The red-headed bones, burning bones, fingers crossed. That's how you start to get into your electric Ford Explorer again. To load up again. Ready with a drive-in to 602 kilometers. And practically already at 212 euros per month. Book now your proof-in on Ford.nl. Ready, set, Ford. This is the Pack-A-Day Podcast. you doing my friend i'm doing well yeah that's a great summation indeed worldwide and i will say with the teetering kind of on the precipice of possibly having another packers international game hearing from a lot of those fans like hoping it's here or there but also hearing from a lot of wisconsinites who are like how can you like having international games how dare you take away a game at lambeau field look that game is getting away from lambeau field if the nfl says so it's happening, whether you want it to or not, best to embrace it. I say. I am right there with you. If it is international, you go on this time. I'm going to try to go this time. No matter where it is, I'll be there. All right. I'm going to try to do my best I can as well. So maybe we can meet up there, have a, have a, have a cheese TV beer and celebrate. But I do want to give a disclaimer to everyone. We are recording this on Monday, February 23rd. Aaron was gracious enough to take some time out of his schedule at the NFL combine. This is going to air again about a week from today. uh the following monday is my guess right now but uh aaron we can still talk about things at a very high level i actually want to i want to talk to you quickly about the combine not what's happening because again a week from now it's going to be outdated but you're attending it you've attended it in the past what is sort of the the buzz the atmosphere what kind of information can you gain what's what's your sort of enjoyment of going to the combine well it's great because you have essentially the entire nfl world in a five to six block radius yes for a week plus right And, you know, the on the record stuff, the content that you create is pretty secondary to the networking aspect of it. It is a giant NFL convention, essentially. And it's not just the personnel people who are here, but it's also some coaching staff. So it used to be every coaching staff, but now there's a lot more that stay home, including the Packers. But there's agents, there's financial folks, there's all sorts of different kind of prongs of things that you probably wouldn't even consider as far as being connected to the NFL. whether it's some last year I met a gentleman who worked for University of Michigan who was simply here to meet with NFL personnel people and general managers to learn about their day-to-day operations and the way they work as far as forming a personnel group at the college level which is obviously something that is occurring more and more now with NIL so it's that kind of thing like if it's even tangentially connected to the NFL, you'll find some aspect of it here this week. I, I've got to do it at some point. I, the whole thing of like networking and leaving my basement to have to talk to people and everything. It sounds terrible to people face to face. This is, this is a safer space. Like just, you know, I'm sure it's a great. And at some point I'm going to definitely have to do it. Maybe next year will be the year. You know, do you get a little whispers, rumors, vibes, buzz? Is there a little bit? I've heard people, I heard there's a lot of talk, how much of it is real and how do you start between the real and the not so real? Well, it depends on who you're talking to, obviously. But yes, there's a lot of that that occurs late in the evening at the bars in the local area. Very little of that happens either on the record or in the daytime, as it were. And it really depends. I mean, sometimes you talk to agents who a couple of years ago, I remember I put out that the Packers had approached Jair Alexander about a contract extension. I got that sitting at a bar talking to an agent. You know, it's like you do get, you know, morsels, little things like that. But I will say as things have kind of gotten bigger and bigger with the NFL turning this into such a big event, like the fan aspect of it now has really started to take off. The NFL experience, opening the workouts, et cetera. You know, there's a little less of that. I think people are a little bit more buttoned up because they're not really kind of confident that you can have conversations with people you trust and the people you know for a very long time. That obviously still occurs, but it's not like there used to be some wild nights here at the Combine. Coaches, agents just hanging out and being very loose-lipped. That has pretty much gone away at this point. Everything gets corporate. Everything gets bigger. Everything gets a little bit tightened up. and you end up with a dream drive instead of just Packers on a bike. This is 100% correct. I'm kidding. It's still good, and I'm excited for it. Hopefully you have a great time and can gain some of that buzz and knowledge and information and, of course, share it with all of us over at She Said TV. What I want to do, though, is I don't – everyone has obviously heard some of the things on She Said TV of what they think or what you think the Packers should do, could do, etc. I don't care about any of that, Aaron. I want to know – I want you to put your Brian Gutekunstata. I want you to play GM here for a