#409 Packers Unscripted: Powerful praise

want to start with this. We don't normally start a show with something that an assistant coach says on this show, but if there is one thing to take away from that availability with the defensive assistant coaches, it's that outside linebackers coach Mike Smith could not be more fired up about Rashaan Gary being in his room with his guys. You know what it reminds me of I remember as a kid, right, you have a Christmas morning Santa puts

out all the presents. I remember there was this one year where I think I had said I wanted like I don't know if it was like a cactus Jack or Mick Foley like figurine type deal. For like WWF and I really wanted this thing. It was like a three different figurines and I got it and as soon as I got done, I didn't even touch the other presence. I got done with this box, I ripped it open, ran downstairs and played with it. Numind I was like ten years old at the time, so give me a

break here. But I was like ten years old and I I just sprinted. Did that not seem to you? Like what Mike smith did the night that they drafted Rashawn Gary. He actually made a comment that he like was running up and down the hallway, which I'm not sure if it was too much of an exaggeration. He's he's really really excited about the fact that the Packers drafted Rashaan Gary at number twelve overall and that he's

going to get a chance to coach this guy. And everybody always says they like their guy, their guys always the number one player in the position their draft. But Mike Smith Man listen to him talk, I believe it. I mean this guy, I mean, I'm a non athlete here, five ft nothing, hundred and nothing. I wanted to run through a wall for the guy. By the time he got done talking, he was fired up, and he's excited about Sadarius Smith, Preston Smith, all of the resources they've

added into that room. But as he said, when he looks at Gary, he doesn't care what the pundits say. He's not paying attention to who's writing what about these prospects. He's just looking at them at face value. And he said afterwards, with all the criticism that Gary received for his motor, how much you know, taking plays off at Michigan, He's like, you go and find anybody at the University of Michigan that said that. He's like, trust me, I talked to him, all, you're not going to find anyone

they believe in the kid. Yeah, he didn't get as many sacks as maybe people want for a top you know, ten, top pick. But as Smith said, he's like, I'm not as interested in that as as much of him affecting games, affecting plays, and that's something he did at Michigan. He made people around him better. Yeah, I mean that was the thing we heard in a very general sense from Mike Smith throughout his discussion with the media as he talked about affecting the quarterback and there are all kinds

of different ways to measure it. I know you and I had talked about it when the Packers signs Darius Smith and Preston Smith. Neither one of these guys is a double digit sacker, you know, doesn't have fifty sacks

in his career anything like that. But when you look at some of the other metrics that are used by Pro Football Focus and other websites and other analysts out there, when you talk about pressures and the times that a quarterback is affected by a certain individual individual, it's guys like the Smiths who ranked pretty high across the league in that even if they didn't ultimately get the sacks.

Where Shawn Gary by all accounts that it sounds like it sounds like he had a very similar type of career at Michigan, but also in the sense that there's a lot of film that shows him being double teamed and whatnot, you know, freeing up his teammates to to do things. I don't see Rashan Gary as a rookie in the NFL getting double team So if he's single blocked, okay,

let's see what happens here. And Mike Smith's biggest point at the end of it was if I've got a bunch of guys in that room that are all worried about how many sacks they're gonna have, they're gonna be really disappointed football players because it's hard to get him in the NFL. The way they're going to be evaluated is how they affect the quarterback. And he's excited about

the group he has. Yeah, And one thing I thought was really interesting too that he pointed out he looked at de Ford and Justin Houston to Pro Bowl pass rushers, edge rushers, outside linebackers that he had his book ends in Kansas City, his time in Kansas City, and he mentioned, you know, when you look at the getoff that Ford had and just the pure power that Houston had, he

sees both of those trades in Gary. And another thing he mentioned as well, when people want to talk about the sack numbers at Michigan, they had him playing with his hand in the dirt is a six It's really difficult to get pressure on the quarterback as a five TECH. That a five tech you're already on the outside shoulder, you know, basically lined up with the tackle. Six tech you're even wider as a defensive alignment in terms of

what his assignments are there. He's not just an edge rusher in a two point stance, just jet rushing towards the quarterback. There are assignments that go along with that. He said that that also factored in in Green Bay, as I believe it was. Also it was either Smith or it was Jerry Montgomery had mentioned, you know, they're already in some of these practices, Zadarius Smith and in Rashaun Gary, they're working with the defensive alignemen and some

