Matt Schneidman, Packers' beat writer for The Athletic, joins Wayne & Matt

Wayne and Matt discuss the NFL and Packers free agency signings with Matt Schneidman, Packers' beat writer for The Athletic. Plus, they talk about postseason college basketball and more.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Eagles. I don't think they're particularly close to them.
They can sit there and say, oh, we're close. We're
close because the margin of defeating these games. But there's
a sizeable gap I think between the Eagles and the Packers.
Despite what happened in that game. It goes Eagles, then Lions,
then Packers and Vikings right below that. So they're in
the third tier right now, and today's the day where

(00:21):
they have to try and bridge that gap a little bit.
I think.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
This is the Larovian La Pey Podcast, a production of
iHeartRadio Podcasts with host Swayn. Larvie, the voice of the
Green Bay Packers, and Matt Lapey, the voice of Wisconsin
Badgers football and men's basketball. The Larovie La Pay Podcast
is presented by you W Credit Union.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Here for every U.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
HI, everybody, I'm Wayne Lerovy and I'm Matt lape On
this episode of the Lerovie La Pay Podcast. Free agency
officially gets underway in the NFL this week, and we
have Matt Schneidman to the athletic to break it all
down college basketball into Conference Championship Tournament week and a
special honor for our co host in Madison. This weekend.
Stay tuned. We've got good stuff coming up for you

(01:10):
on the Lerovian La Pey Podcast. Got cheddar on your mind?
I do UW Credit Union can help with free that's
b free checking and great rates that let you keep
more of your cheese. Join at UWCU dot org gen
shored by NCUA Equal Opportunity Lender. We welcome into the

(01:33):
lerr Ofvi la Pey Podcast Matt Schneidman, who's the beat
reporter on the Packers for the Athletic He does the
Match Schneidman Show weekdays during the football season of the
iHeart network of stations across the state of Wisconsin, and
the Brick and the Stick podcast with former Packers fullback
John Kohn.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Matt, great to have you with us. How you doing.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
I'm good. I'm just ready for you know. We're recording
this at eight fifty eight am Central Time. In about
two hours is when the quote unquote legal tampering period begins,
and magically a million different deals will be done. Two
minutes into that period. We all know these teams and
players and agents have been discussing already, so this is

(02:13):
probably the busiest day of the NFL calendar. I'm ready
for it.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
I love the term legal tampering too. I've heard that
a lot. It just like it seems like an oxymoron.
But we know exactly what all that means.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
And Twitter down right now? Twitter is down as we speak,
is it really?

Speaker 3 (02:30):
So?

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Let me ask you this. If Twitter's down, do any
moves actually happen?

Speaker 3 (02:35):
No? No, not like the world stops exactly. So that
gives this podcast a chance to have legs, because whatever
we record this morning, there's going to be a million
things that happened that happened later. It's it's nuts. Let
me ask you this to start. Has what has happened
so far? If it's metcalf or a couple of the

(02:57):
other obviously let the Browns into up doing mending offense.
Has anything surprised you here so far?

Speaker 1 (03:06):
I think the Miles Garrett thing surprised me just because
of how soon it got done. I don't think the
fact that the two sides were able to come to
an agreement on an extension was a surprise because the Browns,
according to the reports out there, seemed very dug in
to their stance that they weren't trading him. But it
seemed like this would carry into the offseason, training camp,

(03:28):
maybe even the season, because Miles Garrett goes on that
whole media tour on Radio Row telling everybody who had
a microphone that he wanted out of Cleveland and he
wasn't playing for them again. And now here we are,
before free agency even officially begins, he signs an extension
worth you know, forty million dollars a year. I think
it was so I think that was the biggest surprise

(03:49):
is not that it got done, but when it got done,
just because of it went to zero to one hundred
real quick of the owner isn't even taking a meeting
with Miles Garrett to here he is signed to an extension.
Other than that, I think we saw the DK Metcalf
news coming, although you know, maybe not to the Steelers.

(04:12):
I know there were rumors of him going to the Chargers.
There were unfounded rumors of the Packers making an offer.
I'm told that was not true. They never did make
an offer. They were never significantly in on DK Metcalf
and then DeVante Adams. I think the reports all along
were that he wanted to be out west. So I
think him and Puka Nakua make a really nice tandem

(04:33):
for Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay and the Rams. So nothing
too big of a surprise. You know, this is now
my I think I've been covering the NFL since twenty seventeen,
and I've learned that nothing should really surprise you anymore,
especially at this time of year. So I would just

(04:54):
say the Miles Garrett thing and then everything else.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
Yeah, and you know, the Miles Garrett thing shows you
in in the end what this game is really about.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
You could tell.

Speaker 4 (05:03):
Players can talk about I want to win, I want
to do this, I want to win, I want a
super Bowl and all that. But if you get enough money,
you can come off a winning in a hurry. I mean,
it's it's a business. And that's what he did. He
got an extra forty million a year or whatever, and
good for him. Let me ask you this. You were
on You were right on target with the DK Metcalf

(05:25):
thing from the beginning that the Packers had never really
gotten into any kind of serious negotiations for him whatsoever.
The DeVante Adams thing was, was there any legs to
that talk, because it to those of us who are
around the team, it would have been it made a
lot of sense and several levels, but it never it
was never close to happening, was it.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
Not? To my knowledge, I would have been surprised if
it happened all along. Look what is he asking for? Well,
what did he end up getting?

Speaker 3 (05:57):
Two years?

Speaker 1 (05:58):
And he got years six million a year?

Speaker 4 (06:02):
I think somewhere between twenty three and twenty six a year.
I think it was something.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
Yeah, I think I had sat all along based on
Brian Goodokun's comments at multiple junctures this offseason that it
seemed far more likely that they would go the draft
route instead of you know, patching up that wide receiver
group without Christian Watson with a proven number one wide
receiver like Josh Jacobs asked for. I found it far

(06:27):
more likely they would go through the draft and draft
some one on Day two, day three, maybe even Day one,
to fill some depth and hopefully grow into a number one.
Because Christian Watson is not dead. He's probably going to
return at some point near the midway point of the season,
is what Gudaokun said. And then if they draft a
guy early, they can not only you know, take some

(06:51):
snaps right away, but also maybe grow into that number one,
like I said, because We've talked a lot these excuse me,
these last couple of years about oh, it's so great
having all these receivers in their first or second years,
But guess what that means. All four of them are
going to come up on contract situations in the same
two year span, and the likely it is you're going
to lose more than one of those guys between Dobbs, Watson,

(07:13):
Wicks and Reeds. So I think draft was always the
most likely scenario. And also corner and defensive end or
pass rusher in general, I think are two bigger needs
than wide receiver and that is probably where their money
is best allocated in free agency anyway, who.

