WEBVTT - #253 Packers Unscripted: Defensive dialogue 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:20.439 Hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.560 I am Mike Spofford and he is my colleague West 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:26.680 Hodkowits were coming to you here from our studios at 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.240 lambeau Field and West. The end of the Packers season 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.280 is now a few days old, and really, like all 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:36.480 of Packer Nation, we're waiting to see exactly what direction 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:40.480 the Packers defense will take in. So it's a good 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.000 time to maybe look back on some things that happened 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:49.080 defensively in and uh and try to pinpoint exactly maybe 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:52.360 what what to look forward to in the coming year. 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:57.120 When you look at this Packers defense statistically twenty second 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:01.040 yards allowed, six points allowed, is there one thing that 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:05.480 jumps out at you as the biggest hole or downfall 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:07.920 or for lack of a better term, well, the thing 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:10.000 that looks And I don't want to just point to injuries, 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:11.759 because you know it's it's more than that. It's not 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.240 just injuries. But I thought it was such a great 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.560 point that was made during the final stretch of the season, 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:20.000 the Packers Week sixteen taking on the Minnesota Vikings, and 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:23.840 when you pull up there the game packet and you 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.840 see the starting lineup for their starting eleven on defense, 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:29.640 it's almost a mirror of what it was in Week 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:33.319 one of the season. The Vikings were just ridiculously healthy 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.199 on defense and that allowed that defensive gel and become 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.960 the top rank unit in the NFL. Packers are almost 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:41.399 the exact opposite of that. When you look, especially in 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.200 the secondary, how much different they looked. Um, the edge 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:46.720 rushers and the Perry going down late in the season, 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:49.800 it was tough for the Packers to get that unit 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:54.280 together to gel, to have some some continuity and consistency 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.680 chemistry with those defenders. So Um, looking ahead, I think 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:00.400 you look back, Mike, You look at some these best 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:03.360 defenses the Packers have had during Mike McCarthy's tenure here 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:07.080 has head coach. They've had units that have had playmakers, 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:08.800 And I think when you look at the way that 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:10.959 the Packers are going in down to two thousand eighteen, 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.840 there's bound to be changes, no question about that, But 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.200 they have a lot of the same core coming back. 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:21.320 Your your Mike Daniels, you have Blake Martinez stepping up, 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.600 Kenny Clark, Kevin King will be coming back hopefully stronger 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.600 after having that solder surgery. Ha ha Clinton Dix is 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:31.399 under contract for another season. There is the potential, I think, 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:33.840 to to see those guys really break out and looking 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:36.640 for them to make those jumps going forward. The biggest 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:38.400 thing is going to come back to, though, is being 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:41.200 able to gel as a unit and also to some extent, 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:43.720 being able to stay healthy. Yeah, I think. I do 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:45.640 think health is a big part of it. But aside 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.000 from that issue, when I take a look at it, 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:53.120 you look at top defenses around the league. It's really 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:56.760 difficult in the NFL to have a defense that say, 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.560 is going to rank in the top half of the 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:02.880 league if you don't have a true number one boundary cornerback. 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.760 And the bottom line is the Packers haven't had one 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.360 for the last two years since Sam Shields went down 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:13.200 with that concussion in Week one in Jacksonville. Of the 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:16.480 Packers haven't had one. Now. They tried to address it 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:18.760 in the draft. They drafted Kevin King with their first 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.840 overall pick, but then you know, healthwise, he was in 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:23.600 and out. He ends up getting shut down with the 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.840 shoulder problem. As you said, hopefully he comes back healthy 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:29.240 and he continues that push to be a number one 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:33.920 boundary corner We saw Damarius Randall obviously take a big 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.840 step forward in the second half of although I think 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:40.120 his best position is still in the slot, He's not 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:43.360 necessarily that number one guy on the boundary that that 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.160 I think is the one that you know that makes 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:47.720 quarterbacks shy away, you know, because that guy on the 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:50.360 boundaries is trying to take away that number one receiver 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.200 for the other team. The Packers have had this hole 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:55.160 for a couple of years, and it reminds me it's 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:57.520 not exactly the same situation, but it reminds me of 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.280 what happened at the safety position when they lost Nick 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.400 Collins back in two thousand eleven. It took too long 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.000 to recover from that as as a unit to recover 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:10.600 from losing such a key piece, And as I said, 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:12.800 I think the Packers addressed it much sooner this time, 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:14.800 but it didn't work out because Kevin King was not 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.479 able to stay healthy. He was he was their top pick. 