Green Light with Chris Long - Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark & Dontayvion Wicks on Jordan Love, the Packer's WRs, Jeff Hafley's Defense & Football in Green Bay

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

Packers in the House of Lambeau! Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark and Dontayvion Wicks all join Chris at Lambeau Field during the Packers training camp, talking about Coach LaFleur, the Packers defense under Jeff Hafley, Jordan Love and the talented WR group in Green Bay! (00:00) - Intro with Kenny Clark (2:16) - Rashan Gary on Jordan Love's Leadership, Power Rush Ability, Studying Julius Peppers Rush Techniques an NFL Kickoff vs the Eagles in Brazil (16:58) - Kenny Clark on Being a Pro in Green Bay, Jeff Hafley's Defense and NFC North Battles (32:26) - Dontayvion Wicks on Packers Young WR Group, Toughest Defensive Backs in the NFL, Favorite Routes and Carrying the Memories of UVA Teammates Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D'Sean Perry Through his Journey in the NFL Want your Green Light Merch so you can look exactly like Chris and the fellas? Hit the website below and get kitted! https://stores.kotisdesign.com/yotehouse/products Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open. Green Light Hotline: ‪[phone]‬ Send any Talent Search submissions to: [e-mail] Include any video of your talents, takes and bits as well as a little bit about yourself. Love hearing from the Green Light fans. Also, check out our paddling partners at Appomattox River Company to get your canoes, kayaks and paddleboards so you're set to hit the river this summer. https://paddleva.com/ Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42 Green Light Tube YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxWFAA-wuB7osdiAJyLOcw Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it easier to find a routine in Green Bay? You don't know anything else. Man, it's like, yeah, there's not a lot of options. Yeah, it ain't nothing to do out here. We were looking at breakfast this morning. I was like, that's pretty narrowed down already. Yeah, yeah.

It ain't much you can do out here. That's, that's the thing. I tell all the young guys about Green Bay, though, like, it's all ball here. Like, once you, OTAs, like, start, you had your fun in the all season, all that kind of stuff. But once you get here, it's all football. You know, and if you really,

truly love, love football. You're going to love this place. Welcome to the Greenlight podcast. The very special episode for you today. We are fresh off our Green Bay Packers' leg of our NFC North trip. And we thought that deserved a special release for you all to get these interviews a little early. So we've got Rishon, Gary, Kenny Clark, Don Tavion and Wicks, all from Packers training camp. We had a blast with these fellas. Chris and Rishon talked pass rush games, taking moves from Julius Peppers, playing in front of the Packers crowd at Lambo. Chris and Kenny get into Kenny's veteran status with the Packers, his ability to stop

the run and pressure the quarterback and playing in Jeff Halfley's defense. And Chris and Don Tavian Wicks, fellow UVA football alums, talk about the strong Packers wide receiver core, the toughest DBs in the NFL, and the Packers' 2024 outlook with Jordan Love. A fun episode for you all, very special dropping it early on a Wednesday. I hope you all enjoy. Please check it out on YouTube as well. We had a great time at Packers training camp, Vikings training camp. We're going to have a very special episode on Friday. Make sure you tune in a very special guest. And then we move on to our NFL previews next week. So a lot of great content coming your way. Enjoy it. We'll catch you that. All right. There's a lot of fun for me, man, because I'm a big fan of your game, bro. Like a power

rusher in today's NFL. Do you take pride in kind of the physicality that you play with, the full day's work you give guys? Oh, yeah. I love it. You know, I, I, I take with the office in line and see. So I'm a big guy. I see chess. I'm going to take it all day. It don't matter if it's first quarter, a second quarter.

If I keep seeing it into the third, I'm going to keep going, power. And everything comes off that power for you. Is that the way you think about it? Or do you set the power up with other stuff? I try to get off the ball. You know,

a big guy able to hit the edge. So as long as, you know, I get the court, I mean, tackle to open up in third, fourth step. That's going to open up my power game. And that's what it is. And it's just timing.

Yeah. How do you understand space as a rush or do you like to get out wide and make them feel that stress? Or do you mix it up and tighten up? Do you go, you know, speed track some or tilt track some? Do you vary it? Like, how do you kind of understand space and work your rushes? Yeah, so with me, understanding my game, big powerful, you know,

able to get top speeds. I love rushing on the angle. Kind of, you know, just say if the ball's on the near hash, I like a line up on opposite hash of it. I like getting that too and going to four, what, four yards, behind the tackle hip and make the fight point right there. And you said it once they turn, they lose the power. Yeah, my goal is to get the office line and turn his hips to the sideline, and that's

when my magic come alive. You got a favorite sack so far in your career or a favorite game of yours? Favorite game, got to be, I want to feel like coming off my ECL year, maybe the Saints or the Lions, what about these side game? Three-piece. Yeah. Three-piece feels great, huh? Telling you.

