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 West hod Koitz. We're coming to
Speaker 1: you here from our studios at lambeau Field West. It
Speaker 1: is Bears week here in green Bay. The Packers will
Speaker 1: be at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, a noon
Speaker 1: Central Time kickoff, for the first of two meetings in
Speaker 1: between these two rivals, longtime rivals, and there's a lot
Speaker 1: on the line here West for an early season game.
Speaker 1: The Packers are four and one, the Bears are three
Speaker 1: and two, so Green Bay cann't take a two game
Speaker 1: lead on the rest of the NFC North with a victory,
Speaker 1: or the Bears can tie things up with a victory
Speaker 1: over the Packers to make both teams four and two
Speaker 1: so far. Chicago, they took a couple on the chin
Speaker 1: from the Rams and the Browns, two pretty good teams,
Speaker 1: but they've also up victories over the Bengals, the Lions,
Speaker 1: and most recently the Raiders, where we saw that Chicago
Speaker 1: defense really seemed to be hitting its stride. The Chicago defense.
Speaker 1: I think it's funny how this goes Mike. The years changed,
Speaker 1: the coaches occasionally changed, there's different quarterbacks. As long as
Speaker 1: I've basically been an adult, Chicago has had some really
Speaker 1: good defenses and that is very much the case this year.
Speaker 1: We you know, we shoot a lot of videos here,
Speaker 1: We do a lot of content for Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: But I'm not gonna sit here and just try to
Speaker 1: pair him. I'm gonna talk about what Larry Mcarreon talked
Speaker 1: about our three Things video that we did that we
Speaker 1: taped just before this. This is, without a doubt the
Speaker 1: best defense screen based seeing pound for pound for pound
Speaker 1: at all three levels. But what impresses me the most
Speaker 1: is the consistency across the board. It's not just one
Speaker 1: thing that they do particularly well as a unit. They're
Speaker 1: executing in all major categories. Now, certainly the sacks are
Speaker 1: what jump off the page. A number of years ago,
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace made his you know, quintessential move, the one
Speaker 1: the highlight real move, getting Khalil Mack Mac again off
Speaker 1: to a five sacks season this year. But Robert Quinn
Speaker 1: was a really interesting acquisition for him. Quinn has been
Speaker 1: around for a long time now and he's been one
Speaker 1: of these guys that can have years where he has
Speaker 1: three sacks, he can have ten sacks. He's obviously appearing
Speaker 1: to be on one of those ten sack type seasons
Speaker 1: right now. Four and a half to this point eighteen.
Speaker 1: For the Bunch, they have good guys in the defensive interior.
Speaker 1: Real Kuan Smith is elite, you know now also in
Speaker 1: that conversation with Fred Warner and these guys. As far
Speaker 1: as the best middle linebacker in the game, Green Bay
Speaker 1: has their work cut out for him. Offensively, A lot
Speaker 1: of question marks right now for the Bears. Defensively, this
Speaker 1: team is going to compete with basically everyone. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: interesting when you look statistically at this Bears defense, there
Speaker 1: are a lot of similarities in terms of the stats,
Speaker 1: the numbers where they rank compared to the Bengals defense,
Speaker 1: which the Packers just faced. I think what sets this
Speaker 1: Chicago defense apart a little bit from the Cincinnati defense
Speaker 1: is the big names and the big time everywheremakers. When
Speaker 1: you're talking about Khalil Mack, Robert quinn Um, Roquan Smith
Speaker 1: in the middle of the defense, Eddie Jackson safety on
Speaker 1: the back end, who's made a ton of big, game
Speaker 1: changing type of plays throughout his career. This is a
Speaker 1: this is an experience unit. And even as much as
Speaker 1: some of the names change here and there, on the
Speaker 1: Bears defense, they always seem to have a core of
Speaker 1: four or five or six guys that have been together
Speaker 1: for some certain period of time. And that's why they're
Speaker 1: able to maintain a certain level of consistency with how
Speaker 1: they played defense. And a lot of it is at
Speaker 1: the linebacker position. Mike, I remember a number of years ago,
Speaker 1: I want to say, maybe it was two thousand fifteen.
Speaker 1: I know, I was still at the Press Gazette Danny
Speaker 1: Trevathan when they went out and signed both him and
Speaker 1: Drill Freeman. Those were two big marquee guys that they
Speaker 1: were sort of rebuilding their defense with with Vic Fangio
Speaker 1: going in there. Now Freeman didn't work out. Trevithan absolute
Speaker 1: lee did. I mean, every single year we're talking about him.
