WEBVTT - #615 Packers Unscripted: Prepping for Pittsburgh 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:11.239 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:14.400 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by my 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:17.640 partner in crime Weston Hotkowits were coming to you here 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:21.040 from our studios at lambeau Field West. Week four, the 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:24.880 Packers will be hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers, is a three 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:29.680 pm Central Time kickoff at lambeau Field. And look at 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:32.880 the Steelers here, a little bit on up and down 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:35.520 start to their season. They are one and two after 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.639 three games. A very impressive road victory in Week one 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:41.639 over the Buffalo Bills, the a f C runner up 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:45.200 from a year ago, but then back to back home 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:48.440 losses to the Raiders and the a f C North 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:51.400 Division rival Bengals, the one against Cincinnati kind of being 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.760 a clunker of a performance for Pittsburgh, especially in front 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:57.600 of their home crowd. What do you make of this 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:00.240 Steelers team so far? Well, I think the big thing 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.120 is is that's gonna be a really competitive division, was 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:05.679 my main takeaway. I look at we talked so much 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.160 about green Bay start to this season and how difficult 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:10.080 this gauntlet is going to be for green Bay, and 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:11.880 throughout the course of the season, Obviously our eyes have 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:14.120 been turned in November as well, understanding what's gonna be 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.680 coming down the pipe. But this has been a really 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:19.400 difficult start for Pittsburgh. I mean, to be able to 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.280 get that win against Buffalo, I'm guessing they would have 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:24.800 thought that that's gonna be their most problematic game in 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:26.880 that first month of the season. Ye, playing it on 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.600 the road. Yeah, So then you come right back and 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:32.800 you've got a very game Joe Burrows team obviously the Ravens, 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:35.640 and and now you're coming into Green Bay and you're 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:38.000 gonna take on Aaron Rodgers in this offense coming off 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:40.520 of two really nice back to back performances here. So 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:43.680 it's a big challenge for them. And realistically, I think 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.560 this is gonna come down to Ben Roethlisberger and what 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:48.720 Ben Roethlisberger are we gonna see? Is it going to 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:50.240 be the big Ben of older? Is it going to 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:52.080 be this guy that's been under a lot of pressure 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.080 here this early part of the season, has had a 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:56.360 couple of turnovers as well. Yeah. The biggest thing that 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.280 surprises me not that we watch a lot of Pittsburgh 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:02.160 Steelers football all but to look at the statistics through 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.080 through three games, and yes it's a small sample size, 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:07.600 but Pittsburgh has not been able to run the football. 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.320 But you know they invested that high draft pick and 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.840 naj Harris, yet as a team they have just a 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:16.399 hundred and fifty three rushing yards through three games, which 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.239 is surprising. You mentioned the pressure the turnovers with Roethlisberger. 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:24.120 He's got three interceptions with just three touchdown passes so far, 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:26.919 and he's been sacked eight times. That's not the kind 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:31.160 of thing you're accustomed to seeing from a Pittsburgh Steelers offense. 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:33.320 So this is the other thing that really stood out 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:35.680 to me though, and I bring it up because of 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:38.280 what we talked a lot about last week with regard 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.280 to the Packers. The Pittsburgh Steelers through three games have 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:44.440 yet to score a point in the first quarter. So 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:48.240 I think the Packers need to be prepared for a 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:50.960 team that is going to be hell bent, if I'm 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.760 allowed to say that on our show here, to to 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.440 get off to a fast start, like we were talking 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:00.880 about with the Packers, to to get things going early offensively, 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.840 because they're scored by quarters right now, west none in 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.560 the first quarter. They have scored fifty total points in 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.360 three games. Thirty of those fifty have been in the 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.760 fourth quarter. This is a team that has not been 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:15.840 able to find an offensive rhythm until late in ball 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.280 games based on the statistics, and the Packers have to 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:21.040 be ready for an early Haymaker in coming out of 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.600 the gate to right. I mean zero points in the 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.320 first quarter, six in the third. It's not like they're 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:28.480 getting off to these fast starts of the third quarter either. 