WEBVTT - #335 Packers Unscripted: Stepping forward 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:20.360 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.000 I am Mike Spofford. He is the one and only 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:26.120 West Hodkowits were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:28.320 at lambeau Field and West to review a little bit 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:32.440 more the Packers victory over the Buffalo Bills from Sunday. 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:35.960 One aspect we didn't get into too much on yesterday's 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:39.199 show was with regards to the turnovers the Packers had 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:44.320 on defense and specifically, haha Clinton Dix's interception. It's now 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:48.159 his third interception in three consecutive games. And while the 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:52.960 first two would probably qualify as rather easy, almost gift 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.360 wrap type of interceptions, the one he had on Sunday 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:58.720 against Buffalo that was one heck of a play. It 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:01.400 really was. I thought Larry McCarron probably had the line 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:03.680 of the day. Uh. In the group hudder, wh where 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.440 everyone was talking to Clinton Dix, he said, probably would 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.400 be one of the more physical interceptions you've had during 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:12.399 your career. And and I just love the play for 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:17.120 a number of reasons. One obviously, his third interception in 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:19.959 three games. That's the headline and of itself, but so 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:22.479 many times and we've seen it come up this season. 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.760 The Chicago game was a good example of it, where 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:28.120 people pull up the still frame of a wide receiver, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.200 a tight end wide open, and like, how how did 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:33.280 Trubisky not throw this? I don't know if you remember it. 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.160 There was a big thing on social media in Week one. 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:38.440 I thought the Calvin Benjamin play was very similar because 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:40.880 it's really easy to look and see a guy open, 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:43.160 but you also have to understand where the where the 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:46.240 help is, where the defensive backs are by the time 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:47.960 that and Josh Allen has a great arm by the 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:50.520 time he was able to get that ball into the 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:54.760 orbit of Benjamin. You have Clinton Dix ranging in center 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:57.080 field and makes a great play on the ball. A 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:00.160 lot of questions about the contact of it should been 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:02.760 a flag, not a flag. There's no flag because he 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:04.520 played the ball. If you go to the letter of 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.600 the law of the NFL, the defensive back, at least 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:09.400 how it used to be called, has just as much 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:11.440 of a right to that football as the offensive player. 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:15.000 Clinton Dix goes up, makes a great play, third interception 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:18.359 of the season, and for him and that secondary talks 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:20.680 so much Mike about trying to get the big plays 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:24.560 and in in momentum, changing moments in games. Clinton Dix 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:27.520 now through the first four games of the season leading 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.600 the NFL tied for the lead in interceptions right now. Yeah, 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.240 he's coming off of a season in which he had 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:37.040 three interceptions all year in seventeen, so he's already matched 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:40.120 his total from last year. He had five in his 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:44.240 Pro Bowl year often so on his way potentially to 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:47.160 a career high. And I tell you that that collision 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:51.120 with Kelvin Benjamin, that was as as Larry said, that 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.639 was a pretty physical collision and he's he's giving up 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:57.680 probably what thirty pounds Kelvin Benjamin. I mean, Benjamin, there 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:00.240 is no small receiver. Clinton Dix comes in at two. 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.600 Oh wait, let's see what Calvin Benjamin. I want to say, 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:05.960 he's around two forty. I mean he's a he's a two. Yeah, 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:10.119 he's a big receiver. So that was yeah, Um, that 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:12.920 was that was quite the and just the fact that 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:14.639 not only did he make the play on the ball, 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:17.280 but then he hung onto it as well to get 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:21.200 that interception. So um, it's funny because you hear you know, 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.280 when you talk about again, this is potentially a difference 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.240 between the veteran quarterback, the young quarterback in the NFL. 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:29.919 How many times have we heard Aaron Rodgers talk about, 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:32.960 you know, how he reads a safety's feet. You know, 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:35.920 when a safety's feet are are parallel to the line 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:38.680 of scrimmage, flat footed in a certain instance, then he 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:41.600 knows he can get a throw out there. Whereas if 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.560 ha Clinton Dix, for example, is already breaking on the ball, 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:46.680 as you say, a still shot might show, oh, that 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:51.280 guy looks wide open. But uh, safety who's already anticipating 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:53.240 that throw and making that break is going to close 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.480 that gap in a hurry. That's what he did on 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:58.200 that play. And um a good sign for the Packers 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.240 because this defense obviously wants to get on a bit 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.200 of a role here if they can with taking the 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:05.720 ball away. Yeah, totally. And that interception. You look at 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:07.360 where the game was at at that point in time. 