WEBVTT - #430 Packers Unscripted: Getting defensive 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:21.200 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:24.400 I am Mike Spofford sitting alongside my partner in crime, 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:26.920 West hod Kuwits were coming to you here from our 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:29.720 studios at lambau Field and West. We are back from Chicago. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:32.000 Week one is in the books for the Packers and 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:37.600 it's an uplifting ten to three victory over the Chicago Bears. Now, 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:39.640 for all the preview shows we did leading up to 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.640 the game, if you had said, hey, Mike, you remember 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.680 that game the week seventeen of two thousand and ten, 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.680 when the Packers beat the Bears ten to three, it's 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:52.479 gonna be like that, I don't think anybody would have 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:57.640 believed you. But it's Week one in the NFL, and 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:00.800 you absolutely never know what kind of game you're gonna get. 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:02.720 You don't know what you're gonna get, and you don't 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:05.440 know how quickly the helium can be taken out of 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:07.840 the balloon. And if you're looking at like the Chicago Bears, 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:09.600 I mean you and I were in the city for 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:12.360 twenty four hours before this game. There was such a 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:15.480 vibrance in the air, so much excitement, and everybody walking 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.840 around in the streets wearing Bears jerseys. It was. It 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:22.920 was incredible and you had Sadarius Preston Smith, Adrian Amos 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:27.920 just put a small, slow stranglehold on that enthusiasm in 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.200 this matchup. And you and I were discussing it as 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:32.600 we got into the studio this morning. I mean, one 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:37.399 of the most complete, dominant defensive performances the Packers have 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:39.760 seen in the last few number of years. I said, 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:42.120 it was one of the stingiest performances of the past 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:43.720 decade when you go back and look at some of 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:46.240 these things. They gave up three points and that was 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.520 after that they they've been given the Bears have been 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:50.880 given the ball at the thirty six yard line. I mean, 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:56.560 just to see five sacks, eleven passes defense, uh, eleven 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:59.480 quarterback hits, nine passes defense and interception from Amos. There's 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:01.360 so many things you can talk about with this matchup, 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:03.520 but three out of fifteen on third down for the 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.360 Chicago and oh for two on fourth then absolutely the 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.880 biggest stat though the Green Bay Packers were able to 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:10.959 go into Soldier Field and pick up a game after 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.679 when you know ten to three, Uh. There it is 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:17.720 a catapulting as you said, uplifting victory. When you see 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:19.760 the sidelines, the way they reacted to it, the way 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:21.919 the players were in the locker room, there was a 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.399 lot of jubilation over what a lot of people would 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.160 say would be a relatively boring If you look doing 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:31.680 the statistics, the score h Affair, Well, it is the 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:35.239 first time the Packers have won a game scoring ten 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.840 or fewer points since the ten to three game at 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.160 the end of the regular season in two thousand and ten. 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.680 And I actually also saw a stat on somebody's little 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:45.960 TV screen we're flying back on the plane in the 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:49.120 middle of the night that last year, Apparently throughout the 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:53.400 entire NFL season, only two teams were able to win 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:56.000 a game scoring ten or fewer points in the entire 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:00.320 NFL season. So this kind of thing doesn't happen every day. 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.520 But hats off to the Packers defense, and in particular 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:10.240 the free agent spending spree of Brian Goodakunst in early March, 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:14.720 Zadarius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos, they all had a 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.720 tremendous impact on this football well, and that's part of 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:20.960 this thing that that is so interesting in my regard, 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.280 is that you had three marquee players at the Packers 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:26.679 sign on the defensive side of the ball. In all 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.440 three of them completely rose to the occasion right off 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:32.720 the bat. Adrian Amos and Zadarius Smith actually had had 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.120 lunch this week and Amos had told him, He's like, 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:36.960 you know, I want to make a big play. As 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:39.640 much as the narrative, as much as what the reporters 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:41.480 and in media wanted to make it about him returning 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:44.600 to Chicago facing his old team, Amos said, it never 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:46.320 was like that, and if you know him, if you 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:49.120 get to know his personality, I can confidently say it 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:51.400 wasn't about that. What he wanted to do is he 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:53.040 wanted to prove to the Green Bay Packers, proved to 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:55.760 Brian Goodacuns that they made the right investment in him. 