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:31.160 The point I made an insider in boxes that the 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:33.560 Pittsburgh Steelers are down right now. The Packers can't let 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:35.760 them get back up. They need to be able to 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:38.480 assert their will, especially being at home. You're gonna have 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:40.880 an energized crowd. It's gonna be a mid afternoon game. 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.600 I mean, that is pretty much picture perfect in terms 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:45.920 of weather, in terms of conditions for the groom a. 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.720 Packers really to have a nice home field advantage. But 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.360 the thing that surprises me the most with Harris is 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:57.360 that he is a prototypical bell cow back six ft pounds. 0:03:57.760 --> 0:03:59.760 He's been a factor in the past the game. He 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.280 actually has more receiving first downs right now than rushing 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:05.880 first downs. But they've just not been able to get 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.280 those wheels turning for him in this run game. And 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:11.200 I feel like green Bay coming off the performance they 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.560 had last week. Now, that was a beaten up unit 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.080 against San Francisco, but Mike, we've seen them use a 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:19.719 multitude of running backs against green Bay over the years. 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:21.719 The fact that they were able to stop Trey Sherman 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.440 get San Francisco out of their rhythm, I'll say a 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:27.680 time and time again. I feel like the blueprint is 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:30.440 very much the same going into this game against Pittsburgh. 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.799 Not allowing Harris to get that confidence early on, making 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:36.280 sure you clog up those holes. That was a telling 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.800 performance by the Packers defensive front last week, one of 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.440 the better games we've seen out of Kenny Clark. I 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:44.520 feel like that's really the focal point going into this game, 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:46.960 is asserting your will and not allowing them to catch 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:51.240 their feet. Yeah. Absolutely. And on the injury front, the 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.520 Steelers dealing with some missues. Ben Roethlisberger did not practice 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:57.359 on Wednesday. We'll see what happens with that as the 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.440 week goes along. T J. Watt, their star pass rusher, 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:03.800 he missed last week's game. I believe he was a 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:07.200 limited participant in practice on Wednesday for them. You look 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:10.200 at them again, statistically, they have five sacks as a 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:13.120 defense through three weeks. T J. Watt has three of 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:16.039 those five. They're not getting a whole lot of pressure 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:19.440 from anybody other than t J. Watt. So they need 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.320 him back. They're hoping to get him back this week. Again, 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.240 We'll just have to have to wait and see there. 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:29.360 I think you mentioned the blueprint for the Packers being 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:34.760 being similar defensively. I think there's a lot of similarities 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:37.479 offensively in terms of with the way these games have 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:39.600 gone for the Steelers so far. If the Packers can 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:43.000 get off to another fast start offensively, I think you can. 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.520 I think you can really, you know, put some pressure 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.039 on Roethlisberger if he gets down a couple of scores, 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.760 that that this Packer defense can turn itself loose a 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.520 little bit. Now, this guy is a Hall of Fame quarterback, 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.320 and he's brought teams, he's brought his Pittsburgh Steelers back 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:00.400 from big deficits before home away. All that he's done 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:03.839 at all. But this, as I said, I think Pittsburgh 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:06.120 is gonna come out and try to punch the Packers 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:08.280 in the mouth like early in this game. I think 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:10.880 that's gonna be Mike Tomlin's message to his team based 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.760 on how they've started the first three weeks. The Packers 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:15.960 have to be ready to take that punch and response. Yeah, 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:17.680 And I mean they have really good weapons. I mean, 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.080 you know throughout. I mean, these are guys, are players 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:22.760 that can hurt you. And obviously the investment to Harris 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:24.920 Benny Snell has been there for a number of years now. 