#427 Packers Unscripted: Week 1 is here

it was a busy weekend. At sixty five, the roster cuts were made, the waiver period occurred, these guys were signed to the practice squad. The Packers have their fifty three man roster for now West and on it. There only two quarterbacks. There are nine offensive linemen. There seven cornerbacks. Where do you want to start with this? I think you want to start with the quarterbacks. Um me speaking for both of us, I guess when I say that.

But it's the story that everybody followed throughout training camp in the preseason, and typically it's always the one that is on the tip of everyone's tongue. And in this particular case, it ends up being Tim Boyle that gets the nod here to be the backup to Aaron Rodgers. They bring back Manny Wilkins on the practice squad to Shaun Kaiser has waived, he ends up with John Gruden now in Oakland. From Boyle's perspective, what a story this

has become for this young man. I mean when you we've talked about a nauseum now about the the journey he traveled coming from the route that he did, the adversity had to overcome at Yukon, and I just thought it spoke volumes about his development. That you can talk about the six touchdowns, you can talk about the you know, the drives, the three consecutive scoring drives against Oakland, but what really stands out to me the most is no interceptions.

And that was sort of his bugaboo a little bit when he was coming into the league, was you know, turning over the football. But you know, the people I've talked to about him have said a lot of those things were just circumstantial in college, and I think to his point, he feels like he needs to still grow. There's still a lot of potential in front of him, but to be in this position now, to be the primary backup Daron Rodgers, I think it's something that's well

deserved for Boyle. Well, I think the biggest thing you said it was if you look at where Tim Boyle is now compared to where he was as a college player, it's that somehow, some way he's learned to protect the football because he the numbers in college said it all in terms of the times that the ball was being turned over, and really, when you look at it, we talked about long shot stories and training camp and how this guy makes it, and this guy really, you know,

has a shot. You know, maybe maybe not, But if you looked at Tim Boyle's college statistics when he first signed as an undrafted rookie with the Packers and said that guy two years later is going to be Aaron Rodgers back up for the Green May Packers offense, nobody would have believed that. And that's just a credit to Tim Boyle and the progress that he's made, you know it.

I don't want to use all the cliches about nose to the grindstone and everything like that, but this is a guy who has gone about everything the right way, even down to when there are twenty five reporters crowded around Aaron Rodgers locker to ask him questions. Tim Boyle is standing off to the side listening to how the a number one two time m v P quarterback is answering those questions. So, oh, hello, you guys. What's going on? You guys? Who are you? Guys are on? Yeah? All right? Hey,

well should we do this? You want to jump in? Yeah? This is all you don't have anything, but you don't have anything going on. We can do this, all right. You can take this over. You don't even need the chair. You can just jump into my spot. No, let's just kick it. What do you guys got We're talking about Tim Boyle. I don't know if audio wise you're gonna be able to pick up though. Does this amplify enough? We were talking about Tim Boyle and the fact that

he deserved it. You being someone that came from, you know, a smaller school when an indirect route, I mean, I guess you could probably relate to his story a little bit. Yeah, I love his story. I mean, he bounced around a little in college, but then he gets here to the NFL, works his way up from uh from being relatively unknown, and here he is now he's the number two quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, behind Aaron Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer. Absolutely John Kon jumping in with us

here at Packers unscripted. We're going unscripted here at this point.

This is totally unscripted, honest to goodness, folks. But when we're talking about long shot stories, though, we also have to talk about Darius Shepard, the undrafted rookie wide receiver from North Dakota State, and you talk about what's on paper, as I just mentioned with Boil, when a guy arrives okay, five ft nine from an FCS school, coming into a wide receiver group that has Davante Adams, has redraft picks from the previous year, has Geronimo Allison, an established pro,

and here this guy, Darius Shepherd, ends up making the fifty three man roster. Again, hats off to a guy who did everything the right way to get where he is. So I was racking my brain about this. Do you ever recall, either your time in Green Bay, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, a guy that came in as a trialut player and made the fifty three as a rookie because Lucas Patrick did it, but it was a year after he was

on the practice squad. The last did it, it was year after on The last guy who did it in Green Bay was Jared Boykin in two thousand and twelve. But even his story is a little bit different because he was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars right after the draft. But then the Jaguars released him almost immediately because they found another guy whatever, they didn't have a spot on

the ninety man roster. So then Boyken comes to Green Bay as a tryout guy on rookie orientation weekend, then ends up getting a contract and makes the fifty three as a rookie. Darius Shepherd. Nobody signed him after the draft, absolutely nobody, and his tryout opportunity was in Green Bay and he came out of that tryout camp and got a contract. And one of the more impressive things that I've ever seen when you look at the position that the Packers were in, they had three returning receivers that

