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Football Is Back! Early Training Camp Winners, Standouts & Storylines | OPE Packers
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Training camp is officially underway, and the Green Bay Packers are back on the practice field!
This week on the Ohana Packers Edition Podcast, we break down everything we've learned from the opening days of camp, including:
🏈 Matthew Golden turning heads early
💪 Lukas Van Ness' strong start
⚡ Colin Oliver making plays
🩹 Injury updates on Micah Parsons and the Packers' returning veterans
👀 Keisean Nixon's absence and what it could mean
🎯 Early observations you should (and shouldn't) overreact to
It's only training camp—but football is finally back, and we're diving into all the biggest storylines from the first week.
🎧 Listen now and let us know:
Who's your biggest training camp standout so far?
#GoPackGo #Packers #GreenBayPackers #NFL #TrainingCamp #NFLPodcast #OPE
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Transcript
Intro
Training Camp Kickoff
00:00:55
Speaker
Aloha and welcome back to a new episode of the Ahana Packers Edition podcast. Training camp is officially underway ah for the green bay Packers and we're checking in after the first, by the time you're listening to this, well, we're covering the first four practices. They'll have practice a fifth time probably, or ah they'll be about to have practice for the fifth time first in pads by the time you're listening to this. But overall, it's been a solid start to training camp for the Packers. Um...
00:01:26
Speaker
The biggest news is that the return from injury progressions have been going well overall. It seems like guys are hitting their timelines as expected. There was that blip of hope that Micah Parsons would be an absolute alien, but um Schneidman and Domovsky had to ruin it for everyone and say, it's a procedural, he'll be on PUP tomorrow. This was back on Tuesday and he was um up on PUP on Wednesday. That was on Monday that he was not listed on PUP. And they said, he'll be on PUP tomorrow.
00:01:57
Speaker
come Tuesday he was on PUP so unfortunate but expected i mean we all kind of hoped that he would uber alien it and somehow be able to play sooner than later but as you said you've got to protect the investment team has to think long term you know both in terms of long term of the 2026 season and moving through the rest of this partnership between the Packers and Parsons but Joe overall not too much to really complain about from a Packers fan point of view Well, you had the, uh, what do you want to call it with key shot? Nixon people thought it was a sit in and he claims it was just a one day, hamstring injury.
00:02:40
Speaker
um I think he realized that, Oh, they will start the rookie. They didn't miss him while he was gone. so he got, he got better real quick.
00:02:53
Speaker
Uh, There were some, Mike and I were talking, there were some like light moves that they did make. um right now they're working with a new long snapper hopefully that'll be a permanent thing not a temporary fix but then i got to look in and then uh domofsky and and uh hermit both said that one of smacks misses is because of a bad snap yeah and wes hodd said the same thing um so that that's not too
00:03:29
Speaker
too exciting. But yeah, I mean, this is a time of year I love. I'll be heading up there in about 10 days from the time that we're recording this. So it's my time of year to take my vacation, head up and hang out up there. So yeah. And you know, it, it makes you excited for football, but then you can't get too excited because it's like, well, they're not really doing anything. Cause I mean, there's been a lot of things like Michael, ah Matthew Golden has been looking good.
00:03:59
Speaker
uh lucas vaness has been looking tremendous i i was just reading stuff from domofsky on colin oliver and they said that he's been pretty uh wes hot even said something to the effect that this is the first time he's ever seen a a pass rusher stop and put his hands on his hips waiting for the pass to be thrown And it's like, okay, so that that kind of gives you hope. But then again, it doesn't give you hope because like, okay, well, what what offensive line are they going against? What, you know, because if it's the number one starter.
00:04:36
Speaker
Well, no pads, but if it's the number one starters and it's like, well, does that mean we're to have a shitty ass offensive line? Or if it's like the third, fourth, fifth string offensive line, is it just because they're going against that sub offensive line that they're they're doing so well in. So, yeah, I mean, it's a time to be excited because football is back, but you also have to reserve your excitement because, you know, it is just practices.
Early Observations and Player Status
00:05:05
Speaker
So I realized we didn't talk about how we wanted to handle this episode. So the thought that popped into my head is we'll just do a overview of the first few days, you know, hit some of the like, like you said, there's been a couple around the periphery roster moves, some of the names who ended up on PUP, couple, not surprises, but kind of disappointments that they ended up on there.
00:05:28
Speaker
And then we can go into like things we're most incurred, like you said, our super, super early training camp. few things we're very excited about and few things that are making us making our eye eyebrow twitch a little bit. So um and well I am kind of disappointed that Mike didn't notice there's no ponytail anymore.
00:05:48
Speaker
I said it before, but you were either you were fiddling with your microphone. But that is my fault. It's a great new hairdo for Iowa Joe. I was going to ask, is there a job interview or something that's happening? Are we looking at head of security vertical movement? No, no, no. It was more that I got tired of taking care of the damn thing.
00:06:09
Speaker
i was I was hoping to find somewhere that I could donate it, but being I'm in the backwoods of nowhere, it's almost impossible to find people that work with like charities and that to donate it, but Yeah, I went yesterday and got it chopped.
00:06:28
Speaker
ah I wish he would have done a little bit more with the bangs, but yeah, it feels, my head feels much lighter. I feel like I'm going to float away. But yeah, I mean, as back to all that other stuff, it's just,
00:06:41
Speaker
Like I said, yeah it's exciting that football's back. There are some things that aren't looking so good. There are some things that are looking so good. But, yeah, I mean, we can go over the pup list if you want. I gotta pull it up here.
00:06:55
Speaker
ah for ah Like you said, um oh yeah, I guess we'll go over the pup list because those kind of influenced the the um the couple of roster moves that they made. So, hold on hold that thought. So...
00:07:10
Speaker
Excuse me. Just to buy time as we live internet this thing. um Tucker Craft was on PUP but was activated on Friday and did do individual drills. On the NFI list is Chris Brooks.
00:07:27
Speaker
Okay. I know we sort of went into it a little bit where it's like the whole what distinguishes NFI versus PUP, you know. It's not an every time thing, but often PUP means you're dealing with the after effects of an injury you suffered the season before. So, you know, Micah Parsons, Devontae Wyatt, um...
