#537 Packers Unscripted: Projections to ponder

I'm doing fine. You know the best part about this whole scenario as you open up with Hey, we're doing this social distansing style. This is just the way it is now for the last five months. I mean, it's almost like we've had our own season of Distance Unscripted as Uh, we're doing the best we can. I'm still safe and healthy. I hope the same to you and yours. Yeah, absolutely, well. The first practice of Packers training camp is still a

handful of days away. I think as the week goes on and into next week, when practices get rolling, we'll start talking a little bit more about position battles and how the roster might shake down. There are a lot of things to talk about over the next few weeks in that regard. But I want to do today's show throwing a couple of questions at us. So question number one for you because I just I like to start

conversations this way. I hope it works for you. Um, Aaron Jones and the Smith Brothers were the individuals on the Packers offensively defensively who had what you would call the breakout seasons in twenty nine. So my question to you to start us off today is which of those guys, Aaron Jones or the Smith Brothers collectively has the tougher act to follow in too follow up what they did, to potentially repeat or even improve on what they did.

You haven't thoughts there. That's a really good question, Mike. I think you and I probably could build a one hour radio show off of this, I mean alone, that's a really smart one to think of. You know, I think I'll probably go with the Smith Bros. And the main reason for that is they set the bar so high for themselves in the year one. Uh that that's not saying that you can't attain that. I mean, certainly precedents and Darius last week both said that's their goal.

They want to be able to take this thing to another level. But man, when you go out and you signed two unrestricted free agents, two guys that weren't even in this system, and they both fit so flawlessly into what Mike Petton wanted to do. It's incredible what those two were able to accomplish right off the bat. There wasn't one of these little lulls like where you had to write a story in September and October like, oh, you know, they haven't fit in yet, they aren't getting

the production. Yet they did it right from the first game in that in that matchup against Chicago, and they carried it throughout the rest of the season. So I think the tougher act to follow is the Smith Bros. Just because they set the bar so high for themselves, Whereas with Aaron Jones, there's still so much out there for him. Yet he had fifteen hundred total yards, he had a boatload of touchdowns, and there was a lot of records that he broke, but yet he still only

did that on what two hundred some touches. I mean, it's not even like he had this this year where he was just the predominant bell cow. So I look at the Smith Broses being the two that had the toughest act of following now going into yeah, I think

I would agree with you there. As far as making that choice, I do think it was rather remarkable how the system fit, the scheme fit of the Smith brothers in Mike Patton's system was about as as smooth and easy and almost perfect as you could get for two guys as free agents coming into a brand new team and all that. You know, I like to throw a lot of stats at you, the stats and info portion of things. So here are a few things about the

Smiths from nineteen that I think are interesting. Not only both of them with more that with a dozen sacks or more on the season, which since sacks became an official state in the first pair of teammates in the same season for the Packers to each have twelve or more sacks, but individually a couple of interesting things. Darius Smith had four games in the regular season with two

or more sacks. You have to go all the way back to two thousand and six and a pretty darn good pass rusher named Aaron Campman to find a regular season where a Packers individual pass rusher had four games with two or more sacks, and then what did he do against Seattle in the playoffs? He had another two sack game and gave himself five. Okay, now, Preston Smith twelve sacks in the regular season, seven of those twelve sacks on third down, the money down. And then what

does he do in the postseason. He has two sacks against Seattle and one of them being on a huge third down in the fourth quarter. You just you can't understate or overstate maybe it is, Yeah, you can't overstate the impact that these two guys had and in their first year here in Green Bay with Mike Patton's defense, and that's why I do think their act is a little bit there. They've given themselves a little bit tougher active all well, And this was the biggest shift I

thought the Packers made with Mike Petton in this defense. Now, this is no disrespect to Dom Capers. He's one of the best that's ever done it, a guy that has all of my respect and admiration. But one thing that happened in the later years of the Caper era was that you get to those third down, those dime packages, and I think there was this collective kind of everyone holding their breath about Okay, can you hold here? Are

you gonna be able to get enough pressure? Are you gonna be able to really, you know, get the ball back to the offense in those situations when the off when the defense was probably at its best, they were able to do it. When they didn't, that's when you

