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CheeseTalk S1 Episode 21 Kickin it with Mick! Packers Style!
52 Plays1 year ago
In this episode, I chatted with Mick, a Packer fan for over 50 years! He has been to over 100 games as well!! We discussed his favorite memories, favorite player, thoughts on the draft, his favorite pick, what he would bring to a tailgate, his favorite cheese, etc...
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Background
00:00:48
Speaker
What's up, everybody? Welcome to the Cheese Talk podcast. I'm your host, Brian Rago. And tonight I am joined by Mick, huge Packer fan. um What's up, Mick? Hey, pleasure to be here, man. Thanks for asking me. Yeah, absolutely. um Before I get to Mick, though, and talk Packers, of course, I want to give a shout out to the Open Network for giving me the opportunity to pod under their umbrella. um They are 54 followers away on social media or on Twitter, X, whatever you want to call it, from giving away a Jair Alexander 8x10 autographed picture. Ohana underscore Packers.
00:01:33
Speaker
So yeah, go go follow them and Mick, tell us about yourself. Well, I live in the Northern Indiana, about 10, 15 minutes from ah Notre Dame Stadium, but grew up in Central Wisconsin, became a Packer fan at age three and even though the first ah half of my life that was not a winning proposition, been very fortunate that turned around. And so very happy to talk about my beloved Packers. Sure. Well, so how do you how how did you know three years old you became a fan? Well, my family, we were living in Memphis, Tennessee, and my father worked for Speed Queen Washing Machines, which were headquartered in Ripon, Wisconsin.
00:02:22
Speaker
So as a little kid of three, dad comes back from a business trip and has this great pair of Packer Green Bay Packer pajamas. And at three, I didn't really know what it was, but I love the pajamas. Within a couple of months, we moved to ah Ripon, Wisconsin. and And for the last 51 years, I've been a Packer fan and it pretty much that once you got up there in the seventies, you couldn't be a fan of any other teams.
Packers Draft Strategy and Player Depth
00:02:51
Speaker
Speed Queen, they're, they're still there. Yeah. a li Laundry as they call it. now Yep. Going strong. That, that notch guys truckers where people want a good job is that up in the Oshkosh area.
00:03:03
Speaker
and So what, what are your thoughts on this year's draft?
00:03:11
Speaker
I looked at this year's draft. I love the fact that I knew that Goody was going to be making some trades up and some trades down. ah I think it was a little more geared toward need as opposed to best player available, which we got accustomed to for a long time with Ted Thompson, but it shows with Goody-kunst that He's got that Ted Thompson, Ron Wolf background where he may be real conservative one year and the next year he goes up and and makes moves. You look at the positions we thought we needed the most and maybe outside of corner. I mean, he addressed every position in the draft we needed. Well, I think the corner from Penn State is going to be a steal.
00:03:55
Speaker
Isn't that crazy? A year ago, he would have been a first round pick and now we get him almost like a, a, a purdy end of the draft, uh, Mr. Irrelevant kind of pick. Something like that though. He he's got a chip on his shoulder. He's going to want to improve himself coming from Penn state, you know, when he thought that he was the first round pick, you even looking at Marshawn Lloyd, they're even saying that he was that they the best running back in the draft. He just looks angry all the time. Yeah. And I want a rookie running back that just looks angry all the time. I keep seeing these pictures from OTAs. Everybody else is smiling and Lloyd's what I want to see. You know, I mean, I, I'm a big fan of Aaron Jones going to miss him, but.
00:04:42
Speaker
starting this season with Jacobs and starting this season with Lloyd, seeing the shape that AJ Dillon has come in to OTAs, looking more cut and better than ever. Emmanuel Wilson, I mean, we have a tremendous depth that we're running back that I think is better than we've seen in a long time. And people might be questioning what will AJ Dillon, I think they might use him at the fullback. as ah like a passing on a passing down and to you know protect Jordan Love, you know, Oh, I think that, you know, we drafted to Guarra as a tight end, but he pretty much was an H back full back, maybe not the John Kuhn type, but filled several roles. and And I agree. I think that Dylan.
00:05:28
Speaker
Loves being on this team. He loves Wisconsin. And if he can, you know, do the H-back, fullback, improve on his blitz pickup a little bit for for the contract we have him on, I think it's a tremendous situation. Yeah. he I mean, he's a fan favorite. He signed for cheap. He knows the playbook and he can be a locker room guy, you know? And he's the mayor of Door County. See, I mean, the bear. Come on, you can't get rid of him. No, I mean, can you imagine if he goes like ah Mercedes Lewis and all these other guys? If he plays for the Bears, I think he is recalled. indoor Yeah, yeah, they'll they'll have state patrol waiting for him to cross the board and they're going to arrest him for being a trader. Yeah, we don't want to see it end like that. It's been too good of a story so far. so Yeah, I think he's going to be a packer for his whole career. I really do.
00:06:24
Speaker
Well, I mean, it looks like he has really dedicated himself. And if he's willing to, you know, play some more special teams, um, not be a primary ball carrier only because we have, you know, two or three really good guys. I think there's a spot for him for all the mentions, you know, that you just said, I mean, yeah black room knows the offense. I don't think he's a selfish player that has to have stats and all of that. So. Yeah, Packers, Fnatic, great depth. They're running back indeed. Yeah, for sure.
Packers Defense and New Strategies
00:06:57
Speaker
That's that's one thing that, like you said, Mick, we haven't seen in a while.
00:07:01
Speaker
what What defense are you going to want taking blows from? I mean, Jacobs runs angry. Yeah, he's Alabama back and he you know, and then you got Lloyd who wants to eat someone's grandchildren and then you got then you have AJ Dylan running backs. Yeah, you have. I wouldn't want to be taking those guys on for three hours straight, but you know, that's why I'm sitting here talking about it. not ah Yeah, exactly. Who was your favorite pick of the draft? ah I mean, right now.