moment. I want you to say what you would like to do, what you'd be doing if you had the keys to the car. So I want to start with some potential cuts. Rashawn Gary, Elton Jenkins, Aaron Banks, Nate Hobbs. You've got the knife, my friend. What kind of cutting are we doing? Nate Hobbs, I keep around. Just going with that because I was the last one you listed. But, I mean, I thought Bill Huber nailed it in his piece when he was talking about the cuts, the potential cuts coming up. And he said, I think he wrote in a sentence, Nate Hobbs was injured at the start of the season, in the middle of the season, and also injured at the end of the season. It's like, we don't even know what Nate Hobbs can be in this defense or any defense. Obviously, the defense is switching. We don't know what kind of player he might end up being for the Green Bay Packers. I still think relatively decent possibility that he turns out to be a good investment. I have no problem keeping him around. I think Aaron Banks is a little trickier. I know people have kind of ruminated on the idea of cutting bait there after a year. I think the Packers invested it in a younger player, as we talk about all the time with Brian, wanting to get guys in free agency who are kind of hitting that kind of the meat of their career in the NFL, you know, entering their prime, so to speak. Really unfortunate that he got hurt literally the first day the pads came on in training camp. And I don't think he was right for most of the season after that. But again, I think you keep him around. There were certainly some kind of green shoots, if you will, towards the end of the season. Still, the play overall not nearly good enough, but I'm fine bringing him back. The Rashawn Gary question is interesting because I can make a case for wanting to approach Rashawn about a restructure, right? And or a straight out pay cut. I don't know if he's going to be amiable to that. I like the idea of being able to get him back at a more team-friendly number simply because last year was so much has talked about the lack of sacks the way it just completely fell off as far as that production but you can't look at that tape and see and deny the fact that that's the best he's played the run his entire NFL career correct but you don't pay guys the way they're paying him to stop the run right so I approach him about a pay guy the one trepidation I have there I wonder about the effort and the idea that it all over the tape and it was really hard to miss And Rashawn has always been a guy who has been insanely high effort who has been snapped to whistle like without question one of the more high motor guys on the team for the entirety of his time in Green Bay until magically, suddenly, alarmingly this year where, I don't know, that's hard. That for me becomes difficult to double down on that, to bring that kind of effort back. And, I mean, only Micah Parsons knows for sure, but it sure felt like Micah was kind of pointedly, you know, referencing Rashawn Gary when he talked about effort to the quarterback and raised me to the quarterback at his end-of-year locker speech. So, yeah, the Rashawn one is tricky. I think it makes sense in a completely dispassionate way to say, oh, yeah, he's got to take a pay cut or he's gone. But do I even want that kind of element on the team? I don't know, man. That's a coin flip for me. I suspect they'll probably try to get him to take a pay cut, but if it's me, you're giving me the keys here, I'd probably just cut bait. Yeah, you and me both. It is interesting. I made a whole discussion a week ago, as people are listening to this last night, as I recorded this with Jacob Westendorf and Grant Bills, of like, there is a bizarre world in which, you know, if he even takes a little bit of a pay cut, not only that, but if you actually just do a full restructure, you pay him less in 2026 for him to be on the team than if you just cut him, which you gain more money. You take, right. Yes, it's not the best way to look at it because you want to look at it long-term as well. But it is sort of interesting. If I were to do the pay cut thing, because as you're mentioning, if he didn't have great effort this last year and now you go to him and say, we're paying you less, I can't imagine that's going to motivate him. I think there has to be some sort of performance incentive. Incentives to get back to where you were. Whatever it may be to like, hey, we need this if you want this. And again, I doubt he and his agency probably are a fan of that and it just feels like a divorce is imminent but that's the other part here that's the other part right like they have to think whatever's behind door number two is probably more lucrative because they'll probably make a decent amount on the open market if he does get cut especially since he wouldn't count against teams compensatory formula in that way and he is a guy who you know yes the sack numbers have been disappointing but he's put up a lot of decent production in this league and certainly shown that he can play at a high level for a very long time. But yeah, the again, the effort part of it last season is concerning. The other thing on Micah really quick, you mentioned, you know, maybe the veiled comments. Maybe I just missed it. There's a lot of things that are said throughout the course of the year, but I heard him go on and on about how he loved LVN as a player and everything. And