Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my trusted colleague West and Hodkuitz, were coming to you from different locations here at lambeau Field and Wes. The last show that we did there was only one training camp practice in the books. There are now five training camp practices done and over with, including the first one in pads, albeit only shoulder pads. The full pads
will go on for Tuesday's practice. But the initial impressions what everybody's asking asking us about Wes is okay, So how's Jordan Love looking? How do things look? So your early impressions through five practices of Jordan Love as QB one.
I thought he's stacked days on Saturday and on Monday. I thought Sarah was one of his better practices. I mean, there was some folks out there that were wondering if it was his best practice. I'm guessing those folks weren't there in twenty twenty one during the mini camp or whatever that was on June ninth, where I thought looked like we were looking at Joe Montana for a couple
seconds with some of the throws he made. But the fact of the matter is, I think you're seeing a young guy grow with confidence in his ability to deliver the football. What was interesting about Monday's practice, though, Mike and I'm currently in the middle at the time that we're taping this, in the middle of our writing our five Things story, was some of the can plays and some of the audibles that he made the pre snap
adjustments in that team period against the defense. And one of them, one of the biggest plays of camp, actually came off of a can play, and that was this man beater that they ran to Christian Watson kind of sensing they were getting man defense from the Packers unit. Christian Watson ended up singled up against in his gains, and Innis is a fine player, but with no safety help over the top and a guy with four to three seven speed, I mean that the rest of the
equation kind of solves itself. And certainly Jordan Love put the ball exactly where it needed to be. I think you've seen both Love and Watson really grow in their chemistry and late relationship this offseason, and just the way in which he's kind of managing the line of scrimmage.
Another play that I'm kind of isolating was the RPO that he ran on that quick inside slant to Watson during a period actually before that play, when he was matched up against Jerry Alexander and he found something he liked, he made the check and then Watson was on the same page. It's one thing to throw a ball. It's one thing to run the scheme and the play call as it's called in. It's another thing to be able to start to manipulate and take advantage of what the
defense has given you. And I felt like Monday particular, Love showed a lot of those signs.
Yeah, the first couple of practices, as I mentioned on our last show, you always expect the defense to be ahead in the early going, and I think that showed the offense Jordan Love trying to get their footing a little bit, and we saw the offense bust out a
little bit on Saturday. I really even though there was maybe only the one like wow play with the sideline shot to Samari Turey that was in the two minute drill toward the end of practice, fantastic route and throw and catch, really big highlight there.
But what really.
Stood out about Saturday was just the efficiency the way Love was operating the offense. Matt Lafleur even commented on just the smoothness of the operation of the two minute drill, so you can see that the progress is being made. It wasn't as efficient today then on Monday when the shoulder pads went on, But I agree with you that what we saw on Monday were those adjustments, the choices, the decisions that were being made because hey, and as you said, no disrespect to in his games, this is
a safety. The Packers are trying him out at Nickel corner and some of the sub packages defensively, so he's trying to learn a new spot, and the Packers' offense happened to get in a position where Watson was in the slot and in his gains was lined up across from him, essentially one on one. Well, yeah, that's almost a no brainer. Like Jordan Love and Christian Watson are looking at each other and they know exactly what needs
to be done on that play. They executed it deep ball down the field works, and yeah, I don't I don't care if it's jy R. Alexander lined up across from Watson, if He's on the backside slant of an RPO and that's one on one. I like his size to win the matchup there. Jordan Love did too, he pulled the ball back instead of the handoff on the RPO hit Watson on the slant. Those are the types of things, Those are the players that move the chains, Those are the things that get some momentum going for
the offense. I think I think we saw that and now you know, we'd like to continue to see that moving forward, as the Packers will have a couple more padded practices this week before then Family Night under the Lights on Saturday night at Lamba.
