#311 Packers Unscripted: West Coast watch

the West coast nine thirty Wisconsin time kickoff. So while I am not looking forward to the essentially red eye flight we'll be taking back after the game, I am looking forward to seeing a few players maybe work their way into preseason action here for the Packers in preseason Game number three. Who do you want to start with? Well, honestly, Mike, I would have liked to have started with my plans for this trip and how I'm going to be able to make sure I get the most sleep out of it.

I'll be bringing my neck pillow, I'll be bringing everything that I need to do to be comfortable on the flight home so that I can have a decent Saturday. But if you want to talk specifically about the game, I guess we can do that too. For me, I think it really starts with Aaron Jones. Now, Mike McCarthy wouldn't commit to him playing when he when he did his Wednesday morning news conference, So I guess we'll have

to see whether or not he goes. But let's say he does and he does get those reps after working some team stuff this week, I think this could be a really good opportunity for him. And if it isn't this week, maybe it's next week. But he's coming back from that hamstring injury. We know he's not gonna be playing in the first two games of the regular season.

For me, and I'm not a guy that gets all up at the about preseason reps and snaps, but I just think for a guy like him, especially when not knowing what the reps are gonna be like, you know, through the first months of the season, with having Time Montgomery and Jamal Williams, I just think this is a

really valuable time for him. And I think one of the things you pointed out to in some of the analysis we've done this week is whether it's Aaron Jones, whether it is Time Montgomery, the reps the Packers, and the snaps the Packers are gonna get with this run game are going to be really important because a lot of people they just fixate on what the stats look like. And it happens every single year with the running game

in every single NFL city. Unless the guy's burning everybody for an eighty five yard touchdown, people are wondering what's going on. But Mike McCarthy mentioned it. They're seeing things they like on film. It's about correcting some of the things that could potentially break those plays out a little bit. More so whether or not it's Jones, whether or not it's Montgomery, could be La Shaun Daniels, the the undrafted rookie that just came in, or undrafted free agent that

just came in. You want to see those guys stepping up. Yeah, we may see the first action of Lashun Daniels from Iowa. Brunson Hill the other running back the Packers have brought in as they've dealt with some injuries and other situations. Here, Jamal Williams, we should point out he is already back on the practice field. He made it back this week very quickly from that ankle injury, So hats off to

him in that respect. Another guy, I've got my eye and West and I think a lot of Packers fans do, and not trying to put too much pressure on him because he's certainly, you know, putting plenty of pressure on himself. But rookie receiver Jamon More, this is a guy who's had some chances to make some big plays in the first couple of preseason games. It hasn't gone his way. We know that when he was drafted in the fourth round out of Missouri, the knock on him was that

his hands weren't consistent. He did have some issues with drop passes in college. We have seen that he hasn't necessarily been able to shake that reputation. But it doesn't sound like he's, you know, that this is some sort of crisis of confidence or anything. He you know, and Aaron Rodgers even said at his locker the other day, sometimes all it takes is one big play for a young receiver to just relax, find the mojo, get into

the get into the rhythm, get into the groove. Jamon Moore is a guy who's gonna have a chance, I think, to do that on Friday night in Oakland. Hopefully he takes advantage of it. Here's what I love about Jamon Moore. Uh, he did. He didn't go into a shell about this. He sat at his locker and every time somebody goes up to him and asked for an interview, he accepts it,

and he takes responsibility for what's happened. He's not living in his own micro climate and trying to just, you know, put together some mental idea or excuse for what's happened. He knows he's not catching the football, and he's trying to do something about it. The thing I was most impressed with Mike I was going down to practice on Tuesday. Before I even got down to the field, I could already see the jugs machine running and Jamon Moore doing the man hands drill directly in front of it. He

was doing that before practice. He did it for I think fifteen minutes after practice or something like that. This is a young man that understands the urgency. He knows there's two weeks left to prove what he has and he wants to tell the Green Bay Packers that he's a fourth round pick and they made the right decision taking him in the fourth round. He has all the ability in the world. Truman Williams said it when where it was an immedia scrum with him earlier this week.

You can tell looking at him on the field what this guy possesses, but that's not nearly what it takes to succeed in the NFL. There's a mental perspective to it, and for Jamon Moore, he's trying to work past it

right now. Yeah, this could be the game of opportunity for him really, because we don't know what exactly the playing time plan is going to be at this point, but based on how the practice reps have been divvied up this week, it doesn't look like Aaron Rodgers and some of the starting guys on offense, Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, it doesn't look like they will play much, if at all in Oakland. And then you add on top of that, Jake Kumara has been injured injured his shoulder in the

