WEBVTT - #488 Packers Unscripted: Familiar foe 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:14.680 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:18.080 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my trusted colleague 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:21.120 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:24.840 at lambeau Field West. It's our midweek show, our Wednesday show, 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:28.000 and that means we look ahead at the Packers next opponent. 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:30.600 We've already been talking a little bit about the Chicago 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:35.839 Bears this week. You look at the Bears two thousand 0:00:35.920 --> 0:00:40.159 nineteen season and there's really only one way to describe it, 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:45.680 and that's streaky. They they won three straight games after 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:49.640 the Packers beat them in Week one, then they lost 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:54.880 five in row, and then since the five game losing streak, 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:57.800 they've now won four out of five, including three straight. 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.600 As they come to lambeau Field in week fifteen for 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:05.959 a noon Central Time kickoff on Sunday, and as we 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:09.120 talked about yesterday, their seasons on the line. Yeah. So 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:10.960 if you go by that streak, I mean they're ready 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:16.000 for a supposed to back the other way. This roller 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.399 closter is supposed to go. Yeah, yeah, No, I mean 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:21.800 the one thing I've said before, I said it earlier 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:26.640 this week, Chicago is so much better than their record indicates. Uh, 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:28.920 they have a lot of talent on both sides of 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.560 the ball. They they are able to hurt you in 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:34.240 different ways. They can beat you in a multiple of 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:36.560 other ways, and they can win low scoring ball games 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:39.240 to it the way that their defense plays. The key 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:42.160 to all of this has been Mitchell Trubisky and when 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:46.440 he's healthy and when he's right, they play pretty good football. Um, 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:49.880 when he's either not healthy or not right, more often 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:52.880 than not, they've lost. They've built this thing around him. 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:54.960 We knew that going into this season. The moves that 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.520 they've made both on offense and defense have been centered 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:00.640 around their young quarterback and feeling like this is the 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:03.760 guy that's going to lead them back to the championship land. 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.320 So the tough part of it is when you're trying 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:09.240 to assess them, is what you're going to get in 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:13.560 any given week. They did what I think if they 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.320 could make an actual claim down the stretch here of 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.639 being a playoff team, they had to do what they 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:22.840 did in Dallas. They needed to dictate that game. They 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:25.160 need to pose their will upon the Cowboys, and they 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.040 did all that. Dallas put up some points at the end, 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.720 but for the most part. It was a pretty clean 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:32.640 game there for the Bears. Yeah, when you look at 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.520 the fact that Dallas took the opening kickoff Mark Rush 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:37.400 right down the field and scored and went up seven 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:41.400 to nothing, and then I believe the score was thirty 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.520 one to seventeen before Dallas scored again. So in through 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:48.360 the center stretch of the game, the Bears outscored the 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:51.280 Cowboys thirty one to ten. It was a pretty dominating performance, 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:53.720 it really was. And now they put themselves in a 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.160 position much like the Packers. Packers talked about one and 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.040 o each week, they talked about winning the game that's 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:00.960 in front of them, green to be at this point 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.600 at ten and three, they've put themselves in this position. 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.160 And the Bears have made themselves alive again. And what 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:10.120 would have appeared to be relatively obscure, you know, obscure 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:12.280 chance of making a playoff run here at the beginning 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:15.639 of December. Yeah, I mean I actually made the comment 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:21.680 an insider inbox that if anybody had anticipated this surge 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:23.760 by the Bears, I don't think this game would have 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.440 stayed at noon, as I think it would have been 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:32.760 flexed into a different time slot. And interestingly, a reader had, Yeah, 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.560 the last time the Packers and the Bears played a 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:40.200 noon kickoff at lambeau Field was in two thousand eight, 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.200 Aaron rodgers first season as the starting quarterback. I didn't 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.560 realize that. But you go back through every year and 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.960 