Full Transcript for #885 Packers Unscripted: Coaching commentary

Shanahan's from Washington sort of got to Cleveland and then now it's just taken off. Yeah, and Babbie was a part of that. Whereas with Bullocks, I mean, he's very interesting in that this is a guy that was a second round pick in the NFL in the late two thousands from Detroit, had a slew of injuries and has worked his way up. Also off the Shanahan coaching tree, Kyle over in San Francisco, So there is a certain I thought it. One of the interesting things about the conversation where it went with both of them was the idea of takeaways. And obviously last year Green Bay just really struggled to get the interceptions. I mean, if I remember correctly, I think Xavier McKinney had more picks in twenty twenty four than the Packers had defensively last year, I think, to seven. So figuring out exactly what that formula is. I mean, you obviously don't want to chase it, but at the same time being able to pull those opportunities down when you get them. And as Bavich even talked about, it is about taking the ball away. That is the goal of that secondary And certainly you look at his track record with Micah Hyde, with Jordan Poyer, all those guys in Buffalo for those years. I mean, they were prolific at finding ways to make explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball, and that's what he hopes to bring now a Green Bay. Yeah. 00:06:29 Speaker 1: I thought it was an interesting comment too from coach Bullocks, and because he was talking about the takeaways, as you said, and he made the comment and I don't have the exact wording in front of me, but it was something along the lines of the hardest thing for the defender is essentially to finish the takeaway. It's the challenge at the catch point. Yes, right, And that's exactly what we saw was the issue with the Packers last year because the opportunities were there. The Packers had numerous opportunities for takeaways and they just woren't able to secure the interceptions which they did secure the previous year as McKinney and others racked up a you know, an impressive total for the defense as a whole, and that just didn't happen last year. And it wasn't just one guy. I mean McKinney missed his, you know, Carrington Valentine missed his, Keshawn Nixon missed his. I mean, all those guys went into the offseason, I'm sure you know, looking at when they went back through the going back through the clips and everything from last year, they were reminded, Oh yeah, they look at those opportunities, look at those chances that we had. I just thought it was interesting that Bullooks had said, you know, it's as though everything you have to do defensively to put yourself in the right position to make the play, and you have to time your brake on the ball or whether it's the leaving your feet to jump in whatever, but the hardest thing is to finish it is to catch the ball. It's like your your concentration on your focus level has to get even higher when the ball arrives than everything that it takes to just be in that position in the first place. So I thought that I thought that was just a very poignant comment relative to how things went for the Packers last year when Bullocks wasn't even here. 00:08:09 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'm reminded too of that play where you know, Isaiah McDuffie ends up colliding with Javon Bullard right where bullet. If you look at his season last year, what is separating Javon Bullard from a Pro Bowl? It's just the picks. 00:08:21 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just the stats. That's it. 00:08:23 Speaker 2: If you watched him week in and week out, you don't just look at a stat sheet or a box score. You saw how impactful he was for this defense, how good he slid into the slot and made that his home. It was just a matter of just trying to get those takeaways and when he had the opportunity for it. Unfortunately, it's kind of like two fielders coming in colliding with each other, you know, underneath the fly ball. Yeah, when him and McDuffie kind of ran into each other. But unfortunately that's sort of underscored. I think some of the issues for the Packers defensively last year they were better, I feel like than the twenty twenty four unit in terms of playing to their identity and what they wanted to do, but they weren't able to cash in as much as they did in that debut season with Jeff Hafley. So that is going to be the challenge for them now moving forward. And I think the really exciting aspect of it is too, is that you bring back virtually everybody in the secondary, whether it was the corners or the safeties, and you got to imagine a guy like Zavier McKinney, who still did get a second team All Pro nod, but someone that's talked about wanting to establish himself as a Pro Football Hall of Famer and have that type of career. That is his goal, his long term aspiration. That he's going to be energized now to show out now that they got this scheme going. 00:09:27 Speaker 1: Yeah, And one last thought on the defensive side before we switch to the offensive coaches. The new linebackers coach here, Sam sifkis interesting story because a Wisconsin native, he's from Economawalk, went to college at uw Lacrosse and now here he is coaching with the Green Bay Packers. Now he's been other places and you know, certainly has an impressive coaching resume. I need to get a chance to talk to him, however, about I was waiting for this, Yes, his thoughts about a about my hometown of Platteville, because for a few years earlier in his coaching career, he was the defensive coordinator for the UW Platteville Pioneers the Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium, which my parents' house is in the shadow of, almost the shadow of the just Dock Stadium there. So I need to talk to I need to talk to coach Sikis about his memories of Platville and what stood out to him. But you talk about you talk about a guy living out a dream, right, I mean, you go into coaching, you're from Wisconsin and still fairly young, fairly early in his coaching career. When you look at the big picture,