Well, the big key for green Bay right now is going into the two minute, because I think when you've seen some of the scripted periods, those team periods, things have actually gone pretty well for Green Bay and the offense as of late, it's been the two minute where
they kind of had some hiccups. Monday was another one of those circumstances, the defense holding the Packers offense at Bay in all three units and actually with the ones kway Walker was this close from picking off Love across the middle on the very first play of the drive and Honestly, I'm sure that's when we didn't talk to Quai, but I'm sure he'd love to have that one back because it was right in his mets and you have to be able to react to that, you have to
be able to grow from it. But when you look at the plays that Watson has made, that Jaden Reid has made these last couple days, as you mentioned Samory's catch on Saturday, thirty three yards on third and three down the sideline, I don't think Jordan Love could have physically thrown a better ball on that play. The big play in the explosiveness is there. It's about managing the certain situations I think is going to be critical for this offense moving forward because it is about protection.
And it's funny.
As much as I mentioned the Kuway Walker play, Love actually has done an exemplary job of protecting the football. There's really one interception, the Devondre Campbell pick last week that I can think of with the first team unit. Obviously, Carrington Valentine picked off Danny Etling during practice on Monday. But by and large, Green Bay has done a good job of taking care of the football. But it's those
type of bang bang decisions. That you throw a pick on the first play of a two minute series, it turns everything on its head.
Yeah, absolutely, Walker should have had that pick, and the defense did ultimately still win the drive and has won the vast majority of the two minute drills I think, and we were standing quite a ways away. I think Romeo Dobbs lost his footing on the crossing route there on the ball that Walker should have picked off, but not getting a super close look at it, not entirely sure what happened.
That's a spin margin though, right though, Mike, Yeah, that's a sid margin. Yeah, one hundred percent.
Well, you mentioned a guy, and I want to talk a little bit more about him, as well as a couple others. The impressions that the rookie are making in the early stages of training camp, there are two that jump out to me more than anybody else. And it's Jaden Reid on the offensive side, and it's Carrington Valentine on the defensive side. Read the second round draft pick out of Michigan State playing slot receiver, seems to come up with a play, a big play in some form
or fashion, just about every day in practice. The ball seems to find this young man when he's out there on the field, that is definitely something to watch going forward. And Carrington Valentine, the seventh round pick, just twenty one years old. I actually looked it up. He's going to turn twenty two west the day before the season opener in Chicago.
Oh good, I want to feel so old.
Yeah, this young man, we talked about him during OTAs where you know he sort of by default had moved up the depth chart because Alexander and Douglas were not at OTA's Eric Stokes was still doing you know, rehab and whatnot. And you know when he was lining up across from Dobbs and some of these other guys in OTA, he wasn't backing down. I thought he showed some tenacity.
He showed some spunk and h and it's carried over to the start of training camp and and uh, as far as that strong start, it was sort of capped, if you will, by by a pick six off a throw by Danny Yetling in practice on Monday, and uh, and the defense celebrated like crazy, like you would uh, you would imagine they were pretty fired up to see that rookie seventh round pick from Kentucky make a big play.
Yeah, it's the three s's for me, Mike. I mean, when you look at it, it's speed, size, and swagger. I feel like Valentine has all three of those. And we saw it in the off season program. You and I did some of these these unscripteds talking about you know, him stepping up and competing, competing against Romeo Dobbs. It wasn't like he's just going up against some undrafted guys trying to you know, be bubble guys and going up against the top guys on this team, especially when Jayra
and Rasseul weren't here. So I thought he's made some really nice plays. I think Corey Balentine has also competed as well. I mean, the Packers are showing the depth of that position beyond those top three or four guys, and certainly Valentina guy. Again that I think everybody had a certain level expectation for coming to Green Bay, just given how much praise, you know, mel Kiper had thrown at him, a lot of these things. We'd heard about his upside relative to you know, just having a pick.
