something I pointed out as well. I thought it was incredibly classy and respectful of him that not once in an eighteen and a half minute speech. Did he even mention that he had to wait forty plus years for this incredible moment to happen for him? That was an afterthought. It it never It never came up, and you would have thought it would have, and nobody would have blamed him if he had talked about it.

He didn't. He didn't make it about himself. He made it about his feelings about about his team and and about what that team accomplished and how he got to where he did, and the people who inspired him along the way. And he was using that speech to just try to inspire others, much as he has done throughout his entire life, in the whole if you can, you will speech. And and here here's what stood out to

me though the most. And obviously I was trying to cover family night, and we were we had a monitor up trying to watch the Hall of Fame speeches as well. But with all due respect to Hall of Fame guys that have gone in there, and you know, given these high salute and speeches and kind of sort of bast in their own greatness, I think that that happens quite a bit. Jerry Kramer. What I love the most about

his speeches. It was eighteen minutes long. He could have talked for two hours if you wanted to, and nobody would have complained. Nobody would have complained. He was straight to the point and he's captivating, Michael, and that isn't news to you. And I know we've talked to him, we've interviewed him, We've seen how he associates with people. Such an engaging man. He's an engaging man with tremendous stories.

That Don Chandler story I thought was really interesting. Um I I was in the press box was an absolute stitches when he told that story about them losing fifty six and nothing to the Baltimore Colts. Uh. And you know he's saying that they almost killed the poor pony that was running around after every touchdown for the Colts. Yeah, the press box and Canton was was cracking up on that one. It was tremendous. But the thing I want to ask you the most, because you were there, you

were experiencing it. We talked so much about Alicia and you had a chance to speak with her two going into this thing. How emotional was this for them? Because if you watch the monitors, his children in the stands her on the stage, a guy that committed his entire life to football. You could tell both for him and the family just how meaningful that moment was. Yeah, it was. It was really incredible. I got a chance to interview Alicia. She was nice enough to come on camera with us

at the party on Saturday afternoon. And this is, you know, the Friday night, the gold jacket ceremony is all over. Everybody's had a good night's rest, and everybody's in this great mood for for a party, A fantastic party that was put on. And uh, I get her on camera and just ask her about the gold jacket ceremony, and you could see the emotions like just instantly come back. I mean, you can't escape it. I mean it was,

it was. It was really something special. And to see to see her put the jacket on him and then and then to watch Cramer just kind of you know, flash the hands like hey you know here, I mean, it was, it was. It was a great moment. She actually told us then when we did the interview with her, she said she whispered to her dad on the stage just as they were getting ready. She's like, okay, you're

ready dad, you know I mean, what a moment. I mean, you know, and and and for that to be a private moment with them at the time on Friday night, with you know, thousands of people in the stands at the Sacivic Center and National Television watching the whole ceremony, and they actually get to share that little moment between the two of them when all this is going on. Pretty cool stuff. It was absolutely adorable too. And they did the whole gold jacket ceremony, the hot Mike that

was picking up everything Jerry was saying. So when they finished the video package, I was just laughing my my butt off. When he did the whole long time they were talking about our long time ago whenever you put that, and um, you know again, it's such an emotional moment for everybody. And the other thing, the other point I want to make two is I just think there's something poetic about a man who's eighty two years old. I think graduated high school I want to say, in like

nineteen fifty four or something like that. And it to me, in my opinion, it was a power of social media that really helped him elevate his campaign. Alicia, I remember when I went absolutely and Alicia when I went on you know, when I got on the beat in two thousand twelve, I remember she was just starting her campaign and it was almost heartbreaking every year when they would

do the Senior Finalists and he wouldn't get nominated. And I remember reading that in her post, and she always tried to stay positive in thirteen and fourteen and fifteen, and then when it finally happened last fall, uh, last summer, it was just it was incredible, an incredible development, incredible situation for them, and and yeah, I think there was an undeniable factor to it. Rick Goslin said that to

you too. I mean there was kind of this wart on the Pro Football Hall of Fame, like why are you turning your nose up at a guy that was a member of the all All sixties decade team, you know, had all the credentials that he had. But yet even despite being eleven time finalists and a former Senior finalists, the only one that my recollection hadn't gotten in in terms of the last twenty five years as a senior finalist. It was disappointing, and it was good to see them

right that wrong. Yeah, I was. I was really pleased to get a chance to talk with Rick Goslin on Friday. We we did an interview with him, and then I was able to fashion a story out of a lot of his comments. Very insightful guy, obviously. For those who don't know Rick, he's a longtime NFL writer. Spent the bulk of his career in newspaper at the Dallas Morning News,

covered the NFL on a national landscape. He's now with the Talk of Fame network, but he has been um a Hall of Fame Selection Committee voter for over twenty years and he's also on the Hall of Fame Senior Committee. So he was very instrumental in just getting Kramer's candidacy pushed forth again in terms of in front of the

Senior Committee, where then they named him a finalist. He gave the presentation at the actual selection committee meeting, the voting meeting on Super Bowl weekend in uh this last winner in Minneapolis, and so getting a chance to talk to him and and and just here his perspective was was really interesting. What I didn't know is that he grew up in Detroit watching the Packers sweep and Jerry Kramer leading that sweep to demolish his Detroit Lions, the

team that that he grew up rooting for. So but m Rick's perspective very very valuable in this instance. And uh and yeah, the most poignant comment I thought from him was when he said the Hall of Fame had a credibility problem with Jerry Kramer not being in the only member of the fiftieth Anniversary team that was chosen by the same Hall of Fame committee, UM, one of

only two members of the All sixties Decade team. UM not in the Hall of Fame, five time Pro bowler, key member of you know, five championship teams, obviously, the block in the Ice Bowl. He brought up the field goals, the kicking in the sixty two championship game in the cold, windy can asitions at Yankee Stadium, a sixteen to seven

championship that the Packers won. Jerry Kramer scored ten of those points, three field goals at an extra point in really cold, windy conditions at Yankee Stadium, all those kinds of things, And um, the Goslin was very very pleased that that this credibility issue with the Hall of Fame has now gone away. Yeah, And as I've always said, and I said this, going back to last fall Mike the Hall of Fame. To me, it's about people that change the game. Jerry Kramer changed the game on the field,

off the field. He was such a pioneer in terms of putting himself out there and for my money, still arguably, if not the greatest ambassador of Green Bay Packers football, one of the top three. And for him to still have that connection again whenever he got in it was going to be good. But the fact he was able to walk that aisle and and be a part of that, that's what needed to be righted. That's the wrong that

need to be righted. I think it wouldn't have been the same if Jerry wasn't there for it, and I'm glad that he was able to experience it. Yeah, I think that's the greatest blessing of of this whole thing. And I know we're running out of time here, we have to get going. But I will just say to the fans out there, if you have eighteen and a half minutes, check out that speech. Watch it from beginning to end. You and I can't do it justice just sitting here talking about it. So many great things he

talked about with standpoint Ohio, standpoint Idaho. Excuse me, his college career, his Packers career, his post packer's career, and just just an inspiration in in so many ways. But with that, we're going to sign off 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. We'll see you next time.