#417 Packers Unscripted: Early impressions

the practice field on Tuesday. But first time there's a new head coach and new sheriff in town, so to speak, running the show since two thousand and six. Your general observations of just what these practices are like, Tempo and efficiency is the number two things, and I hope i'd instill one of those from you in terms of opening up this topic. Tempo from the standpoint of not only how they move in and out of the drills, Mike, but even within the drills. The one that really stands

out to me. It's a really small walk through. It's only about two minutes long, but it's where they have the first, second and third team offenses. Basically just run go routes and the offensive line finishes to the end zone with the receivers. Never seen anything quite like that before. Maybe that's commonplace in the NFL. I haven't seen it in Green Bay. The other element is the fact that all of these practices have pretty much wrapped up in the range between an hour and fifty minutes and two

hours and eleven minutes. And Matt Lafleur was asked about this after practice concluded on Sunday, and the question was, I mean, is there going to be a two hour and thirty minute practice in your two hour and forty Sometimes will see those as you get into the padded work, And he really basically said no. He believes that they can get in the work that they need to get in in that window of time. He likes their evening walkthroughs.

He believes that helps reinforce some of the concepts. And if you really think about it, Mike, those walkthroughs that we often saw with Mike McCarthy's practices, I know a lot of coaches use them. It's like a twenty minute period at the beginning. Well, they're just going to do that later on during the day, So I just think they've been really efficient with their time and also the

tempo in and out of drills has been really impressive. Yeah, I think the thing that stood out to me in terms of some things that are different from the way things were run before. It speaks to some of the conditioning that's built in, like you were mentioning, and it

goes along with the efficiency as well. There are times, whether it's seven on seven or the full team eleven on eleven work where they're split up on two halves of the field, So you have two quarterbacks and two sets of offenses that are running stuff on one end, and then the other two quarterbacks and the other guys on the other end, which is really a great opportunity for guys like Tim Boyle and Manny Wilkins, your your third and fourth quarterbacks at this point to get so

many more snaps than they would in a normal situation. And similar to that we've seen now since the pads have gone on, the offensive lineman and the pass rushers doing the one on one pass rush pass blocking drill. Well, every time two guys square off, they go too snaps

in a row. You know, whether it's Kenny Clark against Corey Linsley, you know two guys who are starters, or whether it's two guys further down the depth chair, they go too snaps in a row, and I think that's interesting from the standpoint of one conditioning, but also we've seen it as we've watched the drill that whoever wins the first rep, usually that guy then makes the adjustment and then wins the second one, and it's a It's one of those things I think that almost simulates a

real game better in that you know, you get beat on a snap, you gotta come right back the next snap. You're facing that same guy again, what are you gonna do? And uh So that's been interesting because it is very different from what we've seen before. The one thing I really liked about that adjustment, too, is in a game, it's very rare that a guy is going to go in for one snap, rush as hard as he can

into the offensive linemen, then come off of the field. Um, there's a lot of physical, physical exertion that goes into that play, and in some ways, I think that's always been something that's been somewhat artificial. Everybody understands the drill is slanted towards the defense, but I think that tilts the favor even more in its favor. But this way of doing it, you look a guy like Josh and i'man who is going up against Rashaan Gary in practice on Sunday. Gary put a great move on him, pretty

handily beat him on the first rep. They go back, they run it back and nine and the six ft seven undrafted rookie, I believe out of Virginia Tech he ends up making the adjustment, is able to stop Gary. I believe that was the only quote unquote loss that Gary had in that drill. Otherwise he was really dominant. So um, I really like it. I think it's really smart.