00:07:38
Speaker
if I really look at it, it's between Lloyd and Bullard. I think in Bullard, between signing McKinney to be the leader of the safety position and he and Jair being the leader all, I think the Bullard's a great compliment at the safety position, a position we desperately needed. I love that. But I also see Lloyd is Aaron Jones, a younger Aaron Jones, a faster Aaron Jones, to get Jacobs and then find ourselves able to draft Lloyd. I just think we have improved the running back position overall quite a bit since a year ago. Yeah, and I think they're looking at, I see i see a mixture of Jones,
00:08:29
Speaker
and Jacobs in Marsh, Illinois. And I don't know if they're going to keep, you know, future can only tell us, but I don't know if we're going to keep Jacobs those four years. And they might be looking at Lloyd as a replacement for Jacobs on the road. Sure. You never know. I like Adrian Cooper. Yeah, I'm a defensive kind of mind the kind of guy and I just get to that quarterback, make him, make him get rid of the ball before he wants to make them uncomfortable, make them, you know, turn the ball over, throw it to McKinney, throw it, uh, try your throat. I hope Eric Sokes comes back and makes an impact this year. Do you think you'll make an impact? That's the biggest wildcard of this defense. Um,
00:09:12
Speaker
I showing that I don't always know what I'm talking about thought we would draft a cornerback in the first three rounds for sure. We ended up not drafting one till the seventh, never thinking the king would fall that far. That tells me they have tremendous confidence in Stokes ability to bounce back. um Obviously he and Watson both went to that hamstring specialist in Madison. And apparently from everything that we've seen and heard for both of them, it was it was positive. I also take it as a vote of confidence in Valentine and in his development. But if they didn't think Stokes was gonna be able to come back and be a starter, I think we would have seen a difference in the draft. So I'm pretty confident they say he's running as well as he ever has. so
00:10:05
Speaker
Yeah, I, you know, he wasn't, you know, a top-notch stud his rookie year, but he did get burned. He was human, but although he got burned, he had the speed to make up for it. Yeah. You know, he's he's quick. And if he can keep his speed with his injury and, you know, only improve with the guys that were bringing it in. I mean, McKinney, I mean, I still, I still, every, every episode I do, I still can't believe that we got him. How, how did the Giants let him go?
00:10:37
Speaker
I think that Goody Kunst and I'm a pro Goody Kunst guy, you know, no GM is a hundred percent, but for the most part, I'm a pro Goody Kunst guy. I think that coordinating with Halfly coming in and all of that and the type of player that he wanted, I think that Goody wanted to make a statement that This is not the old Ted Thompson, Green Bay Packers. We will go out and target a free agent and be aggressive if we feel he can be a big difference maker. And I think with Halfly coming in in the new system, um I think Goody, this was just kind of bam, you know, we're going to get you the talent you want. It kind of gives me like a like a Charles Woodson vibe. Yeah.
00:11:22
Speaker
bringing him in, you know, um, he can definitely be a leader. He was a captain. Was he not a captain in New York? He was. And then Josh Jacobs on offense, he was a captain too. So, I mean, win-win situation for us, I think. I think we can only can only go forward from here. And I mean, I i i mean, he's 24 years old. He, I think he has either nine or six interceptions. And one was a pick six, but he just brings the leadership that you need on defense, especially where he's going and safety. That was kind of a, that's been a weak spot for years, not for years, but it's, a
00:12:03
Speaker
It's an upgrade and i'm and I'm happy. I can't wait to see the defense perform this year and hopefully they get some touchdowns for us. Well, you got a lot of guys that all these first-round picks we've assembled in the last few years, and I'm not saying they've been disappointments at all, but I'm saying if we're going to make the move from nine and eight and getting a wild card to being legit Super Bowl contender, we're going to need guys like Stokes, a first round pick to come back. We're going to need, you know, Devontae Wyatt to continue to take another step up on the defensive line.
00:12:40
Speaker
Quay Walker, I mean, i the guy's proven to me his athletic ability, but as far as the ability to be a smart player, be a true leader on defense, he's got a golden opportunity this year to step up and move into that. We have more talent on defense and pretty much any other defense in the NFL. We got a new coordinator. We got a bunch of young kids. I like you. I think it can come together, but they're going to have to show us, you know. I like seeing these pictures of Rashawn Geary in the three-point stance. Yeah. Off the edge. He's gonna, I mean, I just think that's gonna be huge. If he can do that on one side, then you got Quay on the other side, you got Adrian Cooper, you got Kenny Clark, you got Wyatt, you got Luke Van. I mean, it's just,
00:13:30
Speaker
this, you know, they should have like whoever can get to the quarterback fastest, you know, you get a, you get a bonus, you know, but exactly. and And with, with every funny video I see of Caleb Williams throwing passes and shorts with no shoulder pads on, yeah hackers are in trouble. I'm like, well, and but When we've got Van Ness, when we've got Gary, when we've got Quay, when we've got Preston Smith, all set up on passing downs, okay, if you can get away from that pass, Rush, that's good for you. Yeah, and I think with the switch to the 4-3 defense, drafting those safeties was huge, too. You want to get guys, them out there covering receivers versus having Preston Smith out there covering receivers, you know? Absolutely. And I think, I mean,
00:14:18
Speaker
Yes, technically it's going to be a 4-3. I think it's going to be a 4-2-5 the vast majority of times. We'll have a nickel D back in there. um I mean, we'll have two linebackers. I think Quay's going to be on the field all the time. And, you know, hopefully Edger and Cooper is that other guy that we can have at least those two. Obviously, sometimes we'll have three linebackers in maybe four, but with the receivers now we've got in our division, we're going to probably have to run five DBACs most of the time in those games.
