WEBVTT - #319 Packers Unscripted: Epic opener 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:20.480 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:24.040 I am Mike Spofford, joined by my trusted colleague Wes 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:26.720 hodkwits were coming to you here from our studios at 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:30.200 lambeau Field and West. I don't know what to say 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:34.960 other than when you think there isn't anything else that 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.479 Aaron Rodgers can do, he goes and does what he 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:42.720 did on Sunday Night, twenty to nothing. Comes back from 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:46.240 a knee injury in the second half, three going into 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:51.800 the fourth quarter, and he wills the Packers to triumph 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:54.720 over the Bears to open the Packers hundredth season in 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:59.560 front of a crazed crowd at lambeau Field. Pretty unforgettable night. Well, 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:01.560 here's what's funny, Mike. Between the two of us, we 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:05.680 probably have a full night's sleep together, maybe maybe eight hours. 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:09.640 Uh All last night when I was laying in bed, 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:12.640 and this morning when I was driving into work, I 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:15.319 knew we were doing unscripted. It was our first assignment 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:19.319 of the morning, and I sat here trying to think 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:21.759 of how in the heck am I going to find 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:24.680 the words to describe exactly what happened in the last 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:28.080 thirty minutes of that football game, as far as thirty 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.920 minutes on the clock. Um, Aaron Rodgers has done so 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.759 much throughout the course of his career, and you don't 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:39.040 want to speak in hyperbole because he defies hyperbole with 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.240 what he accomplishes on a weekend and week out basis. 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:45.720 But this was one of those finest hour kind of 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:48.120 moments for him. For the Packers to be in the 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:50.600 position they were seventeen to nothing a halftime, twenty to 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:53.880 nothing when he re enters the game, and for Rogers too, 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:55.640 I mean, there was no room for error, There was 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.480 no room for a ball outside of the zone. And 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:02.680 you know, four pitch walk. He had to be cerebral 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:05.120 and he had to be efficient right from the beginning. 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:06.960 And I thought Brian Bulaga made a really good point 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.200 in locker room that first drive when he was on 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:11.080 the field, it didn't matter if it was a field goal, 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:12.920 didn't matter if it was a touchdown. The Packers need 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:15.600 to score points. They did that with a Mason Crosby 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:17.840 field goal. And after that, you could just see the 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:20.680 wheels turning. You could see the momentum building and in 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:25.160 the end, another incredible, remarkable figure out what word you 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:28.280 want to put with it, Mike, but of monumental performance 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.680 by Aaron Rodgers and this opener. Yeah, he said after 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:32.960 the game he's going to have some more tests on 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:36.240 the knee. Injured the left knee when he was sacked 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:40.079 in the second quarter. Carter to the locker room. Everybody 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.840 in Packer Land wondering has the whole season gone up 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:45.480 in smoke already? You know, you you fear the worst, 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.680 you hope for the best. And uh, you know he 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:52.840 jogged out of that tunnel after halftime, and you're like, okay. 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:56.840 You know, in my mind, I was saying, Okay, no 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:00.280 matter what happens tonight, at least it looks like he's okay. 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:03.800 So so that was a good sign. And then um, 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.560 and then for him to put on the performance he 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:10.160 did in the second half. A perfect passerrating is one 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:15.000 point three, right if you take his second half passing numbers. 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:18.080 Before that final play with two seconds left where he 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.000 just threw it out of bounds to kill the last 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.919 couple of seconds, he was five tenths of a point 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.959 from a perfect passer rating in the second half. The 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:31.000 the efficiency, the explosiveness of the offense with the yards 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.640 after the catch, the things that were happening, the throw 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.560 to Geronimo Allison for the first touchdown, which was really 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.200 when it felt that a comeback was possible. I mean, 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:42.680 you get that game to twenty to ten, was still 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.800 plenty of time left in the fourth quarter. Packers defense 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:48.000 was playing pretty well at that stage of the game. 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:51.480 You knew it was possible. That was really the jaw 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:54.840 dropping throw of of the moment or of the game, 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:57.560 but the rest of the performance to do what he 0:03:57.600 --> 0:03:59.920 did on one leg, he couldn't move out of the pocket, 0:03:59.920 --> 0:04:02.840 he had to throw on time. He shuffled around a 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.320 little bit when he when he needed to to create 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.400 a throwing lane here or there. And just hats off 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.400 to the Packers playmakers. They made plays on the offensive line, 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.240 boat up and got the job done. And here's the 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.000 biggest thing, Like I said this in two thousand and 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:17.720 fourteen as well, and I'm gonna say it right now. 