Speaker 1: But then they've augmented it, as you mentioned with ro
Speaker 1: Kuan Smith, a sideline to sideline linebacker, guy that has
Speaker 1: a hundred of you know, tackles every single season, is
Speaker 1: making plays, is constantly around the football. They kind of
Speaker 1: had a little bit of a transitional period at the
Speaker 1: cornerback position. But you've seen that sort of solidify itself
Speaker 1: now over the past year as well. And the fact
Speaker 1: of the matter is, Mike, when you have an overall
Speaker 1: unit that can defend the run, well, it's going to
Speaker 1: open up the rest of the field for your playmakers.
Speaker 1: Eddie Jackson has been in kind of an interesting spot
Speaker 1: since Adrian Amos left, but he seems to be settled
Speaker 1: down a little bit more now as well. It's a
Speaker 1: it's a four quarter battle with the with the Bears
Speaker 1: every time you see them. And for the Green Bay Packers,
Speaker 1: after having some really solid offensive performances, I know it
Speaker 1: didn't maybe translate as much to the scoreboard, but four
Speaker 1: and sixty six total yards of offense last week, this
Speaker 1: is gonna be a real test for that unit and
Speaker 1: seeing exactly what they can do against one of the
Speaker 1: NFL's truly elite defenses. Yeah, I think the Packers certainly
Speaker 1: liked way they moved the ball up and down the
Speaker 1: field against Cincinnati's defense. It is a matter of translating
Speaker 1: that now against another formidable defense. But finish more of
Speaker 1: those drives with points, get in the red zone and
Speaker 1: finished with some touchdowns and uh and the Packers feel
Speaker 1: like they can be in in a in a good
Speaker 1: position against a defense like this. On the flip side
Speaker 1: of things, Justin Fields is the big story for the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears offense, right They traded up in the draft
Speaker 1: to select him in the first round. We all knew
Speaker 1: that Andy Dalton was a temporary placeholder. We didn't know
Speaker 1: how long it would last. He ended up getting hurt
Speaker 1: fairly early in the season. So this is Justin Fields
Speaker 1: offense now. And you know he he took his lumps
Speaker 1: against the Cleveland Browns, sacked whatever it was, eight or
Speaker 1: nine times I think in that game. The Bears I
Speaker 1: believe they ended up changing play callers after that or
Speaker 1: they they've made some changes with within the offensive coaching staff,
Speaker 1: and um, you're starting to see the growth in the
Speaker 1: progress from Fields that you would expect from from a
Speaker 1: high first round draft pick like that. Um, they're dealing
Speaker 1: with David Montgomery and their number one running back being
Speaker 1: injured right now, but Damian Williams has stepped in. He
Speaker 1: looked pretty good against the Raiders last week. From what
Speaker 1: I saw, this is uh, this is an offense that
Speaker 1: doesn't want to put everything on Justin Fields. But the
Speaker 1: defenses that play against Chicago want to try to put
Speaker 1: as much on Justin Fields as you can, because that's
Speaker 1: the formula against young quarterbacks, right is to make those guys,
Speaker 1: put those guys in situations that maybe they haven't faced before,
Speaker 1: and try to force the one or two mistakes that
Speaker 1: can change a game. Well, the big line that really
Speaker 1: came out during the preseason was Fields saying that you know,
Speaker 1: nothing's really too big for him. He feels like the
Speaker 1: game wasn't too fast. But I think you're seeing those
Speaker 1: first couple of times he's been on the field. There
Speaker 1: is a different flow of a game. There is a
Speaker 1: lot different variables when you're facing you know, NFL caliber
Speaker 1: defenses with with playmakers, you know, strewn throughout. Losing Montgomery
Speaker 1: is a difficult one because, Mike, how many times have
Speaker 1: you and I've done this show over the last three
Speaker 1: years where I've said, when they run the ball, when
Speaker 1: they established David Montgomery, they're able to really get into
Speaker 1: a flow offensively. I felt like when they came up short,
Speaker 1: it didn't matter if it was Mitchell Robinski, it didn't
Speaker 1: matter if it was Nick Foles, it didn't matter who
Speaker 1: the quarterback was, but when they failed to get Montgomery going,
Speaker 1: when he's having these ten carry twenty eight yard days,
Speaker 1: it was making life difficult on everybody else. This year,
Speaker 1: they you know, they have weapons. Alan Robinson one of
Speaker 1: the league's top receivers in my opinion, highly underrated guy,
Speaker 1: and Darnell Mooney is actually leading them in receiving yards
Speaker 1: this year. A young up and coming guy who's starting
Speaker 1: to make a name for who the Packers have already
Speaker 1: you know seen before and his his production. Cole Commet
Speaker 1: was a big pick for them. They have guys that
Speaker 1: can catch the football, but the issue so far this
Speaker 1: year has been whether it's fields or Dalton getting the
Speaker 1: ball in those guys hands. Losing Montgomery is a big
Speaker 1: step back where but they do have Damien Williams, and
Speaker 1: if you know anything about Williams story, this is his
Speaker 1: third NFL team. He's been a little bit of a journeyman,
Speaker 1: but he was really critical to Kansas City super Bowl
Speaker 1: pushed two years ago what he had to be the
Speaker 1: featured back. He's been comfortable in that role before. Khalil
Speaker 1: Herbert also comes in sixth round pick this past year,
Speaker 1: so they do have guys that can run the football.
