Cam Achord - Offensive Coordinator, packers Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-15 | Full transcript (primary source).
Cam Achord, Offensive Coordinator for the Packers, addressed the media on September 15, 2026, to discuss the team's strategies and considerations regarding field goal attempts. The press conference provided insights into the communication and decision-making processes involved in assessing a kicker's range and performance.
Transcript
Achord: Everybody okay? Probably say 64 65 if you really look at it to be honest, um You know, I think when you look at the field goal, you got to look at like obviously where it's going over exactly at But I probably say 64 65 inside when you really look at it Like the farthest he went back was 58 So do you like based on how much he has despair? Is that how you set the line and where you might want to not really to be honest with you? I know a lot of people do that and some guys go back to 65 and pregame I try to keep them inside of 60 In pregame I kind of know based off of the elements and inside where his leg is and how he's feeling and hitting the ball and Just talking to him like how do you feel today and and that goes back to having a great relationship with him and communicating like hey How far do you think we could go today if we really had to? You know and to his credit He's not a guy that's like hot coach put it at 70, you know, like he's very in tune to who he is And we have really good communication But I don't to me it's more about the contact in pregame and the communication line then it is like oh he cleared it By two yards, you know, because maybe he just didn't hit it. Well, you know I think that's a lot of times when you even watching the opponent guys kick. It's like he barely cleared from 60 But was it actually flush contact and he actually has the leg from 65 So I think it'd be careful in pregame putting tons of stock in that I think it's more about how he's hitting the ball and filling the ball with foot To determine like how far he could actually go in a game.
Achord: I'm not sure why I'm gonna hear them back here Go ahead on the missed extra point like we can see it wide, right? But it doesn't you look at it a little more in-depth than that. So what happened there? Yeah Obviously, you know just push the ball to the right, you know, we just got to finish down down through the ball right there It's obviously when he wants back but kind of like we talked about it's really good to see the kid respond You know, we knew one was gonna come eventually. Unfortunately, it was obviously week one But it was great to just see the guy respond get back out there And you can just see the confidence in the next kick and keeping each kick his own kick We just got to finish through the football.
Achord: When you got a guy who's got the leg to make 65 a legitimate scoring chance Yeah, I think that goes back to the team concept. It's obviously a tremendous advantage But I think each game is its own game to like when are you gonna kick the long field goals versus play defense? and obviously that's a lot of the Communication we have as a staff and stuff like that But in you have time you have that advantage to go get three points and you're literally looking at it Like hey you get past the 45-yard line. Hey, we got a chance to get three it changes that damn mix of a game For sure, you know, and then obviously later in the year is gonna change ain't gonna be 65, you know later when you get in season so But it makes it for us offensively special teams wise defensively on both sides when the kickers can kick long field goals It's a tremendous advantage when you're when you have a guy like that and obviously when you don't have a guy like that So disadvantage.
Achord: How do you feel about both of your kickoff units? There was obviously some really good and then some not so good. Yeah, obviously the return game was we had a one explosive You know, so that that was good to see the guys out there. I've created then obviously on the other end It wasn't good You know and I got to do a better job Obviously communicating to the guys and making sure they're understanding know what we're trying to ask home and fundamentally where we need to put them Can't can't allow that and that starts with me The one we gave up no just got kind of got out of place again, it starts with me though putting guys in the right spot The guys are trying to do what I'm asking them to do And so it comes back down to me putting the guys that need to be in a spot to make the plays And getting the right coverage links.
Achord: There's some missed calls on that return social media seemed to think that yes, we'll let social media handle social media I I tell our guys don't anticipate calls to ever be called in the game at the end of day We got to get the guys on the ground whether that's at the 25 the 30, you know We've got to get off blocks and we got to do everything we can't get off blocks And so for me from a coaching aspect, I've got to you know design more drills to work getting off blocks Whether that be, you know Contact drills, you know using our hands better striking better. So it goes back to the fundamental things For me and that's what we got to go back to is Doing that to make sure we're able to get off the block so we can make the tackles So we'll do some a couple things right there to make sure we're in a better position this week.
