M Hi, everybody, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, sitting next to the one and only West Hodkowits were coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field and West. The preseason is almost over, one game left to go. Next week it will be the regular season. It will be more Packers Unscripted more often.
But before we get to that, we do have one preseason game remaining against the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday night at lambeau Field, after which the Packers will trim the roster to fifty three players also build a ten player practice squad over the weekend. As we head into this, we know the starters are not going to play against the Chiefs. The ask majority of your regulars are are going to be on the sidelines. So who are some of the guys to watch for to keep an eye
on here as the preseason wraps up? Well, it's really interesting way because I know some people when you look at the final preseason game, there's some trepidation. There's people that get anxious. They just want to get to that opener. I personally, and this is just maybe my own personality coming out. But this is to me the most compelling week of the entire season, probably other than if you get to the playoffs or a week seventeen down the
line kind of matchup. And the reason is is because you have ninety players on this roster right now, fifty three will be on the roster going into Chicago, forty six are gonna play. That's almost less than you know, almost half. So the stakes are so high. And the NFL there's no minor leagues that's an affiliate. You're either in or you're out, or you're on a practice squad. So seeing who steps up in these circumstances is always
the most compelling thing to me. Now beyond that, I have to go back to the wide receivers, just because it's been such a tight knit competition from beginning to end. So I look at a guy like Darius Shephard trying to make his final statement of this preseason. I look at you know, if Alan Lazar doesn't play, that maybe means more reps for Jamon Moore trying to still state
his case to be on this roster. If Jake Kumero play, see if he can make a couple more catches here and there, I think we're gonna see all three of these quarterbacks, the backup quarterbacks Deshaun Kaiser, Tim Boyle, Manny Wilkins, seeing which receiver that they can develop a poor with and kind of get some momentum built that position. For me, Mike, the receiver spot has been the one I followed this entire camp, and I'm excited to see how it finishes
out on Thursday night. Yeah, and I think the one that a lot of people are going to have their eye on. You mentioned it at the backup quarterback spot, Deshaun Kaiser, Tim Boyle, Manny Wilkins. Tim Boyle made as strong a statement as he could in Winnipeg that he should be the number two quarterback on this route Suster. We don't know if the Packers are going to keep two or if they're going to keep three. That's another decision that will have to be made over the weekend.
Deshaun Kaiser brought up with reporters. He's perfectly aware of the situation. He knows this is his first time of his three years in the NFL that he's going into the final preseason game and he doesn't actually have a roster spot locked up. He has to convince the brass, so to speak, that he should be on this fifty three man roster. So it's a different circumstance, a different
situation for him as well. I'm not sure Matt Lafleur did not reveal this week with reporters who's going to start the game, whether it's going to be Boil, whether it's going to be Kaiser. My guess is that it's going to be Kaiser because Boyle got the start last week. I think he probably goes back to Kaiser for this one. But regardless if your Kaiser, you need to state your case.
If you're Boil, you need to follow up what you did in Winnipeg and show that that one really, really good quarter of a ball was not just some flash in the pan. It's a great point. And the thing that stands out to me most about this position in particular is Brian Goodicin has talked a little bit about it when he was addressing the media on Tuesday and saying that you know, there's always times where you know
guys are gonna surprise you. Matt Lafleur touched on it too, and you know a guy jumps off the page and makes the roster. Quarterback to me is the position that perfectly encapsulates that. In my time on the beat, I've seen guys win their job. In that last preseason game, Graham Harold did it. I think you look at Scott Tolzien solidified himself and some of those matchups. Brett Hunley did it a few times as well. And then you also saw a guy like Vince Young who looked poised
to be that number two quarterback. Things kind of fell apart in the preseason finale against Kansas City in two thousand and thirteen and he was cut. So for Kaiser and Boyle, Boyle said it perfectly, I mean, there can be no let up. He doesn't care what his passer rating is. He doesn't really care about what's going to happen this weekend. He has one thing that he controls and that's how he performs in this game on Thursday. And for Kaiser, you were the huddle with him this week.