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.080 They are going to try to challenge green Bay early 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.520 on in this game. And and as you said, Roethlisberger, 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:33.160 there is a good track record there for him against 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:35.719 green Bay and heck, I think Mason Rudolph won a 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:37.800 game against green Bay two. If that's the way this 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:41.320 thing has to go, There's so many different things. When 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:44.520 you look at Pittsburgh, it is it's a weird deal, 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:47.119 right because the sample size is small, three games is small. 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.880 It is enough to change up the waiver wire order though, 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:51.960 I mean it is enough that you start to take 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:54.520 stock as some of these things. That's why I think 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.000 you're gonna see a Steelers team that's really hungry in 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.280 this one and trying to show that okay, we still are. 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.520 There's a reason I Ben Roethlisberger came back. They wanted 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:04.479 to make one more run at this thing. They feel 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:06.159 like they did have the tools and while they did 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:09.560 lose some pieces, they were able to draft the highest 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.960 top ranked running back in this year's draft, So that 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:15.200 that part's gonna be interesting. We'll get into it more 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:17.520 with the defense, but the injuries are probably the biggest 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.720 question mark I have with where the Steelers are going 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.760 to be at who's available, who's not. The The bench 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:27.840 is really short at outside linebacker, probably shorter than I've 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.280 ever seen with the Steelers team, at least in this 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:34.120 modern three four era. Uh So, Yeah, questions are gonna 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.040 have to be answered by Green baby man. They got 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.800 the momentum on their side. They're riding it into this matchup. 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.200 You've been able to put points up back to back weeks. 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:43.480 You have to find a way to keep that stretch going. Yeah, 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:46.840 and Pittsburgh really really wants to avoid a one and 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.120 three starters you talked about in that division. With what 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.200 the Ravens are doing, with what the Browns are doing, 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.480 the Bengals look like an up and coming team, getting 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.880 their young quarterback back and getting some things going there. 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.680 So um one and three in that division could be 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:01.880 a a big hole for the Steelers to have to 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.520 climb out of if the Packers can put them there. 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:08.120 Um some sponsor business Here West Serious x M NFL 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:10.760 Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:15.640 NFL news that true football fonetics need seven three and 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.160 at Cousin Subs, we have something for everyone like our 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:21.560 Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.480 all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:29.680 Cousin Subs, we believe in better injury update for the 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.520 Green Bay Packers you want to give the fans where 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.120 things stand, We found out that Kevin King, who missed 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:39.559 last Sunday's game with an illness, he actually was diagnosed 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:44.000 with a concussion. The reason it wasn't labeled a concussion 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:46.960 for missing the game against San Francisco is because it 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:50.520 wasn't medically confirmed yet. He wasn't feeling well on Sunday 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.599 morning later was diagnosed with the concussion, so he is 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:57.439 in the protocol, has not did not practice on Wednesday, 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:01.319 and the Packers also have um inside linebacker Chris Barnes 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:04.160 in the concussion protocol as well. Yeah, and I want 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:06.720 to tip my cap to Kevin King. I don't Kevin's 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:09.720 probably not an avid viewer of Packers Unscripted, but I 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:11.880 have a lot of respect for him in what he 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.839 did on Sunday. I know there's things people are wondering, 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:18.840 what is that game day, guys dropping out listen. I 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.120 think if anything we've learned about head injuries over the 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:24.679 last fifteen twenty years, is not every well. First off, 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:27.640 not every situation is the same. You know, people handle 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:30.360 these things differently. Aaron Rodgers even touched on that after 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.120 the game when he was talking about Davante Adams. But 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.320 the other thing is too, if you're not feeling well, 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:40.520 it doesn't do anybody any good to put yourself through it. 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:42.720 He did the right thing, going and telling the trainers 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.480 and the team doctors, yeah, something isn't quite right here. 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:48.920 And unfortunately they're out in San Francisco. They don't have 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.640 all the resources they have here in terms of being 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:53.840 able to diagnose him and treat them and things like that. 