00:07:51
Speaker
or no Sorry, Wyatt is not on PUP, but he has been limited. Micah Parsons, Jordan Riley, Kamal Haddon, those guys are on PUP because you know they had suffered an injury. Haddon returned today.
00:08:08
Speaker
yeah so um Oh good, see I hadn't gotten that update yet that Haddon had him with yeah returned. He was practicing today. Yeah, I know that LeFleur was kind of teasing him because i think it was Marlon Jones' pick six that had him ran down the sideline next to to Jones to like celebrate. And LeFleur's like, so you're still on Pup because... And he's like, I'm just kidding. I know there's a process, but...
00:08:34
Speaker
But one of the names, like we said, okay, a couple names that are on there that were unexpected are Luke Musgrave, who is dealing with a mysterious nakede neck injury that LaFleur has said.
00:08:49
Speaker
Former host Nick Grayton. I'm kidding. Um...
00:08:53
Speaker
um A neck injury that LeFleur has stated is not super short term, but they don't also expect it to be long term in terms of season ending kind of thing. So, you know, that could mean he stays on Pupp through the beginning of the season. You know, LeFleur left it very much up in the air. He did say that they're optimistic it's something that will progress, but did not give much of an update on what that progression is going to look like.
00:09:22
Speaker
Javon Hargrave is also on PUP. It's unclear whether this is a... You know, you cannot just go on PUP because old, but how much of this is, oh yeah, he was dealing with a nagging injury last season, and you know, he's 30... He's our age. What it... Yeah.
00:09:42
Speaker
Javon Hargrave is... that that that thought Yeah, he's 33. No, he's my age. He'd be retired. yeah Yeah, maybe mine too, actually. So Javon is 33. Oh, didn't even realize he is literally two years younger than Marisol. But, um...
00:09:59
Speaker
You're not supposed to tell your wife Sage. I didn't say it out loud. What's it called? I was trying to read that they said something about that they don't think it's anything. Yeah, I'm i'm looking it at it as it's a coded, he is an old, let's you know it's sort of the like Brian Bulaga, he's only going to practice when he needs to kind of thing and with Hargrove.
00:10:24
Speaker
It is, ah okay, he's been around the block a couple times, don't need to burn him out all the way through training camp, has played for Gannon, but Hargrave did make the comment that Gannon is running very different stuff from the time that they were together in Philadelphia, so it remains to be seen how much of an adjustment it will be for Hargrave, but he is still projected to start at one of the defensive tackle spots.
00:10:51
Speaker
um once the season comes around so those two were you know not i don't want to say bad surprises but like just names you didn't expect to see on the list and then the other one who really was um sort of the catalyst for some of the the periphery roster moves long snapper matt orzik is on pup to start training camp and the packers did not have a second long snapper so they had to go and get a second long snapper um
00:11:21
Speaker
And that is... Yeah, we were trying to figure out how to pronounce it. It's like Cal-Odomatis or... Atomitis. Odomitis because he's a person and not an inflammation of some and not an inflammation of your a adam organ but So, um you know, you got to have one in camp to run through your special teams operations. Unfortunately, that you I was reading Trace Mack was snapping to Dan Whelan the other day just so he could have somebody snapping to him. I guess he hadn't passed the physical yet. But yeah, also not great is that one of Smack's two misses in practice on Sunday was due to the fact that Adomatis had a bad snap on the play. So um unfortunately, Dan Whelan having to get get good again, not get good, but having to reach into the bag and be the wunderkind at a holder,
00:12:21
Speaker
much earlier than you want him to have to be in training camp at all or if at all but um Not a great start for long snapper. And obviously, yes, the operation matters, but you do want to see your kicker overcome those. But all the reporters did note that Smack was kicking into pretty adverse, oddly adverse wind conditions on Sunday. And um it is something he's going to have to adjust to. But um he was just missing because the wind pushed the ball. And honestly...
00:12:54
Speaker
I know some some people will have concern with that, but I do... There's a part of me that's like, yes, adjust. But also there's the other part of me that's like, I'm glad he's not missing it wild in every direction. Because that means that... That would mean he's potentially like overcompensating and using technique the other way kind of thing. And it's sort of that, okay, like, yes, just kick it a little bit more against the wind, but just don't go completely...
00:13:21
Speaker
against you know how you normally would kick a football kind of thing so and that's just you know it was only two misses i yeah and they weren't you know they weren't from extreme distance i think he missed from 39 and 45 but you know you don't want to miss shorter than 40 really for that shorter than 45 in the new era of kicking but adverse conditions first day of like live kicking because he I know he's kicked some in camp, but it's been like off the like little holder tee and stuff like that. He hasn't like done the operation and stuff. So, you know, not great for the first day, but also like, it's not like he was kicking inside of Hudson and missing or anything like that. So, you know, right it was always going to be a process. We lived through.
00:14:08
Speaker
you know We lived through, um what's it called, um Carlson. We lived through um whatever you want to call the 2006 season with the with the like four different kickers that we rostered at some point during that that last season before Crosby. The two bad Crosby seasons and stuff. So, yeah.
00:14:31
Speaker
He's a rookie. Yes, they've gambled, they've put all their eggs in is in the basket of Trey Smack, but that's also, like, it was always going to be some kind of process, and you don't want to see a guy missing at all, but...
00:14:46
Speaker
get im out now don't get like false dutch courage that like oh he's perfect in training camp And kind of thing
00:15:00
Speaker
oh he just shanks a kick in the first quarter of a game and then he's like toast the rest of the way kind of thing so you know not then like is kind of the thing that we feared a little bit with him is the extreme elements And not saying that right
Roster Changes and Player Updates
00:15:19
Speaker
now up there is extreme because it's just hot and windy, but, you know, if he's having a hard time with the wind, what's it going to be like in the middle of December when... The ball is a rock.