Just, but even to get a three-piece, you've got to have 10 great rushes. Yeah. You know what I mean? Things have to break right. What's up with the scheme change? We talked a little bit about it. I talked to Kenny about it. He's a guy who's played in an odd front most of his career. And now you're going half man. You're in an even front. Like what does that do for you? Man, it opens my game completely. You know, just able to play completely free. Not really have to worry about playing blocks the right way coming from a three, four. So I'm telling you, it's just really put your hand in the dirt, see what you see. play fast. So I love lining up in the wide nine, crashing down on the tight end. And sometimes, man, if I get off the ball fast enough, I'm able to get in the backfield fast enough, make TFLs. And our number one thing is cause negative yard displays. And this defense allows us to do that. With your get-off, take me through it. It's third and eight, fourth quarter, November here in Lambo. It's loud. Yeah. What do you feel like? Yeah, number one,

third and long so you know you got to get home um i'm a big believer big time players got to make big time plays so i feel like i'm one of those guys that have to you know make the play to get us off the field and knowing i got you know guys like kenny preston uh uh uh devon uh wyatt rushing uh near me that's able to get home at the same time man as long as it go 5 o man it's a good day if it goes 5 o yeah and how about the the games man the game part of it because that that becomes a big thing when you guys learned to rush together over the last couple years um What do you think the key is to getting on the same page of running games tight? Yeah, just understanding, especially throughout this time, throughout camp,

understanding your interior, I mean, defense alignment, how they want to rush. So I know when I'm two nine-five side of things you like to do, so I'm able to... He's trying to win, right? He's trying to win right now. He's trying to win right now. So I know I'm able to kind of, you know, play off of him. But get off the ball, so a tackle could have my attention. With Kenny, with him, I know I could have, you know, a little bit more inside move

because he's more power to, you know, late to brush the B gap. So just knowing who you're rushing with and throughout the game, knowing what you're hitting the officer in line with so you could, okay, I did say four stabs. Now on this one, I could flash it and try to get back on the edge on it. So just understanding the rushes you put together and the guys that you rushing with. Yeah, I used to just let Fletcher Cox do the work for me in a three technique. Got to love it.

And if you see color past your shoulder, hey, I'm just popping back inside. It's the easiest thing in the world. and then there's guys like Kenny who are going to rush with more power and like you said you got more of a wiggle room take the inside. With these other ends, man, Lucas Van S being one,

like coming in, a lot of talent, a lot of, you can tell he's explosive, he's got power. What do you want to see him do this year to take his game in the next level? Man, from what I've been seeing in camp, just him being consistent,

him staying on that aiming point that we was talking about four yards behind a tackle hill and him being consistent than that and understanding. getting in street moves. So he's been working street moves. I ain't going to put his bag out there. You better have a swipe.

He looks like a swipe candidate. Be consistent in that. And don't, you know, stay away from, you know, a move because you see I hit something in practice. Yeah. Stay in your body, staying in your, you know, your bag or your moves and perfect those. Because right now I feel like every great rushes

and you hear it all the time has between three to four moves, master those moves and, you know, see office alignment set, you understand what to do. Is there somebody that you've studied that you, you know, like because they used to be like hey watch this julius peppers tape and i'd be like fuck why am i watching julius peppers i can't emulate anything he does you got to find a rush that suits you to study have you found one that you like watching that you kind of have the same skill set as yeah it's funny as you say julius peppers um you know i'm a big guy and that's a part of uh you know my staff

family power long-garn type of issue that i have uh you know i got it from him from watching this tape so you know guys that you know 270 uh 65 66 um you know you know you It has different lengths that has speed with the size, man. I love watching. Is there a guy that you've played so far, maybe in division or a couple times that, you know, like it's a war, but you respect the guy? Not yet. It's just a war. It's just a war from the start of the game to the end, man, just going.

Yeah. Is there anybody that's been able to handle the power that you've had to go to some, you know, like, I'll watch a guy and I'll be like, man, I can run him over. And then for some reason, it just doesn't happen on game day. Have you run into those situations? Not yet. Thank God. That's a fucking. Knock on some wood.

Must be nice, man. Yeah, knock on some wood. But I'm at the point of my game where if I just say, if I mess up on a power and I don't get the type of, you know, jerk back that I want, it's lacking my technique. Nothing that the officer lineman did. So as long as I'm, you know, able to lock in, go back to the sideline, grab the iPad and watch the angles that I need, I'm back on track.

How about these mobile, quarterbacks, man. You guys are getting Jalen and Anthony Richardson out of the gate. What's your guys' mindset? Because I know D-line coaches, they get puckered up and they're worried about the, you know, running past and, you know, having to push up the middle. But what do you think is the key to rushing an athletic quarterback on the edge? Rushing together as a unit, understanding what we have in front of us and knowing that we have mobile quarterback. So you all realize it's more control bees. Yeah, yeah. more, you know, pushing the pocket inside. And then last minute, then getting outside once you see him rolling out.

But at first, man, you have to suffocate the pocket because no quarterback loves, you know, officer in line stepping on their feet, you know, going into the helmet, things like that. But we got to close the pocket. Brazil. I mean, like, you're still young. Probably, I mean, have you ever been to Brazil? No, I mean, either. And, you know, people are like, oh, Eagles playing go down.

I'm like, I don't think I'm going to Brazil. But my question to you is, what do you think the key is for a team going on the road like this, a unique situation where you got to travel long way, staying together and staying focused? How are you guys going into that trip? Have you already started to talk about the mechanics of that trip? Yeah, just keeping the main thing, the main thing, understanding that, yes, there's a great opportunity to NFL sending us to Brazil, but we're there to put on the show. Yeah. So just keeping the main thing, the main thing, and just understanding how last year finished for us and how, you know, we had to generate a real thing. and let me have everything, you know, that we wanted.

