Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. He is the
Speaker 1: one and only Weston hot Koitz. We're coming to you
Speaker 1: here from our studios at lambeau Field West. It is
Speaker 1: finally almost here, and of course I'm talking about the
Speaker 1: season opener for Packers Vikings. It will be a three
Speaker 1: pm kickoffs Sunday at us Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
Speaker 1: We will certainly be there from our perch in the
Speaker 1: press box. We're going to talk about keys to victory
Speaker 1: and whatnot as we go along in the show. But
Speaker 1: right before we turn the cameras on here, we were
Speaker 1: kind of joking around about one of the keys of
Speaker 1: this whole thing is finally getting to this point, right
Speaker 1: It's like there's going to be a game that's going
Speaker 1: to how it's going to matter. It's a big one
Speaker 1: against the division rival, obviously, but the time has finally arrived.
Speaker 1: It's finally arrived, and and it's time for football again.
Speaker 1: Even at the time you know that we're taping this,
Speaker 1: even the lead up to Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams,
Speaker 1: you can tell the world is ready for football again.
Speaker 1: I think Packer fans, you know, training camps, fund the
Speaker 1: preseason is fun. I really do feel like it is
Speaker 1: the best build up and lead up in all of
Speaker 1: sport uh to to the definitive beginning of the season.
Speaker 1: But the thing that's interesting about with this new world
Speaker 1: we live in with the preseason is you do have
Speaker 1: a pretty substantial chunk of time here before we get
Speaker 1: to Week one. And you know, for that reason, I think,
Speaker 1: whether it's the media, whether it's the players, I think
Speaker 1: everybody is just sort of getting to the point where
Speaker 1: it's like, yeah, it's time to play football again. And
Speaker 1: that was one of the big questions I had for guys. Really,
Speaker 1: my only big question in Wednesday's locker room is what's
Speaker 1: the anticipation nation? Like, I mean, especially with the defense.
Speaker 1: We talked all off season about this defense and how
Speaker 1: dominant can be and what is life going to be
Speaker 1: like without Davante Adams for the offense where it was
Speaker 1: Rich Besaccia going to be able to overhaul special teams. Well,
Speaker 1: now we finally be able to get some answers. Yeah, exactly,
Speaker 1: We're going to find out exactly where things are headed.
Speaker 1: This will be just the start. It's a marathon, as
Speaker 1: we say many times, not a seventeen games, I mean
Speaker 1: first of seventeen here. This regular season doesn't end until
Speaker 1: almost the middle of changes. Trying to set off, trying
Speaker 1: to get me going here. All right, well, alright, alright,
Speaker 1: we'll back up. We'll back up, because this show is
Speaker 1: about the keys to victory. And you just mentioned offense, defense,
Speaker 1: and special teams, a little note on each one. So
Speaker 1: I will let you start wherever you would like to,
Speaker 1: whichever phase you want to begin with. What is the
Speaker 1: a number one key to victory in your mind for
Speaker 1: the Packers on Sunday against the Viking. This could apply
Speaker 1: to any phase. But for me, it's who has the
Speaker 1: better unscouted looks, who is able to disguise more of
Speaker 1: what they want to do. And I know when you
Speaker 1: look at that, you say, well, Kevin O'Connell has a
Speaker 1: new scheme. You don't really know what DNA tell is
Speaker 1: gonna do with this defense. That's all true, But Green
Speaker 1: Bay it's just such a different look this year. Offensively,
Speaker 1: you know, green It's not going to run through Davontae Adams.
Speaker 1: The plays aren't going to be tailored to number seventeen.
Speaker 1: We're all on the same boat. You and I watched
Speaker 1: every single training camp practice that was available to the media,
Speaker 1: Well you really did. I saw most of them, thank you, Canton.
Speaker 1: But I couldn't even if I was allowed to. I
Speaker 1: don't think I could sit there and say, yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: this is this is Davantae Adams offense. This is gonna
Speaker 1: be the year of Jordy Nelson. This is no I mean,
Speaker 1: they are going to be multiple, They're going to be
Speaker 1: diversified in a lot of this is going to really
Speaker 1: come back to what is green Bay gonna do well
Speaker 1: here the first few weeks of the season. So I
Speaker 1: look at the known like the fact of this is
Speaker 1: that you have Aaron Rodgers and you have a plethora
Speaker 1: of weapons. They're gonna be going up against the hungry
Speaker 1: that Vikings defense. We've heard all the stuff with said
Speaker 1: Arius Smith fair play, but green Bay, what they've cooked
Speaker 1: up and what they've concocted offensively, I'm really eager to
Speaker 1: see if they can stress this new Minnesota defense because
Speaker 1: for me, without Mike Zimmer being there for the first
Speaker 1: time in eight years, there are a lot of question
Speaker 1: marks there for the Vikings. Despite the fact a lot
Speaker 1: of their personnel remains the same. Yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 1: The match up here with the Packers going up against
Speaker 1: this Vikings defense, it is it's the It's the first
Speaker 1: time Aaron Rodgers is going to face a Vikings defense
Speaker 1: not being run by Mike Zimmer in nine years. It's
Speaker 1: going to be it's going to be a different feel
Speaker 1: and a different look in that regard with as we
Speaker 1: talked about on our last show, some of the same
Speaker 1: cast of characters. Eric Kendricks is still out there, Daniel
Speaker 1: Hunter is still out there, Harrison Smith is still out there.