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:19.960 But I think that's that's the thing that's got to 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:22.640 happen for this defense as a as a as a 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.760 starting point to get back to being a playoff caliber unit. 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:29.240 And there is no ready made solution to making up 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.960 for the loss of a Nick Collins or Sam Shields 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:34.360 to some extent. Yeah, there's not exactly a playbook as 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:36.120 to how you go about it, because you can have 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:38.600 guys who are already on the roster step up, which 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:41.160 is you know, eventually what happened with the Packers at 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:43.640 safety when you had Morgan Burnett become the player he 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.760 did you draft ha ha Clinton Dicks. They became deep 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:50.920 at that position in a number of years afterwards, after 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.560 they had the failed experiment in two thousand thirteen and 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:56.240 in trying to move over to Charles Woodson in two 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.560 thousand twelve. I look at the cornerback situation in very 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.560 similar light now with where they're at because a guy 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:05.000 like Sam Shields, why he was so valuable is because 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:07.720 he was a great press man corner, but he also 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:11.200 had tremendous speed in recovery speed and he did get beat. Uh, 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:13.359 those are things you can't just teach. And to be 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:15.160 quite honest with you, Mike, the Packers could go out 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.080 in the free agent market. They could sign the number 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.360 one cornerback who's going to be out there right now, 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:21.599 which at this time I'm not even sure, and that's 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:24.080 still not a guarantee. You saw even like with Gilmore 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.560 this year with the Patriots, that was kind of a 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:28.960 tough transition for him going to that defense as well, 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:30.919 and he was one of the most coveted free agents 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:33.040 last year. So I think the Packers have done a 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:35.720 nice job of building up their depth at cornerback. They 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:38.600 have to keep that position healthy, though into the original point, 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:40.640 they probably need to add another piece to that spot 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:42.480 this year, whether it is the draft, whether it is 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.320 free agency. I think the one thing these past two 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.760 years have taught us since Sam Shields had that ultimately 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:49.760 would end up being a career ending injury with that 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:53.440 glass concussion, is they need to there's really no shortage 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.159 of cornerbacks. You need as many as you can get. Yeah, absolutely, 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:57.800 you can never have enough of them the way things 0:05:57.880 --> 0:05:59.760 usually go. But with that, we're going to toss to 0:05:59.839 --> 0:06:02.320 a rank back with more and Packers Unscripted right after this, 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.440 Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this chair, 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.640 Wes Hodkowitz in that one in West, continuing our discussion 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:31.039 with regards to the defensive issues in that the Packers 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:35.400 obviously will look to shore up in There was certainly 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.600 some struggles with the pass rush, and yeah, there were 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.039 some good sack numbers, Clay Matthews eight and a half 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:45.080 leading the team overall, it wasn't it wasn't about the 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:48.400 number of sacks though necessarily. It was about the I 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:52.040 think anyway, the consistency of getting after the quarterback. There 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.480 were too many times where there were long stretches in games. 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:58.080 At least from the way I observed it that quarterbacks 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.720 got too comfortable because the pass rush was so inconsistent. 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:05.159 There wasn't enough consistent pressure to just keep that guy 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.479 on his toes maybe a little bit more. And I 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.880 think that's something the Packers have to address. Yeah, and 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:12.920 I think, you know, the Packers did their best going 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:15.480 into this season to try to fill out that position 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:17.440 as well as they could. They made the decision to 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:20.120 bring in a Moad Brooks once the season started after 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.480 he got cut loose from San Francisco, and you know 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.560 he he had his issues there too, trying to work 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:27.920 through the back injury, having the concussion right off the bat. 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:30.120 Wasn't really able to be that number three guy. I 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.160 think they were really hoping for this season. But you 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:34.880 look at a guy like Nick Perry, and I remember 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:38.080 talking with Perry in this very studio after he signed 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.600 that contract going back to March, and there was nobody 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:43.800 who wanted to perform more. There was nobody who wanted 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:45.880 to stay on the field more than Nick Perry in 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:49.400 two thousand seventeen. But as he kind of admitted afterwards 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:52.520 in the final locker room session on Tuesday, do you 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:54.840 get banged up in this league? And it happened again 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:56.840 to him this year. He had the broken hand earlier 0:07:56.840 --> 0:07:58.960 in the season, had to get surgery, missed a game, 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.680 played with the club for or five games, comes back, 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:03.520 ends up having the shoulder, plays the end of the 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.120 season on a foot injury, finally gets put on injured reserve. 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:08.680 Finished the year with seven sacks, But I know, if 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.640 you talk to him, wasn't happy with the consistency side 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:14.040 of it. And you're right, it's one thing to get home. 