Packers highlights, reactions from first preseason game; Will Emanuel Wilson be backup running back?

hello Packers fans welcome to the green 19 podcast the Green Bay Packers are one preseason game under their belt at this point 2310 victory over the Cleveland Browns my name is J.R Radcliffe I'm joined by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and packersnews.com he was in Cleveland it's very lovely this time of year Tom did you what what sites did you see in Cleveland it was a beautiful day I uh Lake Eerie was magnificent yes um it really was a nice day it was mid 70s you know you're right on the lake um it wasn't very crowded you know like a third of the stadium was there there was fall um so yeah it was it was a nice uh nice pleasant afternoon much less uh stressful than a regular season are you a rock and roll guy I don't even know would you go I've been to the Rock and Roll Hall Fame several times it's it's awesome it's really I've never been it is on my list for sure oh yeah oh you gotta go for sure absolutely look like they're expanding it too so oh I didn't know that yeah they're doing a bunch of construction right next to it so I assume that's rock and roll I mean at some point they're going to need more room for more rock and rollers so that makes perfect sense to me uh the Green Bay Packers roster is loaded right now with with some pretty metal dudes that's a terrible segue but they are they are looking very good this preseason game was no exception and uh so you were obviously there and and wanted to get your takeaways from it I I guess we could just off the top we we didn't see much of Jordan love we saw him throw two passes they were both complete and one of them went for 65 yards and he touchdown to davad Wick so we'll start I guess chronologically with the play that that immediately had Packers fans uh loving this preseason experience I I'm kind of Davian Wicks was on the field for one snap I believe one snap and one snap only and that was the 65 yard touchdown I kind of wonder why play a guy at all if you're gonna just get one snap out of him even if it is a home run play but uh but that certainly set the tone and the receivers in general which we've talked about because Wix went off and then Grant B is a guy that you've talked about you say you've said you really like him he had a tremendous game and Bo Melton had a rough game but like not I mean one game isn't gonna necessarily get Bo Melton you know on the on the roster bubble so the the depth of these receivers it is it is really looking like we think it is and especially if Grant Duos is going to turn out to be something this team is just completely stacked at that position I I'd be curious now what you think of Grant deo's chances of making this roster and just the the little bit you saw you know you see a home run play it's obviously a good sign for the Packers yeah um too's helped himself a lot I mean he's been just consistent and he's um continually made plays in Camp and now he's turning it into plays in in games and that's the way you make a team you just keep doing it and doing it and pretty soon they say you know well we can't get rid of this guy and um he's putting himself in that position um it is it sort of seem it seems to me like it's a um you know three-man race between Heath nton and deos for two spots um but they could keep seven it's it's not unheard of to do that um especially since Malik Heath plays a lot of special teams and as a really good special teams player um they might be willing to um use him in that regard so count him towards special teams so they could keep seven receivers uh I I you know the Bose is going to be a hard one that's going to be a tough one for them to cut and then yeah B Melton has to shake that off he luckily for him he has a body of work last year that was very good and so that's you know still there it doesn't get erased by one game right how about also the running backs if we're staying with skill positions yeah great game for Emanuel Wilson yeah I thought you know I think Emanuel Wilson is in line for the backup running back position I think he's gonna eventually move ahead of AJ Dylan I think he's just got too much um juice in him you know you can see some of those runs even when there wasn't something there he just turned on you know found a little crease and then turned it on and he is really fast and he's physical he's 220 pounds so um you know the unfortunate part for the Packers is that marshan lyd um pulled a hamstring and he was looking you know actually bounced a a run where there was nothing there and took it outside and that's when he hurt his hamstring but I I I think those two guys were really putting a squeeze on Dylan and if you have two guys who are 220 and can run in the four fours that's that's pretty impressive to go with a guy like Josh Jacobs so you know we'll have to see what where Lloyd's injury is I gotta think it's going to keep him out for a little while those hamstrings are yeah especially since it was something that was bothering him coming into the game yeah we we made the comment about how lucky they'd been with injuries on the last podcast immediately following that you had Christian Watson going down in practice although obviously he he it looked like he's okay Jordan love having little thing in practice and of course he looks like he's okay but then Marshon Lloyd is is the big one is the first I I would say key contributor or potential key contributor that has gone down I still think if that point is if that's what you have at this point in the season you have still been lucky one preseason game in that's all you've lost is is one guy for you know a couple of weeks Yeah man they they've yeah they've had a tremendous Camp from a health standpoint yes we will knock on wood and do all the requisite superstitious things to uh I suppose keep that from be not being the storyline anymore going back to AJ Dylan you know we we had we've obviously spent a lot of time talking