Speaker 1: Hi everyone. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford. He is the one on only
Speaker 1: West Hodkuwitz. We're coming to you here from our studios
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field and West. It's almost here, Packers Bears
Speaker 1: kicking off the NFL season. It's Thursday night at Soldier Field.
Speaker 1: Shortly after we leave the studio here, we'll be heading
Speaker 1: to the airport to catch the plane to get to Chicago.
Speaker 1: Our last show before the game traditionally has been the
Speaker 1: Keys to Victory show, So let's start there. Keys to
Speaker 1: victory here for the Packers. You want to start on
Speaker 1: the offensive or the defensive side of the ball. I
Speaker 1: guess I'm starting on the Packers offense technically, but a
Speaker 1: lot of it has to do with the Chicago Bears defense.
Speaker 1: And the main thing I look at is Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: We know his history against the Bears, we know his
Speaker 1: history at Soldier Field. The one thing the Packers need
Speaker 1: to do in this matchup that I think in some
Speaker 1: ways they weren't able to do last year was get
Speaker 1: the ground game moving and get it moving effectively and efficiently.
Speaker 1: Got a chance to be in the huddles of both
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams on what would be Tuesday
Speaker 1: for the Packers. I wanted to say Friday, Um and
Speaker 1: you know them talking about Okay, neither of those guys
Speaker 1: played in the preseason, but they're both healthy, and they
Speaker 1: both believe in the system. And as I've said a
Speaker 1: countless points during this offseason, Mike, the changes that this
Speaker 1: offense is making, I think you're gonna see some of
Speaker 1: it reflected in Aaron Rodgers and his play style. But
Speaker 1: I think the biggest impact is going to be with
Speaker 1: the running game, to be quite honest with you, and
Speaker 1: for Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams, going up against the
Speaker 1: league's reigning and defending run defense, stopping champion in the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears with a unit that brings back pretty much
Speaker 1: the same parts from last year is to me the
Speaker 1: biggest key to victory this ball game. Aaron Jones has
Speaker 1: had some mixed history there in Chicago. He's had two
Speaker 1: Nie s brains in two of those games that Soldier field.
Speaker 1: If you can actually get him going and get him
Speaker 1: uh the ball in open field, I think that is
Speaker 1: really the biggest thing that could open up this offense
Speaker 1: in this game for the Packers. Yeah, And I don't
Speaker 1: see this as one of those games that you're saying, Okay,
Speaker 1: the Packers need to run for a hundred and fifty yards,
Speaker 1: you need to put up like some huge rushing numbers
Speaker 1: or something like that. You're probably not going to do
Speaker 1: that against the Bears, a team that's coming back with
Speaker 1: essentially their entire defensive unit intact, and they were number
Speaker 1: one in the league against the run. But you have
Speaker 1: to be able to do something on the ground to
Speaker 1: get them to respect it. And I look at this
Speaker 1: game as having two keys, and I think they play
Speaker 1: hand in hand. It's run the ball and protect the ball,
Speaker 1: and I think run it. Being able to run the
Speaker 1: football is what's going to help the Packers be able
Speaker 1: to protect the football because it will protect Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: It will give him cleaner pockets that will potentially give
Speaker 1: him better throwing lanes to avoid the deflections and the
Speaker 1: turnovers and things like that that This Bears defense frankly
Speaker 1: thrives on thirty six takeaways last year, number one in
Speaker 1: the league. They scored six defensive touchdowns, the first being
Speaker 1: by Khalil Mack with the pick six against Deshaun Kaiser
Speaker 1: in Week one. That what the Bears defense did in
Speaker 1: the first half of that game at lambau Field in
Speaker 1: Week one last year, that set the tone for the
Speaker 1: way their defense was gonna play all season long. And
Speaker 1: but the times they did get to watch the Bears
Speaker 1: last year, Yes, they are a very good defense, but
Speaker 1: they go from a good defense to a great defense
Speaker 1: when they're turning the ball over. So if you protect
Speaker 1: the ball, they become much more mortal, I guess is
Speaker 1: what I want to say on defense. And you can't.