Pittsburgh games. So that's another young receiver who looks like he'll be out of the mix for Friday night. You know, Jamon Moore mvs. Eq St. Brown, these guys, this is going to be a big opportunity for them to shine. And you know that that Jamon Moore knows that knows that the spotlight will be pretty bright on him Friday night. I think the Packers offensive coach have done an exemplary

job of giving all those guys opportunities. I don't know off the top of my head what their repcounts look like, what their snaps have been in preseason games, but you and I have watched enough of these practices and seen the two preseason game to understand that there's been a pretty good rotation going there. D'Angelo Yancey, the fifth round pick out of Purdue, also factoring into that, So I

would imagine you're gonna see much of the same. And with Davante Adams and in Randall Cobb, you know who knows how much they're gonna play in this game. If Jake Kumerou isn't out there, a lot of it's gonna be those three young receivers. And we're at a point right now where this is that final stretch. There's one practice public practice, still open to the media. There's two

preseason games. If you're Jaymon Moore, if you're e q st Brown, Marquess, Veldo Scantling, this is where you've got to really sort of have that final burst towards the finish line and showing that I'm worthy of a spot on that fifty three man roster. And if you want to keep your eye offensively on anybody in the trenches, so to speak, as we head to Oakland for preseason game number three, one guy to watch, I'll give you a couple names, but one guy to watch for sure

is Byron Bell. The veteran that the Packers brought in. Started at multiple positions in his career with Tennessee Carolina Dallas. He's been played both guard and tackle. He's been the guy phil in at right guard for Justin McCrae while McCrae recovers from the calf injury from the Pittsburgh game. And this is the guy who's making making a statement that he belongs on this roster. The Packers like the versatility aspect of it that they could plug him in

at guard or tackle if needed. And when you get thrown in with that number one unit when a starter goes down, that says something that the coaches want to take a really really close look at you. Yeah, And Mike McCarthy mentioned it that they've been trying to do everything they can, whether it's you know, Lucas Patrick working

at center. That was the other guy I was going to mention because because the Packers are trying to find exactly who is going to be the backup center if something were to happen to to Corey Lindsley, And from what we've seen of the practice reps, Lucas Patrick is the guy who's getting a lot of opportunities. Yeah, and just like Dylan Day who is mostly taking those number two center reps throughout camp, he's getting some work now

at the guard positions. So we saw Adam Pankey a couple of weeks ago when Patrick was working through some stuff, he got some work with the first team offense. So Packers have a big decision to make their behind that starting five. So you know, you want to find guys, as as McCarthy said, you want to find a guy that can play you know, two or three guys that

can play the center position if they're called upon. But then you also look at a guy like Bell who has for so long in this league been able to show that he can step in at guard if he needs to be. I mean obviously last year in case of emergency, they threw him in a tackle and when Brian Goodakuntz was building this roster this offseason. It meant enough to him to get a veteran swing kind of tackle in there that they went out and pursued Bell.

So he's in that conversation as well. And and not to be honest with you, I've been really impressed with what I've seen from him at GUARD. I don't want to speak for him, but it just seems like to me that is probably his quote unquote strongest positions. So to get some work there, get some familiarity there, and then also still have that flexibility to the tackle spots, Um,

that goes a long way. And and and it's one of the reasons why you know, you think he's entering his eight year in the league now he's found a way to be dependable and really durable throughout the course of his career. Yeah, I would agree, Um, before we switch gears to the defensive side, West a little bit of sponsor business. It is time to enter the Cousin Subs Best Seats in the House promotion. You and a guest could win a chance to kick back on the fifty

yard line in style. Two pairs of lucky Packers fans will be chosen prior to each home game for this v I P experience, enter daily now through December six by completing the entry form and submitting. For complete rules and eligibility, go to Packers dot com slash best Seats Cousins subs. We believe in better okay defensive side of the ball. Here for preseason game number three in Oakland, Who are you gonna have your eye on your Alexander is the number one guy that I'm gonna be looking

at because I think everything checked out. It seems to have checked out okay with the groin injury that made him sit out of that opener against Tennessee. He only played ten snaps last week, but it was all exclusively as the Nicol slack cornerback. I think Alexander much like Josh Jackson, although their different body types gives you that inside outside versatility. But to me, it almost reminds me a little bit of what they did with Casey Hayward, where the starting point for him is going to be

in the slot. We've seen the playmaking, we've seen the confidence, and you know, seeing that in a preseason setting is gonna be really important. Kenn and King mentioned it last week. Too, when he was asked about his shoulder injury and talking about how valuable this time is because when you're a rookie, you don't really have the luxury of just being able to sit out of this stuff. You gotta get in there, You've gotta get a feel for it. Josh Jackson has

done that in the first two preseason games. I think he's much better for it. I think he's seeing that. Not saying that this game isn't as fast as it wasn't the Big Ten. You know that it's fast and it wasn't the Big Ten. But I think he's seen that his game can translate and that confidence this time of the year. Not saying that Jaire Alexander needs a boost of that at all, but it can go a long way for a young player, because Mike is we've