it's like the vast majority have been primetime games and 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:52.040 then there have been there one, one or two others 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.839 that were kickoffs. So just a strange scheduling anomaly when 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.880 I think back to my youth that when the pack 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:02.160 has played the Bears, it was always at noon. That's 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:05.080 just that's just the way the way it was. Hear 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:08.560 about this stuff. Yeah, Well, and the other thing I'll 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:10.120 say too, And I think I mentioned this on the 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:14.320 show like a week or two ago. The margins, as 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:17.920 we talk about, are so slim in the NFL, and 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.640 you look at the fact that, you know, the one 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:23.120 game that hangs out there for the Bears that could 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:25.680 have potentially changed everything and changed the look of this 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:29.400 game and their month of December was the Chargers game 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:31.719 when Eddie Pinero missed the kick on the last play 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:33.280 of the game that would have won the game. If 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:35.480 the Bears are sitting here at eight and five instead 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:37.839 of seven and six with three games to go, we're 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:41.320 having a completely different conversation about where they stand. I 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:46.080 don't think motivationally things would be any different because because 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.600 everything is is still on the line, but certainly their 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:52.200 chances um would look a lot different. And I think 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:57.000 the biggest reason their defense has been pretty solid all 0:04:57.080 --> 0:04:59.240 year long. I think the biggest reason the Bears have 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:03.240 gotten themselves in this position is because they've cut Mitz 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:06.000 Trubisky loose a little bit with with his legs, with 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:09.640 running his scrambling out of the pocket, running read option 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:13.800 UM and UH and some designed runs in that sense 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.040 for the quarterback. Now, he did play some games earlier 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:19.839 in the season when he wasn't a percent healthy, and 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:22.640 maybe the game plan, the play calling, all of that 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:24.600 they had to protect him a little bit. I don't 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:26.800 know if I don't know if that's the case. But 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:29.560 what I've seen the last few games as Chicago started 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:32.800 to get on a roll, here is the Trubisky that 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:36.039 was running a lot with the ball, both both read 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:38.760 option and scrambling out of the pocket on pass plays. 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:43.039 That really helped this Bears offense. When the NFC North 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:44.760 last year. Yeah, I mean you go back and look 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:47.479 at it last year like rushes for four and twenty 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:50.320 one yards and three touchdowns this year in too fewer 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:53.960 games to this point, only thirty six for one. You 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.279 gotta let your young quarterback be who he is and 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:58.160 allow him to be the type of player that has 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:01.400 made him as exciting is you know, filled him with 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.719 as much potential as this fan base feels. He has. 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:06.320 Well almost half of that one forty three that he 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.159 has rushing yards this year was against the Cowboys last weekend. 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:12.360 He had sixty some yards some yards to be able 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:14.480 to get him out again. I just you look at him. 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:16.680 You don't have to be a scout to understand that 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:20.120 that's where that guy is at his most comfortable. Comfortable now, 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:22.880 he's had some challenges. Losing Trey Burton was a big challenge. 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:24.360 I mean, I think a lot of people going into 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:25.960 the season they thought that was going to be again 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.120 his number one target. He hasn't had that Allen Robinson 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.360 took a step forward in this offense. Anthony Miller is 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:33.680 a guy I loved going back to the draft. Uh 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.960 slot receiver out of Memphis, very talented young man. Bears 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:39.760 did too, because they traded up to select him, didn't they? Yeah, 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.640 And he's emerged more as a playmaker in this offense. 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:44.799 The thing that I think has hurt them the most 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.680 is they don't have Jordan Howard and Terek Cohen is 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.599 more of a gadget type back, and David Montgomery I 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:54.640 think has potential in this league. But the thing that 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.719 works so well with the Jordan Howard thing with them, 0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:00.279 and it wasn't just with Rubisky, it goes before him. 