Speaker 1: You can't start turning the ball over and get into this, uh,
Speaker 1: this situation where they've got their building momentum from their
Speaker 1: defense because of big plays. You've got to stay away from. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's funny you mentioned that too, because Jamal Williams said
Speaker 1: the same thing. They are mortal. That's the way he
Speaker 1: looks at this matchup. He's like, we all bleed read
Speaker 1: and certainly they are a good defense, but they're not
Speaker 1: going into this game scared in that regard. The thing
Speaker 1: that is exciting you remember yesterday I dropped the whole
Speaker 1: grocery store lying on you, right. My dad really liked that.
Speaker 1: By the way, I got a props for that as
Speaker 1: soon as I was able to go home and eat
Speaker 1: dinner with my parents. But more importantly, this defense that
Speaker 1: Chicago has the perfect embodiment of that. Vic Fangio is
Speaker 1: first year didn't have a lot of weapons to work
Speaker 1: with on the defensive side the ball for Chicago, but
Speaker 1: they built a foundation and they found established players and
Speaker 1: contributors that they felt Adrian Amos was one of them,
Speaker 1: by the way, that they could build the defense around
Speaker 1: long term. Well, now they've brought in some veterans, they've
Speaker 1: obviously made the trade for Khalil Mack, and they've developed
Speaker 1: their homegrown talent. It is is picture perfect of a
Speaker 1: blueprint of how you want to build a defense as
Speaker 1: there is in the NFL right now. But that being said,
Speaker 1: the Packers have something new on their side of things
Speaker 1: and they needed to make adjustments, and that's going to
Speaker 1: be the big emphasis going in this game. I just
Speaker 1: think when you look at that battle in the trenches, especially,
Speaker 1: you know, if you are able to get to the
Speaker 1: second level against ro Kuan Smith, against Danny Trevathan, that's
Speaker 1: where the Packers are really going to need to make
Speaker 1: their opportunities count. Because it's so difficult. There's gonna be
Speaker 1: times where you're gonna be running into that wall. It's
Speaker 1: only gonna get you two yards, but you have to
Speaker 1: be able to keep going back to that well. I
Speaker 1: thought John very articulately put it earlier this week with
Speaker 1: that stretch zone scheme, the outside zone scheme, you know,
Speaker 1: finding different ways to get guys moving a little bit
Speaker 1: so you're not just charging head first into them in
Speaker 1: wearing down the defense over four quarters, that's gonna be
Speaker 1: the big key. You and I were talking on our
Speaker 1: Packers periscope pre game, and the question was asked of us,
Speaker 1: how many touches do you see Aaron Jones getting this game?
Speaker 1: Could very well see it in being a fifteen touch
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones twelve touch Jamal Williams kind of game because
Speaker 1: their styles play off each other perfectly. And I think
Speaker 1: this is the perfect opponent to use that kind of
Speaker 1: juxtaposition of talented running backs in tandem. Yeah, and I
Speaker 1: think you want to try to keep those running backs
Speaker 1: if you're if you're gonna pound into that wall, as
Speaker 1: you say, and try to get them to respect the run,
Speaker 1: you're gonna need to do it with a couple of
Speaker 1: guys over the course of four quarters, not just feed
Speaker 1: one guy over and over. I don't think that's gonna
Speaker 1: work against this defense. And I don't know the exact
Speaker 1: statistics like I do the Packers defense, but to me,
Speaker 1: at least the way I looked at it, the Bears
Speaker 1: don't have like this big rotation of guys. I mean
Speaker 1: a lot of these guys play a lot in their
Speaker 1: condition their well conditioned. They hold up in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: It's the reason they were one of the top defenses
Speaker 1: in the league last season. But you're going to see
Speaker 1: very many of the same looks once you get into
Speaker 1: the second and third quarters. Finding your opportunities, finding the
Speaker 1: holes and capitalizing on those is going to be critical. Yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: switching to the defensive side, I see a couple of
Speaker 1: keys here for the Packers. One is to be sound tacklers,
Speaker 1: and we that that goes for any game. But when
Speaker 1: you look at this Bears offense, specifically Tarik Cohen and
Speaker 1: the new rookie running back David Montgomery, the third round
Speaker 1: pick out of Iowa State. He was actually the Bears
Speaker 1: first draft pick because they did not have a pick
Speaker 1: in the first two rounds. They took Montgomery in the
Speaker 1: third round as their opening pick. These two guys are
Speaker 1: they are a combination of both fast, but they've got
Speaker 1: a little bit of power to him too. They are
Speaker 1: not easy to get on the ground. And you can't
Speaker 1: let these guys break tackles. You can't let them turn
Speaker 1: a three and four yard gain into the seven or
Speaker 1: eight or twelve, you know, the explosive type of gains
Speaker 1: on the ground. So I think that's one of the keys.
