WEBVTT - #271 Packers Unscripted: Division roundup 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:20.599 M Hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.959 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my trusted colleague 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.560 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:30.200 at Lambolefield and West. As we have recapped the bulk 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:32.959 of the two thousand seventeen season, we've talked a lot 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:35.720 about the new coaches coming in on offense and defense, 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:38.680 peak performances on both sides of the ball for the 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:41.440 Packers during the past season. But one area we didn't 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:43.600 really touch on much that we need to hit on 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:46.360 today and that's special teams. For a couple of reasons. One, 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:49.879 there is a new special teams coach on board. Maurice 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:53.800 Drayton will now be the assistant to special teams coordinator 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:57.720 Ron Zook as Jason Simmons, his former assistant, has now 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:01.440 moved up to UH to coach defensive back um with 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.160 with Joe Witt and new defensive coordinator Mike Petton. But 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:07.800 also because we need to give credit where credit is due, 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:09.800 and that is for all the injuries that we talked 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:13.480 about the Packers dealt with in tween the special teams 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.319 to Ron's Zook's credit and Jason Simmons credit did not 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:20.680 suffer from the Domino effect, so to speak. The Packers 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:24.360 special teams held their own despite a constant shuffling of 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:27.440 personnel that became the norm with all of the injuries 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:29.200 and players going in and out of the line up. Yeah, 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:32.080 and Mike McCarthy said right at his season ending news conference, 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.000 I mean that that Zook had done a heck of 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:36.959 a job with what he was given to work with. 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:39.479 You gotta remember, Mike, this is a group that had 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:42.520 a rookie punter that did not have any competition in camp. 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:45.880 They had three different long snappers throughout the course of 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:49.760 the season due to injuries, which I think that duo, 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:53.000 together with some of those new those new positions and 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.480 and some of that flux, I think somewhat contributed to 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:58.480 some of the missfield goals and things of that nature 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:02.440 from Mason Crosby. But the rest of this thing being 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:06.880 able to help Trevor Davis end up being third. I 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:09.440 believe it was in punt return average. The Packers were 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.480 second the league in that category. After he had some 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.800 of his issues during the preseasons with with fumbles. Um 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:20.520 Vogel ends up resetting the Packers net average for punting 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:23.680 this season, the fact that the coverage units ended up 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:26.080 playing as well as they did despite a number of 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:27.920 new people coming in there. You have to remember when 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:30.600 when injuries hit and they hit the offense and defense hard, 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:33.280 the guys that are stepping up typically are the guys 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.640 that are contributors and special teams. So that required a 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:38.600 lot of new players coming in from the practice squad 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:41.799 and making contributions. In ron Zock made all those pieces fit. Yeah, 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.799 I really thought with regards to the Packers coverage units, 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:48.200 you know nothing that was a huge splash play where 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:50.320 you get a big turnover something they obviously like to 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:52.280 be able to force a fumble you know once in 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:54.359 a while set up the offense with a short field, 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:57.600 but you also didn't have the types of breakdowns and 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:00.480 coverage like what happened against the Indian app was colts 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:03.800 in sen were really that that opening kickoff return for 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.320 a touchdown and a and a long kickoff return also 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.000 later in the game really hampered the Packers in in 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.560 their their chances to win a ballgame. And then you 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:15.200 mentioned Justin Vogel, the rookie punter undrafted out of Miami. 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:17.320 I know, they want to work on some more things 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:20.720 with him in terms of consistency and ball placement, but 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.240 his work combined with the coverage units to uh to 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:27.560 set a you know, a franchise record for net punting average, 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:31.040 which statistically has been kept in the franchise record books 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:34.040 since like the mid nineteen seventies. Um, that's something to 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:35.880 hang your hat on, because we talked about it all 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.880 season long. The leg talent, the raw talent to punt 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:41.120 the football is there with Justin Vogel. Now if you 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:44.240 get the if you add start adding a little better placement, 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.640 a little more consistency, and then stay solid with the 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:48.840 coverage units, that can really be a weapon for the 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.280 pack Yeah, and that's gonna come with experience and time. 