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Wait… We’re a Packers Podcast?
48 Plays25 days ago
After taking a break from Packers talk for a little Star Wars trivia, OPE finally remembers what kind of podcast this is.
Iowa Joe and Mike Kawano check in on everything that’s happened in Green Bay since their post-draft discussion. From roster moves and offseason additions to position battles, injury updates, and the questions still hanging over the team, we’re catching up on the Packers before training camp gets underway.
What did we miss while we were busy arguing about a galaxy far, far away? Which offseason moves could actually matter? And what should Packers fans be watching as the team gets ready for camp?
The trivia can wait. For now, we’re back to talking Packers.
#GoPackGo #Packers #GreenBayPackers #NFL #PackersPodcast #OPE
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:55
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to the Ohana Packers Edition podcast. We are Ope. I am Iowa Joe. The baby face over there is Mike Kawano. We are... I've said from the beginning it's like herding cats when trying to do this this trivia kind of ah trivia game show that I've been doing.
00:01:16
Speaker
So... last week with the holiday, we kind of took a break this week. We couldn't get anything scheduled. So I figured we'd bring Mike back on and we, we talk a little bit of Packers since this is a Packers podcast. I'm kind of his co-host too. So it'd be good if I contributed something every once in a while, We
Packers Talk: Training Camp Approaching
00:01:34
Speaker
got to get back. and we were just talking. We got to get back in the flow of things because from today, it's like 17 days until the start of training camp.
00:01:43
Speaker
So we to get some of that Packer stuff back in it and get back into the flow of things. We are not sure. Remember how to do our own show. Yeah, that too. um We are not done with the trivia thing. We do have a couple of weeks left. We just got to get things scheduled on it. But Till then we are talking Packers. We have not spoken Packers since the draft. Really UDFAs. Yeah, it's been a bit, it's been a hot minute.
00:02:13
Speaker
ah So there is a bunch of stuff that has happened. We kind of want to go over, give our thoughts to, and, and go from there.
Roster Changes: Tyrod Taylor Signed, Desmond Ritter Released
00:02:22
Speaker
We have talked UDFAs, so we're not going to bring those up, but going all the way back to May, They did sign Tyrod Taylor or Tyrod or however he's pronouncing it this week to be the backup quarterback, releasing Desmond Ritter on top of that.
00:02:40
Speaker
They did release Brandon McAnus, ah claimed cornerback MJ Devonshire Jr. off of waivers from Buffalo, claimed son of Jerry Rice, Brendan Rice, off of waivers from the Raiders, signed Marlon Jones.
00:02:59
Speaker
Initially, they claimed Luke Lachey off of waivers, but some funky stuff happened. He didn't pass his physical, but then a month later, they did end up resigning him.
Impact of Tyrod Taylor's Signing: QB Battles?
00:03:11
Speaker
So he is on the roster at the moment. Mike, does any of that really stand out to you? I i do want to say that to Rod Taylor, I do not think it is a foregone conclusion that he is the the certified backup.
00:03:27
Speaker
No, I agree with you. yeah because like he hasn't been that guy. and Yeah, I think it's going to depend on, and I know J.J. Leahy, friend of show, is not a big fan of him, but you know they seem to like Kyle McCord. They seem to like this drones kid.
00:03:47
Speaker
if one of those two outshine, you know, Tyrod's what 36 right now, 30. Yeah. yeah He's, he's somewhere between our age. Like he, he was in college when I was in college and older than me and stuff, but you know, like 40 yesterday. So he's not that, no, he's not quite that old, but, um, 36, but yeah, he's 36.
00:04:07
Speaker
There you go. But yeah, you know he's been around the block a couple times at this point, has started, has held the clipboard, has done all those things. um you know it it Like you said, it depends what McCord and Drone show in training camp. And it ana weirdly depends on what they're looking for.
00:04:26
Speaker
The other side of the coin of it is that Jordan has missed a couple games here and there the past couple seasons. You know, last season, not really through a fault of his own. You know, he took a dirty hit and stuff. But the year before, the injury in the Eagles game was in the quote-unquote flow of a game. and You know, like, I knew it was in a desperation, but it it was in a play that happens, you know, often in games and stuff.
Quarterback Strategy and Trade Considerations
00:04:51
Speaker
So...
00:04:52
Speaker
you know And as the league moves closer and closer to an AD in-game season, you're gonna expect that your backup is gonna have to play every now and then. um So they're looking for someone who can you know bridge the gap, ah manage manage spots, you know whatever cliché you want to insert into that void, of go for it.
00:05:14
Speaker
I'm with you. like at at At this point, what does Tyrod do from like a veteran savvy point of view that offsets you know a more potentially live on arm on my forward shoulder, ah definitely more live arm and more athleticismism but athleticism in Drones' body yeah as a whole at this point. So, I mean, I'm always for just um going with the younger option if possible, but it really just depends on what the coaching staff is looking for.
00:05:46
Speaker
don't think this roster is in a spot to roster three quarterbacks even though like you know that's a quote easy cut you know when someone who we'll talk about later in the show is likely to come off a pup list during the season and all that kind of stuff but um i just don't see this as a as a as a junction for them to carry three quarterbacks and i agree with you that this shouldn't be viewed as a well they don't this is a this is a backup to a backup to the backup plan like this is not plan b this is plan e or f or something like that so yes i and i'm not what happens when you get to the end of of i was going to call it spring training until i've got a baseball mind going on uh the end of training camp and you get a deal like the malik willis deal
00:06:36
Speaker
you know do you Do you pass that up just because you have Terod Taylor on your roster? Or do you just say, hey, we're going to go ahead and take this guy and and thanks for being the camp arm and all that stuff? Because I agree. you know He's never really been a stud quarterback. Hey, this is a can't miss guy. He's always been that backup style that has been able to fill in pretty good once in a great while.
00:07:01
Speaker
And... he you know He is getting some age on him. what what's you know How much athleticism does he still have to be able to get outside the pocket? Because that was really his big part of the game was getting outside the pocket.
00:07:19
Speaker
And not saying he can't do it, but he probably doesn't have that... that juice to still be able to do it. So I don't, like again, I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that he is the backup.
New Player Analysis: Contributions & Special Teams
00:07:32
Speaker
I mean, right now he is, unless a deal happens where, you know, let's say a Will Levis comes up in trade talks and they get him for a seventh round pick like they did Willis or, uh, I'm trying to think of who else. You know, ah there has been kind of the scuttlebutt that one of either Shador Sanders or d Dylan Gabriel could be out in in Cleveland just because they don't have the spots. You know, they're still paying Watson a ton of money.
00:08:04
Speaker
um I think they just drafted another quarterback this year, didn't they? Yes. And so not saying I want Shador, but Dylan Gabriel could be ah ah somebody that you could say, okay, you know, that could be an interesting a guy to bring in um So, i mean, again, if we get to that point and there's that kind of deal to make,
00:08:28
Speaker
you know do you say no we can't do it because we got to rod or do you say all right to rod thanks for thanks for the the cup of coffee and and maybe we'll reach back if we need to and and to your point they're not going to necessarily keep three on the roster but they are going to be looking at all right who are we going to keep on the practice squad because they always do that keep two on roster one on the practice squad so uh you know we'll see what happens with that but uh other guys i really don't know much about so you might know a little bit more devon shire and marlon jones both cornerbacks uh is it jones that i think has a year or two in the league and devon shire yeah is is a true rookie uh i think my i believe that was the yeah
Training Camp Insights: Opportunities and Roles
00:09:20
Speaker
I apologize. We're, you know, not only are we filling in for an but am i filling in for an episode, but my internet is out. So I'm recording off my phone and I can't use my phone to look things up like I usually would during our recordings and stuff. But yeah, I believe you have it right there. It was the seventh round pick by the Raiders in 2024. There you go.
