WEBVTT - #469 Packers Unscripted: Moving forward 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:20.919 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:24.119 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my partner in crime, 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:27.120 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:29.800 at lambau Field West. We are another day closer to 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:36.560 Packers Panthers three pm Central Time kickoff on Sunday afternoon 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.559 at lambeau Field. And as the Packers wrapped up their 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:44.840 first day of on field preparations for this game on Wednesday, 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:46.920 we got the opportunity to talk to a lot of 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:51.120 players in the locker room after practice. There's an overriding 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:53.880 theme here, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:55.880 but really it applies to both sides of the ball 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:59.160 that coming off of that game against the Chargers, the 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:02.920 Packers just want to get back to who they are. 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.640 And I think on offense, there's one thing that a 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:11.319 lot of different people, head, coach, quarterback, everybody are pointing 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.120 to to get their offensively and it has to do 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.320 with the running backs. It does, Mike, because at this 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:18.640 point of the season, ten weeks into this thing already, 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:22.720 I think you've seen that Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams in 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:26.000 terms of difference makers and playmakers. This offense operates at 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:28.640 a different level when those two guys are involved, and 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:31.120 they just didn't get to that last week. You know, 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:33.319 they opened the game. He actually was funny. I even 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:34.880 said this to you in the press box. It's almost 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.520 like they took a little bit of a cue from 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:40.840 what Kansas City did and motioning Aaron Jones out and 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.039 it was kind of a moving rotation where he's just 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.760 sort of hovering in space, almost like an arena Football 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:48.760 League type play. They threw the ball to him, but 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:50.800 the block wasn't there to end up being like a 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:53.360 one yard game and didn't really go anywhere. But you 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:55.320 could see early on that what that was going to 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:57.640 be the game plan, you know, incorporating them in the run, 0:01:57.720 --> 0:01:59.920 getting them involved in the past, and once they got 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:02.280 in that two minute operation, you didn't really see it 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:04.680 that much. They used Davante Adams once, I think in 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.680 the backfield motioning out that was a concept I thought 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:09.240 when we saw that, we'd see a lot more of 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:13.320 it during the game. And just blending your playmakers together, 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:16.360 Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams and being able to 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.200 get contributions from multiple players. I think is just so essential. 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:22.320 It's what made this offense as good as it was 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:24.720 in October without Adams, and they have to get back 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:27.080 to that now. Yeah. Well, I wrote a story last 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:30.840 night on the website after those locker room interviews because 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:33.720 I thought Aaron Rodgers had some very pointed comments. He 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:37.000 doesn't do this very often, but he's actually throwing out 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:40.280 numbers saying, hey, Aaron Jones needs needs to touch the 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:42.880 ball fifteen to twenty times, Jamal Williams need to touch 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:45.160 it ten to fifteen times. That's when this offense is 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.520 at its best. I went and took a look at 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:49.639 some of the numbers west and they're in the story 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:51.920 for anybody who wants to check them out. But if 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.840 you if you split the Packers season into what I 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:58.119 would say, we're there there three worst games, the two losses, 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.119 and then the offensive performance in Chicago in Week one 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:05.800 and then the other six. It's really pretty remarkable because 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:10.079 if you take sixty yards of combined rushing and receiving 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.280 from one individual, because we've seen Aaron Jones and Jamal 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:16.160 Williams both have those kinds of performances, if you use 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:19.679 sixty yards as the measuring stick, neither one of them 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:23.919 had a combined sixty yards from scrimmage game in those 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:27.679 first three games that I mentioned. The two of them 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:32.639 collective collectively have had seven sixty plus yard yards from 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:35.640 scrimmage performances in the other games. And even more important, 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:40.760 fifteen of their combined seventeen touchdowns have come in that 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:43.920 block of six games when the Packers have been playing 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:46.280 their best. So some will say, well, are they producing 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.920 because the Packers are winning or the Packers winning because 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:52.160 they're producing? I say it's the latter, because the numbers. 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:55.440 The numbers just show when those guys, when those guys 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:57.760 are moving the ball and getting it in the end zone, 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.320 that's when this Packers team is choking us win. Yeah. 