I think a lot of times in the past two guys would go up against each other again, but it would be eight, nine, ten reps later, going back to back like that. I just think there's a real simulation of an actual game feel. And I think that's been a really nice adjustment that they've made. Yeah, it plays into the tempo of everything that you were talking about

earlier as well. Okay, everybody always wants to know when the first few practices are in the books, even before the first practice is over, who's catching your eye, who's you know who looks good out there? All right, Well, preface this by saying it's been only four practices, only

two of them in pads. There are seven more practices before the first preseason game, and then there are four preseason games that are going to obviously decide this roster and select this fifty three man roster heading into Week one. But all that as a caveat Let's just bounce back and forth a little bit here, starting with the offensive side. Who's caught your eye Jake Kumro and the reason I want to use him is the number one example. Mike.

I had this epiphany after practice on Sunday, and it was trying to think back to last year in any specific instance where Jake Kumro just did not have a good practice, where he dropped passes, he just didn't run the right routes, there was a miscommunication, and honest to goodness, Mike, I just couldn't come up with anything. Maybe you could, but the guy. The word consistent is thrown around so much, so much that it's such a cliche, But with Jake Kumro,

it is truly a fact. The guy in and out day after day, play after play is exactly where he wants to be. You hear Aaron Rodgers go and he and he talks time and time again at his locker about you know, this guy does all the right things. He's a guy that is accountable. He's someone that people should look up to. And you're seeing why. This is why Jake Kumro was not a one hit wonder. This is why he didn't just have a couple of good practices last summer and then fade into oblivion. This guy

made himself a part of the conversation. He made the roster, he made plays late last season, and once again, despite a wide open field, that receiver, he's again putting himself in a position and not only make this team, but find a role in the offense. Yeah, well, I'm gonna go with the guy who's also at that same position. But I want to start by mentioning a couple of other guys because, and this is the thing. The guy I'm going to talk about in a minute is someone

who I've seen put together a string of practices. You might say, there are some guys who have really caught my eye in the first few days. One of them, Jamon Moore, thought he had a really really good practice on Saturday. Deshaun Kaiser. I thought he might have had his best day in a Green Bay Packers uniform on Saturday. I thought Jason Spriggs. He filled in on a day when Brian Bulaga took a veteran rest day, he filled in as the number one right tackle. Thought he played

pretty well, performed pretty well that day. But then he comes back the next day and has a minor injury to his raps is and doesn't have that opportunity to build on another practice. So there are guys who have definitely flashed and guys that certainly I'm excited to see perhaps if they can build on those. But the guy I'm going to talk about, who's that receiver just like your guy Kumarro, And that's Trevor Davis. And the reason I bring him up. We talked about him through ot ys.

He definitely was showing up on the field and O T A S and he was kind of the forgotten guy with his season last year really being lost due to injury. The three draft picks came in at the position, and those were the guys we were talking about all

the time. Trevor Davis on Sunday West, I quite frankly, for the bulk of the practice, whether you're talking the one on ones with the receivers and the dbs or in the team periods eleven on eleven, no matter which quarterback was taken the snaps, I thought Trevor Davis might have been the best player on the field that particular day. He was. He made a catch on the sideline, you know,

toe tapping his feet, a really tough play. In the one on ones, he was just flat out getting open and eleven on eleven consistently would have had one of the biggest plays of camp, except the ball was overthrown. Unfortunately. He's a guy that you're just seeing it from the spring. He's starting to build on everything. There's there's a progression

going on. He's healthy, which of course he's thankful for, and we know what he can do in the return game, and we'll see when the preseason games roll around exactly where he stands in that aspect. But with regards to Matt Lafleur's offense, we've seen these jet sweeps, whether you're handing it off to the wide receiver or just doing the jet sweep action to set up something else. Trevor Davis has lined up in the slot, he's lined up

out wide. If he can keep this up, there's a place for him and his speed and his skill set in this offense. Now, again, I preface that by saying it's really really super early here, and there's a long way to go, but he's, in my opinion, he's making a pretty strong first impression. And one thing that you can definitely say unequivocally without putting out the caveat that it's early in camp is ninety man roster for the

