WEBVTT - #671: Packers Unscripted: Righting the ship 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:10.399 Hi everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers unscripted from 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.440 packers DOT COM. I am Mike Spofford. Heat is the 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:16.040 one and only wes Hodkowitz. Were coming to hear from 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.400 our studios at lambeo Field West on Sunday night, the 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:22.880 packers evened up their record at one on one with 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:26.520 a twenty seven to ten triumph in prime time over 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.800 the Chicago bears at Lambeau field. We'll try to parse 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:32.599 this one out. Offense, defense, special teams, but I'll let 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:34.279 you choose. Like where do you where do you want 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:36.280 to start? What do you think was the was the 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:38.919 key to victory here for Green Bay, doing exactly what 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:41.240 they needed to do against a team that, I think, 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:45.000 on paper, everybody agreed they were superior to. A little 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:46.640 bit of a rough start coming out of the gate, 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:48.680 no question about that, on both sides of the ball, 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.400 trying to find their early rhythm, but man oh man, 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.880 once you've got Aaron Jones and a j dillon going 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:57.040 in the Backfield, that the constant emphasis of that all 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:59.280 week long. The bears, knowing that they're going to see 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:01.200 a lot of those low and they couldn't do a 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:06.960 gosh darn thing about it. Aaron Jones ran open free 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:10.520 and was just overly dominant. When you look at you know, 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:13.679 eight point eight yards per carry, hundred and thirty two 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:17.360 rushing yards and just fifteen carries. I mean he was 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.240 the guy that powered this thing, that gave them that 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.759 jolt that they were looking for and for the defense 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:25.840 to come back after giving up a touchdown on the 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:29.200 first series, to force four consecutive three three and oes. 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:32.640 I just felt like, in terms of the whole gamut 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:34.640 of things, Aaron Rodgers talked about need to play better, 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.360 Matt Lafleur talked about need to play better. That second quarter, though, 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:41.240 was as good as it gets. I mean that's exactly 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:42.840 was what the packers are looking for and it's the 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:44.720 reason why they won this football game. Yeah, it was 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:48.720 absolutely dominant football for a pretty extended stretch of this 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:52.040 football game on the part of the packers. The final 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.200 numbers with regard to the two running backs, Jones and dillon, 0:01:55.360 --> 0:02:00.680 thirty seven touches combining UH carries and receptions. Two hundred 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:06.040 and thirty seven yards between the rushing and the receiving yards. 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:08.560 And we were talking about it in the press box 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:10.680 west you know, we for those who don't know, West 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:12.960 and I actually sit next to each other much like 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:17.440 this in the press box, games even closer than this. Yeah, 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:23.840 and Um Jones ability to make tacklers miss was on 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:27.280 full display. I've seen the numbers anywhere from like twelve 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:30.359 miss tackles to fourteen miss tackles on the part of 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:35.480 the bears just against Aaron Jones in this game. The 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:40.400 the quickness of his feet, the elusiveness, and yet he's 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.560 got he's not just a scat back right. I mean 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.760 he's he's got power, he's not easy to bring down 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.600 and and I just think what you saw on Sunday 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:55.560 night was what makes Aaron Jones a special offensive weapon. 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:57.480 However you want to get him the ball, whether you 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:59.079 want to hand it to him, pitch it to him, 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.840 push path, sit to him on jet motion, he's a 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.680 special player and it's why he got the contract that 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.960 he got from the Green Bay packers and if they 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:13.040 can continue to utilize him this way, he's potentially going 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:15.360 to have a special season and what is getting to 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:18.240 be really interesting about him is that he's having a 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:21.960 special career. And so many times in the National Football League, Mike, 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.000 you look at these guys will pop up one year, 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.160 they'll become a fantasy football darling, will be a thousand 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:30.359 yard Russia, they'll have ten touchdowns and and then they 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:33.280 kind of go away. They shift back. You know, another 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:35.440 running back emerges and people go and they say, Oh, 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:39.200 it's a diamond dozen position. Aaron Jones is not a 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.160 Dimond a dozen running back. He is the one percent 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:45.360 and he stayed on a steady incline throughout his entire career. 