00:15:31
Speaker
Yeah, so it's good. It's one of those things that would be good for him to get it out now and not in the middle of a playoff push. Yep. So, we've gone there. um A couple other moves that they made. So, to make room for Odometus, they cut the backup kicker, Craig. I'm assuming it's pronounced like Dave Craig's last name because it's spelled the same way. don't know, it's German. It could be Krieg for all we know. I know. It depends on how German are you. But... but um So they cut the they cut the kicker who replaced Havrasek. So Smack is literally the only kicker on the roster right now. um And then they swapped wide receivers. um
00:16:17
Speaker
brendan Brendan Rice was released with a um waived and injured designation yeah wad injured designation. And in the meantime, the team brought in Caden Prather, um another wide receiver.
00:16:32
Speaker
More than likely a camp body at this point. You come in this late, nondescript, former late-round draft pick kind of thing and stuff. So we'll see. don't know. they They were talking pretty highly of him today. so yeah But he's also got a little bit of a pred pedigree because, you know, he was at Louisville.
00:16:49
Speaker
He was up in the CFL. He was on the championship team in the CFL. So, you know, not to, like, say that he's not anything more than a camp body, but right there is a little bit of a pedigree there for him.
00:17:03
Speaker
Yep. And then I guess the other like disappointing... or Actually, no, that'll go into the um the next segment and stuff, but anything else in terms of PUP or roster rooms? Yeah, Kraft was on it for like a total of eight hours. Yeah, and came back with a very... ah I've seen like a dozen different people including including robin Robin tweet like, I can't not read his comments about his knee in a non-Donald Trump voice because he had a really weird thing. of yeah sp yeah The doctor said but my knee is spectacular. like
00:17:42
Speaker
And to which, I forget if it was Snideman or I forget which one, like or Brian Wood, one of them was like, never heard a knee be described as spectacular, but there goes Tucker Craft doing it. so but And then he just had another one he where he said he's like a tricycle with no brakes. Oh yeah, no, he said he is a tricycle because tricycles don't have brakes. That's what it was. it's where do you get these things just are you that podunk like are you that podunk country boy that that's really how you guys talk kind of thing like but hey like it's just really good to see him back um obviously you know even as as much as tucker is like tooting his own horn about how well his recovery is going he also has admitted like there is a procedure they're going through he's not gonna do team drills yet um there you know he's been doing everything else i've been watching little clips of him cutting and jumping and yeah they said he did it it was weird because they said he didn't catch passes he like
00:18:48
Speaker
ran a couple soft routes on... it I forget how they described it. And then he did some of the... No, he was catching passes. Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm thinking of Friday's practice. See, this is what happens.
00:18:58
Speaker
um This is what happens when you give your co-host four months off and how he does nothing. And was taking his dog into the Pacific this morning instead of watching the practice highlights. But... ah But that's, like I said, that's that's a progression from Friday because on Friday, you know, he did a couple, like, kind of one-on-one blocking drills with the coach holding the bag kind of thing. And he ran some routes on air but wasn't throwing the ball and stuff. And um and that was it. You know, like, he he did a lap around the field to get the fans hyped and stuff like that. But that was...
00:19:35
Speaker
I think he might have done the walkthrough, but, you know, they they couldn't see the walkthrough, so no one was super certain. and So, um you know, that was Kraft's quote-unquote participation on Friday. But if he's already progressed to running some routes and catching some passes, that is indeed a true progression from...
00:19:53
Speaker
where he was two days ago. He said he was probably not going to play in the preseason games unless like... Oh, I wouldn't play him. Yeah. Like, even if things did progress to the point where he could, there's no point in it. Like, he is on the short list of if Jordan's not playing, there's absolutely no reason for Kraft to even have a uniform on. Like, he's on that kind of list.
00:20:15
Speaker
The only way I would play him is if for some reason he thinks he needs to get out there for the mental aspect getting back out. And he did say that he won't be fully back until he gets smoked trying to block someone kind of thing and stuff. But he also followed that up saying, and that's probably going to be week one kind of thing. So, yeah, he's totally balancing it all out. The good news side of it is...
00:20:41
Speaker
Zach Tom was not on the PUP list. Zach who? Oh, Baco Bawele. Yes, he changed his last name. um um'm We're just hoping that um Zach is the third guy who has um changed either how he pronounces or um addressed how he and pronounces or changed his last name in Green Bay. Obviously, he I think he's the first one to full-on change it in a while. But, you know, Braptunian...
00:21:12
Speaker
Well that was just because everybody assumed what it was pronounced like. finally came out of mouth. Well and then the same with Kingsley and Nagbure. And then um you know Tanyan blew his knee out the year after he corrected everyone on the pronunciation of his name. Nagbure left Green Bay the year after he corrected how his name should be pronounced. So we're just hoping that you know Zach going all the way to just changing his name or you know just changing it to his grandparents last name to um pay homage to his nigerian descent um we hope that going full-fledged into the change that um zach will continue to have prolonged success here in green bay so but the only thing i got to say about it
00:21:55
Speaker
is i feel sorry for anybody who actually purchased zach tom jersey now it's a collector's item so but especially if you have his autograph as zack tom so that's a collector's item somewhere but um um I mean, it's great for him. If that's what he wants to do, yeah you know more power to him. I mean, it's not like he's doing it for vanity's sake like a Chad Ochocinco or what's the basketball one, Ron Artest. Yeah, meta world piece or something. And I think he added to it or something too, so...
00:22:34
Speaker
Yeah. And it's not like Kanye's kids where they just named them like North and East and or whatever the hell they did.
00:22:45
Speaker
So it's actually a meaningful thing for him. So yeah, I mean, more power to him. I'm not going to I hopefully and I didn't catch to see if they did or not that he gives like a pronunciation class on how to say it fully.
00:23:02
Speaker
But, you know, that's a good on him yep so just don't let mike do it and on top of it like i said the bigger news for zach is he is not on the pup list um he and wyatt are both not on it and the announcement or the the the disclose the the information that lafleur has disclosed thus far is that they're hoping to get both of them back in full team activities um after family night so um that would be a good progression you know get them live reps um and they probably wouldn't have played in the preseason anyway but that way they've got contact going through you know the the
00:23:45
Speaker
Unlike Kraft, week one won't be the first time either of these guys hits another person full-on kind of thing and stuff. So, um good progression there. Aaron Banks started on PUP, but he has so subsequently returned to practice.
Offensive and Defensive Insights
00:24:01
Speaker
I know he's been more in the individual drill side of it as well, but he did walk through as part of the starters. um Anyone else, Joe? Or...
