WEBVTT - #468 Packers Unscripted: Carolina coming to town 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:20.240 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.079 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to the one and 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:25.920 only West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.360 studios at lambeau Field West. It's Wednesday, our midweek show, 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:31.400 and that is when we take a look at the 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:34.960 Packers upcoming opponent, and it's a tough one. The Carolina 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:37.839 Panthers will be coming into lambeau Field on Sunday, a 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:42.400 three kickoff that was shifted a week or so ago 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:44.600 from originally a noon kickoffs, so it will be a 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:48.000 late afternoon and a chili one. It sounds like this 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:51.080 weekend at lambeau Field. Um, the sun is gonna be 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:53.840 gone by a halftime the way with the whole clock 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:56.040 change things, So it's gonna be pretty cold in the 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:58.120 second half with the in the dark. You know. It's 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:00.120 how It's how I know it's a cold game. We're 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.279 getting into the cold weather season. When I go home 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.600 to eat dinner with my parents on Tuesday and my 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:08.240 mom says, I'm not interested, you can give your tickets 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:12.400 away or were something else. She's mahat's out. So that's 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.640 how you know the season changes when Mahat is at 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:16.800 the games and when she decides not to start attending 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:19.480 the games, and you got that difference. That's the true 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:24.320 midpoint of the season. Yeah. Well, the Carolina Panthers are 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:26.560 coming in. They are five and three. They are right 0:01:26.560 --> 0:01:29.320 in the thick of the postseason chase in the NFC. 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.280 Not just five and three West, but five and one 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:34.680 in their last six games after an O and to 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.480 start unknown, to start with Cam Newton, then Cam Newton 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:41.880 who is now on injured reserve, replaced by Kyle Allen 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:46.560 and five wins in the last six games. But for 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:49.280 a solid job as Kyle Allen has done. This offense 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:53.400 is powered by one guy right now, and that's Christian McCaffrey. Yeah. 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:55.560 I mean that's what they needed. And I wrote this 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.480 an Insider inbox this week. Kyle and Allen needed to 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:00.880 be a game manager. That's what they're asking him to do. 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:02.800 And certainly, if you know anything about his story, this 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:04.760 is a guy has a massive chip on his shoulder, 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:07.680 feels like he was underrated, undervalued, and you know it 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.280 was transferred from Texas A and m went to Houston 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:12.560 got bench there. So he has a lot to play 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:15.440 for in this league. But let's be honest, Mike, they 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:18.000 want him to pay play as mistake free football as 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:23.200 possible because Christian McCaffrey is just different. And you know, 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:25.280 we had a feeling about this, and I think you 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.480 and I probably tracked Christian McCaffrey a little bit more 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.560 than maybe other beat writers around the NFL because Max 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.359 was here for a while. His older brother, Blake Martinez 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:36.800 played with him at Stanford UM this. But when you 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:38.800 look at his skill set, his makeup and the player 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:42.880 he's become in this league, his dad had a phenomenal 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:46.160 career in the NFL, and Christian McCaffrey has a chance 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:50.000 to surpass that at an early age when you look 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.760 at not only what he offers as a running back 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:54.960 or what he offers as a receiver, just an all 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.240 around threat in the one thing, when you look at 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:00.200 this stretch of winds that they've been on, ABS sent 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:02.960 a couple of games against Tampa Bay which were sort 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.720 of some anomalies in this whole equation. He's been unstoppable. 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:08.760 When you get the ball in his hands, he's going 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:11.200 to make plays. So to be at five and three 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:13.000 right now, to rally the way they have behind the 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.280 backup quarterback says a lot about this team it's makeup. 