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:53.360 I think you saw a young man come in here 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:55.880 and look comfortable. And you have to remember the original 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:57.800 plan for this season was they were going to have 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.640 Jacob Chum coming back as the punter from last season 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:04.080 and they had you know, Vogel as the undrafted rookie 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:06.800 in there to compete. Well, Sum ends up sustaining a 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:09.080 back injury that landed him on Packers injury reserved the 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:14.240 entire season. UM. So whatever, happened there. The Packers decided 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:17.000 not to bring in another kicker, another punter, and it 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.320 was Vogel's job from that point on. And he was 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:22.000 a Pro Bowl alternate. I know I said this in 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:24.400 a show last month, but if you're a Pro Bowl 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:27.880 alternate as a punter, that's not the fan voting. I mean, 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:30.760 it's tough to really get as a rookie to get 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.240 that kind of uh name recognition. That that's people around 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.680 the league taking notice of what this young man did. 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:39.360 And I think it's impressive. Uh. And and for the Packers, 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.799 I think they finished sixteenth and Rick Goslin's annual rankings 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.320 of Special teams uh from where they were at a 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:47.040 year ago. And despite some of those injuries, I think 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:48.480 it said a lot about them that they were able 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.240 to make that improvement. Yeah, and Ron's look and Jason 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.599 Simmons and in coordinating those units. You know, let's not 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:57.600 forget too, they had they had to replace Jay Rone Elliott, 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:00.279 who did not come back. Um Blake Mark he knows 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:01.839 was a guy that I thought was going to be 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:03.960 a real special teams leader, and not that he can't be, 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.640 but he ended up playing so much on defense they 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.360 had to limit his special team snaps really I think 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:12.960 compared to his rookie season, So that was another potential 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:15.200 special teams leader that needs to be replaced. And then 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.719 a guy like kentroll Bryce ends up going down with 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.280 a season ending ankle injury midway through the year, So 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:23.200 there were some there were some issues that had to 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:25.080 be dealt with in terms of the guys that maybe 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.279 you thought would be the bell cows on special teams, 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.120 but all season long you still had Jeff Janis as 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.960 a gunner on punt coverage, which was big and and 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:35.800 you know other guys like Marwin Evans, another young safety 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.000 you stepped up and performed well in those roles. So 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:39.720 there are there are a lot of guys who have 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.720 gotten the experience that I think ron Zook and now 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.400 mour Ree Strait and Will will look to move forward with. Yeah, 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:47.159 and to other throw out there for you. Joe Thomas 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:49.880 ended up missing about half the season with that hamstring injury. 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:52.120 He's a big contributor in Quentin Rollins was the other 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:56.200 gunner earlier in the season alongside Jeff Janis. They losing 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.039 him as well. One other thing I want to throw 0:05:58.080 --> 0:05:59.880 him before we go to break I know the goss 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.320 and rankings are amazing. The one thing I would like 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:04.560 to see some people pay more attention to, though, is 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:07.479 the on site kick recoveries. I think that's a stat 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:09.200 that isn't normally talked about a lot. It's one of 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:11.640 the things Mason Crosby does the best. Um So I 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:13.440 think when you look at those rankings and things like that, 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.039 that's another area too where if that category is in 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:18.600 their Packers might have been even higher. Yeah, yeah, definitely. 