about him he's a huge fan favorite in Green Bay and he came back on a on a very small deal really because he was pretty dedicated to being here after it wasn't clear that he had a role with this team going forward Josh Jacobs of course will be the starter and then with Lloyd out I know there's room for AJ Dylan on this roster but especially if Wilson sort of Rises up you know what do you imagine for he had four carries in this game for just two yards what do you imagine for AJ Dylan right now I mean is is he like on track to being third string at best is he on track to making the roster maybe not at all like I I don't know I don't know what the future holds for him I don't I don't know either I don't know either um I I sort of feel like um he you know he's in sort of a a nowhere land he has to do something I think in in one of these games to show them that you know even remaking his body um has made a difference and you know he he had a couple of rough runs um you know the last one I'm not sure was his fault because there were about 11 guys at the line of scrimmage on fourth and one but you'd like to see him power through one of those you know the big powerful guy he you know 250 pound guy who should be able to run through um you know an average linebacker so you know I I have some question marks about whether he's um anywhere near the uh ability of of Emanuel Wilson just because Emanuel Wilson has some Breakaway ability and you can just see he's carrying guys with him as he's pounding his feet and and he's a big man um you know one thing I thought about my long drive back you know that I had a lot of things to think about um was that you know what they could do when it comes time is they could um cut AJ Dylan keep Marshon Lloyd on the roster assuming nobody picks up AJ Dylan then they could put ly you know the day after they could put Lloyd on ir and then bring Dylan back um I I wouldn't be surprised if that happens depending on how bad Marshon Lloyd's um hamstring injury is but right now you know to me Emanuel Wilson has proven to be um you know the number two now blocking and stuff you know maybe Dylan's ahead of um Wilson from that standpoint I'd be curious to hear what some of the coaches say about that yeah Emanuel Wilson 13 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown in this game if you're looking for somebody to cheer for Jarvan Howard eight carries 44 yards among players that maybe Packers fence hadn't heard before heard of before uh he made a little name for himself had one really good drive in particular how about the backup quarterback competition we saw a lot of Shawn Clifford and Michael Pratt and both of them I think acquitted themselves pretty nicely Sean Clifford 10 of 19 for 111 yards Michael Pratt five of seven for 46 yards um you know we we saw we didn't really see either one move run very much they they had a couple attempts but nothing nothing to write home about anything uh do you have any sense of maybe who has the edge there after this first game it it really feels like that's also a toss up yeah so you know Clifford played about what I've seen of him in training camp you know just kind of controlled not not many big plays um you know ran the offense ran the two-minute um pretty solid didn't throw any interceptions which was big because he had been doing that quite a bit in Camp uh and so did kind of what everybody knew Sean Clifford had been doing um BR I thought played above where he had been in Camp I thought he um you know he he hit a coup all through a couple of nice passes should have had a touchdown to uh B Melton on that slant um really well thrown ball he had a couple of really well thrown balls then he's out there um you said they didn't run much well Pratt was out there that on that um was it Emanuel Wilson's run on the on the outside you know I mean he looked like Brett Favre in the old days and um I'm sure they lectured him on that but it's not what you wanted to per se but yeah maybe he's a gamer you know Clifford was kind of that way when he got into the games he was last year he he you know outperformed his practice and um Pratt looks like he has has a little bit of an arm and um you know he didn't look mismatch you know overmatched he's playing against threes um a bunch of guys who probably won't be in the league but um that's that's the nature of preseason football you know when you're a third stream quarterback yes perhaps you draw the ire of your coaches when you Le throw a lead block but uh you win the fans you do win over the fans uh how about defensively we we saw Evan Williams lead the team in tackling he's been one of I don't know one of the like standouts necessarily among the the rookie class in Camp but but I don't I mean he certainly he certainly looks like a like an NFL safety in Camp and and then he had a nice game to to boot I mean this safety room again like between him and Javon Bullard and certainly Xavier mckin like it just feels like one of the most restor really the the part of this team that's going to take the biggest Leap Forward and Evan Williams is gonna be a big part of it I feel like I feel like they maybe got a little bit of a draft bargain with with him at this point yeah you know the one thing you can't deny is someone who's around the ball all the time and Evan Williams is around the ball so you can um you know knock a guy for um maybe not being in the right place at the right time or or but if he's if he's constantly around the ball and he's making plays on the ball that's a guy you got to put on the field and so he's got four interceptions in training camp and then he goes in and he causes a fumble on you know the first drive of the second half after they tell the Players let's let's get a turnover to start the second second half I mean that was kind of the message in the in the locker room so he goes out and um really said he didn't even really try to punch it out just put a good hit on the guy plus he had that tackle in the open field