00:09:40
Speaker
and And Jones...
00:09:46
Speaker
Not that Jones, that Jones... there's a There's a lot of Marlon Joneses out there. ah
00:09:55
Speaker
Undrafted rookie. So I had it switched around. Devonshire was the one that's been in the league for a couple of years. Jones is a true rookie. And Jones has the feel-good story because he missed all of 2024 while but battling cancer. So this is his road to, you know, that feel-good story that if he comes in and and succeeds in the league, they'll have like a movie about him in 20 years or something.
00:10:23
Speaker
Yeah. So, I mean... like you said, kind of more just like training camp body types because you spent two draft picks on player. And I know that Jackson is a sixth round pick, but still those are two picks. And, you know, the the general trend is that Groot has kept draft picks unless he trades them, you know, at the end of their rookie training camp kind of thing. So, um you know, these are probably going to be... um Bodies for the meat grinder that is training camp in preseason, at least the first couple weeks of preseason. But you never know if anyone's going to pop off in practice and show things that they haven't before, you know, you know, and a guy like Devonshire, you know, maybe the light comes on for him in a new sit situation, new system, all that kind of stuff. All, all those cliches, but, um, you know, we'll talk about, yeah, you know, like I said, they need the bodies to get through training camp. Yeah. Well, it hadn't coming back from injury.
00:11:18
Speaker
That's true. You know, they are going to need the special teams guys. I do have the roster pulled up. Let me see what we got here. Shamar Bartholomew is there.
00:11:31
Speaker
ah Like I said, well, Haddon's on the roster, so he must not be you know, in worry of being on PUP or anything like that? Because normally they would... I think it's too early for them to have declared... because it's not training... like, you know what mean? Because it's not training camp, so they don't have to have technically declared him on PUP yet.
00:11:51
Speaker
Similar as Parsons, who we'll talk about later, where the expectation is he'll be on PUP, but um he doesn't have to be declared because we we're not officially practicing
Kicker Situation: Concerns About Haversick
00:12:02
Speaker
yet. So, yeah, we're in that weird limbo state.
00:12:05
Speaker
Then you got Jalen Simpson and really that's it for depth. Otherwise you've got Carrington, St. Juice, Nixon, and Cissé. And Jackson that you just mentioned, but yeah.
00:12:20
Speaker
And those are the five guys that you're kind of, you're expecting. Those are the five that are locks or near locks to make the roster kind of thing. And then it's a, you know, kind of all out battle for that potential sixth cornerback spot. So.
00:12:33
Speaker
And like I said, special teams will make or break them. And then of course, yeah usually training camp is always the, uh, well, you're not the roster type of guy, but we're going to audition you for our practice squad. So, you know, there is that, uh, I think it is time to celebrate. I mean, we've been celebrating since it happened in May. Uh, Brandon McAnus is no longer on the team.
00:12:59
Speaker
um i I have a feeling, though, that if he doesn't get picked up by anybody else, he's going to end up on the practice squad. And I've kind of had that feeling because I let let me put this. Lucas Haversick is a good feel good story. He is going to always be in Packer lore because he does hold the record for the longest a field goal by a Packer.
00:13:30
Speaker
I don't know if I trust him. He's never been the type of kicker that you can say, all right, well, we're going to trust him to make 20 of 22 kicks in a year. He's more like we're going to get maybe 15 out of 20 kicks or 15 out of 22 kicks in a year. He's going to miss it. a good chunk of them so while I don't see him being the practice squad guy I'm wondering if they do if McManus is still sitting there and they bring him to the practice squad in case because smack has already had a couple of camps where you know it didn't look great and it's like okay well they're gonna need something
00:14:08
Speaker
and well and then the one that stands out is is literally the training camp or the the the ota right after they cut mcmahon it's like they cut him one week and then the next week it's like oh no smack went like under like he went 40 on the day or something like that and they did say it was like a weirdly windy day and all that kind of stuff but it it was that like of course of course that happens the day after you cut the guy and it spurred a lot of like those dumb why did you draft the kicker and my reaction to those are it's the same as my thoughts when they picked smack and i know he wasn't the the guy that either of us preferred but both of us agreed that it's like okay at least they were being proactive about it because the whole reason you ended up with uh you ended up in in you know
00:14:59
Speaker
To be totally honest, in this position is that they weren't as urgent with their kicking situation in 2023, and you get stuck with Anders, because you kind of played musical chairs with the kicker in the position in the draft, and Anders was the only one who fell to you, and you had to take him.
00:15:18
Speaker
And then it's like, oh, well, we're trying to make it work. It didn't work. And then you spend 2024 with the Narvison experiment that you punted on. McManus ran its course and then now you're here. So, you know, that I don't like people playing the like, trying to play both sides of the of the street on that one where it's like, oh, they had to do something at the kicker position, but I can't believe they used a draft pick. But it's like,
00:15:45
Speaker
But if they didn't and all the kickers went before their seventh round picks, you you would all be bitching about it like you did in 2023 with, oh, how did you end up with Anders Carlson and stuff? So I i kind of, and some of those people are people we like, Jake Chavink.
00:16:01
Speaker
No, I'm sorry, Jake. I will say this here. i have nicknamed Jake the Lemon. Because he has been nothing but sour about this whole draft class. And I rag on him all the time about it. And to his credit, he has not budged on that. And I i give him credit
Draft Picks Evaluation and Strategic Player Selection
00:16:17
Speaker
for, know, if he's going to dig his heels in, I give him credit for not shifting on it. From from the minute the draft ended, he had a tweet that read something like, why you all celebrating? or something like that and Jake has not budged from that spot since so um you know it's it's on the pick soon I'm trying to stop you right there
00:16:39
Speaker
I don't want people to think I know it's all good fun at all. And I love. Yeah. yeah He's a great guy. I just think sometimes that's where, and and I even have a hard time with it. And I'm sure Mike has a hard time with it too, that that's where you have to separate what the team knows and what, ah what ah a person sitting on the couch knows and not make it just a person sitting on the couch. Jake does a lot of the work and all that stuff. Yeah.
00:17:04
Speaker
But like I said, I respect that he has the gumption of his convictions to like really lean on his, his, um, his scouting of the prospects, the Packers took and, you know, his, his whole thing is he's like, okay, they took the positions we wanted them to, but I'm not sure why they took these guys kind of thing. And I think Burton might be the only pick he really liked out of them and stuff, but, and.
00:17:29
Speaker
ah He's been indifferent about the McClellan one. he's He's not mad that it was McClellan. He just wasn't sure about it at, you know, with other people on board. Yeah. And so, you know, and and like I said, it's at this point, you know,
00:17:44
Speaker
and And you and I are more from the other end of the spectrum where it's like, we're we're a little more, i don't know if you want to call it naive or green and gold rose or whatever. Yeah. i to Yeah.
00:17:56
Speaker
Cause like i we both said at different points, like we're different levels of, well, once they're drafted, we're going to get behind the kid and all that kind of stuff. So, um, Jake has said it. And this is why I was saying the the thing with Jake is sometimes you got to separate what we know and what teams know. Yeah. is And Jake has said he's going to go, go, go. Well, was just going to say that's the reason why they get paid millions of dollars to do what they do and we don't get paid anything to do what we do. you know And i I agree that the Packers have had their swings and misses, but every team has swings and misses. And I'm sure there are things that you can point to that Jake's got correct, that the Packers didn't get correct. I'm sure there's things that we can point to that you got correct, that the Packers didn't get correct.
00:18:38
Speaker
and there's things that i you can point to that i didn't get correct but it's just one of those things that sometimes you just got to trust the process to see what they're thinking because they're the ones making the money to do it whereas we're we're struggling over here trying to make a name for us ah to to do that eventually you know because i'm sure if one of these days of jake gets a call from a team saying hey you want to come join our scouting department you know then he he's going to jump at it. He's not going to say no, no, no. I, cause you guys don't agree with my philosophies and stuff like that. You know what I mean?