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:20.680 With that, we will go to a breakback with more 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:42.520 on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:45.040 Mike Spofford in this chair, Wes Hodkowitz and that one 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:46.480 and West. I want to spend the rest of this 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:50.840 show focusing on some of the Packers opponents coming up 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:56.120 here in specifically the Packers NFC North opponents. Obviously that 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:58.400 will be six of the sixteen games coming up this 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:01.080 next season, as it always is. And when you look 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:04.200 at what's going on in the NFC North, Packers changing 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:08.000 around the coaching staff and new general manager, the Lions 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.640 and Bears both getting new head coaches, the Vikings trying 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.160 to figure out what's going on at quarterback? The NFC 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:15.840 North is undergoing a lot of change, maybe more change 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:21.120 than any single division in the entire NFL. So let's 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:23.400 start with the Vikings. And uh, and I already said it, 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.080 the quarterback question, that's the one that's on everybody's mind. 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:29.400 With Minnesota, you've got case Keenum, Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater, 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:33.280 none of them under contract for what do you think 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.080 the Vikings are gonna do? Yeah, it's gonna be Uh, 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:39.320 it's gonna be such a big question because certainly there's 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:41.600 no way that the Vikings are able to return all 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:44.560 three of those players, and depending on what kind of 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:46.760 contract we're looking at with Bridgewater, may be difficult to 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:49.200 get all, you know, two of them with all the 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:51.440 sorts out. Sam Bradford has been a commodity in this 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.240 league despite all the injury history. People agree that the 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:55.760 pedigree is still there if he can get a little 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.880 bit better luck. Now, here's the real real question is 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.440 case Keenum. And and it's always so much fun to 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:05.240 talk about the guy coming out of nowhere to lead 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:07.400 you to a super Bowl, to lead you to an 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:11.560 NFC championship game as a backup quarterback, but then what 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:14.360 happens past midnight? And and what do you do? Do 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:17.040 you do you do you really, you know, dedicate some 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:18.920 resources to him. Do you try to keep them in 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:21.080 the fold? Do you let them go like the Baltimore 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:23.360 Ravens did with Trent Bilfer back in two thousand after 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:25.920 they won the Super Bowl. These are decisions that Rick 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:27.600 Spielman is gonna have to make. I give Spielman a 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:30.320 lot of credit. He made that team, He built it. 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:32.640 They knew what they had defensively, He found the pieces 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.840 offensively to really deepen those positions, to make them competitive 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:39.319 despite the loss of Sam Bradford, despite the loss of 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:43.240 Dalvin Cook. But now, Jeric McKinnon, you know, you look 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:47.760 at Lettavius, Murray, Keena, what are these guys futures and 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:49.480 what is this offense going to look like? In two 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:53.000 thousand Yeah, and as we were going through the regular season, 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:55.719 it was looking like, you know, boy, Case Keenum is 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:57.440 going to be the guy in the future. It's almost 0:08:57.440 --> 0:09:00.000 like you forget about you know, Teddy Bridgewater and stuff. 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:03.120 The way Keenum was playing regular season is passer rating 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:06.640 is in the high nineties for for the entire year. 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:09.520 Has the great miracle play to beat the New Orleans 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.319 Saints in the playoffs. But then you know, the breaks 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:15.600 are put on a little bit in terms of just 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.600 how much money somebody's going to invest in case Keenum. 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:21.800 After that NFC title game in Philadelphia, twenty eight out 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:25.199 of forty eight, a couple of interceptions passerrating him sixty 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.840 eight in the biggest game of the season, and the 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.440 Vikings had their problems on defense in Philadelphia to that 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:32.679 they didn't lose that game just because of case Keenum. 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:34.880 Don't get me wrong, but people look at a performance 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.360 like that in a big game, and whether it's the 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.520 Vikings or another team. In the free agent market, then 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:43.240 you just wonder, well, you know, how, you know, how 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:45.600 much do you invest in a guy like case Keenum, 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:49.240 Because from his point of view, you know, he this 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.520 is his opportunity to cash in. He's got to make 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.160 the most of this for for his career, his financial 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:56.880 security and all of that, and uh, but it's really 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:59.040 hard to gauge right now what the market is going 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:01.400 to say about what he's worth, right And that's where 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:03.240 it's gonna be the most difficult because if I'm his 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:05.319 agent and I don't know who case Keendom's agent is 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:08.240 off the top of my head, I'm going to teams 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:10.640 and I'm saying, twenty two touchdown, seven interceptions in a 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:13.400 terrible situation. And then my guy made the most of 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.000 it and really showed that the potential that the St. 