I think maybe at Kentucky maybe didn't have the jaw dropping numbers that people want from elite prospects. But I just I've really enjoyed what I've seen from him. And if I may just quickly with Jaden Reid, We've talked so much about the explosivity of his game mic, but I think what has impressed me the most through the first week of training camps is his smarts, And you're hearing more and more guys talk about this in the
locker room. His knowledge of the route tree, his knowledge of knowing where he needs to be on the field. That's kind of the intangible for a young receiver coming in and playing right off the bat. You can have all the speed in the world and athleticism in the world, but if you don't understand how you fit into the construct of the offense, it's going to be along a
long year for you. And I think the more and more we watch Reid and the ways that Green Bay could potentially use him, the more excited you get about where he could potentially fit in Matt Lefflour's scheme.
Yeah, it's certainly looking like Jayden Reid is going to have a big role to play in this offense as a rookie. As the slot receivers He's picked things up very quickly. I think the smarts, as you just mentioned, to have a lot to do with that. And there was a great one on one rep to Monday in practice was the was the first day of the one on ones because it was the first day that the pads were on. I know you were watching the O
line and D line. I was watching the pass catchers against the dbs, and there was a great one on one rep between Reed and Valentine, these two guys that we're talking about, two rookies from this draft class, and you know, kind of a steam route down, you know, down the hash and Valentine is running right with Reid. He's right there and at throw a little bit underthrown, but the ball was on him, and you know, Read just made the better adjustment in order to in order
to make the catch. Contested catches, the two guys went crashing into the ground. The coverage was right where you want it, Valentine said afterward. The only thing you needed to do was just get his head turned around, just a you know, a tick quicker, a split second quicker, and and maybe he comes down with that ball instead of Read. But those kinds of competitive reps, man I mean,
you can't. You can't ask for anything better to to to get your rookies acclimated, to see these guys in the intensity that it takes to to practice and to play at this level, and they were doing it. And to me, those are the those are the two rookies from this draft class that have that have stood out the most so far in terms of what we've seen on the practice field.
Yeah, and if I may, I don't know if you want to dovetail into this at all, but just looking at the one on ones with the pads going on us, seeing that both the receivers and the and the dbs, the offensive line and defensive line, and a little bit I was able to watch with the blitz pick up between the linebackers and running backs.
But it's always the most fun.
For me as a spectator and then as observer of football is watching those drills because one, it's a little bit more simple. We understand that it's one on one. You're seeing two guys clash and one's going to appear to be victorious, although they always talk about the different things that both of these guys are working on. But two, it starts to give you an idea of what these offensive linemen and defensive linemen are going to look like in pads, and I personally came away very impressed with
Zach Tom. He took the first two reps at right tackle, going up against Lucas Vans, and Vanes tried to spin move on him and then tried to bull rush him. Tom stood up to both of those techniques techniques kept his balance. He mentioned in the locker room afterwards, you know, he put on fifteen pounds this offseason, wanted to be better prepared to anchor.
At that spot.
I think he's right in the middle of that competition with Yoashneiman at right tackle, but also just quickly TJ. Slayton probably had the rep of the day being able to to kind of get through Josh Myers at the center position. DeVante Wyatt had a really nice first rep against John Runyon, Jake Hansen being able to block Jonathan Ford on back to back plays at center. And probably the guy that I think we're going to continue to
hear a lot about is Caleb Jones. Mike and Caleb Jones repped at both right tackle and then also left tackle during the one on Ones six foot nine three and forty pounds or whatever he's going at after you know the weight loss he is about his athletic as a guys, you're gonna find at that size. I mean, I said it to you last year, Mike. In some ways he almost reminded me like of a basketball player, just with his footwork and his ability and his length
to keep guys away from his body. I mean, you get the footwork down on the pad level, that down you're in the hunt man. And I think Caleb Jones since the day he got to Green Bay has put himself in a position to really compete here with this really deep offensive line.