00:19:14
Speaker
And the end like I said, we're just having fun with Jake. Like Jake has said it on a couple of different, like the obvious YouTube vids or shorts and um articles is like, he hopes they prove him wrong. Like he hopes the picks prove him wrong. It's just that in his, you know, his scouting reports and, you know, feel for it. It's like, like you said, even the McClellan pick, it's like,
00:19:35
Speaker
like the player, I don't really like the the process and stuff, but it's on the it's on the it's on the kids to prove ah you know prove the team right. that That's the main thing we're getting at at this
Tight Ends: Luke Lachey's Potential and Competition
00:19:45
Speaker
point. But, um you know, dialing all the way back to the kicker situation, which is where this whole conversation started, Smack isn't the guy that either, you know, we were both something for our two kickers and stuff, but you know what? Smack is the Packers kicker bar none at this point, and I hope it works out because I just want it to not have to be, you know, it's and that's the thing is like, you know, people are like, I don't want work.
00:20:12
Speaker
You're always going to have to consider it with, you know, kicking in the NFL. It's hard. Like, you know everyone's like, oh, like, yes, it it's hard. It's hard to put the oblong ball between the uprights, you know, like they're make it harder now because they've moved things back a little bit more. yeah you know the field goal isn't a chip shot anymore it's a further back or i mean a a point after isn't a chip shot it's it's a further back process and then you know it's not like the olden days where you just you took a few steps back straight forward and you kicked it with your toe no they they do their whole soccer style kicks and stuff like that so you've got to hit it with the right knuckle you've got to hit it with the right You know, this right, that, and, and it's more scientific than it was just put the ball through the field goal.
00:21:00
Speaker
Yup. Yup. So may case in point, thank you. McManus is gone. Like farewell McAnus. We don't miss you and smack, please smack them through like, just, just, just put it to bed. Like that's all we asked.
00:21:17
Speaker
Oh, I didn't mention that they did release Desmond Ritter to. No, you did. You did. taylor Oh, did I? Okay. Yeah. And that one kind of surprised me a little bit because I think Ritter had some of the same qualities that Malik Willis had. Maybe not so much as a runner, but he definitely had the arm to it. So I figured he was going to be the guy that they were going to hang on to just to see. But, you know, obviously they they must like Kyle McCord to the chagrin of JJ Leahy. that they may like must like McCord a lot more.
00:21:51
Speaker
um I'm trying to go through our stuff here so i can we can hit all the points. ah We'll go with this one, Luke Lachey. I know I've been asked a couple different times about the Luke Lachey thing.
00:22:06
Speaker
um Former Iowa tight end, he went a lot lower in the draft process, what was it, last year, than a lot of people were thinking.
00:22:17
Speaker
But i said it from the beginning. called brother this What's that? was going to say a lot of it is because he blew his knee out like at the wrong. It's never a good time to blow your knee out, but it really did. like He hurt him. He hurt it.
00:22:33
Speaker
The year he probably will could have left for the draft, then came back and wasn't quite the same the year he came back. It's not just that. People have asked me about my opinion on Lachey a lot, obviously because I am the Iowa homer and all that stuff that I stump for a lot of my guys.
00:22:50
Speaker
I'm not against Luke Lachey. The problem with him is not, I don't want to put him in the same vein as Musgrave, but it's similar to Musgrave where he has all the potential in the world, but for some reason he just
Tight End Depth Evaluation and Positional Battles
00:23:03
Speaker
can't get it put everything together. And, you know, Lachey, with Lachey in college, there were there were drops.
00:23:13
Speaker
There were, at bad times, there were drops. Um... He injuries was another thing. Like you said, he had the one, but he always had some kind of ticky tacky injuries going on throughout college.
00:23:29
Speaker
ah he's He's not a George Kittle or a a Sam LaPorta when it comes to blocking, but he can hold his own when it comes to blocking. So he is at least a little bit of an upgrade over a Musgraves when it comes to that.
00:23:45
Speaker
I like it as a third option. Maybe even could become that number two depending on you know, Wiley, depending on Musgraves, all that. I'm surprised that – and I kind of put this out there that maybe Musgraves could be moved during the draft.
00:24:02
Speaker
And, you know, obviously that didn't happen, so they must not have been able to get much of anything for – to work for him. So do – i do Everybody knows that I was a big Ben Sims supporter. I really liked him with what he did.
00:24:22
Speaker
I think this is an upgrade over Sims. You know, he's still going to give you the blocking, but he's going to give you that little extra when it comes to actual production. It's all going to depend on how they feel about Wiley.
00:24:38
Speaker
And the reason I say that is because they seem to really like Wiley. And I think Wiley was in Tennessee at the same time, the floor was, I think they just barely crossed paths on that.
00:24:52
Speaker
Um, I think I'm not sure I might be wrong. no because I think Wiley is younger than the guar or he might be a year older or year younger than the guar. So she should have been in the NFL by the time.
00:25:09
Speaker
okay wiley yeah okay i was thinking for some reason wiley was 28. uh he's 26 so maybe they didn't but still there's something there that they really like wiley did do some good things last year i mean it wasn't a ton of things but he did do some good things so i think the battle's going to come down between lachey and wiley more than it is musgraves because i think with this being a contract year Unless they work a trade out for him during training camp, this is going to be Musgrave's last chance to prove anything before they just cut ties with him.
00:25:54
Speaker
or it could be something that he is the one of the final cuts on ah at the end of training camp you know that that's just how he's been playing so you know and they could roll with a a craft wiley lachey type situation and then keep one of like messiah swenson or mccastles or that rj maryland you know i don't know much about him play wise but you know, that that could be the practice squad
Developmental Potential of Lachey and Musgrave
00:26:23
Speaker
type thing. Or maybe Maryland blows up and, you know, he takes the number two spot.
00:26:28
Speaker
So what do you think? i think Maryland is actually... So I think Lachey is just, is he going to be tight end three? Can he push Musgrave for tight end two? Because...
00:26:39
Speaker
you're right they do like wiley but i think they like wiley as the h-back type which is weird because he's six seven but he really does play more of the h-back role because that's the thing is when he came out he like took taguara's role at cincinnati kind of thing and so um that's where they kind of view him functioning and so that's where like maryland kind of functions too is so so it's kind of more maryland against wiley and then with lachey I do think there's room for a third tight end because, I mean, they carried Fitzpatrick on the roster until he, you know, dusted his knee and stuff. So I think um there is an opportunity for Lachey. It's really just going to come down to um it's going to come down to the health of his knee at this point because it it does sound like he was dealing with the after effects of it, you know, um
00:27:30
Speaker
From my point of view, you I really just hope he's not like a Jake Butt where you know he blows his knee out late in his college career and it just never gets the opportunity in the NFL. And Jake had like... he do When he blew his ACL out, the second you know that was the second time he did it in college. can't remember if it was the same knee, but then his knees were just shot after that point and stuff. and Wasn't it more than just the ACL that he damaged that second time?
00:27:56
Speaker
Yeah, it was. it you know It was kind of like a Bakhtiari situation where there was underlying issues too, but it didn't help that it was his second ACL in college and stuff. and yeah You just never know, but I agree with you. like There's always a bit of like um yeah expectations versus reality with Lachey, but there is that... you know He did remind me of Noah Fant more than like a Kittle or a um Laporta at Iowa, where...