Devontae Wyatt too, how amazing Devontae Wyatt is. I never saw. And again, maybe I just missed it maybe it was there somewhere i never saw a similar sort of you know uh you know poem about uh rashaun gary and how amazing he was playing so you missed his iliad to rashaun gary um no i don't think you're wrong there man and you know you try not to get too in the weeds with that kind of thing like who knows what's happening behind closed doors maybe that just happens to be what was on his mind when reporters asked him or when he was talking about or to whoever but yeah it's hard to ignore, you know, it's hard not to note it. Now I wouldn't make too much of it, but certainly, yeah, it's, it's certainly noticeable. Although I was, one of my favorite moments in that aspect was during the playoff game, uh, Lucas Van Ness had made a play and, and I think I can't remember the exact wording, but I think Micah tweeted out something because he was up there in the press bar or the skybox, whatever. Luke Van Ness put respect on his name. Well, his name is Lucas. That's just what are you doing? That's very funny. I love it. Yeah. Luke Van Ness. Absolutely perfect. All right. Let's go to free agency or re-signing players. I should say you're not allowed to re-sign Malik Willis. He's gone. So you're gone. How about Walker, Walker, Dobbs, Ryan, and Igbari? Anybody that you're prioritizing or are you just say love you? I think most of them are gone. I think the Packers have done a decent job of making sure the pipeline is full, so to speak. I mean, they're never going to be one for ones. But I think as far as if you are watching Rasheed Walker walk out the door, obviously you drafted Jordan Morgan. He steps in to be your left tackle. That's the idea, right? I think one of the big question marks is, okay, if you do, and I think they will allow Quay Walker to hit the market and he is gone, are they ready to give Tyron Hopper the keys there in the middle? I would have said yes coming off the summer. Hard to watch that final game against the Vikings and get real excited about the idea. But I will say, but then it's funny because then he comes in in relief of Cooper when Cooper gets hurt in the playoff game and he actually played pretty well. So it's only they know, right? If they feel confident, that's another example of a guy in the pipeline. You know, there's, I know the Sean Ryan question is one that I think will probably be kind of batted around right up until the start of free agency. I'm going to be surprised if they re-sign him unless they can get him to come back on a very team-friendly deal. And look, that's certainly happened before. The Packers have kind of been known for this kind of thing. But, man, I don't know. I love the fact that he did come in and stabilize the offensive line, so to speak, when Elton Jenkins went down. But let's not get it twisted here. It's not like he played extremely good football. Correct. He was he was just as hard to watch at times as Elton was at center. So I think, you know, there's a conversation there simply because what's the alternative? What's your answer? Again, maybe Jacob Monk is the pipeline answer here, though. That takes a monster leap of faith, at least from the outside looking in. Or maybe there's someone in the draft that they absolutely love. Right. I mean, look, they they drafted Corey Lindsley. He started week one, had a long career in Green Bay. They drafted Josh Myers. He was their week one starter. Now, he only lasted four years. Certainly wasn't a long-term answer in that regard, but that was their plan then. That could be their plan this year. So, obviously, a lot to play out there, but he's the one where I think him and Enikbari, I think, are the two where there are real conversations. Because Enikbari, I think, is a really good player. He can't pay everybody. He's going to get money on the open market that the Packers probably aren't going to be willing to spend. So, I would suspect, yeah, they'll probably let him test the market and say, if you don't find something you love, you're free to come back, but I think he will get paid. Yeah, I think he's going to get paid somewhere elsewhere as well. You mentioned some of those names. They also drafted Royce Newman and Will Whitaker and played them year one too. They did indeed. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't go quite as well. Although I will say for Royce Newman's illustrious career, the rookie year wasn't actually terrible. He actually played in 2020. It's a dominant offensive line. He was a starter the majority of the year. He was part of it, and that's one of the best offenses, the best offense Matt LaFleur has had in Green Bay. Yep. And Royce Newman's a starter. It's a never-ending story of like your roster's never perfect. You always have something. The Seahawks roster's not perfect this past year. They won a Super Bowl. You got to find a way to overcome. They were unbelievable on offense, and Royce Newman was their starting guard the majority of the year. The Packers won a Super Bowl with Darren College playing left guard. Let's go. Charlie Pepper at safety. Frank Zombo at edge. There were some. Zombo.com. FrankZombo.com. Check it out. Love it. what is your 1A priority? There's obviously defensive tackle, corner, offensive line. Again, you've got the GM hat. What's the one that you're saying, this is non-negotiable, we're fixing