Speaker 1: It's just gonna be a question when you don't have
Speaker 1: the dual threat of Montgomery, what is the trickle down
Speaker 1: effect on that, not only with this offense but also
Speaker 1: with Justin Fields trying to get comfortable and steering this ship. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: and I think it certainly helps the Packers because the
Speaker 1: Bears have now made this transition to Williams with Montgomery
Speaker 1: going out. It helps the Packers to have that film
Speaker 1: from the Raiders game and how the Bears used Williams
Speaker 1: and everything. Because the offense does look a little different there.
Speaker 1: There are some changes being made there, so the Packers
Speaker 1: hopefully won't be surprised by anything in that regard. But
Speaker 1: by the same token, when you're talking about a young
Speaker 1: first round draft pick who's learning the game and the
Speaker 1: progress that he is, you know how this goes west.
Speaker 1: The playbook starts to get bigger and bigger and bigger
Speaker 1: week after week. There are things that the Bears are
Speaker 1: gonna run with Justin Fields as they progress through this
Speaker 1: season that are going to be brand new, that are
Speaker 1: going to be unscouted, and that's going to be happening
Speaker 1: in week nine, ten, eleven, and twelve. With with the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears and justin fields because the more he learns
Speaker 1: and the more comfortable he gets, then the more they
Speaker 1: will put on his plate. So the Packers really they
Speaker 1: have to be ready for almost anything offensively from statistically
Speaker 1: from a Bears offense that is at or near the
Speaker 1: bottom of the league in in a number of categories.
Speaker 1: And and uh and obviously the Packers are dealing with
Speaker 1: with their share of injuries on the defensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball. But but you know, I think the biggest
Speaker 1: thing everybody's gonna be watching in this game is going
Speaker 1: to be what Aaron Rodgers in this offense does against
Speaker 1: this Bears defense, because because the Bears are going to
Speaker 1: be relying on their defense more than ever. Well, and
Speaker 1: we have to see this offensive line is gonna look
Speaker 1: like for Green Bay. Right on Wednesday, they got back
Speaker 1: Elton Jenkins. That was a big plus for them. Limited
Speaker 1: in practice, but also Josh Myers being cleared to return
Speaker 1: with that finger injury. He was a full participant. You know,
Speaker 1: I think I don't think there's any question Josh Myers
Speaker 1: can play through a finger injury. It was just the
Speaker 1: thing with the doctors making sure that he's safe to
Speaker 1: do so that everything is on the up and up there.
Speaker 1: But to be a full participant in practice Wednesday probably
Speaker 1: tells you the Packers are gonna have their starting center back.
Speaker 1: Jenkins is such an interesting piece though, because Josh Naiman
Speaker 1: has done an exemplary job at left tackle. But you know,
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn, with the way he's playing right now, that's
Speaker 1: a tough ask. You know, Billy Turner is already gonna
Speaker 1: have his hands full with Khalil Mack. He's seen that
Speaker 1: assignment before. I imagine Mac will be moving around as well.