00:28:24
Speaker
Like you said, he would give effort as a blocker and you could see like some upside there, but it really was more like, where is 85 going to catch the ball for this Iowa offense kind of thing? um So, I mean, that was the thing is he was supposed to take over for LaPorta when LaPorta got drafted and all that kind of stuff. And um so we'll see, like,
00:28:43
Speaker
I'm rooting for him because, like you said, of the young tight ends that are on the roster, Maryland is like the only one that really excites me because I liked his um his highlights before he blew his knee out. I think him and Lachey blew their knee out like around the same time, within a month of each other. so um and, you know, Maryland played, both Lachey and Maryland played with the big knee brace and all that kind of stuff. So, um you know, I just hope that each guy gets their shake and you know hopefully they can prove an upgrade over what's on the roster so we'll see but you know lache was exciting at times in college and if he can get back to that kind of player the packers can use that kind of option at tight end especially because like you said musgrave you know i did say that once they started to use musgrave like musgrave should have been used last year you know he had some highlight plays against the bears and the broncos and stuff like that and that's the thing is it's like
00:29:38
Speaker
He's not going to be the down-in, down-out threat that like a Kraft is going to be, but like it's that get that 20-25 yard pass play where he just catches someone sleepwalking or kind of like messes up a coverage, and it's like, oh look, he's open on a corner round for 25 yards kind of thing. and so um That's the player that Musgrave is, and it's a little more of a niche role than they were hoping it would be when they took him in 2023 in the second round, but...
00:30:05
Speaker
you know That just means it's an opportunity if Lachey is healthy and can you know grasp the offense and all that kind of stuff. like i think I think it's a worthwhile swing and um just because they they do
Wide Receiver Room: Brendan Rice and Rising Talents
00:30:16
Speaker
need more answers. and then Especially because...
00:30:18
Speaker
you know the returns seem good or the the trend seems good for k craft to be ready week one i know he's saying all the things you want to hear where he's like i'm aiming to play 90 of the snaps week one and that be off the count you know the snap count by week three or four but like until he does it you just don't know because you know as much as everyone wants to say you know and acl recoveries are better and all the surgery is better the recovery is better than it was you know five ten years ago but for everyone that works out you have a Bakhtiari situation where the guy just never can come back and until you see the guy come back you just don't know how it's going to go so um you know just got to keep putting bodies in who can put who have some upside to see what you got and Lachey is a lottery card and one that you know if it hits that's a boon for the Packers so yeah I'm all for it and I'm rooting for him
00:31:15
Speaker
Relatively, there's not a ton of tight ends on roster. There's only seven. Nope. Yeah. And you know, Tucker is a lock that's for sure. yeah And really that's about the only lock.
00:31:29
Speaker
Yeah. Like you would think Musgraves is, but you know, again, with his speed, a contract year, they have cut guys in the fourth year of their rookie contract before.
00:31:42
Speaker
And if they don't think he's producing or if he suffers another ticky tacky injury, there's a possibility he could be gone. Or they tried doing a one of those like they did with Josh Jackson where it was a player for player. You know, this guy's not doing this so any good over here, so maybe change of scenery type thing. Yeah. And and that and then you've got – oh Lachey, who we've been talking about, Marilyn, who we've been talking about, Wiley, who we've been talking about, and then you just got Drake Dabney and Messiah Swenson.
00:32:15
Speaker
Swenson, I think, more has what they look for in size than actual production, and then ah Dabney looks like he's i i can't remember was it him or mccastles that were like the strictly the uh tie uh uh blocking type tight ends when they signed them i think i know that swim that's definitely swinson and then um i think i think dabney is the one where dab yeah assholes i think dabney is the one that
00:32:52
Speaker
Yeah, I think Dabney was the one where he blocked more in college, but he had some flash plays kind of thing. And yeah. So who knows? We'll see when they play in preseason. Yeah. the As of right now, the only lock for sure, 100% is Tucker craft, unless they yeah they trade him off for like uh, George Kittle or a Kyle pits or, or something like that. They're, they're not moving from him for nothing.
Receiver Contributions and Roster Impact
00:33:21
Speaker
don't Um, Let's see what else we got. ah Mention that, mention that. ah Brendan Rice, ah we can talk about him for a couple of minutes here.
00:33:32
Speaker
um Obviously he's the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who did fumble. um And I wonder if this is like payback for that, where they they sit there and can say, this is how I would do it, is when it comes down to the final cuts,
00:33:50
Speaker
He gets in the room. We appreciate what you did. We appreciate this. We did this. This is your dad did fumble. Now get the hell out of my office. Yeah. I just think, um, you know, everyone's going to be like, Oh, he's Jerry Rice's son.
00:34:06
Speaker
He's not Jerry Rice. but like it's It's unfortunate. He has, you know, he has a nice, for he has a good frame, decent athleticism, but like, when you watch him run routes there's just yeah there's not much explosiveness like for all the the complaining people did about romeo dobbs and stuff like that it's like rice is like a worse version of dogs like you know that sounds harsh but like if you complain that dobbs couldn't get separation rice is like less explosive at the break point so yeah let me like throw this out to you well no
00:34:39
Speaker
Now that I'm looking at him stat-wise, I don't think it's possible. But let me let me just throw this out to you because I kind of mentioned this to, oh I don't know what they're calling it, the Packers net or or or or it was derailed with JJ and and Jake.
00:34:55
Speaker
Do you think it's a possibility? And it looks like he's got it on his frame that he can kind of do it. that maybe you could bulk him up a little bit and he could be your stretch the field type tight end. Because he looks more like it than than an actual wide receiver. Unless they're strictly thinking he's going to be their red zone short yard type wide receiver. Because, yeah, when you watch that video of him doing his cuts and all that,
00:35:23
Speaker
i i would rather have the corpse of Don Hudson. lee And that's the thing is like, we were just talking about the tight ends on roster and I'd rather see Marilyn Lachey get a stuck crack at it than then Brendan Rice. Like, yeah, I just don't see the opportunity for him here. like, like um like okay, like,
00:35:48
Speaker
cornelius johnson who we had in camp he was a more explosive route runner than rice is and stuff and you know it's just circumstances and and that's the thing is it's like like i said he doesn't have a realist there's no realistic pathway to for him to even make the the practice squad as a receiver because like you've got so on roster you've got Watson and Reid are deadlocks because of their contract extensions. Golden with his you know you know his second year of his rookie deal. um
00:36:21
Speaker
What's it called? Savion. Savion. And then like you know there's all the talk about um Isaiah Naor. They've still got Bo Melton and all that kind of stuff. That's six bucks.
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah, there's six bodies that are well in the head. And Skirvan, who, you know, has, you know, if you if you watch his freshman tape again, when he was at Cal against Notre Dame, you're like, oh my God, like we got that guy. But then you're like, oh, he like didn't do anything to improve from that guy as a freshman. But that guy as a freshman is a better, more explosive player than Brendan Rice is now. So like, that's what they're at at wide receiver. And then, like I said, at tight end, it's like,
00:37:02
Speaker
okay sure we're like you both bulk him up but like you already have guys in maryland and lachey who are already 240 plus and uh and wiley too in that sense where it's like just let those guys be and they're all taller than rice too i think and maryland might be close but yeah yeah So Lachey and Wiley are definitely taller than him. And Maryland is already like, you don't have to worry about him bulking up to 242 kind of thing and stuff. And how he'll, you know how he moves at 242. You don't know how Rice is going to move at 242. So yeah, it's, you know, it's going to catch waves for the name, but that's really it for him, honestly.
00:37:45
Speaker
Well, and like I said, unless they view him as... maybe not like in the sense of Romeo Dobbs, but the short yardage, red zone type guy, because when you go and look at him in college, that seemed to be what he more excelled at, was high pointing and and at least making his way to get open in those short yardage, red zone type deals. So maybe that's what they view him at, but I do think he's got to and you know, you think if he had something special, he would have been,
00:38:20
Speaker
he's The Chargers wouldn't have cut him. Yeah, the Chargers and the Raiders wouldn't have cut him. yeah Well, he was' it's not even just that. He was on New England's practice squad, Seattle's practice squad, and then Raiders' practice squad.