Achord: Oh at the big kickoff return, but in terms of getting sky more involved in that aspect You're kind of just at the mercy of what the other one doesn't that correct? Yeah Um, you know, obviously they did a really good job credit Minnesota moving the ball around trying to make sure sky didn't get his hands on the football So, you know, obviously each week the more and more game film you have the more tendencies people develop you'll be able to move guys around Obviously, he's pretty special with the ball in his hands, you know But Bo to his credit anytime you rip one off like that teams are gonna be like Well, do you really want to kick to him or do you want to kick it to the other side now, too? So there's a couple different things. Hopefully we'll be able to do and give him some more opportunities.
Achord: And what does that do for you to have a guy that I know you'd like sky to get that ball To have a guy that can be productive like oh was that how helpful is that to tremendous help, you know when you have two guys that can do it and you can put them left and right or You know switching them with whatever maybe the kicker team and you have a guy that has the ability to create an explosive It just makes the kickoff team on the other side decide. Alright, what do we want to do? We want to kick it to this guy or that guy but you can line them up and it's a tremendous advantage It really is like when you have two guys that you know can create that home run ability It makes it my job a little bit easier I can just tell the guys hey get ready to get the ball put them in the certain spots catch the ball coming forward Maximize an opportunity. So I would say when you have two guys like that, it makes my job easier to be honest with you.
Achord: Okay, we've seen Daniel be so good. And obviously it's been the one down there by the goal line What did he tell you about what went wrong? This should make a contact, you know, and that's not Daniel. I mean, you know It's week one Whether it's that that player another play, you know, let's just put it for what it is It's one play, you know And we know what he can be and we expect him to be who he can be and I think he takes like we talked about So much pride in it, you know, I think you know, he's gonna be okay going forward.
Achord: Okay, how do you kind of figure out is it kick-to-kick situational on Kickoffs if you want to say alright, let's just get through the end zone And let them start of the 35 versus we want to pin them down there and make them return it How do you kind of decide on that or you always want it to be returned at this point for me? I always want to go cover that's just my mentality like how I want our guys to have the same mentality Like we want to cover every kick You know, I think it does change how the game goes how's the game going and every kick and we'll have conversations and Every kick is its own kick in terms of that aspect of like do we want to cover this? Do we really want to try to hit a touchback? Do we want to put the ball left right whatever may be but I mean for us going in the game We're trying to cover every kick, you know and then pin the guy the team obviously Closer to the 30 the 25 yard line in that area because now, you know, we talked about the kickers are so good You give them the ball in 35. They're a first down in five yards from kicking field goals nowadays So I don't think that's fair to our defense to just go out there and say hey We're gonna bang touchbacks the whole season You know, that's some people may do that But we have to be able to put our defense in a bear situation and start them closer to the 30 and in Then just going out there and lining up and said hey, we're gonna put the ball in 35 every time y'all figure it out That's that's not good for us So we got to be ready to cover.
Achord: I'm wondering what does Melton mean to your special teams as you really get going in this season because obviously you're expecting them to be back on the active But what is his value? But Bo brings a lot not only his energy his athleticism, you know He's a guy that we can we count on that does a lot for us, you know And I think he's gonna continue to get better You know, I think you saw some of the ability has you know in a couple plays and I think he takes so much pride In it and he's a guy that we're gonna really rely on the future for sure, but he definitely means a lot to us out there.
Achord: Back to sky He had a couple pump returns where he Got some bouncing balls just how good is he? You know with the fielding that stuff and sitting saying few position in the decision-making process It's really good. We talk about all the time like, you know, we want to be aggressive But we don't want to make costly errors, too So there's a fine line as a returner that I want you to tread like I want to be aggressive But we also want to be so aggressive where the balls bouncing multiple times and now we're trying to pick it up We're fumbling in there, but we want to save the yards, you know When the ball hits the ground on average and then a fail it rolls around 14 yards, you know So like we're saving potentially 14 yards for able to fill the ball for bounce, you know And you got to be ready for punters to miss hit the ball, you know Whether you're forcing, you know on the punt return team or they just have a bad punt You know in elements or just have a bad punch So, you know, he does a really good job of being in to fill the ball staying under control You know, no panic, you know, you look for that in returners. That's quiet feet get into the ball and understanding the situation So he does a really good job of that and our guys obviously know he's gonna pick the ball up sometimes and return it So they're gonna block for him.