Green Bay Packers. You could make a very good argument pound for pound, Trevor Davis is one of the best athletes, one of the most physically talented guys on this entire roster. When you look at his vertical, when you look at his forty he does things that not a lot of human beings on this earth can do. The key for him has been trying to show that he's more than just a returner. He's more than just what he showed on kickoffs and punts in two thousand seventeen. He wants

to be a part of this offense. And I just think he's done a really good job to this point of the summer of reinserting his name in that conversation, because all summer long, at least all spring, we were so geared towards saying Geron wo Allison, the three young receivers, Jake Cumrow. A lot of times, Trevor Davis was that forgotten name in that equation. I think he's putting himself back on the tip of people's tongues, and I think

he's played really well to this point. I also just want to mention one thing about Kaiser, because you pointed out, as you mentioned in you're correct in this, he's had some of his best practices he's had in the Packers uniform. I think Friday and as you mentioned Saturday, for sure, this is a guy he's gonna say all the right things. He's going to say that the time in Cleveland and the snaps he took our things are going to make

him a better quarterback in the long run. I still debate that just based on how that season went for the Browns, and I think when you look at the history of quarterbacks that have been thrown into bad situations

right away, it's not easy to bounce back from. I think what Kaiser has done a good job of is taking those experiences, taking what happened in his intermediate spurts last year, putting that in his rear view, and focusing on the future, focusing on the fact that he is a twenty three year old quarterback, the fact that in a lot of years this would be where he would maybe start coming out to be a guy that would

finally start seeing regular season reps. He's had an uphill climb to the NFL just because of the situation he was placed in. But now he's been able to work with Aaron Rodgers and listening to him speak at his locker on Sunday, the unwavering confidence that he has right now, that is a skill, that's a talent, and that's something that I think if he can make this thing go, if he can make a career out of this, is going to serve him in the long run. That's that's

the byproduct of it. Yeah, he's another guy who needs who needs to build and continue to show the progress and then when you get to that preseason game, you take it to another level. You you take what you've done on the practice field and show it in another way in an even more efficient, more explosive type of way, and I think he's going to have that opportunity. And he's always had a big arm that The one thing that's been nice to see is some of those long

throws this summer he's been able to make. Now he's still there's still some accuracy the issues there. He needs to obviously keep working on that, but he's put some balls on a dime this year, uh fifty sixty yards out, and that's what you want to see from a quarterback with his type of arm strength. Alright, switching gears to the defensive side of the ball. Who's caught your eye, Sean Gary, I mean it's the easiest question. You asked me on offense. Who was the guy who caught me?

I almost said Rashawn Gary. I mean, that's how quickly I wanted to get that guy's name out of my mouth. I mean this guy and trust me, as you said, it's four practices. In no disrespect to Dayton Jones, he looked really good his first few practices in Green Bay. But the thing that is different about Gary is that he looked good in the offseason program when he was coming off the edge very little contact. You saw the explosive first step. But man, oh man, what he's doing

in some of these one on one drills. He's at a three technique position. I mean, this kid has a lot of powers. Six ft five, two seventy seven pounds. I asked him about this over the weekend, the fact that he was able to cut his body fat from down to ten basically since he got drafted from Green Bay, and that was after he's putting everything that he has into it, going into the draft and making himself as marketable as possible. The potential you know teams this guy

right now, the position that he's in. I'm not guaranteeing he's gonna have ten sacks. I'm not guaranteeing, you know, anything with him. I don't want to put that out there. But in terms of draft picks, first round picks that I've covered here in six seven, eight years now, he's had as impressive as a start when you factor in his off season program. Is anybody that I've seen come through green back? Yeah, you go to practice, you stand there on the sideline and you can't help but notice

the guy. I mean, and and that's that's not just because of his size, but it's because if you're watching, you see something happen and you're like, oh, who is that? Oh yeah, it's number fifty two. I mean he just he stands out on a regular basis out there on the practice field. I think he's off to a tremendous start. There's no question about very violent hands too. Yeah. I mean it's incredible with the amount quicknesses he has, the amount of power he generates. Kid has all the tools. Man.