00:38:32
Speaker
So if there was something there, then you would think, especially with Seattle and and New England there, who you know were the Super Bowl ah matchup, they you'd think they would have been able to see something in them if there was something there for them.
00:38:46
Speaker
and And then, yeah, the Chargers, if if it wasn't for the, you know, they, what, you know them a little bit better than I do. They didn't have much out of the wide receiver room when they drafted him, lad, and and that was pretty well the extent of it.
00:39:05
Speaker
Yep. And so, yeah, they but I have to give him a little bit of break because it says this says that he was in three games and then he got hurt and was on IR the rest of season that one
Contract Extensions: Watson and Reed's Financial Details
00:39:17
Speaker
year. So, you know, who knows? Maybe maybe that could be the thing. He just he hasn't recovered from that that injury. I don't know what it was that he hurt. So that that could be something too, and maybe the Packers are hoping that you know, he's fully healthy and and on board. But I think i think it is an uphill battle for him because, yeah, they did sign Sturdivant. Who knows what he's going to be able to do. ah You know, you've been pretty adamant about he was good in his freshman year, but really nothing else from there.
00:39:52
Speaker
People are obviously high on Yeah. um you got i i'm high on will shepherd i think there's a chance that he could slip in there and be you know contribute on special teams and be that uh uh bottom of the the uh depth chart type guy because he you know i liked what i saw out of him at the his last year at colorado and then you know last year during ah I was going to call it frigging spring training and training camp.
00:40:26
Speaker
ah You know, he really shined and and did well and in the games that he was part of. So, you know, I think there's still a chance with him and he's still only 24 going on 25. So there's a shot for him too.
00:40:41
Speaker
And, you know, then i don't want to say that that room is wide open because we know who the main people are in it. but there are three is not getting yet. There are opportunities, but that top three is set.
00:40:55
Speaker
Yeah. So that's all for Brendan rice. We'll go ahead and move on to the extensions. One sign a while back that we didn't get to talk about. And that's the Christian Watson one, ah four year extension.
00:41:11
Speaker
um I'm trying to get the number here. I have the breakdown from, uh, four years 110.5 million extension 31 million signing bonus uh sport track has it broke down as his cap hit for this year is only 10.5 million um you know i i was reading what some of the people were talking about when uh he he signed it that really there's an out for him after or for the Packers after 2027. So really it's only like a two-year extension that with a couple of years options on that. So yeah um because right now it looks like that his dead cap nosedives after 2028.
00:42:05
Speaker
So yeah, there's there's a good chance that if something if he doesn't in you know if he doesn't make it through a season or something happens and then they have an easy out for him and it's not that big of a extension relative to what other people are getting i think this what made him the 15 15th highest wide receiver when they signed him it was somewhere between 15 to 20th or something something like that it it and it like it got the rest of the division laughing because they're like oh he's technically ahead of um jameson williams and like wow but i'm like
00:42:40
Speaker
But he's earning half the guaranteed money. like it it Like you said, it's a typical Packers extension because Andrew Brandt says it all the time. It's a two-year with a we'll see. Like you said, you you put it you laid it out perfectly. It's a two-year we'll see after that.
00:42:58
Speaker
Honestly, it's a good gamble for the Packers because what you saw after this season was he came back from the ACL, wasn't really on. I know he was on the injury report, but it was because they were going to limit him in practice with the knee. Like they weren't going to go balls to the wall with him coming back from that. But there were no listed soft tissue injuries from my recollection. He stayed healthy the rest of the season. And to me, that's the big part for him.
00:43:23
Speaker
And Um, you know, like, is there a scenario where it plays out like the Clay Matthews situation where, you know, it's been one too many hamstring issues and his explosiveness is sap. Sure. Like, that's what happens when you have these super duper explosive alien athletes is sometimes it just goes away. and But that's why the contract is structured the way it is.
00:43:45
Speaker
But also, if you're on Christian, you know and people are like, why would Christian sign it? It is still, you're still betting on yourself. And if you play it out, you are still nine figures richer than you were before you signed the contract. So like, it's a worthy gamble on both sides. There's guardrails for both sides, but it's just a stellar deal by Ball and Gutekunst. And honestly, um you know, like,
00:44:13
Speaker
for watson in his mind he's like in two years i'll be renegotiating for a new deal too kind of thing so it it plays on both sides of the street kind of thing and yeah like the packers aren't going to the the packers aren't necessarily going to but that's how you know that's how watson's agent is telling it to him in his head kind of thing like yeah yeah i get that that that's a lot of uh agent talk but You know, you got also got to remember in two years time, he's going to be 29, 30 years old. So are they going to talk? I'm not saying I would do it. i'm I'm just saying that's how the, that's how the player rationalizes like, oh I'll take that deal because I get the short slash long-term security. And it makes me wonder. And don't know how agents do this.
00:44:57
Speaker
I don't, I wonder if you know, cause they've got to limit what they do because of the whole tampering and and stuff like that. But it makes me wonder if agents go out and gauge interest from other teams just to say, this is what we're looking at when it comes to your free agent gear, not going to a team and say, Hey, are you going to sign this guy for this, this, this? Yeah. If Christian come, you know, doesn't sign this, what are your thoughts, you know, or, know,
00:45:26
Speaker
Again, i know they have to be very careful with things like that because of, you know, tampering issues and stuff like that. But it makes me wonder if.
00:45:38
Speaker
Did you lose me? but but No, no, no. No. OK. It makes me wonder if they if they do something like that, because. Maybe the agent came back and said, hey. you know Right now, we don't know what the market you know the market's not looking too good for you at the end of this season. This is a good deal.
00:45:59
Speaker
You're still getting a bag of money, but it's not you know top dollar. But you know you're still looking at $31 million guaranteed signing bonus.
00:46:10
Speaker
you know Maybe go ahead and take this. And like you said, you know and we'll take our chances and in two years or whatever. But... You know, there's there's that. um And then, you know, they did sign Jaden, yeah and we talked about this thoroughly, signed Jaden Reed to his extension. Maybe that was another conversation that, hey, if you want to stay in Green Bay, you're going to have to watch how much money you're asking for because there's a lot of contracts that are
Financial Strategy for Team Stability
00:46:37
Speaker
coming up. You know, they're working on the Watson, not Watson, the Kraft one. Yeah.
00:46:44
Speaker
and Golden is going to play part of your role potentially and all that kind of stuff. That was my thing. And, you know, ah i'll I'll eat some Kroh on this one because I just, I didn't think a Reed extension was possible. And the whole reason I was open to trading him is I was like, I figured he was going to expect to get 20 million a year from somebody.
00:47:04
Speaker
didn't think, and Green Bay didn't, you know, what is his average, like 17 or something like that? 17 or 18? What is it in that range or whatever? Here, let me look it up. It's not over 20. It's like, cause it's like four years, 70 something, right? Is this deal?
00:47:19
Speaker
I thought it was similar to what Watson just grabbed. Um, total cash for 2026 is 21.229 for yeah.
00:47:30
Speaker
for yeah um three-year $50 million dollar contract. That's what it was. Yeah. yeah it's It's not 20 a year. That's totally off by a year. But yeah, like um it it is average is 16.75. So really, it is very similar to what the Watson contract is.
00:47:51
Speaker
He's just making what? five or six less than what Watson is at the moment. And it speaks to what I said, where it's like the team views you as like a really good one, but you're a slot receiver and you're not going to earn as much as a guy like Watson or what they expect Golden to become as a perimeter, you know, a guy who can play on the perimeter.