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:57.680 He wanted to make a big play. This is a 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:00.200 guy that was somewhat you know, when you go back 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:01.600 and look at there were some people that dogged on 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:03.680 him a little bit because he only had three interceptions 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.880 in his time in Chicago. He made play after playing 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.240 that game, he helped coordinate that defense and when it 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:13.160 mattered most, him and Tremont Williams working in tandem with 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:16.599 each other, and overthrown pass Williams, forcing Traubinsky to you know, 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:18.160 throw a little bit more on it because he was 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:21.040 underneath and Amos is able to interception to play that 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:23.560 those two had actually talked about on the sidelines based 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:26.560 on something they'd seen earlier in the ballgame. Phenomenal from 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:29.840 that perspective. Zadarius and Preston Smith, though, Man, I don't 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:31.560 know what more you can say about these guys. Six 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:34.640 quarterback hits, two and a half combined sacks. They were 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:38.839 in Mitchell Rubinsky's face all night, and I tweeted this 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.599 during the game. The pass rush benefits the secondary that 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.599 benefits the pass rush. You saw a perfect marriage between 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:48.159 those two principles. And Mike Petton afterwards had a big, 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:50.479 big smile on his face and his we know that's 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:52.200 not something you're always going to see with the fact 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.360 of the DC. Yeah, absolutely, Mike Patton with with that 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.680 big smile and hopefully he's able to keep it here 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.560 um through this really part of the season, because unfortunately 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:05.920 the Packers offense was up against a pretty darn tough 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:09.800 defense as well, and it wasn't It wasn't the prettiest 0:05:09.839 --> 0:05:12.279 debut at all for Matt Lafleur and Aaron Rodgers and 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:16.400 this offense. But and quite frankly, west boy, that first 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:21.600 quarter three straight three and ounce minus twelve total yards, 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:23.880 a couple of sacks in there on third down. I mean, 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:27.360 that first quarter was was as ugly as it gets. 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.440 But all of a sudden, that first offensive play of 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:33.320 the second quarter kind of the double play action. You 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:35.440 had a play action of a regular run of play 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.520 action of the jet sweep coming behind, and then boom, 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:41.200 you take the shot down the field with with Marquez 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.200 Veldez scantling in one on one coverage makes the play 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:46.600 forty seven yards. A couple of plays later, Packers go 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:48.480 up tempo, a couple of plays later there in the 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:52.120 end zone, and suddenly it's seven to three. And it 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:54.159 was as though it was as though the Packers defense 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.200 that all right, we're good. Now we got the lead. 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.360 Here we go. Well, what spoke to me about this 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:01.279 matchup is one, even though it was ten to seven 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:02.839 or ten to three, and most of the game was 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:07.119 seven to three, it never felt like the Packers were 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:10.200 in danger, if that's the right word. It just always 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:12.480 felt like they were in control. Even when the offense 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:15.560 was having its issues, even when you know Trabinsky would 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:17.000 make a couple of plays here there they build a 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:20.440 little momentum. They'd always found the CounterPunch to it. Looking 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:22.920 at that series though that you're illustrating the forty seven 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:25.919 yard passed to Mark Quez Valdes scantling, you and I 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.000 we have a pretty good vantage point. It's not the 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:30.239 great press box view the best one in the league. 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:33.240 That particular play, we did have a pretty goodvantage point 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:35.400 it because you saw MBS coming free over the middle 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:37.760 of the field. Aaron Rodgers got a bucket load of 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.640 time to work with on it connects with them forty 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:43.240 seven yards and as you said, there's a quick past 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:46.720 to Marcedes Lewis, another quick past at Davantae Adams. They 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:49.600 catched Chicago with twelve men on the field, and then 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:51.719 there's a touchdown on a fifty fifty ball or a 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.440 fifty zero ball. I guess you could say to Jimmy Graham, 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.080 first one of the hundredth season of the NFL, So 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:01.000 this is when you get the off fense in rhythm 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.039 and sink. I think that's what it looks like. The 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:05.039 problem for the Packers in this matchup was trying to 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.480 find that. But listening to Aaron Rodgers and you were 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.400 with him at the podium afterwards, it just seemed like 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.240 he's pretty optimistic that this offense is gonna be where 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:14.920 it needs to be, is going to get to where 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:18.080 it needs to be. And defensively, they have a chance 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.240 right now that they can win these type of ball 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:23.480 games if they absolutely have to. Yeah, and that that's 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.880 the thing is. Hey, look it's September football. This is 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:30.160 the new NFL. The preseason is not what the preseason 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:34.080 was ten or fifteen years ago. This is what September 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.800 football is in the NFL. Nobody's going to be polished, 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:40.720 especially offensively. People don't play their starters, and even if 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:44.000 they do, they're not facing real defense, the kind of 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:46.320 defense you're going to face in the regular season. Nobody 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.720 wants to put anything on film. These are the kind 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:51.560 of games you're gonna get in September, and quite frankly, 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:54.600 it's all about it's almost like survive in advance. It's 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.440 like find a way to win enough games in September 0:07:57.520 --> 0:07:59.800 until you get your legs under, you get your feet 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:02.160 under for you, and you can start to move ahead 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:04.760 into into the meat of the schedule, so to speak. 