Now it's just a great start just to have a clean slate and just to start off. How about, do we know this Edger and Cooper guy has six dogs and he walks them all individually? I read that in the program. Six dogs and he takes them for walks individually. So you can walk them together. I just wanted to. He's your guy, man. You got to find out for me.

Yeah, for sure. That seems like a whole lot. How's he looking? Man, it's looking great. You know, young still got to get a. you know the playbook, but I love his athletic ability that he gives to the defense. Does McKinney add something that you guys were missing? Just energy, man.

You got to have, God, love guys that come around with energy and always want the best for their self and best for their teammates. What's Jayae Alexander like? Because to me, he seems like one of the funniest people in the league. And I don't know the guy, but I know the captain thing got him into trouble, but that was one of the funniest fucking things I've ever seen. With Jaya, what you see is what you get, man. Man, high energy guy.

You know, he's the type of guy that, you know, if you have a bad day, he's going to lift you up, man. And, you know, he's very funny and he loves ball. Yeah. Loves ball. Loves competing, man. And it's times where in practice is say the defense is, you know, a lot of low, you know, intensity, man. He's bringing up the defense, man. We got to finish off the practice strong.

Having our leaders, you know, be leaders and, you know, how everybody's at a standard, man. Jaws, Joe. With Coach, I heard him give his press conference a day or two ago. And, you know, like, preseason, it's about going. getting the work in, but it's also about trying to win games and that sort of thing. And I know he was a little bit upset with the way you guys performed or whatever. What do you think is important when you guys are going through a lull in training camp? Because it is so long and you do have these lulls.

What do you think is the best way to break out of it is just get back on the practice field and execute? Yeah, just like days like this. You know, we went over the tape, you know, for the preseason game. And it's, you know, mistakes that we put on ourselves, nothing that they really did. So having an opportunity to get better knowing ever less than a week and a half way from the first game, you've got to be excited because now we have the time where I want to say you have to bit, but we have to get the small technique right. We have to because we got a big opponent coming in.

Was there a time, because I asked Kenny this, and I'll be interested to hear your take, but was there a time where you said how Jordan's arrived? Oh, man. Yeah, I still got some type of moments today, but I remember his first year started coming and starting the OTA program. And, you know, how normally, you know, your strength condition and coach bring you up and, you know, wait for somebody to break it down. He took charge right away, right away, set the tone. This is how we going to set offseason program. This is going to be the goals.

And just, you know, how every day, man, he has, he keeps his head up and he has everybody. I'm talking about from special team defense and, of course, the offense behind him. Man, you got a love a guy like that. And he doesn't, you know, Jordan's Jordan. Like I said, he's another first round guy. Then he gets to start right away. So he got that kind of, you know, that dog bites him. Yeah.

So, you know, I love seeing it and just another one, seeing him throw it back and give me a no look. So I haven't seen the no look since 12. So, you know, being able to see that and seeing his comfortability, I mean, I just can't wait to see him play this year. What do you think about Harbaugh getting back in the league? Oh, man, it's a good thing. Don't we play the charge this year? Do you? I don't think you do because I think I look because I was going to say, like, if you saw Harbaugh after the game, probably be a big hug, wouldn't it?

Oh, yeah, a nice little big hug, little tap on the ass. Yeah. I appreciate him a level for sure. You think his style is going to be able to translate? I think so because I've seen him do it before you feel like his style could translate. Absolutely, especially when the guys buy in and understand he has a plan and he does want the best for you.

But he's going to run and pound it. You have to stop the run. He's going to keep you honest with the past game. So it's going to be great to see him and other athletes that he got over there. Where did you grow up? Did you grow up in Michigan? I grew up in New Jersey, Plainfield. Oh, Plainfield.

playing for New Jersey. Homa, Eugene Monroe. He's a lot older than you. He went to playing for the. You know, Gene? Yeah, I went to his camp when I was young. Dude, I used to play. He was like my freshman.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's my dude. Gene's the man. But did you grow up with a favorite team? Nah, never had a favorite team, but, you know, my family being from New Jersey, he was the Jets.

It was the Jets. Oh, man. Your family's loyal. I'm telling you to this day. Yeah, so have you played the Jets yet? I played a judge one time, yeah. And did you have to tell your family, like, no, you want to wear this green with this yellow? If I'm giving you tickets.

During that Sunday, I ain't really had to argue. They understand when we go against each other, what team would go for. Last one for you, man. Matt LaFleur, I feel like doesn't get enough credit. You know, I just feel like we talk about a lot of these offensive geniuses. And sometimes he's left out of the conversation a little bit, in my opinion, what he's done with Jordan and being able to stick the landing on the whole thing is nothing. short or remarkable. I think he's a great coach. What do you think makes him great? And do you see that that he doesn't get the credit he deserves? Oh yeah, absolutely. Man, he's a genius. I'm telling you from,

you know, coming into the defensive line room and telling us when our splits is this tight, this is what the office is thinking and how we could, you know, play my trick with the offense. So just having a coach like that that really wants the best for you across the ball and making sure, you know, your line is just right because this is what the office is thinking, man. I don't think head coaches is doing that around the league popping into a special team room, you know, of course, the office rooms and each position room to make sure everybody is helping itself accountable. And one thing about Matt, the top players on his team, man, he pushes everybody every day

to beat that top player because he knows that the top players we need each other, you know, so we get to, you know, the big game and that's a Super Bowl. But I just love how he got the energy in the building and how, you know, he expects nothing less but the best from you every day. He understands, you know, life is life and life's going to happen. but when you come here, you have to, you know, put it to the side and you have to buy and see your brothers in for what we're doing. No question.