Speaker 3 (07:31):
Do you see? This is Crystal Balsh kind of stuff here,
But who are the best and most realistic options there
for the Packers to go? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (07:40):
I mean, I don't think there's really a limit on
their spending in terms of if you want to get
one or two guys, because Brian Goudikun said they are
in their best cap situation in the last two or
three years, and we saw the splashes they made last year,
so why not be able to I know, granted, Xavier
McKinney was making like sixteen something a year and Josh
Jacobs twelve. So if you're gonna pay a Josh Sweat

(08:01):
from the Eagles, that might be your only big move.
Or you know, Byron Murphy, Tarvarius Ward or are probably
the two top corners on the market. You might probably
could get two different guys, maybe one at each position.
But listen, there's competition for these guys all across the league.
They are gonna be teams willing to outpit the Packers,
so I wouldn't expect them to get the top guy

(08:24):
at each position. But Sweat, Hassan Reddick, Khalil Mack are
probably the top names at edge in free agency. Chase
Young is another one at corner. It's Ward, It's Carlton Davis,
It's DJ Reid, It's who is the other one? I

(08:44):
said Byron Murphy, An Murphy, those are probably the top
names at corner, and they're certainly guys there for the taking.
Especially if the Packers don't bring back Jay R Alexander,
which I don't expect them to, They're gonna need to
make a move at corner, I would imagine, because you know,
they can say all they want. We're comfortable with Keishaw
Nixon and Carrington Valentine and Keishaw Nixon is a great

(09:06):
number one corner. He played really well on the outside
for us. But I really think they need an upgrade there.

Speaker 4 (09:13):
Well, I know thin there's any question about it, Matt,
and I'm sure they know that too. And a lot
of the stuff that we hear from the general manager
and even the head coach in public situations, I mean,
they're taking care of the guys in the room that
they have, and so you know, there's not a lot
they can say, but I will. You know what kind
of I wonder about is this, You've got three areas

(09:35):
that were readily identifiable at the end of the season,
and I think a fourth would be offensive line that
they need to pay attention to and to make some
upgrades as we go into free agency. But that cornerback
in that pass rusher situation, in looking at this field
of free agents, if you're going to plug a hole
in free agency, would it be on that side of

(09:57):
the ball, the defensive side, either at cornerback or at
pass rusher.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
I think so, you know, if we're weighing their top needs,
I would go in order cornerback, pass rusher and not
necessarily on the edge. I think an interior pass rusher
too could work. You know, Milton Williams, who played really
well for the Eagles this year, is probably the top
interior guy. Brian Gudikuin said after the season that Devonte
Wyatt was their best interior pass rusher. Well, they have

(10:24):
a guy named Kenny Clark who's making over twenty one
million dollars a year who needs to be better rushing
the pass of Rashawe Gary Lucas van Nets. They need
to be better. We saw them play in in flashes,
but they need to be more consistent. That pass rush
was inconsistent as a whole. So I'd go corner pass rusher,
either on the interior or on the edge, you know,

(10:45):
preferably on the edge, but they could use interior help
to then wide receiver than offensive line because you know
that they are going to say publicly that they don't
want to let one game dictate what they do for
an entire offseason. But the way the Eagles defensive line
got after Jordan Love in that playoff game might dictate

(11:05):
some things. And you know, the Packers have always been
a team that's really good at drafting and developing offensive linemen,
and they've always been a team with a solid offensive line.
They got to get that short up because if their
offensive line is better than fourteen other defensive lines in
the NFC, that's not good enough. It needs to be
better than fifteen, and it's not better than the Philadelphia

(11:26):
Eagles defensive line, which is who everybody's chasing. And you know,
I would expect some moving parts on that line. I
would be surprised if Josh Myers is back. I think
they have to get Jordan Morgan in the starting lineup.
So do you move Sean Ryan to center and start
Jordan Morgan at right guard? Then you need better depths.

(11:47):
So do they shop for depth and free agency? Because
we saw what Kadeem Telford and Travis Glover did or
didn't do when they went into that game. So that
offensive line is going to be addressed. I don't know
if it's top need, but certainly I would put that
on the list.

Speaker 3 (12:03):
I'm going to throw this out to both of you,
going back to the defensive side. You were talking about
Clark and van Ness. At what point do you think
or do you get the sense from the organization that
they still really believe those guys can get better or
they are who they are.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, when I recorded my last podcast with Lafleur after
this season, he said that van Ness has potential, but
we need to find a way to tap into it.
And then a couple of days later, Laflour fires his
defensive line coach. So to me, that says it's the coaching,
It's not the players in that room.

Speaker 5 (12:36):
You know.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
Brian Goodakoutz got up and said, we think we have
the right guys in that room. Van Ness specifically, this
is his make or break year. This is the year
where he needs to prove okay, this is why they
took me thirteenth. Overall, it took for Shauan Garry a
little bit of time to break out because when he
was drafted first round, he was behind the Smiths, who
they had just gotten in free agency, and Kyler Fackrel,

(12:58):
who led the team in sacks the year before. So
this is Lucas van NES's year to show on a
consistent basis. We saw it in the middle of the
season there in Spurts, I think, but on a consistent basis,
he needs to show that the Packers didn't waste a
first round pick on him because we haven't seen it yet.
He needs to be a game wrecker. And if they

(13:20):
don't make any moves, any splash moves, I should say
up front on that defensive line, he could be not
the most important player for the Packers this year, but
an X factor either for good or for bad.

Speaker 4 (13:32):
You know, I think you're exactly right, Matt. And the
other thing that what is kind of perplexing. First off,
you understand why coaches love Lucas van Ness. He's a
great kid, He's all football. He's a relentless motor out
there on the field.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
That kind of thing.

Speaker 4 (13:46):
You understand that he does have ability. He wouldn't have
been drafted in to the first round if he didn't.
So there's great potential here. And I agree wholeheartedly this
is a make or break year for him in his career.
There's no doubt. The perplexing guy that to me, I
didn't quite I don't quite understand why Kenny Clark did
not excel in this defense last year, man, And I'm

(14:09):
sure that's something that the coaching staff and the front
office people are wondering as well.

Speaker 3 (14:16):
I'm sure.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
Yeah, And we've seen Kenny in years past go through
cold stretches and then late in the season he always
kind of picks it up, and this year that wasn't
really the case. So, you know, Brian Gutakunz has said,
I think multiple times when asked about the inconsistent pass rush,
that part of it was getting into a new scheme. Okay,
well that's only an excuse for you know, so long.

(14:39):
How long does it take to get adjusted into a
new scheme. You can't if it is a season, you
can't use that as an excuse anymore. So Kenny Clark
needs to play better because he's still what twenty nine
years old. He's been in the league hundred years and
he's still only twenty nine years old. So he's going
to be the focal point of that defensive line. But
alongside him, Ante Wyatt is going to need to take

(15:01):
some attention away from Kenny. You know, he had a
nice season last year when he was healthy, and they
know it'll be interesting to see what they do at
that third spot because TJ. Slayton is a free agent,
and do they think Carl Brooks or Kolby Wooden's ready
to take that spot. Do they take an interior guy
early in a draft that by all accounts is stacked
at the position. It'll be interesting to see kind of

(15:23):
what they do with that defense in front as a whole.

Speaker 3 (15:27):
I'm just picking names out of the air here, Joey
Bosa thirty banged up as it played a ton. Where
do you think? No.