00:48:15
Speaker
yeah 17 to 18 games a year since you were drafted so right and even then you were kind of dinged up for a bunch of them too and stuff so like hey it's it's it's the same thing gambling on themselves and you know what i'm kind of glad because you do need playmakers i don't think he's a wide receiver one but he is one of hold un quote unquote those guys that jordan looks for in the pinch kind of thing and you know we talked about it after the playoff game gotta make the routine plays that you know like that that drop he had at the end of the game was one of the killer moments in that comeback attempt because if he catches that ball they're inside the 15 maybe inside the 10 yard line and he's out of bounds and stuff so like it's those in and out you know the down to down plays that i always say like he's got to make those ones but
00:49:05
Speaker
You know, the the touchdown he had against the the Lions, the play he broke his collarbone on, like, those are the ones that you're like, like, yeah, you're paying for those, but it's like, need you to make more of the routine ones. But this is it's a very fair deal for how the Packers see him. And I'm i'm glad he's back. Like, I just...
00:49:24
Speaker
was always open to the idea of trading because I thought he was going to expect to get paid way more than they did what he got on this deal. And that was always my position was it's like, they're not paying him, Tucker and Watson 20 over 20 million a season each. Like it's just not going to happen at all.
00:49:44
Speaker
Well, it's not even yeah just that they have to have money for the wide receiver room. Think about all the other contracts that they're going to have on. Tucker. Devontae Wyatt, ah you know, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard are going to be coming up here pretty soon.
00:50:01
Speaker
I was just looking at this. um You know, there's there's a lot of guys that are in year three, year four that They're going to have to look at extending if they're wanting to keep them. you know Carrington, are they going to keep Carrington? van Ness has got his fifth-year option next year, but are you going to hang on to him post that?
00:50:25
Speaker
ah Carl Brooks, ah Jordan Morgan, as much as it kind of pains me to say with the with him because we don't know what he's going to bring to the table. ah you know These guys are in their third and fourth years – there's going to be some money that needs to be passed around edron cooper he's going to need a bag here you know he's not he doesn't have the luxury of a fifth year option so you know next year is that that's it for his contract and you know so that's another one to sign him this upcoming off this offseason but they're going to want to sign cooper next offseason to beat whatever his big contract year is going to be so yeah yeah so i agree yeah
00:51:12
Speaker
but suffice it to say the watson and the reid deal like you said not that it's just looking at one other contract but those two especially at what they sign them for that just makes like whatever the craft deal is gonna be it makes it that much easier for the team to retain craft too and like i've seen some people already be like what does this mean they're keeping tucker like you're not yeah like you said unless you're getting someone better than him you're not not signing Tucker. or There's only two reasons you're not signing Tucker. His knee is totally washed, which all signs are not... that's not the case. Or you're somehow getting a better player than him at his position, which I don't see as a feasible possibility at this point. so
00:51:57
Speaker
Tucker's getting extended. It's a matter of when, not if.
McDuffie's Contract: Impact on Linebacker Depth
00:52:00
Speaker
So, yeah. Right. I was trying to see. Obviously, Kelsey, Kittle, and Pitts are probably the top dogs in money. I was trying to see what they would...
00:52:12
Speaker
oh
00:52:15
Speaker
But I don't like spot tracks. Yeah. calculator that doesn't show me what I need to see. But um because I was trying to think if if Watson got 23, you got to figure Tucker's at least getting, you know, 27, 28. he's pushing 30.
00:52:33
Speaker
Yeah. that Like the only one that I was kind of like, ah, like is I wish they had beaten um that the Arizona tight end. um Oh, McBride. Yeah, I was like, I wish they could, and it's hard because Tucker's coming off the ACL repair and all that kind of stuff, but I was like, I really wish they could have beaten the McBride deal because it's like, now you have to beat the McBride. I wish they could have made the agreement before the McBride deal got got got signed, but now that's like a benchmark that you have to meet or surpass kind of thing. So, yeah.
00:53:06
Speaker
Like, But like I said, it's a, when, not if with Tucker, like to me, that's my opinion on it. Okay. So Kittle is number one, his total value or his APY is 19 one.
00:53:22
Speaker
So total guarantee is 35. Average guarantee is 8.75. So maybe it's not going to be that close, but it's going to definitely have to be 19 20 million to per year to keep them in in Green Bay.
00:53:40
Speaker
So... It'll make it happen. It'll happen. ah Well, I'm not saying it's not going to happen. This is where it helps that you're not paying a cornerback top money anymore. Well, I was just saying that it's not... It's that sometimes these guys have to realize if we want to stay on this team and we want to stay competitive, we can't be the top fine guy in the league.
00:54:04
Speaker
And especially when your quarterback is already one of the top guys in the league that, you know, sometimes you got to take a little bit of less to be to be on the team to continue to compete. So ah the last one that I really have here, and it just happened today as of recording was announced, is Isaiah McDuffie got extended for another year.
00:54:27
Speaker
uh worth 4.85 million over the additional year 1.5 million and so signing bonus and a 750k roster bonus due if he's on the roster on the third day of the new year league year which they always do that they don't make it right on the first day of the league year they always make it like the third or fourth day just because that helps them with the salary cap that Okay, do we have to cut him? do we have Can we restructure him? Can we do this? Can we do that? Just to see what the the rest of the league's doing. But I've said it before, i've and I'll say it again.
00:55:03
Speaker
i like Isaiah McDuffie, but I don't like him as a starter. He's definitely a depth guy. He's definitely a special teams guy. He's a rotational guy. he can He's that downhill thumper, but he's not going to give you a ton in in any kind of coverage.
00:55:21
Speaker
um you know ah this was how detroit got in That was how Detroit got back in the game in the game in Detroit last season is they just threw it right over him. So, yeah, I i know where you're going with this. This deal is ah it's a it's a prudent one where it's like, okay, you're like, the linebacker room is in transition because you lost quite a free agency. You traded for... um Zaire Franklin, but it's like, okay, is he going to be around even after this season? You know, Coop is the future at the position, but it's like, okay, like you, you know, you still don't really know what, um, uh, what Hopper. Yeah. Taryn Hopper is, um, you didn't really draft at the position this draft. So it's like, but they got their preferred, uh, uh, UDFA. Let me grab the name here. Just second.
00:56:13
Speaker
um tj quinn yes small but you know he is still a udfa so we'll see but i i think it's a prudent move because like you said they there is ways to get out of it and you know you it's you don't save everything but you save you know like over two million or whatever from moving on from mcduffie and I don't want to say the roster is necessarily in a better place if he isn't playing for the Packers in 2027, but it gives them the option that if like the draft works out a certain way or for agency or whatever, like ok you have options to move on ahead of you know that when the calendar turns over and stuff. So...
Leadership Focus: Micah Parsons and Training Sessions
00:56:56
Speaker
so we'll see you know it it's pretty much his what his um what he's gonna make this year in terms of the money maybe it's like a half million higher or something like that yeah i know he was in the four range this for for the pat because his his contract was like two years eight million or something like that so he's he's in a similar range so you know it's it's just one of those like He's a good special teams player. you know he's a He's a team leader in that regard. i think he was a special teams captain. So, you know, um it's like I said, it's a prudent move, but it's one where it's like you you you have one less totally vacant chair in position room musical chairs, but also if you can improve in that spot, you're going to. So, yeah.
00:57:42
Speaker
And just looking ahead to 2027, the minebacker free agents aren't really the most appealing. A lot of them are pretty, won't say old, but they're they're hitting that point where are they still in their prime or are they...
00:58:01
Speaker
they Are you getting Bobby Wagner on the red or on the commander? Yeah, so i mean you've got Patrick Queen who's going to be 28 Jordan Brooks, 30 Blake Cashman, 31 This is if they don't get res re-signed or anything like that ah Zavin Collins is going to be 28 Dre Greenlaw, 30 Yeah, so a lot of these guys Drew Tranquil is 32
00:58:28
Speaker
Denzel Peringman, I didn't know was still in the league. um You know, a lot of these guys were names when when they were drafted, but it just...