I lied. One more. How many buckets this year? What's your goal? Do you have a goal when you go into the year? Double digits or? Yeah, for sure. For sure.

It's for sure. 10 plus see where I sit at the end of the year. But for sure, we're going to hit double. I think it's 15 this year. That's a lovely number. I think 15 looks good on you, man. I'm telling you. Yeah.

Sound great. Dude, hey, appreciate you coming on. keep it up dude we i'll be back home watching the games like this motherfucker knows how to rush man he brings the fight to people so just keep doing that man appreciate you coming on no i appreciate you yeah man kenny clark one of the best in the business welcome to the show man i appreciate you having dude it's uh it's great to meet you have enjoyed watching play a long time we were just talking you're 28 now year nine yeah you're nine big vet dude how's that feel no it's crazy uh you know it's i mean it feels like i've been in the league for for so long um

you know, but, you know, still young and, and, you know, still going. But, I mean, it's a blessing. It's a blessing to be drafted where I was and, you know, for me to afford all to pay off. What do you think makes you so good, man? I just, man, I just think my get-off, my style of play, you know, my hands. I mean, I think just all around, when you talk about passers, stopping the run, you know, being able to stay in there and be strong. you know, hold two guys up.

Whatever the case may be, I just think I'm just an all-around, you know, defense alignment. You really are. That's what we were talking about on the way up. We're like, there's not a lot of guys who can play every down at the level that you play, and you've played it in like an odd front, you know, like, and now Halfleek comes in, and it seems like you guys are going to be a little bit more even. Is that fun for you?

It's definitely been fun. It's been a lot different, just, you know, not being as controlled. Like, you know what I'm saying? I was always like at nose or whatever at three. I was always like control, you know, playing in there being in the odd front. So now it's like they kind of like just telling us to forget all that and just go. And that's been good because, you know, I've been, I mean, my getoff's been up there with the best of them I feel like. And I think it's going to help my game.

Yeah, you can see it on your getoff when you're given the freedom to go half man and you just go. You know, but now is it hard for you to be like, fuck, all right, I got some freedom. I'm like I got to actually like take the gap. Like you know how. Because I was always like, man, I wanted to play honest. You know, like I want to be in my gap. I don't want to be the reason. I don't want to be that one guy on Monday morning.

But now you get to take some chances. It's hard to just adjust and taking the chance. Yeah, that's the thing is like, yeah, I'm still learning that. Just learning how to adjust to that. Just be comfortable with being able to take those chances. I've been playing that honest way. Yeah, gaps in my life. Team football.

And all that kind of stuff. Build a wall. Yeah, build a wall. So, you know, that's the main thing is just being able to just cut that all off and just go. What do you think the hardest alignment to learn is? Well, I'm sure you played them all anyways, but do you like two-eye less or more than four-eye or, you know, when you're in a half-man situation, what do you think is the toughest alignment? I like all the inside stuff, shade, two-eye, three, you don't mind. Yeah, all my number of that stuff.

The thing that was big for me to adjust to last year, I played a lot of five last year, a lot of four-eye. So that four-eye was a lot different. Those tackles a little bit, they're longer dudes, just more space. Yeah, because they set back.

Exactly. They're like set back off the line. You got to play a little flatter, you know, at the four. So that was definitely being, like, that was an adjustment for me just learning how to not attack because, you know, you're still attacking those, and those off fronts, but being able to play flat.

Yeah, with all that space. I always felt like it was harder in a four-eye when they went front side and they were kind of team reaching you. Exactly. I don't mind the cutoff. Yeah, the cut off. Yeah, the cut off not bad. Because my man hands down. Right.

I don't know about you. You probably played a man-hand down, but, and I wasn't as big as you. So, shit, I would get bumped out of there on that reach. But when they team up, that's really tough. Yeah. And I kind of wonder, like, when in your division, you see so many different kinds of runs. Is Detroit kind of like the cream of the crop as far as like, Hate to give them credit here, but their offensive line plays together really well.

Yeah, right. Yeah, no, they have a great offensive line. And the things they do up there, it's a great scheme. So they get you thinking, especially at that four, you know, last year, I had to, there's a lot of plays where I had to, you know, damn there, you know, scoot over to a three knowing that it was going, you know, going to that open side or whatever the case made. That big joker can move down the line.

Yeah, it was, yeah, yeah. Osul, all those guys, yeah, they're moving. So, yeah, you got to get on your. horse week now is there one guy in division and it's like one of those like respect things but it's a borderline war when you play him man uh man i always say frank ragnow yeah he i mean great player uh you know he got some of the strongest hands uh he's like a underneath you know grabber he's so funny we just had harrison phillips yesterday and he gave us the same breakdown yeah he said it's the Underhand punch.