Speaker 1 (15:39):
I think every time a big name is released or
up for trade, you have to think to yourself, why
is this person being released or why is this person
up for trade? And sometimes it's money. Sometimes it's Okay,
we're paying this guy too much, so we can't afford

(16:00):
him anymore, and he's a cap casualty and then another
team can sign him to whatever deal they want and
you know, get some better stuff out of him. But
oftentimes you think, you see a guy get released like
that and there's a reason for it. So I would
tread lightly with these big names that are up in
bright lights, that are you know, on the market, because

(16:23):
they're on the market for a reason, unless they're just
free agents. I would be surprised if the Packers would
go after him. I would think that they'd, you know,
Khalil Mack was. I don't follow the Chargers weekly, but
it seemed like Khalil Mack was more productive than Joey Boss.
I know, he's what thirty four. The Packers tried to
trade a first round pick for him back in twenty eighteen,

(16:46):
So maybe they go back to that, well without the
trading the first round pick part. What Now seven years later,
he still might be too old, unless it's a veteran
at I would be So I'll put it this, I
would be surprised if they suddenly departed from their strategy

(17:07):
of you know, let's get a super young team and
added a guy who's in his thirties. Unless that guy
is you know, Trey Hendrickson. Unless it's a guy who's
an absolute stud who showed no signs of falling off,
who would be worth whatever you'd get give up for him.
I would be surprised if they added some of these
aging guys. I would look for them to add, you know,

(17:29):
a Josh Sweat. How old is he? I'm looking that
up walk quick. It was twenty seven. I mean, he'll
be the top ed rusher off the market. So if
they're going to spend big, I would imagine they don't
cut their costs at at edge and go for someone
big instead.

Speaker 3 (17:44):
Yeah, and you wonder also if the Eagles will come
up with some kind of a deal for Josh Sweat
and Milton Williams. You know Howie Roseman does some interesting
things with the salary cap over there, and he is
the top general manager of the game right now. You know,
Matt Schneid been of the Athletic as our guests, he's
the beat reporter for the Green Bay Packers for the Athletic, Matt,

(18:05):
when I look at some of these things, you know,
I kind of you and I have talked about this.
Matt and I have talked about this as well. You know,
this window the Packers are in this kind of three
year window, which is going into year three. You're hoping
that they can pick up a piece or two along
the way here in free agency, kind of like they

(18:26):
did a year ago. I'm wondering, the more I look
at this process right now, the more I look at
this free agency class and how it stacks up, are
the Packers going to be able to get a couple
of pieces like they did a year ago that can
make that kind of an impact.

Speaker 1 (18:40):
From what you've seen, it doesn't seem like this free
agency class is as strong in general, So I'm not
sure there are going to be as many options as
there were last season. They had needs at the positions
they targeted last year at safety, at running back where
they got Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney, and I just

(19:00):
don't see a dearth of all star options at their
positions of need. Now, maybe they get one, maybe they
get two, but they're gonna have to spend a lot because,
like I said, at edge, it's Josh Sweat and maybe
one or two other guys that are really cream of
the crop in this class, and then at corner it's

(19:23):
probably a couple more guys, but there's no guarantee that
the Packers get any of them. A lot of teams
would like those standout corners. So I can't sit here
and say that they're gonna come away with as many
impact players as Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney in this
free agency class. I would expect them to make an
effort to make a splasher two because you can't have
a general manager get up there and say, you know,

(19:45):
it's time to start competing for championships and we have
to show more urgency and we're in the best cap
situation we are in the last two or three years,
or we've been in the last two or three years,
and then not do anything. So I know Packer fans
are sick and tired of hearing this, but they'll be
in discussions. Whether they can close or finalize some of
those deals, we'll see. But if they don't, I don't

(20:06):
think it'll be for a lack of trying. I would
just be surprised if they have the success rate that
they did last year, just because of the options that
are available or not available for that matter.

Speaker 3 (20:17):
You touched a few minutes ago on some of the
areas that are considered strengths in the draft. Maybe we'll
go back to that. How strong overall does it look
and what would seem to be the best fits for
the Packers moving forward here.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, I think you know Dane Brugler, who's our amazing
draft guy at the Athletic he said the defensive line
class is off the charts, and I think he meant
specifically interior defensive line, but I think the defensive line
class as a whole is strong in general, and that's
good news for the Packers. And we did a, you know,

(20:58):
a look at those classes with whatever or you know,
mock drafts or top one hundreds he's putting together. And
there's a wealth of options for the Packers at those
two positions, at corner at defensive line. The position that
doesn't seem as deep is wide receiver. So that's why
I say they might target that early because they might
be able to find you know, similar players later at

(21:22):
positions that have more depth like corner, like defensive front.
So I think in terms of the Packers' top needs,
this draft shapes up nicely for them. But you know,
I've learned that you never really maybe the Packers think,
you know, it's not a good cornerback draft class. I
don't really know what Brian Gudukuinz thinks honestly about those positions,

(21:43):
But at least on the defensive line, I think it
marries nicely with the Packers need because they need to
add you know, at least one guy there.

Speaker 4 (21:53):
Man, what did you find out at the scouting combined?
I mean, it's become now a big league at conflab,
it's all almost like the guys running around and underwear
is secondary. They're just a backdrop to what is going
on with the league and with different general managers and
everything else. What did you find out?

Speaker 1 (22:12):
You know, the Packers coaching staff doesn't go anymore, so
you know, they would be out and about and at
these different spots, and I'd have to go out and
try and track them down and mingle and whatever. But
now that they don't go, and the Packers front office
isn't out and about like that, I don't really have
much to do there other than talk to the GM.
So you know, we sat down with Brian gudocunts for

(22:34):
forty five minutes. But my role at the Combine, and
maybe I should do a better job of it, is
not you know, hosting up at the bar until two
three am looking for any tidbit of information I need
Because I don't cover the league. I cover the Packers,
and you know they're not really out and about like
that in Indianapolis. But what we learned from Brian Gudokuntz

(22:54):
is that a he's not necessarily in agreement with Josh
Jacobs that they need ap proven number one wide receiver
right now, which kind of fell in line with how
we saw the DK Metcalf and Davante Adams deals play out.
What else did we hear from Brian Gudekunz. Well, he
said Mark Murphy gave him the okay to trade his

(23:14):
first round pick this year, despite the draft being in
Green Bay. I wouldn't expect them to do that because
Miles Garrett's off the board. Trey Hendrickson wouldn't demand a
first round pick other than that. You know, I said
this to a couple of people. It's different this year
because in past years it's been oh, they are about
to trade Aaron Rodgers Jordan loves Starting like. There are

(23:36):
no nationally relevant storylines around the Packers this year, which
is kind of a change from years past.

Speaker 3 (23:42):
Did they stay away from pro day's too? I know
Wisconsin had its pro Day on Friday. Do they go
to those either yup, it's here or wherever? Do they check? Oh,
do for that diamond in the rough?

Speaker 1 (23:53):
Yeah, if it's not Brian Guducuntz, it's they'll send somebody.
I know Goody makes his way to a handful of
pro days, but they would, I'd imagine. I don't know
who it was, but they definitely had someone at Wisconsin's
Pro Day.

Speaker 3 (24:05):
Yeah, I didn't know if it was a member of
the coaching staff or if they just stuck with Okay,
got you.