Speaker 1: The other thing, and this this one comes with a
Speaker 1: bit of a caveat because Mitch Trubisky is now in
Speaker 1: his third year. We're going to see just how much
Speaker 1: progress mits Trubisky has made. And I think because the
Speaker 1: Bears didn't have a first or second round draft pick,
Speaker 1: I think Trubisky's trajectory here is really going to determine
Speaker 1: just where the Bears are gonna ultimately go. But I
Speaker 1: think you've got to keep this guy in the pocket.
Speaker 1: You have to make him beat you from the pocket
Speaker 1: until he proves that he can. Because the Bears games
Speaker 1: that I did watch last year, I thought Whisky was
Speaker 1: that as most dangerous when he was allowed to scramble
Speaker 1: out and whether he was running for first downs or
Speaker 1: just scrambling out and then being able to throw the
Speaker 1: ball on the run. He was really really good and
Speaker 1: he hurt defenses that way. If I'm the Packers, I
Speaker 1: don't want to let this guy get out of the pocket.
Speaker 1: Make him beat you from the pocket first, and then
Speaker 1: maybe you're just from there. And I do I have
Speaker 1: respect for what um they did in terms of building
Speaker 1: up the receiving corps here. Certainly they got Allen Robinson
Speaker 1: and Taylor Gabriel who has a history with Matt Laflour
Speaker 1: and Atlanta. I did like the draft pick of Anthony Miller.
Speaker 1: I know he's been off to a slow start, but
Speaker 1: let's be honest here, the way that Mitchell Robinsky plays
Speaker 1: this game, what are the biggest points of emphasis in
Speaker 1: this offense. It's a multifaceted, versatile run game, running backs
Speaker 1: that can do different things. I think the one thing
Speaker 1: that the Bears on the offensive side the ball have
Speaker 1: done a phenomenal job of the last two years is
Speaker 1: they've built up running backs that compliment robisky skill set.
Speaker 1: And this year with bringing in Mike Davis uh In,
Speaker 1: you know, seeing where he's come from and the kind
Speaker 1: of bell cow back that he can be. I'm not
Speaker 1: anticipating that he's gonna be the guy getting the most
Speaker 1: touches out of that group, but they just all three
Speaker 1: of those guys have such different styles in David Montgomery
Speaker 1: is sort of a little bit of a blend of everything.
Speaker 1: And then the other key to this game, like is
Speaker 1: gonna be Trey Burton, and he's been dealing with the
Speaker 1: growing injury. He has been limited in practice, but I
Speaker 1: think everybody understands and sees that that tight end position,
Speaker 1: especially with the way that Trubisky does this thing, is
Speaker 1: gonna be really critical in this offense for the long run.
Speaker 1: So if Burton doesn't play or he's limited, I think
Speaker 1: that's gonna be a big thing to keep an eye
Speaker 1: on with this matchup. And then from there, just not
Speaker 1: allowing as you said, Trubisky to get outside the pocket,
Speaker 1: extend plays and get the ball in his running backs hands.