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:19.960 But Christian McCaffrey is in the chase right now to 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:23.280 be a legitimate m VP candidate, and he's personally changed 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.200 my opinion on it. Three weeks ago, I would not 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:27.400 have told you that a a running back on a 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:30.080 three and two team would have been a real contender 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:32.760 for this. But as you start to realize how he's 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.840 affected these football games for the Panthers, you have to 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:37.840 tip your cap to him and acknowledge this is arguably 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:39.880 the best playmaker in the league right now. Yeah, he 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:41.760 is the best playmaker in the league right now. I 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:44.240 totally agree with you. He leads the NFL with thirteen 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:48.520 touchdowns combined rushing and receiving scores. And you know me, West, 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.760 I don't like to do comparables very often, but when 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.720 I see Christian McCaffrey and I look at the highlights 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.320 of what's going on with him and how much this 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:01.000 Panther's offense is revolving around him. I'm not trying to 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.360 put Christian McCaffrey in the Hall of Fame at the 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:08.640 tender age of twenty whatever three, but I see a 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.800 lot of Marshall Falk. You know, I agree that this guy, 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:15.920 this guy is he is. He is so dynamic and 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:18.840 is given the ball in so many different ways and 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:24.280 lines up everywhere. Now, the Panthers don't have the offensive 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.560 cast around McCaffrey that that Rams and The Greatest Show 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:29.760 on Turf had with Isaac Bruce and Kurt Warner and 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.400 all those guys. But what McCaffrey means to the offense 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.960 is and how he's used just reminds me of how 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:40.719 the Rams and and that Dick Vermeil Mike Martin's era, 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:43.919 the way they used Marshall Falk and and he's just 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:47.120 a tough matchup for any defense. He's hard to get 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:49.239 a handle lot. Yeah, he's kind of a mesh between 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:51.760 I would say the Colds, Marshall Falk and the Rams 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:54.640 Marshall Faults somewhere in there, because they do have some 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:56.840 nice pieces. Like It's not to say they're just completely 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:58.560 void of right, No, And I don't I don't mean, 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:00.440 I don't say that, but I get what you're saying. 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:02.840 That was a legendary group of offensive players that they 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:04.880 had with the Rams. But what I like about where 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.159 Caroline is at is Curtis Samuels as a tweener type player, 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:10.720 he's been really effective for them. D J. Moore doesn't 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:12.600 have all the touchdowns, but as a guy well on 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.640 his way to a thousand yard season. And then oh, 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:16.320 by the way, you have your Greg Olsen's, you have 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.360 you know, these different guys that kind of fit into 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.479 this vision of what the Panthers offense has become. But 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:26.680 make no mistake, the centerpiece of this whole equation is 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.920 Christian McCaffrey. And in two thousand nineteen, with the way 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.599 that the running back position has played, he offers you 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.560 the best of all worlds right now. He can pass block, 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:37.320 he can catch out of the backfield, he can catch 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:40.039 and run. He's good between the tackles, he's good open 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:42.680 in space. These are things we knew about him the 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.880 last two years. But seeing him become an every down 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.800 threat now in the dimension he adds as just a 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.560 running back, not a playmaker, but as an actual running back, 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.520 I think is what is really well rounded out his 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:56.640 game and allowed him to be off to this start 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:58.600 that he has been off to. Yeah, well, with Kyle 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.960 Allen when he first stepped in back in September for 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:04.840 Cam Newton. First couple of games, he was lighting the 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:08.080 world on fire, hundred plus passer ratings, and everybody was like, wow, 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:10.240 you know, where did this guy come from? Where he 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.240 is right now passer rating of eighty seven point eight 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.640 in his six starts. So he's fallen off the pace 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:19.440 that he started. Obviously, nobody expected him to just put 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:23.160 up hundred passer ratings, you know, all the time. His 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.080 last I guess I'd say three or four games, the 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:29.120 numbers have been a bit more pedestrian. Obviously, he had 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:32.440 a rough game against San Francisco. Who hasn't had a 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:36.040 rough game offensively against that San Francisco defense so far 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:40.159 this year. To the Panthers, credit, to Allen's credit as 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.120 a team, they bounced. They bounced back from getting you know, 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:47.000 really kicked pretty hard by that San Francisco team fifty 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:49.760 one to thirteen I believe was the final score. But 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:51.760 they shook it off. They bounced back. They had a 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.640 home game against a pretty tough Tennessee team last week. 