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:17.720 Louis Rams thought he had when they gave him a 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:20.520 first round tender all those years ago, that that potential 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:22.160 is still there and that this is a guy that 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.160 can manage a football situation and can win you games. 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:27.560 Now here's the other side of this coin, though, Mike, 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:31.000 is that Okay, let's say they would keep Keenam. Well, 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.199 now you don't have Pat Shermer anymore. And Pat Shermer, 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:37.800 for you gotta remember to three years ago North Turner, 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.520 that whole situation blew up in their face in Minnesota, 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:42.280 and he came in as the o C. They thought 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.600 he was gonna be running offense, you'd have Zimmer with 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:48.880 the defense. It didn't work. So now obviously John d. 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:54.679 Filippiou from Philadelphia comes in another quarterback guy. But if 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:58.400 Keenom's back, or if it's Bridgewater, can he mesh the 0:10:58.480 --> 0:11:01.679 way with those quarterbacks that Pat Shermer did and then 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:04.440 also from Pat Shermer's perspective, depending on what the Giants 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.480 want to do, are they potentially interested in Keenum having 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:11.040 three quarterbacks all reaching unrestricted free agency at the same time. 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:14.120 It's almost unprecedented and it is going to be a 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:15.880 really big puzzle for them to figure out in terms 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:17.679 of how they want to structure their offense and this 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:20.200 team now going forward, because I think everybody's seen they 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.520 have a defense that can compete if you can find 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:25.160 the offense that can compliment it. Yeah, and head coach 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:28.120 Mike Zimmer has made no secret of his fondness for 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:31.160 Teddy Bridgewater. He loves Bridgewater, he loves the skill set, 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:35.160 the leadership, the makeup all of that. But he hasn't 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.160 played a game in two years now, coming off of 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:41.480 that horrible, horrible knee injury from training camp in so 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:44.199 I think the Vikings would like to keep Teddy Bridgewater 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:47.280 and still give him a shot at the long term job. Again, 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.640 you have to find the right contract that he's that 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:51.400 he would agree to and that makes sense for the 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:54.280 franchise in order to do that. But then if you've 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.960 sort of got Teddy Bridgewater waiting in the wings to 0:11:57.040 --> 0:12:00.480 be competing for that for that job, then where's the 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.800 incentive for somebody like Keenum to sign a long term deal, 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:05.600 because then you're like, well, do you believe in me 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:07.080 or do you want to go with the other guy? 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.720 You know, and those questions just aren't haven't been answered 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:12.680 right now, and and we just have to see free 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.720 agency begins about a month from now, and and you know, 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:17.679 the draft is a couple of months away. I guess 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.840 we'll just see what happens. The other wild card is 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.679 you mentioned three guys going to unrestricted free agency. Does 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:25.920 Kirk Cousins end up coming into the discussion for the 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:28.160 Minnesota Vikings. It's not out of the question, not out 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:29.760 of the question now that they do have some cap 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:31.280 things coming up with all the guys that are getting 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.199 paid on that defense. But yeah, the thing at the 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:36.080 point I want to make lastly, just about Bridgewater, you 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:38.240 can make a case other than a neck head injury. 