Speaker 1: If you can shut down that component of it and
Speaker 1: get pressure on him, it's gonna make your life a
Speaker 1: lot easier. Yeah. Well, the latest we heard out of
Speaker 1: Chicago as they're saying Burton could be a game time decision,
Speaker 1: So we may be finding out ninety minutes before kickoff
Speaker 1: on Thursday night when the inactives are turned and whether
Speaker 1: Burton is available for Mr Bisky or not, and there's
Speaker 1: a big drop off after him. I mean, he's their guy. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, Adam Sheheen was was a mid round I
Speaker 1: think the second round pick last year, but he's gotten
Speaker 1: off to a slow start with his career. There isn't
Speaker 1: like a big go to receiving target in this offense
Speaker 1: beyond Burton at the tight end position, So that's gonna
Speaker 1: be a big one to track. Even though I know
Speaker 1: there was such a discrepancy between the size of the
Speaker 1: two injury reports, the fact that Burton's on there and
Speaker 1: is a game time decision is one of the more
Speaker 1: important prevalent ones this matchup. H I would agree with that.
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Speaker 1: all right, I'm gonna throw a couple of game preview
Speaker 1: questions that you hear whether that I honestly didn't prepare,
Speaker 1: prepare you for. We talk a lot about matchups. The
Speaker 1: NFL is a game of matchups. It's one on one
Speaker 1: in certain situations, you have to beat the man across
Speaker 1: from you. What's the one on one matchup that has
Speaker 1: your attention the most heading into this game. It's a
Speaker 1: great question, and it would be very easy for me
Speaker 1: at this point in time just say, Khalil Mack against
Speaker 1: the outside tackles, the offensive tackles of the Packers. If
Speaker 1: you want to talk about that later, by all means,
Speaker 1: that's your prerogative. But I want to talk about Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers in the safeties of the Chicago Bears. Another question
Speaker 1: was asked us a good question in our lives, our
Speaker 1: pregame lives, live stream periscope about you know, you look
Speaker 1: at the history that both adrian names has, you know,
Speaker 1: the year that he's spent with Mitchell Drobiski and then
Speaker 1: the time that Aaron Rodgers spent with Ha Ha Clinton Dicks.
Speaker 1: Is sure that matchup favors I always feel like the
Speaker 1: burden of proof is on the defense to stop the offense.
Speaker 1: So I believe that matchup probably favors both of those quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers has played against his practiced against ha Ha
Speaker 1: Clinton Dix in all these years. It's gonna be really
Speaker 1: interesting to see what that dynamics like. If there's certain
Speaker 1: areas of Clinton Dix's game that Rogers looks to exploit,
Speaker 1: if there's certain things that Clinton Dix looks out of
Speaker 1: Rogers to potentially capitalize on. But then Eddie Jackson too
Speaker 1: is back there, and he's one of the top young
Speaker 1: safeties in this league as well that the Packers have
Speaker 1: become pretty familiar with the last few years. Jackson's a
Speaker 1: big time and he was a big time playmaker for
Speaker 1: this Bears defense. I don't remember exactly how many of
Speaker 1: the six defensive touchdowns he had, but I know he had.
Speaker 1: I know he had multiple. Um it was quite a few.
Speaker 1: But be that as it may, that cat and mouse
Speaker 1: game that Aaron Rodgers is going to play with those safeties.
Speaker 1: The only thing that's different really about this Bears defense
Speaker 1: this year is the secondary. With you know, Bryce Callahan
Speaker 1: is now in Denver. Buster Scrin appears to be the
Speaker 1: nickel for them now. So the new positions there are
Speaker 1: the unknowns are the areas that you aren't quite sure
Speaker 1: what you're gonna get because let's be honest, even though
Speaker 1: Chuck Begano is the defensive coordinator. Now, when you have
Speaker 1: the type of athletes that the Bears have, I don't
Speaker 1: expect wholesale changes from this unit. I expect him to
Speaker 1: look at the film and try to put those players
Speaker 1: a lot them in the prime of their careers back
Speaker 1: in those positions. The question is, now, how does Clinton
Speaker 1: Dick's match up with his former teammate at Alabama and
Speaker 1: Eddie Jackson, And then also what is Buskers grind offer
Speaker 1: in the slot? Seeing how Aaron Rodgers plays against those
Speaker 1: components to be very intriguing. Yeah, and I think it
Speaker 1: it definitely goes almost without saying the Khalil Mac against
Speaker 1: the offensive tackles, I think based on the way the
Speaker 1: Bears used Mac last year. Yes, he will move around,
Speaker 1: he won't always be lining up in the same spot.