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:57.520 They took care business, got things back on track. They're right, 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:01.560 they did exactly what the Packers and to do now, um, 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:04.440 bouncing back from a rough loss, just a bad outing. 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:07.480 It was clearly that game in San Francisco was Carolina's 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.440 worst game of the season, I think, even worse than 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:12.840 the other two they lost earlier with Newton. And obviously 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.360 the Packers are coming off of their worst games, so 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:19.920 it can be done. But this is this is a 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:23.120 Carolina team that that doesn't just have its site set 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:26.120 on bouncing back from the San Francisco loss. They have 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.080 their sights set on getting into the postseason and making 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.800 a run with what they're building around McCaffrey. Yeah. So 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:34.680 Allen's last three weeks are really interesting, right because you 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:36.800 go to that game against Tampa Bay, he helped them 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.600 win that game because for whatever reason, and I don't 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:42.040 know what it was, I didn't have the time nor 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:45.120 the inclination actually go back and watch those Buccaneers games, 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:48.360 But the Buccaneers both times they were able to whatever 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.960 Todd Bowls is doing. They shut down McCaffrey and both 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:52.680 of those ball games, and when it needed to be 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:55.280 on Allen's shoulders, he and the complimentary parts were able 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:56.920 to get them that victory that they didn't get when 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.960 Cam Newton was first getting injured in that first match up. 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:02.000 But then you go back the next week and you 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.440 get San Francisco and you get tossed back down to reality. 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:08.920 You see the dimensions, the challenges that that that defense 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:12.000 presents to a young quarterback that hadn't had any turnovers, 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:15.440 hadn't had any interceptions, I should say, and then they 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.840 all just come at the same time. Last week. Though 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.240 that's a really good Tennessee defense. I think that's a 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:24.840 group that plays together, plays well, and verybel has a 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.280 vision for them that has allowed them to be able 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:29.520 to stay in some of these games even despite some 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:33.880 of the quarterback issues, and Alan played pretty well considering that. 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:35.520 So I don't look at this as a layup at 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.160 all for Green Bay. I look at this guy as 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:40.320 someone who knows where Christian McCaffrey is at all times, 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:43.200 but he also has the the outlets to be able 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.720 to diversify that offense when he needs to. That's what 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:49.080 makes them dangerous. I got to mention this too, because 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.920 it's not going to get brought up organically. Starting guard 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.040 right now for the Carolina Panthers, one of them is 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:57.280 Greg Van Roten. I don't know if you remember Greg Van, 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:02.240 but on the day at the pack, Ivy leaguer I 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:06.120 believe out of pen pen the year that the day 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:08.199 that they cut Charlie pepp bro This is how far 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:11.600 this goes back. They signed Greg Van Roten. He ended 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:14.560 up being on the practice squad, made the roster, made 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.000 the roster the next year, and eventually was like, go 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:19.920 this is a guy that bounced around the Canadian Football League. 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:23.360 He resurfaced last year or two years ago with Carolina, 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:26.200 played every single snap for their offensive line last year. 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:29.040 Some questions about whether or not he get replaced this offseason. 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:33.120 He's still there, He's still contributing. A nice guy. I 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:34.880 really enjoyed talking to him back in the day. I 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:36.960 doubt he would ever remember me at this point. I'm 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:39.400 sure he wouldn't remember me either, But I mean just 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:41.520 the career that he's carved out for himself in a 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:44.080 league that very easily spits you out, and he never 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:47.080 remembers you. Greg then wrote in part of that offensive 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:49.600 line that the Panthers have put together pave in the 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:51.720 way right now for Christian McCaffrey. Yeah, all right, Well, 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:54.000 I want to talk a little bit about the Panthers 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:57.559 defense as well. But first, select cousin subs locations are 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:00.800 now offering delivery. Whether your order and catering or your 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.480 favorite sub they're delivering right to you when you order 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:07.640 online at Cousin Subs dot com. Cousin Subs. We believe 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.559 in better all right, well West for all the focus 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:13.280 on Christian McCaffrey, and rightly so, with what he has 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:16.320 done for the Carolina Panthers. You look at what this 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:21.320 defense is doing for Carolina. Thirty four sacks lead leading 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:25.720 the league, twelve interceptions, which is second in the league. 