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:03.120 He just he was that north and South, put your 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:06.080 head down, just kind of a grindstone type player. They 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.240 ended up signing Mike Davis. That didn't work out. They 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:11.160 ended up cutting Mike Davis to enable themselves to get 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:13.400 the cop pick back that would have cost him, I 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.080 believe a fourth rounder if they would have held onto him. 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:20.240 So trying to find a run game to complement Rubinsky 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.440 has been it's been stress so far this season, and 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:24.840 I think that's one of the things that has kind 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:26.720 of factored into this and maybe gotten them out of 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.280 their offensive rhythm a little bit. But you're seeing it 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:32.080 in the last few weeks where they could potentially be 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:35.800 a threat and why they can, you know, go out 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:38.800 there and dictate tempo in a T and T stadium 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:44.560 against Dallas. It's because they found that was actually sorry, Yeah, 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:46.480 why they were able to dictate tempo in a game 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.160 like that, because you have those type of things working 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:52.040 in your favor then and again, it's gonna be interesting 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.440 to watch exactly which Rubisky we see. I think the 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:57.280 Packers have seen both of them. They've seen the guy 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.080 that can throw and they've seen the guy that sometimes 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:01.720 looks lost in the pockets. So being able to get 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:03.960 precedent as a Darius going again like they did in 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:06.400 Week one, when both those guys really emerged and said, Okay, 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.720 these are playmakers, these are guys are gonna affect football games. 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:12.120 That's gonna be big. Along with Kenny Clark one and 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:14.520 a half sacks last week, had a really big performance 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:17.160 against Chicago and week one, they need that pressure again 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.360 from the inside. Yeah, I think the Packers do need 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:22.000 to get the pressure, but I think they have to 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:25.080 be careful because of true Whisky's ability to scramble here 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:27.320 and the Packers did rack up a bunch of sacks 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:30.640 back in Week one at Soldier Field. In this matchup, 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:33.400 but I think you're gonna have to rush this quarterback 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.680 in a little bit more discipline fashion maybe then the 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.600 Packers did the first time, because if you know, on 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:41.680 third and six or third and seven, if he just 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.959 starts breaking the pocket, you know, if if the rush 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:46.920 lanes break down and there's no integrity there to kind 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:49.120 of hem him in, you know, he can get out 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:51.040 and pick up those six seven yards and move the 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.720 chains pretty easily. And I just from from my perspective, 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:57.960 I would much rather make Mitchell Trubisky beat me with 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:01.600 his arm um when he is struggling to develop somewhere 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:03.839 poor with tight ends. And yes, he's getting some things 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.680 going with Allan Robinson, he's had him all year, Anthony 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:10.840 Miller definitely coming on as of late. And uh, and 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:13.440 we know the Packers have had some struggles against tight ends, 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:17.040 but the you know, the Bears haven't had that key 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:20.840 guy all season long. But but you just you can't 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:22.880 let this guy get out of the pocket play after 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:24.800 play after play. You've got to keep him in there 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:26.719 and make him beat you throwing the ball. Yeah, And 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:28.920 that's why I really like Clark in week one, because 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.280 when you get that pressure inside and you can collapse 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:33.640 in the pocket that way, that's what allows your edge 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:35.720 rushers to hold their integrity a little bit more on 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:37.600 the ends, and yeah, you brought that up to I 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:39.320 want to point that out. Tight end has been a 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.720 tough position for them. They found something with Trey Burton, 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:45.040 but then he's out and on injured reserve. Adam Shaheen 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.400 just really hasn't worked out for them at to this point. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.920 Now they spent his second round pick. Yeah, he was 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:52.320 the big kid out of Ashland a couple of years ago. Um, 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:55.839 and right now they have five tight ends on their roster, 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.560 but nobody that has over sixty receiving ours. I think 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:00.920 to this point, maybe when when? But maybe is it 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:03.480 whims as whims of it I'm trying to think, but 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:05.920 be that as it may well whims as a receiver. 