00:14:50
Speaker
Yeah. And doing that, I mean, you want to, you want to get that pressure on that quarterback because the longer you have receivers that have cornerback trail on them, the longer they're, they have a chance of getting open and and making huge plays. So we definitely but that. And I think, do you think we addressed our, in my eyes, our biggest weakness last year was our run defense. Do you think we address that with this? Obviously with the switch to switch to the four three is hopefully going to improve that, but you think half fleas system will be effective. Well, if you look at it from the standpoint of the draft.
00:15:29
Speaker
Obviously they did not go overboard at any defensive position to address it, which leads me to believe that the change in half Lee system is going to be a benefit with what seven first round picks six or seven on defense. I am so hopeful that Halfley's approach is going to be pressure. And let's, let's set these guys loose. It was so clear. They did not like Barry's system. It was so clear that from Jair, you know, all the way to the defensive line, they didn't feel like it was a good system and just the attitude and everything since Halfley's been named. I'm expecting a significant improvement.
Packers Offense and Team Morale
00:16:12
Speaker
well even having but A lot into it in the draft.
00:16:15
Speaker
Even having Jair show up for the OTAs. Yeah. He didn't, he wasn't there before. No. there's not Like I tell my kids, you know, they might not come out and say something, but your actions speak for you. That's, that's a life lesson. You know, it's like a silent protest, you know?
00:16:34
Speaker
yeah yeah I think, I think the vibe in that locker room is good. They're all the one of the young, the oldest person is Preston Smith. He's 31 years old. Yeah. You know, I think the vibe is good. They're, they're, they're behind Jordan love a hundred percent. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think before Aaron Rogers had people walking on eggshells. Oh, yes. You know, I mean, yeah. yeah So i I just think that, you know, McKinney, he, he came out and said that Jordan love was one of the reasons why he wanted to come to Green Bay and same with Josh Jacobs.
00:17:08
Speaker
You know, so I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm looking for it. I'm looking forward to this year. Big time. Um, how many games have you been to in your lifetime? Well, it's over a hundred. Over a hundred. Yes. Most memorable game.
00:17:29
Speaker
I hate to say it, but the most memorable game. Okay. There's several that compete for the number one spot. But I want to go with a happy ending game. So I will say the Antonio Freeman Monday nighter against the Vikings, he did what? When he bounced the ball off his back and then caught it and ran in. I was in that end zone that he ran into. And they had that long review and all of that before they they did it. That was the best happy ending game.
00:18:03
Speaker
um I hate to say it, but I'm over to an NFC championship games at Lambo. And it it really pains me to say that, but both the Giants in Favre's last game and in Roger's last playoff game in Green Bay, I was at both of those and they both ah obviously did not end well.
Lambeau Field Experience and Fan Culture
00:18:26
Speaker
Well, so this next year, stay away from Green Bay in January.
00:18:34
Speaker
That's the thing right now, Brian, is that I am a gold package holder. And through some quirk, the gold package tickets get all three division games this year. And the green ticket holders, which have twice as many games as we do, get zero division games. And it's it's a mutiny. I mean, there there is it's like green against gold. The green people are so pissed off right now. and It's not like we you know decided on how it would be, but- Right. Well, you know, if you if you can ever make a game, I'm 10 minutes from Lambeau Field, just so you know. Well, great. Well, I mean, right now, ah I gave the Lions game to my two children. My my son is engaged. My daughter's happily married. And for the Lions game, I gave them all four tickets. but
00:19:31
Speaker
I am planning on being at the Vikings game and the Bears game at the end of the year and how it shakes out. it Man, if there's a ticket available, absolutely. Yeah. Like I said, I'm 10 minutes. my My wife can drop me off and she can pick me up. So see, that's a very fortunate thing. I'm stuck with Uber. No, well, see this November 1st will be three years alcohol free for me. So I don't have to worry about that. Good for you. So I always walk to the end of Lombardi there in Ashland and buy the quick trip and have her come pick me up. Yeah.
00:20:07
Speaker
I've waited for Ubers at that stage. Yes, yes. So yeah, and and the good thing with me too is my one of my best friends who lives just down the road from me you know here in Indiana, ah he's a green package holder. So between the two of us, we have you know a ticket for every game. but But yeah, I mean, the games at landfill, there's nothing like it. and When you're a gold season ticket holder, we got lucky this year. Cause we don't have a preseason game. We get that ninth home game. So we got all three division games. I like to give away when I have the preseason game, you know, people that have never given them a chance to go and maybe have it be a little cheaper, more affordable and all that. Cause it has gotten insane, man, for what it costs to go to games now.
00:20:59
Speaker
Yeah, people have to take all the second mortgages just to pay for their season and tickets. Yeah, and then they take out a variable mortgage in an interest rates. Most expensive game I ever went to. Yeah, right. ah So with with um Matt the floor coming in and and trying to install his offense the last few years, who do you think is a better quarterback in his offense, Rogers or Love? Oh, I think Love by far. Yeah. And this is nothing against Aaron Rodgers. I'm just saying that this is the offense that Love spent three years learning, maturing in, understanding, watching Aaron Rodgers at first. um When I look at the numbers of how many passes went to Devontae,
00:21:49
Speaker
and how few passes you know went to everybody else, whether it be Lazard, whether it be you know any of them. And you see how it broke down last year? Love will throw over the middle. Rogers hardly did the last couple of years. Love is knocking 80% of the time, go for the over the shoulder on the sideline to avoid an interception. you know We trust his arm. And I think that Rogers, as he got closer and closer toward the end, it was so predictable. Yeah. We got guys, we got Reed, we got Wicks, we got Dives, we got Watson on every play. We don't even know where the ball's going. Yeah. Yeah. It's funny you mentioned that because we're sitting, you know, watching the the Cowboys playoff game last year. It's like, Oh my God, like Muscrapers, he's wide open. There's nobody around them. How, how, and he didn't fall down. He didn't fall down. It's like, how we see that wide open.