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.720 But they knew something was off. Hats off to everybody 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:01.360 involved by allowing the young man just to Okay, let's 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:02.880 get back to Green Bay let's see what's going on 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.920 and hopefully he progresses through concussion protocol. No long term 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:07.439 issues there. I know in the past he's had a 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:10.560 couple of the concussions too. In terms of the game though, 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:15.400 the way the Packers responded to the pieces they were missing. 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:18.559 First off, Eric Stokes going in making his first NFL start, 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:21.840 playing pretty darn good for a guy that is seventy 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:25.679 defensive snaps fourteen days earlier, he's playing eight. I mean, 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:28.839 just the seeing that, the revving that up and being 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:31.520 able to push those those you know, those buttons when 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:33.240 you lose Chan and Solivan for a little bit, when 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:35.600 you have some other injuries. He was something you did 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.760 not have to worry about out there inside backer. As 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:42.120 you mentioned Chris Barnes, pretty scary little incident there, coming 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.680 on the slant pattern, he stops the receiver. I forget 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:48.520 who that was exactly. He's down for a minute. So 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.160 one you bring in Tye Summers playing in the base packages. 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.480 You bring in Rain Burks, who I I wrote this 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:56.480 an inbox Mike, I'm gonna keep saying it. I think 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.320 this is the perfect utilization for Burkes. He is your 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:02.160 traditional will type linebacker in a nickel package, and the 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:04.200 Packers are playing a lot more of it this season. 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:06.680 I liked what I saw on the half sack. I 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:08.880 like what I saw with his aggression. We've seen a 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:12.200 different Oren Burks in that way this season. But more 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:15.880 than anything, Devandre Campbell. You can see him every single week. 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.600 He's a six year player, but he's getting more comfortable 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:21.080 with this defense. He's the guy now responsible for relaying 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:23.600 the play calls from Joe Barry. This is a guy, people, 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:26.400 that wasn't here a hundred days ago. He came in 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:28.719 the last week of the off season program, and now 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.320 he's responsible to be your signal caller. I love the 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.760 way he plays the position. He got another takeaway Again, 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:37.040 despite losing Barnes, who was such a pivotal piece for 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.040 them a year ago, they were able to keep the 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:40.599 ship afloat, and a lot of that credit goes to 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:45.000 Devandre Campbell. Yeah. Absolutely, the I think what we've seen 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.200 from Campbell, the way he has settled in for a guy, 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.360 as you mentioned, he didn't show up until the last 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:51.640 week of the off season program, a guy who was 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:54.319 a victim frankly, of of the salary cap punch around 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:55.760 the league. This is the guy who would have gotten 0:11:55.800 --> 0:12:00.480 a much nicer contract in normal circumstances. I sure he 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.040 was disappointed at the offers that were out there, whatever, 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:05.640 but at some point, you just have to take the 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:08.400 best one available, right, and that was the Packers. And 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.679 I think he's I think he's happy with his choice 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:13.160 at this point because he's playing a major role in 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:17.040 this defense and he's producing. Um, he's a he's a 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.880 key piece now and as you said, wearing the communication 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:22.240 helmet as well. So this is a this is a 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:24.640 veteran player now in the middle of the defense the 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:27.000 Packers are really relying on. Yeah, And he said it 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:29.520 back in June two. He wanted to sign before the 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:31.760 offseason program. He wanted to make sure he got his 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.400 hands on a playbook, to have those six you know, 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.120 sit five six weeks to understand the defensive system that 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:41.120 he was moving into and that game more than anything, Mike, 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.760 whether it's it's those guys, whether it's Al Lazard stepping 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:46.920 up on special teams or you know, yash Naiman, you know, 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:49.640 becoming their left tackle when when you know they didn't 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:51.319 know that they well they didn't know, but they didn't 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:54.760 have Elton Jenkins available to hit an offensive line playing 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:58.200 with four guys that didn't even start an NFL game 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:01.000 up until the open or three weeks ago. Right, the 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:02.920 hats off to the team and being able to actually 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.320 make those adjustments. And realistically, we've learned it time and 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:09.520 time again, Mike, You're gonna have amazing years where nobody 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:12.439 gets hurt. You keep your starting five offensive line in 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.040 the whole year, you keep your core defensive unit, and 0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:17.040 you're gonna have years where you need guys to step up. 