Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my trusted colleague Weston had Quitz. Coming to you
Speaker 1: hear from our studios at lambeau Field and Wes. I
Speaker 1: apologize I'm going to dominate the early part of this
Speaker 1: conversation because I have a lot to explain to our
Speaker 1: viewers and listeners. There have been some technical difficulties going on.
Speaker 1: To put it mildly, our last episode, which we taped
Speaker 1: last Thursday, did not get posted for a couple of
Speaker 1: days because of these technical issues. It is available on
Speaker 1: packers dot com, but video only. There are still issues
Speaker 1: with regard to audio uploads and the whole podcast thing.
Speaker 1: These are out of our control. They have to do
Speaker 1: with the NFL's platform, and these issues, to my knowledge,
Speaker 1: are They're working on things to get them resolved, but
Speaker 1: we don't know when they will be resolved. So our
Speaker 1: last episode is available, it was just posted late. This
Speaker 1: one will be posted the same way video onpackers dot com,
Speaker 1: not in podcast form, and because of all of these
Speaker 1: technical issues and all of the logistics with the upcoming
Speaker 1: trip to Brazil, this will be our only episode four
Speaker 1: this week. We are not going to try to do
Speaker 1: an episode from Brazil. There's just too much other stuff
Speaker 1: going on. So I hope I did explain all that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: did I cover all the bases?
Speaker 2: And until next time, He's Mike. I'm wes we'll see
Speaker 2: it next time.
Speaker 1: But we do have a show to get to and
Speaker 1: because this is our only show this week, this will
Speaker 1: focus this This show will serve as the preview for
Speaker 1: Friday nights, Week one, season zero in Brazil. Our last
Speaker 1: episode was we talked about all of the roster maschinations,
Speaker 1: the trade, the waiver claim, backup quarterback kicker, how it
Speaker 1: all shook down. But now week one is here. So
Speaker 1: my question for you is, are you ready to go
Speaker 1: to Brazil.
Speaker 2: I'm so ready. I'm so ready for this entire thing
Speaker 2: to get going. I remember talking to you when I
Speaker 2: came back. I mean, we had that really busy first
Speaker 2: day of training camp right where we had practice in
Speaker 2: the morning, I went and covered the shareholders meeting in
Speaker 2: the afternoon, And that seems like a decade ago, and
Speaker 2: here we are still kind of leading up to this
Speaker 2: first meaningful, tangible football game, and the fact that We're
Speaker 2: going to South America for the first time that the NFL,
Speaker 2: this is their debut in Brazil and trying to expand
Speaker 2: the global footprint of this game. What it means on
Speaker 2: that level, just hearing some of the guys talk about
Speaker 2: that this week, but then also from the x's and
Speaker 2: o's perspective, which Matt Lafleur has been hard bring on
Speaker 2: big time. This is not a vacation, This is not
Speaker 2: a trip. This is something where the Green bit Packers
Speaker 2: have to go into this stadium against this opponent and
Speaker 2: come up with a victory. Because suddenly, Michael, for as
Speaker 2: much as we prepared and we team bonded and we
Speaker 2: put in the hours, now it's time to play football again,
Speaker 2: and the Green Bait Packers have a very difficult opponent
Speaker 2: facing them in Brazil.
Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent. And I don't know about you,
Speaker 1: but I get the sense both last week as the
Speaker 1: roster stuff sorted out, and then this week as the
Speaker 1: team has gotten into the practice routine for the game
Speaker 1: in Brazil and everything, I get the sense that these
Speaker 1: guys in this Packer locker room, whether this game is
Speaker 1: in Brazil or at lambeau Field or in the City
Speaker 1: of Brotherly Love or in Timbuctoo. These guys are eager
Speaker 1: to get out there and play a real football game again.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's it's partly it's partly the
Speaker 1: way the way last season finished, both in terms of
Speaker 1: the late season run and the disappointment of how things
Speaker 1: ended up. But it's also the youth of this team,
Speaker 1: all of these young guys that are taking a step forward,
Speaker 1: but also all the changes that have gone on with
Speaker 1: this team. You have a brand new running back who's
Speaker 1: going to be the new belcow running back in this offense.