Speaker 1: But I think it's going to be interesting to see
Speaker 1: just what kind of start the Packers can get off too,
Speaker 1: not only because of the transition here without Davante Adams,
Speaker 1: but also all of the the uncertainty right now on offense.
Speaker 1: At the time we're taping this from an injury standpoint,
Speaker 1: the Packers really don't know if Alan Lazard, who has
Speaker 1: an ankle injury, is going to be available, if David
Speaker 1: Bok tr e Elton Jenkins, Bobby Touny in a lot
Speaker 1: of key pieces on offense that we may not know
Speaker 1: until potentially Friday or even right up until kickoff. Just
Speaker 1: how this is going to uh, how this is going
Speaker 1: to come together. So for me, I just I just
Speaker 1: fall back on and I don't want to sound like
Speaker 1: a broken record, but what I've been saying all offseason,
Speaker 1: all training camp leading up to this is I think
Speaker 1: the key to this Packers offense is going to be
Speaker 1: those two running backs. It's gonna be Aaron Jones and
Speaker 1: a J. Dillon. And and I'm not saying that the
Speaker 1: Packers are going to run the ball forty five times
Speaker 1: with their running backs, but if Aaron Jones and a J.
Speaker 1: Dillon touched the ball combined forty five times with with
Speaker 1: runs and screen passes and maybe wheel routes and check
Speaker 1: downs and whatever else, it wouldn't surprise me. Because these
Speaker 1: two guys are going to be on the field a
Speaker 1: lot together. And I think what the Packers are going
Speaker 1: to want to do, especially early in the season, is
Speaker 1: is established these are a couple of our bell cows
Speaker 1: here offensively, and then they're going to see how defenses
Speaker 1: are going to react to what they want to do.
Speaker 1: I made history on Wednesday night Mike my fantasy football
Speaker 1: draft for the first time since I started covering the
Speaker 1: team in two thousand and twelve. I drafted a Green
Speaker 1: Bay Packer, and that's not because I had anything against
Speaker 1: him in the past. It's in the fact that I'm
Speaker 1: in a league with a bunch of homers that are
Speaker 1: always overdrafting Green Bay Packers that I can never get
Speaker 1: any of the top guys. I drafted AJ Dillon. I
Speaker 1: would have taken Aaron Jones too if I would had
Speaker 1: the opportunity to, but he was off the board already.
Speaker 1: But I took A J. Dillon as my flex because
Speaker 1: I agree with you a hundred and fifty. I feel
Speaker 1: like this offense could run with two backs. This offense
Speaker 1: is going to be able to provide both of those
Speaker 1: guys touches. As good as Jamal Williams was, and he's
Speaker 1: an all time fan favorite, the offense wasn't structured in
Speaker 1: a way in which you're gonna be able to really
Speaker 1: feed both guys. A lot of that fell on the unselfishness.
Speaker 1: Selfishness easy for me to say of Jamal Williams that
Speaker 1: he was able to kind of take a back seat
Speaker 1: a little bit, and to A. J. Dillon's credit, he's
Speaker 1: done that too at times the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: But this is the year, where I think you have
Speaker 1: two running backs kind of coming into the same orbit here,
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones still at the peak of his power if
Speaker 1: he could stay healthy, and a j Dillon kind of
Speaker 1: being on that come up. The Packers didn't throw him
Speaker 1: out there and say, hey, we're gonna run you three
Speaker 1: or thirty times a year like they did at Boston College.
Speaker 1: He said we're gonna gradually bring you up. And what happened, Mike.
Speaker 1: He became a better past protector, He became a better
Speaker 1: past catcher. He became the well rounded back that Brian
Speaker 1: Goodkin's projected him to be back in two thousand and
Speaker 1: twenty when they took him in the second round. This
Speaker 1: is a very exciting time for the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: offense because I feel like, whether it's the run, the past, whatever,
Speaker 1: they have two backs, they are going to be able
Speaker 1: to really get this team moving out of the gate.