Speaker 1: But Elton Jenkins is really the Swiss Army knife here,
Speaker 1: and I mean he can It isn't just a jack
Speaker 1: of all trades. I mean it's a king of all
Speaker 1: trades here. This guy can play at a Pro Bowl
Speaker 1: level everywhere if he is good to go. As Adam
Speaker 1: Stanovich said on Wednesday night when he was talking with
Speaker 1: the media, they've already had the conversations about where this
Speaker 1: guy should go, where he should fit. Hope to have
Speaker 1: that decision in place by Friday. If again, things are
Speaker 1: looking like Jenkins is gonna play. But man, it is
Speaker 1: a luxury, but it also creates a lot of questions
Speaker 1: for you because you have an all pro pro bowled
Speaker 1: caliber type offensive lineman that can basically play any of
Speaker 1: the five positions. Yeah, and if the Packers are looking
Speaker 1: at keeping him on the left side, whether it be
Speaker 1: left tackle or left guard, which has been his traditional position,
Speaker 1: if we can call hit that for him as a
Speaker 1: as one of these you know, all everything versatile guys.
Speaker 1: As you said, Niman has played well, and the Packers
Speaker 1: in the as the weeks have progressed with Nieman. They
Speaker 1: they've left him one on one a little bit more often.
Speaker 1: You know, Yes, you're gonna always gonna give him help
Speaker 1: in certain situations, but certainly not as much help as
Speaker 1: there was back in his first start against San Francisco right,
Speaker 1: but then at left guard, John Runyon is not not
Speaker 1: exactly been a slouch out there by any means. So
Speaker 1: it's it's a good problem to have, right as as
Speaker 1: the saying goes, because the Packers aren't looking at this
Speaker 1: is was like, alright, great, we're getting Elton Jenkins back.
Speaker 1: We can get so and so out of them. That's
Speaker 1: not how they're looking at this, because the guys who
Speaker 1: have stepped in have done a whale of a job.
Speaker 1: Do you know who John Running reminds me of, And
Speaker 1: no it's not his father, But do you know who
Speaker 1: he really reminds me of? Evan Smith or Evan Dietrich Smith.
Speaker 1: To two Packers fans right there, E d. S was
Speaker 1: not a guy that I think in a training camp setting,
Speaker 1: you're just gonna sit there and be like, Wow, look
Speaker 1: at that guy. He's just man handling everybody. I think
Speaker 1: even Adam Stanovich talked about a little bit. You know,
Speaker 1: maybe training camp wasn't what John wanted it to be.
Speaker 1: But when Rogers even mentioned that too that you look
Speaker 1: at the preseason film and what was going on in
Speaker 1: August and you kind of wondered, is is John Running
Speaker 1: really going to be ready to play this year? Well,
Speaker 1: then they need him. His number gets called, and whether
Speaker 1: you call him a gamer or whatever phrase you want
Speaker 1: to use, he stepped in and performed. There is something
Speaker 1: about when that whistle gets blown in the game matters.
Speaker 1: I think this goes back to last year with the
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty kind of relief snaps that he had
Speaker 1: to play at various positions because of injury. There is
Speaker 1: something about when that whistle gets blown where something clicks
Speaker 1: with him and I was so impressed when they you know,
Speaker 1: I know, everything happens where a guy gets hurt like
Speaker 1: like Lucas Patrick does, and then Running goes in here
Speaker 1: like okay, well this is just the passing the torch.
Speaker 1: Lucas Patrick is a darn fine football player too. He
Speaker 1: proved that last week. But the fact is is, I
Speaker 1: thought Running answered a lot of questions in that one
Speaker 1: week stint there for for Lucas when he's going to
Speaker 1: concussion protocol that I think we were looking to see
Speaker 1: answered back in August. The guy can play, so Mike.