Yeah, it's going to be really interesting to watch throughout the rest of this training camp and the preseason games moving forward, because it sure looks like Caleb Jones is on almost the exact same track that Yash Naiman was on a few years ago. An undrafted guy, not a whole lot of fanfare coming out, but the guy that as soon as you lay eyes on him, you're like, oh, yeah,
that looks like an NFL offensive lineman. Right. So there are the physical tools that are there from the beginning, but nobody willing to spend a draft pick and the Packers. They like to develop these guys, and josh Naiman's become a multi year starter now and he's in a competition with now with a draft pick in Zach Tom for a starting spot at tackle. But Caleb Jones is kind of right where yosh Neimen was a couple of years ago, and the Packers are going to continue to develop talent
like that and see what happens. And do I expect Caleb Jones to be a starter week one in twenty twenty three. No, but it's looking like he could be one of these, you know, next men up, you know if if he needs to be called upon, And that's exactly how yosh Niman got started a couple of years back.
Yeah, and in some ways, Mike, he's even ahead of Yash, right because when you look at Yash he got that whole twenty nineteen season on the practice squad. Caleb was there for a month and then the Packers got to the end of September and we're like, we got to get this guy on the fifty three. He did have an illness there that kind of kept him out for a time, but he was on the active roster the rest of the way and certainly. Again, I'll just quickly
talk about the feet with him. I mean, people, when you see Caleb Jones in person, you're gonna be impressed by the physical stature. You're gonna be impressed by just how he looks and pads, but.
Watch his feet.
The guy, for a guy that was not drafted, played in Indiana, you know, didn't really have a lot of hype behind him coming out. I've just I've been so impressed by his nimbleness, and I thought, when you look at the one on one drills, especially if you don't get your pad level down you're six foot nine, you're gonna end up on your butt really fast.
And this guy knows his body.
And much like Yash, I think understanding, Okay, I'm six ' nine sixt' seven. How can I use that to my strength and being able to defeat the opposing defensive linemen across from me.
Yeah. Well, before we get to a couple other topics, I do need to take care of Smith sponsor business here West so serious XM NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty five and at Cousin Subs. We have something for everyone like our Wisconsin Cheese curds, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or sub
and a bowl Cousin Subs fifty years of better. All right. Well, to update some folks with regard to the depth chart, we mentioned the competition going on at right tackle between Zach Tom and Yash Niman. Zach Tom definitely taking more of the first team reps at right tackle, but it comes with a caveat in terms of understanding just where things are with the competition because David Baktiari is kind of on a part time schedule with regard to practicing.
He's not practicing full time there. Some days he's missing entirely. Other times he's being rotated out. The Packers being very careful just knowing what they have in Baktari. He knows what he needs to get ready for the season, and this far in front of the season opener, he doesn't need to be out there taking forty or fifty snaps
in a given practice. So Yash Naimen has been taking a lot of first team offensive line reps at left tackle when David Bakhtiari is not in there, so not quite sure exactly where the competition is at right tackle right now, even though we're seeing Zach Tom there a lot more often at safety. On the defensive side, Rudy Ford definitely has taken the majority of the first team reps alongside Darnell Savage. We have seen other guys rotate in at different times, but Rudy Ford, at least through
this first week of training camp, remains the guy. And a lot of folks asking about Lucas van Ness, the first round pick at outside linebacker. We have seen him rotate in here and there across from Preston Smith with the number one defense, but I would say the majority of the snaps with the number one defense, Justin Hollins has been out that edge rusher opposite Preston Smith. Would you agree with that analysis.