here he is as the linebacker's coach of the Greenmaer. 00:10:44 Speaker 2: I'm trying to think I'm gonna look this up. Remember we had the whole conversation years ago, all now like thirteen years ago, about how Randall Cobb was the first player that was drafted from the nineteen nineties birth year. Yeah, I'm wondering if Cekus is no actually Sean Manyon probably I was gonna say, is he the first position coach for the Packers that was born in the nineties. Man, it might have been, though, because I think Manion was only thirty two. Okay, so, but because we're seeing it now now, obviously they got some quality control guys, some dudes in their twenties be in terms of actually having a position. Yeah, this guy has climbed very quickly. I honestly was waiting at the press conference for you to bring up Platfelm. I know, I was stunned that that did not come out. Their word plattevill had not been uttered at least fifteen times during that press conference. But listen to this, though, Mike, I think this is such an intriguing and actually another conversation probably is, Hey, are you how familiar are you with Brian Gudikun's story, because honestly, him and Sefhkiss their stories almost are parallel to each other, right where they. 00:11:38 Speaker 1: One went into coaching, one win into scouting. But yeah, very similar. 00:11:41 Speaker 2: They both played at lacrosse and their careers both ended due to injury, and they both ended up as student assistance at Lacrosse, and then that was sort of their gateway into getting into this thing. But the thing here with sef Kiss, it was lacrosse, and then he got a really quick internship down at FIU Florida International. The conversation came up about how he kind of got in with Wisconjohnson and being able to help out there with Dave Randa for a year, and then it was do it You talk about a guy that just completely crawled his way up, just tooth and nail, just one step after another. The two years at plattfor at Platteville, goes to Wafford for three years, and then he gets the defensive quality control job with Minnesota and that was sort of his entry way two things. He ends up latching on with Jonathan Gannon and Arizona has the time there with him. Goes to Virginia Tech as a defensive coordinator. Now here he is in Green Bay back with Gannon. So certainly you don't go that far, you don't climb that quickly if you don't have the aptitude for it, if you don't have the skills for it, and like he talked about, and we'll talk about this with the offensive coaches too, but how many of these young guys have come up and yeah, they're football players, they obviously have aspirations, but they also are teachers, right, And he mentioned that too, that he was kind of going down the teaching route and regardless of what the subject matter is, he likes working with kids, he likes working with players, and that's what allowed him to kind of stick, you know, go down this path. But thirty four years old now taking over the line back room. I think he's what four years older than Xavier zier Franklin. 00:13:04 Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's right. 00:13:06 Speaker 2: Now he's gonna be coaching that position. 00:13:07 Speaker 1: Yeah, there you go. Well it's been it's been fun to get to know at least get that introduction to some of the new coaches. And I do want to switch over to the offensive side of the ball. But very quickly, let's hear a word from our sponsor. Serious XM. NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need. Twenty four to seven, three sixty five. Welcome back to Packers unscripted. All right, Wes offensive assistant coaches that we heard from on Wednesday. I'm gonna let you start with this one because I know it's someone that you've developed a connection with over the years, going back to when Christian Watson was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round a handful of years ago. And that is the new receivers coach Noah Pauley, who also was Watson's receivers coach at for the entirety of his career at North Dakota State. 00:13:57 Speaker 2: Yeah, almost all of that, other than I think maybe as freshman year and he got recruited there. But poly, I mean, this guy has had an unbelievable rise. He kind of like Sef Kiss as well. But I mean he's been with you know, Matt Campbell at Iowa State. He was going to go to Penn State with him. Yea, now that he got that job. He mentioned he had that seven weeks there, had been living in an airbnb with the other coaches. He's getting ready to move his family out there, and then this opportunity comes along and obviously he had to jump at it. Duluth Minnesota was a really good player there too. Smaller, dude, you know, he's on my eye level, so it's always gives you an idea of kind of the type of player you're looking at here. But the thing that's really neat about him that I enjoyed is when you go back and you know, we've all done these stories when you talk to college coaches or just people that know these prospects when they get drafted, when you hear them talk about a particular player and then you get to know the player, right. It was something I always go back to in twenty twenty when I did my profile on Jordan Love and you know, talking to the people around him and his cool demeanor and just the way he led and all that, and then here we are six years later. No, those are all the staples now with number ten on the field. Christian Watson was the same way. This is a guy that was extremely lightly recruited despite being in Tampa. He ends up in North Dakota State, Polly and that staff come on and he ends up becoming a legitimate NFL prospect, And you know, mentioning Polly had talked about the relationship that they had built together and just coincidentally, that same year that Watson got drafted in the second round by Green Bay. Polly ended up coming up here for the Bill Walsh internship that summer during the off season pro Right, so he got a