Speaker 1: And I think what Jones and Dillon give you the
Speaker 1: opportunity to do as an offense is to force the
Speaker 1: defense to defend the whole field. And what I mean
Speaker 1: by that starting off is horizontally from sideline to sideline.
Speaker 1: When if these two running backs are on the field, together,
Speaker 1: and even if it is a pass play, you can
Speaker 1: have one of them be running a check beat being
Speaker 1: the checkdown receiver out to the left over by the sideline,
Speaker 1: and the other one running a wheel route down the
Speaker 1: right sideline. How is the how is the defense going
Speaker 1: to match up to that? And and defend the entire
Speaker 1: field horizontally and you get them stressed horizontally, then okay,
Speaker 1: now let's take our shot down the seam where you
Speaker 1: know the vikings, you know, the middle of their defense
Speaker 1: with Kendricks and Harrison Smith. As we've talked about, it
Speaker 1: can always it always seems like it's tough to attack
Speaker 1: the middle of the field. Again, it's Minnesota, so now,
Speaker 1: and that could all look different with ed don Tell
Speaker 1: and them switching to the three four and all that.
Speaker 1: But these these two running backs, I think give the Packers,
Speaker 1: give the Packers an opportunity to to really challenge defenses
Speaker 1: in different ways that maybe we haven't necessarily seen when
Speaker 1: so much of the offense was running through Davante Adams.
Speaker 1: And that's what I'm really curious to see what it
Speaker 1: actually looks like out there on the field. Um, come
Speaker 1: week one, and as we go through the entire season
Speaker 1: and doing it in stereo with one another. I think
Speaker 1: that's gonna be a big part of this thing too,
Speaker 1: because you know, a lot of years the Green Bay
Speaker 1: Packers it was it was a it was an offense
Speaker 1: that was kind of sitting on Aaron Rodgers shoulders a
Speaker 1: little bit. You had a running back. We saw it
Speaker 1: in two thousand fourteen with Eddie Lacy. You had you
Speaker 1: did have backs at times that could shoulder the load,
Speaker 1: but a lot of it was letting Rogers sort of
Speaker 1: create and building the rest of the offense out from there.
Speaker 1: I think what is most exciting to me is I've
Speaker 1: said it since the beginning of the off season program,
Speaker 1: since the time in which Davantams was traded. I love
Speaker 1: that this is probably going to be a season in
Speaker 1: which Matt Lafleur can get back to the principles of
Speaker 1: his offense and what him and Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVeigh,
Speaker 1: all these guys have done so well. If you have
Speaker 1: a superstar, you feed that superstar. But sometimes when you
Speaker 1: have a lot of talented players, you use that depth
Speaker 1: to your advantage. I think that's gonna be one of
Speaker 1: the big hallmarks of this team. Yeah, well, switching gears
Speaker 1: to the defensive side of things as far as the
Speaker 1: keys here. I look back, and I don't I don't
Speaker 1: want to dwell too much on Week one against New
Speaker 1: Orleans last year, but I did want to look. I
Speaker 1: look back at a little bit of the play by
Speaker 1: play on paper of that game of just how did
Speaker 1: how did Joe Berry's defense get off to such a
Speaker 1: horrible start? Right? Because it wasn't a good look on
Speaker 1: either side of the ball, But certainly there were a
Speaker 1: lot more expectations defensively um with Joe Berry coming in
Speaker 1: as the new coordinator. And and I was reminded in
Speaker 1: looking at things, is that they just they got off
Speaker 1: to a terrible start with third downs. There was in
Speaker 1: the New Orleans game. There was there was a third
Speaker 1: and eight they gave up. Then there was a third
Speaker 1: and thirteen that turned into a fourth and seven, which
Speaker 1: then the Saints still converted on fourth down. There was
Speaker 1: a fourth and goal where they jumped offside. So the
Speaker 1: third and fourth down situations that they got off to
Speaker 1: a terrible start there. But then not just in the
Speaker 1: first game, but over the first several weeks. Remember the
Speaker 1: red zone problems. I mean, however, whatever it ended up being,
Speaker 1: I don't know, nineteen or twenty times in a row
Speaker 1: or something, and I may be exaggerating. I don't remember
Speaker 1: the exact number because I've tried to put it out
Speaker 1: of my brain. But the Packers defense couldn't get a
Speaker 1: stop in the red zone for the longest time at
Speaker 1: the start of last season. I think those those are
Speaker 1: always two key areas for any defense at any time.
Speaker 1: But the way the season started last year, for Green
Speaker 1: Bay to get off to a at least a solid
Speaker 1: start with third downs and with red zone, um, I
Speaker 1: think it's going to be a big key in this
Speaker 1: game and for the entire first month of the season.