Speaker 1: But if there's one guy who's going to get him
Speaker 1: the most out of the Packers offensive lineman, I think
Speaker 1: it's going to be Brian Blaga. And I think this
Speaker 1: is obviously a really interesting matchup. We all know what
Speaker 1: Mac did in the first half last year at lambeau Field.
Speaker 1: He had just joined the Bears a week earlier. He
Speaker 1: was a one man wrecking crew in the first half
Speaker 1: of that game. All the Packers, obviously they made some adjustments,
Speaker 1: they were able to limit his impact in the second half.
Speaker 1: I think potentially his conditioning played into that as well,
Speaker 1: because he had basically missed the higher training camp in preseason.
Speaker 1: But the thing that's interesting that we talked about earlier
Speaker 1: in the week, obviously, with this Bears defenses, you can
Speaker 1: you could stick a tight end over there, you can
Speaker 1: ship block with a running back. You can do whatever
Speaker 1: it takes to take Khalil Mack out of the game.
Speaker 1: Anybody can do that. The reason you can't just necessarily
Speaker 1: sell out to do that is because of a chem
Speaker 1: Hicks and Leonard Floyd and Roquan Smith and these other
Speaker 1: guys that they have in their defensive front seven. But
Speaker 1: I still say, if you're walking out of if you're
Speaker 1: walking out a soldier field. At the end of Thursday night,
Speaker 1: saying Khalil Mack didn't have a big impact on this game,
Speaker 1: I like the chances of the Packers coming out on top.
Speaker 1: That's a win. I mean, that's gonna be the starting point.
Speaker 1: And again, you have to be able to Curtail Hicks.
Speaker 1: We know the dominating force that he can be. The
Speaker 1: NFL saw it last year. But there's a reason why
Speaker 1: Khalil Mack is the one that brought the headlines to
Speaker 1: this unit. I think there was a lot of people,
Speaker 1: Vic Fangio among them. It felt like they were just
Speaker 1: that one piece short of becoming a really dominant defense
Speaker 1: this last season, and Mac put them over the top.
Speaker 1: So for Brian Balaga, David Botr the rest that offensive line,
Speaker 1: understanding where he is at all times and being able
Speaker 1: to neutralize that threat is going to be imperative for
Speaker 1: the long term success of this team. And then also
Speaker 1: in certain opportunities, you know, being able to you know,
Speaker 1: come up with some midgame adjustments. I mean, Matt Laflour
Speaker 1: talked about that at the podium this week. I mean,
Speaker 1: how much in these type of matchups is going to
Speaker 1: be based on seeing something that maybe you weren't entirely
Speaker 1: prepared for not that's the wrong word, but entirely anticipating,
Speaker 1: but using something else that you've prepared to counter that
Speaker 1: expect the same thing on the Packers offensive side the
Speaker 1: ball as well. So, uh, it's just that that's the
Speaker 1: chess game you play, especially early on here when everything
Speaker 1: is scouted looks and just kind of unveiling it for
Speaker 1: the first time, and again for it being the kickoff
Speaker 1: to the hundredth game, you know, the hundredth season in
Speaker 1: the NFL. I don't think you could ask for more
Speaker 1: a better matchup to see exactly two teams that with
Speaker 1: the rivalry, the history that these guys have, and also
Speaker 1: what the ramifications for a game like this is in
Speaker 1: this division right off the bat. All right, Well, one
Speaker 1: other question I want to throw at you, and I
Speaker 1: was asked this by a couple of different readers in
Speaker 1: our Insider Inbox column. In a few different ways. We've
Speaker 1: talked about Aaron Rodgers, Mitch Dubiskie, Davante Adams, Khalil Mack,
Speaker 1: Adrian amos Zadarius Smith. You know, all of the big
Speaker 1: name components that go into this game. Is there a
Speaker 1: guy that nobody's talking about that maybe ends up having