Speaker 4 (24:11):
Yeah, it's interesting how they the process and folds. But
hey man, just kind of outside of this free agency
stuff and everything you had, you did a podcast with
Matt Lafleur this past season that was very enlightening, and
I wonder, you know, in a situation like you you're
a beat reporter. I mean, you talked to Lafleura every

(24:33):
day in the in a public situation. But when you
get a one on one every once in a while
with the head coach, what did you learn? What did
you find out? Did you see a different side of
the head coach? And maybe fans and reporters otherwise don't see.

Speaker 3 (24:51):
A little bit.

Speaker 1 (24:53):
And I say that because you know, at the podium
he's very regimented. Doesn't you know, give much in terms
of answers. He's like quick in, quick out. He has
to and I don't blame him. He has to talk
to us five times a week, so it's mostly you know,
the daily injury updates and answers to whatever daily questions
there are. And the point of me doing that once

(25:14):
a month was to try and expand on some things more.
And yes, he was more relaxed in the couch that
he was sitting in every time we recorded those and wighing.
You know that the green room there right next to
the media auditorium, we recorded them there. So is he
different in a one on one setting? Yeah, I think so.
I think he's more relaxed, He's willing to expand upon

(25:35):
some more stuff. I hope people who listen to those
five thought there was a different level of insight. Matt
Lafleur is never going to be a guy who gives
you the best anecdote or is super expansive in his answers.
That's just not who he is. But I think we
were able to see a little bit of a different

(25:56):
side of him. I did find it interesting from the
last podcast we recorded, and this is kind of probably
a foreshadowing of what's going to happen with one of
the Packers' best players this offseason. Was he was talking
about the guys he leans on in the locker room
for you know, to gauge the pulse of the locker room,
and he named I think eleven guys, and Jay R

(26:16):
Alexander wasn't one of them. They were all like veteran guys,
one at each position, whether it's Josh Jacobs, Keishawn Nixon,
Xavier McKinney, and Jay R. Alexander was not one of them.
So from that moment on, I said, I'm not sure
the Packers head coach likes this guy, and that is
probably at least partially indicative of what's going to happen
with him this offseason.

Speaker 3 (26:35):
What went wrong there? When did that when? And how
did that go sideways?

Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yeah, we know what happened during the twenty twenty three season.
Oh finally Twitter's working again. Holy crud, now there's news.

Speaker 3 (26:49):
Now there will be news that.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
Would have been real bad. I was freaking out. I
think in twenty twenty three we knew something was up. Well,
I had known off the record something was up even
before the coin toss incident, and then when Matt Lafleur
said after that, it wasn't just the coin TOAs incident,
it was a series of things. This was kind of

(27:10):
the last straw. So there was stuff going on behind
closed doors that I still can't say on the record
that led to that. But then after that it seemed
by all accounts, everything was smoothed over, especially with Jeff
Haffley coming in as the new defensive coordinator. It seemed
Jayr's issue was with Joe Berry, and whether that's one

(27:31):
hundred percent accurate or not, I'm not exactly sure, but
it seemed like everything was smooth over, everything was in
a great spot. And this year it just seemed more
so to be the injuries. In the last two seasons,
he's had four separate injuries. This year it was the
knee in the Bears game. I forget exactly what he

(27:51):
had early in the season, maybe a groin. There was
growing back knee, hamstring over the last couple of seasons
than the suspension. So for a number of different reasons,
it's just been a super rocky road for a guy
who went healthy can be one of the best at
his position in the NFL. This past season, I don't
know for certain how much off the field played into

(28:16):
what is his inevitable release or trade or whatever is
going to happen. Is there a chance he still stays
with the team. I guess there's a little bit of
a chance if they don't find a trade partner, and
Brian Goodukin says, you know what, we want to keep him,
but I would imagine they'd want him to take a
pay cut and I don't think JayR would do that,
just like Aaron Jones didn't last year. So for whatever reason,

(28:39):
this season it's most likely coming to an end, and
that's why the Packers are going to have to go
shopping at that position.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
Yeah, and would I would wonder how much anyone would
want to pay the Packers for jay R Alexander and
pay the contract as well. You know. It's funny, Matt.
I think that the.

Speaker 4 (28:57):
Whole Jayers, as I look at the whole GI year
situation changed when Naj Harris the Pittsburgh Steelers ran him
over in lambeau Field about I don't know. Midway through
the twenty twenty one season. He came back for that
playoff game and then whiffed on DJ or what's the
league game? Yeah, you know in the hole there and

(29:19):
that key third down play that set up a winning
field goal in the playoff game against San Francisco. He's
never been the same since then. He doesn't support against
the run since then. It just it's he's a different
player since that incident, since that injury. And it's unfortunate
because he was a hell of a player, you know,
before then. And I think that's kind of where they're at.

(29:41):
You said it, UW Credit Unions Mobile banking offers a
simple way to check accounts, to make transfers and more.
You know, that's a smart play from the pocket. Join
at UWCU dot org insured by NCUA. About a half
an hour in so here it comes Aaron Rodgers. Guys,

(30:03):
what's what's the landing spot for him? As we record this,
it sounds like it could be Pittsburgh?

Speaker 3 (30:10):
What do we think in here?

Speaker 1 (30:12):
Yeah, there are. It seems there are a couple of
different options just from all the reports out there. And
obviously I have no insight on this. It's none of
my business since I don't cover him anymore. But it
seemed like the Giants were his only option. This is
just my read on it. The Giants were his only option.
And then the Seahawks traded Gino Smith and he's like, wait,

(30:32):
I might be interested in them. They're better than the Giants.
And then the Steelers showed some interest and he said,
wait a second, I love Mike Tomlin. They're probably better
than the Seahawks. Oh wait, they have DK Metcalf. Now yeah,
I'll I'll want to check them out. So it seems
the Giants are a last ditch option for him. Him

(30:53):
and Mike Tomlin, I've always had an affinity for each other,
going back to that playoff. It was either in the
twenty twenty one twenty twenty two season where I think
Rogers was trying to get them with twelve men on
the field and Tomlin called the time out and they
kind of gave each other a smark that the TV
cameras caught, and then Rogers talked after the game about

(31:14):
the the mutual respect that the two have from their
battles over the years together. My guess where he ends up, Oh,
we forgot Minnesota. He could end up in Minnesota maybe,
although I would be surprised about that. I will go Pittsburgh.
I think, you know, it seems some of it is

(31:34):
dependent on where Justin Fields decides to play. So if
Justin Fields picks the Jets, then maybe the Steelers go
thereon Rodgers Russell Wilson's still in play. That's you know,
it's not the most enticing free agent class, but there
are a lot of big names, you know, maybe more
so than quality names, that need teams to play for,
which is why this is always the best time of
the year.

Speaker 4 (31:54):
But my guess is, yeah, you know, I think I'm
not quite sure. But from what I understand, there's a
potential meeting coming up between Tomlin and Rogers, and I
think they would have to, you know, air out some
of the things that Aaron brings to the party. That
kind of thing one would expect they could bridge that gap,

(32:15):
if there's any gap at all. But from what I understand,
that's going to be a consideration. The other factor that
comes into play, I think in all of this is
Sam Donald and where does Sam Donald go and what's
the situation there? Are the Vikings going to make a
stab at keeping him on a two to three year deal?
Can he do better elsewhere? I keep hearing Sam Donald

(32:38):
for Seattle, but I don't know if there's any real
truth to that or any legs to that whatsoever.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
Man right, Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what kind
of deal he gets himself. After the season he just
had with the Vikings. He deserves a big one. But
I would be surprised if it's with the Vikings because
they have JJ McCarthy. Do they take the Jordan Love
route with JJ McCarthy and sit him for a couple
of years? This past year was basically a Red Strit

(33:02):
year anyways, since he was injured. So it'll be fascinating
to see what happens. And we got about an hour
and a half till it all kicks off.