were all draft picks the previous year. Jake Kumero established himself in this offense. Gerano Allison was coming back from the core injury and then Trevor Davis, who everybody sort of forgot about. He ends up having a tremendous camps wait for Shephard to do that. When you look at it, Trevor Davis really had probably the best camp and it came at such a great time because the wide receiver position,

albeit young, was pretty deep there. At one point in time, it was nine guys that you could see making the roster. So for what he did in news last two preseason games, he really made to claim like, hey, I'm here. Don't you forget about me yet? And I think he's going to be an integral part of this offense. And it's

really interesting too. I'm gonna put this in a story that will be on Packers dot Com later this week, but Davante Adams recounted this where the right when the rookies had signed the first I think it was an IPW practice where they all get integrated in with everybody else. Matt Lafleur, the coaching staff had all of the rookies stand in front of the room and say state what they're signing. Bonus was Darius Shepherd had to go after

Darnell Savage. Darnell Savage goes up there, however, many seven figure numbers. Darius Shepherd goes Darius Shepherd, North Dakota State

zero dollars, zero dollars dollars. Now, the other thing I will say to and I may be completely off my rocker here, but there's a part of me when I saw that Shepherd had made this roster and what you said John about Trevor Davis, and we talked about how he came on so strong in the early part of camp and then when he came back after the injury, and the role that I think that type of receiver

has in this offense. It made me wonder when Shepherd made the team, if that's the hedge against if something were to happen again to Davis, that Matt Lafleur doesn't lose that type of player. He's got another guy, a small, speedy guy, a return guy, all those things that Davis brings show Eppard also brings, and it doesn't go completely out the window just because you know something might happen to Davis. Yeah, And the other thing you want to

avoid two is Tremon Williams. As much as you tipped your cap to him last year for jumping in on punt returns. That wasn't the plan, right, You want to have multiple options. I think Shepherd gives him that spot. I think they're they may be hedging bets now with the roster being set, but I think it was those first two weeks when Trevor missed because of the practice injury with the Texans that Darius really stepped up and said, hey,

look at me, guys. I think that's where he made his name, so indirectly, directly either way, they're both on the roster. Can I ask one questions if we're really going off script, Danny vitally sticks as the fullback. You got a chance to talk to him a little bit, obviously, spend some time with him, you know during training camp when you look at the fullback position and how it's

evolving now in the NFL. To me, and not to lead you into the question, but it just seems like he's the perfect embodiment of kind of what you're looking for from that position in two thousand. Yeah, I mean, he missed a couple of preseason games and and and I know that limited what we got to see him in the preseason, but when you look at the upside for what he can do, he really runs routes like

a tight end. He's a little bit smaller than a tight end, but he runs routes very similar to a tight end, which is which is great to having this offense because there's a lot of fullback wheel routes and and and seem routes and stuff down the field twenty yard receptions, uh downfield for a fullback, which is not something that you see in a lot of offenses. So

you need to be versatile in that aspect. And with kind of being nimble in the same mind, he needs to get through the line, he needs to get his read to the mic, to the safety, to the sam whoever he's blocking on the outside zone plays, and I mean he's got the versatility to do all of that well. And you got to have three Northwestern guys there is that you got Lowry Lancaster now Danny Visce. How could I guess that you're going to work that in somehow?

Of course I had to. We all know my affinity there. But folks, 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 Cousins ubs dot Com Cousin subs. We believe in better. All right, guys, Packers Bears. It's Week one, It's the kickoff of the NFL season. There are any number of storylines we could

talk about here. One of the more intriguing ones to me is that as Matt Lafleur is getting ready for his first game as an NFL head coach, the guy on the other side was doing exactly the same thing in almost exactly the same circumstances last year. And Matt Nagy, he's getting ready for the Bears for his first game as a head coach. It's against the arch rival Packers, it's on national television Sunday Night football, is opposed to

Thursday Night football, but the circumstances are eerily similar. And uh, I just I find it interesting that now that Matt Lafleur is almost exactly in Matt nagy shoes from a year ago. It's really quite an interesting situation for the

Packers to be in right now. And Aaron Rodgers even said a thirty to forty percent of the time, you're gonna see a lot of unscouted looks in a game like this, But the part of this matchup that intrigues me the most is the fact that you have Mike Petton coming back with his defense, and you have Matteggie coming back with his offense. But now you've got Matt Lafleur in his offense and Chuck Pagano picking up where Vic Fangio left off with the Bears defense. Everyone knows

what the Bears are capable of. You look at it, it's just a murderer's row of talent that they have, particularly in that front seven. So seeing exactly how this new fangled offense that the Packers have, and Aaron Rodgers said, you know, you gotta be patient with it. It's gonna be a work in progress. But seeing how that matches up with probably one of the stiffest test it's gonna face this entire season, it's gonna be a big heat