00:24:15
Speaker
Injury-wise, is not that I can think. In terms of new injuries. and dropout yeah Yeah. In terms of new. Okay. And Joe's going to have to cover the ones from Sunday, but the ones from earlier in the week. um Jager Burton dropped out in the first practice, like, it less than an hour in.
00:24:36
Speaker
He is a stamped official Packer now because he has missed time with the hamstring issue. Like, he just... I think he was back today. There you go. So, um...
00:24:47
Speaker
Either way, good they as of Friday, LaFleur had said that they were not concerned long-term. It was just ah more precautionary than anything else. um And Edge Cooper, on Thursday, I believe it was, dropped out early, but he returned on Friday to practice. So a couple bullets potentially dodged there for the Packers.
00:25:12
Speaker
um I was trying to look here. i I'm pretty sure either... Burton came back or he was doing certain drills today. Right.
00:25:24
Speaker
Oh, there it is. Yeah, he was back on the practice field. Yep. Yep. Had his helmet, all that kind of stuff. And like I said, ah
00:25:34
Speaker
oh Carrington was not doing any drills. he was He had his helmet off and all that stuff. So I guess we'll use that Carrington note to kind of dovetail into some of the position battles that we're seeing. um Obviously, Burton would have been part of one of them, but you know he's missed time subsequently. So because he's been out, you know he probably would have gotten first nod at left guard with ah Banks missing time with injury. But Jacob Monk has been the first left guard in after um with Banks out. Oh, I forgot. With
00:26:13
Speaker
oh Orsic out before they signed whatever his name is, Sean Ryan was snapping. Yeah, I think he was, like, whatever feud, when they did the walkthroughs, that's what it was. Because they hadn't live drilled it. He was, yeah, in the walkthrough, he was the the long snapper. So, yep.
00:26:31
Speaker
So, showing where the Packers would go in that regard. um So, um okay. So, talking about offensive line, yep. So, in place of Zach Tom and Aaron Banks, it has been Jacob Monk at left guard and Darren Kennard at right tackle to this point. um Which makes sense. You know, you want Belton to stay at right guard for as many snaps as he can get in preseason. Obviously, Ryan is going to be the center with Burton out with injury. And Morgan has been playing left tackle. The the good news there to this point is that, and as we're going to keep saying it over and over, it's hard to put how hard to know how much stock to put into this, but it's been nice that at least through the first week-ish of training camp that you haven't gotten any...
00:27:21
Speaker
Supreme doom and gloom updates regarding how Morgan and Belton have looked at their new slash like stamped starting positions along the offensive line you haven't gotten the like oh Jordan Morgan looks lost out there in fact you've got.
00:27:38
Speaker
Tauscher and Tauscher Bulaga and Joe Thomas at different times coming in to kind of say like Jordan looks good out there you know kind of you know you like you have to like what you're seeing out of him thus far in camp and they've all put different disclaimers on top of it but you know all kind of saying like for what they've been allowed to do thus far he looks fine at left tackle and then same for Belton where you're not getting the like oh like He doesn't look like he's gotten any better since last season or he like time in the offseason hasn't gotten him looking more comfortable and stuff. So, you know.
00:28:11
Speaker
As we keep saying, Monday is going to be the first padded practice, but better to hear nothing than to hear anything super dour about either player and stuff. So that's one of the positions where or set of positions where you're getting some um competition. The big one on the defensive side being um corner, obviously, as Joe lightly pointed out, you know, Keyshawn Nixon.
00:28:35
Speaker
Did he just rest his hamstring? Did he hold in lightly? It was only a day, but Cissé got the start and had a couple nice plays on Wednesday's practice, and Nixon was back on Thursday, and it it was kind of an interesting rotation because, like, um...
00:28:52
Speaker
All the talk on Wednesday was how good Cissé and St. Juice looked getting the bulk of the cornerback ah the first team cornerback snaps. um Obviously, Bullard is getting the slot snaps, but you know there was a lot of buzz with how good Cissé and St. Juice looked on Wednesday.
00:29:12
Speaker
And then um Nixon returns. And then also Valentine. They were both the first guys getting most of the first team snaps on Thursday. And then on Friday, i believe...
00:29:24
Speaker
ah Valentine and Nixon were, again, the first guys up, but they did rotate St. Juiced and Cissé in a lot on Friday as well. so um And I have a feeling that's what it's going to be no matter what until somebody establishes themselves. as a I'm sure they don't want to push the rookies out there too much. you know Don't want to over...
00:29:47
Speaker
do it with them, but... You know, a heavy rotation... Yeah, you do need to get Cissé reps because you need... you You want him to be as ready as he can be as soon as he can be. And and I would say Jackson, too, and I really... i haven't seen anything on how Jackson's been doing, so i couldn't tell you on what he's been up to. Yeah, I think Jackson's mostly been running with the second team unit, and um i kind of put it in the, like, um...
00:30:16
Speaker
The, uh, what's it called? Like, kind of like the O-line territory where it's like, haven't seen him be the guy who's given ah up a lot of the big plays in camp. You know, it's been a lot more of the, like, lower down the depth chart kind of guys or the guys who are sort of like, i don't want to say playing out of position, but it's like, oh, it was a zone play where, um, Edge was supposed to carry someone up the seam or something like that. Or, you know, those kind of situations or like, oh, yeah.
00:30:43
Speaker
They ran a switch route, so they got the slot the backup slot isolated on Golden or something like that. and also um it's you know like i said haven he Jackson hasn't been one of the guys to make one of the highlight plays, but it's also in a weird way good that he's not just like, oh, Damani Jackson got burned again. you know you know You're not hearing the, oh.
00:31:06
Speaker
Like, it's not looking good at corner for Jackson. Maybe he needs to move to safety kind of thing. So, you know, take mum the word for being a good thing right now. um Needs to. Well, yeah, they say that about, you know, offensive line and, you know, like corner.
00:31:21
Speaker
If you're not hearing anything, you know, no news is always good news with yeah those types of players because yeah that means they're doing their job properly. Now, would you like to see them be like the next Charles Woodson or something like that right off the bat? Yeah, no kidding, but...