That underhand. When a guy gets that, it's like, you swear he's holding you. Yeah. But he's not. He's like, he's inside your friend. He does a good job at that. He know how to just underhand grab guys. And if you come in as a defense alignment, you come in, your hands not extended,

he's going to bring you in and pull you in it. So he's tough. Have you enjoyed bringing these young guys along? Because that was for me one of the most fun things about turning about 28 and, you know, being one of the vets, like you get Lucas fan ass. You've seen Rashon Gary. come on, in my opinion, one of the most dangerous guys in the league. And, you know, obviously your leadership, the way you set the tone here is rubbed off on

them. Have you enjoyed being the vet? Definitely. Man, it's been great to just see these guys, you know, work. And, you know, they all trying to get to, to that point. They all trying to be great players, you know, Lucas and, you know, DeFonte Y, T. TJ, all those guys. Like, you know, all those guys, they all trying to get to that next level. And, And it's always cool just to just to help them get there. I'm always trying to just help them get there and, you know, get in my two cents of, you know, what I think they should be doing or any way I can just help them, you know what I'm saying, get to get to where they want to get to.

But, you know, those guys, they work, they put it all to work in and they're going to get there. What do you tell rookies about being a prow? Because that's what you've been is just a consummate pro. So what do you tell them? Like, what's the key? What do you wish you knew when you were a rookie? Just finding your routine. I mean, I think that's the biggest thing because.

you know, as a young guy, things are, things happening so quick. And, you know, the quicker you can find a routine and, you know, stick to it. And, you know, so you can have a sense of, me, a peace of mind. You know, you can focus on the game plan, focus on what you need to focus on during the week. So you can be able to play fast. Is it easier to find a routine in Greenback? You don't know anything else. Man, it's like, yeah.

There's not a lot of options. Yeah, it ain't nothing to do. We were looking at breakfast this morning. I was like, it was pretty narrow. down already. Yeah, yeah. It ain't much you can do out here. That's, that's thing.

I tell all the young guys about Green Mado. Like, it's all ball here. Like, once you, OTAs, like, start, you had your fun in the all season, all that kind of stuff. But once you get here, it's all, it's all football, you know. And if you really truly love, love football, you're going to love this place. It's like the opposite of where you came from. Oh, yeah. Right?

Yeah, yeah. Like UCLA, right? Yeah. Which I didn't know that about you. And you're a Cali guy? Yep. So it's like in every way the opposite. Oh, yeah.

The weather. That was like UCLA, as far as I know, it's a college town, but it feels like it's a big city too. Oh, no, you're in a college town now. This is as much of a college town as it gets, you know, coming out of UCLA. Yeah, like you said, like it's, it was a big adjustment for me because I was used to the, you know, the big city. Yeah. You know, honestly, it wasn't that many people that came to the. games unless unless you was winning um but like out here is like you know they love they football

yeah they love they what's up with that at ucla i feel like they should have it made you know what i just l a big 10 yeah i think it's just LA just period like more to compete with yeah it's just so many you know sports uh you know so much stuff going on if you're not if you're not winning um yeah do you grow up a baltimore a fan really yeah yep how does that have it because of o one uh yeah the oh one super bowl you got swept up yeah yeah Yeah, I was watching the Super Bowl, man, Ray Lewis, Airy, Helodi, Nata, all those guys, some of my favorite players. And so, yeah, you get swept up in the defense thing, and now a sudden you're one of those guys,

and I got to play with Helodi at the end of my career. That's just the greatest dude, man. Holody, he was one of the, he's a beast, man. He was one of the greatest noseguards, in my opinion. Geno Atkins, I just loved that whole division. That whole division was, they had some dogs in there. Gino was amazing. Yeah, Gino was the dog.

And the way he rushed was one of the million. Yeah, he had the length and the leverage. It's like a total killer combination. With Jordan Love, man, we saw it last year. Do you think, because you practiced against that offense, do you think something changed midway through the year? Like, did they loosen the reins on him? Was that kind of what happened?

Man, I just think he just got comfortable. And, you know, we had an up and down year, especially in the beginning. And, you know, I think we just had to learn how to win, you know, learn how to, we had to understand that, you know, You know, every week, it's a new week. You know, it don't matter if you beat the Chiefs.

You still got to play the Giants next week. And that's, and that was legitimately, that exact sequence is the thing you're talking about. It's real life. You know what I'm saying? And you got to, you know, you got to be able to stack them up, you know, every single week. So I just think as a team, we had to learn that. And, you know, Jordan is, he's been great, you know, all year, just being a great leader. And just doing this thing.

So, yeah, man, I just think, you know, Scott is his, limit for Jordan. He's going to be great. I thought the Kansas City game was just a huge benchmark for you guys, like what you're capable of because they came to your house and you just beat him sound. You ran the ball. You played tough defense, the whole thing. Do you feel like there was a moment where you saw the Jordan Love thing just kind of like, you know, where we've had guys, you're like, I know what he's capable of, but I got to see it on the field. Was there a moment for you? Man, it was so many. I remember that still a game. Like, we lost, we lost, but he's, you know, He made some throws.

Like, yeah, he was, I was like, man, like, if we can play good around him, like, he, he's going to be able to win some ball games. And, yeah, I mean, Jay Love, he can, he can throw from every angle. And he just, his, like, just how he is, man. He just so, he's so chill. Yeah. So, you know, mellow about everything. Like, ain't nothing too big.

Ain't nothing too small for him. He just, you know, even killed with everything. So, you know, that's what I love about him. He's a dog, huh? Yeah, for sure. I mean, he just. seems like that kind of guy. Is that,

is his leadership style being a younger guy? I mean, he's been sitting for a while, but being a younger guy, you know, his first year, could you see him kind of apply that leadership? But what's his style as far as,

like, getting along with the locker room and pushing people along? Yeah, yeah, man, he, I mean, he's all through the locker room.