of these drills, uh, these positional drills. They're trying to cross train these guys and working together to make sure that yeah, they're good on their stunts, but also so that when Zadarius Smith has to go inside or when Gary's going to go inside, those guys can you know, fit the bill and those one and three techniques and sub packages. So it's a very interesting blend of talent that they had. I think the biggest change that you've

seen from last year this year. Claim Matthews was very versatile. Claim Matthews wasn't gonna play one tech nos in a dime package. Nick Perry did a little of it, but in the in the end he was mostly an outside guy. Both of the Smiths Gary they're gonna move around, They're going to use these guys in different ways, and as Mike Smith said, they're gonna have four outside linebackers on the field again. Packers at times last year didn't have

four outside linebackers on the fifty three man roster. So I just think it's a it's a new day for the defensive line. There's an energy there in Mike smith Man. We've only had two interactions with them so far in the media, but this is the type of guy that

I think i'd want to play for. Well, this is another interesting thing I'm gonna throw out there too, because, as you know, about a week ago, I got a one on one interview with Mike Petton for a Packers yearbook story that I'm working on that will be published in the Packers Yearbook later this summer, and just going over different things, different position groups, all the change that's going on on the defense, and completely unprompted, Mike Petton

said he called Mike Smith the best outside linebackers coach in this league. Now, he wasn't as animated about it as Mike Smith was at the podium talking about Rashaan Gary.

But Mike Petton's been around the block. This this is not his first rodeo, and I sense just from that comment how excited he is as a defensive coordinator that a guy that played for him and a guy that he knows as well as he does and has followed Mike Smith's coaching career, even if they haven't worked together at every stop, that this is the guy that's coaching his outside linebackers in this defense. There is definitely, uh, there's a there's a palpable excitement to how this is

starting to come together. And the other thing you have to take in consideration too, I mean, the proof is in the pudding when you look at some of the guys that Smith has developed Kansas City. I know they had their ups and downs as an overall defense these past few years, but they've had so many young pass rushers emerge underneath him, and before that during his time with the New York Giant New York Jets being able to have the success that they did. So oh, I

just think it's a new day. I think there's a lot of excitement and anticipation that you know, whether it is you know, we Shan Garry. We're not expecting him to come out and have fifteen sacks out of the gate, but as he develops and having Kyler Faco coming back after ten sacks. They were both both Petton and Smith were reffusive in their praise of of Gilbert, Reggie Gilbert

and being assignment. Sure, there's five guys there now in addition to some you know, returning players, that all are going to be competing for snaps in there, and the figure that that rotation gets, the fresher that guys get, and the more that you can do with them in the third and fourth quarter. Yeah, Well, staying on the defensive side of the ball, and speaking of competition, one of the things that we had discussed in our O t A preview was was how things we're gonna look

at the safety position. Darnell Savage is indeed with the number one defense right from the get go. He's paired with Adrian Amos when the ones are out there, it is those two guys. But the other thing that's interesting here West because as we had mentioned, Josh Jones is not at O t A s there are reports that he's potentially requesting a trade. We'll see what happens as the rest of the spring goes along. We get to the mandatory mini camp when all players are required to

be here later in June. But in Josh jones absence, you talk about opportunity knocking on the door. Raven Green, Um, this is the guy coming off of an injury last year. You wouldn't know he missed a bunch of time with injury, just based on physically like how he looks. And then another young guy, Natrelle Jamerson, who came out of the University Wisconsin, has bounced around to some different teams and

bounced around between cornerback and safety. He's also now getting a look at safety with Josh Jones not being around. So Um, there's definitely even though Amos and Savage they're your they're your top pair, there's some legitimate competition in that safety group for playing time. And Mike Petton said too, I mean safeties are still going to be in play at that inside linebacker position as well. I think if they had their druthers, you're gonna have quit, i should say,

or in Burke settling in there. Yeah, but they still need that hyper tendencies and some of these guys also work the slot as well, So you need to have a really good core of four and sometimes more at that safety position. Jamerson and I think is one of those guys that fits into what Jason Simmons, the defensive backs coach, was talking about. There's no qualifications, no position listed on him. They just want to get these guys

out there, give them the most opportunities they can. If Josh Jones isn't here, that's gonna open up reps in that second team defense. It's gonna open up and really afford Darnell Savage the majority of the reps next to Amos who those two guys are being viewed as the cornerstones now for this defense and providing stability there. But getting back to Raven green Man, I mean that reminds me of a young Mike Spofford on the campus of Lawrence University. Shot, got the sleeves up, the guns are out,