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:21.400 This these examples, when you go back to the final 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.080 stretch of fourteen and what he did on Sunday night, 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:27.520 are why Aaron Rodgers could potentially play well into his 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.840 forties if if the health thing works out, Because he's 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:33.120 going to be able to adapt his game. We've seen it. 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.440 They had to do it again last night. They bust 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.160 out more pistol formations in the second half. He has 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:40.760 to operate more in the pocket. It becomes probably a 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:42.919 little bit more of a traditional West Coast offense with 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:46.080 the quick throws underneath, in allowing as you mentioned his 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:48.279 receivers and we'll talk about them in a moment, to 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:50.320 make plays after the run. That was a big thing 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:52.800 in this game was the yards after the catch, and 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.760 when you look at Rogers, I think that that's why 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:59.919 when he gets to thirty and beyond, he's gonna be 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.640 able to have success. Alah, Tom Brady, because that arm 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.960 strength is gonna be there with him, and he knows 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.479 how to navigate in the pocket when he wants to. 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.159 Yes it ellimit will probably eliminate some of the free plays, 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:14.200 might eliminate some of the scrambled drill type stuff. But 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:16.080 as far as being in time and in sync with 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:19.719 the offense, there's no one better, and the offense needed 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.120 to get momentum built. I thought they did that with 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.920 Randall Cobbs. Some of the short stuff underneath. You know, 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:27.960 we talk about the you know, seventy five yard touchdown 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.440 pass here in a minute. But Randall Cobb had a 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:34.159 lot of really important catches underneath to keep the chains moving, 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:36.760 and they were able to do that consistently throughout that 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.960 second half. But for it going back to Aaron Rodgerson 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.679 being in his being, the ball being in in his hand, 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:45.600 I don't know if I've ever seen anything better than 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:46.960 that in terms of what he was able to do 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.200 in the comeback. He was able to mount in spite 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.279 of I'm sure need that wasn't feeling too hot. Yeah, 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:53.760 I mean a couple of other things that certainly played 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:58.200 into this comeback. One was a bounce back, I guess 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:00.520 you could say. For the offensive line in the second 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.960 half compared to the first half, Khalil Mack was, you know, 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:07.480 a one man wrecking crew almost. He ended up playing 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:09.680 forty plus snaps in this game, which I think is 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:13.360 more than a lot of us anticipated, and uh Packers 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.400 really had a hard time with him in the first half. 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:18.080 When Deshaun Kaiser's in the game, he simply stripped the 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.640 ball away from him in the red zone when the 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:22.440 Packers were at least going to be able to kick 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:24.400 a field goal there and get on the scoreboard with 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:26.920 the score only ten nothing at the time, and then 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:31.120 the the pick six on you know, a somewhat careless 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.719 play and he's Mr Johnny on the spot. Not only 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:37.240 does he snag a short pass that uh um that 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:40.000 nobody would have been necessarily expecting, but then he weaves 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:41.440 his way and gets all the way into the end 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:43.800 zone for a touchdown to make it seventeen nothing in 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:47.719 the last minute of the first half. The Packers offensive 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:51.920 line give credit to Brian Bulaga justin McCrae. They both 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.040 had a couple of rough moments in the early going 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.640 of this game. But then in the second half when 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:58.840 the pocket had to be there for Rogers because he 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.240 couldn't run away from it, the pocket was there and 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:03.400 he's able to stand tall and make some throws. Yeah, 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:05.839 and that was just trusting your ninth year you know, 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:08.520 veteran right tackle. It wasn't like the Packers started packing 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.240 in you know, tackles and running backs to help out, 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.560 you know, the edge with with Bolaga in box, tr 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:16.680 I mean, they pretty much told those guys, your assignment 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:18.280 is to block those guys one on one or do 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.840 your best job to do so. And they were up 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.040 to that challenge since the very beginning. As you mentioned, 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:25.720 there were some play specifically in that first half that 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:29.160 I know both Bolaga and McCrae wanted back, but for 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:31.760 them to be able to adjust the way they did, 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:35.560 and Bolaga talked about it, the technique he was working with, 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:37.240 what he was trying to do against Mac. He got 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:39.520 more comfortable with it in the second half and they 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.280 were able to, you know, kind of negate him during 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:45.160 that final stretch and and allow Rogers to get into 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.120 that rhythm. But I mean the thing I keep going 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:49.560 back to, and you addressed it early on. Mac played 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:55.520 the defensive snaps for the Chicago Bears for behind Leonard Floyd, 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:58.760 who had forty six as their top press rusher from 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:03.840 the linebacker position before Max acquisition, so um Matt Nage 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.520 and Vic Fanjiu had no problem putting them out there. 