Speaker 3 (33:10):
So this really is the best time of year for you.
This is you enjoyed this sagment or was that a
little tongue in cheet there?

Speaker 1 (33:16):
No, I enjoyed. I enjoyed being busy. It's an entertainment
business and today is all about entertainment seeing where different
guys go. I mean, on this day last year, they
cut Aaron Jones, they signed Josh Jacobs, they signed Xavier McKinney.
So I would expect probably a fireworker two out of
Green Bay today, and that's always fun.

Speaker 3 (33:37):
Still believing the NFL has surpassed baseball by a long shot. Now,
how's it one?

Speaker 4 (33:45):
Well, I'm sure Matt's got a Yankees question for you
or two. But let me ask you this something that
people keep asking me. How far away are the Packers
from those top teams in the NFC? And the top
teams last year were obviously Philadelphia, Detroit, Minnesota in the NFC,
you know, and if you look at the score of
the games, it doesn't look like they were that far away.

(34:09):
But in reality, Matt, as you looked at and in
your analysis of the season after the everything was done,
where do you think the Packers are in relation to
those teams?

Speaker 1 (34:21):
Not there yet. They haven't done anything this offseason to
make me think that they can make that jump. It
could be a different answer by the end of today,
but I think they're probably on the same level as
the Vikings. They lost two games by two points to them.
Not the same level, but you know, especially if the
Vikings don't bring back Sam Darnold, I think the Packers

(34:43):
can beat the Vikings next year. I just don't know
what JJ McCarthy is.

Speaker 3 (34:47):
Going to be.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
They're going to be behind the Lions until they beat
them twice a year, which hasn't I don't think happened
yet with It has happened with Dan Campbell, I think,
but not the past couple of years.

Speaker 3 (35:01):
The Eagles.

Speaker 1 (35:01):
I don't think they're particularly close to them. They can
sit there and say, oh, we're close, we're close because
the margin of defeating these games, but there's a sizeable
gap I think between the Eagles and the Packers. Despite
what happened in that game. It goes Eagles, then Lions,
then Packers and Vikings right below that. So they're in
the third tier right now, and today's the day where

(35:22):
they have to try and bridge that gap a little bit.

Speaker 4 (35:25):
I think, hey man, just your opinion, and my theory
has always been, in a lot of cases in an
NFL game, the score belies the strength or weaknesses of
the two teams playing. In other words, you know, one
team may be significantly better than the other team, and
yet the score in the end was a two point
three point game, one possession game, that type of thing.

(35:45):
Does that make sense to you?

Speaker 3 (35:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (35:49):
I think so. You know, it was a twelve point
game between the Packers and the Eagles, but you know,
you can make the argument that it wasn't per particularly
that close.

Speaker 3 (36:02):
But you could also.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
Make the argument that if Brandon McManus made that first
field goal, or if Keishawn Nixon didn't you know, fumble
the opening kickoff, that it could have been closer. But
we heard that all season for the Packers. We heard,
stop shooting yourself in the foot. If it's just this,
if it's just that, it's a different game. A team
that can contend with the Eagles. A good team that's

(36:23):
elite doesn't consistently make those mistakes. So by the end
of the season, I kind of got tired of hearing
the narrative of, oh, they're close, and you know, we
just got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. Well
they never did. They never stopped, which means you're not
as nearly as good of a team as some of
these other teams.

Speaker 3 (36:40):
But the path, are you guys in agreement at? Wayne
and I have talked about it, even though we just
talked about what they would what we all think they
needs do. But Wayne, you've talked about like a three
year deal. So this is this you're coming up is
really big for them. The path buy and large is
pretty good. Are you in agreement with that?

Speaker 1 (37:01):
Is that a question for one for you?

Speaker 3 (37:03):
For you Matt, yeah, do you mean the direction they're going?
Obviously we're going to find out stop here in the
next you later today, in the next few days. But
because of the because of the young talent that they have,
that if you can, if you can somehow hit another
home run or two via the draft, free agency, that
that could make the difference, that could that could cover
that gap.

Speaker 1 (37:24):
Yeah, I think now is the year where you have
to have to do it because the honeymoon period with
Jordan Love is over. Your GM, like I said publicly,
got up at the podium and said, time to start
competing for championships. Got to show more urgency. And sure
that doesn't automatically mean they snap their fingers and get

(37:47):
Josh Schwett and Trey Hendrickson and Byron Murphy and all
these guys, but they're going to have to do something
to make that leap. And it's not just the internal
improvements that that they're talking about on the defensive line
we got our guys, or at wide receiver like we
got our guys. They just need to show some improvements,
that's part of it. And they do. And every team's

(38:09):
gonna rely on those year to year improvements from guys
they already have. But they also have the money. It's
not like they're strapped for cash or cap. They need
to go out and make some moves, whether it's a trade,
whether it's today in free agency, and then we can
start saying, Okay, maybe year three is the year they
kind of take that step. Winning a Super Bowl's hard.

(38:31):
It's not just Okay, automatically, they're gonna win a super
Bowl in Jordan Love's third year starting just because they
did that with Aaron Rodgers. So it starts today, like
you said, Matt, and then we'll see what happens the
rest of the year, because guess what, it's every team's
job to take advantage of today in the next couple
weeks and get better for this season. They're thirty one

(38:52):
other teams trying to do the same. Packers are just
gonna have to find a way to differentiate themselves from
the rest.

Speaker 3 (38:58):
Yeah, and you know part of the reason why.

Speaker 4 (39:01):
And I don't think anybody in the Packers has necessarily
talked about a three year plan. But when you look
at it, you know, you had the first year, you
had Rogers contract, in Baciari's contract, with dead money on
the cap, it couldn't do a whole lot. Did a
little more last year, you're continuing to develop these young players.
Now you get into year three, Now you have realistic
cap space, and now you have a team that you know,

(39:23):
we've got some players maturing along the way. Here, you
can make a hit or two in free agency, you
add another decent draft, and all of a sudden with
your young players if they grow. There are a lot
of ifs involved in this thing. But the other factor
is the Jordan Love contract, Matt, And I'm not quite
I don't have all the particulars, but from what I understood,
the first two years of this contract are relatively cap friendly,

(39:47):
and this would be the second year of that contract.
So this is an opportunity to make a move and
make a serious move at getting to a championship for sure.

Speaker 1 (39:56):
And part of the reason they're in that best cap
situation they've been in in the last two or three
years is because they're out from under that Aaron Rodgers
contract and now is the time too to make a splash.
And like you said, with the Jordan Love contract, that's
accurate and we'll see what they do with that money.

Speaker 3 (40:16):
Okay, Now, as Wayne promised, the Yankees question is for
both of you.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
Yeah, don't really want to talk about that right now.