00:22:49
Speaker
It's just love. I just, you know, he's just, even some of the throws that he made, you know, why was it against the Cowboys where it went through one defender's hands, then the other defender's hands and it went, was it Jaden Reed? and concert Yeah. and that That was just, you know, create, I mean, just the confidence that he has in, in himself is amazing. You know, some of those people debt, like you're saying, where you compare it to Rogers. I'm going to compare Love a little closer to Brett Favre in that when Brett Favre would throw that heater through three different defenders' hands and our guys, you know Freeman would catch it or whatever, we're just always like, yeah, great. Rodgers never took those chances. But Love is back taking those chances. And I believe that he's got the arm and the fastball to do it. you know Yeah, he's definitely he's definitely fun to watch.
00:23:47
Speaker
i yeah He's gonna be fun to watch for the next, I'd say 10 to 15 years, hopefully. And he keeps up his his greatness ah along the way as well. um Well, so you've been to Green Bay, you've been 50 plus years of being a fan. When you hear Green Bay, what comes to mind? You've been to the city, you've been to the surrounding area, you've been to the stadium, you've been seen different eras of packer teams and like, what, what comes to mind? Like what like flashes in your head when you're here at Green Bay? I mean, I just think of the Lambo experience. I think of the tailgates. Obviously the facilities have been enhanced immeasurably since I remember, you know, being a little kid and all of that, but the atmosphere
00:24:37
Speaker
in the parking lot, the atmosphere when you get into the stadium, it's never changed. It's it's more comfortable now. yeah You don't have someone change smoking beside you know or something like that. like I love to take Bear fans or Viking fans or people from other areas to Lambo, because they see on social media what it's supposed to be. But when you actually take them to the actual game and experience, it's always, man, this is so cool. This is unlike anything that I've ever experienced. And that's the beauty of it. They still park cars in the houses, yards around the stadium. Like they did, you know, when Lombardi was there and,
00:25:21
Speaker
Having been to another, you know, a number of stadiums outside of Wisconsin or not, there's just nothing like it, you know? Right. Yeah, for sure. You know, you think of, like I tell people that aren't Packer fans that go, even if you're in Green Bay, hit me up, let me know. I'll take you to, take you to Lambeau. You might not be a fan of the team, but I think you'd appreciate the history going through the Hall of Fame. taking a stadium tour and just seeing you know the the pro shop and just the the statue of Curly outside, the statue of Vince outside, just the statue of ah the the Lambo leap outside. just It's just amazing. you know Well, we have our haters. I like to compare the Packers to Notre Dame.
00:26:06
Speaker
You either love them or you absolutely hate them. There is no apathy here when it comes to to the Packers. But even our haters, when they come to Lambeau and experience you know a Packer weekend, are like, yeah, this is something special. This is something you're not going to find in New York or Chicago or anything like that. Yeah. It's just your Lombardi Avenue is, what, three quarters of a mile long? yeah And it's just the amount of fun you can have there on a game day is just that's all you need just to fulfill your excitement for the day, you know? Like I living so close, I could go there every day and just go through the pro shop numerous times. I could go through the Hall of Fame numerous times and just this gaze and just be a kid in a candy store, you know? If I
Packers Memorabilia and Historical Reflection
00:27:03
Speaker
get my credit card statement and be like, oh. Yeah.
00:27:07
Speaker
Hey, I actually had to stop a couple of years ago. I was just like, all right. And the only reason I'm not doing this for my basement is my son's band was finishing their practice when we started. But I'll sit down in my Packard basement, look around at all the memorabilia and all that kind of stuff and and just think. They suck the entire first half of my life. And I still have all this good winning stuff here now. Yeah. that that I do think that there's so many younger Packer fans that are a bit spoiled and didn't go through all the losing seasons and all of that of the 70s and parts of the 80s. You know, we've been pretty fortunate since then.
00:27:50
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, my earliest memories, I remember like Don Murkowski. Yeah. I was born in 82. So I was, you know, 10 when I was 10, 11 years old is when, when five came. Yeah. that Yeah. Got my house key t-shirt on. So I remember like the five against the Buccaneers and then, you know, so far was like my earliest memories and a little bit of Don Murkowski. I actually went to ah this the shop at the mall here in Green Bay and I bought a little pack of cars and they're ah
00:28:24
Speaker
You know, the cars that the police officers hand out, the kids, for like the retreat and stuff, it was like the 89 or the 90 Packers. It was like Don Mikowski and like, was it like Perry Kemp? And it just, it was just, it was just, it was just crazy just to see like all like Bryce Pop, Brian Noble. It was just, i i like two bucks for him. And I bought him like whatever, you know, but I have seen, do you remember Walter Stanley, the wide receiver and his son is now competing for a receiver spot right now as an undrafted free agent aged me a little bit that Walter Stanley Jr. I saw the name and I'm like, no, it couldn't be. And then I looked up. Yes, it is. It is Walter Stanley's son that is now coming to camp.
00:29:16
Speaker
Yeah, that's crazy. So you've been to plenty of games. Obviously you've you've you've taken in the atmosphere. You're going to a tailgate. What are you going to bring to a tailgate? Well, there's there's variables on that and and the other day someone asked about the mud bowl with the 96 playoffs when Desmond Howard took it back and. Yeah, we had a great tailgate set for that game. Unfortunately, 35 mile an hour winds with freezing rain, sleet, and and all of that, all the food blew away. I'll never forget. I looked at my buddy.