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:27.559 And this is what jumps out to me. I was 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:34.520 looking at these numbers earlier today. Nine players with two 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:38.240 or more sacks for Panthers and seven players with three 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:41.560 or more sacks. And in the interception category, you're talking 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:46.880 four different guys with multiple interceptions on the season. This defense. 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:51.480 Luke Keikley, the middle linebacker, he's the centerpiece of it all. 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.400 He's been the centerpiece of Carolina's defense, of this Ron 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:57.960 Rivera defense for a number of years now. But this 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:02.920 defense is getting plays from a lot of different guys, 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.080 and the way they're racking up the sacks and the 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:09.640 interceptions and everything, they're helping out a backup quarterback. And 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.840 it's a big reason along with McCaffrey that the Panthers 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:15.200 are chalking up wins. So I know you didn't play Madden. 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:17.080 I'm not trying to bring up anything about how you 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.440 played Madden. I did, but they had a feature in 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.560 the Madden Games, especially when I was a kid, where 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.160 it was like you did a fantasy draft where you 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:26.880 didn't really start with all the teams as they were constructed. 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.080 You draft them and you build your own team. So 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:30.719 if you're Mike Spoffer and the Green Bay Packers, you 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:33.240 draft Aaron Rodgers and then maybe you draft Khalil Mack. 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.840 You do all these different things. Right. That's kind of 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:39.160 what the Carolina Panthers defense reminds me. It's been a 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.840 handful of everything here. I mean, they bring in Gerald McCoy, 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.040 you steal him away from a division rival, right, Um 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:47.160 you have I mean just the different names that have 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.160 joined keek Lely in those trenches. Um, that really stand 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.440 out to me at this point in time. But the 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.360 thing that sticks, you know, don Terry po I mean 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:55.960 you look at Bruce Irvan came in. There's a number 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:58.280 of different guys, but what stands out to me the 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:01.600 most eric read among them, uh, is the fact that 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:04.640 they've gotten contributions from across the board at young positions 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:07.080 to uh, you know, a guy like Brian Burns was 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.520 someone I was really high on coming out of the draft. 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:10.959 He you know, he was sort of a late riser. 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:12.880 We were looking at him a lot at the combine 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.640 and everything, wondering because he was he was one of 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.120 these guys that was being talked about as you know, 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:22.360 high second, maybe late first, and then as the pre 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:24.440 draft process went along, it was like, oh, this guy 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:26.440 could be top twenty, this guy could be top ten, 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.160 and the Panthers got him, I believe it was it 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.439 at sixteen sixteenth overall picks. So, yeah, one of these 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.160 guys that um and and what does he have four 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:38.160 and a half a rotational defensive end right now. I 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.679 mean he's not an every down player. I mean Mario 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:43.280 Addison is still the guy. Six and a half sacks 0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:44.800 for him on the season. But as you were saying, 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.920 Mike Bruce serving three and a half, uh, Don Terry 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:52.319 po has three, Eric Reid has three. Shack Thompson has three. 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.440 Shack Thompson I remember, yeah, he from out of Washington. Yeah, 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:58.160 so just to be able to get those many contributions 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.480 from players and as you mentioned, also twelve tame takaways. 