talked about so many times. With all these six you know, defensive backpackages now and guys moving in different spots at any given time, you have to be ready to play from the go. And I think a game like this and maybe potentially next week in Kansas City can go

a long way for Jaire Alexander. Yeah. Well, the game at this level definitely is faster than what any of these players experience in college, and you're right, there is there's that transition from a confident standpoint that Okay, I still understand everything that's going on, my skill set, my

athleticism translates to this level. And once players mentally can can feel confident that even though they're playing a faster game, they can still play it and play it well, then that's when you that's when you start to see the big strides really being taken. You mentioned Kevin King a

minute ago. That's another guy I'm going to be watching to see if he gets some preseason action for the first time because he's been limited well he's coming off of obviously the shoulder surgery from the off season, then a little bit of an issue with his other shoulder. But in terms of getting ready for the regular season, I wouldn't mind seeing Kevin King maybe get some snaps against a Jordy Nelson or a Mariti Cooper. You know, these number one receivers for the Oakland Raiders. This is

an offense that has some pretty high hopes. Let's not you know, let's not mistake this. And with them playing their third preseason game at home, they might be showcasing their starters a little bit more say than than perhaps the Packers will will have to see how that shakes out. But um, but some action for guys like Kevin King j or Alexander could definitely be benefits. And it goes back to something I remember a conversation I had with

Kevin King right at the beginning of camp. It was even before the shoulder, the other shoulder became an issue for him, in him saying that it was he really just wanted to get in a game and feel like a player again, feel like, you know what, I can push at the line of scrimmage, I can dive for a tackle and there's not gonna be any repercussions for that Physically, Mentally, he wants to get to that place again.

And you know, and he hasn't spoken too much about the shoulder injury, so it's hard to say, you know, how much he could be available these next two weeks or what it's going to be like, you know, with him trying to play through that. But that being said, I I just think the ability to potentially get on the field for a guy that's as young as he is, I think we forget how young he was entering this league. Uh, this is this is a golden opportunity. He's a year

older than these these rookies that came in now. But I still very much to view them in the same light in terms of trying to, you know, get that experience and having a guy like Tremont Williams and Devon House around too, that goes a long way for them trying to hone those skills. Yeah. Well, we mentioned a couple of guys to watch in the trenches on offense. I think if you're going to watch somebody in the trenches on defense in this game, I'll throughout a name

for you, and that's Dean Lowry. Now. And there's a lot of excitement, and rightfully so, as to when the Packers are going to have Mike Daniels, Kenney Clark, Mohammed Wilkerson all on the field together on that defensive line. I think we're all very excited to see exactly how that will play out when the games are for real. But I mentioned this, I believe it was last week

in our inside or in Box column. If you want a classic example right now on the Green Bay Packers of a guy who's not a superstar, not even maybe necessarily listed as a starter, but a classic example of a draft and developed guy in this program. Dean Lowry is one of those guys right now, because you and

I have been watching him in practice. To me having seen him when he first came in as a fourth round draft pick out of Northwestern, not saying he was small, he's a big guy, and not saying that he had strength issues, but he just looks so much stronger out there now, whether it's in the one on one pass rush, whether it's in the run defense type of drills, when when you know when you've got to maybe take on a double team block or or just you know, two gap, be ready to go to one side or the other

against that offensive lineman. I really like what I've seen from Lowry. I think he's potentially potentially going to play a key role on this defense as a rotational guy who can get in there and make a play once in a He really can, Mike and I, you and I have watched the one on ones. I mean, he is a bull, and it's he's he's tough to handle. And it's not that it's that much different or that much striking. It's not He hasn't changed his body or anything like that. He's been a he's been a big

guy since he arrived. But particularly with that three technique is what I've really been impressed with. And you can go back and all my coverage over the years of the Green Bay Packers, going back to two thousand twelve, I was always clamoring or a six ft six defensive end, defensive lineman in this defense. They never really truly had that.

They got by, you know, Johnny Jolly came back. They had some guys, you know, Josh Boyd, that were able to hold down those five techniques when asked, I think there's just really something interesting about having a guy like him that is your traditional I think you could refer to as a five technique base end, but also has that ability to be able to get pass rush from the inside. He's exactly where the direction the Packers wanted

to take this defense. He exemplifies that. And I think when you go back to that six teen draft, that was such a statement for them to take Kenny Clark in the first round, in them to take Dean Lowry in the fourth round, because they're both completely different football players. But at the end of the day. I think they have the leverage you're looking for, and to throw them into the mix now with Mike Daniels and then bringing in Mohamed Wilkerson montrevious. Adams is at a really strong camp.

There's a reason to be excited about that defensive line, and it goes past what I think you would refer to as your quote unquote starters. Yeah, I would agree. Well, you know what, gotta call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and of Friday nights preseason game in Oakland on Packers dot com. On Twitter, He's at west Hod I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.