Speaker 1: It was the number one thing from the time that Marv,
Speaker 1: you know, matt Arvan threw on the cameras for our
Speaker 1: first unscripted in the summer. I said it, this offensive line,
Speaker 1: it's the deepest of it which I've covered yet. I'm
Speaker 1: not saying it's the most talented. I'm not saying that
Speaker 1: they have the most Pro bowlers. But the fact is
Speaker 1: is they can go so deep at so many of
Speaker 1: these positions. They've had to rely on it for three
Speaker 1: weeks too, you know, these last three weeks to kind
Speaker 1: of extem the tide without Elton j Akins. But man,
Speaker 1: if they can get guys healthy. There's just there's so
Speaker 1: many different directions of Packers can go with the offensive
Speaker 1: line and they're all positive. Yeah, And for everyone wondering
Speaker 1: about David baktr at this stage, obviously he it will
Speaker 1: be eligible to return to practice off the pup list
Speaker 1: next week. There hasn't been any official word as to
Speaker 1: whether he will start practicing or not, but he is
Speaker 1: eligible to to begin practicing next week. So that's a
Speaker 1: story we'll be following as well after this Chicago Bears, absolutely,
Speaker 1: and the fact that we are five games in the season,
Speaker 1: the Packers are four and one and you and I
Speaker 1: aren't sounding off red alarms here on top of everything
Speaker 1: because of David bac Terry not being on the field.
Speaker 1: Most definitely this this offense improves with them. I think
Speaker 1: the run offense especially reproves once he's back on the field.
Speaker 1: But they've been able to do this without box Tr.
Speaker 1: They did it through. They got to an NFC Championship
Speaker 1: game without um last year. And to be able to
Speaker 1: be four and one at this point, man, that's just
Speaker 1: such an incredible testament to Stanovich, Luke Buckus and the
Speaker 1: job that those guys have done to be able to
Speaker 1: get him this far. Yeah, no question about it. Well,
Speaker 1: I want to get to some keys to victory here,
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Speaker 1: All right, Keys to victory here for the Packers. What
Speaker 1: is foremost in your mind that the Packers need to
Speaker 1: do to come back to Green Bay with a five
Speaker 1: and one record? Finished drives? I mean it really to me?
Speaker 1: Is that simple? Four sixty six total yards offense against
Speaker 1: the Bengals defense last week? A really good, versatile, deep
Speaker 1: Bengals defense. Yeah, the they were able to do so
Speaker 1: many big explosive things in that game, but it's just
Speaker 1: a matter of getting inside the twenty and being able
Speaker 1: to get back into the end zone. And they showed
Speaker 1: that they can do it. I mean the back shoulder
Speaker 1: fade which looked to be kind of a run solution.
Speaker 1: They're kind of an adjustment that they made two for
Speaker 1: Rogers and in Devonte to do that single coverage the
Speaker 1: only receiver really out on a route on that play.
Speaker 1: It shows you that everything is on the table for them,
Speaker 1: it's just a matter of executing it. And then secondary
Speaker 1: I want to just mention, I mean the Packers being
Speaker 1: able to establish the run the way they did. I
Speaker 1: know it still wasn't picture perfect. I know they have
Speaker 1: higher aspirations, especially you know, just in those first down situations,
Speaker 1: being able to get five, four or five yards again
Speaker 1: more manageable second and third downs, But the variants that
Speaker 1: they're using right now with Aaron Jones and a J. Dillon,
Speaker 1: this is the recipe, Mike. I mean, I think it
Speaker 1: makes Dylon better. I think he's showing that he's ready
Speaker 1: for a bigger role. But at the same time, you
Speaker 1: also have a guy like Aaron Jones who becomes that
Speaker 1: much more really destructive. I feel when he's able to
Speaker 1: kind of have someone playing off him, that's such a
Speaker 1: different contrasting style. I go back to that fifty seven
Speaker 1: yard run that he had in the last week. Von
Speaker 1: Bell made the right call. He had the gap open
Speaker 1: that b gap and Aaron Jones just made a miss.
Speaker 1: And when you're seeing different looks like that throughout the
Speaker 1: course of the game, and now you're you're seeing the
Speaker 1: power of Dylan and now you're seeing the finesse and
Speaker 1: the slashing ability of Aaron Jones, that's difficult to diagnose
Speaker 1: when you're not seeing it. Down after down after down,
Speaker 1: hundred and eighty eight total yards of offense, a week
Speaker 1: after coming up a hundred and nineties six yards of
Speaker 1: total offense. Those two running backs, Mike, they are pivotal
Speaker 1: playmakers in this Packers scheme, and if they can get
Speaker 1: them going again against this front, that's what opens up
Speaker 1: the past, the run pass action, that's what opens up
Speaker 1: the jet motions. All the dominoes start to fall. If
Speaker 1: you can move the football against Chicago. Yeah, that's where
Speaker 1: I think it comes down to. Offensively for the Packers.