where his helmet went flying off and you know if he doesn't hold on for dear life um that guy goes around the corner and maybe scores and and he held on to him you know how many safeties have we seen you know with the Packers make a play like that and and whoops goes right through their arms you know he he's he's forcing his way onto the field and and Bard was solid too Bard both those guys are going to be on the field a lot this year I think I feel like we don't talk much about Lucas vaness and for a firstr pick in you know last year's vaunted draft class I think we just forget about him because that class is so deep and and so great but he had a really solid rookie year too and then this first game comes out he gets a sack three tackles for loss it's the quarterback a couple times you kind of forget like oh yeah he's up there too in that you know pretty deep defensive front um what uh what have you seen from him in Camp we we haven't really mentioned his name I mean is he is he poised to take a step forward and you know go from being a really solid rookie to being just an allaround you know solid contributor this season yeah he's he's ready to make that jump I think what you saw was uh when he was on the field he was a number one and everybody else is a number two that he was playing against sure I mean he's a true number one now he's a he's a first teamer he may not be a um you know a starter for the Packers but he's reaching that level of starter capability and so yeah I think we're going to see a lot of him he's you know he's big he's tall he's gotten a lot stronger uh I think he'll just get better and and the interesting thing will be how are they going to use him you know are they going to put him with his hand down inside on passing down you know let him him ran Gary and Preston Smith you know get after the quarterback um I I thought he played really well and you know he um he benefited on one from Devonte Wyatt who had a couple of really nice rushes now he was playing against a rookie free agent um guy who and then the next day the Browns go and get an offens interior offensive line trade for one so that was a little bit of of a statement there but uh I I thought vaness was all over the field he had a couple of tackles for loss in the Run game I think that was more impressive than even M sa yeah speaking of first rounders that we don't often talk about Devonte Wyatt I feel like you know he getting to a point where he want to see you want to see him take a leap and yes it wasn't wasn't Elite competition but uh but he had a good game too he was he was a solid contributor on the yeah I mean I think what you take away from that game and and remember the Browns did not play their starters hardly any at all right right and um I I think what you take away is that the Packers depth is good usually when you win a game if you if you win your preseason games pretty handily it usually means your depth is good and um I thought you know their depth was better than Cleveland's depth so now we'll see where they stand with Denver and then um at the end it'll be a good good match up with Baltimore see because that's Baltimore is a Super Bowl type team and see how their depth match up matches up with them yeah no shame having good depth in the NFL that's that's maybe not uh not the compliment in other sports like the NBA or Major League Baseball but uh you're gonna need those guys you're gonna need the second and third string guys obviously yeah and and it means when you have good depth it means your special teams are probably pretty good yeah and um you know it means for injuries you know you're you're set and it also means that there's constantly competition going on um behind the scenes and that's usually pretty good for a team packersnews.com we wrote about offensive line depth speaking of the the concept specifically at tackle I think we weren't sure if Rasheed Walker or maybe Jordan Morgan or like exactly what they would do now we have a pretty clear picture what they're going to do as starters but do they is that if if there is an area of concern is that it that maybe they don't have a lot of guys who can play those spots still a lot of unknowns like Caleb Jones not really sure what what they have with him yeah what what do you think about that spot yeah I I think tackle is is worrisome uh I think they really need Andre Dillard yeah to figure out how to play right tackle I think he's okay when he plays left tackle uh it's a position he's more familiar with but he seems to have trouble when he flips over to right tackle um I I didn't get a chance to watch watching real closely so I'm not I'm not you know from a downto down basis I'm not sure but I know I saw Caleb Jones have some issues I think right tackle's hard for him too I don't think he's a natural at right tackle um but I also saw him struggle on on um a left tackle he gave up a pressure um yeah I I think that's something where they're going to have to be on the lookout for you know some sort of guy who could help them in a pinch now um whoever you get it's not going to be a starting caliber guy you just hope it's an Andre Dillard who type guy who maybe has started to at least show some consistency yeah which is what they need from Dillard like if Dillard could be consistent um I think they'd feel a lot better about their tackle position you know they don't I don't think they want to move Jordan Morgan to tackle but they might have to they might have to start working him there if they're not happy with what they're getting out of their tackles because he can play tackle that's what he did in college and it might just be one of those things where maybe he has to be has to start working there and just be an emergency guy because you don't want to have to move Elton Jenkins again to tackle I mean that's that's your does your fail safe you know like all things equal um if rashed Walker goes down then Elton Jenkins is moving to left tackle and then you figure out what to do on the