of victory. Yeah. And I'd like to get John's perspective here while we have him, because we hear a lot from guys like Rogers, from coaches about all the unscouted looks early in the season, especially the first three or four games. So from your time in the league, just how different is September football because of all the newness of everything and what guy's hot. You know, they hide stuff and don't put it on film in the preseason

and all that. How different is September football from the rest of the regular season is pretty different, and especially the first game because the second game you have a

day of work, you can draw frame. But this first game, the Bears are going to be watching our preseason games, but they're gonna be pulling up stuff from uh when the floor was in l a and when the flour was in Atlanta, and they're gonna be saying, this is what the Packers are gonna They're gonna be trying to hit us with stuff with this, just like we're gonna

be showing these guys stuff. And when Chuck Pegana was in India right how when he was in Baltimore and saying this is kind of more what the defense is gonna look here from Chicago than what it looked last year. But to Chicago's defense, their three or four defenses, there three or four defense. These guys playing the same positions, they're just playing a little bit different of a play

calling style. Chicago definitely has they have the edge on the learning curve with their new coordinator versus us, but nobody knows what this is gonna Look, you haven't seen an offense like this with Aaron Rodgers. It's hopefully when we open that present on Thursday night, that that Christmas present we've been waiting for for weeks. It's a big

shiny toy and it comes out perfect. So this, this challenge against the Bears defense is really some done because you look, you look at what that Chicago Bears defense did last year. First in the league and takeaways. They actually scored six defensive touchdowns last year, which is a

pretty remarkable number. They were first in the league in yards allowed, I believe, first in the league in points allowed, first in the league against the run, um and from personnel standpoint, you know Khalil Mack, Akeem Hicks, Leonard Floyd, Roquan Smith, all those guys in the front seven are still there. The biggest change really is the is the safety swap between the two teams. Adrian Amos now in Green Bay. Haha, Clinton dis is uh is in Chicago.

So how do you see this? Uh, this Bears defense? I guess my question to us is just how different do you think this Bears defense is gonna be with Chuck Begonald versus Vic Fangio when there's been so little change in personnel. Yeah, it's really I think going to come down to that secondary in the fact that you have Busker scrind now too as in there as their nickel after one of the changes at that spot as well.

Adrian Amos had been sort of the the leader, the captain, the guy that brings everything together and to be honest with you, is talented. As Eddie Jackson was coming out of Alabama and coming off the injury that he did. I think Amos Not to take any credit away from Jackson, I think Amos, I mean, that's great to have a veteran like that that's been in the league that started every game that he's played, working alongside you in that

in that capacity. Seeing how Clinton Dix, you know, moves into that spot, Davante Adams said, even you know, he's one of his best friends. You know, they go back a long way. They entered the league at the same time. But he has a few new tricks for him as well that he wants to show. So you know what you're gonna get with Mac. You know, everybody in that front, I mean me personally, I look at real Kan Smith. I think that's one of the most exciting young inside

linebackers in this game. Danny Raven right next to him, So that standpoint, you know what you're gonna get. It's that secondary and seeing how Aaron Rodgers reacts to it is gonna be the big thing to follow because outside, Kyle Furler is as good as they come. Yeah, Kyle Fuller certainly a veteran cornerback that Aaron Rodgers and these

Packers receivers of based numerous times. John, what's your take on this whole The switch of the safety's the how Clinton Dix is now in Chicago and Adrian Amos is in Green Bay. It's going to be a storyline a lot of people want to talk about ultimately. Do you think it will Do you think that change in personnel

specifically will have a big impact on this game. I believe it will have a big impact down the stretch of the season, but in this game specifically, the only way it could possibly have an impact is these guys have seen these skill players on the other teams, so they kind of know how they run routes. They kind of have tells or so they think these guys could be set up for something by one of these receivers. And I know what DeVante is talking about. He ha

ha has played against them for years. He knows what he routes he's gonna run, But does he You know, they can come out with a double move or kind of one of the bite routes where it looks like he's going to the post and come back. So so so that that being said, it's only if they really, really epically failed would impact this game. I think the true test of this game is the run offense for our guys versus the number one rush defense from a

year ago. We now run the outside zone, which is perfect for this defense because the chem Hicks is the run stuff for this defense. We gotta get him running sideways early on. But which way do we run? Do we run at Mac? He's so good at stopping a run, you might want to make him chase down on the backside, but he's that fast too, say he's pretty good at backside.