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:10.439 So they're struggling he is, I mean, he's too twenty, 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:14.160 but um, they haven't been able to find that guy. 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:16.960 And in this absence of Burton, I mean, you saw 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:20.120 what he brought last year and exactly, especially for a 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:22.560 young quarterback, how important those kinds of players can be. 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.000 That's gonna be something to watch. In addition to the 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:26.559 fact that they've had to do some moving around with 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:28.640 their offensive line too. I mean, Charles Leno is a 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.880 pro bowler now, but they lost Kyle Long early in 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:34.840 the season. It's it's it's been a grind and trying 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:36.719 to see exactly which offense we're going to see what 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.440 the Bears because if you go statistically right now, Michael, 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:44.959 I think they're what passing and passing twenty nine and 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.640 toty yards twenty nine and running points. It has been 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:53.200 a you know, not the cleanest year for Mattnegie's offense. Yeah, well, 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.920 we will switch gears to the defensive side of the 0:10:55.960 --> 0:11:00.240 ball after this. Sponsor business select Cousin Subs location are 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:03.560 now offering delivery whether you're ordering online, I'm sorry, whether 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:06.640 you're ordering catering or your favorite sub, They're delivering right 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.720 to you when you order online at Cousin Subs dot 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:13.480 com Cousins Subs. We believe in better. Okay. So for 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:17.160 all the changes that the Bears have made on offense, 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.440 with what they're doing with Rubisky, with Montgomery being the 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:22.680 lead back now as opposed to Mike Davis. In week 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:26.960 one when the Packers met them the first time, defensively, 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.160 a lot of things look the same. They didn't. They 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:31.840 got a new coordinator, this year in Chuck Bagana, but 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:36.040 they didn't exactly reinvent the wheel. UM. They're playing Chicago 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:40.280 Bears defense. We're waiting to see if potentially they activate 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.560 a Keem Hicks off of injured reserve. He's UM. He 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:47.560 has sat out the requisite eight weeks of games that 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:51.400 are required UM for a player who goes on i R. 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:53.440 So that could be a big change in terms of 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:57.880 how they look up front. But ro Kuwan Smith is 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:01.440 out for the rest of the season. There young prized 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:07.360 inside linebacker. He's being replaced by he believes a fourth 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:09.960 or a fifth year veteran. UM. Well, they've got Kevin 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:13.760 Pierre Lewis, that's the one I'm thinking. You know, Nick 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:16.000 Kwaikowski is also a guy that they have there behind 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:19.840 Danny Trevathan. So they are pretty deep actually an inside linebacker. 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:23.000 But as you just said, Mike, you can't replace that guy. 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.400 He's just so fast, he's so quick. He's great for 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:27.599 that position. Yeah, top ten pick in the draft a 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:29.720 couple of years ago. So losing him, that's a big 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.360 that that really hurts. Now he was already injured. I 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:34.240 think it was mostly just trying to figure out Okay 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:36.440 is it like the Or and Burkes thing. Is he 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:39.000 gonna need surgery, can you play through the torn pectoral 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:41.600 or where is this going to put him? He does 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.199 need the surgery, so he'll put his best foot forward 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.000 now for next season. But again, had another hundred tackle season. 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.680 Looks like he's gonna be a real nightmare a Kiem 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:53.160 Hicks is the real interesting one in this equation because 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:55.920 we don't know exactly where he's at or what the 0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:59.600 timeline was for that injury. But we said this going 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:01.280 back to in the day that he was placed an 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:03.440 injured reserve. I think you and I were already counting 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:05.640 up the weeks. Yeah, I looked. I looked at it 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:07.800 right away and I was like, oh, well, he if 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.719 if he's healthy enough, he'll be eligible to come back 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:13.120 to play Green Bay and uh and sure enough, here 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.360 we are. Yeah, and and this is how it works out. 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.000 So we'll have to see where the week goes with that. 