Speaker 1: an impact on Thursday Night that potentially swings this game
Speaker 1: one way or this? Do you say Preston Smith in
Speaker 1: that litanium name? I didn't. Actually, that's probably because so
Speaker 1: much of the spotlight is going to be on Amos
Speaker 1: just because of his history with the Bears, and I
Speaker 1: know Eddie Jackson holds him in a really high regard for,
Speaker 1: you know, the chemistry that they built and how he
Speaker 1: helped him along despite Amos being kind of a young
Speaker 1: guy himself. But Preston smith Man, I've said this at
Speaker 1: numerous turns, and I'm really glad that Larry Mcareiron mentioned
Speaker 1: this in one of our Last Three Things episodes of
Speaker 1: the season of Training Camp. You know, all the headlines
Speaker 1: pretty much have gone towards Zadarius Smith, and rightfully so
Speaker 1: he's gonna be a big player in this offense. I
Speaker 1: think there's people that feel like this is a guy
Speaker 1: that has legitimate Pro Bowl potential and the chance to
Speaker 1: be a perennial you know, eight ten sac guy a year.
Speaker 1: But Preston Smith is really well cut for this defense.
Speaker 1: I think more than any other signing the Packers made
Speaker 1: this offseason. This guy just makes sense for what Mike
Speaker 1: Petton wants out of the outside linebacker position. The multitude
Speaker 1: of ways that you can use him. So I'll be
Speaker 1: honest with you, Mike, I would not be surprised in
Speaker 1: the least if after all this conversation about the changes
Speaker 1: on offense and everything that you see a guy like
Speaker 1: Preston Smith who's sort of you know, he's quiet, he's
Speaker 1: soft spoken, but he just does his job, you know,
Speaker 1: makes an impact with a sack or two at keep
Speaker 1: points of this game. And on top of that, when
Speaker 1: you have a running game like the Bears have, you
Speaker 1: need to be able to shut down the edges, and
Speaker 1: Preston Smith's a guy that can help you there as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and my guy is on the other side of the ball.
Speaker 1: If I were to pick sort of a quiet, potentially
Speaker 1: unsung hero in this game, I'm going with Geronimo Allison
Speaker 1: because you mentioned as we talked about, one of the
Speaker 1: only position changes personnel changes on defense for the Bears
Speaker 1: is that nickel corner. And I think the way the
Speaker 1: Bears potentially match up here against the Packers, I'm not
Speaker 1: sure if Kyle Fuller is going to travel and match
Speaker 1: up play after play with Davante Adams, or or if
Speaker 1: Prince of Mukamara will take his share. That's the way
Speaker 1: they've done it against Adams in the past. They've used
Speaker 1: both of those guys. But then I think the other
Speaker 1: guy probably as far as your starting corners has to
Speaker 1: be on MVS because he's the speedster who could take
Speaker 1: the top off the defense. So I think Allison, with
Speaker 1: his experience and as comfortable, in my opinion, as comfortable
Speaker 1: and potentially productive as he's looked from what we've seen
Speaker 1: in Matt Lafleur's offense, I think Allison against that new
Speaker 1: nickel corner for the Bears could be a matchup that
Speaker 1: the Packers are going to go after. Yeah. Absolutely, And
Speaker 1: in scrin I know there was questions about him in
Speaker 1: the free agency this year and some of the plays
Speaker 1: that have been given up, some of the penalties that
Speaker 1: have been amassed, you know, they feel like he can
Speaker 1: be a guy that's going to settle in there. The
Speaker 1: problem for the Bears is that Callaghan had just become
Speaker 1: such a consistent guy for them. I mean you talk about,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe he's not a perennial pro bowler, but
Speaker 1: just a guy that fits your defense a lot like
Speaker 1: you know, Morgan Burnett. I felt like a number of
Speaker 1: years fit the Packers defense and what they wanted to do.