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.400 It's one thing to get those sacks. It's another thing 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.360 to have that consistent pressure. It's kind of an immeasurable 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:22.120 stat that's out there. And even though the Packers were 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:24.000 seventeenth in the league in sacks, I think there was 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.440 still something left to be desired at that point in time. 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.400 Um even looking specifically at Matthews. I mean, I thought 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:31.560 for all intensive purposes, I thought Clay Matthews had a 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:34.800 fine season and he excelled in a lot of areas 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:38.760 that didn't necessarily have direct high ins with the pass rush. 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:42.920 But that's the thing is that they're still really looking 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:45.439 for that consistent down in, down out pressure and it's 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:47.360 something they're going to continue trying to find now going 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.880 into the next season. Yeah, and consistent down in, down 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:53.000 out pressure comes with a deep rotation. And you mentioned, 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:54.839 you know, things didn't work out with the mob Brooks. 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:56.920 They did bring him in to really be the number 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.839 three guy, to be the guy who could spell either 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.040 Matthews or Perry on either side, or if you want 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:04.480 to move Clay Matthews to the middle on a third 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:06.960 down situation, for instance, then you have a mod Brooks 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:09.920 on the outside. That didn't work. The Packers didn't really 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:12.520 have the depth there to be as effective as they 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:14.600 needed to be. That's just the bottom line. The other 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:18.040 issue that I think when I look back statistically at 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:20.760 what was going on with this Packers defense was was 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:24.000 what happened in the red zone. Packers end up thirty 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.640 feet in the league and touchdown percentage and actually allowed 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:30.480 either a touchdown or a field goal on one pcent 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:34.240 of red zone possessions by the opponent. That's just that's 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.280 just ugly, there's no two ways about it. And when 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:39.800 we've seen over the years West, even when the Packers 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:43.400 have had their struggles on defense, you'd see Green Bay 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:46.200 defenses get stops in the red zone, maybe get a 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:48.480 turnover in the red zone. That takes some points off 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:50.719 the board for the other team. You can give up 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:53.440 four hundred yards in a game, but if you only 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:56.280 allow say one touchdown in four red zone possessions and 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.640 there's three field goals in there, that, uh, that's still 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.080 a win formula. You can win games with Aaron Rodgers 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:04.800 at quarterback playing defense like that. The Packers didn't play 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:07.480 defense like that. The touchdown percentage was way too high. 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:11.600 They didn't get any turnovers, fourth down stops, missed field goals, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.240 blocked field goals, nothing like that happened in the red zone. 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.320 And it just adds up to season long struggles. Yeah, 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:18.920 and that's one of the things too. I mean, you 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.400 look at the defenses that did excel this year, the 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:24.520 Minnesota's we're pretty stout in that area. When you're working 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:26.600 with the short field. One of the things I think 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:29.360 people sometimes don't always quite understand is when you as 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.120 much as you don't want to give up yards, it's 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.439 a lot more difficult to defend the field when you're 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:37.840 at than when you're at your and you know, you 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:39.719 have to sometimes use that to your advantage with the 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:42.200 zone defensive calls and in those type of things, and 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.760 you know, defensive backs understanding there's going to be more 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.920 opportunities for you to make a play because you're dealing 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:51.680 with this, you know, yards that you have to defend. Um. 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:54.200 That was probably the most disappointing I think part of 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:56.480 this for the Packers this season is that, and Blake 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.360 Martinez said it to during the final locker room. Defense 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:01.680 was often running, they were clicking like they wanted to. 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:03.200 In the first month of the season, I think they 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:06.480 were six in total defense, fifth maybe in passing defense, 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:09.240 But it just seemed once they got into October and 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:11.880 then's more specifically, once Rodgers was out of the equation, 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:14.400 something that's just changed a little bit there that they 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:17.320 weren't able to maybe find those stops in the red 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.760 zone that they had found in the past to keep 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:21.760 you know, seven off the board and just keep it 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.360 to three or even get the ball taken away. Um, 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:26.800 that really is how far this thing goes. I mean, 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:28.559 a lot is made out of total defense. A lot 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.920 is made out of total yards. It's an important stat 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:33.640 to some extent, but that's scoring. Defense is just such 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:35.560 a big thing because as you and I both know, 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:38.160 you look back at that Chargers game two years ago, 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:40.560 the Packers gave up i think five total passing yards 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:42.959 to Philip Rivers. They won that game though with a 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:45.200 defensive play at the end because the offense did what 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:47.880 he needed to do in the Packers defended that end zone. Yeah, 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:50.680 and that that the scoring still stayed in the low 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:53.200 twenties because you got some red zone stops and you're 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:55.320 able to win a ballgame like that. But with that, 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.160 we'll toss to another breakback with more on Packers Unscripted 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:19.000 right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.240 right here, West, hod Kowitz, all the way over there, West. 