Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford. He is Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming
Speaker 1: to you here from our studios at lambeau Field and West.
Speaker 1: It is Wednesday, that is turned the page day in
Speaker 1: NFL parlance, so it is onto the Detroit Lions. The
Speaker 1: Packers will kick it off with their NFC North rival
Speaker 1: Sunday noon Central time, one Eastern time kickoff at Ford Field.
Speaker 1: And when you look at Detroit, a brand new head
Speaker 1: coach this year, Matt Patricia, former defensive coordinator, longtime defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator for Bill Belichick in the New England Patriots, and
Speaker 1: an interesting start to his tenure because what really was
Speaker 1: an absolute debacle. In Week one on Monday Night Football
Speaker 1: on National TV for a head coaching debut, they get
Speaker 1: blown out at home by the New York Jets and
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback Sam Donald. Since then, boy, a huge fourth
Speaker 1: quarter comeback in San Francisco that gets upset or overturned
Speaker 1: in a sense, a huge interception late in that game
Speaker 1: that Detroit might have pulled off. That comeback gets called
Speaker 1: back on a defensive holding penalty away from the ball.
Speaker 1: They lose by three. Then they beat the Patriots in
Speaker 1: primetime on Sunday Night Football. Then last week, another big
Speaker 1: fourth quarter comeback, they take the lead against the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: only to lose on a walk off field goal. So
Speaker 1: it looks to me West that they've put that Week
Speaker 1: one disaster behind them. This is a very very competitive
Speaker 1: Detroit Lions football team. Yeah, I mean you can see
Speaker 1: the fire in them. And and certainly, and I've said
Speaker 1: this time and time again in my for my money,
Speaker 1: I think Matthew staffords a top ten quarterback in this league.
Speaker 1: And there's a lot of I think guys that are
Speaker 1: worthy of that right now. I think this is a
Speaker 1: good era for quarterbacks, especially seeing what these last two
Speaker 1: draft classes have looked like. So when you have him
Speaker 1: driving the bus, there's gonna be a certain amount of
Speaker 1: success I think you're gonna have inherently just because of
Speaker 1: what he can do and how he can create. It
Speaker 1: appears like they finally found a complimentary running piece and
Speaker 1: carry on Johnson and now being able to kind of
Speaker 1: adjust that defense is really the biggest thing. If you've
Speaker 1: been following the lines and all, Mike, they've been doing
Speaker 1: some really interesting things in terms of Ricky Jean Francois,
Speaker 1: who was a rotational guy here last year got cut
Speaker 1: finished the year with Patricia and the Patriots. Well, now
Speaker 1: he's a starter in their defense. Um, certainly, you know
Speaker 1: Darius Slay and Glover Quinn and all these guys that
Speaker 1: are there have been there. But trying to find the
Speaker 1: pass rush is gonna be the biggest thing for them.
Speaker 1: It looks like right now, Eli Harold has been a
Speaker 1: guy that sort of stepped up in that capacity. A
Speaker 1: lot of playmakers all around for them. It's just about
Speaker 1: trying to find some of that consistency. Yeah. Well you
Speaker 1: mentioned the running back carry On Johnson, high draft pick
Speaker 1: for the Lions out of Auburn. I believe if that's correct.
Speaker 1: I still don't know how a guy named carry On
Speaker 1: doesn't play college football and Kansas, But I digress. Um,
Speaker 1: he could be an eight time Pro Bowler and Mike
Speaker 1: Sponsored in years ten. As when you're saying, you know,
Speaker 1: it really is a shame that he didn't go to CA. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's just it. It just doesn't fit anyway. Um, but
Speaker 1: he against the New England Patriots rushed for a hundred yards.
Speaker 1: He became the first single game one yard rusher for
Speaker 1: the Detroit Lions since Thanksgiving of against the Packers when
Speaker 1: Reggie Bush did it so and he's averaging what is
Speaker 1: it about five point seven per carry so far this season,
Speaker 1: so he's off to a good start. They look like
Speaker 1: it looks like they do have that running piece that
Speaker 1: they need. And Matthew Stafford's got his weapons as well.