00:31:38
Speaker
You know, otherwise, everything i mean, even Javon Bullard has been looking pretty good. I saw that he he's been working on his peanut putt punch. He knocked one out today with ah with a peanut punch. So, you know, hopefully the secondary, I still see them calling Nixon CB1, and it drives me batty. But, ah you know, hopefully St. Juiced will be...
00:32:08
Speaker
i I know we talked about this last time. I don't think with the years and money that they gave St. Juice, which I mean, it wasn't a ton, but i don't but it also is at a minimum yeah exactly right I don't see it being just a special teams thing. I think they're going off of whatever grading system they use. We know they claim that it's not PFF.
00:32:29
Speaker
and but whatever grading system they use he was high up in their grading system that they they think that they can have him and i i think they've been after him for a while if i remember right they they kind of liked they were in on him during the draft they just kind of missed out on him so yeah back when he was drafted not this past draft yeah um but if if but i Would I be surprised if by the end of the season it's a rotation ah a duo of St. Juiced and Cissé?
00:33:04
Speaker
I wouldn't be shocked at all. And there's a part of it where it kind of feels like they want it to get there because... We've kind of pointed it out before where, you know, Valentine and Nixon aren't the biggest guys at corner. And part of their issues is like part of Valentine's tackling issues is like he's a smaller, slighter guy. And Nixon's some of his problems is like he's a sawed off corner kind of guy, you know, body type. And he's not the fastest on the field to either. No.
00:33:34
Speaker
Yeah, so whereas like St. Juiced and Cissé, they're not exactly, so you know, they're not elite, elite athletes, but they're bigger. And, you know, they're they are better athletes than, well, better than the Nixon, at least. I know Valentine did test really well in terms of Rass, but um yeah you can see where... the knock has always been is he won't tackle. Yeah.
00:33:58
Speaker
So um you can kind of see where, you know, as you said, Joe, if... Both of them pick up enough of the defense fast enough. And that's where, you know, it kind of helps them that this is a new system. They're not walking into a room where, you know, if as if Halfley was still around. It's like, okay, you can say that Nixon and Valentine might be more entrenched as starters because they're holdover players from the from the same system and stuff. Yeah.
00:34:26
Speaker
Uh-oh. That's okay. But um what's it called? it's It's sort of a clean slate for everyone involved. So everyone has ah has a relatively fresh shot. You know, obviously, the the three guys who have been in the NFL for several years are going to have a leg up on Cissé. But if Cissé shows well, they're...
00:34:46
Speaker
they're not gonna hold the the talented root the touted talented rookie back for the sake of this guy's more veteran kind of thing so i said it last time if sise comes out and and in the three preseason games he plays has five pass breakups and three interceptions there's no way that they can say nope you're not starting yep Because that already eclipsed the corner room production the last three years.
00:35:14
Speaker
Yep. So we shall see on that. And then up front on the defensive line is where there's been a lot of bodies moving... mainly because of the injuries to the top players at each position. So as we noted earlier, Parsons and Wyatt have not been participating in team drills for obvious. Wyatt's not ready yet, and Parsons is obviously on PUP, so he cannot practice on PUP, so he can't practice. So at end, um Lucas has been end one. Sorel has typically been starting opposite him, but Brenton Cox has been rotating in a lot with Sorel.
00:35:51
Speaker
And it does seem like they're going to try and rotate a lot at defensive end. You know, that Ganon is part of that um mentality where it's like keeping bodies fresh is as important as what you do in terms of scheme and how good your top guys are. You know, you need fresh legs to chase the ball and late in the game and all that kind of stuff. And, you know, it's going to work well in a couple of ways because it's like...
00:36:14
Speaker
You're not putting 80% of the snaps on a Micah Parsons to be like, we need you every play to save us guy big guy. And also, with Parsons coming back from his own ACL repair, it's good that, like, just not even in terms of, like, just his rehab process, but the scheme has it baked in that they're going to try and, like, limit guys' snaps and stuff. So, um good to see that.
00:36:38
Speaker
One of the notes that... um That... um Andy Herman did raise is like, okay, the O-line has looked good at times, but also how much of that is the O-line is playing well and how much of that is like the quote-unquote organic pass rushers on this team without Micah Parsons are not good enough yet. so Well, that's what I was talking about earlier with Colin Oliver thing.
00:37:03
Speaker
You know, like I said, ah Wes Hod said that You know, this has to be the first time I've ever seen a pass rusher stop and put his hands on his hips waiting for the ball to be completed.
00:37:16
Speaker
You know, in-game that would have been an automatic blow-up of the quarterback. But, you know, is that because he's good? Is that because he's going, you know, does that mean the offensive line is bad?
00:37:29
Speaker
Are they going against two opposite, you know, whatever it is, but that's why when you get excited about things going through practice, you've got to put that in your mind. Well, shit, does that mean, you know, if the defense is doing really good, does that mean the offense sucks? Or if the offense is doing really good, does that mean the defense sucks?
00:37:50
Speaker
So that's why i said you got to have tempered expectations for practices. Yep. So that, you know, we'll start to see that, especially once we get into the cross-team practices where, what's that going to be, like week two of the preseason where they're going to have the inter-squad practices with the Cardinals? You know, it's going to be a LeFleur family affair um between the Packers and Cardinals.
00:38:18
Speaker
That's got to be week three because that's when they... Oh, got it.
00:38:28
Speaker
Because it's like they have two away games and then... You're right, it is week three. One home game. It's throwing me off because of the whole... the um the the the game The preseason game they cut would have been the week four game. They didn't like cut the the old week one and play weeks two through four. They're playing weeks one through three and then week four is like totally a buy in the preseason. So... Yeah, that's what keeps throwing me off with the new format. Yeah, see, because I was trying to real quick change my plans because I'll be up there the 12th through the 21st.
00:39:03
Speaker
So the game that they'll play the 13th is away. And then the game they play on the 21st is away. So they'll have two travel days um while I'm there. so i i But I couldn't manage it. I was going to try working it to the last week. But... It is what it is, but yeah. it And, you know, even with out though even without that, just having that first preseason game, you'll you'll see you can start getting excited for because you'll start seeing because that's usually when the players are all amped up is that first game of contact.