00:29:56
Speaker
takes a brat off the grill, piles it up with onions and sauerkraut and mustard and all this. And I look away for a second and I looked back at him in the wind and rain and blown it all away. And he just had the damn brat in his hand. And he took a bite out of it and I was like, yeah, this isn't the coldest game we've ever been to. It's not the snowiest or rainiest, but combine everything together. And yeah, that, You, you have to adjust to the conditions. Um, when I liked tailgate, a Lambeau field, I go to lot one. I mean, if you've been to lot one, obviously, uh, by the Oneida gate and everything. Yep.
00:30:38
Speaker
They do it really well and it's hilarious. And when fans from other states are in and all of that, I just say, okay, you can wander into any of these little tailgates you want. You're gonna have food if you want. You can have a shot if you, whatever you want, you know? yeah Yeah, I'm not a ticket holder or anything. And I plan to try to make make it up there just to walk through and tailgate. You know, why not meet up with some people from Twitter and, you know, enough I know enough of them go to the game and enough of them plan ahead of time. I actually have a guy that I did a podcast with a few episodes ago who is going to be up I think the end end of July and he's bringing in his ah RV and we're going to do it like an episode on how to tailgate for a Packers game.
00:31:33
Speaker
So it is going to demand to bring your RV up to Lambo someday someday. But yeah, so he he was. but I think he's born in Wisconsin and then he moved to Georgia. He's moving back to Fond du Lac, I think he's going to be bringing his his RV up. So we're going to, we're going to get some people together and do like a, like a podcast on how to tailgate for a practice game. From Fond du Lac. He put us at the lottery legends or whatever. Yeah. All right.
00:32:07
Speaker
all alright And we go up for Packer games. I'm like, man, if we take 41 and we go through Fond du Lac, we're stopping and getting a couple of lottery tickets while we're there. Right. The Sheboygan to Meese Fields to get Bratz and all of this. And I get home and I look at how much money I spent. All right. Yeah. Favorite type of cheese? Wow. Um. There was the cheese back in the 70s that all our parents had that had the ah red wine and the sharp cheddar combined and they would put them on crackers and all of that. A sharp cheddar red wine Wisconsin combo. Okay. I'm a, uh, I'm a ghost pepper fan. Ghost pepper juice.
00:33:00
Speaker
So, so you have a good tolerance for spikes. Yes, I do. It started with Pepper Jack. Then, then I started going higher. Okay. Needless to say, and I like it. There's a cheese place right by me. Scrazed cheese in Depir. and they they have a nice pepper jack or they have a nice pepper jack cheese but they also do have a nice close pepper cheese and then Maplewood Meats actually has a Carolina Reaper cheddar. The Carolina Reaper. Yeah and you know Maplewood Meats between Green Bay and Wausau on 29 there. I've been there a few years but yeah. Yeah so it's I'm always I'm always down for trying new cheeses so
00:33:50
Speaker
But on the hot scale, man, I mean, I've had people make me a cheeseburger and not tell me there were ghost peppers and the cheese and I just take the bite, not expecting it. That's pretty high on the, whatever you call the scale, you know? Yeah. The, uh, what do they call that? I know what you're talking about. this Yeah. Yeah. All the things to give you heartburn in Wisconsin anyway. Yeah. For me, there's there's times like if I go like a couple of weeks without having, you know, hot stuff and I'll have like a bite of like a spicy course, pepper, cheese, I'll hiccup.
00:34:28
Speaker
because it's like Okay. Okay. I gotta, gotta adjust this again, but pretty hot too. Are there some heat? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can see that man. Who is your all time favorite packer? You know, it's a funny question because As we've seen what some Packers once they leave the field do, and you may or may not, you may like them more, you may like them less. I mean, I've still got to go with Brett Favre. As a kid, James Lofton is my hero because he was the only really great player on the team when I was a kid.
00:35:08
Speaker
But I mean, I expected us to lose most weeks for about 15, 20 years. And I'm thinking someday we'll win. Farve finally came along and for the first time ever, you just, you expected to win every game that Brett would find a way. And despite whatever's happened, you know, since his playing days are over, when Brett Farve was a Packer quarterback, yeah, he was my favorite. Yeah. Um, I'm going to go with Charles Woodson. He's my favorite. He, uh, a great choice. He, uh, I'm a huge Badger fan. And I remember watching him in the mid nineties playing for Michigan and his, his swagger, his leadership and how good he was on defense. And I just, he, yeah, he's been, then he went for the Raiders. Yes. I have a Raiders, which in Jersey, I admit it.
00:36:01
Speaker
But nothing wrong with that. I don't like the team. I like the i i like the player. And that was back when they when they went against the Buccaneers and the Super Bowl. So I went and got a Raiders-Witson jersey. And I got two Packers ones. i got my Actually, my wife and kids had a chance to meet him at Festival Foods here in Napier a few years ago when he was he was selling his intercept wines. I think they're starting to carry his label there and he had to meet and greet and my wife and kids went to meet him and got me six bottles signed of his wine. So, got that little memento from him but and my my most memorable game that I went to was actually the game against the Lions
00:36:49
Speaker
was it Sean Hill that quarterback for the for the Lions when yeah the backup yeah when he ran all remember that when he was just like killing the Packers at Lambo but it was that game where Woodson had that that pick six that he returned and he dove into the end zone that made the cover a Sports Illustrated. I was actually at that game. It's kind of cool with this to see him, you know, dominate. And so, but I mean, as far as all time Packer favorites, obviously he, he and Leroy Butler, as far as the DBACs go, I mean, or in my mind, the two greatest by far in my lifetime. Yeah, it's too bad. What happened to Nick Collins? I think he was, he was, he was on his way to having a great career too.