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:02.960 I mean, and and honestly, you throw that question out there, 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:04.920 and I don't even know if it really matters. That's 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:08.560 where you your your fastball is right now. You you 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:10.680 dance with the one that brung you. I mean, this 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:12.760 is one of these things that when you see those 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:14.640 type of numbers and you see that type of production, 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:16.840 you have to run with it. You have to be 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:19.440 able to get it incorporated into your offense. The big 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:21.080 stat I threw out there a couple of weeks ago 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.160 in the first four games and they had Davante Adams 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.640 in September. I think it was somewhere around four hundred 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:30.760 total yards, one touchdown, two touchdowns something like that between 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:34.000 Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams. In the four games without him, 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.640 I think it was something like seven hundred fifty yards 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:39.120 eleven touchdowns. Actually, I think it was like four touchdowns 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:41.159 the first four or five touchdowns the first four games. 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:45.080 Either way, it shows you the difference of when those 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.800 guys are involved and when they're playing well. It doesn't 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:49.839 have to be either or. I mean, I think you 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.160 know Davante Adams is that's a mouth that you want 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.599 to feed as well. You want to get him opportunities. 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.320 He's one of your big play threats as a receiver. 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:00.200 It's understanding now, much like Aaron Rodgers head to do 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:03.039 in two thousand fourteen, is the resources you have in 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.720 the backfield now too, and being able to make sure 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:07.960 that you get those guys the touches that they need 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.680 to have the appropriate impact on this offense. And I 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:13.520 just think you know, when you go back and you 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:14.960 boil that game down, and I've said it to you 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.359 a couple of times. This week never really felt like 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:20.320 they got off the plane, and it never really felt 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:23.320 like offensively, you ever really saw a semblance of what 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.520 made them successful in the four weeks prior to that. 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.000 This game against Carolina, if you want to dial up 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:33.080 the film and in te Hron Rivera's credit, you know, 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.680 he said, stuff happens. They don't really took a lot. 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:38.680 They didn't take a lot from that San Francisco game. 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:42.359 They had turnovers, but San Francisco did run a lot 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:44.679 against them in that matchup. I want to say somewhere 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.400 around over two yards they were able to produce on 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:51.679 the ground. Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams. Honestly, I'll take them 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.640 over what San Francisco has right now and there that backfield, 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:56.760 those guys have to be a focal point going into 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:59.800 this game against the Panthers, especially with how cold it's 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:03.400 going to be at potentially at home. Yeah, well, Carolina's 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:06.440 run defense numbers certainly took a hit against San Francisco, 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:08.520 But we are at the point in the season where 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:11.159 you know, you don't just say, well, it was one game, 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:15.680 because you look at the collective and the Panthers are 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:18.520 in the bottom quarter, bottom third of the league in 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:21.360 rushing yards allowed per game. They are I believe they're 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:24.680 thirty first in the league in yards per carry. So 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:27.760 this this defense can be had with the run. And 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.760 but that being said, I'm not necessarily advocating with regards to, 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.080 you know, the touches for Jones and Williams that the 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:36.159 Packers just trying to pound away with the run. I 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.080 think it's still it's the Packers doing what they do 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:41.800 best in getting the ball in their hands. However you 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:44.280 want to get it to them and then see how 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:47.240 the Panthers defense reaction there. How does Luke Keickley react, 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.680 What do they do with that defensive front, and how 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:52.160 does that maybe affect their pass rush which is racked 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:54.919 up the league leading thirty four sacks if they have 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.839 to worry about the running back spreading them horizontally and 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.840 whatnot throughout the game. So that's the uh, that's the 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:03.360 game planning, the chess match, the x is and nose 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:04.960 part of this that I think will be interesting to 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:07.560 see unfold on Sunday. The Panthers, maybe more than any 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.200 other defense right now in the NFL, they take chances, 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:14.120 and those chances occasionally have led to big breaks for 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.120 the opposing run game. You know, when you catch them 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:19.280 in a particular look, in a particular particular scheme and 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.840 you get the numbers in your favor. That's where Caroline 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:24.240 has been hurt to this point. So you're absolutely right. 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.240 It's not gonna be a case of just pounded, you know, 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:29.400 carry after carry after carry. I just, you know, I 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.360 think it really boils down to whether you're passing or 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:35.160 whether you're running. Playing clean football right off the bat. 