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:24.720 We're continuing to talk here about the Green Bay Packers 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:27.520 defense in and maybe trying to look ahead a little 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.880 bit to as far as what direction things will go. 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:35.560 One veteran player in particular, that we can't say for 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:37.719 sure whether he will be back or not, and he's 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.800 kind of an uncharted territory personally as far as where 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:42.520 he is in his own career. I'm talking about safety 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.920 Morgan Burnett. He is a pending free agent and he's 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:49.400 actually never really been in this position before because when 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.480 he got his second contract, it was an extension, you know, 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:56.280 while he was still I believe, had one year left 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.640 on his rookie deal from when he was drafted as 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:03.960 a third round pick in so um, kind of a 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:08.520 whole new situation from Morgan, a veteran leader, a respected 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.000 leader in that locker room, and on this defense, I 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:12.760 know he wasn't as healthy as he would have liked 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:16.920 to have been. In just your thoughts on maybe where 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:18.920 this goes for number forty two, Well, here's the thing 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:20.960 about Morgan Burnett that you have to understand it, and 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:23.000 people were asking him about this in the final locker 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:27.120 room as well. Morgan Burnett could very well potentially be 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:29.400 in a better spot going into free agency right now 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:32.120 if you'd have just played safety, if you'd have just 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.760 did what his job description says, if you read his 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:38.240 little box score in NFL dot Com. It's his strong safety. 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:40.680 He might have been very well better off, but the 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.520 Packers needed him for more than that. They needed him 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.839 to play hybrid linebacker inside linebacker in the Nitro Nickel 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.040 package the last month of the season. They need him 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:52.800 to play star slot cornerback. Um he played boundary cornerback 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:55.120 at one point in this season due to injuries and 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:58.520 in different things of that nature. Morgan Burnett never never 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:02.800 complained about it, and something. He's a two time playoff captain. 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:05.440 He's one of the most revered men in that locker 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.200 room amongst his teammates. And I asked him about that, 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:10.720 like why exactly he thinks that is. And he's a 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:12.599 humble guy. He's not going to be giving, you know, 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:14.360 he's not gonna be everyone to give himself a pat 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:15.720 on the back. But he said, you know, it probably 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.240 comes from his late father, cap and the way that 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:20.520 he was raised in terms of just doing what has 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:23.800 asked of you, you know, coming to work, giving an 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.440 honest day's labor for an honest day's pay, and just 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.640 being a good, accountable human being. And I think that's 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:31.560 one thing is you look at his years here from 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.520 two thousand ten all the way until now. Um, that's 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:38.640 he's been so incredibly consistent. No, it never gets too high, 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:40.480 it never gets too low. And you look at the 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:42.200 guys that have comes through that locker room, Mike the 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:45.320 Micah Hides, the ha ha, Clinton Dix is of the world, 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:48.360 even Charles Woodson. I mean, so many people talk so 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:52.080 glowingly about Burnett because he's just always been a guy 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.240 that has been there, has been a shoulder for people 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.840 when they've needed him, and he's willing to bring people up. 0:14:56.840 --> 0:15:00.280 He's just a really solid human being. Now, as you said, 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.120 from the contract perspective, the Packers Morgan Burnetton to figure 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:04.720 that out because for the first time in his career 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:08.080 there isn't anything on the docket for next season. Yeah, 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:10.760 he is going towards free agency at this point in time. Yeah, 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:13.560 And you mentioned how humble he is. And I've obviously 0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:16.920 known Morgan since he was drafted in the third round, 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:20.320 and I say this in a very complimentary way. He's 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:25.080 humble to a fault. He never takes credit for anything. Um, 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:27.720 even the great plays that he does make. He's always 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:30.560 more willing to talk about any everything. Being a team 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:34.400 effort with the defense and with all the different positions 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:36.960 he played that you mentioned. That's the type of team 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:41.640 player he is. That's that's the way there wouldn't you know, No, absolutely, 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:43.440 and they would. They would have groused about it. They 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:45.400 would have found a reporter in the media. They would 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:47.840 have gone to somebody in the media to get to 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.600 get their anger or their frustration over the situation out there. 