Speaker 1: You have to be able to run the football with
Speaker 1: a certain level of effectiveness against the Bears, because you
Speaker 1: need to be able to have an action passing game.
Speaker 1: You need to be able to keep that defense honest
Speaker 1: and honor the run, because if you turn this into
Speaker 1: a straight dropback passing game, the league leading eighteen sacks,
Speaker 1: the nine and a half sacks that that Quinn and
Speaker 1: Mac have combined for so far. That's where you get.
Speaker 1: You get in trouble um because because they know they
Speaker 1: can just come after you in in a straight drop
Speaker 1: back game. On the other side of things, I think
Speaker 1: as much as as much as Packer fans want to see,
Speaker 1: you know, Preston Smith and Rashawn Gary and Kenny Clark
Speaker 1: and these guys you know, start racking up sacks like
Speaker 1: the Bears have been doing, this is not the game
Speaker 1: you necessarily do that. Aside from the statistics from Justin
Speaker 1: fields in the Cleveland game, this is about containing this
Speaker 1: young man, right. It's yes, you rush to pressure to contain,
Speaker 1: but not necessarily to sack because if you get out
Speaker 1: of that, if you get out of your rush lane,
Speaker 1: if you get a little bit too creative, then he
Speaker 1: has that escape lane and and he can make you
Speaker 1: pay with his legs. And the Packers need to they
Speaker 1: need to stop the run, put as much of this
Speaker 1: game on justin fields, like I said before, But then
Speaker 1: keep him in the pocket and make him throw the ball,
Speaker 1: because if he starts running around and he's back in
Speaker 1: his columbus Ohio days, you know then then you know
Speaker 1: all bets are off at that point, because that's that's
Speaker 1: how this kid became a first round pick. And this
Speaker 1: is probably one of the quieter, like six ranked defenses
Speaker 1: you're gonna see in the National Football League what Green
Speaker 1: Bay has done so far. Obviously, there are still things
Speaker 1: to improve. They are not a finished product. But with
Speaker 1: having an inside linebacker like Devander Campbell, having interior pass
Speaker 1: rush like they got last week where it wasn't just
Speaker 1: Kenny Clark, it was Dean Lowry and t J. Slayton
Speaker 1: and Kingsley Kiki making plays. That's really the recipe here
Speaker 1: because as talented as those outside edge rushers are, Mike,
Speaker 1: we know the quickest way to be able to disrupt
Speaker 1: a quarterback is north and south as the crow flies
Speaker 1: right towards the quarterback. That's where where Clark has come
Speaker 1: up so big for them. That's where they're looking to
Speaker 1: get more from the defensive front. And the great thing
Speaker 1: about it is, you're absolutely right, you gotta see in
Speaker 1: your RuSHA lines you can't overpursue. They do finally have
Speaker 1: an inside linebacker though, that can help fix some of
Speaker 1: those mistakes. If they do happen, It's not the end
Speaker 1: of the world if a guy leaks out now, because
Speaker 1: as Campbell showed, he has sideline to sideline speed and
Speaker 1: he can tackle the open field and will And we'll
Speaker 1: see if Joe Barry employs a spy technique, whether it
Speaker 1: be Campbell or or somebody else, maybe it's Darnell Savage,
Speaker 1: who knows, But if there's a if there's a spy
Speaker 1: technique in certain situations where you tell your guys up front,
Speaker 1: go ahead and go after him, because we do have
Speaker 1: the spy too, as you say, make up for that
Speaker 1: leak that that comes out of the pocket. And that's
Speaker 1: something that this defense really has not had in quite
Speaker 1: some time. And secondly, the number one thing I like
Speaker 1: if you're watching the game on Sunday, I like the
Speaker 1: double a gap looks that Barry is presenting. We didn't
Speaker 1: see a lot of those the first few weeks of
Speaker 1: the season, but now on third downs there's some situations
Speaker 1: where they're keeping nickel personnel on the field and they're
Speaker 1: lining up both Campbell and or in Burke's right on
Speaker 1: east side of the shoulder of the center. That makes
Speaker 1: guys think a little bit, what is the look gonna be.
Speaker 1: Where are guys gonna go. We've seen them send both.
Speaker 1: We've seen them send one, we've seen them drop both.
Speaker 1: That's one key little piece that I think is also
Speaker 1: resulting in why you're seeing more or in Burke's on
Speaker 1: the field right now too. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, before we go,
Speaker 1: just a couple of quick thoughts on some other games
Speaker 1: around the league, the ones that I should jot it down.