saw them really struggle. One thing that I thought throughout the course of last year really made a difference with Mike petton scheme is once you got into third and seven plus, everybody just had this look on their face like, Yeah, it's time to eat and this team is not going to get those six, seven, eight, nine, ten yards to be able to get that first down. We're gonna try to take even more from them with a sack. And obviously now they both the Smiths have talked about the

emphasis on the forced fumbles this year as well. That's where I thought they really hit the note in two thousand nineteen when it was third down, that was the Packers down. In a lot of times they were able to dominate. Yeah, and what you said about the forced fumbles, I think it's interesting maybe that's the next step for this pass rushing duo because twenty five and a half combined sacks in the regular season twenty nine and a

half including the Seattle playoff game. But yet on those twenty nine and a half sacks only two forced fumbles, one by each guy. That's the place where they can take their game to the next level, because as impactful as sacks are, obviously turnovers are the types of plays that change games. And I do think it's also interesting what you said about Aaron Jones and how much how much seems like it is still out there in front of him, and how Matt Lafleur can potentially use him

in so many different ways in this offense. And it sounds crazy to say that a guy who had yards from scrimmage, rushing and receiving combined piled up twenty three touchdowns including the playoffs, which is a franchise record for a full season including the postseason, to say that maybe there's more out there for him yet it just it it sounds crazy, but it just it does feel that way in the sense that Aaron Jones maybe hasn't really hit his ceiling yet as incredible a season as he

had in Yeah, And I think that's where this thing goes to the next level now in we saw them really start to incorporate more of those two back concepts. You know, I've been beating the drum all off season for I think we're going to see more of that in especially adding ah J Dellon in that equation. That doesn't necessarily take snaps away from Aaron Jones. I think it allows Matt Lafleur, Nathaniel Hackett, Luke Getzi, everybody that's involved with the passing game to get a little bit

more creative with how they utilize him. His carries may look very similar this year, his touchdowns, well, I'm sure the Packers will be happy if that look very similar this year. But I just think you're gonna see him became more of a difference maker in the past and game and how they utilize him there. Let's be honest about something, Mike. You know, Aaron Jones is in a contract year. A lot of running backs that are looking

to get paid. In this league, you have to be able to catch the ball and you have to be able to produce an open space. Aaron Jones has shown he can do that. So I think the skies the ceiling, the sky is the limit for him. Excuse me, no ceilings you hear, but I think I think he really every year about him has been about maturation and improvement. He went from being a more consistent ball carrier on year two, year three, he became a better pass protector,

he became a better pass catcher. And seeing him bring all those tools together, uh that that's that's where this thing is going to get really interesting for him. You want to be one of the top ten, top five running backs in this league. That's what you have to do.

And the more that he does that, and you also touch on the force fumbles with the Smiths, the more that that happens for those guys, the more that you get those accolades, you get that adulation from the pundits in this country that you know, punch a lot of

those Pro Bowl ballots and the All Pro teams. That's the difference, because if you're in Green Bay, you know, unfortunately that doesn't always mean you're gonna be in the biggest, brightest spotlight, but it does give you a platform with this offense and defense in the direction that they're heading, to make you a really good player and to give you an opportunity to prove it. Yeah, well, you mentioned accolades and Pro Bowl ballots, so I want to throw

another question at you here. It's a little bit of a continuation. We'll be talking about some of the same players, but looking back to a year ago, Zadarius Smith and Kenny Clark were both both ultimately made their first Pro Bowl as NFL players. They were selected off the alternate list when other guys dropped out for various reasons. There were a handful of other guys for the Packers who were named alternates last year, but they did not get selected and they they still have yet to to go

to a Pro Bowl. And that list from last year would be Adrian Amos, Jayear, Alexander Preston, Smith, Aaron Jones, and Corey Lindsley. I knew I was forgetting one other one in there. So five other guys for the Packers who were alternates a year ago who have yet to be in a Pro Bowl. So my question to you is which of those five guys and all throw another one in the mix too, even though he wasn't an alternate last year. But I'll say kicker Mason Crosby will