I mean he understands a sense of urgency that goes along with us the media huddle, by the way, not the huddle on the field. But he's a smart guy. He knows what happened last week. He knows he needs to be able to come out and and turn that around and kind of rebuild some of that momentum and show that he is the quarterback that the Packers traded for last year and then lastly Manny Wilkins. I'm sure it's kind of champing at the bit right now hoping
to get an opportunity as well. I mean, his his chances have been kind of, you know limited here due to the competition between Boyle and Kaiser. So yeah, I think that all three of those guys are gonna have a chance to ball out, and whoever comes out of that most likely is going to be on this roster in a couple of days. Yea, And those quarterbacks are
going to have a different voice in their helmet. Uh as far as the play calling goes on Thursday night, because Matt la Fleur told reporters he's stepping back from the play calling for this final preseason game, which is a common practice amongst head coaches who are play callers. They like to in that final priest season game take a little bit broader view, a different get a different
perspective during a game of their team. Matt Lafleur saying he wants to see just how the whole operation is going, how the communication is working between players, between coaches, from players to coaches and all of that. So he's handing off the play calling duties two quarterbacks coach Luke gets for this game, and he specified he didn't choose offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett simply because Hackett has called plays in
NFL games before. So this is an opportunity to for Gets to spread his wings a little bit, get his feet wet in um a new coaching duty, so they'll be that dynamic as well. The quarterbacks position coach is going to be the one calling the plays in the helmet, but a lot of NFL coaches do this, and Matt Lafleur even said two years ago when he was Sean mcveigh's offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, what McVeigh was the play caller that for two of the preseason games,
McVeigh handed off the play calling to him. So that's how he got started with learning that whole aspect of things. So a neat opportunity for Luke Getsy, but also uh for Matt Lafleur as a first time a head coach to step back a little bit and just see really get a look at what he's built over the last few months and where his team is before those roster decisions are made. And that's important word you through in
their Mike team. This is the first time that Matt Lafleur has been responsible for the entire operation offense, defense and special teams. So one of the reasons I always like this when Mike McCarthy would do it and he would usually hand the reins of the offensive coordinator is it not only allows him to look at the skill position players and the offensive line, but it gives him
a chance to take a look at the defense. And as much as you and I were just talking about the position battles on the offensive side of the ball, the stakes are even higher defensively, with you know, the cornerback position, inside linebacker. There's so many different spots that that guys want to prove themselves and Matt Lafleur wants to get an eye on those guys as well. For
gets these perspective. This is incredibly valuable for him to have this opportunity because he is a quarterback at heart, and obviously he has the report that he does with these guys in the quarterback room. But the fact that now he's gonna be able to actually be in their headset go through these plays that he's been installing with him for the last couple of months. I think that's going to be an interesting dynamic, and I'm sure the quarterbacks are looking forward to being able to have that
sort of take on things as well. Yeah, well, a couple other positions I want to talk about. You mentioned one of them inside linebacker, because there's some uncertainty here or in Burke's it sounds like his injury is not necessarily long term. Yet there isn't a specific timetable on exactly when he's going to be back from that chest injury. We haven't really gotten any kind of definitive update on Curtis Bolton and what's going on there so with his knee.
So you have Ty Summers the seventh round pick. You have James Crawford the special teams as, you have Brady Sheldon. It's a really interesting mix of guys and you don't know who all is going to make this roster and
who isn't. Because out of this bunch, I thought Crawford had the best bring through the o t a s we We've seen Thy Summers come along and really show up in the preseason games, but now Brady Sheldon in this last preseason game also showed up and now he's got something to build on here going into the fourth one. So I'm not sure how this inside linebacker position is necessarily going to shake out, and the injuries will factor into it, but the Packers are going to be taken
a close look. I think at all three of these guys in this final preseason game. They are And it's not even really to me about even that second inside linebacker spot right now, the guy that's in with Blake Martinez and first and downs, first and second down situations, to me, Mike, is the Packers trying to identify. Okay,
knock on wood. Blake Martinez plays every single snap you want them to the season, But do you have somebody on this roster that can handle that job, can handle those responsibilities being the communicator in that inside linebacker room. I think that's the task that Tye Summers, James Crawford, and Brady Shelton have to step up to right now, because without Martinez being in this game, they're probably all going to get an opportunity here there to lead their
respective units. Who's going to step up to that challenge. I really liked how to Tie Summers responded. Last week. He had a rough outing against Baltimore. There were some issues that he had late in the game against Houston, but he chimont. He had ten tackles. Nobody else on the defense had more than four, basically played the entire game due to some of the situations they fell into.