Speaker 1: Callahan was sort of a safety valve there and now
Speaker 1: he's gone, and that's just the game you're gonna lose
Speaker 1: guys here and there, so with with scrind coming in there,
Speaker 1: and if that's who ends up getting that matchup against Alison,
Speaker 1: that will be a good one to watch. Yeah, well
Speaker 1: we're real quickly here West before we go, because it
Speaker 1: is our last show heading into the game. Just taking
Speaker 1: a look ahead at Week one in the NFL other
Speaker 1: games that maybe are worth watching, worth keeping an eye
Speaker 1: on as the Packers are going to have the first
Speaker 1: Sunday of the regular season off. The two that jump
Speaker 1: out at me in the NFC are the Rams playing
Speaker 1: at Carolina and then Atlanta playing at Minneso Soda to
Speaker 1: open things. I think those are both pretty intriguing, especially Atlanta,
Speaker 1: a team that a lot of people are saying, Hey,
Speaker 1: they weren't a playoff team last year, but they still
Speaker 1: have a lot of really, really good pieces. And if
Speaker 1: there's gonna be any faltering by the Saints at all
Speaker 1: in that NFC South, Atlanta is maybe the team that
Speaker 1: jumps into that spot. It's funny, man, the NFC South.
Speaker 1: I've never been able to keep real good tabs on
Speaker 1: in any given year. You think I figure out a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl team and now they're gonna get on a
Speaker 1: run they didn't, Atlanta makes its run, almost wins a
Speaker 1: super Bowl, and now they've been up and down. I
Speaker 1: don't know what to expect, but I will say for
Speaker 1: a Week one matchup, I'm not ever gonna throw out
Speaker 1: must win, but there's a reason for both of these
Speaker 1: teams to want to win that game. If you're the Vikings,
Speaker 1: you want to you want to get this after how
Speaker 1: last season ended, because the next week you're coming to
Speaker 1: lambeau Field to take on the Packers. For the Falcons,
Speaker 1: you want to actually be able to sort of rinse
Speaker 1: your mouth of what happened last season and just legitimately say, Okay,
Speaker 1: we're gonna be a from team, our defense is going
Speaker 1: to be better, We're going to be able to make
Speaker 1: another run at this thing. And it starts with that matchup.
Speaker 1: For me personally, if I can throw this one in there,
Speaker 1: New York Giants versus the Dallas Cowboys, the reports out there,
Speaker 1: I know we don't usually get into reports, but the
Speaker 1: reports out through that Zeke Elliott reaching an extension there
Speaker 1: with the Cowboys. He's on my fantasy team. But even
Speaker 1: more than that, him versus Barkley, that that's the match
Speaker 1: up now year in and year out in terms of
Speaker 1: arguably the two top running backs in this game. That
Speaker 1: is going to be fun to watch. And also seeing
Speaker 1: how again a running back or a player performs after
Speaker 1: not being in the camp and if you can just
Speaker 1: hit the ground running, I think that's gonna be uh
Speaker 1: something you have to really keep in mind here as
Speaker 1: we get started now in Week one, Yeah, and Sunday
Speaker 1: Night Football, Ben Roethlisberger against Tom Brady doesn't get much
Speaker 1: better than that in terms of that first Sunday Night.
Speaker 1: I mean, this Thursday night opener, the Sunday Night. It's
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a pretty good opening weekend of NFL.
Speaker 1: And there's a part of me too that at this
Speaker 1: juncture in our lives, in their careers, that you don't
Speaker 1: know how many more times you're gonna get Roethlisberger, Roethlisberger
Speaker 1: versus Brady again. So each one of those you you
Speaker 1: cherish and you appreciate for what it is. All right, Well,
Speaker 1: with that, we will call it a wrap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers Unscripted because we got a plane to catch.
Speaker 1: Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
Speaker 1: team and of Thursday night's big kickoff opener on packers
Speaker 1: dot com. Subscribe to us, like us on iTunes and
Speaker 1: other podcast services if you please. On Twitter, he's at
Speaker 1: west Hot, I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the
Speaker 1: team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, We'll see you
Speaker 1: next time.