Yeah, what they've been doing here is in the two minute they've been giving Lucas van As some opportunities to get involved there, and if you think about it, makes a lot of sense. I mean, especially once we're Shawn Gary's back, you can think of how you can play with those guys, truit Fly, you can play with those guys in those circumstances, things I don't typically have to deal with when we're in the studio, Mike, I'm sitting here having to play through it now and I'm doing
the best that I can with it. But go back to twenty nineteen, right, That's how Sean Gary got introduced to this defense, was being in there in those passing
down situations. You're right about Justin Hollins. He actually was in kind of a pretty even rotation as far as who is the starter with Kingsley and Nigbarre through the first few practices, but Hollins has a lot of that, you know, experience and things to fall back on, where I think Enigbarre probably ended up playing a little bit but above expectations last year as a fifth round pick and definitely during the second half of the year when they didn't have For Sean Gary, it's a full room
right now, and I think there, you know, we saw that last week with Jonathan Garvin's release. I mean, they have some guys that I think they're pretty dedicated to, including you know, now Cox coming in as an undrafted free agent could potentially factor into that as well. And you know, also just quickly looking at you know, the safety situation. Where that gets so interesting to me is rudy Ford is still that number one option, but you know he's also still working at flyer on special teams.
All these guys have that you know, duality to their game that they can also factor into special teams. And his gains is playing the slot, but he's also a jammer. But right, I mean like it's going to be about who prevails in both of those avenues in terms of who makes this roster. But certainly you still looking who's going to be the best fit back there for Darnell Savage and to this point, you know it remains Jonathan rudy Ford.
Yeah, you mentioned special teams. One last thing before we go. We've seen two kicking periods field goal kicking periods in practice thus far. Andrews Anders Carlson, the rookie six round pick out of Auburn. He went five out of six from between forty and forty five yards in the first one, then had a rough day on Saturday. He was one
out of six on actually longer kicks. I want to say it was all from you know, mid forty been to late forties, forty five and beyond, and a couple of those were fifty plus and he was kicking into the wind a rough outing. He was only one out of six. Then he did finish with making the field goal to end a chip shot field goal to end the two minute drill for the offense. So two for seven all together. And hey, it wasn't it wasn't a
pretty kicking period on Saturday for Carlson. But but I said this an insider inbox, what matters now is not the fact that that happened. What matters now is what happens next. How does he bounce back from this? How does he put that behind him? What does he do going forward? As the lights are going to continue to get brighter, because not only will you know his next kicking period, everybody will be watching because of what happened on Saturday, when he you know, got into a little
bit of a rut. But then you know, family night, the lights are going to go on. Then you have the preseason games and everything, there's going to be this progression. And this is a young man. You know, he kicked in SEC stadiums in front of ninety one hundred thousand people and whatnot. But still this is the NFL. He's trying to win a job. He's trying to, you know, prevent the packers from from needing to bring in any other kickers, and a lot of eyes are going to be on him here moving forward.
Yeah, no doubt about it.
And the beautiful thing about this, especially the time in which we're taping this, is by the time this actually runs, you might see it out there and Packers Universe Land. He might have went six for six because it sounds like he will be kicking again on Tuesday before we
tape this. But it's gonna be the ebbs and pulls of camp, and as disappointing as I'm sure that was for Anders and everybody you know getting on a little bit of that skid on Saturday, it's about how you do respond to it, and it is about making sure that it doesn't compound.
You want to build, you don't want to take away.
So that's gonna be the major key for him, pad O'Donnell. You know the long snappers, that whole operation is is still moving forward and making progress. And the kid has an incredible leg. We saw throughout the off season program didn't seem like he was striking the ball the same way he was in Mondays or Saunurdays Saturdays practice. But keep in mind, again the wind was kind of a
you know, he was going right up into it. So those are the adjustments you have to make, though, Mike, we talked about it for years with Mason Crosby, especially after the south end zone expansion. It is not easy to kick in lambeau Field. It is a real difficult
puzzle to solve sometimes. And you know, for a guy like Carlson, who I thought struck the ball really well through the off season program, you eventually there are gonna be days when they just don't go in and seeing how the young man bounces back from that and what he takes away from experiences like that are going to be so telling as far as what his future looks like and what the rest of the summer outlook is going to be for the Packers.
Yeah. Absolutely, Well, we will be back with another show later this week to talk about more observations and usings about practice, but for now we'll call it a rap on this edition of Packers' Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team of training camp, everything going on. We've got a ton of content for you on packers dot Com for WES, I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in. Everybody, We will see you next time.