Preseason Expectations and Player Roles
00:39:44
Speaker
They're all amped up. They're ready to go. There's going to be mistakes, no doubt about it, but you're going to see a lot of hitting. You're going to see a lot of flying around.
00:39:54
Speaker
Yep. So here we go. Like, we're going to find out pretty fast. And um one of the interesting notes is that Dennis Sutton has been getting most of his reps on the interior. i I think it's like he's only got a handful of snaps in team team drills on at edge. Most of his work has been as i like a three technique. And by all accounts, he's been acquitting himself pretty well at that spot. um So kind of interesting to hear there. But, you know, the Packers do kind of like define and design roles for each of the rookies. And then, you know, depending on how quickly they pick things up, they'll expand those roles as the season goes along. But I do wonder how much of that is a function of...
00:40:38
Speaker
Because Parsons is out, they can't necessarily use Lucas on the interior as much. So it's like, maybe we'll see if a rookie can do it and you leave Lucas on the edge. And so, you know, just to give you stuff more. ah and also...
00:40:50
Speaker
how much versatility they lost when Lucas got injured last year because he was the guy that was going to primarily be the reduced inside defensive end because when he hurt his foot, that kind of left the playbook for a while. And they got a lot more stagnant in terms of being like two ends and ah and a pair of tackles in their pass rush front, you know, their NASCAR front and stuff. So, you know, like ah like you said, it's hard to say anything, but...
00:41:19
Speaker
when you let the mind wander with what do these limited preseason you know snippets of information you get from these practices, what do they mean? Try to do the Charlie Day, um um ah what's always sunny in Philadelphia map on the wall. Kind of take these are the sort of theories and fan theories that you come up with. But that's on the edge. And then a defensive tackle.
00:41:45
Speaker
They, in fact, have been running three, four looks out of their base. So you've got to to see a lot of three defensive tackle groupings out there. McClellan has been getting a lot of first-team reps. I think Wednesday and Friday he was the de facto quote-unquote starter if they were in a three-man line. But you also saw... um You mean Ford?
00:42:10
Speaker
the vet d tackle out of miami get some starting snapsset nose and then brinson has been playing one of the five tech spots brooks has been playing the other one and mean it's been weird Ford also got a start. Jonathan Ford? Yeah, Jonathan Ford got a start. But, um, no, um... Hold on.
00:42:27
Speaker
What is it? No, the other, other Miami guy. I know Ford is But, um... Oh, fudge. um Yeah, I'm trying to think who the fuck you're talking about.
00:42:39
Speaker
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ah...
00:42:46
Speaker
Anthony Campbell, sorry, not last name Anthony, first name Anthony. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, you said veteran and he's only had one year in the league, so I was like, wait a minute, are you talking about Ford?
00:43:00
Speaker
But no, so... And from all accounts, um Ford has been playing better than Nazir Stackhouse, which is kind of expected because he's been around the block a couple times. you know this Well, they said that Nazir looked better today, but they also say he's looking bigger.
00:43:19
Speaker
So I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Right. That's kind of like a... um like what Which way are we bringing that up for? So... um We'll see. We'll see as time goes along with these guys. But it is good to see that McClellan and is getting his um getting his feet wet right off the bat. That you know they're giving him reps with the first team on defense. um But things are obviously going to change once Wyatt is able to return. And Hargrave eventually makes his way back onto the field. But in the in the in the medium, it is good to see your you know your day two pick from this draft get time with the first team defense.
00:44:01
Speaker
They're all day two picks.
00:44:06
Speaker
We didn't have a first date pick. That is very true. but But, um yeah, it's I mean, again, it's hard to tell what is what with a lot of these practices just because it's installation. They're not going 100 mile an hour, you know, that kind of thing. So, yeah.
00:44:32
Speaker
We are hearing some good things out of certain ones. I think they even said Brinson has been kind of, you know, not like overpowering, but has been looking good. So ah we all knew when Micah went down that it's not going to be the same defense.
00:44:49
Speaker
It's how well the defense is going to hold up until Micah gets back.
00:44:55
Speaker
Ness has been, they've been talking about how he's been looking lights out. Baron Sorrell has been looking good. you know Again, Oliver has been looking good. you know it It'll be for those guys to hold it down and and provide a solid boost until Micah gets back on the field. And then your hope what you're hoping for is your defense when Micah's gone is here.
00:45:22
Speaker
You don't want it down here because this is the floor. This is about mid-level. Then when Micah gets here, you want it up. It it should take it to here. So... ah Yeah, it'll basically take it to the next step. You want it... Defense without Micah, one step. The next step is with Micah.
00:45:49
Speaker
did Did I lose you?
00:45:54
Speaker
Yep. Nope, Mike just forgot to unmic unmute. um So that's um that's where we are so far in terms of quote-unquote positional battles. Not necessarily the hottest ones. You know, corner is probably the hottest one in terms of, like, guys who have a legitimate chance to, like, really take a starting spot. But it is just good to see, like, guys are making plays when given the opportunity. the other good news that the Packers have gotten is it has been...
00:46:24
Speaker
4 days of practice and Marshawn Lloyd has not dropped out of any of them with injuries. so you know he's gonna be the butt of all the jokes in this this whole season really until his career in green bay is done or things the until the status quo changes but Honestly, for Marshawn, I'm really happy for him and I hope that his newfound bill on you know bill on health is continues to go as the team moves forward. But so far, so good for Marshawn Lloyd. and you know They've already said like you've seen a couple of those, like, yeah, that's why they're not going to quit on him kind of you know moments in in some of these practices. so um Keep doing well, Marshawn. it still wouldn't stop me from bringing somebody else in. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
00:47:12
Speaker
but so yeah But it's great seeing that Like I said earlier, the the wide receivers seem to be doing tremendous. Golden seems to be... i i saw one today where he high-pointed the ball, so he he really showed that his ups are there.
00:47:28
Speaker
Sturdivant has even shined a bit. Nair still seems to be a darling of this coaching staff. I think the only one that's had a rough outing so far has been Sky Moore.
