WEBVTT - #918 Packers Unscripted: The comeback continues 0:00:06.750 --> 0:00:11.390 Hi everybody, welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers.com. 0:00:11.550 --> 0:00:13.760 I am Mike Spofford, joined by the one and only 0:00:13.790 --> 0:00:17.080 Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from the Pottawatomie 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:20.319 Sportsbook studio inside the walls of Lambeau Field. And next 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.280 up for the Packers, Wes, is the New England Patriots. 0:00:23.340 --> 0:00:27.690 It will be a road game in Foxborough, Massachusetts. 325 0:00:27.690 --> 0:00:33.100 Central Time kickoff on Fox, former Patriots team. Great and 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.460 future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady will be in 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.330 the booth for Fox to call the game. But before 0:00:39.370 --> 0:00:42.110 we get to the Patriots, there's a bit of news 0:00:42.190 --> 0:00:45.030 on the practice field Wednesday for the Green Bay Packers 0:00:45.090 --> 0:00:49.660 because none other than numero uno Micah Parsons was back 0:00:49.850 --> 0:00:54.960 on the practice field. His first practice since before he 0:00:55.200 --> 0:01:00.030 injured his knee in mid-December of last year. And Parsons 0:01:00.050 --> 0:01:02.480 is just doing individual drills right now. He's going to 0:01:02.550 --> 0:01:05.140 ramp up to maybe get into more of the meat 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:08.700 of practice next week and whatnot. And he's sort of 0:01:08.940 --> 0:01:12.459 eyeing that Thanksgiving Eve game against the Rams, which is 0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:14.720 be right at the end of that three-week window in 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:21.310 terms of activating into the active roster. But there's... there's 0:01:21.330 --> 0:01:23.930 just that little bit of extra energy, I think, within 0:01:23.970 --> 0:01:27.210 this team now that they know Micah Parsons is truly 0:01:27.290 --> 0:01:27.910 on his way back. 0:01:28.030 --> 0:01:30.810 Yeah, Mike, I said it in an insider inbox this morning. 0:01:30.830 --> 0:01:34.610 I think there's a boost and a vibrancy throughout the 0:01:34.630 --> 0:01:37.450 entire building that you have Micah Parsons back. I mean, 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.259 Matt LaFleur said it. I appreciate his comments on this 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:42.940 because there's so much that we fixate on as it 0:01:42.980 --> 0:01:45.900 relates to Parsons in terms of just the pure pass rusher. 0:01:45.940 --> 0:01:48.960 I mean, again, generational talent, but It's all the little 0:01:49.020 --> 0:01:51.370 things that came along with them acquiring him that I 0:01:51.410 --> 0:01:56.170 think have separated that acquisition, right? First and foremost, I mean, 0:01:56.250 --> 0:01:58.870 he's a very well-rounded football player. He did a tremendous 0:01:58.910 --> 0:02:00.770 job against the run last year, too, probably one of 0:02:00.790 --> 0:02:03.560 the more underrated parts of his game. that I think 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.420 the league is appreciating that maybe the common viewer doesn't. 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.060 But beyond that is the leader that he's become in 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:11.340 the locker room and the relationship that he's built with 0:02:11.370 --> 0:02:14.510 these players in the span of just over 12 months. 0:02:14.590 --> 0:02:17.690 So yeah, as Jordan Love talked about, a number of guys, 0:02:17.710 --> 0:02:20.150 Christian Watson mentioned it, Xavier McKinney in the locker room. 0:02:20.970 --> 0:02:23.609 Having Micah Parsons back on the practice field is a 0:02:23.669 --> 0:02:27.169 big deal. And as you talked about on three things, 0:02:27.210 --> 0:02:30.580 the fact that Yeah, three things. Sorry, too many videos. 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:33.560 The fact that it does line up 21 days between 0:02:33.620 --> 0:02:38.120 now and that Thanksgiving Eve game against the Los Angeles Rams, 0:02:39.500 --> 0:02:42.850 it's there. The window is there now. And as Parsons 0:02:42.910 --> 0:02:46.210 explained after practice, I thought he was really good and 0:02:46.250 --> 0:02:49.730 explanatory in terms of what this journey's been like and 0:02:49.750 --> 0:02:52.209 the various hurdles that have been along the way to 0:02:52.230 --> 0:02:53.550 finally leading to his return. 