Speaker 1: I think Matthew Stafford has taken his game to a
Speaker 1: whole another level since Calvin Johnson's retirement. Golden Tate has
Speaker 1: really come into his own as a premier receiver in
Speaker 1: this league in my opinion. Kenny Golladay a young receiver
Speaker 1: who's stepping up and making plays. And I forget who
Speaker 1: their third Marvin Jones Jr. That's the guy. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely so success against the Packers in the past, Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1: Sta Stafford's got Stafford's got weapons, and if they if
Speaker 1: they add some balance with that running game, this is
Speaker 1: an offense that becomes even more dangerous than it has been.
Speaker 1: This is what's funny, though, because we get these questions
Speaker 1: all the time, an inbox right about you know, why
Speaker 1: aren't the Packers featuring one guy at running back? Well,
Speaker 1: if you're a Detroit Lions fan. You have Carrie on
Speaker 1: Johnson having five point seven yards per carry, and then
Speaker 1: you have Lagarrett Blunt who's basically has tipped for tat
Speaker 1: the same amount of carries. He's averaging two points seven
Speaker 1: right now. So it's gonna be interesting to see as
Speaker 1: time wears on here if Patricia, if Jim Bob Coonter
Speaker 1: start giving the ball more to Johnson and just letting
Speaker 1: him run with it. But as far as the receivers
Speaker 1: are concerned, Mike, certainly this offseason they moved on from
Speaker 1: Eric Ebron Uh the ups and downs, they went with
Speaker 1: him at tight end, and they basically focus more on
Speaker 1: these three receivers. Obviously, Tate and Marvin Jones Jr. Were
Speaker 1: two great acquisitions for them in the aftermath of the
Speaker 1: Calvin Johnson era or even during it, I mean, sort
Speaker 1: of helping sort of carry the torch and and adjust
Speaker 1: that passing game moving forward. But Laday too has shown
Speaker 1: a lot of ability and and they getting those three
Speaker 1: receivers going for them, that's gonna be their big key
Speaker 1: and inside that's that dome. I mean, it just seems
Speaker 1: like that fits their offense and what they want to do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I don't want to pigeonhole guys too much. But
Speaker 1: from the outside looking in, when I look at this
Speaker 1: Detroit Lions receiving corps, it sort of strikes me as
Speaker 1: Golden Tad is your kind of yards after the catch guy.
Speaker 1: Marvin Jones Jr. Maybe falls into that possession receiver category.
Speaker 1: And then Gladay is a really big time deep threat
Speaker 1: with his long strides, you know, and and large catch
Speaker 1: radius in terms of throwing the deep ball. So obviously
Speaker 1: these guys can do more than just those things. But
Speaker 1: my point is it's a very complimentary group of receivers.
Speaker 1: They they're not the same guy. It's it's not three
Speaker 1: guys that you can take the same approach to defending
Speaker 1: all through the game. And and Matthew Stafford is uh
Speaker 1: when when he's on schedule and he's on time, and
Speaker 1: he's he's got the protection and he's in rhythm, he
Speaker 1: can really light it up. One thing I think that
Speaker 1: the Lions have done really well, and this has been
Speaker 1: for about four or five years. You know, Mike, When
Speaker 1: you go into free agency, it can be a mixed bag.
Speaker 1: You can hit and you can miss, particularly at the
Speaker 1: receiver position. Seems like that's a really hard position to
Speaker 1: be able to sign guys as free agents and have
Speaker 1: them come in and become legitimate, you know, play after
Speaker 1: play playmakers. They did that with both Golden Tate and
Speaker 1: then also with Marvin Jones Jr. Jones he had a
Speaker 1: phenomenal start two years ago. He averaged sixteen point nine
Speaker 1: yards per catch that year. I don't know if you
Speaker 1: remember that, Like he had like one yard game after
Speaker 1: another the first couple of weeks. Then he tapered off.
Speaker 1: Last year was a lot more balanced, got his first
Speaker 1: one thousand yards season. This year off to another fine
Speaker 1: start for them as well. So yeah, with having those
Speaker 1: two threats outside and knowing over all this time a
Speaker 1: Golden Tate's done in the middle of the field, it's
Speaker 1: a nice compliment of weapons. The big thing for the
Speaker 1: Lions is just that offensive line. We saw last weekend
Speaker 1: t J laying exited with the concussion. They used their
Speaker 1: first round pick I believe that was on Yeah, Frank
Speaker 1: Reagner from Arkansas, Arkansas, and then Ricky Wagner they signed
Speaker 1: a couple of years back. Uh, Taylor Decker they drafted,
Speaker 1: So they do have guys there. It's just that I
Speaker 1: think there's some questions if somebody is unable to play,
Speaker 1: what the depth looks like at that position. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: you mentioned that their pass rush earlier. They have an
Speaker 1: outside linebacker I believe his name is Devon Kennard. He's
Speaker 1: leading them right now with four sacks, which actually he's
Speaker 1: approaching his own career high in sacks already at this
Speaker 1: stage of of the season. He's a fifth year pro.