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:54.800 That's not that's not Morgan. I would certainly, And this 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:56.960 is just strictly from a personal sense. I don't know 0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:59.120 what the front office is going to think in terms 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.040 of whether or to bring more Morgan Burnett back, But 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:04.680 if he doesn't come back, I'll miss him just as 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.040 a person as well as as well as somebody to 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.640 talk to about the defense and and learn something about 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:11.040 what's going on out there. Yeah. I learned a lot 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.280 about the game from Morgan Burnette. And at the time 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:15.480 which we're taping this, Mike McCarthy hasn't had his season 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.400 any news conference. I don't know if he'll be asked 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:20.360 about him, but going back even the last season, how 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:23.400 complimentary he was of how Burnett moved into that new 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.440 role for this defense, how big that was for the 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.560 Packers down the stretch in two thousand and sixteen, and 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:30.440 while they were kind of taken out of that due 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:32.800 to the injuries in the secondary, the fact that he 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:34.720 was that willing to take that on for the first 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:37.120 half of the year, playing out of position, absorbing a 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.200 lot of contact, getting injured in a couple occasions, never 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:42.480 once complained about it. And I think that's one thing. 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:44.800 Depending on whether number forty two is in the locker 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:46.440 room or not in two thousand and eighteen, a lot 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:48.960 of those teammates that knew him were better off because 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:50.560 of it. Yeah, and you talk about one of the 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:53.560 veteran guys in the locker room who and he doesn't 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:55.840 talk about it this way either, but you know he's 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.040 got that hunger to get to a Super brit because 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.360 because his rookie year he goes on injured reserve after 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:04.680 the fourth or fifth game of the season with a 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:07.600 knee injury. He's really not a part of that Super 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.000 Bowl team in even though he was you know, he 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:11.960 was drafted, he was on the roster. Then he gets 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.480 put on I R and all that, but he wasn't 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:16.160 on the field for it. He wasn't really a part 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.520 of it, and he's been a mainstay in this defense 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:23.560 ever since. And all of the playoff heartbreaks, the playoff 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:26.000 close calls, everything along the way, He's been a part 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.760 of every single one of them. You know, he wants 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.240 to be maintained that leadership role in the Packers locker 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.240 room and help lead this team back to a super Bowl. Yeah, 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:35.640 and I asked him that too, because you know, he 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:38.760 came up with Jared Bush and Charles Woodson. He likes 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:41.440 being that guy for Clinton Dixon to maryus Randol, the 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:43.480 young guys to look to. And now we'll have to 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:45.760 see exactly how it's going to play out this offseason. Yeah, 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:47.480 one of those stories will be keeping an eye on. 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:49.560 But with that, we'll toss to a break back with 0:17:49.600 --> 0:18:10.879 more and Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:14.280 Packers Unscripted Mike Spofford alongside West Hodkowitz and West. I 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:18.320 neglected our sponsor at the end of three. So before 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:20.600 we continue here, today is a perfect day to fill 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.359 up with some new Campbell's Chunky Max soup. Chunky Max 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:25.359 is loaded with more meat than you can handle, a 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:29.000 lot more. We're talking more than a comparable Chunky soup, 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.639 So go on fill up with new Campbell's Chunky Max Soup. 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.120 Campbell's Chunky Soup the official soup partner of the Green 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:37.960 Bay Packers. Okay, Wes, we've devoted this entire show to 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.920 the defense and talking about a lot of struggles through 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.280 trying to look ahead a little bit. But let's end 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:47.200 this one with something to smile about. I want to 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:51.240 get your thoughts on the Green Bay Packers defensive play 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.400 of the Year in because there were a few big 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:56.760 plays out there. Yeah, and there was, you know, before 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.480 things took a turn in Carolina the Packers. I remember 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:01.840 seeing this couple times on Twitter, some Packer fans saying 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:04.680 that they sort of become the cardiac pack all over again. 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:07.040 I think was kind of a mantra because there was 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:09.000 some really tight games and I think you look at 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:11.679 that Cleveland game, Uh, certainly, I know that wasn't a 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:13.439 game the Packers wanted to be in a shootout with 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:16.200 the Browns over But the thing that was impressive about 0:19:16.320 --> 0:19:17.880 is how they responded at the end of the game 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:21.280 and more importantly the overtime. Clay Matthews, who had been 0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:24.600 dealing with the growing issue uh bounces right in there 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:27.159 not only is able to get the pressure on Kaiser, 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:29.159 but is able to stay with him long enough as 0:19:29.200 --> 0:19:31.800 he's kind of scrabbling around back there to get to 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:34.880 hit his hand, make that ball kind of just hang 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:37.639 up there a little bit. And then Josh Jones and 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:41.560 a horde of Packers defenders kind of circling around, vulturing 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:45.359 around that ball. Game of five hundreds. I was quoted 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:48.520