0:02:54.230 --> 0:02:58.810 Yeah, the video of Parsons' media session after Wednesday's practice 0:02:58.870 --> 0:03:01.690 is available on Packers.com. I also wrote a story kind 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:05.360 of highlighting some of his comments and trying to condense 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:08.820 everything in terms of what he's talking about, what he's 0:03:08.860 --> 0:03:11.919 been through, where he is mentally right now, and how 0:03:11.980 --> 0:03:14.520 he feels about things moving forward. So be sure to 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:19.260 check out that story as well. But Parsons will not 0:03:19.300 --> 0:03:23.650 be on the field in New England on Sunday. One 0:03:23.669 --> 0:03:26.700 guy who might be, I guess, Chris Brooks also returned 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:30.200 to practice. Running back, he's coming back from the ankle injury. 0:03:30.260 --> 0:03:33.380 His window to be activated off of injured reserve is 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.410 now open. I'm not sure what sort of a ramp-up 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:38.310 period they're looking at for Brooks, and we'll see if 0:03:38.330 --> 0:03:41.690 he does get activated, what that means for Josh Jacobs, 0:03:41.730 --> 0:03:44.970 Marshawn Lloyd, Pierre Strong, and the reps in the backfield. 0:03:45.870 --> 0:03:51.140 But this Patriots team, Wes, it's interesting. Their season has, 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:53.320 in a lot of ways, paralleled the Green. 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:54.120 Bay Packers season. 0:03:54.940 --> 0:03:58.260 Both the Packers and the Patriots started out 1-2, all 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.060 sorts of questions, everybody wondering what was going on with 0:04:01.100 --> 0:04:04.000 these two teams that made the playoffs last year. The Patriots, 0:04:04.020 --> 0:04:06.200 of course, going all the way to the Super Bowl 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:09.860 in the AFC. But since those 1-2 starts, both of 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:13.860 these teams are 4-1. Both of them, the only loss 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.460 in that time was actually to an NFC North opponent. 0:04:16.540 --> 0:04:19.580 The Patriots lost to the Bears, the Packers lost to 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:26.229 the lions. Um, and we're seeing much as we're seeing 0:04:26.410 --> 0:04:30.980 in year two, three, three, four, five, six, four of 0:04:31.060 --> 0:04:35.300 Jordan love as the Packers starting quarterback year three for 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:41.300 Drake may, he's got a triple digit passer rating right now. Um, this, uh, 0:04:42.300 --> 0:04:44.659 He's got some good players around him, obviously, but this 0:04:44.740 --> 0:04:47.849 is definitely an offense that goes through the quarterback. 0:04:47.990 --> 0:04:50.190 It is, and I think you saw it both when 0:04:50.230 --> 0:04:52.870 they were going through their struggles earlier this season and 0:04:52.910 --> 0:04:54.750 then when they've turned it around over the last four 0:04:54.770 --> 0:04:58.370 or five games. There's a difference when Drake May is 0:04:58.430 --> 0:05:01.730 moving the ball, when he's comfortable, and when he's producing. Honestly, 0:05:01.770 --> 0:05:03.830 I think sometimes it just comes back to just remembering 0:05:03.890 --> 0:05:07.020 who you are. these guys, man, you saw it with Jordan. 