Speaker 3 (40:21):
Oh come well, I know they've they've they've lost a
piece of their rotation that sounds like, but I mean,
come on, man, they got the World Series last year,
if I remember, I know that's not good enough. They
didn't win it, But what do we think what are
we thinking this year? They got that you know, critical
opening series with the Brewers, you know, just to start
things off. But what what are we thinking about your

(40:41):
beloved team.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
It's hard to be optimistic about a World Series when
the Dodgers are doing what they're doing. I still think
we can get to a World Series. But to lose John,
Carlos Stanton, then Garrett Cole for the season, if that's
indeed what happens is devastating blow. But I'll still watch
every game like a sucker.

Speaker 3 (41:04):
Is it? Is it for sure that there that Garret
Cole was out for the season.

Speaker 1 (41:10):
Oh it was recommended that you get Tommy John surgery.

Speaker 3 (41:12):
So oh no, I didn't hear that. I heard he
was down, But wow, that's huge, that's huge. And I'm
still not over, guys. I'm still not over the fifth
inning of Game five of the World Series. So you know,
I mean, that's why Maddy no longer talks to me,
and you know he no longer texts me, uh, because
I'm too narn a.

Speaker 1 (41:35):
Lot.

Speaker 3 (41:35):
I'll drag him down oppressing what he's Seven World championships
not enough?

Speaker 1 (41:41):
How about that I haven't won one since two thousand
and nine. When I was fourteen years old.

Speaker 4 (41:45):
Yeah, you know, this has been a lifetime. Now it's
just uh yeah, gosh.

Speaker 3 (41:53):
I get it. I get it.

Speaker 4 (41:55):
But hey, listen, man, thank you so much for taking
time out with us. I know this is the eve
of a busy season for you and everything else, but
we appreciate it. Enjoy all of your insights on not
only the athletic but the shows you do on the air.
I mean, your show during the season is must listen
at what about six o'clock Central Time on the iHeart stations.

(42:17):
And we really appreciate your.

Speaker 1 (42:19):
Time always, guys, always a pleasure hopping on with you.
Two legends. Appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (42:24):
Thanks Mat, you are listening to the Lerevi and the
Pay podcast. Something very special happened in Madison this weekend.
Let's take a listen as athletic director Chris McIntosh made
this announcement.

Speaker 5 (42:37):
Badger fans, we're gonna have a special moment here today
if you would help me recognize and welcome mal Pay,
the voice of the Badgers, to center court. Now, Matt's
not expecting any of this programming, just so you know,

(42:58):
but for thirty seven years and in basketball and thirty
one years in the sport of football. Matt's been laying.

Speaker 3 (43:06):
Down the Badger soundtrack.

Speaker 5 (43:09):
He's caught the most iconic in historic moments of Badger
history on the mic and he demoralized them.

Speaker 3 (43:16):
And for that, my friend, you'll.

Speaker 5 (43:18):
Be inducted in the UW Athletics forty twenty five.

Speaker 3 (43:21):
Hall of Fame. Man.

Speaker 4 (43:24):
All I could say is that must have been an
incredible moment for you and I, from what I understand,
a pretty big surprise.

Speaker 3 (43:31):
Yeah, it was an incredibly awkward moment, says it was.
That was, Yeah, we're going into a commercial break and
Brian Push does an eat your headset? What are you
talking about? And then Patrick Herb comes up and says,
we'd like to get to step out on the floor please,
And it was, Yes, it was. They did a great
job keeping the secret. I was totally taken by surprise
by that. And yeah, very humbled, deserving is open to debate,

(43:57):
to say the least, but very very honored, very humbled,
and was glad that nobody bowed. So that's always good
when you're out on center court.

Speaker 4 (44:05):
You know, it just struck me that, you know, for
for a guy from Ohio State who graduated from Ohio
State gets inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
You must have done something extraordinary over thirty plus years.

Speaker 3 (44:22):
Well, I'm old. I've been there for you know, the
thirty seven with basketball, it's you know, it's Chris mentioned
and thirty one with football. So yeah, I've been here
a while. And maybe there's enough people who don't know
where I attended college, so that that at least when
they were deciding on this. But yeah, I mean, you
know how it is, Wayne, when you're you know, you
you came from the East Coast and and you just

(44:44):
you start to get you developed by relationships here and
you get to know a lot of people here, and
it's more than just the games and all of that.
So it's been that's by that's the most enjoyable part
of this. You know, the games are great, but it's
all the other stuff that goes with it. So yeah,
I didn't I know if I would be here. I
didn't know if i'd be here thirty seven months when
I got here in nineteen eighty eight, So it's I've

(45:06):
been very lucky it's worked out. Well.

Speaker 4 (45:08):
We're thrilled for you. Congratulations, that's great. And you know,
I know that it's a tremendous honor number one and
number two, it's well deserved. So I know all of
us said that know you and work with you feel
very strongly about that, and congratulations. That's just the latest
in a great honor. But what an incredible honor that

(45:28):
is to be inducted into that Hall of Fame.

Speaker 3 (45:32):
Yeah. So it's like I was telling you off air,
they were looking for a non athletic person to put
in the Athletic Hall of Fairs. I said, okay, that
battle word die. I appreciate this is. I mean, doing
these podcasts with you is a ton of fun as well,
because you know how much I've admired you for before
you came to Wisconsin, so you know, followed followed your career.
So this is I've just been been crazy lucky, and

(45:54):
clearly the announcement on Saturday inspired Penn State. So I
apolgelized for that. I've already been told Tausher's already touched
me about the announcer jinks that you know they're up
five at the half and lose by double digits. So yeah,
I guess Penn State must have really been fired up
by that.

Speaker 4 (46:09):
You know, the announcement was such a big deal that
everybody lost concentration. You're right, You're up by five at halftime,
and after that it was like everybody was partying and
all of a sudden, Penn State, they're not even going
to the tournament, you know, ends up with the win.
You know, it's interesting because the past couple of weeks,
I've actually been in the Big Ten. I've seen Purdue
a couple of times, and the Illinois saw them against

(46:32):
Purdue on Friday night, Matt, the Big Ten has a
lot of intriguing teams in it. And I'm going to
tell you something. When you saw Illinois, they were really
battered by injury, by illness. They were so sick that
that the coaches agreed not to do the disingenuous handshake
at the end of that game. You know, but you know,

(46:56):
when they're whole and they're close, and they're gonna get
Mores Johnson and back their center for the tournament this week.
From what I understand, that's a pretty darn good basketball team.
And you know what, they may go into the NCAA
tournament a five or six seed, and there's nobody who's
going to want to play them because they will be
underseeded big time.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
Yeah, these guys, Wisconsin has seen them probably close to
their best and close to their worst, because they played
them down to Champagne in December and Illinois won. It
was a game in the eighties. It was an entertaining game.
But Illinois was really playing well at that point. And
you're right, between the injuries and the illness, there was
a they had a player who tried to go with
the first half and was having some issues at halftime

(47:39):
and had to basically had to throw up a lot
and was unable to see the floor in the second half.
They were really that the bug just ripped through that program.
But Brian Butch, he said this back in November. He
thought Illinois was the most talented team in the Big Ten.
And you're right, it is likely going to be under seated,
and it's a team that could do a lot of damn.