Achord: Study you did that you watch every punt that bounces and yeah Yeah, it may have changed. I was I was a study three years ago So don't quote me on that last year was it that but three years ago. That's when I did that Because I think it's important to know what you're giving up You know, it's and how aggressive it is to fill the ball So, you know, we want to make sure we're filling the ball. So we're not giving that up and then Surfaces change to won't get into all the details But also depends on kind of which surface you're playing on is it because it give if the ground gives it's not gonna roll As far versus if you're playing on a hard turf surface, too So and you know different punters roll different, but yeah and generally was a three years ago. I did that study.
Achord: So can you sort the plays where it's not fielded Look at every punt by a routine. Well, it depends on which study you're doing So there's some you can't you can't sort whether or not filled it But also there's some where they're touched and they roll and they don't don't do it So you go through and you obviously just take all the return ones out And then and the fair catches and you watch the rest because the rest are like down hit the ground and so I mean I don't know how many was don't want to give you a false number But it was a good number. I don't think there's ever enough film. You can't watch You know whether you're studying guys against vice play and because to me once you're able to look at the data and the film there Like that's just time. You just got to take the time to watch the plays and study it because now you're gonna help the guys out so But I don't mind watching 3,000 punts. It's fine.
Achord: I Did the vice study this offseason on how many times versus vice you should win? I went back and watched all of You know Matt Slater's Vice reps, you know and and his reps versus vice for last six years when I coached him just to see kind of like how much did He win, you know, and that way it gives it to our guys kind of like a percentage of stuff It was pretty high, but obviously he's a probably a Hall of Famer and should be a Hall of Famer So but that's that's the standards we want, right? We want to have high standards like and we want to live up to those standards So to me you want to look at the what the best of the best is and that's what you want to hold yourself to.
Achord: 8.2 He got vice on average 23 23 25 times a season and he won 80.2 percent time, which is really really high for Two guys over here on the outside and sometimes he had three so You know that that was credit to him obviously and who he was and everything So but you know, I didn't do anybody but him because I obviously I think he is the best of all time To do it. So, I mean if I'm sure if I did different guys in the league, it'd probably be lower But if you win 80 time 80% against advice, you're you're pretty darn good out there I mean anytime two on one sometimes three on one and you're and you're winning you're pretty good.
Achord: That's forcing ability making the tackle or forcing a fair catch No, I'll be honest I think that's what our standard is like I Want to we want to be the best right and that's what we want to strive for so I understand Is it gonna be that no, but that's why not have high expectations? You know set the bars high, you know, and you know what at the end of the year when you review it Do we have a good year bad year? I don't really look at it until the years over was it a good or bad year I think each week is its own week just like we work on different things each week. So We'll see once the season's over kind of like where we're at and where we were But I think you always want to strive to be the best at whatever you're doing Whether that's coaching with us playing, you know, whatever it may be, you know, we're playing a game I'm gonna win, you know, so whatever it is So I think that's the standard and and that's what we want to push our guys for and I hope they hold me to That standard as our coach, you know, there's there's one standing us to be the best.
Achord: Will you be showing your team the vice reps of the guy in Washington against Philly? I Did you know somebody buddy of mine actually sent that to me that coaches in college It was a great rep physically, you know night and fought through two guys and then put them in the ground So I'm sure our guys have already seen it, you know, they kind of pass that around I Don't really show tons of league stuff, you know I think we just got to stay within who we are and Focus on who we are and in each week and how we can win that game Not so much what somebody's doing in a matchup somewhere else when it comes to that.
Achord: I don't know a couple days. I Have a thing because the other stuff comes up, you know, but We'll see we'll see I I like to do those studies to be honest with you So I would say probably took me two days to watch them all. Thank you. Have a good day.