you know, kind of just putting out a vibe. I mean, as I wrote an inbox, that's a young man that did not take his offseason lightly. I mean he went and put in some work. He did finish last year on injured reserve, but he did some really good things to make this roster as an undrafted rookie and to be able to also contribute the way he did on special teams. The Packers like him. I mean, coming out of James Madison, he didn't have a whole lot of buzz. He was viewed as one of those kind of diamonds

in the rough type player. But they've had success finding those guys in the undrafted ranks that have been able to contribute on special teams and at the safety position, and right now, with the way that that depth chart looks, the positions there for him to really, you know, solidify himself in that number three role on the back end. Yeah, well, you mentioned special teams and that's the point I was

going to make as well. When you're talking about these guys who are getting their reps in the eleven on eleven and the practices we watch when we see them getting reps with the twos and the threes, especially the guys who are with the two's, if that's where they are on the depth chart right now, then it's like, Okay, those are the ones you make the note of and go Okay, when the preseason games roll around, we're gonna be watching punt return, punt coverage, kickoff return, kickoff coverage.

Because if those guys who are with the two's are also making a name for themselves on special teams and getting noticed there, those are the guy eyes who are gonna make the fifty three. We've seen, We've seen it every year. They might not get a snap with the number one defense or the number one offense all training camp or even in any preseason game, but if they're making plays on special teams in the preseason and they're holding onto the number two spot at their at their

position with the second unit, those are the guys. Those are the guys who make the fifty three, and they're the guys that the coaching staff is counting on to be impact players on special teams and to be able to step in when somebody goes down. And one of the things people always ask, especially in the days leading up to final cuts and that last preseason game, is Okay,

who's in and who's out, who's on the bubble. There is one litmus test for you to be able to figure that out, and it's how specifically that I've always the thing I've always used is how their kickoff coverage unit looks, How their kickoff returning unit. Looks who's on those number one teams. That's where we started to get a hint that, yeah, James Crawford really has a chance

of this thing. Yeah, a guy that showed up two weeks into training camp and all of a sudden, the last preseason game, he's on all the number one special teams units. He's making a bunch of plays, and you and I are looking at each other in the press box, going, hey, when this guy showed up, we didn't even give him a second thought because it was September eight or September ten, I mean sorry, August August eight, August tenth, whatever day it was that he showed up all of a sudden

at the last preseason game. We're looking at each other going, this guy's got a legitimate chance to make the teams the one per center because there's so many guys that get added after training camp starts. And to be honest with you, Michael, I can only think of to him and Chris Band. Chris absolutely, But getting back to that point I was making about special teams, and I know this will bring up some bad memories for Packers fan.

But Brandon Bostick in two thousand fourteen, d J. Williams was the number one guy in the little posse on that kickoff return unit, and then suddenly Brandon Bostick one day at practice overtook him. Bostick made the fifty three Williams didn't. So that's the thing to track. I mean, there is some validation to what you see on the

field when you get to training camp. So whether or not it's a Raven Green or James Crawford, when those guys start to get that work, especially late into the summer, that's when you can start to feel not necessarily good, but start to get an idea of you know what, I have a real chance making this thing happen. Yeah, well, it's definitely something that we watch, you know, right from the get go and training camp when the pads go on.

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Try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. Just visit your local supermarket and asked for Campbell's Chunky super official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. I have to be my own own buds, been here to make sure I get this right. I don't anything to be inaccurate. That was two thousand thirteen, not two thousand fourteen when Bostick

overtook d J Williams. Yes, d J Williams was what did not make the team in Well, we're all about accuracy here on Packerson's We do our best we and we know people will call us that when we're wrong, so so yeah, we definitely try to stay on top of that. Shifting gears quickly was to the offensive side

of the ball. We did hear from quarterback Aaron Rodgers at his locker after that open practice earlier this week, and he was asked a lot of questions, obviously about learning and processing the new offense and how's it going, and he's reserving a lot of judgment, you know, as far as eleven on eleven type stuff. They had a couple of days of a veteran minicamp before the draft.