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:38.440 The Packers didn't play clean enough football in that first 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:41.200 quarter against the Chargers, and that's what led to them 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:43.080 having to, you know, make some of the decisions that 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:45.800 they made with the offensive scheme. I want to say, 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:49.840 Aaron Jones mentioned at his locker on Wednesday there might 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.120 have been five offensive plays in the first half that 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:54.800 were not flagged for Green Bay. I mean, it was 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:57.480 low in terms of you know, issues where you're kind 0:07:57.480 --> 0:07:59.320 of shooting yourself in the foot a little bit and 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:00.880 then you got to try to bounce back, and now 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.080 you're in third and long, and now you're really you know, 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:06.800 limiting your offensive playbook. So yeah, I just I think 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.280 that first quarter, that first that second quarter. I don't 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:11.240 care if it's running between the tackles. I don't care 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.400 if it's in space. I don't care what you have 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.560 to do. But get those running backs involved in this 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:17.960 offense and let that start to work for you a 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:20.160 little bit and get into that rhythm that Aaron Rodgers 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:24.160 was talking about, because even now after losing to eleven 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:26.840 at his locker on Wednesday, he's still kind of had 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:28.920 that feeling in the back of his mind that, you know, 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:30.760 if we just had one big play that could have 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:32.840 been the thing that broke the whole thing open. Yeah, 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.560 when that game was nothing, twelve to nothing, And that's 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.559 the thing, and that that's where Matt Lafleur has been 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:41.080 critical of himself this week for not sticking to the 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:43.760 game plan long enough in Los Angeles because at nine 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:47.480 and nothing, at twelve to nothing, one score changes the game. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.160 But the Packers were kind of chasing it in terms 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:52.120 of trying to make a big play and get that 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.200 spark offensively, which I don't necessarily fault the effort in 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.640 doing that, because that's what one in the game in Chicago. 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.319 Let's be honest, the offense was going nowhere, hit the 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:02.800 big shot play down the field MVS and then suddenly 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:04.959 you're on the move and you're in position to win 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.320 the game. So I don't fault the effort there. But 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.640 Lafleur has been critical of himself for not really just 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:13.120 taking a deep breath and looking at the scoreboard. As 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.800 badly as everything had gone, it was a two score 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:18.760 game for still a long stretch where you just needed 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.480 one score to get back into it. And we'll see 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.160 him definitely, uh stick to his game plan a little 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:27.160 bit more because I Matt Lafleur believes in his game plans. 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:30.480 There's no question about that. He's and he's proven in 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:32.959 this half a season that he's been a head coach 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:35.600 for the first time in the NFL. He's proven as 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:38.120 this offense has evolved and he's gotten to know his 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.040 own players better, that he has put them in a 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:43.560 lot of really good positions to have success. The two 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.120 biggest things that he's brought to Green Bay so far, 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.880 in addition to the motioning and bunch formations and some 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:50.800 of the things that they're doing with the you know, 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:54.160 the outside zone, is the belief first off, in the 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:56.920 running backs and introducing the two running back packages. I 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:59.480 thought that was a really nice wrinkle that this offense 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.480 had been because when you have those type of playmakers, 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:03.960 you've got to get them on the field. I don't 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.280 care what the packages are, and they've been very creative 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:08.600 with how they've used both of those guys. But the 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:11.400 other thing is these scripted plays early on. Packers have 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:13.680 been snake bit in the last few years by being 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.240 able to get off to a quick start offensively. They've 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.640 very much done that this year. I think one of 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:20.800 the studies I'll probably do once is year ends is 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:23.480 just looking at, Okay, how did these first you know 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:26.720 drives compared to previous years, because honestly, this is about 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.640 as seamless as it's been at least during my time 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:31.840 on the beat, probably going back to two thousand twelve, 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:33.840 in terms of how it feels with how they've been 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.679 getting off to these starts. But the last thing that 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.439 I've really liked about him is the accountability side of it. 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:42.160 Aaron Rodgers spoke on that at his locker two. The 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:44.520 coaches can walk into that room and they can correct 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.560 and critique every single thing that players do, and they're 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.319 probably directly in the right. You have to have players, 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:52.440 you have to have scheme in order to be successful, 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:55.280 but there is a finger that gets pointed at themselves 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.880 as well and understanding that, yeah, I didn't do what 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.199 I needed to do to put a particular play you're 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:01.800 in the right look, or you know, give them the 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:05.280 right opportunity, or being able to stay committed to the 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:07.760 game plan and not jump to conclusions when you aren't 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:11.480 getting things going. That type of accountability goes along way, Mike, 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:13.360 because I'll tell you right now, I've worked for both 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:16.320 type of leaders during my short thirty one years of 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.200 life and decade as a full time employee. The people 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:21.640 that pointed themselves and say, you know what, what we 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:23.839 did there, that's not right? Those are the people you 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:26.400 ultimately have respect for. The people that just kind of 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:29.839 shove off responsibility and say, yeah, that was mostly on you. 