Man, he's chilling with everybody. And, you know, what you see, you know, what you see in the media is what you get. Like,

he's, he's super chill. You don't, don't really let nothing, you know, get to him. You know, he's just a good, overall just, you know, great dude, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, he works. He works.

And, you know, for him to be in the position that he wasn't, you know, having to sit behind Aaron and for him to get his first opportunity and for him to play like how he did and, you know, carry us through the playoffs the way he did, it was huge. And I know, you know, that was huge for his confidence, huge for his team's confidence. And it's only propelling us for it. It's fun to watch those young wide receivers grow up with him. Oh, yeah. You know, I feel like that's a good thing because there's nobody that's like,

and Devante's the man. I don't think it would have been any trouble, but, you know, it's hard for a veteran player because he wants it a certain way and you want to feed him and everything. But then you've got the young guys. The sense I get is they're kind of all growing up together. And there's no time to worry about any bullshit because they're all trying to go through the same thing. Do you get that sense when you watch that young group?

Yeah, I mean, and the thing I love about that group is, is man, they stick together. You know, they don't care about who's the number one and who getting the most targets and all that kind of stuff. They're a group that they really, they truly care about each other, and they all want to see each other eat.

And, you know, you know, Romeo, man, just how he goes about his business. I love Romeo, my dogs, bro. I can't say enough about him. I've been drafting him on my fantasy team since the rookie year. People were laughing at me because it was like three rounds too early. I said, one of these years,

he's going to break out. And I feel like it's happening. Yeah, Roman, Roman's a dog, man. Just his mentality, you know, just how he catches the ball. I just love how he catch the ball. Like, you can just tell he's snatching the ball there. Just love how he goes about his business, man. You know, Jay Reid and, you know, Wicks, Watson, all those guys, man,

they all bring a different, you know, type of style, you know, to our offense. And, you know, they all great. You just got to get Wicks to talk. You don't say, too. I got him later today, but he's my Virginia guy. We'll be able to pry something out of him. Who's a guy on defense? You think not get enough credit,

a guy that makes you guys go more than people realize or a guy that might have a big year? Man, now, I'm excited. I'm excited for Lucas and, you know, Devonte White. I think they've been having, you know, really good, you know, camps. And, man, I just think just with their ability and just moving on to this defense,

it's going to help them a lot. You know, and, you know, D.Y with his getoff, with his natural, just athletic ability, being able to get up field, I think it's going to be, it's going to do a lot of great things for him. And then with Lucas, just his power, same thing with his athletic ability and how he can, he can rush and get up field and all the kind of stuff. I think it's going to be a good system. Have you seen Lucas start to attack edges more? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Because that was the one thing when I saw coming out is like he's got the burst, he's got the power.

you just got to add to his bag and get on the edge. Yeah, yeah. And that's the main thing. You know, he's been sitting next to RG, you know, every single day. And, you know, just learning how to attack those angles and stay on this track. You know, learning, you know, winning and when not to hit moves and, you know, trusting his power and all that kind of stuff. You know, so, you know, Lucas, I think Lucas is going to be a really good player.

Last one, Halfley. What's his coaching style? Like, I know the scheme you can look at BC. you're going to be running a different front, maybe some different coverages, but what's his style of leadership? Man, he's just, he's on a constant attack. And, you know, that's what I love about coach, man. And he's going to hold us accountable. He ain't going to let nothing, you know, get swept under the rug.

And, you know, that's what you want, you know, your coaches, you want them to push you and, you know, put you in the right position. But just his whole mentality about, you know, how he attacks, even just how he talks to us, you know what I'm saying? always, he wants us to attack and always be on the hunt. And that's what I love about this defense. Yeah, especially for a guy coming from college to come in with that attitude and just full speed ahead. That's great, man. So I'm rooting for you guys, man, pulling for you.

Enjoy watching you play. I hope you come back again. Kenny Clark with the Greenlight Pod. You sir, appreciate it. Yeah. This is a treat. We got, this is a dude I know in a couple years now. One of my best friends in the world was his wide receivers coach at Virginia.

And really proud of him because. those Virginia guys went through a lot towards the tail end and I don't think people realize how much of force he was going to be in the NFL but he's one of the best man beaters in the league he's a Wahoo wider seat for the Packers Don Tavian Wix. What's up Wixie? Not my uh you know just living live it dude I got to watch you guys leave on the bicycles and shit like that and I was standing out there like a fan and I was like Wixie you're my favorite player

He gave me the... Yeah, I ain't know who it was at first until I seen him. I know you got fans now because you know the business, dude. Yeah, it's different. Yeah. How has it been year two? Like, what's the biggest difference between walking into the camp year one besides the obvious? Like, what did you learn year one that you wish you knew walking into your rookie season?

Uh, it's going to be a way faster pace. players are harder. Yeah. Just the best thing about coming in a year two, you know, I know my feet at. Yeah. I got an idea of, you know, what we're going to be doing, what we're running. So it's not a lot of thinking. Right.

I can bring more energy and play faster. And, you know, that's when I'm at my best. What do you think has allowed you to carve a role? Like if you were, you might have to, you might have to guess. yourself up a little bit here, but what do you think makes you good, different? Because you are different. Like, it's obvious you talk to guys around here. They love you. The beating man coverage, you know, your route running, your work ethic. I see you over there on the sideline. But like, what is it about you physically or skill-wise that allows you to make a living in this league?