Speaker 1: I agree because people want to make jokes about Kirk Cousins,
Speaker 1: and I don't know where all that comes from. It's
Speaker 1: been something that's kind of followed him. I think, even
Speaker 1: going back to his Washington days, Kirk Cousins is a
Speaker 1: good NFL quarterback and you can I don't care where
Speaker 1: you rank him in the hierarchy, but if you look
Speaker 1: at his stats against Green Bay Packers, he's had a
Speaker 1: fair amount of success. Maybe not if you look at
Speaker 1: the wins and losses, but when you look at the
Speaker 1: completion percentage, when you look at the accuracy the throws
Speaker 1: that he's able to make him when they're in rhythm,
Speaker 1: there is a big difference between that Vikings offense in
Speaker 1: the one in which they're not. So I agree with
Speaker 1: you in terms of the red zone. In terms of
Speaker 1: the situational offense, that's going to be key, But for me,
Speaker 1: it's also making sure in those early situations, early downs,
Speaker 1: you don't let those six yard runs kind of crease
Speaker 1: to a Delvin Cook because once you start getting in
Speaker 1: those second and short, third and short opportunities, I feel
Speaker 1: like that's where Cousins has really thrived, because yeah, he's
Speaker 1: been sacked fifteen times against Green Bay in these six meetings,
Speaker 1: but you can't really sit there and say, well, this
Speaker 1: game he was sacked five times and they got their
Speaker 1: butts kick. The Packers have gotten pressure on the guy before.
Speaker 1: He's sort of a stationary type quarterback. You're going to
Speaker 1: be able to get some sacks, but it's about whether
Speaker 1: or not you're actually able to get him out of
Speaker 1: that rhythm. He gets into that rhythm and they start
Speaker 1: being able to penetrate down in the red area. That's
Speaker 1: where you start to find yourselves in trouble, and realistically,
Speaker 1: the Packers did last November. Yeah, And that was the
Speaker 1: other thing I noticed too, as much as some of
Speaker 1: those long yarded situations I mentioned from Week one against
Speaker 1: New Orleans last year, the early part of that game,
Speaker 1: when the Saints jumped out seventeen to nothing first three drives,
Speaker 1: three scores, a field goal, and two touchdowns, there were
Speaker 1: also several third and one, third and two's in those which,
Speaker 1: as the defense, you can't live there, right, I mean
Speaker 1: that that's going to be a high percentage conversion rate
Speaker 1: for the offense. It's very tough to get off the
Speaker 1: field on third and one and third and two, But
Speaker 1: then when you do get them in third and seven
Speaker 1: and third and eight, that is when you have to
Speaker 1: get off the field. And and the Packers just out
Speaker 1: of the gates last year really struggled in that regard.
Speaker 1: Now that being said, as much as we've talked about
Speaker 1: the injury issues and a lot of uncertainty on the
Speaker 1: offensive side, defensively, the Packers are about as healthy as
Speaker 1: you could ask for right here. I think the only
Speaker 1: starter who's listed on the injury report is Darnell Savage.
Speaker 1: If I'm not mistaken with he had the hamstring from
Speaker 1: back on family and all indications are he's going to
Speaker 1: be ready to go. He certainly has has indicated he
Speaker 1: plans to play health wise. The Packers are where they
Speaker 1: want to be on the defensive side of the ball,
Speaker 1: and Joe Barry has to be pretty happy about that.
Speaker 1: And I know for Packer fans you can't take the
Speaker 1: emotion of it, because it is emotional pay. You want
Speaker 1: your team to win, and there are big steaks with
Speaker 1: the division game right off the bat in Week one
Speaker 1: on the road, But it's also going to be an
Speaker 1: entertaining ball game in terms of what the Vikings have
Speaker 1: offensively and how that's going to match up with Green
Speaker 1: Bay's defense. When you talk about the justin Jefferson's and
Speaker 1: who potentially could be covering him, what is JayR Alexander
Speaker 1: going to be doing. Who is going to be in
Speaker 1: the slot. Although you know we've seen Rasseul Douglas, there's
Speaker 1: so much in the camp they've talked about the flexibility
Speaker 1: of that spot, and certainly, as I already mentioned earlier,
Speaker 1: Delvin Cook is a difference maker. Kenny Clark was very
Speaker 1: complimentary of the offensive line that that Minnesota has been
Speaker 1: building and it's been a long long process for the
Speaker 1: Vikings trying to get more stability there, but they've put
Speaker 1: in the resources to that position. So to me, I
Speaker 1: feel like this is gonna be a game and there's
Speaker 1: always gonna be you know, fits and starts. There's never
Speaker 1: really been a big blowout. I can't think of one
Speaker 1: during the Cousins era with the Vikings, but it is
Speaker 1: going to be about attacking early on and seeing who
Speaker 1: who is able to to kind of get their early
Speaker 1: first momentum. But the Packers, if if it is the
Speaker 1: Packers and you have the Jr. Alexander's and the Devandry
Speaker 1: Campbell's and some of these guys that are Shawn Garry
Speaker 1: everything we talked about during training camp. The Packers have
Speaker 1: skies with a lot of swagger, and the better they play,
Speaker 1: I feel like that's gonna be a self fulfilling prophecy.