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.160 I feel like this, this Aaron Jones at twenty seven 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:51.200 years old, is the best version we've seen yet and 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.800 my biggest impression these first two weeks, that that really 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.280 hit home for me was this is what Aaron Jones 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:59.480 looks like when he's healthy, and it looks like what 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:02.800 he looks like when he's fresh. He's just explosive. And 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.320 you talked about the Miss Tackles. You know how you 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:07.440 know a back is having a special game? It's just 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.160 one of those type of games when you don't even 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:12.360 care about the miss tackles anymore because you know the 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:15.720 first defender he's gonna make a miss. And the thing 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.280 that makes Jones dangerous is that there's so many different 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.839 ways Aaron Rodgers after the game was explaining it that 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.760 you know, whether it's his stiff arms, whether it's his 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:26.200 his one cut ability, all these different things that he 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:28.560 do that he does that makes him difficult to bring 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:30.400 down to the turf. And, as I joked about an 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.800 insider inbox this week. Okay, and then you finally get 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.719 him out, he's gonna come off the field. Then you 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.479 get a two fifty pound man running north and south 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:41.640 directly at you. I I know Aaron or a J 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:43.640 Dillon's stats aren't gonna wal you the same way Aaron 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.760 Jones Wild You, but his eight team carries that that 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.039 is going to wear down a defense just as much. 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:51.640 The packers need to run the football. They needed to 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:53.840 get the ball in the hands of their backfield. They 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:55.680 did it and they control the game because of it. 0:04:55.960 --> 0:05:00.400 One last thought on Jones. He is already fourth on 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.839 the packers all time rushing list. This is the franchise 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:06.000 has been in existence over a hundred years, folks, and 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:10.320 Aaron Jones. Yeah, Aaron Jones is already fourth on the 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:12.720 all time rushing list and he is just I want 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:14.680 to say the number is right around six hundred and 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.000 fifty yards rushing yards at this point from climbing all 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:21.760 the way to third and if and when he gets there, 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:24.440 the only two guys in franchise history with more rushing 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:26.760 yards than Aaron Jones will be Jim Taylor and I'm 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:31.000 on Green. So that tells you something about Um, about 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:33.200 where Aaron Jones is. A couple of other things to 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:36.280 touch on with regard to the offense, though. Elton Jenkins 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:40.400 was back from his a C L slightly, just a 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:44.719 couple of days, less than ten months from the injury, 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:47.479 he's back and he was starting at right tackle. Actually 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.760 only his for all of his versatility and whatnot, is 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:53.320 only his second career start at right tackle, but that's 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:56.719 where Jenkins was on Sunday night. Also, Al Lazard was 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.320 back from his ankle injury. Um only had a couple 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.360 of catches, but one was for a touchdown. Certainly saw 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.880 his blocking on the outside. The work of the Goon, 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:10.840 as Matt La Floors to say, was on display and 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.800 we saw a pretty significant impact from Sammy Watkins in 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:17.960 the passing game and in particular the play action passing game, 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.040 whether you want to call it play action or the 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:22.839 R P O action. Sometimes it's a little bit of 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:27.360 both with this offense, but Sammy Watkins was was making 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:32.400 something's happen and and really the Um, the final knockout blow, 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:34.640 if you if you will, right after the goal line 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:36.840 stand by the defense, was the fifty five yard or 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.240 over the top off play action with the packers deep 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:42.039 in their own territory. That was Watkins. He ended up 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:44.240 with ninety three receiving yards on the night and a 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:46.480 taste of of what he can bring to the table 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:48.719 here for Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, the the buy in is 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.040 probably what impresses me the most, and it's a story 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:54.120 I'm actually working on as we speak for Wednesday