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:07.240 And you just got to get through these first few 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.600 games and and don't put yourself behind the eight ball 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.040 record wise, and and getting a big win on the 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:14.880 road against the division opponent. You got another division opponent 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:19.040 coming into lambeau Field next Sunday in week two. You 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.960 gotta get gotta get through these games somehow, and because 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.800 in the end, they all count the same, even if 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:28.840 you're not playing this if you there, the thing is 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:30.840 those the practice have had years where they started six 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:32.640 and oh yeah, I would think even the year in 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:36.000 which Rogers got injured the first time with the collar bone, 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:37.640 where they want four and two or four and one 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:40.440 going into there might have been. But as you know, 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:42.600 what this team might if if you can't stay healthy, 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:44.360 if things don't you know, line up the right way 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.199 in December, it's not gonna matter September. The way I've 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.600 always looked at it, because you know, for a while 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:51.960 they were kind of, you know, bludging, you know, can 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.240 you get off to a fast start. The importance a 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.960 fast start, and don't get me wrong, that's critical if 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:58.920 you're looking to get a bye, you need to be 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.120 able to win through th four games, right off the 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.760 bat to put yourself in that position. But you always 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.360 just gotta keep yourself within the race, right, you need 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:08.240 to get two wins, you need to maybe steal that 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:10.720 third you got, you gotta you gotta stay in and 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.080 not put yourself in a position where you're playing uphill 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.800 starting in mid October, you know, And and with the 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.160 Packers now having five of their next six games at 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:21.480 home after starting off with a division win against the 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:25.640 defending NFC North champs, you know, whether you're playing great 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:27.640 on offense or not. I mean, if the defense can 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.440 keep this going, whatever it takes, you gotta make some 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:33.120 hay here because the road schedule the second half of 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.560 the season and things are going to change for this team. Absolutely, 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:38.199 But to go into Soldier Field and an NFC North opponent, 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.120 the defending division champion, and be able to get a 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:42.440 victory like that, that's huge. And it's one of these 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:44.319 things too. We touched a little bit on the defense, 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:48.240 but I was involved in the huddle with Preston Smith 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.800 and Zadarius Smith after the game. Their lockers together right 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:54.560 next to each other, visiting locker room figure, right, But 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:57.080 they both were talking for about three minutes. They did 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:00.000 their interviews in tandem. You know, Preston Smith said, well, 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.280 Sadarius Smith was a captain for this game, and one 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:04.000 of his big messages before end was we want to 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:05.840 shock the world. We want to show people that we 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.680 can be a difference maker, be a dominant defense. And 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:10.640 then over on the other side of it, Presson Smith said, 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:13.360 we heard the outside noise. We're not listening to it, 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:15.240 but you still hear it, you know what I mean. 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:17.880 I mean, that's still an ambient noise with people when 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.040 they don't have high expectations for you, when there's been 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:22.599 issues in the recent years, trying to be able to 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:25.040 put this all together with new parts, new draft picks. 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.319 The Packers did that pretty seamlessly. So to them, they 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:30.160 felt like they woke a lot of people up with 0:10:30.160 --> 0:10:32.320 this matchup. And then on the other side of it, 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:35.160 as Kenny Clark was discussing afterwards, you know they've been 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.520 hearing these second and third year guys in this defense 0:10:37.720 --> 0:10:40.920 have just been hearing about, you know, defensive liability and 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:42.640 not being the one that's holding up their end of 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.800 the bargain. This is a big moment for them. This 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.800 is a huge confidence boost that is the most overused 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:52.280 cliche when it comes to professional sports as confidence, but 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.520 in this particular case, you can't under overstate it because 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:57.680 this has been a lot of guys on this returning 0:10:57.720 --> 0:10:59.360 defense have been punched in the mouth here the last 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:02.160 few seasons. Yeah. When so when you listen to locker room, 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.360 as you mentioned, regardless of what happened with offense, defense 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.400 special teams which had a solid night, there was just 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:12.599 a really big fervor in there of confidence, of swagger 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:15.040 that I think it's been missing here at least over 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:16.960 the last year. Yeah. And Aaron Rodgers went to the 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:19.440 podium after the game. He certainly he took his share 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.199 of the blame for the offensive struggles. Matt Lafleur did 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.640 as well. Both of those guys, you know, they know 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.320 it's it's back to the drawing board a little bit 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:29.720 in the sense of in sense of okay, that was 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:32.080 that was not the opener they were hoping for. But 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:35.199 Aaron Rodgers said, hey, you know this, this team showed, 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:37.719 uh you know, showed the nation that was watching that 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:40.120 we've got a defense. That was That was the quote. 