0:05:07.060 --> 0:05:08.880 I mean, even though Jordan was a little bit farther 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:11.200 along in terms of the age and the time spent 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.339 in the National Football League, just when you do something 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.010 well right off the bat, you need to reinvent, you 0:05:17.050 --> 0:05:20.969 need to reassess, you need to grow. And I think May, 0:05:21.190 --> 0:05:23.570 so much success came to him right away in year 0:05:23.650 --> 0:05:26.830 two that the first month of the season, those first 0:05:26.850 --> 0:05:28.770 three games, a lot of people were wondering, okay, where 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:32.400 is he at? Was that in a illusion last year 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.510 what the Patriots accomplished. They didn't really beat a lot 0:05:34.529 --> 0:05:36.910 of winning teams. They got to the Super Bowl but 0:05:36.930 --> 0:05:40.430 didn't do particularly well once they were there. But I 0:05:40.470 --> 0:05:42.310 think what this has shown you is this is a 0:05:42.330 --> 0:05:45.130 quarterback-driven league and there's only so many guys like Drake May. 0:05:45.150 --> 0:05:48.150 There's only so many guys like Jordan Love available. And 0:05:48.690 --> 0:05:51.880 where the Packers have struggled to get the run game 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:53.760 going and are still trying to figure out that piece 0:05:53.779 --> 0:05:56.000 of the puzzle, I think you look at the Patriots 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.080 where they were trying to figure out the passing game 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:00.280 early on. And now it feels like they're starting to 0:06:00.300 --> 0:06:01.580 build some momentum in that area. 0:06:01.700 --> 0:06:04.520 Yeah, and they went into the season kind of revamping 0:06:04.580 --> 0:06:07.940 the receiver position as far as the weapons around Drake May. 0:06:08.260 --> 0:06:11.909 But since then, A.J. Brown, Romeo Dobbs have both gone 0:06:11.950 --> 0:06:15.330 down with injuries. So the receivers that May is working 0:06:15.370 --> 0:06:18.370 with are not necessarily household names. Hunter Henry at tight 0:06:18.470 --> 0:06:21.530 end is becoming a very reliable target for him. But 0:06:21.589 --> 0:06:24.510 now he's cropped up on the injury report again. So 0:06:24.620 --> 0:06:27.300 his status for Sunday will be up in the air. 0:06:28.420 --> 0:06:31.039 The biggest difference when you look at the Packers and 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.330 Patriots here, the biggest difference as far as how their 0:06:33.370 --> 0:06:38.630 seasons have gone has been in the turnover category because 0:06:38.910 --> 0:06:43.270 the Packers, Green Bay's defense already has more takeaways than 0:06:43.310 --> 0:06:46.340 it had all of last season. And the Packers are 0:06:46.380 --> 0:06:49.900 plus four right now as far as the turnover margin. 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:54.080 The Patriots are at minus seven. They are down amongst 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:56.450 the bottom teams in the league in that category and 0:06:57.170 --> 0:06:59.350 Which speaks to, I mean, to still be five and 0:06:59.410 --> 0:07:04.200 three when you're minus seven in the turnover margin is 0:07:04.260 --> 0:07:06.980 saying something about the type of roster and the type 0:07:07.020 --> 0:07:10.840 of team that you have. But Drake May, he's thrown 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.060 eight interceptions. This team has lost five or sorry, lost 0:07:14.150 --> 0:07:17.650 seven fumbles over the course of the first eight games 0:07:17.690 --> 0:07:20.720 of the year. Kind of seems that, you know, This 0:07:20.780 --> 0:07:23.180 Packers defense that's done a really good job taking the 0:07:23.220 --> 0:07:25.130 ball away, they need to do that once or twice 0:07:25.210 --> 0:07:25.690 on Sunday. 0:07:25.810 --> 0:07:28.250 They do, and they've got to get Drake May uncomfortable. 0:07:28.690 --> 0:07:31.390 You mentioned the fact that he has those eight interceptions. Well, 0:07:31.430 --> 0:07:33.650 seven of them came in those first four games. He 0:07:33.690 --> 0:07:35.510 only has one in the game that he did have 0:07:35.550 --> 0:07:39.360 it in was against the Bears, and spoiler alert, they lost. 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:41.600 When he's clicking, when he's humming, and he's been able 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:43.220 to find the Hunter Henrys of the world and he's 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:45.780 able to get the running backs going in the passing game, 0:07:46.340 --> 0:07:48.500 that's been their path to victory so far this season. 0:07:48.910 --> 0:07:51.590 This is not a group of household names at receiver. 