Speaker 1: So it's gonna be excit. Need to watch. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: on the special team side of things, you mentioned Rich
Speaker 1: Bisaccia earlier. Obviously the Packers brought him into to create
Speaker 1: a culture change. We talked on previous shows about how
Speaker 1: some of the roster decisions. Final roster decisions were geared
Speaker 1: towards special teams. Packers are looking to get off to
Speaker 1: a good start in that area obviously, and but they're
Speaker 1: gonna have a heck of a challenge thrown at him
Speaker 1: right away because at roster cut down time, the Vikings
Speaker 1: picked up Jalen Reagor and it sounds like the Vikings
Speaker 1: special teams coordinator is putting him back thereund punt return.
Speaker 1: This is his guy. And I know it was two
Speaker 1: years ago and it was two special teams coordinators ago
Speaker 1: for the Packers, but Jalen Reagor ran one back against
Speaker 1: Green Bay when he was playing for the Philadelphia Eagles
Speaker 1: on a long punt return. So they know all about him,
Speaker 1: about about his speed, his ability in that phase, and
Speaker 1: the Packers are going to be challenged right out of
Speaker 1: the gate here. It was really interesting listening to Chris
Speaker 1: Barnes and and Chris is such a thoughtful guy. We
Speaker 1: didn't get a chance to talk to him much in training,
Speaker 1: Cambinet not for his own perspective that just the media
Speaker 1: didn't really chat with them too much with quay Walker
Speaker 1: coming in. But one of the things I asked him
Speaker 1: on Wednesday was about the Special Teams unit that Green
Speaker 1: Bay has assembled here. Because we've talked so much about
Speaker 1: Rich pisacci and Keishaan Nixon and you know down Levett,
Speaker 1: you know Pat o'donald, all the changes they've made with
Speaker 1: incoming personnel, you kind of forget about the guys who
Speaker 1: were here last year, the guys that do have a
Speaker 1: chip on their shoulder, the guys that do want to
Speaker 1: that that are kind of tired of hearing about how
Speaker 1: Special Teams was sort of a you know, it was
Speaker 1: holding green Bay back and they're hungry to to rectify that.
Speaker 1: And I just I go back to those offseason practices, Mike,
Speaker 1: and just the sense of urgency that Rich Pisaccia coached with.
Speaker 1: There was no coasting. It didn't matter if it was
Speaker 1: organized team activities, training camp, probably even if they were
Speaker 1: getting in line for the cafeteria. He had these guys
Speaker 1: really really tightly, efficiently coached. And I feel like that
Speaker 1: shift you've seen. Aaron Rodgers has talked about it, Matt
Speaker 1: Lafloor has talked about it. That's going to translate in
Speaker 1: these settings. And I was the story I did on
Speaker 1: on Jack Coco earlier this week. One of the things
Speaker 1: that kind of hit home for me a little bit
Speaker 1: was how Bisaccia tests these players. He gets after them,
Speaker 1: not because he wants to look like a tough guy,
Speaker 1: not because he he wants to sit here and be
Speaker 1: the loudest guy in the room. He wants to put
Speaker 1: them through that type of chaos. He wants to see
Speaker 1: how it tests them from a fundamental standpoint, because once
Speaker 1: that game starts, they're all on the same team, and
Speaker 1: whatever happens out there is going to be reflect back
Speaker 1: on the entire team. So I just I think the
Speaker 1: mental side of this thing and the way Bisaccia coaches
Speaker 1: is just so next level. It's something I haven't seen
Speaker 1: before on special teams during my time covering the team,
Speaker 1: and I'm excited to see what those guys, specifically the
Speaker 1: ones that returned from last season, the Maori Rodgers, how
Speaker 1: they respond with wanting to prove they are better than
Speaker 1: what everybody said they were last Yeah, you're exactly right.
Speaker 1: The motivation, the motivation is certainly there, and the culture
Speaker 1: has changed in in that phase for the Packers on
Speaker 1: special teams. I still think it'll be a work in progress. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, as we talked about through training camp, the
Speaker 1: preseason games, it was about finding the right guys. Now,
Speaker 1: rich Basacci feels like he has his guys, so now
Speaker 1: he's going to coach and mold and direct and lead
Speaker 1: those guys to play the way he wants them to play.