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:45.240 And and uh, um boy, I mean every time it 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.720 was interesting because we've seen in the past, when the 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:51.200 offense doesn't have a good game, Aaron Rodgers can be 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:53.640 pretty sour at the podium and everything like that, even 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:56.360 after victories. You know, he's he's such a he's such 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:59.240 a perfectionist. He's such a competitor, and he knows that 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:03.360 so much as riding on how he plays every time 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:05.600 at the podium Last night, West after the game, when 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.280 Aaron Rodgers was talking about that defense, his face was 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:10.600 just lighting up, you know, like every time you'd see 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.800 the smile, you'd see the eyes, you know, the eyebrows everything. 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:17.120 You you look at his facial expressions in that postgame 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.240 press conference when he's talking about the defense, and he 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:22.000 said it just when you have a defense like that 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:26.160 from from the offensive perspective, what they feel they now 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:29.880 have on the defensive side, it just gives the quarterback 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:32.200 a lot of confidences to where this team can go. Now, 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:34.040 you still gotta go out and play, you know, you 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.800 still gotta go out and win games. And and the 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.520 Packers are going to have. Packers defense is going to 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:42.880 have much much bigger challenges than the Bears offense, which 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:46.320 um which quite frankly was was a big dud and 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:50.640 a big disappointment too to their side of things. But um, 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.040 but Aaron Rodgers is confident and where this team could go. 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:54.640 And the other thing you gotta keep in mind too 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:57.920 with this Mike Aaron Rodgers been practicing against this defense, 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:01.080 against this scheme, against the point scouted looks for the 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.079 last month and a half and he had to go 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.679 back every Wednesday or whatever day it was that he 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:07.920 had to talk to the media and talk about I'm 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.800 not playing in preseason games, and you know, it doesn't matter. 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:13.600 I'm focused on what we're doing. And why he felt 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:15.840 good when they got behind the closed practices with what 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:22.280 the offense was doing because Mike Petton's defense is complicated 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:25.719 and he's been looking at it. So when Rogers is 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:30.000 seeing these schemes, I bet you that he went out 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:33.839 there last night pretty darn confident that that defense was 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:36.920 gonna look pretty darn good against Chicago because he's had 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.520 a first row seat to it for the last six weeks. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:44.240 So seeing those schemes, in what Zadarius Smith had been 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.079 doing in practice and Preston Smith late during the camp, 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:49.920 you know, seeing how all these pieces messed together. The 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.439 Packers have had an idea for that so I think 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.840 in some regards it was sort of opening a presence 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:57.640 in seeing, Okay, NFL, this is what we're gonna give 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.319 you here, this is what we can do when we're 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:01.959 at our best. Because, as you said, there's gonna be 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.400 highs and lows, there's gonna be injuries. The Packers have 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:06.840 a very tight rotation right now. It looks like so 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:10.040 you have to stay healthy. But when everything's clicking on 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.360 the same cylinder, that defense is going to give you 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:13.960 a chance to win. It doesn't matter who the other 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:16.720 opponent is. Yeah. Well, the other thing to remember about 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.240 a game like this, because the final score was ten 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:22.520 to three, obviously it's a one possession game, there were 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:26.400 a lot of things that showed you just how slim 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:28.400 the margins are in the NFL. And this is what 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.800 I wrote about a little bit in Insider Inbox, which 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:33.840 I was doing, I don't know, three o'clock in the 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:37.600 morning something like that before I went to bed. But um, 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:41.080 you look at certain moments the the shot played down 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:45.080 the sideline to Alan Robinson and Tremont Williams very smartly 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:47.800 and alertly gets him right when he's in mid air 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:49.600 and is able to shove him out of bounds because 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.120 you don't have that force out rule anymore. The guy's 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.360 got to get his feet in and if and if 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:55.960 you can knock the guy out of bounds, it's an 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:57.840 incomplete pass. That would have been a first down in 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:01.000 the red zone there, Okay, And then you look at 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:04.400 the replay challenge on the Taylor Gabriel catch down the 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.240 sideline that was overturned out. A bad call in the field. 