There just a couple of days into O T A S. He's not gonna draw any grand conclusions, but he did say he's sort of laying it out there for himself that by the end of these O t A s and then that mandatory mini camp in the middle of June, he wants to be at a certain comfort level with this offense so that he can come back in training camp and just be in a very different place. Now they're still gonna be learning and installing and all of

that that goes on in training camp as well. But I kind of get the sense, I'll just bounce this

off of you to see if you agree. I get the sense hearing from Rogers the other day that he knows that he has a lot to learn, but he's also kind of looking at he he's like the kid who has to go home every night and is doing all of the extra studying and the extra homework so that he comes back to the classroom the next day and is raising his hand all the time because he's taking what I'm saying is he's taking the leadership responsibility of this, of the transition to the new offense, very

very seriously. He knows he's the singal signal caller, He's got the ball in his hands every play, he's the two time m v P. He's the guy who's got to lead the charge here. The coaches are only going to be able to do so much to teach these guys this offense. Aaron Rodgers knows that there's a lot on his shoulders, and he's not backing away from any

of it. No. It is funny you bring that up because the way I did read that, especially if to listen to the defensive assistant coaches, there were two players on this team. They're probably the acception. Everybody else is trying to learn the playbook. Then you have Aaron rodd Is on offense in Blake markin defense, and it's like they have to be the master level, like the AP style, like the one that's above that, and certainly both of

those guys embrace it. Rogers. It's very interesting to another degree because, like as Matt Lafleur has said numerous times this offseason, he's gonna still have a lot of freedom at the line of scrimmage to check out of things and to try to get the Packers offense into the best play possible. Well, in order to do that, you

need to know this offense inside and out. And for people unfamiliar with what the off season program is as compared to training camp, at least during the time that Mike McCarthy was here, those O t A practices and then into the mini camp, those are basically used as a avenue towards installing the entire offense. Then by the time you get done, you dismiss players. They come back five years later, and then you go through the process again.

It's almost like researching and then implementing. Now, Matt Lafleur said, the way I understood it when he talked at the podium a couple of days ago, was that, Okay, maybe they won't have everything in, but we're gonna know what this offense is by the time they break after mandatory mini camp on January from June, and from Roger's perspective, he wants to be on top of that because once they get back July got that date right, it's it's you know, your all systems go. Yeah, it's full speed

ahead come July. You know Rogers, he had said earlier in the offseason program, he's talking about having You know this, this is not a grace period year. I mean, this is a veteran quarterback, a lot of veteran players on offense. When you look at the offensive line, you look at your number one and number two receivers, you look at your number one running back. These are all guys who have been in the NFL. Your top tight ends, guys who have been in the NFL for a long time.

This is not this is not some kind of a red shirt year for the for the offense just because it's new. Come training camp, Rodgers wants to be able to hit the ground running. And that's what makes this. These three weeks of O t A s and the mandatory mini camp when they get they get a lot of eleven on eleven makes it so important because as you said, West, first they install the offense in the classroom through a lot of the O t A they have, they have a lot of meetings I'm sorry, through the

off season program. They have a lot of meetings through phase one, in phase two, then in phase three, they're still having meetings, but they're also getting to do the eleven on eleven stuff. It's the first time to try

that all out. Then you get to training camp and it kind of all gets crammed in together where you're having because the days are longer, the players are here a lot longer throughout the day, you're having the meetings and the practices, and then meetings that are reviewing the practice film, and you're cramming all of all of that installation, classroom and on the field into those first few weeks of training camp. Then to get ready for the preseason games.

So this is where they get to take it slow and learn it, and then the pace of everything is ramped up come late July. Absolutely, I mean that's the way it has to be in this environment now with the e b A and being able to kind of maximize those days. It's one reason why too and Matt Lafleur was asked, you know, is the team going to

break during mini camp? Mike McCarthy always, Actually, the last couple of years, I don't know if the veterans were even participating in the mini camp, they'd always break and do team building exercises well, floor basically put it out there saying, no, we need all three of those days to be able to get to where we want to get to, not only with his offense, with Mike Petton and his defense. He has new players coming in Rashawn Gary.

All these free agents in addition to the guys who are back, are only one year in the scheme, so time is so valuable right now. It is voluntary. Players are not obligated to be here. But you look at that receiver battle, which we'll talk a little bit about next week. You tell me you don't want to be the young receiver that's not here for that being able to try to carve out the number two or number

three starting spot in this offense some high stakes. Yeah. Absolutely, Well with that, we will call it a wrap on this edition of Packers on Script. Would be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com. Subscribe to our podcast, like us on iTunes and other podcast services. If you're so inclined on Twitter, you can follow him at west Hot I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, Enjoy the holiday weekend to see him as ye