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:09.760 It's the third quarter of the Packers just got the 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:12.480 thirty six yard field goal from Crosby, which doubled up 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:15.280 their scoring opportunities after he got the fifty two yard 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:17.960 or at the end of the first half. Buffalo, man, 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:20.640 they're coming back. They have their second half game plan ready. 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.480 They're trying to make adjustments and Clinton Dix just shuts 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:25.960 out that light right away. I have to imagine that 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.600 you talk about a lot of momentum, you know, turning 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:31.000 planes in the game. I just think that that was 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:35.359 the play specifically that really reiterated. Okay, we finished the 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:37.839 first half strong. We played well in the first half. 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:39.520 Now we're going to carry it over and try to 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:42.159 make that leap towards a strong second half performance to 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.279 get that full sixty minute kind of showing that Mike 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.680 Penton was looking for. And also the other thing to 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:50.200 keep in mind too, We're four games into the season. 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.040 You have Clinton Dix now with three picks. You have 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:54.200 a guy like JayR Alexander who in his mind has 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:57.440 three picks even though the stat sheet might only say one. 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:00.520 Josh Jackson has been really around the ball physical. I 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:03.520 think Tremont Williams is off to a phenomenal start for 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.520 a guy that's been asked to basically play exclusively boundary 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:10.279 cornerback at thirty five years old. Through the first four 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:13.240 weeks of the season, there's a nucleus there, and certainly 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:14.880 they want to get Kevin King back and you have 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:17.560 to hope that that growing injuries okay, and it isn't 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:19.560 gonna be something that keeps Alexander off the field for 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:22.159 an extended period of time. But throwing in you know, 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:25.440 Jermaine Whitehead, there's a lot of positive things happening right 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.760 now in that Packer secondary. Yeah, needing to potentially adjust 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:31.800 again to some injuries, as you said, with Alexander exiting 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:34.240 the Buffalo game. Kevin King has been out now for 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.680 a couple of weeks with his injury. Also some injuries 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:39.799 on the offensive side of the ball for the Packers, 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:44.200 Geronimo Allison in the concussion protocol. Randall Cobb missed the 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:48.080 last game against Buffalo with a hamstring injury. So we'll 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:51.679 see what happens with those guys as the week goes along. 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:55.239 But when you look at heading into say, for example, 0:05:55.279 --> 0:05:57.839 if it's a worst case scenario for Aaron Rodgers on 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.479 offense and you don't have either Cob or Willson for 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:04.279 Detroit this upcoming week, kind of points to maybe the 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:06.760 all of these guys the Packers have at tight end 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:09.359 potentially playing a bigger role here. We saw Jimmy Graham 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:11.760 get his first touchdown catch as a member of the 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:15.040 Green Bay Packers. We haven't seen Marcedes Lewis a whole 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:18.200 lot in the passing game, yet, maybe that's coming. Maybe. 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.839 I know there's a real big group of Packer fans 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.120 out there that want to see it. I'll be honest 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.200 with you, I really like Louis a lot. I've enjoyed 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:27.160 the interactions we've had with him. He's a really well 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.760 spoken individual, understands his place in the locker room as 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.880 a veteran and at this juncture of his career. But 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.120 Packer fans, man, they just feel like this is just 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:38.720 a guy that's just waiting to be un leash on 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:41.560 the defenses. And you know, I thought one positive that 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:43.240 came out of that game, and I understand I think 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.960 he only played one at round of the offensive snaps, 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:49.160 but they actually did have some packages drawn up for 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:51.080 just Lewis. It wasn't like he was coming in as 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.839 the number three tight end always. They did some things 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.039 with just with him. So I think as you put 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:57.600 that on film and you set up some of those 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.400 run packages and defenses start to, you know, kind of 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.080 zone in on him and be like, okay, well Lewis 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:06.360 is in here? Is that a sixth offensive lineman situation 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:08.800 can we really build in the box. As he said 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.200 right from the get go, he still enjoys me being 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.840 able to make secondaries and in second level defenses pay 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:17.720 for kind of sleeping on him. But certainly I think 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:20.240 with those two guys, you're not sure what's going to happen. 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:22.880 With Cobb and Allison. We saw them go to a 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:27.000 lot of two tight end looks in that second half especially, 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:30.000 so we'll be very interested to monitor where that where 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:32.680 that heads. Yeah, all right, Well, before we move on, 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.080 here's a little bit of sponsor business, because it is 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.760 time to enter the Cousin Subs Best Seats in the 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.240 House promotion. You and a guest could win a chance 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:42.600 to kick back on the fifty yard line in style. 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:45.480 Two pairs of lucky Packers fans will be chosen prior 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:47.800 to each home game for this v I P experience. 