(48:00):
It'll be interesting to me, Wayne, because there's a lot
of good teams at the Big ten. Is there is
there a great one? But I guess you could look
all across college basketball. You know Auburn out you know,
you know they got beat on a buzzer beater over
the weekend, but they're awfully good. Duke is really really good.
The ACC isn't as a league, but Duke is. So

(48:21):
I think part of the beauty of this tournament the
last few years, and it may very well happen again,
is that you're going to get teams that people know
very little about who could get to the second weekend
and maybe threaten to go even deeper. Yeah, and it's
hard for us.

Speaker 4 (48:39):
It's hard for me to get a handle because I
didn't really I didn't do any Big East games, didn't
really see much of the Big East. But and by
the way, our friend Homer was celebrating his thirty fifth
season yeah with the Marquette radio play by play voice
to the Marquette Golden Eagles. Just a tremendous hunter. That's
it's great for him and you and I are both
happy about that because he is one of our colleagues

(49:02):
and friends. But it's hard to get a feel for them.
I thought Marquette in December and early January is gangbusters,
and yet it's Saint John's in that league that looks
like the dangerous team coming out of the Big East.

Speaker 3 (49:16):
Yeah, and I have to give Saint John's a lot
of credit because you didn't know the motivation going and
they're you know, they they've won the league, and you know,
you're still trying to win games, and you know, if
that helps you get a one seed or a high
two seed that you know, it was a you know,
they ruined Marquette Senior day in more of a gut
wrenching way. I guess in Penn State botched Wisconsin's, you know,

(49:36):
by coming in into the Coal Center and winning. I mean,
you get you get a buzzer beater off of a
late turnover. But I do think and I didn't get
to watch, didn't get to watch the game. We were
tracking it, you know, on our on our phones. But
it sounds like Cam Jones is starting to return to form.
And if he you know, he's he's an All Big
East player. He's one of the best guards in the country.

(49:57):
If that's a preview of coming attraction for him, obviously
you're going to need help from other guys on your team.
But he is to me, from what I've seen of Marquette,
either in person or otherwise, he's a game change and
he's back on track, then look out, because I do
think that that Marquette can still be a really really
good team in a guard driven game. He's one of

(50:20):
the best out there, if not the best. So it's
but you're right, teams change. I mean, Wisconsin had won
the previous three years, they had beaten Marquette, and Wisconsin
was playing really well in the early stages of the
season and then things started to slip for those guys.
This year, Saturday not with standing. Wisconsin was good in
the back half of the Big Ten schedule. Now we'll

(50:43):
just we'll see if they can get healthy, because that's
the storyline right now. Nolan Winter was banged up in
the game against Penn State. Max Klesmant has missed a
couple of games. They're thinking he could be back this week.
But as you know, in this tournament, we talk a
lot about tired legs and all of that, but to me,
it is more injuries. Yeah, in Wisconsins had some tough
luck in some years where it was set up for

(51:05):
them to make a pretty good run, but they had
key guys go down.

Speaker 4 (51:08):
Matt in these conference tournament situations, I've always wondered how
much impact it has on seating in the tournament or
if teams are pretty well locked into where they're going
to be, you know what I mean, especially teams that
maybe won the Big Ten, like Michigan State, if they
lost early in the Big Ten Tournament, would it severely

(51:30):
impact their seating in the NCAA that type of thing.
What's been your experience, what's been your observation of that?

Speaker 3 (51:37):
Yeah, I think in the case of Michigan State, it's
probably in a pretty good spot regardless of what happens
in Indianapolis. I think, you know, with Wisconsint, but if
you can get the Sunday, then there's probably not a
whole lot. You know, they might the committee might hold
a spot for you. Win, you get this spot, you
get a you know, the you're the eighth overall seed.

(51:58):
If you lose, you're the ninth or the tenth or that,
you know, whatever that differential would be. But I think
for Wisconsin, you know, even though it was by NCAA
net ranking standards, a quad two loss to Penn State,
it's still not a real good loss. And in the
first round, Wisconsin's first game in the Big Ten Tournament

(52:18):
is going to be against either Minnesota or Northwestern. Those
are the twelve and thirteen place teams in the league.
You probably don't want to drop that one because that
potentially could drop you a seed line. But if you
win that and then you get UCLA on Friday, then
it's hard to say, Wayne know how much. You know,
maybe you can improve a seed line if you're Wisconsin,

(52:40):
you can win a couple of games. But I just
you know, the way the way the Badgers have played,
particularly on the home floor, and how they have lost
to Oregon at home and then to Penn State, that
probably gives the committee something to talk about.

Speaker 4 (52:56):
Yeah, yeah, I would think so. But it's it's always
the tournament week is exciting. You just wonder how much
the last couple of weeks of the season. Matt I
just said to myself, got it, these teams look tired,
you know, and we're talking about good teams who have
been in these leagues that are folks night in, night out,
no matter who you're playing, it's it's a rock fight.

(53:18):
And you know, at I thought late February, early in March,
before the conference tournaments and all this other stuff, that
the people are tired. These guys have been going at it.
They started practice what in October and and they started
playing in November, and now we're in late February, and people,
the players to be, looked like there's they're looking around saying,

(53:40):
aren't we supposed to be getting into conference tournaments or
tournaments of some sort at some point in time here?
You know, I mean, one coach said to be, you know,
our guys, we don't need to we need to play
games we don't. We just need to get out and
play a game that means something.

Speaker 3 (53:55):
They don't.

Speaker 4 (53:55):
They're tired of practice, they're you know, and all this
other stuff. But you see that the dog days to
me are late late February early March, before the tournaments
begin and the players can flip that switch and move
on to the postseason. Down the stretch to the regular season,
it's tough, and you do see upsets of very good teams.

(54:15):
And the strangest part that I've found through the years
with these conference tournaments too, and that in the moment,
these guys are competitors. You're trying to win every.

Speaker 3 (54:23):
Game, and if you win, you know, if you could
win your conference tournament championship, the confetti flies, you hold
up trophies, and in the case of the Big Ten,
a half an hour later, you're sitting at a room
wondering where who are you going to play? Where are
you going to play? And when are you going to
play in the NCAA tournament. I mean you you are
turning the page immediately, and it's you know, we know
why these conference tournaments exist, but the players do in

(54:47):
the moment, players and coaches, it's about winning it. You
just you hold your breath. Every coach in America will
do this that you know. Guys are going to be tired.
You they'll they'll rest and recover as best they can.
But you I just don't want something crazy happening with
someone turning an ankle getting hurt, because it has been
known to happen.

Speaker 4 (55:06):
Yeah, oh no, no doubt about it. Last question for
you and last point. I've been at a couple of
senior days here the last couple of weeks, and you know,
senior days used to be really emotional. And these kids
who were in the program four and five years, et cetera,
et cetera. And now you got these kids and some

(55:27):
of them are one and done. This is their third
or fourth school. You wonder if they're getting a degree
in anything besides travel and you know, it just doesn't
to me have the same meaning anymore. And the other
thing is this, like, for example, Milwaukee a week ago
is at their game and you know, the coach is

(55:47):
saying to me, Barlinni was saying, you know, well, we've
got six seniors here whatever we're honoring, but you know
three of them could actually come back. Oh because of
this COVID rule and all this other crap, this senior
night stuff. I don't know, does that have the same
emotional drain and appeal that you once did?