0:07:51.610 --> 0:07:53.930 I think Matt Collins is maybe for a lot of 0:07:53.950 --> 0:07:56.110 stuff that doesn't really have to do with what happens 0:07:56.190 --> 0:07:59.730 on the field in terms of just his boisterousness and 0:07:59.870 --> 0:08:03.830 kind of the entertainment factor of it. But the realistic 0:08:03.850 --> 0:08:05.910 thing is they've found a way. I mean, when you 0:08:05.930 --> 0:08:08.720 look at Douglas and some of the receivers that they have, 0:08:08.740 --> 0:08:10.840 these are day three picks. These are guys that they've 0:08:10.860 --> 0:08:13.060 been developing. These are guys that have sort of emerged 0:08:13.100 --> 0:08:16.060 on the scene. But again, the fact that May is 0:08:16.140 --> 0:08:18.630 making it work kind of like Jordan Love with this 0:08:18.670 --> 0:08:20.530 Packers offense, even though I think the weapons are a 0:08:20.530 --> 0:08:22.570 little bit more dangerous in terms of Green Bay's deep 0:08:22.610 --> 0:08:26.070 passing game, it comes back to the quarterback. And when 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:27.810 the chips are down and when you need to find 0:08:27.860 --> 0:08:31.060 a victory, it's about relying on that guy under center 0:08:31.380 --> 0:08:33.180 to lead you forward. And I think that's why when 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.059 you look at all the statistics and all the superlatives 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:37.120 and go through NFL.com and some of the stat sheets 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:39.880 and the research notes that they have, these two guys 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:41.380 are right up there at the top of the league 0:08:41.420 --> 0:08:43.960 right now. And it's the reason why I think quietly 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:48.840 there's MVP campaigns being put together by both men because 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.760 of how their football team has had to rely on 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:54.740 them to push forward. To bring back the other side 0:08:54.780 --> 0:08:57.760 of that takeaway argument, defensively it's been a grind for 0:08:57.940 --> 0:09:00.260 New England trying to generate those opportunities too. I want 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:03.090 to say they're 30th or 31st in the league in 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:06.830 takeaways so far this season. Packers need to be able 0:09:06.870 --> 0:09:09.090 to pluck the ball away and also on Jordan Love's behalf, 0:09:09.330 --> 0:09:10.429 protect it. 0:09:11.030 --> 0:09:13.880 One thing that Drake May does have that the Packers 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:18.350 have not developed yet is a reliable running game. Ramondre Stevenson, 0:09:19.290 --> 0:09:22.170 not the flashiest running back in the world, but a 0:09:22.250 --> 0:09:25.130 power back who is tough to bring down will grind 0:09:25.190 --> 0:09:28.930 out the tough yards. And there's nothing flashy about this 0:09:29.030 --> 0:09:32.550 new England running game, but lo and behold, you look 0:09:32.610 --> 0:09:35.360 up and they're averaging like 120 rushing yards a game, 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:39.420 which is exactly what a quarterback like Drake may needs to, 0:09:39.660 --> 0:09:42.970 to keep defenses honest. And then, and then, May is 0:09:43.010 --> 0:09:44.900 also a guy who will run around and scramble. I 0:09:44.929 --> 0:09:47.339 think he's up over 200 rushing yards on the year. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.260 Now there are occasionally there's a designed run for him 0:09:50.260 --> 0:09:52.699 or a zone read type of thing, but he's gotten 0:09:52.700 --> 0:09:56.400 a lot of those rushing yards off of off of scrambles, um, 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.710 see in the field. And, and, uh, you know, if, uh, 0:09:59.860 --> 0:10:01.599 if you're in man coverage and he gets out of 0:10:01.620 --> 0:10:04.240 the pocket and you're just trailing receivers and stuff, he's 0:10:04.260 --> 0:10:06.540 going to take off and go move the chains and 0:10:06.580 --> 0:10:09.809 get the first down there. So, um, there's a lot, um, 0:10:10.590 --> 0:10:13.370 there's a lot to pay attention to. And when you 0:10:13.410 --> 0:10:18.390 talk about not being flashy, I mean, that really kind 0:10:18.429 --> 0:10:21.740 of I guess, encapsulates what this New England defense is 0:10:21.770 --> 0:10:24.959 all about. This is an absolutely classic Mike Vrabel defense 0:10:25.140 --> 0:10:27.520 where you look at it and you go, yes, you've 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:32.960 got Christian Gonzalez, who is that star cornerback and high 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:35.239 paid guy and all that kind of stuff. But you're 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:39.689 not looking at a defense that has a whole bunch 0:10:39.730 --> 0:10:43.690 of big names and some lineup that supposedly scares you. 