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:08.560 They wanted to get him out there. And you could 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:10.880 see that that was the tide that the Packers kind 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.080 of had to weather a little bit in that first 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:16.320 half because that was for everything that Aaron Rodgers did 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.280 for the Packers in the second half with giving them 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:21.400 a spark, Khalil Mac was that for Chicago both with 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:22.720 what he did on the field, and I think just 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:26.080 from a swagger standpoint to oh, no question. So for 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:27.520 the Packers to be able to weather that and get 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:30.520 to where they got um pretty pretty dumb impressive. And 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.480 another thing I think that really stands out that you 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.520 wouldn't have expected in terms of how this comeback happened 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.080 is twenty four points in the second half of the 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.360 Green Bay Packers and Jimmy Graham did not catch a 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:44.800 single pass. This was this was about the receivers. This 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:48.719 was about Randall, cob Geronimo, Allison, Davante Adams, lots of 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.880 yards after the catch. I thought the you know that 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:55.480 blitz pick up by Jamal Williams on Danny Trevathan which 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.559 then allowed the throw to Adams where he slips away 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:00.760 and then is able to run end ended up a 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.320 fifty one yard pass play and all sets up his 0:09:03.320 --> 0:09:06.280 own touchdown later on another great yards after the catch 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:08.920 play where catches the pass in the red zone, does 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:10.800 a little start and stop and then as able to 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.520 get to the pylon. Those kinds of things you could 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:16.560 just you could just sense the momentum was building, the 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:20.360 things were happening for the Packers, and and these receivers. 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:23.640 There was the one possession Geronimo Allison what he got 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:27.800 thrown to three or four times, almost consecutively, three times 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:30.920 in a row. Yeah, yeah, in that that that one stretch, 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:34.680 and everybody, everybody that was called on to make a 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:38.600 play at at one given time or another made a play. Well, 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.960 what was really incredible about it is the three touchdown 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:45.160 producing drives. Basically all three of those drives belonged to 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.559 one receiver. The first one that was sort of the 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:51.319 spark was Jeronimo Allison. Geronimo Allison Michael had five catches 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:54.000 for sixty nine yards in this game. I believe four 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:57.560 for sixty seven. We're on that drive d including the 0:09:57.600 --> 0:09:59.959 thirty nine yard touchdown pass, which is was that I'm 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:03.480 amazing throw from Rogers just looked effortless standing in the 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:05.960 pocket and throws it over Kyle Fuller. Their number one 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:09.800 being able to to, you know, connect with Geronimo Allison, 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:13.320 Allison jumping up into that number three role, Packers show 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:15.560 there's still very much gonna be a three receiver team. 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:17.199 He'd been on the field for most of the night, 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.400 and then you go to that next series, Davante Adams 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:22.600 gets a bulk of his five catches for eighty eight 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.520 yards on that including the long catch and run for 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.360 fifty one and then does it kind of again on 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:30.719 the touchdown pass, basically running that thing in for ten 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:34.320 yards after the short pass from Rogers. And then what 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:37.400 do you say about Randall Cobb? And I asked Davante 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:40.760 Adams about that afterwards. He said, that was vintage Randall Cobb. 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:42.640 That's the reason why he's here and that's why he 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.680 continues to make plays. Yes, he was. He was kind 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:47.600 of the guy that was helping move the chains early 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:51.000 on some eight nine yard passes and then out of 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.040 nowhere like usual, He's right where he needs to be 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:56.000 at the moment he needs to be there. Rogers puts 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:59.160 the ball again, just probably the best pack, the passing 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:01.160 through all night and turn of the pinpoint accuracy of 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:05.200 it through traffic, and then once that ball arrived, nobody 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.720 behind him and Cob said he'd never seen anything quite 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:10.200 like it. Yeah, that that was That was one of 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:13.360 the really special moments in the game. Because we get 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:15.160 asked a lot of times, you know, what's it like 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.280 watching the game from the press box. You know, how 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.199 how much do you hear the crowd. You know, how 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:23.680 much does that that, you know, influencer or impact what 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:27.920 you're how you're processing what you're seeing out there. And 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.000 the moment that Cobb caught that pass and spun around 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:33.480 and obviously from you know, the bird's eye view, I 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.679 don't know how exactly it looked on television, but from 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:38.400 the bird's eye view, you could see all this open 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:42.319 space and there was there was almost like a stunned 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:45.440 excitement to the roar of the crowd when he took off. 