00:47:42
Speaker
um Because I think he's the one that had the ball knocked out of his hands by yeah i think it was but i think that's been his lone like negative negative play so far in camp like and they haven't really done live return teams and stuff and then that's that's his ticket to making the roster it like obviously it would be great that he contributes as not just the return man but his whole ticket to being on this roster is don't muff punts and hold on and and you know break a return every now and then kind of thing like
00:48:16
Speaker
That's literally how he's going to make this roster. um That's his ticket to punch and it's all on his shoulders in that regard. so um But otherwise, i know there's like names we can just keep throwing back and forth, but you want to just start moving into our most encouraging and least encouraging things that we've picked up in these first few days of training camp?
00:48:38
Speaker
I think we've basically covered that stuff. yeah you know These episodes aren't going to be the most a exhilarating breakdowns of things because there's not much to break down at the moment. But you know I think we've covered all that.
00:48:54
Speaker
i got one more. get I got okay one more that's a little bit more in the weeds. But um one of the encouraging ones that I've got is like Ganon seems to be...
00:49:05
Speaker
turning up the experiment the experiment meter dial with each day. Because, like, you know, they said they did say that... um Wednesday's practice, it was not vanilla vanilla, but it was a little bit more straightforward. And then Thursday, he basically spent the whole practice in a double-A gap mug look and kind of was like doing a lot of different things out of that look. And then Friday, he was kind of like doing bait coverages, you know, those kind of like bait and switch kind of coverages and stuff. Not sure about Sunday's practice, but it is nice to see that, you know, he's coming in off the bat and just saying like,
00:49:44
Speaker
Jordan meet Kitchen Sink kind of thing. and you know I understand in the preseason games themselves, you're not going to necessarily put a lot of that on film. But...
00:49:55
Speaker
I think it works both ways well for both your team, your defense, to rep in practice you know what you're you know you're going to be doing throughout the season. And then it's good for your offense to be like, okay, we're not just going to see a vanilla standard coverage with a straight four-man rush kind of thing. you know it's just Everyone's prepping on a little, you know doing the mental rep side of things. so Obviously, the next hurdle for Ganon is keep doing all that crazy shit once Parsons is back. You know, that was the thing is it's like Halfley kind of backed off of that after a while. You know, he kind of was like, oh, like we have the cheat code. Why do I need to do much? That's not to say Halfley wasn't doing things, but.
00:50:38
Speaker
It did seem that more times often than not, he's kind of like, instead of potentially shooting ourselves in the foot because we try something super funky, let's just let one of the best defensive players in the league go and be one of the best defensive players and play off of him. And then around like...
00:50:55
Speaker
Halloween, it was kind of like, okay, maybe we'll start to mix a few other things in because Rashawn started to fall off at that point. Wyatt and Lucas were injured and stuff. And, you know, it's the, like, okay, like, yeah there is a balance to find, but, like, don't turn the faucet all the way off either kind of thing. Like, like just because Micah comes back, he's not going to be Micah effing Parsons right off the bat too. So it's like, yeah, like,
00:51:20
Speaker
and And I think that kind of helps the offense too, because it it gives them not just vanilla looks. It means they have to actually game plan things and practices. You guys all have to think do the thinking part of the game and not just, oh, it's just going to be a straight defense. I can just run my slant route here kind of thing. It's like, oh, that guy is moving and stuff. Yeah.
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah. and And I think one of the negatives that I could say is it's kind of what I feared is,
00:51:48
Speaker
Tyrod Taylor's only been like 50-50. Oh, yeah. You know, you're seeing like really... Sometimes you see like not great things and sometimes you're seeing good things. He makes two like nice touch passes and then you're like, uh-oh, every p pick six is off a Tyrod Taylor throw kind of thing. Like, uh-oh. It's like, I understand they wanted the veteran presence there. They wanted, you know, a veteran backup, but...
00:52:16
Speaker
As we noted on the previous episode, if either McCord or Drone shows the ability to pick this playbook up... Well, and obviously McCord has been there a whole year, basically, but if either of them shows the gumption to, like, be the guy, the first guy off the bench and stuff...
00:52:32
Speaker
i We're in agreement that Tyrod Taylor's tenure in the NFL means nothing like if either of those two younger guys shows better than him in the preseason. Or if somebody better shows up after cuts. Right.
00:52:45
Speaker
Yeah. Exactly. so Or they get a deal that blows them away like the Malik Willis situation. Yeah. So. No, I think that really covers most of thing. We did get a question from our buddy Goose.
00:52:58
Speaker
He wants to know who's a better prospect, DDS or Trace Mack. And I get what he's asking. It's good question, but it's hard to answer because it's two completely different spectrums you're putting it on. Because I've been thinking about it since he asked it, that Trace Mack has a higher hill to climb.
00:53:20
Speaker
Because we're going to live or die by the results on what he does. DDS is is... He's a luxury pick.
00:53:32
Speaker
For this year's team, he is a luxury pick. Yes, he could be a starter in a couple years kind of thing. like you You hope he at least pans out like Inaugbore did over the course of his rookie deal, you know being similar round picks and stuff. But you're absolutely right that it's like...
00:53:48
Speaker
They have, you know, he wasn't the guy Dura Vos wanted necessarily, but the team signaled on multiple fronts that, like, Smack is the guy that they're hitching their wagon to.
00:53:58
Speaker
And... Right now he's the only kicker on roster. Yep. So in several Dan Whelan is both punter and kicker. I mean, at this, the only problem is Dan Whelan can't catch the snap and hold it for himself that I think that's literally the one reason he isn't. what I argue that you could do what they used to do before they decided to put punters as a holder. You know, that's what the backup quarterback was for. Yeah.
00:54:25
Speaker
But just to go back to the question, i would have to lean DDS just because he has a much easier time in the system right now. Yeah. He's not being relied upon as a starter. He's not, I mean, like you said, obviously you want to see him do good things and have ah have a productive ah rookie contract.
00:54:47
Speaker
But Smack is getting thrown to the wolves per se. And, you know, he's just got to hire a bigger hill to climb. Yeah, and just to be contrarian with you, the weird angle I would argue Smack is that, yes, I know DDS went like around earlier, all that kind of stuff. Pass rushers are like a premier position, you can never have enough of them, all that kind of stuff. But don' the super other planet angle that I would argue that Smack is the better prospect is that between the two...