That's the hardest part is Max Still. You know you want to get a team Knicks moving with or a cheam Hicks moving with with the front with the outside zone, But which way do you run? Do you run at MC or do you run away from him? Yeah, no doubt. And also from the standpoint too, but this game breaks down. I mean, we haven't seen Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams yet, and that's what I was guys end of playing in this preseason. And as Aaron Rodgers said, that isn't going

to dictate anything. If they come out slow, it's not because they didn't play in the preseason. If they come out fast, it's not gonna because they didn't play in

the preseason and we're arrested. But seeing how Aaron Jones I mean to me, that was the biggest storyline of the off season, other than everyone making a big thing out of the Floor and Rogers, is the fact that what the flour has done with running backs in the past, what that offense has done, how they incorporate them in the passing game, how they get them open in space. Aaron Jones is perfect for it, and Jamal Williams is a natural pass catcher. And will there be a pitch count?

I mean, these guys have not played in a game yet. Now there's gonna be seventy players on offense. What's the pitch count gonna be Aaron Jones has never touched the ball more than twenty times in the game, yet the averages five point five yards of carry. I'd like to see him touch the ball on Yeah. Yeah, Well, when we look at what's going on with the Green Bay Packers right now, the first full practice in preparation for the Bears was on Sunday, and a couple of things

from an injury standpoint. Jimmy Graham, who has been dealing with a finger injury, he missed some time at the end of training camp, he was back on the practice field. And Kevin King, who has been out essentially since Family Night with a hamstring issue, he was also back on the practice field. So the Packers working their way back here to try to get as close to full strength as possible for this opener. Yeah, and they did everything they could to get to this spot and being as

healthy as possible. And it's especially given this time frame that they were given. I mean, I don't know how many times you opened up on a Thursday night or how you know, Mike McCarthy handled it, But when you have a seven day timeline like that, you have to be cognizant of your guys. I thought Matt Lafleur did

that for the most part. I mean there's a couple role players that were ingrained in that rotation against Kansas City, but for the most part, it was about making sure that Okay, we're gonna have a healthy fifty throughout their healthy forty six out there going into Chicago. And as Aaron Rodgers said, there may be a couple of pebbles along the road, but as long as you have your main guys in your core offense and defense available, you'll have the horses to get through. Well, they bubble wrapped

these starters in the preseason. I just want to get him to the games. It's it's it's why. I mean, the preseason will will definitely change. But where the Packers truly lucked out as they had four Thursday night preseason games in a row. This weekly schedule is their new weekly schedule. I mean you you basically walk in her on Sunday and say, well, this is our Wednesday, and

everybody knows it. Yeah, yeah, And and that routine is something that the Packers are going to have to do with it again with a Thursday night game in week four.

So um so nothing, nothing new. This is this is one of the more unusual I think starts to the season we've seen, with two Thursday night games in September and the Packers obviously opening with back to back division opponents here Chicago in Minnesota, and you didn't even talk about the biggest storyline of this entire thing, Eddie Pinero is the kicker for the Chicago Bears. They're sticking with them. They're sticking with them. You had some rough spots. Are

either of you surprised it's not Sam Ficking. I'm surprised it's not Sam Fick. I'm I'm a little I'm a little surprised. I William I thought that's who it was going to be. And with what's been going on in Minnesota with their kicking situation, they they ended up releasing the guy that they traded a fifth round draft pick to Baltimore for and then didn't they just swap punters

yesterday and yeah, they picked up coal Quitz. So yeah, what's been going on in the division with with with these teams and these teams the Packers are playing right out of the gate. It's been interesting and I don't know how you felt about it. Back in two thousand

and twelve. But even when Mason was going through is tough times and in Georgia to Vecchio came in, I still felt, you know, the entire time, if Mason's your guy, you feel confident that he's gonna be able to work through this, and there were signs of that at the end of two thousand twelve going into thirteen. I should say,

then you then you stick with your guy. The only thing I can go off of right now with Chicago is that they've been through such a carousel right now with their kickers, they're finally like, we trust his guy's talent. We're gonna try to stick by him, because if you just keep that carousel moving, you're never gonna get any balance. So to your answer question, I was surprised, but after hearing Mattneggie talk about it, I mean, I guess you've got to kind of hope that if you show enough

confidence in a guy who's going to perform. It takes a lot of courage to have to swap out a kicker moments before the open owner of the season, and Eddie Bannero has been there. They said he's been practicing. It is at the at a Soldier Field instead of at the facility they think they have some That's the right call, and if you remember, that's basically the reason they got into this problem in the first place is cutting bait on Robbie Gouldts too early, and it's difficult

to find a kicker when you don't. I can only imagine the tension that will be in that stadium and Soldier Field if there is a big Bears field goal in the fourth quarter, and if it just happens to be from forty three yards away. That's why you trust your kicker, Michael. All Right, Well, 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. Big thanks to John Coon on

a truly truly unscripted holiday Labor Day edition. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday out there on Twitter. He's at West hot I met Mike Spofford. You are J thirty at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time. M