Your heart hurts for Curtis Bolton. You hope he gets another opportunity here to showcase what he's doing, because he got off to a really good start. But the fact of the matter is the Packers have a game to play now and in a week and they need somebody that's gonna be able to step into that role. Tie Summers, Brandy Shelton, and James Crawford have to show in this game that they can be accountable and do that and not make the the Packers think about that waiver wire
this weekend. Yeah, and another spot, getting back to the offensive side for a minute here before we move on West at the running back position, Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams. Both of those guys are going to go into the regular season without having carried the ball in the preseason. Yeah,
Jones not playing. And I actually asked Matt Lafleur in one of his press conferences this week about Jamal Williams, because of all the time he had missed during camp, is he going to, you know, get him into a game here before the preseason's out and he's and he said no, they don't really have any plans to play Jamal Williams either. So how is how does this uh, you know, settle itself with the third running back spot. You've got Dexter Williams, the sixth round pick out of
Notre Dame. You've also got Trey Carson, who has carried quite a bit of the load here in the preseason. With Danny Vitally presumably on this roster, with the way we've seen Matt Lafleur in this offense want to use the fullback, and with what Vitality has done, even though we missed some time in camp with an injury, with
what he's done on the practice field. If Danny Vitality is on this team, and if you're keeping upwards of potentially four tight ends, I'm not sure you can keep more than three traditional running backs, which means between Dexter Williams and Trey Carson, who are the guys really kind of in the running for the number three spot, one of them has to go. I agree because the Packers that was one of the things last year is that they were able to go a little deeper on tight end.
They were able to go a little bit more at running back because they didn't have a fullback. I didn't carry one through the final cuts, so vitally. The one thing you really like about having vitality too is that he can give you a guy that potentially could play on third downs, could be accountable in pass protection, and also really Flash is a pass catcher as long as he's healthy. He's got that all around skill set. I think he has a skill set that you really want
from the fullback position in two thousand nineteen. That being said, I think last year in the past couple of seasons have proven why you need a number three running back as well. Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams their opportunities as rookies came from being the guys that were sort of working their way up the depth chart. So yeah, Dexter Williams has flashed as a runner. I really think he's
very instinctive. I love what he does between the tackles, but there's been some drops and there's been some past protection issues. Trey Carson is sort of the antithesis of that. I mean, he's been the guy that's and really strong in terms of what he's done as a pass protector. But the yardage in yards per carry aren't really um you know, maybe what jump off the page to you. So those two guys are and you know they're gonna be running this thing right down to the wire. And
don't forget about Keith Ford too. This is a guy who played in the NFL last season, and if he has a couple of big carries in this game, that's gonna make the Packers think about that as well. So it is. It's gonna be a really interesting battle to see all three of those guys and what they potentially
could do in this ball game. Yeah, all right, Well, before we move on to what's going to be happening this weekend at twelve sixty five here West Select Cousin Subs locations are now offering delivery, whether you're ordering catering or your favorite sub they're delivering right to you when you order online at Cousin subs dot com. Cousin Subs, we believe in better. Okay, So, the final preseason game will end somewhere in the neighborhood of ten thirty PM
on Thursday. I'll try, I'll try to make sure that happens between then and three o'clock Central time on Saturday. The Packers will have to trim their roster to fifty three players. Now, this can happen a number of different ways. And what I mean by that is there are guys who are hurt who could go on injured reserve that trims a roster spot. There will obviously be guys who are released. There's always a chance you could see some trades for a draft pick or something like that. All
those kinds of things could happen. But it all has to happen by three o'clock on Saturday afternoon because the Packers have to be at fifty three. And presumably you're gonna see two players, Greg Roberts and Ibrahim Campbell go on, pup. Yes, that's it's gonna be just a myriad of all these different things happening that the Packers are gonna have to
start through. It was interesting though, because I went to the locker room and I talked to a couple of guys this week about what that experience has been like. Robert Tony, and I thought was one of the guys I really wanted to go to because his first two seasons he got cut by the Detroit Lions and then he ended up and the Packers roster and back to back years. There are actually a very few of those guys in the locker room if you really think about it.
Tremont Williams is one of them guys that have been on both sides of that equation, and it's just so one of the when I opened the show talking about why this is such a compelling time of the year for me, it's so interesting listen to what that day is like for people, and in two thousand nineteen, everybody wants to be on their phones, everybody wants to be connected.
Most of these guys are completely withdrawn. Tyler Lancaster spent his morning the day he got cut last year in the weight room at lambeau Field, eating breakfast, just around the facilities, doing everything he could to keep his mind off things until he ended up getting the bad news. Robert Tanian and Jake Kumero. They went to a driving range, they played video games and waited out the entire day until both of them realized that they had made the team.