Speaker 1: The other one that has significant NFC North implications, Minnesota
Speaker 1: is at Carolina. The Vikings. It seems like at least
Speaker 1: every other week the game comes right down to the
Speaker 1: wire for them, sort of like what's been happening with
Speaker 1: Green Bay. Carolina dealing with the Christian McCaffrey injury, and
Speaker 1: they've started to go the other direction a little bit,
Speaker 1: Sam Donald turning the ball over. They've gone from three
Speaker 1: and out to three and two. Your thoughts on the
Speaker 1: Vikings and the Panthers. It's a two different teams going
Speaker 1: in different directions. I mean, yeah, you don't want to
Speaker 1: go down to the wire like they did last week,
Speaker 1: but obviously you saw the enthusiasm in both Kirk Cousins
Speaker 1: and also Mike Zimmer after that win. Those could be
Speaker 1: big moments. Mike I wrote a big old feature about
Speaker 1: Mercedes Lewis and how is twenty yard catch was really
Speaker 1: something that you know, energized the sidelines something like that,
Speaker 1: and Kirk Cousins busting out the whole How do you
Speaker 1: like that or you like that? Whatever the sign is,
Speaker 1: I don't know it's for the kids anyway, but it
Speaker 1: shows you that there is some enthusiasm there in Minnesota.
Speaker 1: And as difficult it as is to be sitting at
Speaker 1: two and three, they also have to realize how close
Speaker 1: to four and one they are at the point and
Speaker 1: they know they know that. And Carolina is an interesting
Speaker 1: spot because well, they got off to a fast start.
Speaker 1: I think they caught a lot of people off guard.
Speaker 1: And I think maybe even some of those guys in
Speaker 1: their own locker room are you know, somewhat thinking, Okay,
Speaker 1: if we don't have McCaffrey, can we win? That's been
Speaker 1: the question the last two and a half years. So
Speaker 1: a very interesting game all across the league, though, I mean,
Speaker 1: you want to talk about you've got Kansas City and Washington,
Speaker 1: A couple of the Packers upcoming opponents are facing off
Speaker 1: against each other. That was another one I wanted to
Speaker 1: mention too, because Arizona is at Cleveland. Arizona the only
Speaker 1: undefeated team in the league. Cleveland is three and two
Speaker 1: with with a very very tough loss on on their
Speaker 1: ledger as well. But those are two teams the Packers
Speaker 1: are going to face here down the road as well.
Speaker 1: An interesting cross conference game there between the Cardinals and
Speaker 1: the brown Yeah. And then if you look at some
Speaker 1: of the other matchups, you know Seattle and in in
Speaker 1: uh Pittsburgh, a team the Packers a face one that
Speaker 1: they will be facing. Russell Wilson questions out there every week.
Speaker 1: I'll say this every week we get on the show,
Speaker 1: that there always are compelling matchups, but there's different types
Speaker 1: of storylines that kind of trickling into these games, whether
Speaker 1: it be injuries, whether it be circumstances, a lot of
Speaker 1: cross conference type action. But again, for green Bay's standpoint,
Speaker 1: you're facing off against an NFC North rival. You have
Speaker 1: a chance to improve to five and one. This is
Speaker 1: a critical, critical game for them, especially if you know
Speaker 1: Kansas City takes care of business the way I think
Speaker 1: a lot of people believe they should against Washington. Then
Speaker 1: you have Washington coming into green Bay next week with
Speaker 1: some more questions at four at two and four, So
Speaker 1: it's gonna be It's gonna be an exciting weekend of
Speaker 1: action for sure though. Yeah, absolutely Chargers in the a
Speaker 1: f C. Chargers and Ravens, two teams four and one
Speaker 1: going ahead to head. So one of those two hottest
Speaker 1: quarterbacks in the game right now, Yeah, one of those
Speaker 1: teams gonna pick up lost number two here in the
Speaker 1: middle of October. But we gotta go, so we'll call
Speaker 1: it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be
Speaker 1: sure to follow all of our coverage of the team,
Speaker 1: all the coverage of the big game from Chicago on Sunday.
Speaker 1: We'll have it all for you on Packer dot com
Speaker 1: for West, I'm Mike. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. See
Speaker 1: you next time. H