00:58:41
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. So it'll be interesting see what they do. But yeah, the McDuffie's not a make or break thing. He's going to be a rotational guy. He's going to be the depth piece. Hopefully they prove that Tyron can do something. You know, TJ Quinn is a little bit undersized, but maybe that means they're looking to him to be that ah coverage guy.
00:59:06
Speaker
uh you know i'll be honest i don't know much about him i didn't pay attention to him i know they brought him in for a top 30. i know he's out of louisville uh that's pretty much all i know six foot 225 so he's in that uh mcduffie uh range so maybe it's it's something that they they can work on um But yeah, that really, that's we're we're caught up on on all off-season transactions and that.
00:59:38
Speaker
ah will be We'll be moving towards like a training camp primer. we'll We'll do a full breakdown on the roster and potential camp battles and that.
00:59:51
Speaker
ah so we're out at about it an hour here, so I don't think we want to sit for another hour doing potential camp battles and stuff like that. But, you know, signs appointed that every, you know, the rookies are looking pretty decent, uh, through, through camp. So that should be fun to see during training camp.
01:00:12
Speaker
Uh, Mike, we're going to get Mike out here for training camp one of these years with the kids and all that stuff. I will be up there about mid, mid August. Um, So I'm looking forward to that.
01:00:27
Speaker
Mike, is there anything else that we didn't cover that we need to cover or, ah you know, the the edges are still working out with Micah Parsons? I guess we didn't really talk about Micah where, you know, they're they're predicting he's going to end up up on PUP, but the PUP rules have changed where it's no longer like a six-week thing. it's He can come back after, like, what is it, four weeks or something like that?
01:00:53
Speaker
know It's still four weeks, but he can start practicing after two or something like that. There's there's an earlier ramp-up period and stuff. i I have to reread the rules, but like I still think you can't come back before four games, but you can start practicing before the fourth game, if that makes it Before, you had to not do anything until the fourth game, but now you can start to ramp up ahead of that.
01:01:18
Speaker
But I think that's that was always predicted. i When I had Terrence Parsons on and I was talking with him, Micah's goal was always to be ready by week one, but realistically it was going to be more like week three thing.
01:01:34
Speaker
um Go back and listen to that episode. we We did talk about Micah's recovery and all that. and you watch the videos. he's He's moving around pretty, not like full speed or anything like that, but he's still moving around pretty good. um Again, he's had a lot of the younger guys out there working out with him.
01:01:52
Speaker
um I think they're in California working out. ah You know, like Baron Sorrell. I think Colin Oliver's been out there with him. um You know, a lot of a lot of the younger guys there. He's still hyping up Lucas. Yeah, he's still hyping up Lucas, which is, which is i think, I don't want everybody to go, well, it's because he's a hugger. I think it's a good thing he's hyping up Lucas because yeah One, you want that leadership on the team to say, hey, you're doing a great job.
01:02:24
Speaker
You've got the potential. Let's get the best out of you. you You don't want, i think, and I kind of mentioned this with, again, going back to the Terrence Parsons interview.
01:02:37
Speaker
That's what this team has lacked for the longest time is vocal leadership. Really since Woodson left, honestly. Yeah. And well, even not just then, because you still had TJ Lang and Josh Sitton and stuff like that, that were pretty vocal on things. You could say that with Bakhtiari, Bakhtiari was pretty vocal on things, but you know, you really haven't had that, that you've had the veteran presences, but you haven't had the vocal leadership. I know Mike Daniels has said this before on a lot of different places, but oh you know, they don't even, they there for the longest time, they wouldn't even bring in
01:03:16
Speaker
former Packers to do that kind of thing. And even when he was on the team and he would try to do that stuff, he was kind of you know, hey, we don't do that kind of stuff around here. Well, no, that's the kind of thing we need to bring back is this vocal leadership. I'm not asking for you to go out and and and get thrown out of a game every other week or anything like that, but you need the guys that can run their mouth a little bit, back it up, and and also can rah-rah for your team or call out your team when it needs to be called out.
01:03:49
Speaker
Yep. I totally agree with you. And... um You know, and everyone, you know, there's a lot of people who are like poo-pooing, like, you know, Lucas, like, oh, they picked up his fifth year, what all that kind of stuff. but I'm like, if you look at how productive the pass rush was the first, like, five, six weeks before he hurt his foot, he gave them so much versatility up front.
01:04:11
Speaker
by being able to reduce inside and play on the field with Micah and Rashawn or whoever. And when he got hurt, and especially when he and Wyatt were both out, they just lost so much juice up front with what the flexibility and versatility of what they could do along the defensive line. So...
01:04:30
Speaker
Really hoping that he is able to, you know, get to, you know he can take off from the high points of where he was at last year. Because he he was kind of, a and it was his foot. Like, he wasn't going to just come back and be totally the same and stuff. But really hope he's past that injury because um it really looked like he was going to have, maybe not like a statistical counting that season, but just in terms of his overall impact on what the team did as a defensive front. that you could see that like it was going to be a big season for him, so you really hope that he can hit the ground running and um you know no one's rooting for it more than Micah is at this point. But yeah, really excited to see him working with guys, especially like Sorrel and Oliver, because um um you know Oliver, like we we've both joke that he's like Parsons Light.
01:05:16
Speaker
He gets the nickname Baby Micah, and according to Terrence, he doesn't like being called Baby Micah. But it is one of those where it it it really helps having a guy who's not the same, but has similar like physical build and limitations to you to show you the ropes on how like you can use your athletic you can leverage your athleticism and the strengths of your physical build to work to your advantage. And then with Sorrel,
01:05:47
Speaker
Mike has talked about just his relentless motor and how like he's excited to work with him even more this season and stuff so you know it's just all the you know it it has to translate to on the field but it's all the kind of stuff you'd like to read and hear about in the offseason like you'd rather hear that than upset than like persons being like none of these guys care they invited them all to work out and
Training Camp Preparations and Expectations
01:06:09
Speaker
you know while I rehabbed to work out with me and and they were all like ah no thanks but no thanks kind thing so you know like yeah rival fans are gonna be like it doesn't matter it does matter like it it does yes it has to translate to tangible impact on the field but i like i said the lucas stuff clearly was last season and you just hope that he continues to send and that like
01:06:33
Speaker
Sorel and or Oliver get that kind of a boost from being around Micah and he's obviously already taking Dennis Sutton under his wing because of the Penn State connection and stuff. So and they weren't there at the same time. But, you know, Micah's like, yeah, of course, I'm going to take him under my wing and stuff. So, you know, it's just like a broken record, whatever you want to call it. But it's all all the kind of stuff you want to hear coming out of the offseason.
01:06:59
Speaker
And on top of that, you know, it does when you're working out with ah with your same position group, then you can work on like hand gestures and stuff like that where you're not having to yell at each other. You can say, yeah okay, well, this is going to mean this, this is going to mean that and and go from it from there. So, yeah. It's kind of like catchers and pitchers report time stuff. Like it's that it's that sort of thing.
01:07:25
Speaker
But... I don't know, Mike, is there anything else we need to touch on? I think we've pretty much covered it all. i will The only other one that we'll put, it you know, your mark for later is the Josh Jacobs situation has to play out. You know, um, we can kind of talk it here. I know a lot of people have been bringing it up and, and I don't want to, we don't want to brush it off or put it under too much of a microscope, but it really, you know, ah the thing is, is it's truly at the stage of, and the team has handled it as best as it could, where I'd like to say nothing probative has come out because they haven't gone to the extreme that the Lions just did with Terran Arnold, where um they cut him. And I'm also glad that the team hasn't put itself in the position to have its foot put in its mouth, where, like, in april the lions were unequivocally we are unequivocally behind terran arnold and you know he is our guy and you know we stand with him and then you know two three months later it's like we're cutting his ass like immediately yeah effective immediately like good defense the the official statement from the team is the process has to play out you know we're we're investigating the league is investigating you know police investigation and we're going to let the legal process that's where it's at like um
01:08:50
Speaker
It's to to our knowledge with no insider info, it's very much in the realm of he sheds he said, she said, he said. and until that process plays itself out, it's that you know you want to believe the best in people. like This is just what I'm going to say. I want to believe the best in people.