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.240 I knew what I was doing. Those are the people 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:33.720 that you're not gonna want to work for, you're not 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:35.640 gonna want to play for, You're not going to build 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:38.200 a championship with. And I think that is the number 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:41.360 one foundation When people ask us about Insider Inbox, one 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.040 of the questions was today, well, you know, Matt Lafleur 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.000 was was outcoached or he was over his head man. 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:49.920 Look around the NFL for two seconds, I was gonna 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:52.760 take a look at all the new head coaches in 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:54.920 the NFL this year and look at their records, and 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:58.040 look at the Packers record. I mean, there's there's something 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:01.160 pretty good going on here. And yes, the Packers had 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:03.640 a dud, a stinker, a clunker of a game, but 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.760 it does not define who the two thousand nineteen Green 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:11.240 Bay Packers are. Now it's on them to make that sentiment, 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:14.360 make that mentality hold up here as the second half 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:17.959 of the season continues. But um, but yeah, let's uh. 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.320 You know, as you said earlier this week, you don't 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:23.040 let one bad day at the office ruin what you've 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:25.440 been working on for months. Absolutely, And I mean and 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:27.440 now just going into this game against Carolina, you hit 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:29.440 it right on the head. You have to win this 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:32.960 game against the Panthers. That's the focus. Now to Ron 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.520 Rivera's original point, it's the reason why the Panthers were 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:37.160 able to come back and beat the Titans the way 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:39.240 they did. You had a bad day. You need to 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.840 flush it, not allowed affect this Sunday, because if you 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:44.280 let it affect this Sunday, then you're staring into the 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.280 bye week on a two game skid. Yeah, well, there's 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.920 certainly been no lack of accountability on the defensive side 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.319 of the ball for the Packers as well some some 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:54.880 rough film sessions this week and going over what happened 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:57.600 against the Chargers the defense, there are a lot of 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.680 metrics showing the defense has been ending a bit in 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:04.079 the wrong direction. I know some people wondering, Okay, when 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:06.520 you get Darnell Savage back, is that going to change things? 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:09.000 And I was cautioning, then, hey, it's not. It's not 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:12.920 just one person. And I say that as a preference 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:15.040 preface to what we're going to talk about now, because 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:18.599 we could be seeing a change in a pretty frequently 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:21.720 used package by Mike Petton with regards to Ibraheim Campbell 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.440 now coming off of the pu P list. And I 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:26.160 know earlier in the week you and I were a 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.920 little bit skeptical just how quickly Campbell might be reintegrated 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.920 into the defense. But what we heard yesterday from Matt 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:35.600 Lafleur and from Campbell himself in the locker room and 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:38.960 some of his teammates, it sounds like he's good to go. 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:41.760 That that he could be out there in a fairly 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:45.640 significant role right away on Sunday. Tell us your impressions 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.080 because you were part of the conversation with Campbell and 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:50.719 maybe what you see happening on Sunday, well, Campbell was 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.200 that was fascinating what happened last year. And I know 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:55.480 he had the one year with Mike Petton, but that 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:58.439 was his rookie season and he suddenly gets claimed off 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:01.480 waivers right after the Packers made decision to trade Haha 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:04.720 Clinton Dick's for a fourth round pick and incomes Ibrahim 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:06.800 Campbell and he wasn't asked to play safety. They put 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:08.840 him in the box and they put him in there 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:12.360 with Blake Martinez, and he played really well. Eighteen tackles, 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:15.959 five stops according to Pro Football Focus, no miss tackles 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.840 during that time, and Hey was also pretty good in coverage. 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.600 He was a revelation for that defense in the month 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.800 of November. Unfortunately, he ends up tearing his a c 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:27.920 L in that game against Arizona, the first game he 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:30.480 was actually starting in this defense, and he ends up 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:34.200 missing the last ten eleven months here rehabbing. Campbell is 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:36.560 a fascinating player because he was I think he was 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.320 a former fourth or fifth round pick with Cleveland, showed 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.360 a lot of promise early on, but never became an 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:45.640 entrenched starter in those defenses. Then he bopped around. He 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:47.720 was in New York, he was in Houston, I think 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:50.280 in Dallas first spell, and he ends up in Green 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.600 Bay and for him to be able to pick up 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:56.120 the playbook being claimed on November five of last year, 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:00.480 and he was playing in Seattle two weeks later and 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.680 playing a lot of snaps on defense, not special teams defense. 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:06.360 He mentioned it, and I thought this was a really 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:08.960 interesting point he made in that, you know, he kind 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:10.920 of knew the game a little bit when he came back. 