on 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:57.280 packers dot com. Be sure to check that out, is 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.240 that this is a guy that was a five star 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.440 recruit clemson. It's a guy that was the number four 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:04.880 overall pick in two thousand fourteen, a guy that has 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.520 won a super bowl. He's had a thousand yards season 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:12.440 and it hits me different when someone like that comes 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.440 to a team, and certainly you wrote about it, did 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:17.760 a great job over the offseason of writing about everything 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.880 that Watkins feels. He still has to prove his back 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:24.640 being against the wall this year, but he's not pressing 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:29.040 for touches. He's not pressing for touchdowns. He just wants 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:30.880 to play and he wants to be part of a 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:33.280 winning process and if you follow the course of his career, 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:37.600 the guy basically has won everywhere he's played and and 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.600 now you know whether it is the fifty five yard 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:45.000 play action pass, and that's awesome, helped put the game away, 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:48.640 kind of showed the explosivity in Watkins, still at twenty 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:51.200 nine years old, but it's also what he was willing 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:53.160 to do as a blocker and, as he even mentioned 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.120 in the postgame locker room, he loves the run game 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.960 and he loves getting his hands dirty in that because 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:02.160 not only does help his teammates, but he can also 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.200 see how that is gonna end up leading to more 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.000 play action opportunities. He's gonna understand how that's going to 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:11.560 challenge a defense more. Sammy Watkins is not a rock guy. 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:13.640 He's not going to be the one in the locker 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:16.560 room pointing all the attention to himself. Nine days out 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:18.880 of ten he's usually just sitting down pretty quiet in 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.360 his little space, just kind of keeping to himself, maybe 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:23.360 talking to a couple of teammates, but he's not. He's 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.320 not a boisterous individual but, as Matt Lafleur said, he 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:29.720 has that kind of infectious smile and enthusiasm that I 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:32.600 think people gravitate towards, and Rogers talked about it after 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.880 the game. They feel like they got a special person 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:38.760 here now. That also I think, for even though he's 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.280 been in the League for eight years, still has a 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:44.120 certain amount of untapped potential to his game. Yeah, and 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:47.680 just seeing him, he's as we talked about. He's worked 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.240 with big time quarterbacks in the past. This is a 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:53.400 guy you know. He's played with Patrick Mahomes. Now he's 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:57.480 here with with Aaron Rodgers. Everywhere Sammy Watkins has has been, 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:00.320 he has been a factor. He has brought something to table. 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:03.120 It's always been a health issue. Knock on wood, Sammy 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:06.080 Watkins can stay healthy and uh and do what the 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:08.800 packers need him to do and and expect him to 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.400 do in accounting on him to do throughout the course 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:14.199 of the season. On the defensive side, West you said it, 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:18.679 four straight three and outs. Um, I think the bears 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:23.959 total yards over those four possessions was something like thirteen yards. Um, 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:29.000 bears took the you know, took the ball right away Um, 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:31.680 the first possession, drove all the way down and got 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:35.880 a touchdown. But after that the packers defense stood tall 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:40.320 and took command of this game, and it was for 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.400 the most part, I think it was the two edge rushers, 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:47.040 Rashawn Gary and Preston Smith, that that grabbed ahold of 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:49.520 this of this bears offense and and didn't let him 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.720 get going in the first half. Yeah, and and every 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:55.320 week we sit down and you know Wednesday and Thursday especially, well, 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:57.480 you know the questions I'll get asked if an upcoming 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.880 opponent to players in the locker room or and coming matchup. 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:03.920 I don't know if I remember one being as transparent 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.000 as what the packers knew they had to do for 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:09.360 Justin fields, and they executed it. Uh, they knew they 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:11.200 were going to have to be careful rushing him, but 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:13.360 they also knew they needed to be a collapse the pocket. 