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:48.120 It wasn't just starting to roar because it was going 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:51.280 to be a good play. It was like, holy cow, like, 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:55.000 look at all of that open space. And I'm not 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:57.840 sure what exactly happened on the Bears defense on that play. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.720 They've certainly got ill a lot of regrets in terms 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.760 of some of these yards after the catch plays that 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.959 the Packers had. But uh um, but boy, what a moment. 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:10.920 I mean, Aaron Rodgers takes the field with what was it, 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.280 two thirty nine on the clock, and you're like, okay, 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:15.240 no time outs, but you got the two minute warning, 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:17.679 you know, plenty of time for Rogers. Packers are in 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.760 the end zone before the two minute warning. I don't 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.360 think anybody thought that was coming. And you talk so much, 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:25.120 Mike during the off season program during training camp about 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:28.000 those important reps that those teams get. I don't think 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:29.920 there was a better example of it than that second 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.959 half of what all that work means, because all three 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.240 of those receivers said it. I think Mike McCarthy mentioned 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.320 it too. They didn't know that Aaron Rodgers is gonna 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:39.360 be the quarterback in the second half. Everybody was getting 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:42.079 ready to rally behind Shaun Kaiser and try to get 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:44.360 some points on the board. But low and behold like 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.600 everybody else, Rogers emerges from the tunnel. And then that 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:49.640 was the fun part about this night too, is that 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:53.240 seeing the crowd come alive when they start to notice 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:55.440 that twelve is actually out there. Oh and now twelve 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:59.439 is actually jogging. Uh. That was I mean that that ovation. 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:01.600 I don't think it was just because it probably wasn't 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:03.240 as many people in the Bowl at that time coming 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.760 back from you know, whatever you do during halftime, but 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:08.960 it was basically right there with two thousand fourteen in 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:12.559 him coming back against Detroit with the calf just incredible, 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.360 and that spark, whether it was offense, defense, he did 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.240 special teams. I think everybody took something from that. Yeah, well, 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:20.920 I want to talk a little bit about the defensive 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:24.280 side and uh and that the role in the comeback. 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.640 But a little sponsored business here first at home or 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.600 here in the stands. 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But after that, 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:06.360 I mean, I know there are always some plays that 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:09.560 you wish, you know, a tackle here there, whatever, But 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:13.080 I thought the Packers defense played pretty darn well. You know, 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:16.480 Jordan Howard is no slouch. Of a running back Alan Robinson, 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.360 Taylor Gabriel, this whole new receiving corps for the Bears, 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:22.680 and Um for the Packers defense to only give up 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.640 three field goals the rest of the way after the 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:28.800 opening touchdown because the Chicago got seven points on the 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:32.240 pick six by mac Um. I thought it was I 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.560 thought it was a solid performance. And certainly the back 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.120 to back three and outs in the second half when 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.480 the Packers were mounting the comeback, you know that that 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.240 was getting Chicago's defense right back on the field and 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:47.640 you could see as the game war on that that 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.520 pass rush was getting tired. They you know, they didn't 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:53.280 have the energy that they had in the first half 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:57.120 when when the Packers offense was struggling, and and they 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:59.400 didn't have to play quite so many snaps. So it 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.120 all the there was this whole evolution to the game 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:04.960 and Uh and the Packers defense, I give him credit, 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:07.720 wasn't a perfect outing by any means, but they hung 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:09.680 tough and Uh and they got the stops when they 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:11.960 needed to. So basically, there was three things to this 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:15.440 Packers defense that really struck me. One, the resiliency to 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:17.400 come back after kind of getting punched in the mouth 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:19.480 a little bit on the first series, and then you know, 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:21.400 maybe a little bit the second one too. Bears had 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.800 a hundred forty six total yards at that point. The 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:26.080 next eight series I wrote about this in our game 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.200 notes afterwards had a hundred forty eight for the rest 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:31.240 of the game. After that second series, the Packers went 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.760 out of sixth series five times did not allow a 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.200 first down, so either getting three notes or four notes 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.280 in that stretch. Blake Martinez mentioned it they were just 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.080 trying to do a little too much early on, and 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.560 I think you saw it. They opened up here. Here's 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:46.240 the thing that I think is gonna be the biggest 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:48.600 indicator for the Packers under Pett and there's going to 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:52.320 be unpredictability because I'll tell you this, and I think 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:56.080 this is I think this is a compliment. I couldn't 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.880 make out his packages. So if I can't make out 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:01.360 his packages looking for on the press box down at 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:03.760 the field, I don't know how Mitchell Robiski was able 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.960 to take care of it. My hunch is is that 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.720 they basically use Germaine Whitehead as the inside linebacker in 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:14.840 the nickel next to Blake Martinez. All of the Nitro Nickel. 