chance to be around Jason Vrabel. He explained some of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon as far as what their connection is, and then being able to get around Matt Lafleur four years past. He works himself up the coaching ladder and then here he is now with this with this chance and in kind of like I said with Sefkiss, I mean this guy again who you know he talked about his dad, you know, working in criminal justice in that sort of thing. I mean, he was a guy that just wanted to help people, it didn't matter if it was a kid. He even mentioned one of the years that he was out of football and coach, he was putting together a k through a curriculum you know, and a sports plan you know for a school. These are the type of paths that these guys sometimes travel. And for Polly to come in now and inherit that room, I think it's really important because yeah, Jason Brabel is obviously we always he'll go to the podium, We ask him tons of questions about the receivers. But Polly's the one that's going to be in there in the weeds with them, and to have that relationship with Christian Watson and how far they go back and using those in roads now to understand and learn about the rest of the guys in that room. There's probably no position, I don't think Mike with a higher ceiling going into twenty twenty six in the Green Bait Packers' receivers room, and Matt Leflour has entrusted Polly to be the one that helps them get there. 00:16:41 Speaker 1: Yeah, and that brings me to another comment. There are a couple of comments that stood out to me from the Packers coaches and for the most part, other than Polly on the offensive side, these are all guys that we know that you know, they've been been around here. But when you talk about the receivers, we heard from Jason who had been the receivers coach and he's the passing game coordinator. He's been with Matt Lafleur now for a long time. 00:17:08 Speaker 2: One of the originals. 00:17:09 Speaker 1: And yeah, and we're gonna spend certainly plenty of time talking about Christian Watson. Jaden Reid Matthew Golden looks like very clearly the Packers top three at wide receiver you're heading into twenty twenty six. But what I heard from Vrabel was sort of a very subtle message of don't sleep on Saveon Williams. Right. Did you hear it too? I mean he he talked about Savion coming back, you know, dealing with the foot injury his rookie year. It kept him out of practice, you know, so he was just you know, basically practicing when he could, but on a limited basis. And and you know, he was out there doing some of the return game during the season. The Packers were trying to work him in offensively and then and then at at some point it got to where they just had to shut him down and and and that was it. But when you hear Jason Vrabel talk about the size and the power in the body of Savion Williams and what they feel he can potentially do with the ball in his hands, this is a guy I think, even though he will probably be listed on you know, everybody's depth chart as wide receiver four, Yeah, I think this is a guy who's who's going to have a role in some way, shape or form on this Packers offense and potentially on special teams as well. 00:18:30 Speaker 2: Great point you raise, Mike, And for me, the moment that he was talking about it, I was almost reminded the old Buzz Williams Marquette paint touches, where every possession he wants that ball in the paint at some point, right because of what it does to collapse a defense. That's kind of what I'm thinking now with Savian Williams me personally, I even wrote this in inbox. I really want to see him run more routes this year because he's a really good contested catcher. Like that's why. It's not like this guy's just oh, he has some blazing speed. He gets open you throwing the ball. No, we saw several times last year when he needed to make a catch at the high point he needed to beat a cornerback and be physical. He can use that body to do that. But it really comes down to I think he just needs to touch the ball five six times a game and just see what happens with it. I think they got to be somewhat pragmatic about how often they use him as a as a ball carrier, just based on the attrition and what happened with his body last year. But listen, so many people focused on, Okay, well they're extending Jaden reed. They got to give Matthew Golden more opportunities. That's why Dontavian Wicks was traded. That's why Romeo Dobbs you know, was like, you know, allowed to leave in free agency, and so much that focused on those big three and how it affects them. I think the other thing is too, is you wanted to see Savian Williams as a third round pick last year, rise up the depth chart, and then you obviously got to build out options too, right, whether it's Bo you know, whether it's some of these other guys that are available. They brought back a ton of dudes from the practice squad two last year. But the fact is is that Williams has such a unique skill set that I just think the packers got to find a way to integrate it in this offense, assuming can keep him healthy. And I think that was a lot of this stuff that vverybel was talking about. It's all right there for them, They just need to get number eighty three out there. 00:20:06 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's definitely something that that sort of peaked my curiosity in hearing him talk about Savion in that way, So something to file away kind of in the in the back of our minds as the summer and early fall roll around here. Eventually. The other comment that stood out to me was the second time, it's really the second time this offseason, once from Brian Gutakunst and now from Luke Butkus that we've heard that the film of the Week eighteen game at Minnesota was really really impressive in terms of what Jacob Monk did at center on the offensive line. He essentially played the entire game. And when you're looking at okay, yeah, the Packers obviously they signed Sean Ryan to a three year contract