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:16.480 They knew they had to be aggressive against him in 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:19.200 order because he's going to want to extend plays. They 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:23.280 can't allow him to force their secondary to plaster as much. 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:28.520 And I thought, starting off with Preston Smith, one of 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.440 his best games in the packers uniform, because the thing 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.720 that's interesting about pressing that I think just he doesn't 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:37.120 get enough respect for is that he is a quintessential 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:41.680 three four outside linebacker. He is an all around difference 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:44.920 maker when he's playing his edge, because he's not going 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:47.439 to sell out every single time. He's going to stay home, 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:49.640 he's going to make sure that he seals off his 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:52.440 gaps if the run gets presented, but then, when the 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:55.400 opportunity presented itself to get after fields. In this game 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:59.400 he made two very impactful sacks. Came one tackle shy 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:02.240 of his career yere high, finishing with seven, and then 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:04.800 on the other side of things you saw Rashawn Gary. 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:07.000 He got another sack and his stats will say too, 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.520 and everybody will talk about can rashawn geary get seventeen 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:13.560 sacks this season? But he also had that TFl for 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.920 four yards. And, Mike, I don't know where you come from, 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:19.920 but whether it's a sack or a four yard loss 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:23.320 off a tackle from a run on David Montgomery, they 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:25.920 both represent a loss of down and they both represent 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:29.880 negative yardage. I've really been impressed by what I've seen 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:33.160 Rashawn Gary early in this season, because it's not just 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.760 about what he's doing against the quarterback, it's how he's 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.840 affecting everything around him. Yeah, I can't, I can't say 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:42.000 enough about about that performance by Preston Smith, and you 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:43.720 said it. I think that might have been and he's 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:46.679 he's had some good games. I believe that was Preston's 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:50.199 fifth multi sack game as a member of the packers 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.520 since he signed here in two thousand nineteen, which is 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:55.559 no small feat. But I think it might have been 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:59.680 his best performance overall because of the discipline that he 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.600 owed on a couple a couple of key moments. When 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:06.480 you're talking about a running quarterback, a read option quarterback 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:11.920 like fields, and Preston did his not only did his 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.199 job on certain plays but then made the play when 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:17.440 it came to him and was in position to make 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.920 that play because of the discipline he showed. Really, really 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:26.160 like that. The packers, the packers run defense, had had 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:30.440 its issues, mostly in the fourth quarter. I mean for 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.000 the most part it was on one drive the bears 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.960 were down twenty four to ten, took over deep in 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:40.719 their own territory and in a span of six plays 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:46.440 they ripped off four runs that I believe covered eighty yards, 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:48.680 if I'm not mistaken. I think it was fourteen yards, 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:53.280 eleven yards and seven. So eighty yards on four runs 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.679 within it within a span of six snaps, and it 0:12:56.720 --> 0:13:00.640 wasn't a good look for the packers defense. That was that. 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.360 That was not good to see. I think it was 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:07.960 a combination of a guy maybe being out of position here, 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:10.520 they're not taking on a block properly, but then also 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:14.160 a lot of MIS tackles and and that was something 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.880 where I thought the packers for week one in Minnesota 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:21.600 actually tackled pretty well defensively. But Um, but the miss 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:26.480 tackles were definitely an issue. Um in week two against Chicago, 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:29.959 when it came right down to it, though, after those 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.840 eighty yards rushing, the bears had first and goal in 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.319 the ten yard line and they tried four runs. Well, 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:38.920 actually the third third down was a pass and fields 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:42.400 ended up scrambling. But four plays on the ground. Two yards, 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:47.319 two yards, five yards to the one, the touchdown reversed 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.400 on the on the replay, and then fourth and goal 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.200 from the one. The bears go for it and the 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:57.280 packers get the stop. The run defense boat up when 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.719 it needed to there to keep the packers ahead by 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:02.440 two scores. And Uh, and allow the offense. To salt 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:06.560 