Speaker 1: The Lions picked him up to to fit him into
Speaker 1: this Patricia defense. And uh, you know, we talked for
Speaker 1: so many years in the in the and Dominican Sue
Speaker 1: Nick Fairley, you know Era with that defensive line, Kyle Vandenbosch,
Speaker 1: those kinds of guys. You know, that defensive line was
Speaker 1: was so much the crux of that defense and how
Speaker 1: they got the pressure on the quarterback. It seems like
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit of a shift to wear an
Speaker 1: outside linebacker type like Kennard is is maybe who they're
Speaker 1: trying to build the pass rush around. Like I said,
Speaker 1: he you know, Eli Harold too has three sacks, So
Speaker 1: you know two guys that I think. I mean, obviously
Speaker 1: Harold is a relatively high draft pick. They're expecting contract Usians.
Speaker 1: But I think right now, in two thousand and eighteen,
Speaker 1: you think of zichy Ansa, you think of you know,
Speaker 1: those defensive end type body types, and now it's a
Speaker 1: little bit more to that hybrid type position. Um certainly. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I gotta be honest with you, I didn't know much
Speaker 1: about Kennard going into this season, but it also reminds
Speaker 1: you I think of it was a two years ago
Speaker 1: and it was carry Hyder sort of came out where
Speaker 1: to make a contribution. I had like eight or nine sacks. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So that that's the name of the game, Patricia. I
Speaker 1: think if you go back and look at the defenses
Speaker 1: and what they did and with the Patriots all those years,
Speaker 1: they're multiple. They like being able to, you know, generate
Speaker 1: certain game plans and certain schemes to the opponent. They
Speaker 1: like tailoring those kind of things. So, uh, seeing exactly
Speaker 1: what the look is going to be in this game
Speaker 1: for the Packers and how they want to defend this
Speaker 1: offense again having to keep in mind who's going to
Speaker 1: be available with the receiving corps and whatnot. But overall,
Speaker 1: I think at the end of the day, it still
Speaker 1: comes back to your Darius Slays. It still comes back
Speaker 1: to your Quinns, the guys in the secondary that I
Speaker 1: think have sort of led that resurgence for them a
Speaker 1: little bit, and seeing if they can get the pass
Speaker 1: rush to complement those guys well. Darius Slay is as
Speaker 1: good a cover corner and as good a playmaker as
Speaker 1: there is at the cornerback position really in in the
Speaker 1: entire NFC. When you when you look at it, I
Speaker 1: think that matchup I would expect him to be on
Speaker 1: Davante Adams probably every single snap on Sunday. I think
Speaker 1: that's certainly a matchup to watch. And on the Packers
Speaker 1: side of things, you know, I really think it comes
Speaker 1: down to somehow you just have to get Matthew Stafford
Speaker 1: autor rhythm. You have to get him off schedule and
Speaker 1: whether that's with certain pressure packages. You're not necessarily going
Speaker 1: to confuse a veteran like Stafford with you know, different
Speaker 1: coverage looks and stuff like that, like the Packers did
Speaker 1: with Josh Allen. They were able to exploit his inexperience
Speaker 1: a little bit. But you know, if you can disrupt
Speaker 1: some of the routes at the line of scrimmage, if
Speaker 1: you can get some pressure on Stafford. You're not going
Speaker 1: to be able to throw off the timing of their
Speaker 1: offense with just one thing or one way. You're gonna
Speaker 1: have to do it in a lot of different ways
Speaker 1: throughout four quarters. And uh. And in that respect, the
Speaker 1: Packers certainly have their hands full on defense, but coming
Speaker 1: off of obviously a really good defensive performance to build, Yeah,
Speaker 1: no doubt, Mike. And the thing is too with Stafford.