interior their interior seems pretty strong I mean sha Ryan is is doing fine I think um you know Morgan when he comes back was doing well enough Myers has held his own I think Jacob monk has come on I I kind of focused on him for a little while during the the game and he is really quick and I thought he looked played really decisively you know went out and and shot out towards his guys he was aware um I think he's a guy to keep an eye on uh moving forward it's just he doesn't play in a position a need right now and so you know they can let him develop but um that's that's a guy who kind of stood out for me and these draft classes are so huge I I saw Glover at practice and I was like oh that must be an undrafted guy and I'd completely forgotten they drafted You Know Travis right I thought that too I did too I was like oh yeah he's on undrafted and then I had to go back and I like oh yeah he was drafted yeah that's funny 11 guys it's hard to remember all of I don't think I could list all 11 of them right now if he tested me right especially coming off I won't uh maybe you can mention all 11 of the guys last year because or 12 whatever it was because that class all showed out pretty well uh Anders Carlson is among them and he uh he was in a match up with with Greg Joseph both of them perfect on in this particular day it feels like maybe just The Vibes would tell me that they're kind of basically tied and so that would that would then be in favor of Anders Carlson at this point I'd be curious if you have any any updated thoughts on that and honestly I'm curious to know what you think of the new kickoff what uh if if you even like it as a concept and if you think the Packers can make use of it it was boring Itor totally boring now maybe it'll be better when um they actually have some strategies involved you know some someone will figure out some trick to it and and then people build off of that but um it just seems like you know the the it seems like the kick returner doesn't have enough time to get it going and uh it's almost like he's running into a brick wall as long as those guys don't lose their Lanes uh it seems like you know he might get to the 30 um but I I haven't seen anything close to anybody breaking one in the NFL that I know of I didn't I don't get to see all the games so but yeah that that was kind of boring um the kicker thing you know I I still feel like and it's just an eye test but I still feel like Joseph has um an edge just because he's been so um so solid and consistent and his kicks you know have some power to them Carlson sometimes they look really good and then sometimes they don't look that good he looks a little bit out of sort sometimes to me like he's kicking it differently um we know that but I don't know I I just get the feel like Joseph is is got a confidence to him that um might win him the job I don't know I know you don't get to you just said don't get to watch those other games cayb Williams had a pretty nice uh debut for for Bears fans to to dream big on it's obviously just one preseason game the Bears have been on Hard Knocks on HBO only one episode so far but there is a major Spotlight on Chicago at this point what what have your thoughts been about Caleb Williams I mean it seems like he he could be a game changer I don't know if this year is the the year but they certainly I'm sure aren't thinking long-term project here they're thinking pretty immediate Returns what have what have you observed Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears yeah I I mean he was he was clearly the number one pick like I I I there was no debate he was the number one pick and uh so you bring someone like that in you expect some pretty big things and I you know I think one of the smart things they did was they they really brought a nice receiving core put a nice receiving core around him you know bringing in Keenan Allen was a great great idea um you know they mun you know they already got DJ Moore they got Cole Kat a good tight end the area where uh I'd be a little concerned about if I had him as my quarterback as the offensive line I think I would rather protect him um more than anything like that would be my number one goal would be to make sure he's protected and he doesn't have you know a David Carr uh for those who remember way back when he he got sacked like 46 times or 6 60 some times in his rookie year you know you don't want that just shatters a guy so um I that that's the part where we'll find out whether um they've done enough for him but you're right he he looked pretty good in the highlights I saw and and that's that's who he is he's a good player it's just he's a really really talented player so um you're going to see an improvement in the Bears I would think yeah anything else as we uh get closer to to wrapping this up anything else that jumped out from that first preseason game um you know the there weren't any like rotation surprises that I thought um you know it looked like everything was pretty standard the one thing I didn't think we um we got to see was as much of Josh Jacobs so you know you got to see the first run you got a seven yard gain that was great you know fine for him and um but I even you know I was kind of joking with the lineman you know like three plays wouldn't you like to have at least had like a 15-play drive or something and see where you're at with the Run game and pretty much all of them were like no plays it out that's good you know yeah um but I think they would I think it would benefit them to get a little more time with Josh Jacobs and and get a feel for what he's going to do um they already got a feel for Emanuel Wilson um I mean the kids is he gonna lead the league in preseason rushing again he's just he's just an impressive guy from you know a small school um he he's um he's he's impressive so I thought he was he was definitely the um the star of the game yeah the Packers will play at Denver as Tom mentioned coming up uh coming up on Sunday I think it's Sunday