00:55:27
Speaker
There's a way that he can be the best player at his position in the NFL more directly than DDS can. Now, between the two, I'd argue that it's more likely DDS gets towards that summit than Smack does just because, like you said, just inherently kick, there's only 32 of them jobs in the NFL and teams, like you said,
00:55:52
Speaker
everyone wants to marginalize how you know like Everyone scoffs at the whole special teams is a third of the game until it's their special teams that's costing their team game wins. and so like that There's no way to simulate that pressure. You can simulate rushers coming off the edge of your field goal protection unit. You can simulate crowd noise.
00:56:16
Speaker
You can do things to mimic weather. you know You can spray water to make it like it's raining. You can put big fans in to make it windy, all that kind of crap. It's gonna snow because it's Green Bay. I'd freeze the football.
00:56:28
Speaker
Oh yeah. i you know they do dont Do the dunk the water dun it in the water and all that kind of shit. But you cannot... There's no way to simulate the whole...
00:56:39
Speaker
um If you miss this kick, you're cut. Like, there there is no way to simulate that kind of pressure. And, like, I don't think Gut and the front office or coaches are stupid. I'm sure they're, like, talking Trey up when they, like, you know, when they're coaching him up or, like, when Gutekunz called him to say we're drafting you. It's like, hey, we really believe. in It's not the, hey, we believe in you, but if you fuck this up, we're getting someone else in a month kind of thing. Like, all they've done is, you know, they've...
00:57:11
Speaker
They've cut the two guys who were on the roster when they drafted Trey. So, like, they've just given signs that it's like, we're rolling with you. You know, we're rolling with you. But if all things work out, DDS is never going to play for the Packers without Micah Parsons being ahead of him on the call sheet.
00:57:29
Speaker
And so, like, just in, like, that, like I said, super... oddball angle of looking on it that's how you i would argue that smack is the better prospect of the two is that his ability to be the best out of 32 guys at his job is more direct than and and like he is the groza winner and all that kind of stuff like he was the best voted the best at his position you know out of all the college players and stuff like that whereas yeah yeah
00:58:04
Speaker
SEC bias still matters somewhere. but ah but um Whereas DDS, you know, there's always multiple pass rushers and there's a whole bunch of them on every roster kind of thing and stuff. So, like I said, super out of the box thinking, but that's how I would um argue that Smack could be the better prospect of the two.
00:58:26
Speaker
Right, and like I said, it's just a hard one to do because of the two completely opposite positions. Forget apples and oranges, this is apples and beef stew.
00:58:37
Speaker
Yeah, and so athletically wise, I would still probably put DDS in there just because, you know, kickers aren't athletes per se.
00:58:52
Speaker
He had that one guy, Bueller or whatever his name was, that was the 10-ras kicker, and even that is like a for a kicker kind of comparison. Yeah. um So, well, I mean, you just look at who was the highest drafted player.
00:59:10
Speaker
kicker in our lifetime, you know, Janikowski. Well, look at him. He definitely was not friggin' athlete. He looked like a dad in the parking lot of a game. And that was his whole career. That wasn't even an at-the-end-of-his-career kind of thing.
00:59:26
Speaker
um So... And that's not taking anything away from him. they you know No, no, no. They're hell of... Yeah. It just... It's... I would still, even if you look at just pure athlete, I would still have to put DDS in there. But yeah it's hard to compare the two just because of the hills that they have to climb. It's like, you know, DDS has taken the low road and Trace Mack has taken the high road and which one gets to Dublin before them?
00:59:58
Speaker
You know? ah But yeah, that's about all I got. I think so too. Like you said, like until we have a game or even family night, it's really hard to um make a lot of conclusions off of it.
01:00:13
Speaker
cause At some level, it is just practice. like And and we as we keep going back to we haven't even had a padded practice at the time we're recording this episode. So it's like, like I said, all the light you've had three guys who played at all pro, I would argue, all pro levels in this league in Tauscher, Bulaga, and Joe Thomas, who have all had glowing reviews of what they said out of Jordan Morgan. But they've all put the massive disclaimer on Yeah, he's not in pads yet. He's still in shorts and, you know, um not even in shells at the point that some of them were, you know, talking about what they've seen from him in practice. so
01:00:53
Speaker
And they had Joe Philbin in there today. who You know, he has an offensive line background. So, yeah, we'll see. But, yeah, instead of us just circling the wagons any longer on this one, Joe, I think we can tie a bow on this episode and move along with the rest of our Sundays.
01:01:13
Speaker
Pretty much i the only thing I got to say is you'll be getting two episodes this week because we did get the like the finals of the Star Wars trivia contest. We have decided who gains the rank of master and who didn't.
01:01:26
Speaker
ah I haven't decided how this one will probably still drop Monday, but I haven't decided when I'll drop the other one, whether it's going to be midweek or towards the end of the week. But, you know, again, i said this last time, thank you for everybody who tuned in, who listen to it. You know, I already have ideas on how I want to do it next year.
01:01:45
Speaker
But if you got any suggestions or anything, you know, be more than happy to hear them. But thank you for everybody tuning in for that. But we are going to be Packers going forward. So if you were here just for the Star Wars and the interviews, you know, you'll have to wait till next year. If you're here for the Packers, then strap in and be ready for some not so hard hitting content.
01:02:11
Speaker
sounds good but as always as we always say please follow us on your social medias at ohanna underscore packers on twitter at ohhanna packerss edition on instagram ohhanna packerss edition on facebook please follow us there if you're not already we're trying to hit those hundred subscribers so that we can do our drawing and livestream to that channel whenever we do live stream um Please follow the podcast on your favorite podcasting apps. Please let give us a like and a subscribe. We're always looking for new followers. And as Goose did today, please send in your questions, comments, thoughts. We'll always address them on the show.
01:02:49
Speaker
you know even you know and we we can jokingly say we always do when we only get one or two of them each week but even if we were to get a hundred we would do our best to you know whether we consolidate them down to similar ones or things like that or whatever we will find the time to um answer all your guys thoughts and comments so please send them in um joe and i will never be too prideful to do all of that but until next time that's iowa joe i'm mike go pack go and aloha