this? A number one personnel-wise is offensive line. Whatever needs to be done, whatever plans you need to make. And it's interesting. I had a good chat with Ryan Wood over on GZTV about kind of the project, right, that Brian seemingly had last offseason, trying to make the offensive line go. And, man, pretty much every decision they made along the offensive line was either questionable or a downright dud, right? From the moment they decided OK we letting Josh Myers walk and we moving Elton Jenkins we signing Aaron Banks Those three decisions right there set kind of the die the cast you know the die was cast and they never really got out from under that, that kind of trickle down of, of decisions. And to me, a big part of it comes back to their approach on offense. Now, this is where the conversations in the off season with Matt LaFleur are going to come into play because they very clearly changed how they wanted to run the ball when Josh Jacobs got behind center, right? When he became their lead tailback and they let Aaron Jones go, they went away from a lot of the zone stuff that Jones excelled in and their offensive line excelled in. And they've gotten to much more kind of power, angle, trap, and things that Jacobs is supposed to be able to do well. Now, he was really banged up this year. You guys know that it was hard to watch at times, and it was pretty intermittent as far as even making anything work in front of him, let alone having places to run, you know, run to daylight. There is no daylight in front of this Packers offensive line configuration. So to me, so much of what ailed them this past year and probably what could ail them next year is going to come down to, well, do you have a functioning offensive line in a way that makes you able to operate on offense the way you want to? Because you saw this year, Matt LaFleur is going to run the ball whether he can or not. Like that is going to happen. So you have got to figure it out. And it makes it all the more frustrating when you see a team like the Bears, who the Packers lost to in the playoffs, who had a pretty bad offensive line one year and then went on a pretty decent sized shopping spree in the offseason and essentially fixed their offensive line in one offseason. well okay you've got this offseason you had last off you got this offseason as well but man you cannot operate on offense the way the Packers want to with what they had last season and certainly as it stands right now what they're probably going to put out there in 2026 you know notwithstanding with whatever they might do in the draft I just to me it's hard to see some fixes that make sense with the way the Packers have traditionally operated I suspect if they're going to fix their offensive line, they might have to get outside their comfort zone a little bit. Now, do I expect that to happen? No. But that's to me, because look, if you have an offensive line, then you're obviously able to control the line of scrimmage a lot more. You're protecting Jordan Love. You can run the ball. You can do a lot more things on offense that you want to do. You're going to score more points. You're going to put this team ahead, and you're going to let Micah Parsons and company get after the quarterback with a lead in a way that this team is clearly designed to do. So to me, like, yes, defensive tackle is a need. Cornerback is a need. There is no question those are things that they need to address this offseason. But to me, if they can get the offensive line right, it maybe not fixes or masks, but it takes care of a lot of other problems because you're going to be able to control the game with your offense. Something that, to me, that was the entire story of the 2025 season. talking about situational ball, whether it's four-minute, trying to close out a game. How many games did they have, like multi-score leads in the second half, and they pissed it away because they couldn't operate a four-minute offense or end-of-half attempts trying to make something happen and some disaster strikes, what have you. To me, it's all about fixing the situational stuff. Red zone, being able to actually run the ball in the red zone the way they did two years ago. short yardage. Like there were so many situational aspects of this team that again could be, maybe not completely fixed, but certainly make it a hell of a lot easier to operate if their offensive line is fixed. We'll be right back. Ready, set, Ford. when he gets any sort of daylight. He doesn't even need a ton, just a little bit. And he's unbelievable. All right, awesome. Now you have that. And you already have the weapons. You have Tucker Craft, Christian White. We know the names. Matthew Golden's going to get... Now all of them are supercharged as well because Jordan's protected and you have a running game to go along with it. Imagine what the passing game can do if the running game is going. And then you mentioned all the short yardage. People talk about like, why is the red zone falling off since 2020? Well, 2020, you had Corey Lindsley, David Bakhtiari, an unbelievable offensive outside of Royce Newman. but um you had an unbelievable offensive line and then you know where is he now isn't he still playing isn't i remember he had some practice squad time last year so i think he made it into a game or something though because i remember at the end of this past season i think i was watching some game and