Speaker 1: And it's not going to be perfect in week one,
Speaker 1: but the Packers certainly need to at least break at
Speaker 1: least try to break even in that phase and then
Speaker 1: work toward um as this evolves over the course these
Speaker 1: over the course of the season. Work to be a
Speaker 1: special teams unit that can win that phase at least
Speaker 1: a fair amount of the time. And don't head to
Speaker 1: the bathroom during a punt. Don't go to the bathroom
Speaker 1: if you're gonna be looking at a kickoff. Look at
Speaker 1: the personnel on these units. I'm not saying you're gonna
Speaker 1: see adrianame Is playing all four course special teams units,
Speaker 1: but the Packers there are going to be veterans on
Speaker 1: these units. There's going to be guys that play offense
Speaker 1: and defense, the wefense sort of movement. Keep an eye
Speaker 1: on that because I think that's a very important thing.
Speaker 1: Early last season when greenbo is having problems with the
Speaker 1: field goal protection. How many times did I mentioned you?
Speaker 1: I'm like Mike, they don't have any starting offensive linemen
Speaker 1: out there. No disrespect to anybody, but that's the way
Speaker 1: they're doing. That's not the case this year. You're seeing
Speaker 1: Josh Meyers as a wing. That's the part I'm excited
Speaker 1: to see, because, as you mentioned, it's gonna be a
Speaker 1: work in progress. Reagor is going to test them and
Speaker 1: stress them in a lot of ways on Sunday. But
Speaker 1: there's going to be guys out there on that field
Speaker 1: that have seen justin Jefferson, There's gonna be guys on
Speaker 1: that field that have had to deal with some of
Speaker 1: the elite players in this league on offense and defense,
Speaker 1: and it's gonna be fun to watch. Alright. Well, I'll
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Speaker 1: fired Up. I got on special teams there. Yeah, Besacchi
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Speaker 1: Week one always an interesting and what I always consider
Speaker 1: hands down the most unpredictable week in what is always
Speaker 1: an unpredictable league in general. Start with what else is
Speaker 1: going on in the NFC North, and that is the
Speaker 1: the Bears and the Lions are both hosting games. Chicago
Speaker 1: at home against San Francisco Detroit, coming off of the
Speaker 1: summer of hard knocks. Every everyone, everyone in the country
Speaker 1: got to look into their their training camp. I saw
Speaker 1: maybe one or one and a half about it. Detroit
Speaker 1: at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. Now both the road
Speaker 1: teams here, the forty Niners and the Eagles, both teams
Speaker 1: with with high hopes with young quarterbacks, um run oriented
Speaker 1: offenses to a certain extent um big challenges here at
Speaker 1: home for the other two teams in the NFC North,
Speaker 1: the Bears and Alliance. Yeah, I mean forty Niners and
Speaker 1: Eagles are gonna win. So it's about it. Okay, No,
Speaker 1: it's it is gonna be tough sledding coming out of
Speaker 1: the gate. I love what I've read so far though
Speaker 1: about Detroit. I mean the fact that it sounds like
Speaker 1: it's a sellout at ford Field already. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think people have really rallied around Dan Campbell and the culture.
Speaker 1: I remember remember saying that to you last year. I'm like,
Speaker 1: the wins and losses really don't matter. It's about what
Speaker 1: what are they kind of building there? What's what's the
Speaker 1: culture like? I mean, you saw that clip again. I
Speaker 1: didn't watch Hard Knocks this here, but that clip. But
Speaker 1: Jamal Williams just, you know, almost in tears telling those
Speaker 1: guys he's sick of losing that he experienced winning for
Speaker 1: four years here. They were better than what people thought
Speaker 1: they were last year, and you gotta admit. I mean
Speaker 1: that win over Green Day to end the season, that
Speaker 1: put them into the off season feeling okay about themselves,
Speaker 1: like we finished strong to be able to kind stay
Speaker 1: you know, mentally with it. I mean, I'm on Ross st. Brown.
Speaker 1: I think is gonna be a talented player in this league.
Speaker 1: I think they found some young pieces there to build around.
Speaker 1: I just feel like if Jalen hurts is as dynamic
Speaker 1: as everybody thinks he is, and what they've built around him,
Speaker 1: I feel like Philly is going to be a team
Speaker 1: that's gonna push Dallas for the top of that division.
Speaker 1: I would expect them to roll. I love Trey Lance,
Speaker 1: I always have. I'm excited about him. I wouldn't say it.
Speaker 1: I was on the gate with Justin Herbert right away.