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:40.600 This is the most significant injury that has been sustained 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:42.920 in the NFL over the last four or five years, 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:45.000 and we have not seen him on the field. If 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:48.319 it was me, I'd probably resigned Keenum. Hope that lightning 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:50.920 can strike twice and then obviously still have Bridgewater in 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:53.000 your back pocket. All right, with that, we'll go to 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.520 a break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:17.440 H Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spoffer here, West Hodko, 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:20.840 It's all the way over there, West. Continuing our discussion 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:23.800 about the Packers NFC North foes and the questions they 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:26.160 are facing in the off season, let's move on to 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.480 the Detroit Lions. And if there's the question that kind 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.040 of burns for me with this team that I'm really 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:35.080 curious to see how it shakes out, is now under 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:38.160 new head coach Matt Patricia, the defensive coordinator of the 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:42.120 New England Patriots, who has obviously a tremendous track record 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:45.600 as a defensive coordinator. What is going to be the 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:49.120 identity of this Detroit Lions defense? Because when I when 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:51.840 I look back, I was looking at it this morning. Actually, 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.920 you look back at that two thousand eleven Detroit Lions 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:57.559 team that went to the playoffs. It was Matthew Stafford's 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:01.679 first playoff team as the quarterback. There. You had a 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:05.560 defensive line, you know, built on guys like Dominican Sue 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.480 and Kyle Van and Bosch and Cliff Avril. You know, 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.600 then over time you had Nick Fairly kind of stepped 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:13.480 in for Kyle Van and Bosh, and then you had 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.600 Ezekiel ansa kind of step in for Cliff Avril. But 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.080 the identity of that defense for a long time was 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:23.400 built on that defensive line, that that that front four 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.000 that's kind of gone by the wayside. Now Sue is 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:30.800 not there, fairly is not there. DeAndre Levy, the prolific linebacker, 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.000 has not been the same that never really was able 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:37.240 to come back from that horrible knee injury. This Lions 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:40.120 defense needs an identity. What is Patricia gonna do here? 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:42.960 And here's the other problem too. For all the issues 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:45.960 that they've had in the inconsistency and all that um Terrell, 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:48.600 Austin was seen is doing a pretty darn good job 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.760 with that group. Well, now Austin goes to the Cincinnati Bengals, 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.520 you still have Jim Bob Cooterer and it plays offensively. 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.000 Patricia's not, you know, an offensive coach, he's by trade 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:04.000 a defensive coach. So how is this all gonna fit? Uh? 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:07.480 I'm very interested to see how this plays out because obviously, 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:09.480 and I'm not going to judge, you know, a team 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:11.720 off one season, because I think the Patriots that was 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:15.320 a yeoman's effort that they put together defensively this year. 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.760 I don't think that was the most talented group that 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:22.440 they've had under Bill Belichick. Far from it, but you know, statistically, 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:26.160 it wasn't a great year. So I think Patricia hit 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.360 all the checked all the boxes in his his news conference. 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.040 I think he showed personality. I thought it was very 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.040 interesting that he TIEDI, you know, up the beard and 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.480 the hair in all that. It seems like, you know, 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:38.800 judging by t J. Lank's comments on Twitter and some 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:41.520 of these guys that are responding well to him, I 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:44.520 think what they did is they overcorrected. They had Jim Schwartz, 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:46.920 they needed discipline, they bring in Jim Caldwell, and they 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:50.360 probably lost some of the personality with with Patricia trying 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.480 to find the middle ground there. Um, I'm very, like 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.080 I said, very interested to see how this plays out, because, 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.880 as we know with what the Minnesota Vikings have done, 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:00.880 if you don't build a defense and se can compete 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:04.240 with Aaron Rodgers, history has shown you're not going to 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.680 be long for this division. Yeah, what the Lions do have, 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.280 in my opinion, going for them. The most on defense 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.200 is Darius Slay Absolutely like he is. He is one 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:14.520 of the top cornerbacks in not only in the NFC 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.440 North but in the entire NFC. They call him big 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:21.360 play slave for a reason. He's he's he's a weapon defensively. 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.400 But you need more than just one cornerback to build around, 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:26.840 and you've got, uh, you know, Ziggy Ants as a 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:31.120 pending free agent righties here lately. Yeah, he hasn't, he 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:33.440 hasn't been resigned. He's been, you know, kind of one 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:36.000 of your stalwarts off the edge there since since he 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.080 was drafted very high carry hiders coming back off of 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:41.640 his season ending injury as well. Right And then on 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.400 the offensive side, you know, you've got Stafford, You've got 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:47.720 Marvin Jones Jr. Um, You've got some weapons in place there. 