Uh, I would say, you know, a lot of people, you know, doubt my speed. Um, You know, so it's a surprise, you know, when people go on me. But, you know, I have a plan with my routes. Yeah. You know, my mindset is I always get open. Yeah. Get a quarterback of Reed. Yeah.

Somewhere to throw the ball, you know, so that I can build trust of chemistry. But that's the biggest thing, just having that mindset, going out and playing fast and, you know, having confidence and what I can do. What's your favorite route to run? You got to beat. You got to beat, it's third and seven. You know, you know you get man coverage. They're calling your name. Touchdown, right?

Yeah, give me, well, touchdown or the thing you're most confident in beating your dude? I said, I'm confident in a lot of routes. Yeah. I'm going to shake route. Shake route. Yeah, we're going on a post corner. Post corner. Yeah.

I see you working that a lot. I see you working on catching a lot of balls on the sideline over your head. Yeah. You know what I saw you working on the sideline. when you work in training camp and you try to get those extra little five minute periods during special teams or whatever like the pros do what is it that you try to work when you're on that sideline i saw you catching balls where there were slants and the whole thing yeah uh really i try to work on and stuff that we're not getting a lot of and during practice um like over the shoulders yeah like you ain't gonna get too many go balls and deep balls in practice so yeah just working on that You know, when we're in them periods, you know, that I got a little time. Me and Coach Ray, he's just throwing a ball over the shoulder. Because, you know, like early in the camp, you know, I had a miss hop on one of them.

Oh, really? Yeah, miss out. In the game? No, I didn't practice. But to you, that's a big deal. Yeah. So, you know, I've been working on it, you know, in the time that we get a little free time. So when it do come again, you know, I capitalize on that.

I'll be looking for it on Sunday. What about the fact, and I've talked about this, I feel like it's good for Jordan. Obviously, you got good receivers between, you know, really the four of you guys. But I think what's cool is you guys are all kind of coming up together. And people talk a lot about the youth movement here. But I do think that makes it easier on Jordan because you guys are all young and trying to, you know, find your way in the league. Talk to me about the dynamic in that room, the unselfishness, the, you know, the tight-knit nature of that group. I think it's like college.

Yeah. Like going in, you know, with Coach Higgins. Yeah. Having that group, you know, that just want each other to win. Yep. And, you know, winning, you know, he helped each other out. You know, one guy can win on the other side. And I take all the attention, you know, off of each other, you know, if everybody can win.

So we just build chemistry. Yeah. Be happy for one another. Yeah. We all young, you know, we coming up together. learning together. So, you know, it ain't really about a single person. You know, it's really about a group right now.

So we just have fighting, competing, and still sticking together. What makes Dobbs great? Because I think he can be really special. Yeah, man. He just different. He different at the line. He different than the top of his reps. Yeah.

He got great feet, great speed. And, like, he probably, One of the best I've seen at catching the ball. Yeah. You know, there's not too many drops for him. Yeah. So you're really surprised when you do see a drop. Yeah.

So that's really... You're the quiet guy in the room, knowing you. You know, you're all about business and football. And who's the guy who's talking the most out of your group, who brings that kind of energy every day? So, you know, I'm a little different. from college now uh we bring all the energy i see you now dude i did see i was like is this new wixie yeah man i got to bring some energy um have fun out there when i you know uh coach higgins used to

try to you know tell me uh bringing the energy yeah you know the group go as there's another person go so bringing that energy it it it make everybody go um but the biggest biggest talking in the room bow mountain yeah The guy running, returning the kick. Yeah, Bo Melon, he's going to bring the energy for sure. He's got a little shake to him. He's going to be a good special teams guy for you this year. Yeah.

What about guys you've played so far? You know, it's been a year, but, like, has a corner stood out that you're like, hey, man, next time I see this guy, I got to have some more tricks in the bag or this guy's a little different? Not really, but I would say last week we played Pat. Yeah. He was nice. Yeah.

He was a good competition. You're talking about Pat Pete? Yeah. No, no, certine. Oh, certane. Yeah, yeah. That dudes. Yeah, he was a good corner to go against.

That's one of the best in the league. And especially like last weekend practice. You know, it was a good bump. Yeah, yeah. But playing against him last year, he gave some bump. He wasn't scared to press. Yeah, no question. Yeah.

You know, that was probably... Because that dude's big, right? Yeah. He's about six... Six, two. Yeah. And does that really cause problems when you get a corner with length? I mean, not for you, but in general, is, like, arm length that really underrated.

Yeah, because the bigger corners, they're usually more patient. Yeah. So, like, anything you give off the line, they're going to weigh in jail. Right. But, yeah, yeah. That's usually the hardest. What is McKinney at? Have you, have you been able to...

Yeah, that's my guy. Yeah, what's he at? He's a heck of a player. And, you know, obviously one of your big signings this offseason. What are you seeing from him out here? He's nice. He can get across the field. You know, he's smart, instinctive.

That's a guy, you know, he's on the defense. But, you know, I watch him. You know, see what you're doing. You know, he's a vet. But, you know, it's how he goes about things. You know, he, like, a brother, you know, on the team. He's going to talk to everybody. You know, it's not just defense aside that he's talking to.