Speaker 1: That's just so interesting, especially now the the you know,
Speaker 1: Jay Cutler era has ended in Chicago. There's probably nobody
Speaker 1: there is nobody in this league right now that the
Speaker 1: Packers have seen more than Stafford. I'm just trying to
Speaker 1: bring up the stats as we speak and doing a
Speaker 1: poor job of it. But in terms of the knowledge
Speaker 1: base there, they've been playing him for nine years, Mike
Speaker 1: McCarthy has been playing him for nine years now. There
Speaker 1: is a new element to it with Mike Petton and
Speaker 1: his scheme, and they're gonna have to make some decisions
Speaker 1: on how they want to defend that. But I mean, overall, uh,
Speaker 1: I mean, you look at it, this will be their
Speaker 1: fifteen matchup. The tablets were early working all well for me,
Speaker 1: but it will be the fifteenth matchup that they faced him.
Speaker 1: He's five and ten in those matchups. So you've seen
Speaker 1: the blueprint with him over the years, the times in
Speaker 1: which you're able to gain pressure, the times when you're
Speaker 1: able to getim to throw off his back foot, when
Speaker 1: you're able to get him throwing sort of that simar motion.
Speaker 1: I don't want to say forsaking his mechanics, but just
Speaker 1: being able to not allow him to get comfortable there.
Speaker 1: That's when they've had success. You can't let Jones get
Speaker 1: going again like they did two years ago. You can't
Speaker 1: let that running game establish itself. You want to make
Speaker 1: them one dimensional Nick Stafford throw. Yeah, and when you
Speaker 1: look at this from a big picture perspective from the Lions,
Speaker 1: and I know we have to get going. We have
Speaker 1: to kind of cut today's show short, unfortunately, because we're
Speaker 1: up against it with a few other Patricius. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: um but I gave the rundown at the beginning of
Speaker 1: the show as far as what the Lions have been
Speaker 1: through the last few weeks. How they put that that
Speaker 1: week one, uh, you know, debacle in in the rear
Speaker 1: view mirror, and hey, they're one in three. But they
Speaker 1: look at this says, Okay, Yeah, the Bears are on
Speaker 1: top at three and one, but they're on a bye week.
Speaker 1: The Vikings already have two losses and a tie. The
Speaker 1: Packers have a loss. In a tie, they can hand
Speaker 1: the Packers a second loss, they can get to two
Speaker 1: and three. If you're the Lions, you're looking at this
Speaker 1: game as as this is our opportunity to jump right
Speaker 1: back into the division race and not let anybody count
Speaker 1: us out. That's a great point because if you look
Speaker 1: at the schedule, they have the Packers at home, then
Speaker 1: they have a bye week. They're coming back then to
Speaker 1: take on a Miami team that had kind of a
Speaker 1: gut check uh in losing that game to to New England.
Speaker 1: England pretty there. Then they get to host Seattle at home,
Speaker 1: and then they're traveling to Minnesota, who's had their up
Speaker 1: and down. So yeah, this early in the season, especially
Speaker 1: being able to get a couple of these wins early,
Speaker 1: it sets you up. The Packers saw it last week
Speaker 1: that was I don't want to say it was a
Speaker 1: must win game, because I don't think anything in the
Speaker 1: first quarter is. But when you look at trying to
Speaker 1: establish yourself and you're trying to win a division title,
Speaker 1: get yourself in those top seeds for the playoffs. You
Speaker 1: need to take care of business, and all four quarters
Speaker 1: of the season Packers were able to do that. I
Speaker 1: think to one and one is a good place to sit.
Speaker 1: The Lions had some missed opportunities, they came out slow,
Speaker 1: they lost a barn burner last week. They're gonna be
Speaker 1: hungry in this game. And as we've seen, Mike, you
Speaker 1: and I have covered enough of these games at Ford Field,
Speaker 1: they can go either way and a lot of times
Speaker 1: it comes down to who starts fast and who's able
Speaker 1: to protect the football. I think that's what happened basically
Speaker 1: every single time. You can go back and look at
Speaker 1: the win loss of those games on the road, specifically
Speaker 1: at Ford Field, that's ultimately been what's decided the outcome. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree with you, but as I said, we gotta run,
Speaker 1: so we're gonna gotta run short today. But thanks for
Speaker 1: tuning in. We will be back tomorrow with more on
Speaker 1: Packers unscripted. He is at west Hot on Twitter. I'm
Speaker 1: at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks
Speaker 1: for tuning in, See you next time. H