Speaker 1: You have a new defensive coordinator and a new approach
Speaker 1: on defense. Suddenly there's also a new kicker in the mix.
Speaker 1: I mean, for a team like the Packers that made
Speaker 1: the playoffs and made a run and it is considered
Speaker 1: a contender in twenty twenty four, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: change with regard to this team, and I think these
Speaker 1: guys are eager to get out there and show it.
Speaker 1: They can't wait.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was funny too, because even though there has
Speaker 2: been that amount of change, as we saw for the
Speaker 2: thirty third Teams Report, this is still the youngest team
Speaker 2: in the National Football League by.
Speaker 1: Quite a significant margin quit.
Speaker 2: Frankly, after all of that, Greenmit Packers are still the
Speaker 2: youngest team in the league. But I was sitting there
Speaker 2: and I was talking with Bo Melton for a story
Speaker 2: I worked on that actually posted on Wednesday, and him
Speaker 2: talking about the tight knit nature of that locker room.
Speaker 2: Certainly with the receiving corps, that's one of the things
Speaker 2: that has made that room go. But just the amount
Speaker 2: of love that those players have for one another, and
Speaker 2: I think some of that is steeped in. Yeah, the
Speaker 2: team and you had the team bonding and obviously winning
Speaker 2: at the end of last season helps, but it's the
Speaker 2: fact that they're basically all in the same social circle.
Speaker 2: I mean, all these receivers are pretty much the same age,
Speaker 2: even the guys that are more veteran, like Josh Jacobs
Speaker 2: is twenty six years old. I mean, the Green Bay
Speaker 2: Packers have such a young nucleus there that has grown together,
Speaker 2: that has seen, you know, themselves go through the ups
Speaker 2: and the downs, and the ebbs and the flows. And
Speaker 2: because of the way the Packers structured their preseason, the
Speaker 2: offense only playing three snaps, the defense starting defense only
Speaker 2: playing eight snaps, so many of these guys, whether it's
Speaker 2: the new incoming free agents like Jacobs, like Xavier McKinney,
Speaker 2: or it's just the undrafted players that made the roster.
Speaker 2: So many guys are just kind of champing at the
Speaker 2: bit to get out there and play football again and
Speaker 2: challenge themselves. Because even though it was a sour aftertaste
Speaker 2: of how things ended for the guys that came back
Speaker 2: from Santa Clara, the optimism that has followed them, seeing
Speaker 2: how Jordan developed in the second half, seeing how this
Speaker 2: offense came together, and seeing how this defense in this
Speaker 2: self belief that they've been fostering here under Jeff Haffley,
Speaker 2: I think it gives them the confidence they want in
Speaker 2: the early momentum. They want to try to start this
Speaker 2: thing off fast. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think there's really there's some really interesting things about
Speaker 1: this particular matchup. I started to suggest it a little
Speaker 1: bit on our last show, But when you look at
Speaker 1: the fact that you know, these are two teams that
Speaker 1: went to the playoffs last year, they finished finished the
Speaker 1: season kind of you know, going in very different directions.
Speaker 1: But that being said, the Greemiat Packers have a new
Speaker 1: defensive coordinator. The Philadelphia Eagles have a new defensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: They also have a new offensive coordinator as well. Both
Speaker 1: teams have a new number one running back with Saquon Barkley,
Speaker 1: whom Packers are plenty familiar with, having faced the Giants
Speaker 1: each of the last two years away from lambeau Field
Speaker 1: and coming up short in both of those games, and
Speaker 1: Barkley playing a huge role in both of those losses
Speaker 1: to the Giants. The Eagles now have Barkley, the Packers
Speaker 1: have Josh Jacobs. And when you know, on the subject
Speaker 1: of change, I think one of the things that's interesting
Speaker 1: about the Eagles and we're not there every day and
Speaker 1: you know, processing all of it and covering all of it.
Speaker 1: But when you think of the mainstays over the years
Speaker 1: of the Philadelphia Eagles, two of them and center Jason
Speaker 1: Kelsey and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, neither one of those
Speaker 1: guys is there anymore. That's a big adjustment for those
Speaker 1: for that team in the trenches on both sides of
Speaker 1: the ball, wouldn't you say?