Speaker 1: I love Justin Herbert. I'm not saying I'm that high
Speaker 1: on him, but everything I've seen from the guy, I
Speaker 1: feel like this is the chosen one. You know, North
Speaker 1: Dakota State has produced a few quarterbacks now, but this
Speaker 1: is There's just something about him. There's an in factor
Speaker 1: and I love the fact that kind of like the
Speaker 1: Packers did with Aaron Rodgers and Brett Farve, didn't wait
Speaker 1: as long, but it just was sort of this commitment
Speaker 1: of now this is our guy. We're gonna We're gonna
Speaker 1: commit to him. He's gonna be the one we're gonna
Speaker 1: run with. And I feel like that's the better play. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: year two for Dan Campbell in Detroit and then the
Speaker 1: debut of Matt Eberflus in Chicago as the head coach
Speaker 1: and with Luke Getzi, the former Packers assistant running the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears offense with uh their young quarterback in Justin Fields,
Speaker 1: the first round pick from Ohio State from a year ago.
Speaker 1: That's the X factor. I mean, honestly, I think that's
Speaker 1: what it all comes down to. If Justin Fields is
Speaker 1: the truth, if he's as talent as they thought he
Speaker 1: was coming out. Um, I feel like that the Bears
Speaker 1: are going to go as far as he goes this season.
Speaker 1: They aren't the most talented team, but if they have
Speaker 1: something there with Fields, I think they're going to be
Speaker 1: able to surprise some people. Two interesting games as far
Speaker 1: as cross conference, a f C versus NFC that that
Speaker 1: I wanted to touch on briefly. Cleveland is a Carolina
Speaker 1: the Baker Mayfield revenge game or what I love the
Speaker 1: way the schedule makers It's crazy how that how that
Speaker 1: um worked itself out. And then Kansas City at Arizona
Speaker 1: a very interesting a f C versus NFC matchup Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes Kyler Murray Um. Those those those are two games, UM,
Speaker 1: two games that that are interesting for for different reasons.
Speaker 1: The Baker Mayfield storyline is obviously the one that's going
Speaker 1: to dominate the first one. The other one the Arizona Cardinals,
Speaker 1: a lot of high hopes playing in a really tough division.
Speaker 1: The end with what happened last year, they they started
Speaker 1: out so strong, they were seven and oh they were
Speaker 1: the last undefeated team in the league. But then by
Speaker 1: season's end they were flaming out in the wild card
Speaker 1: round with an absolutely dreadful January performance against UH, their
Speaker 1: division rival Rams. So, you know, the Cardinals a team
Speaker 1: with a lot of high hopes, but yet a fan
Speaker 1: base that's a little skeptical perhaps as too as to
Speaker 1: just how much to buy into this team because of
Speaker 1: UH such an up and down roller coaster ride, so
Speaker 1: to speak, last year. It seems like to me it's
Speaker 1: Humpty dumpty sitting on the wall. I mean, they I
Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised if Arizona makes a deep playoff run.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if it falls apart this year.
Speaker 1: You know, Like that's kind of the way I've sort
Speaker 1: of been sitting with this thing, because, you know, Cliff Kingsbury,
Speaker 1: there's definitely some I don't want to say fire on them,
Speaker 1: but I mean it wasn't great how it ended last season.
Speaker 1: I think everybody from the top down in Arizona talked
Speaker 1: about that. Kyler Murray, You you've definitely put your way
Speaker 1: into this young man. Now, this is going to be
Speaker 1: the face of your franchise, and you hope that he
Speaker 1: takes those necessary steps. But you're going up against one
Speaker 1: of the the pre eminent teams in the National Football
Speaker 1: League right now. And I look at Kansas City where
Speaker 1: they sit right now. It reminds me a lot of
Speaker 1: the Packers and sort of that aftermath of the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl forty five, where Kansas City is gonna be a
Speaker 1: team that's just gonna threaten for twelve wins a year. Now,
Speaker 1: thirteen wins a year, uh, and that's a lot for
Speaker 1: Arizona to deal with out of the gates. I'm not
Speaker 1: saying Arizona has to absolutely win this thing, but you've
Speaker 1: gotta have a nice performance. You've gotta have something to
Speaker 1: give yourself some confidence. Um. And then I want to
Speaker 1: just touch on quickly. Yeah, it's just crazy how Cleveland
Speaker 1: Carolina worked out. But then Monday night football Denver going
Speaker 1: to Seattle. Yeah, Hey, you gotta it's like professional wrestling, right,
Speaker 1: you gotta build the feuds. You gotta build the rivalry's
Speaker 1: gotta get the interest up. What a better way to
Speaker 1: Nathaniel Hackett, former Packers offensive coordinator, makes his head coaching
Speaker 1: debut with the the Russell Wilson Revenge Game or whatever
Speaker 1: you want to call it, with the longtime Seahawks quarterback
Speaker 1: going up against his old team right out of the
Speaker 1: gate in Week one on Monday Night Football. UM Packers
Speaker 1: Vikings is obviously a big division game in Week one.