make it a half dozen. Which of those six guys do you think is on the verge of making his first Pro Bowl in Well, Aaron Jones is there because you saw he was number thirty three in the top one hundred. I'm not saying that that top one hundred carries any water whatsoever with with the league, but it does show you that there's a lot of people, a lot of players that know his name. And also I've seen him on the you know, the screen in the

film room and understand how dynamic he is. I think he's on the precipice of potentially being a Pro Bowl player. The one that I think is going to be the guy to watch though throughout this whole equation is going to be Gyr Alexander Um. This is a dude that is still only twenty three years old. He still has his best years ahead of him, and he's just oftenite as any player that I think I've ever covered at his age. And the other thing too, he met with

the media. Excuse me on Monday with our zoom call. I'm saying this to a bunch of people. You think you gotta understand is Jaire is not a great camera guy. He doesn't like the cameras he loves. He loves. He's a gregarious, outgoing guy. He's not a big dude about sitting in front of a camera and having twelve people around him. So being in front of a zoom, I have to imagine also was kind of, you know, kind

of like an eye opener here for him. But you know, he's you know, people can think he's goofy, they can think he's being funny. There is nobody that takes his job more serious I think in that locker room than Jire Alexander. He has a chip on his shoulder. I've been saying this for years now. If you understand who he is and where he comes from, this is a guy that's very motivated to prove that he is the best cornerback in the National Football League. Matt and already

agreed with it. I saw all the stats that Madden and all the respect they put on his name. But he feels like he has all everything he needs, especially now working with you know, Jerry Gray. He was very complimentary of him and in the time that they've had together, Gire Alexander's right there and he I think he's just a few splash plays away, a few interceptions here, a

few big pass deflections there. Away from being a cornerback that everybody can look at is being Okay, you have your you know, your Gilmore's and everybody else that's at the top of that level right now. But Alexander is fast on their heels. Is that next generation? Yeah, I'm totally with you on both of the guys you talked about there. I do think Aaron Jones is right there. There's no reason really he shouldn't have gotten some sort

of Pro Bowl recognition a year ago. I think that was unfortunate, but you know, as they say, it is what it is. And yeah, getting ranked number thirty three in the NFL's Top one um certainly uh an achievement there to make your debut on that top one hundred list in a spot that high. But I'm totally with you on Gire Alexander. I think this is the guy to watch the as I wrote about on our website and the story is available on packers dot com. The trajectory of his rear has been has been sort of

clear and obvious to anybody who's been watching. He's a first he's an up and coming first round pick. Then he gets named to the p p f W A All Rookie team. He leads the Packers in past deflections. Each of his first two years, he has fifteen as a rookie, has twenty three in his second season. He becomes a bona fide number one cornerback and then a Pro Bowl alternate. As I mentioned uh in nineteen, the arrow seems to just keep pointing up with this guy. Now, what does he have to do to get the Pro

Bowl recognition? Probably crank up that interception number. He's only had three interceptions over his first two seasons in the league. And I thought one of the more interesting answers of several interesting answers in his Zoom call was when he was asked, Okay, what do you do to get more interceptions? And he was just like, I just have to catch

the ball. And I think, and yeah, he's being funny and he's being a little snide, but he's also saying he feels he's had the opportunities to get the interceptions that he needs for that kind of recognition. He just has to cash in. He has to finish those plays, and then I think the rest takes care of itself for Alexander. I love the guy's attitude and yeah, some people will say he crosses the line to maybe the

cockiness versus just confidence. Whatever. You can analyze him anyway you want to, but his mentality, in my mind, is exactly what you need at a position like cornerback, because in this game, you're gonna get beat you're gonna give up completions, you're gonna give up first downs, and there are times you're gonna give up touchdowns. But it's a sixty minute game out there every Sunday, and there's nobody who can flush a bad play and then get out there and stay on the attack for sixty minutes in

my mind, like Jaire Alexander. Yeah, And there's a huge difference, Mike, between cocky and being disrespectful. In all the years I've covered I've covered JR. Alexander, I've never felt like he's disrespectful. Um. You look at the battles he had with Davante Adams