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.760 But even then, like the dime packages and even some 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:21.200 of the base concepts, they were using three defensive linemen 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.280 in either of them in addition to two outside linebackers. 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:25.640 I think you even made a comment once it was 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.600 almost like a five one five front at times. I 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:32.800 think three three five at times, and they would send everybody. 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:36.320 You had cornerbacks coming off the week side three at 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:38.960 a time. I mean, you had guys dropping back in coverage. 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.440 Claim Matthews was dropping back in coverage. But what impressed 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:44.720 me the most about all that, getting back to what 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:48.080 the big narrative was all offseason to look more complicated 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:51.040 than it is. There weren't personnel issues for the Packers. 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:54.200 You didn't see any substitution, time outs or or penalties 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.480 from two twelve minut on the field. Claim Matthews came 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.520 close on one but got often time to be able 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:02.080 to end up getting a third down stop. It was 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.440 pretty impressive with all those defensive backs and all those 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:06.200 moving parts what they were able to do. And I 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:07.600 think you kind of have to tip your cap to 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:09.840 Blake Martinez too for being able to control all of 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:11.720 it on the field. Yeah, Well, we talk a lot 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:14.040 in this day and age in the NFL, with everything 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:17.919 so much geared towards offenses. On the defensive side, it 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:21.600 comes down to when you make your plays, and a 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.600 lot of times it's sometimes it's being able to make 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:27.680 up for the mistake of a teammate. And last night's 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:31.240 game was the perfect example of it. Kyle Fuller drops 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:35.520 the interception on the first play of the Packers game 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.520 winning touchdown drive that basically would have sealed the game. 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:41.439 I mean the Packers would have had virtually no chance 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.840 after that he drops it. Two plays later, there's a 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.680 huge breakdown and Cobb has a seventy five yard touchdown. 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:50.000 Then you flip it the other way to the Packers. 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:54.640 On Chicago's last drive, a huge mistake by Clay Matthews 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.639 roughing the passer on fourth and nine. It looks like 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:01.040 the game is over, but there's a flag. Matthews gets 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:04.359 called for at fifteen yards automatic first down puts the 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:07.240 Bears close to midfield. I don't think they were quite 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.399 all the way to midfield, but close to midfield where 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:13.359 they are really only twenty yards away. Then at that 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:18.560 point from a field goal to beat, and the Packers 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:21.920 defense makes up for the mistake of their teammate. They 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:24.399 get a four and out, Nick Perry with the sack 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:27.639 on fourth down that pops the ball loose, Kenny Clark recovers, 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:31.879 and um, you know it, just these games can hinge 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:35.640 on such small moments in a sense, but it those 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:39.120 small moments become big moments because of what happens around them. 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:41.960 And the Packers were the ones that took advantage of 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:43.880 those moments with the game on the line. And I'll 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:46.040 say this too, Mike, for them to be able to 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.439 bounce back from that personal foul, we we hear it 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:51.400 all the time. I know Dom Capers used to talk 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:54.000 about it too. If you have a personal foul on 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.359 the drive, I mean basically, there's a three times more 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:59.160 likely chance that they're going to score on that drive. 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:01.600 Not only of the Packers not give up any points, 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:04.680 they didn't give up another yard three more. In completions 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:08.080 from Mitchell Trobinski, I said, going into this thing, my 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:09.800 biggest thing I was looking for was going to be 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:11.840 the coverage units, was going to be what these cornerbacks 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:14.680 were like. I did not anticipate Josh Jackson becoming the 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:17.280 first Packers rookie to start a game at cornerback since 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.040 Sam Shield. I didn't anticipate that they were going to 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:24.640 run as many six defensive backpackages in every situation as 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.840 they did. But now that we've seen it, you're starting 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:30.640 to get a better understanding for why the Packers put 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:33.600 so many resources into the back end, why they wanted 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.919 Joe wit Jr. Overseeing that entire unit, because there is 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:39.119 a lot of synergy now. And just to throw one 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:41.399 more thing out there, I thought kentroll Bryce probably had 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:43.399