00:37:35
Speaker
Yep, absolutely agree. I did. And you know, I'm just so glad because we're going to have, you know, Woodson's going to be in the hall of fame. Thank goodness, you know, Leroy Butler finally got into the hall of fame and, and obviously Jerry Kramer, thank goodness, before he passed and all. yeah There's like three bears up this year. And I'm like, Oh man. Hopefully they don't make it. Well, Peppers is the one that I'm like, all right. Yeah, he played for the Bears a little longer than he did for us. But if we had just been able to win a Super Bowl with Peppers, I'm sure he'd probably want to go in as a packer. Right. Well, Woodson went in as half packer, half raider.
00:38:21
Speaker
and And you know something, I don't blame him. That's fine. That first drafted him. It's a team that he finished with, but you always remember who you won the big ring with, you know? and Yeah, absolutely.
Jordan Love's Impact and Future Prospects
00:38:34
Speaker
what What do you think was the turning point last year when all of a sudden they they're just like, boom, they're just going to go through and smoke everybody? I think those painful losses, what, to to Pittsburgh and what was the other one? atlanta right. yeah had a couple of losses that we had kind of the game under control and it slipped away And I think once Jordan Love was able to finish a couple of those and recognize that, you know, we can beat all these teams, that confidence factor kicked in. And the familiarity with all of his young wide receivers, whether it be bull melt in one game, wicks the next game.
00:39:22
Speaker
Yeah we had a couple of losses that we had kind of the game You know, you just saw he had such confidence in his receivers, must grave and crafted tight end. Once the light bulb went off, it clearly was a huge difference. Yeah. And you think about the weapons we had last year, then you add in a healthy Watson. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm watching. I see all these people wanting to trade him and I'm like, that's just. With two seasons left on his rookie deal on the cheap and all of this, why would we want to trade him right now after he's been treated for the hamstring issue? They come up with some very interesting you know medical things the Packers didn't know. There's no reason to trade him. It would be stupid to trade him.
00:40:09
Speaker
If anything, I'd re-sign them. Well, yeah. And we're going to have about four or five guys come up in the next couple of years, wide receiver wise, where we're going to have to make, you know, those decisions. We're not going to be able to keep them all at some point. Right. But yeah, but you just take the, you go for the, I'd say you go for the top two and you know, Yeah. it's what the The thing that's nice though is we have we're going to have the cap room to keep some of these guys. Yeah. Whereas before we didn't. I still fully expect that loves deals going to get done between now and camp. I mean, you think about it, that's what, six weeks?
00:40:50
Speaker
Yeah. Five have weeks. I think it's going to get done. And I think that's going to set our cap as we look at Kenny Clark, as you know, we look forward to next year's cap and all of that. I mean, ball is our stud. I mean, our our salary cap man and the work that he does, he's like a wizard.
00:41:15
Speaker
Yeah, this, this, the way I'm not really a fan of pushing money out in the future, but if that's what they gotta do to be competitive, I guess I'll become a fan. Well, when they presented at first, I mean, remember all the criticism with the Rogers. Oh my God, we're going to be crippled with the cap forever. It ended up not impacting us whatsoever. you know We were a missed field goal away from going to the NFC Championship game last year. And now, Rodgers is completely off the cap and no damage. And that's what I love about Ball is that he's not just kicking the can down the road. He has some good areas that he's targeting these things.
00:42:00
Speaker
Yeah. You think of, you think of, uh, Aaron and Bob Tiare, it was like $80 million. dollars If not more, what was box char 29? Oh, and, and I want to say in the end, what we have 20 on this year's cap, I believe. And we have what eight or 12 with Jones. Yeah. andtime We have cap space. you know None of these things paralyzed us at all with what we could spend. I want to say what we have the seventh most salary cap open right now of any team. I think I saw that the other day and I'm just laughing. I'm like, oh, all the people that thought between Rogers and Bakhtiari salary cap, we're going to be doomed for a long time and we're not. Yeah. and Well, it helps too when you have
00:42:58
Speaker
you're you're Your, your, your stud receivers all combined making like $11 million. dollars yeah it just jefferson science for thirty five million a year Yeah. With an unproven quarterback. Kudos to him, I guess. um if i mean the last I saw Sam Darnold might still, cause I tell my Viking fan friends, I'm like, you bitch about the Packer quarterbacks, but now you've got a situation. Do not start JJ McCarthy year one. Let him sit. Let him learn. Let him get that how loves going to stink. The Packers can't do it three times in a row. Yeah, we can. Cause we develop them. We don't just throw them to the wolves, you know, right? Who speaking of that, what do you think of was a Michael Pratt? Okay. ah rhythm What do you, what do you think of him? Do you think he beats all Clifford for backup?
00:43:53
Speaker
I think that there's a solid chance that he does. Um, I mean, Clifford was a solid guy. What started three or four seasons at Penn state, though, that he's calm. You know, I think that Pratt might have some more athletic ability than Clifford does. I could even see a scenario where both are kept. since both have practice squad eligibility, right now I would say I like Pratt a little better to beat out Clifford though. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like Clifford. When he came in last year, he was precise. He made his reads. He had zip on the ball. it's So yeah, he'd be a good practice squad quarterback, you know? Either would be.
00:44:37
Speaker
Well, you mentioned Pratt. I really like him. And, you know, this is that time of year when they've not even been a pads or played against life defense and you develop your little crushes. And I'm like, Oh, you know, Pratt's going to be that next backup quarterback that we trade for a first round pick in a couple of years and all that. We'll see come preseason. you Yeah. You think back to like Aaron Brooks and the Hasselback and Mark Burnell, you know, all those days. But you know, something Ron Wolf used to do that. And Goody even said before the draft, I may need to go back to drafting quarterbacks. And drafting Pratt was a Ron Wolf kind of draft pick. Let's put it that way. I was half, again, kind of like King. I'm like, how is this kid Pratt still available? With all the teams that have no quarterbacks, someone would have jumped on him in the fourth or fifth or something.