all of a sudden his name got mentioned and i was like what like i couldn't believe it maybe maybe i'm misremembering fact checking as we speak i've just because i just i just remember it and everyone like on twitter was like you know packers legend he played three snaps in 2024 he did not get in in 20 not this year maybe it was a couple years ago then yes i just remember his name came up and everybody was like he's still in the league yeah he did have some practice squad spots last year though that he was still popping around for so good for him uh yeah we're in the same thing the finishing up free agency uh if you were to do the hey we'll we'll grab an offensive lineman you know maybe we take a flyer in a released corner maybe we draft the corner and drafted it like you could maybe do these little, would you rather do the sort of, you know, fix a piece here, fix a piece here, fix a piece there, or would you rather do one? Like we are fixing this legitimately. Obviously offensive line would be your choice. Would you rather maybe go a little bit more all in on one spot? I'd go in all in on offensive line, but that's just me. Right. I doubt they would. And look, the other issue of course, is like you got to hit on those selections, whether it is a draft, True story. You know, or whether it is free agency, which up until last year, I would have been really confident the Packers were going to hit in free agency because mostly that's what they've done. Man, they kind of whiffed on both of the signings, the predominant signings from last season. But, yeah, you got to be – I mean, look no further than Ron Wolfe, you know, getting torched by Randy Moss, and then his response was drafting three secondary players, you know, one, two, three. That next season, only one of them turned out to be worth anything. Yep. as far as the Packers are concerned. Although one did get traded for Amon Green. For Amon Green. It was a nice trade piece, trade chip. But yeah, so it's like you've got to hit on whatever you're trying to do if you do go with that approach, right? That's why I think the Packers kind of always, not always, but almost always, err on the side of we're just going to, you know, take the quote best player available at a position of need. But the best player available, regardless of, you know, we have maybe a deficit of talent in a room, but we're not going to kind of try to over correct at that area just because there are so many kind of levels to it and aspects to it that, you know, are out of your control when you're signing a guy, whether you're drafting a guy, et cetera. Yeah. I, I, I would be surprised if, you know, multiple assets were used at like premium. Like if you're talking about big money, free agents early in the process or drafting in the second and third round with your premium picks such as they are this year, because you don't have a first round pick. I wouldn't be surprised on, say, like day three, if Brian does one of his patented okay we going to take three corners You know he done the running backs wide receivers whatever Obviously offensive linemen are always kind of in the mix so that kind of thing wouldn surprise me but it would surprise me if they used like premium assets to try and do it makes a ton of sense i before i get you out of here one last thing had a great conversation uh with pete doherty which will air a few days before this one i believe uh he's amazing uh we talked about the the mediocrity the same old packers the no accountability that seems to be sort of one of the the buzz topics of the offseason so far. Goody's back. Matt is back. Everyone's just complacent. They're good with, you know, just one, you know, an entry into the playoffs, a seven seed and then an immediate elimination. Just your overarching thoughts on the general conversation. I mean, that's entitled town writ large. That's all that is. But I understand it. You know, I say this all the time on my daily chats. It's like, I understand that my perspective or someone's perspective who is much younger than myself are going to be very different. But you only live in the now, right? So if all you know is Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and now Jordan Love, you're pretty damn spoiled. But you live in this environment where teams are going to the Super Bowl after one or two years with a new coach. And you see that, especially you watch your division rival turn around pretty quickly under a first-year head coach. Well, yeah, you get a little impatient. So I understand it. And God knows where we live now as far as a relationship to content, the Internet, what have you. it's inundating us right every day anyone who does work online or consumes content online you see this stuff over and over and over again all throughout the day 365 days a year it does kind of burrow into your consciousness like oh the packers are complacent but you and i know they're not we know that no one is more disappointed and more upset and more frustrated than the people in that building themselves trying to get there right trying to get that super bowl championship for the Green Bay Packers. It's just when you don't see some of the activity on the outside, people get upset, people get frustrated. But, you know, I, I, again, I try not to, I've tried to push all that aside and like, let people have their little tantrums and that's fine. But I have no issue with the way the