Speaker 1: Another one that's interesting the Las Vegas Raiders at the
Speaker 1: Los Angeles Chargers, the game that the game that was
Speaker 1: the final primetime game in Week eighteen last year is
Speaker 1: now a rematch in Week one. It will be obviously
Speaker 1: the Davante Adams debut with the Raiders, but um a
Speaker 1: big game in the a f C West, a division
Speaker 1: that a lot of analysts are calling the best in uh,
Speaker 1: the best in the NFL as far as the depth
Speaker 1: of it and uh the way the way that Week
Speaker 1: eight team game went last year with the overtime and
Speaker 1: maybe they were going to tie and both go to
Speaker 1: the playoffs and all that. Well, now here they are
Speaker 1: squaring off again in Week one. Should be interesting. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And Herbert like I just just talking about I mean,
Speaker 1: is I think a guy that's definitely on the the
Speaker 1: incline here and seeing where his career is going to
Speaker 1: go in the Raiders. Raiders are an interesting spot MIC because, Yeah,
Speaker 1: Davante Adams thing is a really interesting storyline and obviously
Speaker 1: him reconnecting with Derek Carr. They have had a lot
Speaker 1: of trouble here though, with the last three years of
Speaker 1: their draft classes. Like, I still wonder about the overall
Speaker 1: depth of that football team because you can't basically miss
Speaker 1: on everybody and expect your yourselves to be in a
Speaker 1: super Bowl type form. It's difficult to do that. Um,
Speaker 1: this is not Major league Baseball. You can't just go
Speaker 1: buy everybody. You gotta you gotta be able to have
Speaker 1: some homegrown talents. So the Raiders are very peculiar team
Speaker 1: to me. But for me, I look at the Chargers
Speaker 1: as in a very deep division, as probably the one
Speaker 1: that's going to be able to push the Chiefs the most. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought, Um, I thought the Chargers were a potential
Speaker 1: threat if they had gotten into the playoffs last year
Speaker 1: in the a f C because of the way Herbert
Speaker 1: was playing, and then it didn't work out that way.
Speaker 1: For them. So Um, as you said, the arrow definitely
Speaker 1: pointing up for a quarterback like Justin Herbert. Last but
Speaker 1: not least Sunday night football, which unfortunately we probably won't
Speaker 1: be able to watch because we'll be working on all
Speaker 1: of our postgame stuff for Packers Vikings. But it turns
Speaker 1: out the first Sunday night football game of the year
Speaker 1: is a repeat of the Thursday night kickoff opener from
Speaker 1: last year. And of course I'm talking about Buccaneers against
Speaker 1: the Cowboys. This time it's in Dallas. But two teams
Speaker 1: in the NFC, both considered contenders, potential favorites in their division.
Speaker 1: And uh um, you know, with everything that happened in
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay with training camp and Tom Brady being gone
Speaker 1: for a while, and then all the talk in Dallas
Speaker 1: of where things are with Mike McCarthy and all the
Speaker 1: expectations that are on the Cowboys heading into this season. Um,
Speaker 1: you can't ask for a bigger Week one NFC matchup
Speaker 1: than than Tampa Bay at Dallas. Yeah. No, And in
Speaker 1: for Dallas, as you mentioned, the stakes don't get any higher. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, whether it's true or not, whether it's just
Speaker 1: suft refuge or just stuff that the media is kind
Speaker 1: of conjuring up. Um, certainly these are questions Mike McCarthy's
Speaker 1: had to continually answer, So it's going to be interesting
Speaker 1: to see where that thing goes. Um a big win
Speaker 1: over Tampa I think that's probably the outcome that would
Speaker 1: increase the most stock for either of these teams. But
Speaker 1: certainly there's questions to answer about Tom Brady to forty
Speaker 1: five years old. I mean, you can talk about the
Speaker 1: off the field stuff whatever, but I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: he's trying to hold back Father Time one more season
Speaker 1: here and and if he can. I think Tampa Bay
Speaker 1: feels really good about their chances. Yeah, well, it's a
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a dynamite Week one and certainly the
Speaker 1: Packers vikings at US Bank Stadium takes a backseat to
Speaker 1: No to No game in terms of the intensity and
Speaker 1: the stakes. But with that we will call it a
Speaker 1: wrap on this edition of Packers on Script and be
Speaker 1: sure to follow all of our coverage of the team
Speaker 1: and everything with the big Week one matchup in Minneapolis.
Speaker 1: Will have it all for you on Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: For Wes, I'm Mike, Thanks for tuning in everybody. We'll
Speaker 1: see you next time.