it away. We'll let me start with the positives. That's 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:11.280 an Ode de Dom Capers uh the that stand was 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.160 incredible for a number of reasons. One, I felt like 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:16.679 some of the things now you're defending less of the field, 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:18.720 so it's always going to be a little bit favored 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:21.360 towards the defense. But I liked how they played together 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:23.400 as a unit, whether it was the defensive line filling 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.680 their gaps or even a guy like, you know, Jayr Alexander, 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.240 coming in and making sure to give that final push 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:31.320 so fields doesn't give in. But then you also look 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:33.479 at Quay Walker, you know, and quay had some mistackles 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:36.040 in this game. It's gonna be a learning process for him. 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.080 But then you see him come over from the right 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:40.800 side of the defense and close all the way over 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:45.200 at the left side at the sideline, preventing Justin Fields 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:48.440 from scoring that touch Mike, I'm telling you, with his 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:51.040 with his forty time, the way he plays that position 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.000 in years past, in a lot of years past, maybe 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.480 not last year with the Vandre Campbell, that that's probably 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:59.720 a walk in touchdown for the quarterback. Walker changes that 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.440 acid of it. I thought the way they closed out 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:06.200 this game. That jaire Alexander Interception was phenomenal. The fact 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:09.720 that they finished with forty eight net passing yards, the 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:14.520 bears did incredible, twenty two negative yards on sacks, and 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.160 also the fact that the bears only played forty one 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:21.040 snaps of offense in this game. That's sick. That's really crazy. Yeah, 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:23.200 four straight, four straight, three and ounce. That's going to 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.720 keep the play count down, there's no doubt about that. Now, 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.680 as I wrote about again an insider in box, which 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:32.240 you can find packers dot com, this week is going 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.760 to be about Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Every national headline, 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.280 every video package, everybody is gonna be doing that. Say Hey, 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:41.120 could this be the last time they're gonna play each other? Yada, Yada, Yada, Yadyada. 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:44.400 To me this is gonna come down to Leonard for net. 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:47.280 If you watch the bucks the last two weeks, it's 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:50.240 kind of the Leonard for net show. there. I look 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.160 at this for the packers is a good test against 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:57.760 David Montgomery and Ji Herbert. Now you need are Khalil Herbert. 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.240 Excuse me, Jackber, it's a UFC fighter. You like that. 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:06.200 But I look at this as a big test because 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.560 the run defensive issues there could not be placed on 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:11.680 one single player, could not be placed on one single 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:15.080 position group. It was the gaps getting too too far 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:17.640 open at the line of scrimmage, it was guys not 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:21.080 collapsing enough on second contact and it was Montgomery forcing 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:23.920 miss tackles of guys at the second and third level. 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.800 They got to clean that up because if you give 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.640 for net those four or five yard gains, that's where 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.600 the Tom Brady forty five year old quarterbacks show starts, 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:35.160 because he still has the chance to beat you deep. 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:37.320 We'll see what his weapons look like in this game, 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:43.000 but that's where everything is operational for the bucks. The packers, 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:47.640 great performance, Goodwin. You needed to get it, but now 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:49.400 you've got to learn some of those lessons now going 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:53.400 up against for net. Yeah, well, the what I liked 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:55.720 about what I like the best about the goal line 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:58.400 stand and for those for those of you who like 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:01.520 my what you might have ist piece on the website. 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:05.040 I've got the the entire four downs Um. All the 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:08.000 clips are there, along with some some clips on offense, 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:10.879 with with the blocking on some of the big plays 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.840 with Aaron Jones, but with the goal line standard was 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:16.679 interesting West because every single one of those plays, the 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:20.159 four plays from the ten yard lineing in, involved a 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:23.800 different member of the defensive front doing, you know, making 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:26.760 the play. First down it was Kenny Clark. Second down 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:30.600 it was Rashaan Garry and Dean lowry. Third Down, you 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:34.280 mentioned kway Walker. When when fields is scrambling the video 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:36.680 to look at the clip of that play, it really 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.000 puts because you know Justin fields can run. And then 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:42.280 when you actually look at the clip of that that 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:45.280 play from the end zone, you can see that that 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.560 kway walker is just as fast as Justin Fields Um. 