Packers operate. And I think they are, they being the Packers are mostly on the right track you know like this year especially is not the year you want to overreact to with the way they were coming off that victory against the bears and lambo leading the afc's number one seed at their joint and then every injury imagine imaginable striking at the same time i i'm sorry i just i don't think that's something you overreact to that's a team that was on a good path so come back put it back together try and you know plug a few holes and get right back on the horse and try and go win a championship. That's where I'm at. It is interesting to think about. If you're 25 or under in a Packers fan, the Packers Super Bowl was when you were 10 or under, which you probably don't remember, didn't care about at the time, or you couldn't really conceptualize it the way that you can when you're older. Your parents were having a lot of fun and you were kind of along for the ride. Exactly. If you became a fan any time since then, in the last 15 years, you've experienced a crap ton of playoff heartbreak. and no Super Bowl win. So if that's your worldview, is like 2011 through 2025, if that's your... Tough life, man. That's not ideal. It's not great. So you and I have both had two Super Bowls that we've got to... Well, three that they've been to, two that they've won, that we've got to enjoy. If you have not had those or if you were too young to enjoy it... You're like an Atlanta Braves fan from back in the day. That's true. Like just completely every year, postseason, postseason, postseason, but never kind of sealing the deal, right? Or a Bills fan. It's tough. So that's what I mean when I say I get it. I understand the frustration. But I can only offer my own perspective, which is I remember the 70s and 80s. So I'm more than happy with how they're operating right now. I get it. I understand it's frustrating. But man, I've seen the other side. And I prefer where we live right now. Before we're being accused of being goody booty boys, is there is there you have to be mad about something so what is one something that you are legitimately upset about and would like to see the Packers change I don't they're they're they're media operations I mean come on look the Chicago Bears table is over here and it is filled I wish I could show you filled with people activity tons of cameras lights they're like here they're ready to go the Packers table is over here literally right across for me and there is nobody here no there is absolutely no activity nothing like they don't care anything about them this is this actually kind of winds back into what we were just talking about because you know as your fan base grows and i know they literally just put out something today about uh making sure uh the the seats the tickets remain in the families and they want the people who are actually going to the games etc well you know these kids coming up now the ones you're just talking about you got to keep them interested you got to keep them engaged in social media media in general that's how you're going to do it especially if you keep breaking their hearts year after year you better be committed you better be in the conversations that they're having because otherwise i tell you what you know these chunky soup sponsored ads on packers.com that ain't going to get it done you know what i'm saying the invisalign tweets aren't going to hook the youth if you know what I'm saying. You talk about what I'm mad about. I'm like pissed that they're still like operating as though the internet is in 2003. That's the one thing that kind of drives me nuts. I love it. I appreciate it. I'm with you as well. They've been a little bit better on social media. Social's gotten better. The fact that it still has to go through like a laborious process for them just to send out a tweet. And I know I've talked to people who have been in the building and who have worked with that crew and that team. and the way they operate is it's unbelievably ridiculous. So that needs to change. But yes, social has gotten a little better. Love it. Aaron, I've taken enough of your time. Go enjoy the combine. Tell us all about cheesehead TV and anything you want to plug on the way out. Just, you know, talking Packers each and every day, 365 Packers Daily on the Cheesehead TV YouTube channel. I'm live each and every day, Monday through Friday, all year long. It's a lot of fun. Come join us Packers fans worldwide. It's what we're all about. they do it the absolute best. Follow them on she said TV. Cannot wait. I know it's going to probably be a bit for, but for the next Packers transplants with you and Corey, we have to start getting, you know, you and Corey and the, the fan of the year competitions. We got to start getting some petitions. Nobody needs that. Nobody needs that. I could say, I could imagine the eye rolls. If we ever got something even close to that, no one, no one needs that in their life. Maybe true, but it would also be deserved. Aaron, I cannot thank you enough. Enjoy the combine. Follow him on social media at Aaron Nagler. Of course, she said tv.com. You can find me at Andy Herman NFL. That's going to do it for us today. But until next time, and as always, go Packo. Go Pack. Thanks, Andy. Transcription by CastingWords For 602 kilometers and virtually almost 212 euros per month. Book now your test on Ford.nl. Ready, set, Ford.