00:45:32
Speaker
Yeah. what What do you, what do you see in Caleb Williams? Do you think he's going to be good in Chicago?
00:45:42
Speaker
I think the jury is out. They've got great receiving talent. You know, that one thing they have done is they put together a good receiving court. They got solid tight ends, solid receivers. They're rebuilding their offensive line with a bunch of new guys. But I just still remember as a Notre Dame fan because I live as close to Notre Dame Stadium as as you do to Lambeau how Notre Dame just absolutely destroyed him and I'm gonna say 50-50 bust or Pro Bowler Yeah, i hope I hope he turns out like Jay Cutler
00:46:22
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. For Aiden McNown, even better, a great first round pick that they just try to pretend never happened. Yeah, I don't know. it's He didn't really impress me in college. and i I mean, you can get him all the receivers that you want, but you got to be able to stay on your feet to get the ball to the receivers. And if you don't have, I mean, they got swift, but if you don't have a run game, duh, you're going to pass, you know? So. Swift's a solid back, I think. But what is his third team in three years or something? So obviously, he's not a game-changing back. He's, hey, for fantasy league, if Swift's there in the fifth round, yeah, you know, you take a chance on him. But is he a huge difference maker?
00:47:12
Speaker
He's going to have to, what a bears in general just going to have to show us as Packer fans, 10 in a row, 18 out of 20. Even if you beat us at soldier field early, just, you know, fall and all that. Okay. ah You got a lot more you got to do before you're going to think you're going to pass us in the standings.
Packers Rivalries and Season Predictions
00:47:35
Speaker
Right. Going off of that, who do you think is the biggest rival to the Packers?
00:47:42
Speaker
I once played in a golf outing with with Fuzzy Thurston who started at left guard for the, or excuse me, right guard for the Green Bay Packers. Not left guard, but anyway, um he had throat cancer. So he had one of those throat boxes in and he took his fork and he banged it on my plate so I could come in and hear him. Cause it was during a banquet after the golf outing. And he's like, Mick, bears Packers is love hate. Packers Vikings is hate, hate. Don't ever forget that. So to me, the Vikings are the most hated rivalry. The Lions are the best team right now, but I felt sorry for the Lions fans for a long time. I don't anymore. But there's no love with Viking fans at all, as far as I'm concerned anyway. And that whatever you call a stadium that they have,
00:48:36
Speaker
The bird killer. Yeah, yeah, exactly. the I remember I went when my brother-in-law's played for Upper Iowa University out of Iowa, they played a game. Was it the Metrodome? Yeah. That place smelled like urine, like no other. It was just disgusting, you know. Oh, but anyway, best day height I've been to Detroit and Chicago, both many times to see away games. I have boycotted Minneapolis. So I've never been to a game, even though I've seen them play the Vikings many times, never there. Yeah. But yeah, it's, do you think the, uh, you think we'll have a top 10 defense this year? I'm optimistic that we can.
00:49:24
Speaker
a couple of key things is going to be, like you said, the run defense. And, you know, Devontae Wyatt is kind of more of a pass rusher. Kenny Clark obviously is is tremendous on all aspects. Is Slayton going to step up a little bit more as far as being that, you know, middle run stuffer? Brooks, is he going to be more than just an inside pass rusher? i I would say that my expectation as a Packers are going to be a top 10 defense. What about their offense? I think the offense keyword being staying healthy is going to be nearly unstoppable. I really believe that.
00:50:09
Speaker
I look at the depth we've got on the offensive line. I think that we addressed it well in the draft. And obviously with between Lloyd and Jacobs and Dylan and even Emmanuel Wilson, we have four running backs we can put in there at any time. um Yeah, I think offense top five. Yeah, I mean, i'm I'm excited to see the defense and I'm equally excited to see the offense for sure. um i Competition is this something that, uh,
00:50:47
Speaker
I mean, I like Carlson and I know as a draft pick, they're going to try to give him every single chance to win it, but I'm not sold out. Yeah, I don't know. Give him give a year or two, maybe a year, year and a half. he he when but When the season was over and people were dogging him, and I went back and I looked at Crosby's percentage, and I looked at Carlson's percentage, their rookie year. And Carlson had a better percentage than Crosby did. yeah michael look ah Look at Crosby did for us. So I mean, I can't give up on him right away. you know
00:51:25
Speaker
I'm only saying there was a couple of huge missed kicks that could have changed the season. And for this year, I mean, he kicked a 57-yarder at the end of practice the other day. And so he's got the leg. It's just mentally, is he going to be able to go up and nail those big kicks? Crosby, yeah, those games against the Lions where he'd miss four field goals in a game and you're shaking your head like, what is going on here? But then in the playoffs, just ask those Cowboys fans, it doesn't matter. yeah Crosby is their worst nightmare. So yeah. And I think they brought in Joseph's, uh, to kind of get Carlson on track to, to kind of say, look, I'm going to lose my job if I don't, you know, so I think he'll be the long-term solution. Just gotta give him time.
00:52:15
Speaker
I want him to win it. Cause the poor kid, if he has to sit and think I lost my job in green Bay to a Viking kicker, that's like the most shameful thing you can get on. Yeah. Then you'll have Greg Joseph's going around and being a sponsor for, or being sponsored by Applebee's. Yeah. Like Ryan Longwell. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. How do you think the North fair is out this year? One through four. Um, I'm going to say, well, I always do every year, but obviously I think our Packers going to win the division. I think it's going to be a season long race with the lions. I think the bears are going to be improved much. I hate to admit it. They got a really solid defense. And if, if, if Williams does anything,
00:53:05
Speaker
So, you know, I'm going to go Packers one, Lions two, Bears three, and Vikings four, but I do think the Lions are a surefire playoff team. And I think the Bears, we have a chance that, you know, three teams come out of our division and make the playoffs is the way I see it. Yeah. What do you think Packers overall record is going to be? I'm going with 12 and five. And that's about where I am. It's a weird schedule. As long as we win those early, early game home season games early, then you think about a four night games in a row. I mean, I've never seen that in a schedule before. Yeah. And one of the four night games, what only one of them, no, two of them are at Lambo and two are away.