Speaker 3 (56:06):
This year I can say specifically for Wisconsin, the answers, yes,
they did a little reception, butch and I were there
for that on Friday. UH. And in the case of Wisconsin,
it had six Three of them have been at Wisconsin
all along. Marcus Ilver, who doesn't play a lot, but
he came over from Estonia, uh. And then Carter Gilmore
and Stephen Krow. They have been Wisconsin Badgers from start

(56:29):
to finish. Max Klesman and Kamari McGee both transferred in,
but each has been here for three seasons. And there
I was consin Natives. The outliers, so to speak, is
John Tanjay, who is at his third school. You're mostly
at Colorado State, played a handful of games at Missouri
and was hurt, but his year here was special, SOB

(56:50):
he has fit in so that wass consin this year
Wayne as a whole. There was still a lot of
emotion and Greg Guard was emotional talking about those guys.
But in the coming years, You're right, I mean it's
you know, it's yeah, and now he was he was
at school a school B and now as a Wisconsin

(57:10):
Badger or or you know, name your school, there's a
different flavor to it. But I think, you know, for Wisconsin,
at least in the present, it was still you know,
there there was a lot of a lot of emotion
to it. But help much longer that's going to last
is anybody's guests.

Speaker 4 (57:26):
Last point, at least for me Greg Guard, in the
turnaround of this program and the way they're playing, it's remarkable.
You know, I Nat Oates down at Alabama. I was
there a few weeks ago, was talking about how, you know,
a lot of teams try to get into that fast
break type stuff, that up tempo stuff and everything else

(57:48):
in and they've were a lot of teams in the
SEC a couple of years ago after Alabama. He got
to Alabama and they started winning. Teams are trying to
copy that weren't able to do it, and he said
mentioned Greg. Gary said, you know, Greg Guard never was
in that kind of an offense, never in that kind
of a system. And yet what a job they've done

(58:09):
at Wisconsin to go into this a whole new way
of doing business of playing the game. You've had a
bird's eye view of that right at courtside. Tell me
about that and how big a transition has this been
from the old swing offense of bo Ryan and company
to where they are today scoring eighty plus points a game.

Speaker 3 (58:29):
Yeah, they use the term evolve rather than a total
a complete tear the house down and rebuild because they
are playing at a faster pace than they have in
the past. It's all relative. There's still the number of
possessions a game is still Alabama's going to have quite
a few more than Wisconsin. But with their offense it

(58:50):
has it has certainly opened up. It encourages three point shots,
it encourages getting shots at the rim. It discourages the
mid range game right, which again is not uncommon. We're
seeing that more and more at the college and obviously
at the NBA level, but it's an international flavor to
what they're doing the way they just describe at Kirk Penny,
the special assistant to the head coach, a two time

(59:11):
All Big Ten player at Wisconsin in the early two thousands,
A lot of this has been his influence or his ideas.
And then Joe Kravinhaff is a big analytics guy, and
others obviously on the staff are involved. Into Greg's credit,
he said, yep, okay, he's listened and he ultimately the
buck stops with him, but he's given the green light

(59:33):
to this. And let's be honest, players like playing this
type of system too, because you're going to have a
chance to you have the greenlight to shoot the ball,
as opposed to if you're out there you're playing four
on five offensively, I mean, you are out there for
a reason. But their principles, you know, still largely are
the same. I mean, you want to be strong defensively.

(59:55):
They weren't against Penn State, but they have steadily improved
throughout the course of this season. Minimized turnovers for the
most part, They've been really good with that. So there
are still those non negotiables that are part of what
they do. But I mean, let's be honest, I think
for the casual sports fan, the way they're playing is
a lot more visually pleasing. Oh yeah, you know, but

(01:00:17):
I think too Wayne people thought they just think the
swing offense, and you know, they haven't really run that
for quite a while. That even those best teams ten
years ago, they weren't running it because he had Decker, Kaminski,
you had Bronson Cannegye, had guys that could just go
out there and make plays. But still, you know, to score.
Two years ago they were scoring sixty five points a game.
Last year was around seventy five, and now you're looking

(01:00:38):
at eighty. You know, they hit their free throws at
a terrific at a record setting clip here so far,
a national record setting clip. But just the their ability
to shoot the ball, now that's something to watch moving
forward because quite honestly, they have not shot it well
over these last hand full of games. So for their

(01:00:58):
sake and breaking news, but they know they're going to
have to get that fixed. It comes down to making shots.
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:01:04):
Coach said that to me, Well, Matt Painter was saying
that the other day at Illinois said, you know, if
we make shots, were pretty good, and it sounds elementary,
of course, I mean obvious. But the fact is when
he's talking about that, he's talking about making threes. And
if you don't make threes and you don't hit free throws,
you're not in the postseason very long. It's you know,
I looked at a good mark Milwaukee team lose in

(01:01:28):
their first playoff game in the conference tournament to Oakland
on a night when Milwaukee was like I don't know,
four of eighteen or three of eighteen from downtown and
was like five out of twelve at the free throw line.
You hit one of those nights and in you're out
of the tournament. I don't care who what is how
well you play in other areas of the game, and

(01:01:50):
so it becomes real important make shots. That's I guess
for everybody. But it seems like Wisconsin, especially with the
free throw shooting, especially with the prowess they have now
on the outside of the athletic ability they have to
get into the open court. You've got a good chance
now to make a run in the tournament. I would
think with this team.

Speaker 3 (01:02:08):
Yeah, it'll be interesting this week in Indy, But obviously
you're ultimately judged the following week. And you know you
were asking a couple of minutes ago about seating, and
I think Wisconsin here. Part of it too would be
where you play. You know how much this Saturday's loss
hurt their chances of playing in Milwaukee, you know it,

(01:02:29):
don't really know, but you probably wouldn't want to lose
to a lower half of the Big ten team on Frisday,
no matter who they're playing here, because you'd like to
be as close to home as possible. You don't have to,
but if you can, you know, I think that's that's
a better situation. Yeah, absolutely, all right, Matt, Well, listen,
that does it for us this time. Good luck Conference

(01:02:50):
tournament to time down there in Indianapolis. It's always a
good time, great city for it. Indianapolis is an absolutely
perfect city for an event like this. The less in
federalle go, get some sant Elmo's and put it on
the boss's tab, so you got it. Get the shrimp
cocktail to start with. That'll clean eye, oh way, get
clean your sinuses.

Speaker 4 (01:03:09):
Absolutely, yeah, Sinus says, yes, all right, that'll do it
for us this time. Special thanks to our guest Matt Schneidman,
beat reporter on the Packers for the Athletic. Our engineer
producer who is Dave McCann. Our executive producer is Jeff Tyler.

Speaker 3 (01:03:23):
For Matt, this is Wayne. Thank you very much for
listening to the Larovian La Pey podcast.

Speaker 2 (01:03:31):
The Larovian La Pay podcast is a production of iHeartRadio
Podcasts with host Way Larov and Matt Lapey, with production
engineering by Dave McCann. The Lerovian La Pay podcast is
presented by UW Credit Union. Here for every you listen
to other episodes available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
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