He's a powerful He's a powerful, powerful young man. There's no doubt about it. The guy I'm going to mention on the defensive side of the ball is a guy that we didn't see throughout the spring and the fact that he has been out there from day one in training camp and I think getting his feet back under him and doing what he should. I think you already know who I'm gonna say, and it's Kevin King, number twenty. He's been with the ones, he's been with the first

string as a starting cornerback. He and jayro Alexander. We talked about them as the pair that really need to stay healthy and be on the field. I think for this Mike Petton defense in year two to be at its best. I you know, I'm not saying there are pacific plays that have jumped off the page at me

that Kevin King has made. But he's walked out there and performed thus far in training camp as though he didn't miss a bunch of time, and as though he hasn't had these injury issues that have forced him to miss unfortunately a lot of games in his first two seasons in the NFL. I just want to point it out. I think he's off to a good start. I'm sure,

I'm sure Mike Petton is happy about that. And if the Packers can keep this guy healthy along with Jayar Alexander, those two guys at cornerback, you really really like that young tandem. Yeah. One thing, The Packers yearbook is now on stands now there in the public. Get out to your local bookstore and pick that up or buy it on Packers pro shop dot com. Yeah, but there's a story that you wrote on him and Alexander, and I

think it's a very salient thing to point out. Is that to me, that story told at all in terms of what these two guys want to do to push each other and if everything, if all the stars aligned, just how special that tandem could be for this team. That being said, the Packers had a very big plan for King this offseason. They wanted to take it easy with him. They didn't want to have any more setbacks

with the soft tissue injuries. They got him to training camp healthy, and the fact that he's been able to reinsert himself into those team periods I think has been really important. I'll be curious to see how they handle him with preseason and things of that nature, because he still is a very young guy. I think he's still only twenty three or twenty four years old, so those

are obviously reps that would benefit him. At the same time, you want to be cognizant of it to get to the regular season because they are fail they are still very young at that position. Despite Truman Williams being in the conversation as well, but just as far as King is concerned, he's put behind some of those injury things. He does look kind of bigger to me a little bit,

especially in the arms. I just think that he's a guy that we talked so much about Jaire Alexander and for obvious reasons kids extremely talented, but Kevin King has had real nice bright spots as well. So if they can get both of those guys going get the two number one cornerbacks as I think they're gonna start calling themselves. Um, that's something the Packers haven't had in years. They just haven't had two stable guys at those outside positions that

you can move around a little bit if you need to. Man, probably since going back to Sam Shields and went Tremont Williams was in his prime. Yeah, yeah, I think I would agree with that. Packers will have three practices this upcoming week at rain Field Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday all at ten fifteen, then Family Night on Friday night inside lambeau Field. As we go into uh, I guess you call it week two of training camp or however you want to phrase it. What are you going to have your eye on?

What are you gonna be watching for? Anything specific? I want to see how the guys continue to battle with the pads on. I mean, because we've only they went half pads. I know Matt Lafloor still feels like that was a fully padded section session. But this is the big time of the year where you can start getting those back to back pad. This is the only time the year that stuff happens because once you get in the regular season, you only get pads once a week.

So seeing how guys respond to that, how they react to that, how they get their bodies back in shape, it was funny. I'm gonna write about this later this week, but I was talking with Cole Madison about just how weird it was putting on pads for the first time since the Senior Bowl in two thousand and eighteen, and you know, he said, it just it takes a minute to just get those on and kind of get that first pop and feel that feeling again. But it's an

exciting time for them. And also the other thing I'm very intrigued to watch as this thing develops is, you know, if they can get Darnell Savage back on the field. He's been out for four days with the wisdom to um you know deal uh Raven Green has been getting some really valuable reps there in his place. But the Packers, the tandem is Adrian Amos in Darnell Savage. They were building up some chemistry throughout the offseason program. If Savage can get out there sooner than later, I think it'd