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.080 I would be remiss though, if I did not talk 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.839 about Luke Keickley because what I love the most about 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:07.880 his game, And it's easy to say a five times 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.800 six time Pro Bowler All Pro is a is a 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:14.080 good player, and to expound on why he's a good player, 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:17.920 but Luke Kickley has evolved his game. It's not just 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:20.520 based on athleticism anymore, and yet he is still one 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:24.600 of the best athletes at that position, the inside linebacker, 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:26.760 mike middle linebacker. Let's just be honest. The way this 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:28.880 league has trended, they're trying to wash those type of 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:30.839 players out a little bit. You're putting more in you're 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:34.040 putting more safeties into the box, and tweeter players trying 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.400 to defend. Keikley is the total package. He's what everyone 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.200 aspires to be at that spot, and he's continued to 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.920 be incredibly effective and durable here for the Carolina Panthers. 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.600 You don't replace a player like that. So yeah, they 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:48.840 might sign some guys, they might draft some guys, but 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:50.480 as long as he's kind of patrolling that middle of 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:53.760 the field, that's a problem. For opposing offenses. And Keickley, 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.840 now what seven eight years into his career, still playing 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.920 at an incredibly high level. It's amazing what he's been 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.280 able to turn himself into. Yeah, I think I think 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:04.240 what we've seen with Keik Lee over the years. When 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:08.040 he first came on the scene, it's an old cliche, 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:12.720 but he was as good a sideline to sideline linebacker 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:15.360 with that speed as you would find. He was so 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:19.040 fast that he could cover so much ground. And he's 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.840 still I'm not trying to say he's slowed down. I 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.920 don't think he's maybe quite he's twenty eight, you know, 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:27.560 I don't think he's quite as fast as he was 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:30.120 when he was twenty one or twenty two, but he 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:32.640 still has plenty of speed. And now what he has 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.280 with all of the experience and the smarts and everything, 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:41.720 is he diagnoses plays and he knows what is coming instantly. 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.880 He just he knows what's coming before anybody else on 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:49.560 the defense does. And so the combination of that speed 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:53.800 and the quick diagnosis and everything, he's he's always he's 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.000 just he's always in the right place, and he's always 0:14:56.040 --> 0:15:00.440 impacting plays. You can't you can't scheme for this guy 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:03.920 because it's always it's it's almost like he's always a 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:05.960 step ahead. I guess that's what I'm trying to shack. 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:08.240 Thompson is a great player. He's leading them in tackles 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:09.920 right now. We talked about his sacks a minute ago, 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:11.440 and he is going to be in this league for 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.840 a long long time. Just that combination when you have 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.240 someone like keek Lee playing next to you and where 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:20.200 he can stress an offense, that's just such a that 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.920 is such a field tilter for a defensive unit. And 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:24.720 I gotta give a lot of credit to the Panthers 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:26.640 in their front office and what they've done. I mean, 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:28.920 they went out and they got Eric Read. He's been 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:32.040 sort of a revelation for that secondary. They have guys 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.440 when you look at the way that they're structured, you know, 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:37.680 young draft picks. You know, Thompson was a first rounder, 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:41.280 Vernon Butler was a first rounder. U Dante Jackson was 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.400 a second rounder. They've gotten production from their recent drafts 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.000 and they've also augmented the spots where they need help 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.720 with free agency. I think that's set kind of the 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:51.960 template here for how you want to build a defense. 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.120 And it's the reason why. I think they've been able 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.720 to find a way back to five and three even 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:58.680 though they got off to that and two start. Yeah, 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.640 they've been a franchise over the years that seems to 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:04.880 go back and forth between making the playoffs and then 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:07.200 maybe falling short the next year, and then they get 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:09.440 back into the playoff picture. You know, they've been kind 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.320 of one of these back and fourth teams. My question 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:15.960 for you before we go here, getting back to McCaffrey 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:19.800 and what the Panthers are doing on offense. I know 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.160 you're not a defensive coordinator. Neither am I we're not 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:26.120 