to be the center after he played you know, roughly the second half of the season last year at that position, and they really liked what they saw. When you're talking about the depth and how you know, how this is going to shake out, the Packers feel like they Jacob Munk gave them a really big vote of confidence, or I should say he earned their vote of confidence in terms of what he can be at any of those interior spots. I think in terms of center or either guard they drafted jagg Or Burton, who is the same type of player in that regard, and as we talked about after the draft, it kind of shifts the idea of the backup tackles being you know, Travis Glover, Darien Canard, you know, guys like that. So just the fact that that it was the second time this offseason that we've that we've heard some very very positive comments about that Week eight, which was otherwise a forgettable offensive performance because of the struggles at quarterback. But what Jacob Monk did and what he put on film was really something that caught the Packer's eye. 00:22:01 Speaker 2: I'm going to put you on the spot here because you and I did not talk about this in our pre production meeting and staph dining. 00:22:06 Speaker 1: But what was show truly as unscripted folks, Can. 00:22:09 Speaker 2: You tell me the two things that were different about that game with Minnesota with Jacob Munk than anything else we'd seen the rest of this season. And if you're stumped, I'll be able to hit you with him right away, if you want to go ahead. He's playing his natural position and he was healthy, now you know, and I'm with you, like the Packers have cross trained him, they worked him at guard. But yeah, let's be honest, when they moved up to get him two years ago, they moved assets to go get him in the fifth round. Yeah, fifth twenty twenty four. He was They were working him at different spots, but they and he played different spots. But where did he ultimately settle in a duke? What was he known for a duke? He was known for what he did at center. That is his home base, and he was able to go out there despite everything that was going against Green Bay that day. He was able to play his natural position and the hamstring injury was behind him that landed him on injurieserve for half the season. 00:22:53 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's and that's why we didn't see him during the preseason last year, and there wasn't any talk about him and whatnot because he was dealing with the injury and just trying to get back on the practice field and so he wasn't part of the depth mix last year. But then lo and behold, he got himself healthy by the end of the season. He got the opportunity against Minnesota and showed out pretty well. 00:23:13 Speaker 2: And that's why I'm really excited about this bunch in general. Now, I think there are some I don't want to call him limitations, but there are huge question marks right now at the tackle position because they were last year you had Rashid Walker and you had Jordan Morgan. You had two guys that you were pretty confident, both major in left tackle. That isn't really there right now. Morgan is going to be the incumbent there, but his potential backups may be starting at other positions, whether it's Anthony Belton, whether it is act tom Over at right tackle. But what's still intriguing about, even though you don't have necessarily a LT two right now, is how many of these guys depth wise green Bay has assembled. Whether it is Monk, whether it is Burton coming into this room right now, Donovan Jennings returning right, The list goes on and on. They re upped Darien Kinard after they traded for him last year from Philadelphia. There are so many guys, and not every thing on the board is gonna hit right. You're not gonna hit every number, but the hope would be by green Bay putting this many chips out on the table, you're gonna find a guy there that could be the dude that's gonna be the next to step up and then maybe if they need to be the guy that could start this season if injuries happen. You're hoping that you can find two or three of those guys that are going to differentiate, They're gonna separate themselves from the pack and for Monk to be able to put the setbacks behind him, and there's been plenty of them the last two seasons and finish out the season the way that he did. I think that was one of the one few silver linings from that game with Minnesota, because what were the Packers looking for into that game. They wanted to see them come out of that healthy going into the wild card weekend, and they want to see who's gonna step up and if you're doing the three stars of the game that day, For disappointing as the outcome was against Minnesota, Jacob Mounk definitely gets one of those. 00:25:04 Speaker 1: Yeah, we hear all the time. We hear from the coaches. We hear from Matt Lafleur, from Brian Guda Kunst, who is going to make the most of his opportunity, who is going to seize the day, you know, take advantage of that chance when it's handed to him and Jacob Monk did that in Week eighteen. 00:25:20 Speaker 2: You know who else did that back in the day, Lane Taylor, Right, Lucas Patrick, TJ. Lang. These are the when you're gonna be on the bench for a few years. TJ. Lank could go in here and do a seminar every year with the Packers offensive line. Talk about the fact that it took two and a half years for him to find that starting spot, whether the opportunity or just himself getting him you know, being professional, getting himself I maturing as a player into that spot. But it's not always going to happen overnight. Everybody wants to be David Bakhtiari, right, the Cinderella story, fourth round pick that comes in and suddenly you're the starting left tackle the Green Bay Packers. It's not always going to be that path, And I think that's an important lesson for all these guys to learn. Certainly, Sean embodies that too. A guy that barely played his rookie year, had to rotate for two years, better part