Speaker 2: I would say it's a huge difference maker. I mean,
Speaker 2: I mean that kind of quipped last week about the
Speaker 2: tush push, But I mean there's so much that Kelsey
Speaker 2: did that goes beyond that. As you know Kenny Clark
Speaker 2: was saying this past week, he was really the general
Speaker 2: up front. As talented as Lane Johnson is and as
Speaker 2: talented as Jordan Myletta is, it was Jason Kelcey as
Speaker 2: far as the captain up there, the communicator, the guy
Speaker 2: that when you think about those really dominating Philadelphia Eagles
Speaker 2: offensive lines, he was the center of that. Now Cam
Speaker 2: Jurgens is the one that I think is sliding overhanding
Speaker 2: those responsibilities. I'm very interested to see this next chapter
Speaker 2: from Akai Becton. He transitions going from the Jets. Now
Speaker 2: he goes over to Philadelphia. He's going to be making
Speaker 2: a shift inside to guard after things didn't go great
Speaker 2: for him at tackle. But overall, I mean the you know,
Speaker 2: Landon Dickerson, I mean the way that they have structured
Speaker 2: this thing. They have built so many resources into that
Speaker 2: offensive line. Interested to see where that goes. Defensive line wise,
Speaker 2: I think they're set up pretty well. Fletcher Cox was
Speaker 2: a stalwart, one of the best to do it, especially
Speaker 2: at his size and his position. But I mean you
Speaker 2: look at last year. I mean, Jalen Carter, this guy,
Speaker 2: we knew what he was athletic coming into the lead.
Speaker 1: Drafted Jalen Carter because they knew that Fletcher Coss couldn't
Speaker 1: play forever, right, I mean, this is the guy they're
Speaker 1: trying to make that transition from that anchor in the
Speaker 1: middle of the defensive line. They're trying to make that
Speaker 1: as smooth as possible.
Speaker 2: And with him coming in and getting six sacks right
Speaker 2: off the bat last season, I think he showed his
Speaker 2: natural athleticism. Now he's going to get more comfortable. The
Speaker 2: expectations are sky high for him. Jordan Davis is a
Speaker 2: guy that I'm also very high on. I think he's
Speaker 2: a good compliment to Carter. The one change that's going
Speaker 2: to be very interesting though for me watching this Vic
Speaker 2: Fangio defense and knowing and having such experience with what
Speaker 2: Fangio has done in this league for so long, is
Speaker 2: it is kind of an inside out. You know. They
Speaker 2: are more geared towards their what they have in the
Speaker 2: middle of that defense as opposed to the edges, which
Speaker 2: historically when you think of the Blitzburg schemes and some
Speaker 2: of the things that he did in Chicago and obviously
Speaker 2: San Francisco.
Speaker 1: While one of their top pass rushers Sosan Reddick. He's
Speaker 1: now with the Jets and holding out for a new
Speaker 1: contract and all that. The Eagles sort of got rid
Speaker 1: of that that problem from a financial standpoint, but the
Speaker 1: guy was also pretty darn productive as a pass rusher
Speaker 1: for them, and they have to find a way to
Speaker 1: replace that with Fangio scheme.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we'll see who all emerges on the edges,
Speaker 2: But in terms of this early part of the season,
Speaker 2: I think it's the interior defensive line is where they're
Speaker 2: looking to hold up despite the fact that Fletcher Cox
Speaker 2: is no longer there.
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Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: For those wondering about some of the logistics with regard
Speaker 1: to this trip, the Packers are traveling to Brazil on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: It's essentially an all day flight. I've heard anything from
Speaker 1: like to twelve hours that the plane will be in
Speaker 1: the air. Then there will be a practice of some
Speaker 1: sort on Thursday, and there will be some interviews, media availability,
Speaker 1: a lot of that being for the Brazilian media who
Speaker 1: are covering the first NFL game in that country, and
Speaker 1: then there will be sort of the I guess, the
Speaker 1: long wait on Friday, all the way up until the
Speaker 1: game is played in prime time. Hopefully we're going to
Speaker 1: have a way to watch the Chiefs and the Ravens
Speaker 1: on Thursday night, like at our hotel or something. I'm
Speaker 1: assuming maybe we can get together and do that to
Speaker 1: pass a little bit of time. But that's sort of
Speaker 1: the plan for the trip itself. So packers leaving for
Speaker 1: Brazil very soon. I'm just gonna throw this out there
Speaker 1: to you, Wes. When you look at this, you look
Speaker 1: at this game and week ones, as we've talked about
Speaker 1: in the past, I actually wrote a story earlier this
Speaker 1: week about how weak ones can be so on predictable teams,
Speaker 1: holding stuff back, not showing things in the preseason. They
Speaker 1: got all these tweaks and whatever in the playbook, and
Speaker 1: then we've already talked about all the changes with the
Speaker 1: coordinators and the running backs and everything else. But what
Speaker 1: is at the top of your list as a key
Speaker 1: to victory for the Green Bay Packers in this matchup?