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:52.240 And then on fourth down, what actually hasn't been talked 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:55.840 about enough because, and I take nothing away from devandre 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:59.320 Campbell getting that getting that hit at the goal line, 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:01.760 Preston Smith was there with arms in there as well, 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.680 and you mentioned Alexander kind of with that final push. 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:07.000 The Guy who's not getting enough credit for the fourth 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:10.000 down play is jarn Reid because when you look at that, 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.080 when you when you look at the details of that 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:16.600 fourth and goal play, Jaren Reid takes bears tight end 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:20.720 Cole commit and gets the leverage on him to shove 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:23.480 him into the backfield right at the point of attack. 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:27.320 Lucas Patrick, the right guard, is trying to pull over 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:30.720 to the left side of the bears offense to lead 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:35.439 Justin fields through the hole. Read shoves commit into the 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:39.480 Backfield and Patrick runs into his tight end and it 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:42.080 messed up the whole thing that the bears were trying 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:46.199 to do there because read one at the line of 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:48.959 scrimmage against the tight end and uh, and then Lucas 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:51.399 Patrick had nobody to block because he ran into his 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:54.920 own guy. So Um it's really good stuff to take 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.000 to take a look at those kinds of things on film. 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:58.960 It really gives you a sense of of where things 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.119 where things are in the trenches. A couple a couple 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:09.000 thoughts quickly on special teams. Um. Packers continuing to make 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:12.199 strides in that area. I thought two guys we we 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:15.720 talked last week about about Pat O'donnell and what he did, 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.399 even with some leaky punt protection in front of him. 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:20.760 He only had two punts in this game, but I 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.720 thought once again Pat O'Donnell showed he's going to be 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:29.040 a very reliable, consistent, steady weapon Um for for this 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:31.480 packers special teams. And the other guy that really jumped 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:34.200 out to me, of course, was Dalon Levitt Um two 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.560 tackles on kickoff coverage. One of those was at the 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.760 fifteen yard line. Yes, unfortunately he had a penalty on 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.359 punt return, on the punt return that Amari Rodgers muffed. 0:19:44.480 --> 0:19:47.480 So not a perfect performance by the packers special teams. 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:50.080 Still plenty of things to work on, but we're seeing 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.439 progress in that area west and there's absolutely no question 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:56.080 about it that the packers won the field position battle 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:59.919 in this game against the bears and as much as 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:03.040 the packers getting the three an ounce on defense certainly 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.040 factored into that, you have to give credit to the 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:10.639 special teams for winning the field position battle. Rich BASSAC 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:13.760 has had some comments this year Mike Uh and I 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:15.880 feel like this is why he was a good interim coach. 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:17.040 I think it's probably why he could have been a 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:19.439 pretty good head coach or the game the opportunity, because 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:23.040 he has some memorable lines that stick with you and 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:27.399 if I'm just some dumb sportswriter and they stick with me, 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:29.720 I can't imagine what it does for his players. It 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:32.359 was about a month ago where they were talking about 0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:35.359 the accountability on special teams and he mentioned. You know 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:37.280 when you go in a huddle with Aaron Rodgers, you 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:39.280 know the hair on your back, your neck stands up 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.000 a little bit. You understand the sense of urgency and 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:45.000 he equated that to how down and Levitt approaches special 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:49.480 teams wefense. Same type of leader, same type of guy 0:20:49.840 --> 0:20:55.040 that is demanding. You know of guys too understand their assignments, 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:59.200 be disciplined and fulfill it. And watching that Sky Cam 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:01.520 did e O. I know you got to see the 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:04.119