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.640 Packers had Raven Green and that hybrid safety role Josh 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:18.000 Jones eventually would end up being let go. He knew 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:20.440 that he was sort of the insurance policy. I don't 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:22.920 think hit Neither he nor the Packers thought they were 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.280 gonna have to cash in on that policy as early 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:27.240 as they did. Raven Green gets end up, you know, 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:31.000 having that ankle injury, played really well against Chicago and 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:33.120 then here they are having to rotate a lot of people. 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:35.760 In matt With Flora said it himself a revolving door 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.800 of sorts next to Blake Martinez, and I honestly think, 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:40.760 and I don't want to overstate the importance of one 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:44.640 particular player, but that void has kind of been something 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:46.600 that's just kind of crept up on the Packers defense 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:49.200 and they haven't been able to fill it. Um Amos 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.800 played that spot, Will Redman has played that spot. I 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:54.160 thought maybe or and Burke's coming back would help them there, 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:56.440 but they still want to keep a safety there. So 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:59.960 Abraham Campbellman, they're gonna look to him now. It appears 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:02.720 to bring a similar impact that he brought last November 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.400 with this defense because he's a smart player, heavy player, 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.240 and he's a downhill run defender, which is a very 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:12.440 rare trait when you're looking at a five pound safety. Yeah, 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:14.360 I think this is going to be interesting how this 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:18.360 plays out on Sunday, because with Campbell coming back, what 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:20.880 I see in terms of who's going to be lined 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.640 up next to Blake Martinez, I think when Mike Petton 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:26.840 is bound and determined to stop the run, it's gonna 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.040 be b J. Goodson. When he wants to get a 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:31.640 little bit more creative, it's going to be Campbell. But 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:33.800 if the Packers just get back to maybe it being 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:37.040 those two guys instead of that revolving door that Matt 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.160 Lafleur talked about. I think, you know la Fleur's point 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:42.560 was that that might allow all the other guys, not 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:44.760 only in the front seven but also in the back end, 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:47.720 to just settle into their roles in their positions. Amos 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.160 being one of those things I think who you know, 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:53.480 he's a he's a key communicator, he's he's sort of 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.240 one of those calming presence type of guys in the 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:58.800 back end. So we'll see. Like I say, I never 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.640 say it's always just in person or one change that's 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:05.320 going to you know, suddenly fix everything, because the Packers 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:07.000 have to get off blocks better and they have to 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:10.520 tackle better on defense. There there's no two ways about that. 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.200 If you're getting blocked and if you're missing tackles, there's 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:15.080 nothing Mike Petton is going to be able to do 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:17.960 from a scheme standpoint to help you. So that's where 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:22.960 it starts. But having guys mentally settling into specific roles 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:25.679 and knowing exactly what that role is every snap that 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:27.800 they're out there, and then being able to get those 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:30.639 reps play after play after play after play, I think 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:33.359 hopefully for the Packers, we're going to start to see 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:36.760 this defense put the last few weeks behind them and 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:38.720 start to trend in the other direction. Yeah, and we're 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:40.440 gonna have to see what this week holds. Because Adrian 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:42.960 Nimis ends up missing practice on Wednesday. We're shooting this 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.359 before Thursday's practice. He has a hamstring. There's really no 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:48.680 injury history at all with Amos, so, I mean, he 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:51.359 basically played all four years in Chicago without missing a 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:54.720 game or maybe a one or two. So I don't 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:56.600 know what to read into that or what is availability 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:58.320 is going to look like. But to get Campbell back 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:00.840 at this time just very critical for the defense because, 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.440 as you said, Mike and I wrote about an inbox day, 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:05.560 it takes all eleven. It's not just one guy at 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.280 one position. It can turn the tide in a game 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:10.680 or a moment, but you need everybody playing together to 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:14.640 consistently series after series stop people. But you know, Mike, 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:18.080 you think back to you know, maybe two thousand and fourteen, 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:20.719 I think it was when Sam Barrington ends up being 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:24.360 an inside linebacker for this defense alongside Clay Matthews. That 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:26.760 makes a difference in some of the packages. You think 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:29.440 about Howard Green coming in in two thousand and ten. 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:33.280 There have been these moments where a late season edition 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:36.159 ends up contributing a big way. The Packers didn't win 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:37.840 a lot of games last year, but I thought Bashad 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:42.520 Brelan brought that last season. So yeah, for Campbell's perspective, 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:44.960 it is just one player. But sometimes if you get 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:46.720 a guy in there and the defense starts to play 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:48.800 a little better, you start to get some of that 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:51.280 swagger back, you start to feel good about where you're sitting. 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:54.879