He comes and talk to the O, you know, in the huddle before we go against each other. They like that team guy. But, you know, he's going to show you by actions. He don't really talk too much. Yeah. But if you watch him, you know, and you see his motive. Who do you think the, like, if you had to, if there was a lot of, like a bar fight not that we're getting any bar fights but who's the first guy through the door on

that defense is it kenny clark is a rshawn who's the who's the ass kicker man uh we got a few i'm just Wyatt we yeah we got i'll hold the line for sure yeah there there's some dogs on that d line them boys yeah they're gonna run through the wall yeah um but if i had to pick one person, probably going to go with Quay. Quay Walker. Yeah. That's a big dude. That's a big ass backer, dude. I'm probably going to take Quay. Okay, good. Quay Walker, Georgia guy. All right. How about Josh Jacobs? What's he at, we were just talking a second about him? I didn't know about him about him catching the ball out of the backfield. And obviously losing Aaron, that's a big deal. And when he was healthy last year, you guys were rolling. But this is a guy who can take 30 carries, you know, and he can

he can run between tackle box. How is he catching the ball out of the backfield? Because guys said he actually looks pretty good here. Yeah, man. I won't say it as a surprise, you know, but him coming in, you know, I really wasn't watching, you know, running back. Yeah. But him coming in and seeing it for myself, you know, he's different.

Yeah. You know, he can catch the ball like a receiver. Yeah. You know, he's a running back. He's going to make something miss. So that's going to bring a lot to the team, explosive plays. That's what we need at the back field or either, you know, in the passing game. I think he could do it both, you know, at a high level.

So it's going to be fun blocking for him. You like blocking? Yeah, it's straight. You got good arm length. Yeah. So you can, you probably put those paws on people. No, we had to block in college, man. Yeah, you did.

Yeah. I know, I know the coach. So you mentioned guys that reach out to every corner of the locker room. as being a good thing. What I keep hearing from the D. Lyman is that love is that kind of guy. Yeah. You know, he's a guy who really rocks with everybody in the locker room. How far does that go for you guys to see him kind of the way he is day to day?

You know, that. With this team, I don't think we got a limit. Yeah. You know, how far we can go because of that. Yeah. You know, Jay Love, he going to lift everybody up. Yeah. You know, he knows everybody on the team.

Don't matter. know who you is, he know you, and he gonna talk to you. And you know, that's a big thing, you know, because other people seeing that wanna do it. You know, we got some of those type of guys on both sides. I gotta talk about X. You do the same thing and Jay Love, you know,

when you got, you know, two of your guys that's top on the team doing that, you know, it's big time, bring connection. Yeah. Let people know that your teammates care about you. But seeing Jay Love, you know, going around talking to everybody, it just let you know, like, you know, it's a real team. The guy you're happy that got the bag, right? You're like everybody's happy for him.

He deserved it. Yeah. And it happened fast for him. What was the throw last year where you were like that was the best ball you've thrown all year? He had a couple. I would say that Minnesota Vikings game. Um, he made a couple missing the backfield, spent out, you know, went to the right through the ball of the wrong. On the sideline, uh, it was crazy.

Yeah, I seen it in person. It was, it was a crazy throw. Yeah. And also the one in the Cowboys game. It just, it was just like, that whole game. You know, it was the, yeah, it was the whole play. He's seen something, you know, check, you know, to Max protection. You know, I ain't know what he was doing, but I just knew to play. He told us to play. But, you know, I heard Sean, like, running on the field. And he's like, nah, we're going to go with this. So, you know, and then, you know, a back foot throw, you know, on the ride I ran.

You know, it was crazy right over the shoulder. Yeah. That was a big time. We were screaming. We were yelling, bro. We were all of us sitting there. And then Seville watching, like, oh, Wix. Oh, my God.

Against the Cowboys. You know, you grow up watching football and you're like, all eyes on you in that game. Yeah. That's pretty cool. That was big time. Yeah. That was awesome, man. Obviously, I alluded to it.

It was tough in Charlottesville there for a year or two. And some guys that we both, and obviously you knew all these guys a lot better than me. But I knew Lavelle pretty well. and, you know, Devin Deshawn, like, just an absolute tragedy. And it's one of those things where I can remember talking to Marcus the first night. And there's just nothing you can say. Yeah. There's nothing you can say.

There's nothing you can do to feel better. There's just no, like, there's no way to process it. And I just wonder how long it took for you to feel like yourself again. And how often you think about those guys? I think about them every day. You know, every day before practice or a game, you know, that's part of my motivation. You know, I didn't stuck that into my wife. I go out for the marriage, because I know what they wanted.

Yeah. You know, being around them every day, seeing what they wanted and, you know, knowing that they can't get it, I'm in the position too. So every day, you know, I play through them, you know, let them play through me. And, you know, thank God every day. You know, they're watching now on them. Yeah. You know, that gave me a tip on my shoulder, too.

You know, knowing that they was watching out on me, and their family, you know, stuck without them. You know, it's hard, but it's some motivation. It's some motivation. I know they're proud of you. Yeah. You're doing a great job. You really are.

Everybody back home is proud of you, man. Keep it up. By the end of this season, everybody's going to know who Don Tavian Wix is if they don't already know them. Been fun watching you, man. Have a great year. Hope you come back again. Appreciate it.