Speaker 2: Winning in the trenches, and I will talk specifically on
Speaker 2: the offensive line aspect of this. The Packers said they
Speaker 2: have their plan for how they're going to handle right guard.
Speaker 2: They know what they're going to do on Friday night.
Speaker 2: We don't know yet if it's Sean Ryan, if it's
Speaker 2: going to be the rookie first round pick Jordan Morgan,
Speaker 2: or accommodation of both like it was at the end
Speaker 2: of last season with John Runyon and Sean Ryan managing
Speaker 2: that position. We'll have to wait and see. But if
Speaker 2: the Packers can hold that Fangio front at Bay, we've
Speaker 2: seen time and time again what Jordan Love can do,
Speaker 2: being able to manipulate the pocket, being able to look
Speaker 2: downfield towards his weapons. Green Bay Packers, Mike, You're not
Speaker 2: gone wood for it, but floor disgusted it this earlier
Speaker 2: this week. This is the healthiest they've been going into
Speaker 2: a season under Matt Lafleur, because if you remember last year,
Speaker 2: even though they got through the preseason okay, then you
Speaker 2: had Christian Watson developed the hamstring injury in a practice
Speaker 2: in that little bye week or whatever you want to
Speaker 2: call it. Before the opener. They ended up starting Malik Heath.
Speaker 2: Maliek Heith ended up becoming the first undrafted rookie to
Speaker 2: start at receiver for the Packers in a Week one
Speaker 2: opener since nineteen seventy, since the merger. This year, you
Speaker 2: have everybody available maliek Heith, depending on how you look
Speaker 2: at it is probably five or six on the depth chart.
Speaker 2: This is an opportunity I feel like for the Green
Speaker 2: Bay Packers to protect the quarterback and let Jordan Love
Speaker 2: go to work. You want to respect everything that Philadelphia
Speaker 2: has to offer. They were a very good football team,
Speaker 2: a Super Bowl contender, a Super Bowl favorite basically through
Speaker 2: December first of last year, but things went the opposite direction.
Speaker 2: If you can control the physicality of this game, if
Speaker 2: you can come out fast, if you can make them
Speaker 2: kind of second guests themselves thinking, okay, wait, is this
Speaker 2: going to be any different than the end of last season.
Speaker 2: That's the momentum you have to seize because we've seen
Speaker 2: it time and time again with Fangio, whether it was
Speaker 2: in Denver, whether it was in San Francisco, whether it
Speaker 2: wasn't Chicago, and the list goes on and on. If
Speaker 2: you allow that front to start penetrating, that's where everything
Speaker 2: else gets set up defensively.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm with you there, because when I think about
Speaker 1: when I think about facing Vic Fangio defenses, I always
Speaker 1: think about those moments where Fangio dials something up in
Speaker 1: a certain situation to get that negative play, the tackle
Speaker 1: for loss, the sack, the play that the play that
Speaker 1: just disrupts the drive right. And I think if the
Speaker 1: Packers can get something going with Josh Jacobs to where
Speaker 1: their play action game can keep that Fangio defense, honest,
Speaker 1: I think having watched, and this is really whether it's
Speaker 1: been Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love at the controls of
Speaker 1: a Matt Lafleur offense. Lafleur's offense is at its best
Speaker 1: and in its best rhythm and at its most dangerous
Speaker 1: when the play action game is working. And you can't
Speaker 1: get the play action game working until you get something
Speaker 1: going on the ground. And that's where you talk about
Speaker 1: controlling things in the trenches so that you move the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage a little bit. You get them to
Speaker 1: have to respect Josh Jacobs, and then they got to
Speaker 1: play you honestly runner pass and that play action I
Speaker 1: think becomes huge that the uh with the baturation of
Speaker 1: the weapons around Jordan Love at receiver and tight end.