So it's just it's one of these things that you put all your focus. Like I said with Tim Boyle, everything is on this game on Thursday night, but as soon as it ends, there's sort of this adrenaline dump and now you're just kind of waiting to see exactly what's going to happen. And to throw one more wrinkle into that equation, Packers have a to prepare for on Thursday, so it's gonna be cut your team, and then you
know you're running a hund twenty towards the Bears. Yeah, with the shortened week, with the Packers opening the season against the Bears in Chicago on next Thursday, everything gets compressed and the other part that will be happening over the weekend while the bulk of the team is going to start its practice week on Sunday to prepare for
the trip to Chicago. You have I believe it's a twenty hour waiver period from that three o'clock on Saturday afternoon until eleven am Central Time on Sunday morning, that all players who are not vested veterans who have been released are on the waiver wire. Teams can make waiver claims base and the claim order is essentially the same as the draft order. So the Packers are twelve in the waiver claim order, just as they had the number
twelve overall pick in the draft. And that's the other thing that can factor in here, West is that guys can make the team on Saturday, but then if the Packers claim somebody and then they are awarded that claim, that player has to go on the fifty three man roster and then somebody else has to go. So a player can make the team on Saturday and then find
out on Sunday that they aren't on the team. Then what happens after that is after eleven am on Sunday, then you can start signing guys to practice squad contracts, and you could build up to a ten player practice squad. Two of the veteran exemptions that are allowed on the practice squad. So there there's gonna be a lot of it's for is it okay? Because originally it was it was two and now okay, so now they've increased it.
See I learned something. No, that's okay. But there will be a lot of roster maschinations and everything going on over the weekend at the same time that the team is going to start preparing for this trip to Chicago. It's going to be a total cluster. And the one thing that's nice for the Packers is the Bears are gonna be going through the exact same thing. It does make you wonder. For the most part, the Packers filled their practice odd with guys that were with them in camp.
They'll bring in a few guys here and there. I think this year, more than any other, it's probably gonna be really important to be able to keep as many in house guys as you can so they know the system, so they can get right into practice on Sunday and not let there be any kind of, you know, let down. The other thing that's interesting too about this particular year. You're absolutely right that is one of the most heartbreaking things about the fifty three is the guys that lose
their jobs the next day. It happened to b. J. Coleman in two thousand thirteen. He ends up being the number two quarterback for a day, and then they went and signed Seneca Wallace and then he was let go. Miles White and two thousand and fifteen finally made the initial roster on his third try, and then James Jones comes in. The one thing that is nice though with it isn't nice because I'm sure Brian Goodaquin would rather
just be able to designate players right now. But you know, you're probably, you know, maybe going to carry through a guy like Econimius st Brown through the final cuts and then you can put them on I R. You can designated a return. That's just an example. I'm not saying that's what they're gonna do, depending on what the timeline
is with Warren Burkes. So there is one thing that if you do claim a player, that's another thing you could potentially do is moving those guys to I R and have him designated to return and having that flexibility, right and as we know, it's it's the nature of the Beast. But the way the injury situation and as you say, the designated to return, the guys that aren't necessarily out for the entire season but the Packers want to keep them have a chance to get them back
on the field in October and November. That all plays into these roster decisions and the waiver claims and who maybe ultimately ends up on the practice squad as opposed to the fifty three because a guy can be on the fifty three then he gets waive, but then if he clears waivers, maybe they want to bring him back to the practice squad. So there's all kinds of things that are going to be going on over the weekend
and uh um. But at the same time, the personnel department is dealing with all that, the coaching staff and Aaron Rodgers and company so to speak, are going to be dealing with Hey, got three days of practice Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and that plane leaves for Chicago on Wednesday. And that's the number one thing that I'm excited about. What this whole thing is that all the focuses going to be on that matchup, that game, and all those guys trying
to make the roster. And once they figure out that fifty three man roster, a lot of those guys on the bubble, well then they moved to the background and everything's on Aaron Rodgers and these starters that we haven't seen this preseason. It's exciting. It's exhilarating. And I'll tell you what, Mike, I mean. You want to talk about the most anticipatory you know, seven eight days that you're gonna have all season. Um, this is going to be
quite the turnaround. But as Matt Lafleur also mentioned the fact that they were able to go on a normal schedule and have Thursday after Thursday after Thursday games, he feels like that sets him up pretty well for being able to get in a remotely normal schedule. Then going into that game against Chicago, Yeah, then you get to at least take a little bit of a breath for a couple of days after a Thursday night opener before guess what, the Minnesota Vikings are coming to Lambo in
week two. So no rest for the weird and we're often running all right well with that, we will call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and of all the roster decisions and the fifty three man roster, everything like that on Packers dot Com on Twitter. He's at west Hod, I'm at Mike Spofford at packers for the team accounts. Subscribe to us like us on iTunes and other podcast services if you will. Thanks for
tuning in everybody. We'll see you next time. H