XS and ose experts description I thought so, but what 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:28.200 do you think? How do you how do the Packers 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:32.480 go about dealing with McCaffrey because there isn't you mentioned 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:35.480 Tampa Bay. They've done a good job on him both times, 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.480 but really nobody else in the league has been able 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.040 to put the clamps on this guy. So how do 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:42.840 you go about it? Yeah, and you know, for no 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:45.760 Mike Patton has done everything. I mean you look a 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:47.840 couple of weeks ago, they ran a base defense where 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:50.680 they had za Darius Smith playing an edgepot as a 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:53.200 defensive end with his hand down in the dirt. They've 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:56.600 mixed and matched their personnel. The one thing, I'm very 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:58.520 curious to see what happens this week, and I'm not 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.440 guaranteeing anything. For all I know, he could end up 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.480 being a game day inactive. But Abrahim Campbell was returned 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:10.280 to the fifty three man roster on Tuesday. Tim Williams 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.560 was released. Here's the thing about Campbell, we don't really 0:17:13.600 --> 0:17:16.000 truly know a lot about the guy. He only played 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:18.480 three games, but there was a lot of trust there 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:21.760 with Mike Petton, and he played pretty darn well for 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:24.119 being a guy that was signed off the street and 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:28.440 had to play that box safety role. I really would Again, 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.280 I'm not a defensive coordinator. I still think this defense 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:33.119 is at its best when Adrian Amos has been the 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.560 back end, when he's playing the safety spot and they 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:37.560 try to do some different things in the box next 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:39.840 to Blake Martinez. We saw will Redman in there a 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.360 little bit. But I think, man, if if you could 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.720 get Campbell back in that role and get him playing 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:46.720 the way he did last year, that would be such 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:48.720 a big boost for this defense right now. There's a 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.560 reason the Packers went out and signed him in August. 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.280 He didn't come back until November. Mike Packers could have 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:56.880 waited and bided their time. They went and got that guy. 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:58.760 They put him back in the house. They oversaw his 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.320 development in his turn from that a c l injury 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.119 just you know, suffered last December. So I don't know 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:07.240 how they defended, whether it's Amos, whether it's maybe Traumont Williams, 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:08.639 you know, if they try to do some things with 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:11.960 the inside linebackers, Martinez in Goodsin. I just think the 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.600 little wrinkle here this week and moving forward is Abrahem Campbell, 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:18.600 and he gives you the guy that I think Raven 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.040 Green could have been for this defense had he not 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:23.400 suffered that ankle injury in week two. Yeah, I think 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:26.080 that's definitely a possibility here, and we'll just have to 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:30.199 see how things evolve and how quickly Campbell potentially is 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.000 active on game day, whether it's this Sunday or whether 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.800 it's another Sunday down the road. I do think though, 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:39.240 as I said an insider inbox, Mike Patton is going 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:42.160 to have a plan for Christian McCaffrey, but I think 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:44.240 he's going to stress and those players in the locker 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:46.920 room are going to be aware of the plan. The 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:49.679 scheming is not going to get the job done. You 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:53.360 still have to diagnose plays, you have to get off blocks, 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:55.439 and you have to make tackles. You can't let this 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:59.399 guy break tackles and turn four and five yard runs 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:03.280 into two all in fifteen yard runs. So whatever plan 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:05.919 Petton comes up comes up with, it's still on the 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:10.400 players and and this Packers defense, Let's be honest, Wes, 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:14.240 it needs to start playing better because yes, holding them, 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.520 holding the Chargers to field goals for a while last 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:19.000 week certainly kept the team in the game, but they 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:21.119 were still giving up a lot of yards. The charges 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:24.680 were dominating time of possession. This Packers defense needs to 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:27.040 needs to write the ship a little bit, and it's 0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:28.840 gonna be a tough task to do it against a 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:31.600 guy like McCaffrey, But that's the task in front of them, 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:33.119