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:46.280 but then try to find a weakness in a Mike 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:49.740 Vrabel defense, right? I mean, they don't do anything necessarily 0:10:49.780 --> 0:10:52.320 spectacularly well, and you said they're not taking the ball 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:54.740 away a bunch or anything like that. They're doing okay 0:10:54.780 --> 0:11:00.200 with their sack numbers, not great, but not bad. But 0:11:00.220 --> 0:11:02.860 they're just a typical Mike Vrabel defense in that they 0:11:02.900 --> 0:11:05.200 are solid. They are going to make you earn everything 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:08.020 that you get. And I would say probably the strength 0:11:08.059 --> 0:11:11.040 of the defense, because of Gonzalez being on the one corner, 0:11:11.110 --> 0:11:13.790 Carlton Davis at the other corner, is what they have 0:11:13.830 --> 0:11:17.360 on the outside, which allows them schematically to say, okay, 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:22.860 we'll leave those guys one-on-one and we can concentrate players 0:11:22.900 --> 0:11:24.199 in the middle of the field to try to take 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:24.940 away those seams. 0:11:25.020 --> 0:11:27.760 Yeah, marrying that coverage and the pass rush is obviously 0:11:27.780 --> 0:11:30.450 something we always hear. Going back to Jeff Halfley talked 0:11:30.500 --> 0:11:32.590 about it, and certainly Jonathan Gannon has brought it up 0:11:32.630 --> 0:11:34.550 a lot. I think it's one thing that Vrabel and 0:11:34.590 --> 0:11:37.829 this defense do really well. They know where their bread 0:11:37.890 --> 0:11:40.309 is buttered. They understand what they have on the perimeter 0:11:40.330 --> 0:11:42.939 and they play to it. The one thing I will say, though, 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.220 what I've really appreciated about New England here in this 0:11:45.300 --> 0:11:49.800 post-Belichick era, and honestly, this probably goes back to Elliot Wolfe, 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:55.469 former Packers royalty, personnel man, son of Ron Wolfe, but 0:11:55.530 --> 0:11:57.489 has been kind of in charge of personnel there the 0:11:57.530 --> 0:12:00.210 last few years in New England. They've found some diamonds 0:12:00.250 --> 0:12:03.270 in the rough. Elijah Ponder's one of them. This dude 0:12:03.330 --> 0:12:05.929 comes in as an undrafted rookie last year, hits the 0:12:05.970 --> 0:12:08.920 ground running. Now he's their leading sacker. And he seems 0:12:08.940 --> 0:12:11.020 like a sack specialist. I think he has seven quarterback 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.890 hits this year and six of them are sacks. Christian 0:12:13.929 --> 0:12:17.170 Barmore is honestly, he is one of my favorite players 0:12:17.210 --> 0:12:20.160 in the NFL. Not nearly enough is said about him. 0:12:20.179 --> 0:12:23.599 Not nearly enough ink is spilt on him. He reminds 0:12:23.660 --> 0:12:26.640 me of kind of that Geno Adkins thing. Um, type 0:12:26.700 --> 0:12:31.280 where it's just these, these steady, reliable defensive linemen that 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:33.870 aren't going to draw headlines. But my goodness, when you're 0:12:33.890 --> 0:12:36.330 talking about preparation for a football game, these are the 0:12:36.370 --> 0:12:38.030 guys you're looking at. These are the guys you have 0:12:38.050 --> 0:12:40.709 to contain. And then when you have someone like Gonzalez 0:12:40.770 --> 0:12:43.250 on the perimeter, who is, and that now they've certainly 0:12:43.309 --> 0:12:48.600 paid him. like a number one premier all-pro cornerback, there's 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:50.839 