00:53:57
Speaker
I think that, uh, you know, if, if we can make sure we take care of division games, 12 and five 13 and four is where I, I, I hate to say it because then somebody's going to come back when we go 10 and seven, you know, I'll be like, Oh, you were overestimating them. Yeah, you're off by two games. Yeah. Yeah. And wouldn't that be something with those two games were lost by miss field goals by Greg Joseph.
00:54:26
Speaker
Yeah. That'd be our look. We're playing the Vikings and Joseph blows the 31 yard field goal and we lose by two. Yeah. Then after the game, the FBI rages account to make sure he wasn't gambling, you know, on himself, you know,
00:54:43
Speaker
Bended for life, Greg Joseph, man. So he's got to go kick the USFL or the UFL and the CFL. In fact, I was watching the UFL last night. I couldn't believe how many former Packers were in the playoffs in the UFL. Yeah, I was watching those like Jay Sternberger. Amari Rodgers. Amari Rodgers. Wasn't there a quarterback? ah Oh yeah. Danny Elling. Elling, yeah. Yeah, he was our backup last year, and yeah, there were a few others. I was like, man, there's quite a few of them. Yeah, well, Amari Rodgers can stay away from the Packers. Yeah, and he had the winning touchdown, too, in the game. See, I think the Packers were looking to get Jaden Reed production out of Amari Rodgers and didn't pan out. and then
00:55:36
Speaker
He had his career cut short in the NFL because of that. but Um, cause he was good at Clemson. I thought, yeah, I mean, in multiple ways. And I think it's a great comparison you make with Reed because they were supposed to be the guy that could do the gadget play could line up in the backfield, line up in the slot and be a good slot receiver. And, and yeah, I mean, Reed already in his rookie year, as far eclipse would a Mari Rogers ever showed in a couple
Favorite Sports Movies and Personal Connections
00:56:08
Speaker
of years.
00:56:08
Speaker
Well, in the riff, I think that happened was, uh, Rogers wanted his buddy, Randall Cobb there. Yeah. Randall Cobb was past his prime at the time and you know, let one get, let one get through the cracks, but it is what it is, you know? Absolutely. All right. One last question for you, Mick. All right. Favorite sports movie.
00:56:34
Speaker
Favorite sports movie. Um,
00:56:41
Speaker
I'm going to say Major League. Pictures got a big, but isn't it it that one? The one with Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Tom Barringer, because it was filmed in Milwaukee. It was supposed to be Cleveland. It was filmed in Milwaukee. And I was actually at Marquette the year they were filming it and all of that. So I remember the whole atmosphere, making Milwaukee look like Cleveland and all of that. But there's so many great ones, I mean,
00:57:14
Speaker
The original Brian songs, I still cry to it, even though it's for the Bears, I still cry every time I see it. So do you go to college at Marquette? One year. do So what do you think of Shaka Smart, the men's basketball coach? I mean, Marquette last year every time I bet on them, they lost and every time I bet against them, they won. I mean, I don't think that it's going to be a program destroyer or anything, but right see I mean, who's going to be the better team, Badgers or Warriors? I don't know. But this the reason why I asked you that is I went to school with Shock and Smart.
00:57:57
Speaker
Oh, OK. OK. He was like I was he was probably like five or six grades ahead of me, but his his brother was in my grade and he for one summer was my summer basketball coach when I was in middle school. So nice, nice on little off little Marquette, Oregon, Wisconsin connection there. But I'm from just south of Madison and Oregon. So gotcha. So, yeah. Well, look, when we get closer to the to the preseason and training camp, I'd love to have you back on again.
Podcast Wrap-Up and Future Collaborations
00:58:27
Speaker
Oh, Brian, I would love to have it, man. I've had a great time and great discussions. And, you know, I can't wait because, yeah, when we talk next time, we're going to be like, who's going to be at right guard? Who's going to be at right tackle? Some of these positions are going to start coming into play. And I would love for us to get together again and talk about those. Absolutely. I'll within the next week or so, i'll I'll send you like my August, September. How it's looking for me and we'll we'll get something together to meet up again.
00:58:57
Speaker
Yeah, we may have to do a little mini one because I will definitely be going to the Vikings game, which is what late September 1st of October. Yeah, maybe I'll have to come tailgate with you. Well, that's what I'm saying. We may have to do a quick little video of the tailgate. and Yeah, minute absolutely. Fantastic. I mean, I'll be up there for a couple of days for sure. You might be able to meet my son too. So yeah, well, definitely let me know. I'm i'm more than I'll come tailgate and watch the game from the parking lot. Hey, there's no better place other than in the stadium to watch a Packer game than in the parking lot. Hey, thanks again for having me, Brian. Been a blast. Yeah. i' i'll I'll get this uploaded and I'll tag you on Twitter and and there. I mean, that's it. Sounds great, brother. Have a great evening. Go Pack Go and I'll look forward to talking to you soon. Yeah. Go Pack Go. Where can people find you at um on Twitter?
00:59:53
Speaker
Oh, I can't even, I mean, just Mick Stevenson. I don't even have any crazy handles or websites or anything like that. OK. Sounds good. Well, thanks again, Mick. I appreciate it. All right, Brian. Have a great night, man. Talk to you soon. You as well. Yeah. Go back, though.