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:51.200 Enter daily now through December sixteen by completing the entry 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.000 form and submitting. For complete rules and eligibility, go to 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:58.280 Packers dot com slash Best Seats Cousin Subs. We believe 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:02.000 in better. Okay, looking ahead here, what we've seen in 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:06.040 these in these first um handful of games for the Packers, 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:10.360 starting to see some young players emerge, and this is 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:13.640 something that we know how it works in Green Bay. 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:16.200 It's a draft and developed type of team. You want 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.120 to see young players who you know maybe don't have 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.000 a huge role at the start of the season, they 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:23.440 might be asked to be playing a bigger role as 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.280 the season goes along. We've talked a lot about Geronimo Allison. 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:29.640 He's definitely a guy who has stepped up in that fashion. 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:34.600 Unfortunately he's he's in the concussion protocol now. But Kyler 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:38.240 Facro with the three sacks against the Buffalo Bills. Jermaine Whitehead, 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:41.840 we're seeing him show up in some of these blitz 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:45.360 packages of of Mike Patton's where he's gotten a couple 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.600 of free runs at the quarterback based on how things 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.960 have been schemed up. And on the offensive side, rookie 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:54.760 receiver Marquez Valdez Scantling first kind of making a name 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:57.600 for himself, so to speak, as a gunner replacing Jeff 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:00.840 Janis as the number one gunner on punt team. But 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.240 then also after a mistake in the second half on 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:06.240 a ball that almost gets picked off that that Rogers throws, 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:08.200 he comes back and makes a big play down the 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:10.800 sideline to move the chains in the fourth quarter and 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:13.079 keep the Packers in possession of the ball. So we're 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.400 seeing some young players, you know, start to get their 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:18.559 feet under him, so to speak here in the NFL. Yeah, 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:20.840 I want to start on Velde's scantling Mike, and it's 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.200 for two reasons. The first one is he's put himself 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.520 in this position to be the next man up. He 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:28.600 had a really strong preseason. You go back and I 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:30.240 think you look at the production he had. He had 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:32.760 a hundred yard game under his belt. There's certainly an 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:36.200 explosive element to his game, which we saw in that 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:38.920 win over the Bills. Uh, he needs to you know. 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.120 The route tree is a part of this getting on 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:43.319 the same page as a part of this with Aaron Rodgers. 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:46.240 But as far as pure straight line speed, we saw 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:49.680 how he's just able to defeat a cornerback if they're 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:51.840 not getting help over the top. That thirty eight yard 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:55.720 passed him. Looking that in getting the separation, I think 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:58.840 gives you an idea of what he offers as a 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:02.400 potential downfield rent in his development. But also the gunner 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:05.200 position is important to now they did get back Josh Jones. 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.320 He did that role last year. He played fifteen special 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.360 team snaps in this But I think you've seen Velda 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:13.120 Scantling my mind. You this is the guy that has 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:15.760 been strictly a receiver in college. He was often the 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:18.920 top receiver you know in in at USF and then 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:23.320 before that, you know, working over at NC State. Now 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:24.920 he's getting a chance to sort of get his feet 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:26.559 wet with special teams for the first time. We saw 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:28.439 him take a few kickoffs the first few weeks of 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:31.520 the season, but that gunner spot might that had been 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.480 opened up with Jeff Janis and leaving in free agency. 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:37.920 He has four three four speed and he's able to 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:41.560 detach from those those jammers. It's off to the races 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:43.480 from that standpoint. When you look at what j. K. 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.199 Scott can do with his hang time in the emphasis 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:48.600 he puts on that didn't see it as much in 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:50.760 this game, mostly because the Packers didn't have to punt 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.839 that often. But that's certainly an element to Elda Scantling's game. 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:57.400 When you look at a young rookie receiver and trying 0:10:57.400 --> 0:11:00.000 to say, okay, this is how you get on the field. 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.240 He's doing all those steps right now, making a contributions 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:05.600 on special teams and waiting for his turn on offense. Yeah, 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:08.080 and when you talk about that turn on offense. Obviously, 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:11.120 as we mentioned previously with Cobb and Allison, their status 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.920 for this week a bit uncertain at the moment. We'll 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.320 see if some of those rookie wide receivers are going 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:20.440 to need to step up and look, Valdes Scantling is 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.800 not the first young wide receiver to catch the wrath 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:25.000 of Aaron Rodgers in the middle of a game. I mean, 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:27.480 it happens to almost all of them at some point, right, 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:31.200 I mean, yeah, exactly. So this is, uh, this is 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:33.720 this is a growing moment. It's a learning moment. And 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:35.920 the fact that he came back in that same game 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:38.320 and when Rogers laid it out there for him on 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:41.320 the thirty eight yard passed down the sideline, he made 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.080 the catch, he made the play. That's that's a big 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.079 step for a young receiver because now he doesn't not 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:51.040 that you just completely flush away what happened when you 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:52.920 made the mistake and you didn't come back to the 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:56.280 ball on that back shoulder type of throw when Rogers 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:58.800 was trying to convert on fourth down. But he doesn't 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:01.320 have to spend all week just thinking about that play. 