this week right Sunday yeah so that'll be their second preseason opportunity again that will be on the road let me throw you one last curveball that I didn't uh I didn't prep you for so I don't know yeah I'm sure you don't want to hear about Aaron Rogers but uh there is a book forthcoming from Ian oconor who uh who did a lengthy biography of him ESPN dropped a dropped a a small snippet about him saying that he regretted not being more forthcoming when he was told a room full of reporters I believe yourself included that he had been immunized when asked if he had been uh vaccinated against covid-19 and uh he said that he should have revealed right away that he had a allergic believed he had an allergic uh reaction to one of the ingredients in one of the vaccines I don't I don't know if that if you just want to be done with like I said done with Aaron Rogers and move on um I don't know if that story resonates with you if you remember anything from that day that really stands out or if if you what you know about what's coming out from this book from uh from you know Connor if anything if anything is jumping out at you or anything that you are curious to know a little bit more about um as for that day um it's in my hall of Shame myself really yeah I mean I knew something sounded funny and and you know it should have occurred to me to say what do you mean by immunized you know that was that was a drop the ball as far as I'm concern ered as a reporter I dropped the ball on that one um you know as far as the book I read some of what you sent me um and you know I was surprised to see that Roger sat down with him yeah now the problem with that it's great you get you know he he gets the fact check and everything but he's pretty persuasive and you know you get around him and pretty soon um I I think you lose your objectivity it's really easy to for that to happen when you're around him because he is a persuasive guy and uh it you know so from that standpoint I'm not sure where it's going to go and if there's anything I'm going to really you know find that interesting I did think there was a snippet in there about how he finally uh ran into his dad and hugged him on the golf course yeah you know um I can't imagine that they really got into too deeply about what's going on there but um that that was the most interesting part that I read was that um you know he hugged them said he loved them and then they they went their separate ways again yeah you know You' continued okay so I don't know what that was about um you know I probably won't read it maybe I'll read so I'll probably open a little bit if I get a free copy if you get a free copy let me know I'll send it your way for sure I uh I did read it I actually uh and I'm gonna put together some takeaways I don't think there's any like shocking revelations there's a few things you know maybe some some extra Clarity on stuff the family stuff there's a lot in there that it really is it's a it's a lot it's kind of confusing honestly why he still holds this up it's not just his parents and his brothers it's his extended family he just isn't talking to anybody many of whom have no idea why they've been shut out they they didn't have any acrimonious conversation or you know really like tried to leech onto his Fame in any way shape or form he just really drew a hard line and and so I I don't know if it's painted very clearly why he continues to do that nine years later it's a really that part was really fascinating pretty heartbreaking actually I thought um but then there are some just details about his you know development as a quarterback who wasn't recruited and even though he was really good and the height thing that worked against him and how he got to be and some just tons and tons of people who uh who knew him on the way up so I I do think there's some interesting stuff in there and uh like I said I'll wrap some of that up at packersnews.com yeah I I don't um you know I'm not knocking um I Conor because right he does amazing research you know um it's just it's a it's a difficult subject you know and you have to really put away all your biases and um all the influence that he can have on you you know when you're writing something on him I mean that that was my challenge every every time was to you know sort of um figure it out what the truth was and what reality was versus what he was trying to paint as the picture yeah and so I thought that that was a challenge every single day so uh yeah I'll I'll be interested to read some of it and I'm still interested to see how they do how the Jets do watch a little bit of of them um you know so yeah and I hear what you're saying about feeling bad about that day feeling some guilt but like Ryan Wood's question our colleague was directly have you been vaccinated and he said yeah I've been immunized like that's answering the question I don't know how anyone could feel like there had to be more needed to be more but I get that maybe the Spidey senses were tingling a little bit you know you think about you know on uh um you know when you're interviewing a politician and they give you a you know a sideways answer and you gotta pin them down and we didn't do that yeah so anyway it's lesson learned and water under the bridge and all that all those cliches you know yeah out of the darkness is the name of this book it's coming out on to grilling or Jordan love now and all Yes uh yes uh about Tik Tok videos and and whatever whatever he's got going on a littleit I gotta get him on that engagement you know what really happened in that engagement yeah right yes overseas uh yeah little little bit of a different energy around this quarterback that is that is for certain uh he is Tom Silverstein you can find everything he has at packersnews.com jsonline.com uh he of course will be covering the Packers throughout the preseason and into uh into Brazil which is September 6th right around the corner thank you for joining me Tom we will chat with you again very soon thanks Jr