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:10.400 Always gonna have one time out left, by the way. Yeah, well, 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:12.000 and that's what I was going to say. And I 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:15.400 apologize for not remembering this reader's name, but this reader 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:18.480 and I posted it in the Insider Inbox column, had 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:21.680 mentioned that one thing to keep in mind there is 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:26.240 that on the Packers previous offensive series, Aaron Rodgers took 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:29.320 a delay a game when the play clock ran down 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:32.080 because the Packers only had one time outleft. He didn't 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.600 burn it right there, and if he had burned it, 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:36.280 if he if he had not, say he had not 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:38.680 remembered they only had one time outleft or something, and 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.440 he calls it. Matt Lafleur doesn't have a time out 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:45.320 to challenge the Taylor Gabriel pass, which obviously was a 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.760 potential momentum shifter and a game changer in and of itself. 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.880 So and what happened after that delay a game penalty 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.640 to like a yard passed to Robert Tonyan play in 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:57.360 a series in which they ended up getting a field goal. 0:15:57.360 --> 0:15:59.120 So I mean right, it went, it went to second 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:01.000 and third team went from second and eight to second 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:02.720 and thirteen. And then the big play to time and 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.680 gets him across the midfield. You're into scoring range. Another 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.520 one I'll mention because you talked about Adrian Amos. Obviously, 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:11.040 he's back in Chicago for his first game facing his 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.760 former team. He makes the big play two minutes left 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:16.440 in the end zone with the interception ha Clinton Dix 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:19.640 knocks the ball out of Aaron Rodgers hands on that scramble. 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:24.280 Rogers is fortunately able to recover it. But the story 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:26.960 might have been Ha Clinton Dicks getting back at his 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.800 old team and creating a turnover in a key moment 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:31.520 now that I believe is in the second quarter or 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:33.840 not two minutes left in the fourth quarter. But again 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:38.000 it's it's just the margin. The margins are so slim. 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:41.200 There is such a fine line between winning and losing 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:44.000 in this game, and that's why, however you want to say, 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:45.600 if you want to call it, I want to call 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.680 it an ugly win, a tough slog, whatever you want 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:50.560 to say. A win is a win as a win, 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.760 as they say, and you just you don't apologize for 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:54.920 anything in this league because that's just how it goes well, 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:56.520 and it's easier to correct off a win than it 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:58.240 is a loss. I mean, And the other thing is too, 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:01.320 I mean, it's a lot more fun certainly players, you know, 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:03.440 and and my thing is too. And maybe some fans 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:05.960 outside will disagree with me on this, but I don't 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.720 classify that one as an ugly win. I've seen ugly wins, 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:11.000 I think you you know, and it goes both ways. 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.240 You can win forty two to forty one, that's probably 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:15.679 an ugly win. There's been some negative stuff that's happened there, 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:17.840 and we might see some of that in Week one 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.080 here on Sunday in the NFL with if certain defenses 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.560 that you know are are not quite up to snuff 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:25.439 and the offenses are going to be ahead, and we 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:27.800 might see a couple of shootouts just the exact opposite 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:29.600 of what we saw. But from my perspective, the reason 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:31.600 I say it's an ugly win is because there were 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:33.560 so many things that did go right for the Packers 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:35.919 in this game. You talked about how close the margin 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:38.399 was of that matchup. It applies to special teams too. 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:40.360 I was talking with j K. Scott about this after 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.159 the game, the field position battle that that him and 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.280 Pat O'Connell had to kind of wage there a little 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:48.840 bit in in Scott for his credit, was able to, 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:50.800 you know, kind of go tip for tat with them there. 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:53.600 And another play that I thought was really critical is 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.320 you go to that last punt where the Bears are 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:57.960 going to get one more crack at this thing to 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:00.359 be able to try to drive the field, and j 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.080 K he's sitting there looking at the line of scrimmage. 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:05.600 The Bears are bringing everybody in for what appears to 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:08.280 be like just an all out punt block. The Packers 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:10.679 were not anticipating have to squeeze their gunners in, but 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.159 they did. He has to make a decision there if 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:14.520 he wanted to go out of bounds, if he wanted 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:16.280 to go down the field with it. He decides to 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:20.120 go down the field with it, just on corkside sixty 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:22.120 three yard or that ends up getting brought back even 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:26.320 farther after a holding penalty. Tarik Cohen's making a Willie 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:28.879 Mays over the shoulder catch because he has to he 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:31.080 has to run back so far to find the ball. Yeah, 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:33.359 and the fact that the Bears had to start that 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:35.720 series I think at the fourteen yard line or whatever 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.280 it is, flipping the field position, allowing the defensive line 0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:42.119 and the outside linebackers to pin their ears back. I thought, 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:44.400 really low key, this was a solid performance from Kenny 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:47.280