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:49.320 I think they still need to figure out what they're 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:51.880 doing at running back in Detroit. You know, that's uh. 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:55.200 And I even saw one headline, you know, wondering, depending 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:57.280 on what happens with Levy on Bell in Pittsburgh, with 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.720 the Detroit Lions make a play in free agency for 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.200 a guy like Levy on Bell to just fix this 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:04.560 running game problem once and for all. That would obviously 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.880 be the extreme measure, but really, running back is kind 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.240 of the only question mark they have on offense because 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:13.120 I think Matt Stafford's game continues to climb. I think 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:16.760 he's I think he's he's continues to rise into that 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.600 level of elite quarterbacks in this league. Yeah, he has. 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.560 But I think the one thing we've learned based on 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:24.719 when they made the playoffs and when they don't, is 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:27.439 he needs help. And he's not a guy that's just 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:29.520 going to be able to to cover up everything. He 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.240 needs to have the pieces around him. He needs to 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:34.560 have the offensive line. You know, I thought it was 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:36.600 a really good move by them getting t J. Lang. 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.480 He was a good fit for the program. Losing Riley Reef, though, 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:41.960 I think, did hurt them any way. Uh And when 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:43.760 you look at some of you know, how things turned 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:46.600 out for that offensive line this season, you know, whatever 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:49.000 you want to stay about pass protection, but running game wise, 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.159 the pieces just haven't fit. And and you know, I 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:54.879 think it's twofold. You know, a Mira Abdullah was a 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.480 second round pick. I think if I'm them, I'd have 0:17:57.520 --> 0:17:59.919 to consider long and hard about looking at what Delvin 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.600 Hook did looking with some of these other Sometimes you're 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:05.399 gonna find Jordan Heyward or Jordan Howard excuse me, in 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:07.959 the fifth round. That happens, but sometimes you do need 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:10.000 to take one in the first. This might be a 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:12.720 year for them to take a look at that receiving wise, 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:14.920 I'm still happy with it because, as we've talked about 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:17.439 numerous times, I think getting away from Kelvin Johnson has 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.440 allowed Matthew Stafford to have a little bit more open 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.440 mindset towards how he utilizes the receivers. Marvin Jones Jr. 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:25.600 Could be a lot more consistent. I think you know, 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:27.800 you know what you have in Golden Tap. So it's 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:30.480 just trying to see exactly if you can be you know, 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:32.720 a team that year in a year out is going 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:35.000 to compete and you're not gonna have these ebbs and flows. Yeah. 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.400 All right, Well, we've got one more NFC North team 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:40.000 to discuss, and that's Chicago Bears. We'll get to them 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:42.800 after the breakback with more on Packers Unscripted. Right after 0:18:42.840 --> 0:19:04.600 this Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford alongside West 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.040 Hodkowitz and West the Chicago Bears, the last team in 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:10.399 the NFC North that we need to discuss here, and 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.040 I think if you break it down or focus it 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:17.480 on one burning question for Chicago, it's can new head 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:23.240 coach Matt Nagy keep Mitch true Bisky on the trajectory 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:26.960 to become the franchise quarterback that he was drafted to become. 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:29.080 That's really what it comes down to for Chicago, right 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:31.760 it does to me. I actually think the number one 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:35.040 storyline is still did Ryan Pace find the guy? Yeah? Um, 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:37.240 you know, because the excuse was not excuse, but I 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:39.680 know it was. The excuse last year was that John 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:43.560 Fox wasn't the right guy for Mitchell Trabisky and they 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:47.720 needed a t they needed a quarterback guy to be 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:51.080 the head coach. Obviously, you know that there's the reports 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:53.359 now that Brad Shoulders is going to be joining them 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:55.720 there and him and Matt Nagy go back a long way. 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.200 Obviously had the bond there with the Kansas City Chiefs 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.040 Chief's offense. I thought, if you look over the past 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:03.960