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.120 He's also got a big play that he made on 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:07.200 the positive side of things, and he could he could 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:09.320 end up playing a bigger role on Sunday in Detroit, 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:13.360 Mark Quez Veldes Scantling played fifty four snaps in that game, Mike, 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.480 Jimmy Graham played fifty four snaps in that game, Like 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:20.600 I mean, he he had a role with Randall Cobb 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.280 not being available. And I asked him that the locker 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:24.840 room on Monday, and he said, yeah, there's a lot 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:27.040 of experience to be gained for that, because practice helps, 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:29.679 and certainly you go through training camp and until you're 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.200 in those situations and when you're in the trenches with 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.360 a two time m v P quarterback, everything changes. And 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.320 to your point about him, you know, kind of catching 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:41.000 some heat there. He mentioned the problem on that play 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:42.760 was he didn't fight back to the ball. That's what 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.079 he needed to do. That's what Rogers was asking him. 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.080 And Rogers, as he said after the game, probably said 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.400 some things that were not too was it not too 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:55.200 kind or however worded it? Because the stakes are so high, Mike, 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.520 if Valdes Scantling doesn't fight back to the ball and 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:01.960 that ends up being a pick six. The game changes completely, 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:06.000 the momentum changes. It is a game of protecting the football. 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:08.920 What did I say all last week? Protect the football 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:11.440 the three keys for that game, and that was one 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:14.120 area where you have to if Rogers is going to 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.160 throw you that ball, you have to be there and 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:19.960 be accountable. Fortunately for Vali, Scantling something a teachable moment, 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.200 a learnable moment, and it was able to come up 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:23.839 with a big play. I think you saw a lot 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:25.560 from that young man of what he can offer this 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:29.000 team with his raw talent as he works with you know, 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:32.920 Jim Hustler and David Ryan trying to hone that position. Yeah, 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:35.440 and on the defensive side, as we've discussed in the past, 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:39.640 with a lot of defensive backs, versatility certainly comes in 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:43.040 handy and we're seeing that right now with Jermaine Whitehead 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:45.720 and what Mike Petton is asking him to do in 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:48.760 terms of, you know, playing a little bit of hybrid linebacker, 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:51.640 playing a little bit of maybe slot corner. I don't 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:55.360 even know exactly what you'd label him right now in 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:58.440 in this defense, but he's on the field quite a bit. 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.560 And uh and a lot of times when we've seen him, 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:03.839 you know, get the call to go after the quarterback 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.800 he's getting home. He's a smart football player that loves 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.360 the game, and you know, he lets his play on 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:11.160 the field doing the talking. He's not the kind of 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.200 guy that's gonna sit on his locker and hold cord 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.160 about you know what he thinks about himself for you 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:18.160 know what he thinks about how he fits into this defense. 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:21.480 He just goes and does his job. Very unassuming individual 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:23.680 and almost to the point that when the Packers signed 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.160 him and brought him into an undrafted free agent two 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:28.120 years ago, you sort of forget that he was invited 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.680 to the combine. He was a jack of all trades 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:33.280 type player at Auburn. Uh. This is a guy that 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:35.640 you know how Clinton Dix is very familiar with based 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.440 on their ties to the SEC and the Packers saw it. 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.360 You know, Joe Witt and Jason Simmons have talked about 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:44.080 what he offers and in terms of being able to 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:45.960 really fill those shoes that you know, a guy like 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:49.080 Morgan Burnett uh sort of vacated when he moved on 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:52.560 and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In this day and age, Mike. 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.360 It's not just about inside outside versatility. For guys that 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.800 are maybe number four or five six on the depth chart, 0:14:58.040 --> 0:14:59.320 you have to be able to play in the box 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.320 at an inside timebacker position. To Whitehead has done that 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:05.480 consistently and basically all four games, the second half of 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:08.560 the last two games in his accountable made a play 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:11.160 as a blitzer in those packages. So you know he's 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:13.720 not just a body rushing into a brick wall. I mean, 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:15.480 he's a guy that's going to be able to to 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:17.720 make some plays for you. So again, we're gonna have 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.080 to see how everything shuffles out with Alexander see if 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.720 Kevin King is back in the fold. But depending on 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:25.000 how that secondary looks and where the injury stand. Going 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.040 into Detroit, Jermaine Whitehead, once again, as he's already had 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:29.880 a role in this defense, could be in for some 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.520 more responsibility as well. Yeah, and hats off to Kyler 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.720 Fackral for his three sat game in all three sacks 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:39.040 in the fourth quarter actually of of that Buffalo Bills game. 