when he was a rookie and practice. Adams took a liking to this guy right away for that reason because of how he can he did, how he came back play after play, and how he didn't want to be beaten, didn't matter if it was over at Nichke Field or at lambeau Field or a T and T stadium. This is a guy that just wants to play football and

he wants to do it at a high level. Now, bringing that all together, the play that always will stand out to me goes back to two thousand eighteen and it was that interception that got taken away from him because of that agregious call on Clay Matthews for roughing in the passer. But the reason I bring that point up again is that was the play where I was like, Yeah, that guy's a ball howg He's a guy that just

has a magnet for it. Now, as he said, there's been he was fourth in the league and past deflections or passes defense last year. He needs to start catching more of those balls. But he just puts himself in a position at all times to be around that thing. And he just has a sticky ability, especially with some of the stuff that I think, you know, the ways that you can use him in his own coverage and

this deceptive nous of his speed and his athleticism. Alexander's a guy that I don't think as far away from being in that Pro Bowl conversation. Yeah, and this is a He's not just a cover guy either. You mentioned the plays in your mind that that stick out his rookie year, that play in Minnesota at US Bank Stadium, on the slip screen, bubble screen, wherever you want to call it, where he just blew up. I think it was Adam Feeling and chases down Stefon Diggs in the

backfield for a loss. You don't see cornerbacks make plays like that every day. That was That was a really impressive one. But before we go here, West, I just need to say too. And we talk a lot about, you know, the Pro Bowl as as a measure and whatnot, and yeah, it's it. Maybe it's not the greatest measure of everything. But if there's a guy, if there's a guy who deserves a Pro Bowl bid as a sort of career achievement award, can we get Mason Crosby to

the Pro Bowl at some point here? I mean, seriously, look at what this guy has done over the course of his career. He's put the Green Bay Packers are about to embark on their one hundred and second season, and Mason Crosby has every scoring record in the book for this historic franchise and he's continuing to put them completely out of reach. Yet this guy has never been to a Pro Bowl. And I, you know, you and

I have both known Mason for a long time. I've covered his entire career here since he was a sixth round draft pick in two thousand and seven, and I just think it's I just think it's a shame that he doesn't have at least, you know, one of those little Pro Bowl logos you know, in his in his bio as a career achievement, you know. And here's another thing for you, Mike, Mason Crosby going into this season two d and eight consecutive games played, the most among

active kickers. Actually, it's probably right up there. Gosh, he's the Is that the most? Yeah, that's that's the most among active players? Oh no, um, Sam Cook from Baltimore. Um. But two d and eight games, he is sixty games ahead of uh Steven Hauska in Buffalo right now for most consecutive games played by a kicker. So what is that, Mike? That's four seasons, Yeah, almost four seasons. Uh. Yeah, just an incredible career he's had. The problem is two things

with kickers. They're never hurt. Uh, really. So if a guy goes to the Pro Bowl, if he's not the guy, because there's only one that gets to go for each conference, if he's not the guy, or he's not in the super Bowl, or that guy isn't in the super Bowl, well the guy's gonna go. Every kicker wants to go to the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately for him, he's just never had like that one year where it's just been like,

you know, Billykndiff. No disrespect to Billy Condiff. I'm not trying to, you know, disrespect him at all, but Billy Kundiff was a kind of a journeyman kicker. He has that one seven percent year with Baltimore and goes to the Pro Bowl. Everybody, their mother, their cousin, even their child would agree that Mason Crosby has been a better NFL kicker than Billy Condiff. But it's just the rubb of the green. And if you look at, you know, ten years down the line, you know he's going to

be in the Packers Hall of Fame. Someday he's gonna end up being he's gonna put that scoring record so far into a different stratosphere. No one's ever gonna be

able to touch it with his longevity. But it's just the way that that position goes that sometimes those guys don't get that spect There's still time though, uh, you know, guys in his late thirties at that position, there's there's definitely an opportunity if he's able to have one of those seasons, one of those special seasons where he does all the right things and the right people are watching. Yeah, I think it'd be great if if that were to

happen here sooner rather than later for Mason Crosby. But with that we will call it a rap on this edition of Packers on Scripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and the goings on at training camp on Packers dot com. For Wes, I am Mike. Thanks for tuning in everybody. We'll see you next time.