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:19.040 And through the first three games, Packers haven't had a 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.360 lot of injuries, but where they have been missing people, 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:25.000 guys have responded. Yeah. As of Wednesday afternoon, Elton Jenkins 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.720 not back at practice yet. We will see again how 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:32.880 that UM evolves or progressive throughout the rest of this week. 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.160 And Marcos Velde Scantling not at practice Wednesday due to 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.600 the hamstring injury that he sustained in the second half 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:42.800 at San Francisco. So again, UM one of those things 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:44.720 that that will probably take the whole week. We may 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.480 not know for sure until Sunday afternoon exactly what's going 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:49.640 on there. And that goes both ways, because while I 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:52.559 expect you know t J. Watt coming back to Wisconsin, 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:55.199 the Pewaukee, you would imagine t J. Watt's going to 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.880 be out there on Sunday, regardless of all the groin 0:13:58.000 --> 0:13:59.960 is feeling. But dude, I mean he also got all 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:03.240 it's high Smith. He was limited dealing with a groin 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:07.240 as well. I mean they had issues. Uh, And Melvin Gordon, 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:13.480 Melvin mcgordon, Melvin Gordon, Melvin Melvin Melvin Ingram the third 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:16.520 is the only other outside backer on their depth chat 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:18.480 right now. Now, they have a lot of versatility, kind 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.000 of like the old school Don Caper's defenses. You can 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.200 move those inside backers around too. But this is a 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.520 really interesting matchup for both Green Bay in Pittsburgh because 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:29.440 I think there's gonna be a lot of eyes on 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.360 what that injury report with the designations looks like on Friday, 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.120 in exactly ninety minutes before the game on Sunday, who's 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.800 all going to be available? Yeah? All right, well let's 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:39.960 get down to it here, keys to victory here for 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.800 the Packers on Sunday. What's the first thing that comes 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.480 to mind for you? Four sacks they had last week, Mike, 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.320 and I actually was the guy that was sitting there 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:49.480 trumpeting that San Francisco is not the type of team 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:50.640 that you're gonna be able to get a lot of 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.080 sacks against. But why did that happen? Because they stopped 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.000 the run and they were able to start pinning their 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.800 ears back more. Preston Smith played out of this world 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:01.600 in that game, as Arenie mentioned, with Kenny Clark continually 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:04.400 pushing the pocket. Got credit this week for that sack 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.400 that ended up resulting in the fumble that Devandre Campbell 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:11.480 did recover. Nice play there for the nose tackle. Packers 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:15.280 need to put pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. God bless him. 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:17.280 He's been doing this thing for a long time, but 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:19.840 he's a thirty eight year old quarterback. This is the 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.200 type of game in which you need to apply that pressure. 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:24.960 You need to stop the run first, get after the quarterback. 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:27.720 He's gonna throw three interceptions the first three games. Make 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:29.880 sure you turn that into the fourth and fourth. That 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:32.040 is going to be the primary objective if you can 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:35.280 get him off his spot. Green Bay Packers. Again, assuming 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:37.400 it's Roethlisberger, I guess we can see if it's Rudolph, 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:40.440 But whoever's back there that the Packers got to get 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.840 after that individual. Yeah, And for me, aside from what 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.200 I already said, which is to be to be ready 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.080 for ready for a big punch from the Steelers early 0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:51.280 based on how they have struggled struggled early in games, 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:55.680 and how this Packers offense wants to continue to start fast. 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:59.160 This is the blueprint for this game based on how 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:01.200 the Packers a play, how the Steelers have played. Is 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:03.560 for the Packers to start fast, to get up early 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:06.240 and let that defense, the Green Bay defense, play with 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.840 the lead and and do the things that you're talking about. 