Speaker 1: I'm really excited to see what this offense can do
Speaker 1: when that play action game gets rolled.
Speaker 2: This game will be one and loss based on explosive plays.
Speaker 2: And whether that's the eighteen plus passes, eighteen plus yard passes,
Speaker 2: or twelve plus yard runs, that's the domino effect that
Speaker 2: you're looking for. Because conversely, Philadelphia with aj Brown, with Smith,
Speaker 2: with all these different guys that they can throw at you. Obviously,
Speaker 2: the Packers is you talked about, have seen Saquon Barkley.
Speaker 2: We saw how Saquon Barkley's explosive plays affected last year's
Speaker 2: game against the New York Giants. Absolutely, those are going
Speaker 2: to be the huge aspect of this that the Packers
Speaker 2: are going to to buoy themselves with to try to
Speaker 2: find that victory. And all that being said, when you
Speaker 2: bring it back to Josh Jacobs, I know I remember
Speaker 2: sitting at the table with Matt Lafleur in Orlando at
Speaker 2: the NFL Owners meetings and he was talking about, you know,
Speaker 2: they aren't sure if he's going to be a three
Speaker 2: hundred touch guy here like he was in Vegas. That's
Speaker 2: typically not the way the Packers have gone about it.
Speaker 2: But you know he can do it. Yeah, And especially
Speaker 2: in this early part of the season where you're trying
Speaker 2: to figure out, okay, exactly what you have now that
Speaker 2: ag Dillon's not there as a compliment, you have Marshawn
Speaker 2: Lloyd coming back. You practice this week on the hamstring.
Speaker 2: We'll see whether or not he's in the cards for
Speaker 2: Friday night. Emmanuel Wilson is healthy again, could he be
Speaker 2: an RB two. Those are things that we're going to
Speaker 2: learn throughout the course of the season, throughout the course
Speaker 2: of September. But from day one, you know what you
Speaker 2: have in Josh Jacobs and being able to keep him healthy,
Speaker 2: keep him fresh, and have him so motivated to show
Speaker 2: that he's one of the top running backs in this league.
Speaker 2: I just look at him as the perfect compliment right
Speaker 2: now to what Jordan Love is doing in that in
Speaker 2: that quarterback spot, and offensively how the Packers want to
Speaker 2: spread this thing out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and defensively, for me, I know that Jeff Hafley
Speaker 1: has been you know, it's been about the play style
Speaker 1: and wanting to wanting to attack the football, take the
Speaker 1: ball away and all that. And the Packers they need
Speaker 1: to improve their takeaways, they need to get more turnovers.
Speaker 1: On defense, they were you know, toward the bottom of
Speaker 1: the league in that category last year, and that is
Speaker 1: something that that can definitely change and they are going
Speaker 1: to try to change that equation. But when I look
Speaker 1: at this matchup in particular, and when I look at
Speaker 1: guys like Sakuon Barkley and Jalen Hurts, the quarterback for
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles, and the fact that this is Week
Speaker 1: one and you've had a whole bunch of defensive starters
Speaker 1: who you know, they only played a handful of snaps
Speaker 1: in the preseason. Everything else has been practice, joint practices,
Speaker 1: et cetera. To me, this game comes down to tap
Speaker 1: cling because when we've seen Saquon Barkley do his damage
Speaker 1: against the Packers, it's because he's breaking tackles. And when
Speaker 1: you look back at that game two years ago in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: when in the first half, in particular, when Jalen Hurts
Speaker 1: was kind of running all over Green Bay and the
Speaker 1: Philly or sorry, the Phillies. The Eagles were building that
Speaker 1: big lead. The Packers usually had somebody in position to
Speaker 1: make the play, but they missed the tackle. And now
Speaker 1: those guys Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts are paid to
Speaker 1: break tackles. That's part of that. That's part of the deal, right,
Speaker 1: So you're not gonna make every single tackle, but man,
Speaker 1: if you can make some of these one on one
Speaker 1: stops against these guys in the open field and not
Speaker 1: let them slip through to them where they get in,
Speaker 1: you know, more into the open space, I think that's
Speaker 1: what's going to cut back on the explosives and try to,
Speaker 1: you know, keep this thing contained because uh and we
Speaker 1: haven't even really talked too much about the Eagles receivers yet.