be cool to see how that develops. Even more Yeah, that was the guy I was going to mention is Savage because taking nothing away from Raven Green, he has stepped in as the other safety with Adrian Amos with the number one defense while Savage has been out. But I think everybody's interested to see what Savage is going to do, and you'd like to see him get a handful of practices under his belt before that first preseason game when you're really trying to get some things to

come together. So we'll definitely be watching for number twenty six. The other thing I think we need to mention here and I'm gonna need your help on one of the names, but the Packers have added two running backs to the roster here in the last week, and which really makes the running back competition in terms of the pecking order and maybe how many guys are going to be kept on the final roster. You had Corey Grant who has been signed. He's a four is a fourth year veteran

undrafted free agent. Yeah. Um had played uh for Jacksonville. Um had a really nasty foot injury last year that unfortunately cut his season short, but he is back healthy and on the roster. And then the Packers also laimed a running back off waivers from Cincinnati and I need Hall. That's right, and so you've got obviously Aaron Jones is your number one. Jamal Williams, he's missed a couple of

practices now with a minor hamstring injury. Dexter Williams, the rookie sixth round pick out of Notre Dame, and now these two new additions at running back. This is going to get interesting here, West. You know what, I absolutely love, love, love, love love about how they've approached this backfield. They also have Trey Carson, who's been in the NFL before two and doesn't have an NFL carry, but has spent parts

of three seasons in the league. There was years, Mike where you knew that it was going to be Eddie Lazy, James Starks, maybe a draft pick after that, and then they'd have some undrafted rookies that would just sort of eat up some snaps during the preseason. They shake their hand part ways with them at the end of it, maybe they come back on the practice squad. They could have very easily done that this year with Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams. Then Dexter Williams is the sixth round pick.

In previous years, I think Dexter Williams would be just you just put him on the roster and let him develop. But they're bringing guys that have different skill sets and that could push for playing time. Corey Grant had a four point to four time in the forty at his Auburn Pro Day. Now that wasn't the combine, but it still gives you an idea of how fast this guy is.

If you look at the plays he made in Jacksonville, two fake punts, one of which went for a touchdown, both over fifty yards, average eight point three yards per carry that one year with the Jaguars, you can see why Nathaniel Hackett and his history wanted him to come to Green Bay. And then when you look at Hall, this is a guy that averaged seven point nine five yards per carry. I believe in his last year at

Pittsburgh broke Tony Dorset's single school record. Those are two guys that have big home run power out of the backfield. In addition to Carson, so I have imagined that Aaron Jones is gonna have a light workload in the preseason. Jamal Williams is dealing with the hamstring. But those guys will get a lot of work now in these next couple of weeks, and it's gonna be really interesting to see which one could prevail with Dexter Williams in that

battle for the number three spot. Yeah, and when you look at just how many running backs are going to be kept on the roster, We've seen Danny Vitally at fullback getting a lot of action here, and we've talked about how it looks like there is a role for a fullback. If Vitality can prove to be that guy as well as a help on special teams, then that's another running back at that position. You're going to keep a guy. So then how many of those other guys,

the more halfback types do you keep it? As you mentioned, different skill sets, different physical attributes with these guys. So there's there's gonna be a mix of things, a mix of of showings throughout the preseason as these different guys take their turns in the backfield. I think it's gonna be fun to watch. And I've been trying to tell people. I've been trying to say this since May. The fullback position in Green Bay. I'm not saying it's here to stay.

I'm not gonna make any guarantees with the roster, but Danny Vitali is playing as many snaps right now and team periods as I've seen from many fullback going back to John. I mean, he is just it has been an emphasis. There's so much ie form stuff, there's so much twenty one personnel. This guy has made the most of those chances too. So yeah, it's gonna be really intriguing to watch how that whole thing develops. All right, Well, with that, we will call it a wrap on this

edition of Packers Unscript. Would be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and of training camp on Packers dot com. On Twitter, you can follow him at west Hot. I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account, like us, subscribe to us on iTunes and other podcast services if you like podcasts, were there for you as well. With that, we will see you next time.