so many different ways they can beat you, right? Because 0:12:51.260 --> 0:12:52.890 as much as they want to get the takeaways, it 0:12:53.010 --> 0:12:55.610 isn't always predicated on that. Sometimes it is just about 0:12:55.630 --> 0:12:57.450 the difficulty that it is trying to move the ball 0:12:57.490 --> 0:13:01.390 against them. So seeing Green Bay's explosive passing game matching 0:13:01.470 --> 0:13:04.040 up with the way that I imagine Frabel is going 0:13:04.059 --> 0:13:07.300 to look to defend Green Bay, which is you wonder, 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.120 are they going to stack the box? Do you play 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:13.100 to cover two? Do you challenge Josh Jacobs in this 0:13:13.179 --> 0:13:15.400 rushing offense and this offensive line to be able to 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.720 move the football against the lighter box and play your 0:13:17.740 --> 0:13:20.090 coverage concepts? All things that we're going to have to 0:13:20.110 --> 0:13:23.130 see unfold at Foxborough on Sunday. But a lot of 0:13:23.150 --> 0:13:25.089 different ways this can go. And then also throw in 0:13:25.110 --> 0:13:29.090 the fact that this is Mike Vrabel, former Tennessee... Titans 0:13:29.130 --> 0:13:32.540 head coach against Matt LaFleur, former Tennessee Titans offensive play 0:13:32.580 --> 0:13:33.480 caller and coordinator. 0:13:33.500 --> 0:13:35.480 Yeah, they worked together for the one year, yeah, that 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:37.420 one year before LaFleur came to Green Bay. 0:13:37.620 --> 0:13:39.339 And then if I can just quickly correct myself, because 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:41.940 they did not rank 30th, 31st in takeaways, they have 0:13:42.020 --> 0:13:44.090 eight on the season, they're right in that lower middle 0:13:44.110 --> 0:13:46.990 of the pack, but I think that what you said 0:13:47.030 --> 0:13:51.350 originally plays true, they are 30th, 31st in that turnover differential, 0:13:51.390 --> 0:13:53.190 and it's because of how many times they turned the 0:13:53.550 --> 0:13:55.189 ball over there in the first month of the season. 0:13:55.250 --> 0:13:57.840 Yeah, well, We've already touched on a couple things in 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:01.480 terms of, uh, keys to victory here. Um, I do 0:14:01.540 --> 0:14:04.360 think the turnover part of it plays a big factor 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.020 here just because of what Green Bay's defense has been 0:14:07.059 --> 0:14:10.480 able to do so much better than the Packers defense 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.540 did last year. And the fact that, you know, it's, 0:14:13.780 --> 0:14:16.069 it's all right out there when, when the Patriots turn 0:14:16.090 --> 0:14:17.750 the ball over, they have a hard time winning when 0:14:17.770 --> 0:14:19.730 the Patriots are able to protect the ball, they're very 0:14:19.770 --> 0:14:23.380 difficult to beat. So, um, So I think that rises 0:14:23.420 --> 0:14:25.980 to the top of the list for me. Anything else 0:14:26.330 --> 0:14:28.390 for you as far as a key to victory for 0:14:28.410 --> 0:14:29.210 the Packers here? 0:14:29.350 --> 0:14:32.850 There is a lot more notoriety with this New England 0:14:32.890 --> 0:14:37.170 Patriots secondary, specifically those cornerbacks, than what Green Bay has. 0:14:37.250 --> 0:14:40.200 But I talked about this in Insider Inbox, and I 0:14:40.380 --> 0:14:42.440 think it's something that needs to probably be discussed more. 0:14:43.500 --> 0:14:46.620 Is there a position on this roster right now that 0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:50.570 came under as much scrutiny, as much criticism? in as 0:14:50.610 --> 0:14:55.550 many lingering questions as the cornerback room that for the 0:14:55.610 --> 0:14:58.150 first two months of the season has not really been 0:14:58.170 --> 0:15:02.260 a question. I mean, the fact that Green Bay, you know, 0:15:02.300 --> 0:15:04.640 you look at how people approach this thing going into 0:15:04.660 --> 0:15:07.080 the season and all this stuff. I think Keyshawn Nixon 0:15:07.140 --> 0:15:09.760 is playing some really good football right now. He's physical, 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:13.300 he's fast. It just seems like his ideology for how 0:15:13.340 --> 0:15:15.450 he wants to play the game lines up perfectly with 0:15:15.490 --> 0:15:21.040 Jonathan Gannon. And Brandon Cisse, man, This guy's 21 years old. 0:15:21.500 --> 0:15:24.690 And I think about the job that he did, you know, 0:15:24.710 --> 0:15:27.170 whether it was Coker, whether it was McMillan, I mean, 0:15:27.550 --> 0:15:31.690 those weapons for the most part were neutralized against the Panthers. And, 0:15:31.710 --> 0:15:33.830 you know, I was saying this to a couple of people, 0:15:34.830 --> 0:15:38.070 you wouldn't have known that Carolina was as explosive as 0:15:38.130 --> 0:15:41.630 it was. going into that game by how Green Bay 0:15:41.650 --> 0:15:44.450 was able to defend it. So having the safety room 0:15:44.750 --> 0:15:47.070 in these cornerbacks that Green Bay has, and luckily, knock 0:15:47.110 --> 0:15:49.070 on wood, they've been healthy at all those positions for 0:15:49.090 --> 0:15:52.750 the most part, that is the difference here. So yeah, 0:15:52.790 --> 0:15:54.250 I think the Packers are going to do what they do. 0:15:54.270 --> 0:15:55.930 They're going to try to generate pressure. They're going to 0:15:55.990 --> 0:15:58.490 try to confuse Drake May. But when the ball is 0:15:58.530 --> 0:15:59.730 in the air, the Packers are going to have to 0:15:59.770 --> 0:16:01.470 make a play. So when you ask me how the 0:16:01.510 --> 0:16:03.430 Packers win this game, I think it is making the 0:16:03.470 --> 0:16:05.350 bigger play on defense. I think it is getting a 0:16:05.390 --> 0:16:08.820 takeaway or two. And it's allowing Jordan Love and that 0:16:08.940 --> 0:16:11.300 offense to get comfortable in a tough road environment. 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:13.300 Yeah, and I think I like what you said about 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:17.370 Green Bay's secondary, particularly the cornerback position, because really, I 0:16:18.590 --> 0:16:20.570 would say for the first time this year, what we 0:16:20.650 --> 0:16:23.790 saw in the Carolina game last Thursday night was a 0:16:24.670 --> 0:16:28.970 Carolina offense that was frustrated that one of its best weapons, 0:16:29.070 --> 0:16:33.020 Tet McMillan, couldn't get the ball. So... they began to 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:37.460 essentially force-feed him with wide receiver screens, with the RPO slants. 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:38.880 It was like, this is how we're going to get 0:16:38.900 --> 0:16:42.850 the ball. We are going to force-feed one of our playmakers. 0:16:43.620 --> 0:16:46.810 And defensively, I mean, yeah, okay, so if that's how 0:16:46.850 --> 0:16:48.690 they're going to get the ball to their guy, there's 0:16:48.750 --> 0:16:51.290 not a whole lot you can do about that. But defensively, 0:16:51.330 --> 0:16:53.370 that's exactly where you want to have the other team. 0:16:53.390 --> 0:16:55.210 You want to have them trying to force it to 0:16:55.250 --> 0:16:58.609 a certain guy because just within the natural flow of 0:16:58.650 --> 0:17:01.800 their offense— it wasn't going to one of their playmakers 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.699 and the Packers were able to take that away. If 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:06.919 Green Bay can do that, and I don't know in 0:17:07.109 --> 0:17:09.830 this type of matchup, you know, okay, does the focus 0:17:09.869 --> 0:17:12.550 become Hunter Henry or one of these other guys that's 0:17:12.590 --> 0:17:16.290 filling in for A.J. Brown or Romeo Dobbs? I'm not 0:17:16.369 --> 0:17:19.700 sure necessarily how the Packers will go about that. But, 0:17:20.180 --> 0:17:25.310 you know, you mentioned the the amount of off-season scrutiny 0:17:25.369 --> 0:17:27.630 there was at the cornerback position and what is Green 0:17:27.650 --> 0:17:29.629 Bay going to do, et cetera, et cetera. And it's 0:17:29.690 --> 0:17:31.710 one of those things that now, now that we look 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.479 back on it, it's like, okay, Green Bay didn't have 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:36.940 a first round draft pick, but if it did have 0:17:36.980 --> 0:17:38.939 a first round draft pick, and if the Packers had 0:17:38.980 --> 0:17:42.260 drafted Brandon Cisse in the first round, everybody would have 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.840 been like, okay, everything's fine at cornerback. They got a 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.640 first round pick. Well, they basically did get a first 0:17:47.740 --> 0:17:49.780 round pick because he's come in and played like one. 