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.360 A guy who I I say young guy, but in 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:45.080 terms of experience obviously we know when he was drafted 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.240 he was a little bit older than your traditional college graduate, 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.520 but a guy who's coming along. The packers continue to 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.440 ask him, you know, to be one of those rotational 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.120 guys at outside linebacker and to make an impact when 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.520 he's in there, not just fill somebody's shoes and not 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:03.200 just fill a spot, so to speak. So um, And 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.160 it was interesting too because Mike McCarthy mentioned that maybe 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.960 his best play wasn't even one of the three sacks, 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:10.960 but it was a play where he chased down Josh 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:14.280 Allen on a scramble and Alan only got what was 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:17.680 a two yards maybe um on that because because Factor 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:21.560 was able to prevent him from really getting away. So um, yeah, 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:23.920 if Factral doesn't get him there, it was actually they 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.320 were facing a second and eighteen. But if you go 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:28.800 back and look at that play, if Facral doesn't get 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.720 him from behind there, it's off to the races. Josh 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:33.640 Allen has an open field ahead of him in a 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:35.480 lot of different ways that he could take the football. 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:38.280 So maybe even if he doesn't get the first down, 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.840 he's gonna make it third and short. Unfortunately for Faculty, 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:43.280 he's able to trip him up and end up being 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:46.640 like third and fifteen or something. Yeah, that was those 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.600 I mean It was interesting because it seemed that all 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:51.680 for all the problems the Packers have had in the 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:54.200 down and distances through the first few weeks of the season, 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.560 it was as though the script was flipped because it 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:58.720 was Buffalo that was facing a lot of the difficult 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:01.600 down and distances one day, and and really that's how 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:04.919 the Packers just stayed in control of the game. It's 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.960 it sounds silly. You can look at third down conversions 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:10.000 at the end of the day as a stat but 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:12.240 how many yards you need to get on third down 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:15.080 is such a huge factor and what your conversion percentages, 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:17.000 and it just it felt like for all the third 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:20.639 and longs the Packers had been dealing with through September, 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:23.280 the third and longs were all on Buffalo side. Yeah, 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.639 Buffalo was three of sixteen in this game. N Conversely, 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:30.119 the Packers eleven of nineteen, fifty eight yard or fifty percent. 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:32.320 We heard Mike McCarthy talk all week long about having 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.040 to to win first and second down, having to you know, 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:37.560 be more productive on those those downs. They were able 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:39.720 to do that and also to throw one more note 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:43.159 in about Facral. Whatever the outside perception is, and I 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.720 know there are times where he catches some heat from people. 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.240 But you could tell listening to Clay Matthews in the 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:51.399 locker room afterwards, just exactly what fifty one means to 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:53.800 that room and that defense is. He said, there's a 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:56.560 lot of things that Facral's asked to do that compliments 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.119 what he and Nick Perry do. Uh. He is a 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:01.840 very versatile He's a very athletic body. He can drop 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:03.679 into coverage, he can take on a tight end for 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:06.240 some steps if they need him to. He does fit 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:10.399 what the Packers want to do really well defensively. Unfortunately 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:12.320 for him, you know, with the couple of changes they made, 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:14.200 especially in the late in that game, with him moving 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.199 over and rushing against the right tackle, was able to 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:18.520 have some success. Yeah, all right, Well before we go, 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.000 I just want to uh get into a little bit 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:23.040 of where things stand in the NFC. I know late 0:18:23.119 --> 0:18:25.359 last week we talked about the Rams and then being 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:28.320 four and oh we talked yesterday about the Bears and 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:33.000 being on top of the NFC North. What what do 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:34.840 you think is going on right now or where are 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:37.760 things headed in the NFC South? Because nobody would have 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:41.120 expected the Atlanta Falcons to be where they are at 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:44.440 one in three right now, losing on a essentially a 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.080 last second touchdown pass at home to the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:50.240 AJ Green made a heck of a play there to 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:54.160 win that ballgame for Cincinnati. But you know, New Orleans 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:57.520 seems to have completely bounced back from their Week one 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.679 showing against Tampa Bay when they fell. Carolina also seems 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:04.480 to be right in the mix. That NFC South really 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:08.480 interesting division. It always is. And in Atlanta if you look, 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:10.920