Speaker 1: But but Barkley and Hurts are just our dangerous playmakers
Speaker 1: well and they can turn a game around in a hurry.
Speaker 2: They knew they needed a guy like Barkley. I think
Speaker 2: last year proved it. You saw with Jalen Hurts, he
Speaker 2: was my quarterback in fantasy. It was not a great
Speaker 2: season for hurts and takeaways and turnovers became a huge
Speaker 2: issue for them, and not being able to overcome those
Speaker 2: defensively and being able to get a guy like Barkley
Speaker 2: back in there, being able to have somebody that's going
Speaker 2: to compliment and really be able to be a bell
Speaker 2: call when they need him to be, but also his
Speaker 2: running style and how it could actually help maybe make
Speaker 2: hurts a little bit more elusive. That's the combination they
Speaker 2: wanted to get back to with this move. And even
Speaker 2: more than that, I think for the Packers' standpoint, it
Speaker 2: comes back to the takeaway aspect of it as well.
Speaker 2: If you're able to get an interception, if you're able
Speaker 2: to get a punch out like what happened last year
Speaker 2: with Barkley, that almost saved the Packers in that game too.
Speaker 2: I mean they had three and out afterwards, but otherwise
Speaker 2: it looked like that could have been a turning point
Speaker 2: when they got that football. Even though it's kind of
Speaker 2: a wonky play. Now you flash forward into this season
Speaker 2: and hey that everything is structured with this matchup. There's
Speaker 2: gonna be unknowns, there's gonna be things they're gonna throw
Speaker 2: at you. You're gonna have to overcome those moments of adversity,
Speaker 2: but seizing that momentum back and finding outlets to you
Speaker 2: really control the tempo. This football game is gonna be
Speaker 2: paramount because again, as I allude to earlier with AJ Brown,
Speaker 2: who's gonna end up going down as probably one of
Speaker 2: the best trades in the modern era for Philadelphia being
Speaker 2: able to acquire him a few years ago, DeVante Smith
Speaker 2: and where his arrow is pointing right now, they have
Speaker 2: guys much like with Christian Watson that can just completely
Speaker 2: take the top off the defense in addition to dicing
Speaker 2: you up underneath if you let them sure, and if
Speaker 2: Jalen Hurts gets in that rhythm, in addition to all
Speaker 2: the ways that they can get you out of the backfield,
Speaker 2: that is the path to victory for Philadelphia. So from
Speaker 2: Green Bay standpoint, getting after him early and often it's
Speaker 2: gonna be paramount.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we'll see, we'll see where things land on
Speaker 1: special teams in this game. Of course, now we've been
Speaker 1: talking about this new kickoff thing, it's gonna be for real.
Speaker 1: Now we don't know, I mean how much we're teams
Speaker 1: just keeping under wraps in the preseason, not really showing
Speaker 1: what they were going to do, et cetera. The Packers
Speaker 1: have a brand new kicker and undrafted rookie and Brandon Arveson,
Speaker 1: and we'll have to see how that goes. Anything else
Speaker 1: that stands out to you in any phase of the
Speaker 1: games as something that's a key to victory here for
Speaker 1: Green Bay, because I'll just say this, in twenty twenty two,
Speaker 1: Packers had a rough season butt and other than the
Speaker 1: final game against Detroit when there was the shot to
Speaker 1: get into the playoffs and the Packers failed and didn't
Speaker 1: get in. To me, there was no more depressing loss
Speaker 1: of the entire twenty twenty two season than the loss
Speaker 1: in London against the Giants, and not just because it
Speaker 1: started a losing streak, but everything that goes into it,
Speaker 1: all the long travel, the logistics, figuring everything out, and
Speaker 1: just how exhausting the whole process is to play these
Speaker 1: international games. To come away with a loss was just
Speaker 1: it was deflating. It was depressing. Getting a win in
Speaker 1: this game, and I know the Eagles are after the
Speaker 1: same thing clearly, but getting a win in this game
Speaker 1: could be just enormous to set the table for twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four for the Packers.