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:52.710 It just so happened that Fortunately for the Packers, he 0:17:52.730 --> 0:17:54.369 was there in the middle of the second round. They 0:17:54.390 --> 0:17:58.649 were able to grab him and, and he, his insertion 0:17:58.690 --> 0:18:01.929 in the lineup. And as you said, the ongoing health of, 0:18:02.230 --> 0:18:06.620 of really the entire group it's it's elevated everything that's 0:18:06.630 --> 0:18:10.880 going on combined with that trio of safeties with Gannon scheme, 0:18:10.980 --> 0:18:14.340 everybody fitting into it, you know just right. And yeah, 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.159 it's sort of, we sort of feel silly now for 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.560 all the talk about the cornerback position, but of course, 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:22.960 Nobody knew that Brandon Cisse as a 21-year-old rookie would 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:23.740 come in and do this. 0:18:23.859 --> 0:18:25.640 And it was fine to have those questions. There should 0:18:25.660 --> 0:18:27.950 be questions. That was a big changeup the Packers made 0:18:27.990 --> 0:18:30.530 at cornerback. Nate Hobbs came in, didn't work out. They 0:18:30.609 --> 0:18:32.950 cut him after once a year on a four-year contract. 0:18:32.970 --> 0:18:35.389 They moved forward. But the problem for me where I 0:18:35.430 --> 0:18:37.290 got a little bit punchy about this is there was 0:18:37.390 --> 0:18:39.850 so much criticism. It's fine to have questions. It's fine 0:18:39.869 --> 0:18:41.740 for people to wonder, okay, I feel a little bit 0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:43.320 nervous about this. I'm not sure how this is going 0:18:43.340 --> 0:18:45.870 to work out. It's just it's that type of thing 0:18:45.910 --> 0:18:48.930 where it's these guys are here for a reason. Keyshawn 0:18:48.990 --> 0:18:51.090 Nixon is in that secondary for a reason. And I 0:18:51.130 --> 0:18:52.670 think one of the things I've kind of take personal 0:18:53.369 --> 0:18:55.460 is the fact that and I wrote this earlier this week. 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:58.440 Keyshawn Nixon should be one of the best free agent 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:01.520 stories in the 21st century, whether it was Ted Thompson, 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:05.320 Brian Goodkins. This guy came here. after not getting tendered 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:09.690 a restricted contract from the Vegas, uh, Raiders, it wasn't 0:19:09.710 --> 0:19:11.090 a question of whether or not he was an unrestricted, 0:19:11.430 --> 0:19:13.710 the Packers had to give up nothing for him. And 0:19:13.750 --> 0:19:15.810 he has literally climbed his way up that depth chart 0:19:15.830 --> 0:19:17.400 the last five years and has put in some really 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:19.860 good work for them. Does not miss football games, does 0:19:19.900 --> 0:19:23.260 not miss snaps, plays physical, plays hard, has the right mentality. 0:19:23.300 --> 0:19:25.520 The questions came up in training camp. He answered every 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:27.810 single one of them. I just think something needs to 0:19:27.850 --> 0:19:30.320 be said for that. Um, But again, this is about 0:19:30.340 --> 0:19:32.340 the Packers. This is about being at five and three. 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:33.659 And on Sunday, they got to find a way to 0:19:33.700 --> 0:19:34.659 get to that six victory. 0:19:34.940 --> 0:19:38.550 Yeah, absolutely. Well, we do need to pay a few bills. 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:42.550 So let's hear a quick word from our sponsors. Sirius 0:19:42.690 --> 0:19:47.270 XM NFL Radio delivers hard-hitting analysis and up-to-the-minute NFL news 0:19:47.310 --> 0:19:53.430 that true football fanatics need 24-7. 365. Hey Packers fans, 0:19:53.710 --> 0:19:56.950 looking to score a few more Wisconsin memories? From Devil's 0:19:56.990 --> 0:20:00.340 Lake State Park to the Milwaukee Art Museum, discover all 0:20:00.380 --> 0:20:05.660