of three years before getting a shot, and now he is the incumbent at center. 00:26:04 Speaker 1: Yeah, any other before we go, any other thoughts from the offensive assistance that stood out to you. 00:26:09 Speaker 2: I got to talk about Marshawn Lloyd. And I know it's a little bit of this Voltemore thing. You don't want to jinx anything with him. But here's the deal, and I use it as my insider inbox headline the day that this is airing on Thursday. This guy has done every single thing right that he can possibly do right. He has listened to every single thing the training staff has told him. He's seen the experts in Madison, He's seen the experts now on the West Coast. He has his own separate workout process now for these practices, this warm up for getting ready for practices and knock on what he's been healthy so far. This is a massive year for him, obviously trying to get his career jump started. But Michael, the runway is clear with respect to Chris Brooks, because Chris is a very good asset. The Packers signed him to a two year deal for a reason. He's accountable. He's obviously really good in pass pro. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and he can run with the football too. But they drafted Marshawn Lloyd in the third round for a reason. There is a reason Daniel Jeremiah said that this is the best running back in this draft class. He has things that you cannot coach, and the Packers have been just trying with all their might to get him out on the field. You're crossing your fingers, you're dotting your eyes everything to get him out there. But Ben Sermons a guy that has talked about just the challenges that marshaw On has faced, mentioning just how good he's looked here early on. That's the best you can do right now. That's all you can hope for. We're gonna get some OTA practices, We're gonna get some mini camp practices. He's gonna have a small break and then it's gonna be go time during training camp. But for him to be in this position, you hope that his headspace is clear, he's confident and can finally start to be the player everybody wants him to, because, honestly, the Packers him. He is a change of pace for that background that nobody else is right now. And they didn't draft a running back. They haven't really. They signed Nixon as an undrafted free agent, but there's no veteran that just got brought in through unrestricted free agency Marshawn Lloyd Brooks. Those are the guys, yeah, and the Packers need them to be the guys. Yeah. 00:28:18 Speaker 1: And I and I would just say and you and I sort of answer this and insider inbox a lot other chats that I've done, whatnot. I understand the frustration from the fans of Packers spent a third round pick on this guy. He hasn't been able to stay healthy. And you know, here we are, he's going into year three now and we've hardly seen him on the field at all. Right, And and I get it, I get the I get the fans. You know, the patient's wearing thin and all that kind of stuff. Just take a deep breath and realize that however frustrated you are as a fan with this situation with a very very promising player, just imagine how frustrated he is right and what he is working on, what he is putting himself through to try to get to the point that he can deliver on what everybody believes he can deliver for this team. So just always remember there's a you know, there's a human behind that face mask, and you know you and I have talked to him you've talked to more than I have. This is a this is a young man. As you said right at the beginning, he does everything right. There is ample reason to root for him and hope that this is the year that he begins, and hopefully it's just the beginning that he begins to fulfill his NFL potential. 00:29:39 Speaker 2: Yeah, without a doubt. And obviously his mom raised him right. And the fact is too, Mike. I'm not gonna name names, but you and I have been in these locker rooms. Guys can get really punchy about injuries. And it doesn't have to be even a string of injuries like Marshall, as it could be one thing that keeps you out for a few weeks. Right, I'll name one name. I love the guy, but like Jordan Nelson, did not like talking about his injuries, Right, Marshawn has been asked about it, maybe more than any player that I can ever think of here because of the what he plays for a position where he was drafted. The light is shining really brightly on him, and every single time he does it with a smile, he does it with professionalism. He doesn't get testy, he doesn't get curt about it. He understands where the media is coming from. And I think honestly the people that have covered him understand where he's coming from, because how many times have we seen him people make, you know, their little comments about all he's you know, he's with the trains up. That dude is putting everything he has into making sure that he can be the player that the Packers want him to be. And I'm excited to see what happens. And obviously there's a lot of question marks. You have to do it on the grass at the end of the day, you have to be available there in week one. But you know, Marshawn Lloyd is here for a reason and hopefully he gets a chance to show everybody why absolutely. 00:30:55 Speaker 1: With that, we'll call it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com for Wes. I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in, everybody, and we will see you next time. 00:31:10 Speaker 2: M