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:18.720 But dude, Mike, you look at it. There are so 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:21.200 many talented guys on this team, you know. And Eddie 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:22.960 Goldman has been a nose tackle I've been high on 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.640 for years. Nick Williams is backup at that position, has 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.160 six sacks is here. Khalil Mack only has seven and 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:31.480 a half sacks, but he has five force fumbles. I mean, 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:33.480 I think ha Ha Clinton Dix has been a really 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.280 nice addition for them, And I know so many times 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:38.720 people want to make it about Ha Ha versus Adrian Amos. 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:40.720 I actually think it's kind of funny when you shuffle 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.360 the deck up. I think both of those safeties ended 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:45.640 up probably in a defense that fits them better. I 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:47.640 agree what their role and what they're being asked to do. 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:50.880 I agree completely. Clinton Dix already had that rapport with 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:53.200 with Eddie Jackson. We talked about that at the beginning 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.360 of the season. Those guys go back to Bama together, 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.760 and and then certainly Kyle Fuller is one of my 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:01.160 favorite cornerbacks in this so there are a ton of 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:03.000 guys that can hurt you. Thirty sacks on the year 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.280 for that defense, I think they're right around the top 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.280 ten still again this year. There maybe not as dominant 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:10.200 as they were last year the Vic Fangio, but they're 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:13.079 still very good with what Chuck Pagano has them doing. Yeah, 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:14.800 I mean, you know you're gonna have to deal with 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:18.560 Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd coming off the edges um 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:21.600 cornerback wise, though, have you heard anything? Are they getting 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.960 Prince of Mukamara back because he's been injured, hasn't he? Yeah? 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:26.680 I don't know where that's been. See, this is the 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.160 tough thing when we do the show this time the 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:31.240 week because nobody actually wants what they're doing. Yeah, we're not. 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:34.600 We're not up to speed on where things are injury wise. 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.080 But I had heard some rumors that it was it 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.360 was possible that he could be back this week to 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:42.120 play against the Packers, but nobody was saying anything for sure. 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:46.160 So the Chicago Tribune is reporting that Mukamara and Kiem 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.560 Hicks both hope to return for the Bears. But the 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.560 problem is with Themar's injury though, is it's a hamstring, 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:53.960 and I think there were some questions about how much 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:55.640 time he's going to need it. We've talked about it 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.040 over the years, those soft tissue injuries. It's just not 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:00.240 a three to six week window. It's it's a hey, 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:01.840 is this guy gonna be able to go? Yeah, and 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.720 cold weather doesn't exactly help with those types of He's 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.320 been a revelation for this defense over the last three 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:09.840 four years. I actually thought when he first got to Chicago, 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:12.000 I really had some questions about if his better days 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.560 were behind him. Oh. Absolutely, he already bounced around. Felt 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:16.440 I felt the same way. I think he'd already been 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:19.200 in Jacksonville right since he'd been in with the Giants 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.720 with the Giants for a long time. And for him 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:24.120 to go in there and hold that spot down and 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:26.920 be able to do what he's done, I think he's 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:29.160 been the perfect compliment to Fuller. On the other side, 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:31.240 they've had those two guys that's been there one too 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:34.440 now for three or four years and it works for them. 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.600 And have Eddie Jackson then over the top of it, 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.960 one of the young emerging safeties in this league. It's 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.080 a good, formidable group and it's one of the reasons 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:44.200 why the Bears are seven and six at this point 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:46.600 of the season. Yeah. Well, certainly in the secondary they 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.920 look a lot different if they have that pair as 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:52.600 in Kyle Fuller and a Mukamara as the top two 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:54.680 cornerbacks and then the rest of the depth fills in 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:57.160 behind them. We all know how it goes with any 0:15:57.160 --> 0:15:59.960 team when you lose one of your top two cornerbacks 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.400 and then you know, there's that domino effect where everybody 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.800 has to shuffle around and and take on new roles. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.320 So well, we talked about the Bears on both sides 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:12.080 of the ball. Um compared to Week one against the Packers, 0:16:12.120 --> 0:16:14.840 the offense looks very, very different. The defense is still 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:17.280 as Chicago Bears defense are giving up. I believe it's 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.720 only about seventeen points per game, which which ranks I 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:25.480 believe in the top five in the NFL. Right now, quickly, 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.760 what do you what do you think is the biggest 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:30.960 difference in the Green Bay Packers on either side of 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:35.080 the ball compared to Week one when these teams met 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.040 the first time. What sticks out to you? I will 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:39.280 answer that question because I have many thoughts. The Bears 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.000 you were saying with was it points per game? I 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:44.880 believe it's seventeen seventeen point eight. They are sevent four 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:48.240 right now. That's behind New England Buffalo in San Francisco. 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:51.320 Packers are much different than a number of ways. I think. One, 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:54.520 for all the ups and downs they've had offensively, I 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:57.680 think you've seen more of a blend towards what this 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.160 offense is going to be. It's one thing to have 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:02.160 a blueprint and a vision. But Mike, you know this, 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:04.439 with anything that you do in life, you can't just 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:06.320 walk into something and be like, Okay, this is how 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:08.840 it's going to be done. When you have eleven offensive 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:10.720 players on the field at the same time, when you're 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:14.119 dealing with guys on a fifty three man roster with 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:16.920 an entire coaching staff and injuries that can change things 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.959 in a weekly basis. And I think Matt Lafleur has 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:21.800 done a really nice job of rolling with the punches 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:23.879 and for as much as the outside narrative to this 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:26.680 point has been about identities and you know, are they 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:28.959 doing the way they running the offense the way they 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.840 want to run the offense under it's you also got 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:34.840 to find things that you're good at, right And you 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:36.800 and I were discussing at the end of yesterday's show, 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.680 whether it's some of the passing schemes that they put 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.280 together with the running backs, uh, some of the games 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.480 that you know, you look at Davante Adams and Alan 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:47.680 Lazar that they've had in overall, just the general principles 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:50.600 that the Packers have installed, this offense still has a 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:53.520 lot of potential. Now this is a big test They're 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:55.840 gonna probably need to put up more than ten points 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.840 like they did that Soldier field, And yeah, I think 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:00.680 it's going to take more than that because I think 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:03.199 Matt Nage, with you know how influential he is and 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.080 with this offense and in his ability to evolve and adapt, 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:08.320 They're not gonna let that happen again. They're gonna challenge 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:10.560 Mike Patton's group in ways they probably weren't challenged in 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:14.640 Week one. So that's what always makes these matchups really intriguing. 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:16.720 This is the first time Matt Lafleur will see an 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:19.520 opponent for a second time in his time as the 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:23.280 head coach, not counting preseason of course, So all all 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:25.280 these things on the table, I just think where the 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:28.560 Packers stand right now. What we know that we didn't 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:31.159 know in Week one is that Aaron Jones can be 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:35.280 a viable number one option for an entire offense, not 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:37.960 just a backfield. You can run an offense through him. 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:40.639 He has that capability. Jamal Williams can turn it up 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:43.000 at any time you need him to. In the Packers, 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:45.520 for all that's been made and maybe not having that 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:49.080 number two receiver Davante Adams, they've had so many different 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.439 guys step up at clutch moments of this season. It 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:53.639 hasn't been that they've been just trying to throw guys 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:56.800 in there to find somebody. They've rotated guys through and 0:18:56.800 --> 0:18:59.400 they found guys and put them in positions that make 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.040 them success based on their skill set. Yeah, I mean, 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:04.840 we certainly saw in week one, you know, the debut 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:07.880 in the regular season of Matt Lafleur's offense with Aaron Rodgers. 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:11.760 We saw the Packers trying to establish that outside zone 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:15.040 running game. It wasn't really working against the Bears at all. 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:17.760