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:11.000 The other thing I will say though, for the Packers 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:14.800 offensively is to stay balanced because for some of the 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:18.520 struggles that Pittsburgh has had defensively, it's it's not quite. 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:22.280 We haven't seen quite the Steelers defense that maybe we're 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:25.400 accustomed to, but they're not giving up a whole heck 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.280 of a lot on the ground. It it has been 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:30.640 difficult for teams to run the ball against the Steelers, 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.960 and the Packers can't lose sight of being balanced on 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.600 offense because if it just becomes you know, if if 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:38.280 you give up on the run and you just try 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:40.640 to go drop back pass and T. J. Watt is 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.240 coming after you on every play, even if his groin 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:45.880 isn't fully healthy. T J Watt. T J Watt can 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.000 wreck things, and and and the Packers have to. I 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:51.600 think staying balanced on offense is how you neutralize a 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:54.040 guy like t J Watt. No question, huge assignment coming 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:55.960 up for Billy Turner and all those guys in terms 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.520 of when you're gonna see what. But for me again, 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.840 it goes back to the fact that at the Greenbay 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.760 Packers last week, they ran the ball times for a 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.639 hundred yards with Dylan and Jones. None of those carries 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.120 went for more than twelve, but they were consistent with 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:13.360 it against a darn good defensive front, agassive front. It's 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:15.760 gonna happen at some point. You can mark this down, 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:19.600 put it in your you know, crop it. Aaron Jones 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.840 is gonna have a major, big time carry at some point. 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:23.840 We have an ad R game breaker at some point. 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.600 But the more that they're able to have those games 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.879 where they don't have the big explosive play but they 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:31.560 still surpass a hundred yards, just keep churning them, that's 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.159 the ticket. And I thought they did that really well 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.720 against San Francis. Yeah, absolutely well before we go a 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:39.720 quick look around the league because there are some other 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:42.359 interesting matchups. I want to start with the NFC North 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.640 because we're seeing another division game, which is Detroit against 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.560 Chicago that will be at Soldier Field. And then Minnesota 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:53.440 coming off of that big victory against Seattle, the Vikings 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.520 now hosting the Cleveland Browns, obviously a team that everyone 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:58.920 you know, the Bears have already seen them. Everyone else 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:03.560 in the NFC North going to see the Browns this year. Um, 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:06.000 those are a couple interesting matchup the Bear The Bears 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:08.840 are figuring out exactly what's going on at quarterback with 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:14.159 their injury situation, and Detroit fighting hard every week for 0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:16.439 Dan Campbell, looking for that first win for their new 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:18.280 head coach. Yeah, and this is really going to test 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:20.280 their moxie, you know, going to this one if you 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:22.960 can bounce back after some really tough, gut breaking kind 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.399 of games, trying to be the Chicago Bears team that 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:28.320 is also reeling that at this point in time, doesn't 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:30.240 really know who their quarterback is gonna be, doesn't know 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:32.439 where fields is going to be at health wise. So 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:34.359 that's a marquee game. It's kind of gonna be the 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:36.720 one that Okay, who's gonna still be in this race here? 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.120 Who's gonna be one of the front runners in this 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:42.240 division to be able to actually compete? Uh this season? 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:45.560 Cleveland Minnesota is a fascinating game because they're getting Kevin 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.960 Stefanski going up against Mike Zimmer, the former offensive coordinator 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:51.439 against the long time defensive mind. That's gonna be a 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:54.320 great game to watch and for for Minnesota. Kind of 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:56.560 like what I was just saying about Pittsburgh, this gauntlet 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.320 doesn't get any easier for them either. This isn't the 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:02.159 Cleveland brown from four years ago. This is a game 0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:05.399 offensively driven football team and Stefanski is one of the 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:07.440 smarter guys in this league when it comes to play calling. 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:09.000