01:09:12
Speaker
And at the same time, there's so many of these professional athlete stories where it's like, oh, like that's who the guy is behind Closer? I'm not saying that's what Josh is. you know it it does seem like so far his account of the situation is what's... you know The fact that nothing has come to to light further seems to...
01:09:36
Speaker
corroborate or at least align with his um statement of the events but also it was unsettling when you know he was you know the the the um the statement came out that you know there was he was being you know booked for arrest it was like the list of things he was being um you know as a person of interest, the reasons that he was a person of interest, that was a lot further than is normally taken in these kind of situations where normally it's like, it's a you know it's a it's a civil you know it's a civil dispute, it's you know aggravated us assault. the It got descriptive in a way that's unsettling.
01:10:14
Speaker
But also, like we said, that's why the process has to play out because, like I said, they went 0 to 120 off the bat and you've heard nothing about it. And like I said, that does not exonerate him.
01:10:26
Speaker
um we have you know And we're just playing it straight down the middle because it's like innocent until proven guilty, but also the track record with athletes in this position has not been great overall. So that's just my position on it.
01:10:40
Speaker
I'm in the wait and see. you know ah you know we're We're in the holding pattern above the airport, but... you know, we'll get the wave off or we'll get the clear to land and we'll see where it
Josh Jacobs' Legal Situation and Team Dynamics
01:10:49
Speaker
goes from here. Like that, I'm just going to play it as straight down the middle as I can from there.
01:10:53
Speaker
Now, I will say this and I, I didn't, I don't want people thinking that I'm being hypocritical about situations because we both ragged on the McManus shit and why we didn't want him in Green Bay.
01:11:07
Speaker
And, you know, but he's had a history of being a total D-bag. Josh Jacobs didn't. So we are in a wait and see process with him. But I will say this. All the videos I've watched, all and not of Jacobs, but all like cop videos and all that stuff that I've seen,
01:11:25
Speaker
He may have been arrested and charged for a lot of that stuff, but cops will throw everything out there that they can think of to charge a person with.
01:11:36
Speaker
Then it's up to the DA to decide what they're actually going to go for. right So while it does sound horrible with the list of things that they were charging him with, that doesn't necessarily mean that's everything that you know that that he did, all that stuff.
01:11:55
Speaker
right with that being said i am of the mind that you have to wait and you know i'm not discounting what victims say i'm not discounting what anybody says you just got you nobody will ever know the truth of anything yeah that's the sad part of it the the thing that you always learn growing up is you have your side i have my side and the truth lies somewhere in the middle and you have to go you have to base your thoughts off all that stuff if he did everything that he has been charged with he needs to be gone yep no ifs or buts inkling of what he did there needs to be consequences yep but if he didn't
01:12:46
Speaker
Am I going to look at him a little bit different? Maybe. Because, you know, there's a lot of times when there is smoke, there is fire. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's a horrible person and he does this all the time. This is just the first time he got caught.
01:13:02
Speaker
That doesn't mean that. right Maybe it was a situation where it was two hot-headed people that were so upset that they started you know slapping around on each other and he's just the one that got turned in on it. It's possible. that He's the guy. but He's the guy kind of thing. and yeah so I don't know.
01:13:24
Speaker
We'll see what happens. but i I do say the same thing that I say with all of them. If it comes out that he did that stuff, then you just got to cut ties with him. Yep.
01:13:38
Speaker
And the Packers have put themselves in this position on their own. Nobody knew what was going to happen with Josh. Nobody knew that this was going to come up, but everybody knew that there was a hole in the depth chart behind Josh Jacobs.
01:13:54
Speaker
you can't rely on marshawn lloyd i i hope the best for the kid i hope he comes out i hope you know he's looking fairly good in the limited amount of stuff that he's doing in training and camp but you can't rely on him chris brooks good good player but i don't know if he's an every down style back he's tony fisher yeah um i just had it up and i should have looked at it because I didn't realize. Sarah's dude.
01:14:27
Speaker
um Yeah, but that doesn't help me with the name of it. um
01:14:35
Speaker
Jaden Nixon. um You know, Pierre Strong's still on the team, but you know, he's 27. The one that I keep hearing about, you know, Jake is pretty high on him is Damian Martinez. So maybe they see more of him than what we've seen so far that, you know, he could be a guy that could be relied on.
01:14:56
Speaker
Maybe they're waiting until final cuts to pick up a guy from, you know, cause the the rumor is, is that so far, even though he signed the contract with Seattle, Emmanuel Wilson could be the odd man out in Seattle.
01:15:12
Speaker
And you know, he could be brought back, but who knows we'll get further into that rabbit hole when we, when we start doing our camp battles and stuff.
Closing Remarks and Future Topics Preview
01:15:22
Speaker
But Mike, I think that's pretty much covers everything that we didn't cover from the draft on. Um,
01:15:31
Speaker
be sure to follow us on all our socials. Uh, Mike's sweating to death over there. um You know, Ohana underscore Packers on Twitter, Quantum Mike on Twitter, IO underscore Joe86 on Twitter,
01:15:50
Speaker
um Facebook, Instagram, all those things. It's Ohana Packers edition. we are still trying to do the stuff on the giveaways over at Facebook. We are inching closer and closer by the day, but we're still a few away from there.
01:16:07
Speaker
Be sure you like, and subscribe, drop us a rating, you know, rate and rate and, review, you know, let us know how we're doing, wherever you get your podcasts, make sure you, you know,
01:16:21
Speaker
I don't even care if it's all five stars, you know, give us, you know, some threes or fours in there. Just let us know what we're doing that you like, what you don't like. We have had an influx of, uh, view, uh, uh, over the last few weeks. So welcome. Thank you for being here.
01:16:38
Speaker
If you're here just for the Star Wars stuff or the off season stuff, we're sorry because we're going to be moving back into Packers related material. If you're here just for the Packers stuff, sorry for all the off season stuff, but couldn't just regurgitate the same thing everybody else is talking about on the podcast. So Mike is going to refresh himself and get back into the flow of things.
01:17:02
Speaker
I'm going to finish out what I'm doing. If I can get everybody scheduled properly and, oh ah you know, if you have any questions, comments or anything, you know, do reach out. We're pretty open about all that thing. ah You know, I know I'm not as much active as Mike is on, on the socials, but you know, if I do see you reach out, I tend to try to reply on things, but you know, go over the merch store, Ohana Packers.org help support us. Like I said, we're trying to get Mike and kids over here for training camp at some point.
01:17:34
Speaker
um And you know, obviously it you know it's not It's not expensive to run a podcast, but it's not cheap either. So you know any little bit helps ah helps us keep going.
01:17:49
Speaker
um i think this season we're going to end up hitting the 400 episode mark. So you know we have been doing this for a long time now. It would be nice to see us actually start getting some representation.
01:18:02
Speaker
you know Even if you want us to call out people, You know, I have no problems yelling at people. So, you know, you, you send me a clip saying, well, this guy's saying this, me and Michael yell at him.
01:18:13
Speaker
I, you know, maybe me more so, but Mike and I'll yell at him. That that that's fine. But Mike, go ahead and finish her off. Since nobody's heard your, your dulcet town, uh, tones saying our outro for ever.
01:18:30
Speaker
Go pack goal and aloha.