Speaker 2: And if you get off to a fast start sustaining that.
Speaker 2: That's what made the gut loss against the Giants so
Speaker 2: gut wrenching is the fact that through the first half
Speaker 2: it looked like that was just gonna be something that
Speaker 2: you know, they could control this thing and you know,
Speaker 2: walk away with a win against the Giants team that
Speaker 2: not a lot of people are expecting out of, you know,
Speaker 2: much from at that time. And then lo and behold.
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously give credit to the Giants. They were
Speaker 2: much better that season than we all thought they ended up.
Speaker 1: They ended up going to the playoffs and winning a
Speaker 1: playoff game.
Speaker 2: Resurgent year for Saquon Barkley that season, that got him
Speaker 2: back on track with his career. But the Packers wi
Speaker 2: let that one out of their grasp. Yep, this is
Speaker 2: going to be the difference now, And to be honest
Speaker 2: with you, I'm very curious to see what that environment
Speaker 2: is like and how the Packers handle it. I mean, again,
Speaker 2: it could be more like that soccer type style where
Speaker 2: you're just gonna have people cheering and ranting and raving
Speaker 2: just for sixty minutes regardless of who has the ball.
Speaker 2: I could see people being that energetic and that ex
Speaker 2: zuberant about this. Managing those elements. The Packers have done
Speaker 2: everything they can do to prepare for this last Thursday,
Speaker 2: going out on lambeau Field, predicting and kind of laying
Speaker 2: out their entire day like a game day, and then
Speaker 2: having you know, that practice out here. All those things
Speaker 2: are part of the equation in this It is. It's
Speaker 2: a huge game, it's an international showcase, but it is
Speaker 2: just a game, and it's a Week one opener in
Speaker 2: regardless you win, loser, draw, you have to come back
Speaker 2: here at Lambeufield next week and face the Indianapolis Colts.
Speaker 2: The gauntlet has begun. There's no better way to start that, though,
Speaker 2: than a victory in what is supposed to be a
Speaker 2: road matchup in probably a much more favorable crowd, I
Speaker 2: would say, Mike, than what they would have seen at
Speaker 2: the Link.
Speaker 1: I think it is. I think it is going to
Speaker 1: be a much more favorable crowd for the Packers than
Speaker 1: than what they would get at the Link. It's interesting
Speaker 1: because over the years in Philadelphia, things have gone either
Speaker 1: way for the Packers, right. There have been some there
Speaker 1: have been some really really tough and in fact, some
Speaker 1: kind of blowout losses, and there have been some really
Speaker 1: really uplifting victories as well. I do think, much like
Speaker 1: London a couple of years ago, I do think the
Speaker 1: crowd is going to be in green Bay's favor in
Speaker 1: this from what we know about the Packers fans in Brazil,
Speaker 1: the Packers fans in South America. So hopefully the Packers
Speaker 1: can can take advantage of that because it was something
Speaker 1: they did not take advantage of two years ago at
Speaker 1: Tottenham Hotspur.
Speaker 2: You take advantage of it. You have nine home games
Speaker 2: the rest of the season. It's right, you know, that's
Speaker 2: the other aspect of this. Nine home games and seven
Speaker 2: away the rest of the way, So huge opportunity for
Speaker 2: green Bay and I think that's the biggest point that
Speaker 2: Matt Laflor's beendrilling home. And again, listen to guys talk
Speaker 2: about the locker room this week. Everybody understands the business
Speaker 2: aspect of this thing. And while it is a long
Speaker 2: freaking flight and you better have something either keep your
Speaker 2: mind occupied or sleep, this is also something where the
Speaker 2: Greenwit Packers just have to go into that stadium like
Speaker 2: it's any other NFL venue.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, Well with that, we'll call it a rap
Speaker 1: on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow
Speaker 1: all of our coverage of the team and all of
Speaker 1: our coverage of Friday night season opener from Salpolo in
Speaker 1: Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles. We will have everything for
Speaker 1: you on Packers dot com for Wesi am Mike. Thank
Speaker 1: you for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.