Speaker 1: Hi, everybody, Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by my
Speaker 1: partner in crime, Wes Hodkuwitz. Were coming to hear from
Speaker 1: our studios at lambeau Field West just a few days
Speaker 1: away now on this short week Sunday night football from
Speaker 1: San Francisco, Santa Clara, California, Levi Stadium, the Packers will
Speaker 1: be visiting the forty Niners important game here in week three,
Speaker 1: and UH wanted to get your thoughts initially on this
Speaker 1: team that is too and oh with victories over the
Speaker 1: Lions and the Eagles, and uh, I guess in short,
Speaker 1: this is a Niners team that is looking a lot
Speaker 1: more like the one from two years ago as opposed
Speaker 1: to the one from last year that was just ravaged
Speaker 1: by injuries. Yeah, I mean they're more complete. I mean
Speaker 1: other than the backfield, which ye right now, the running
Speaker 1: backs they've they've got an injury situation there for sure.
Speaker 1: But but as Matt Lafleur even said during his news
Speaker 1: conference on Wednesday, much like it's been underneath Kyle Shanahan,
Speaker 1: they still find ways to move the football regardless of
Speaker 1: really who's in that backfield. You know, Jimmy Garoppolo I thought,
Speaker 1: has played really good, high percentage football here early on.
Speaker 1: We obviously saw Trey Lance have that touchdown pass in
Speaker 1: the opener. That's going to continue to be a storyline
Speaker 1: for them. But let's be honest, since the very beginning,
Speaker 1: since the day that they really started becoming more of
Speaker 1: a power in the NFC, it's been based around their defense.
Speaker 1: It's been based around, you know, protecting the football. And
Speaker 1: I think they've gotten back to those principles now. Certainly
Speaker 1: they have, you know, one of the top three, maybe
Speaker 1: top two pass rushers in the game right now in
Speaker 1: Nick Bosa. There's a lot of guys that they can
Speaker 1: turn to in addition to a defensive scheme that they
Speaker 1: still have a lot of confidence in. Despite the fact
Speaker 1: Robert Salom moved on to New York so last year,
Speaker 1: I think that they largely view that as an anomaly.
Speaker 1: Everything that happened. They basically had the kitchen sink thrown
Speaker 1: at them from an injury standpoint. This year, they're hoping
Speaker 1: that other than that backfield situation which has been in flux,
Speaker 1: that that they're back to, uh, you know, having their
Speaker 1: their main weapons offensively. Yeah, and one of those is
Speaker 1: tight end George Kittle, who was one of those guys
Speaker 1: going down with an injury last season and uh Packers
Speaker 1: obviously know that regular season game out there in twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: George Kittle was a big difference maker, big time playmaker.
Speaker 1: He's one of the top tight ends in this game.
Speaker 1: And statistically so far this year, Deebo Samuel through two games,
Speaker 1: fifteen catches, two two yards, including a seventy nine yard touchdown.
Speaker 1: Those are pretty good numbers for the first quarter of
Speaker 1: a season, and he's got that through two weeks here.
Speaker 1: So he is definitely another go to guy there in
Speaker 1: the passing game for San Francisco. And and when they
Speaker 1: drafted him, Mike, I think that the general consensus was
Speaker 1: is that this guy is gonna be a perfect fit
Speaker 1: for the type of offense that Shanahan likes to run.
Speaker 1: And and as you've seen, a mean the ways that
Speaker 1: they can use him. How explosive he is, um he's not.
Speaker 1: You know, he's still a six ft receiver too. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't want to throw comparisons into like the Davante
Speaker 1: Adams Is of the world, but you can see how
Speaker 1: he just He's so well rounded that I think it's
Speaker 1: really going to make him a dangerous weapon in this
Speaker 1: offense for years to come. And certainly Jimmy Garoppolo, as
Speaker 1: you mentioned with the seventy nine yard touchdown pass, has
Speaker 1: found that comfort zone with him. And that's been important,
Speaker 1: right because, as you said, Kittle, uh for being right
Speaker 1: up there in the conversation, is the top two, top
Speaker 1: three tight end in this league. You know, has been
Speaker 1: off to a slower start with some of his stats.
Speaker 1: Do you lose Raheem Mostert Now you have Elijah Mitchell's
Speaker 1: dealing with the shoulder injury. Samuel has been the constant
Speaker 1: for them right now offensively, and as I mentioned as well,
Speaker 1: the fact that Garoppolo, for everything that has happened, for
Speaker 1: all the conversations about Trey Lance or you know these
Speaker 1: multituded you know quarterbacks that might be looking at this offseason,
Speaker 1: Garoppolo has kept it very simply. He stayed very focused
Speaker 1: and obviously has found a really good offensive weapon for himself. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and on the defensive side for the forty Niners. Really,
Speaker 1: other than the last what would you say, six minutes
Speaker 1: of that Week one game against Detroit, this has been
Speaker 1: a defense that that has played pretty darn well through
Speaker 1: the first two weeks of the season. The Lions did
Speaker 1: not do much offensively until very late in the game.
Speaker 1: The Philadelphia Eagles never really got their offense going against
Speaker 1: the Niners last week. Now they're actually at home for
Speaker 1: the first time in one This will be their home
Speaker 1: opener coming off of two road victories, and on the
Speaker 1: Packers side of things up front, the Packers have some
Speaker 1: questions here to answer on the offensive line because Elton
Speaker 1: Jenkins he missed Wednesday's practice with an ankle injury. Now,
Speaker 1: obviously the injury cropped up on Monday night, um Wednesday
Speaker 1: getting back on the practice field on a short week,
Speaker 1: it's not unusual for guys to have missed there. But
Speaker 1: we just have to see how the rest of the
Speaker 1: week plays out, if Jenkins is going to be able
Speaker 1: to go at left tackle or if the Packers have
Speaker 1: to make adjustments. And then they're still deciding on what
Speaker 1: to do at left guard as well, whether you go
Speaker 1: with John Onion or Lucas Patrick. And you have the
Speaker 1: two rookies Josh Meyers and Royce Newman who will be
Speaker 1: playing really essentially their first crowd noise game in the NFL. Now,
Speaker 1: these guys are not strangers to crowd noise, having come
Speaker 1: from the big time power conferences in in college football.
Speaker 1: But still this will be an adjustment, another one of
Speaker 1: those steps along the way for rookies. On the offensive
Speaker 1: line for the Packers, there's a lot to There's a
Speaker 1: lot to sort out up front to to get this
Speaker 1: offense where it needs to be to beat this well.
Speaker 1: And this is this first week after we notice on
Speaker 1: Wednesday that Elton Jenkins was the only one not practicing.
Speaker 1: It's the first time there really has been any questions
Speaker 1: at left tackle for Green Bay and that is a
Speaker 1: remarkable luxury considering you lost a five time All Pro
Speaker 1: and David bok tr for the first six games of season.
Speaker 1: As he comes back from the a c L. Jenkins
Speaker 1: has been that darn good. He hasn't been without flaw,
Speaker 1: but for a guy that is a left guard by trade,
Speaker 1: the transition he's made in some of the pass rushers
Speaker 1: he's seen these first two weeks, you have to tip
Speaker 1: your cap to him and the job that he's done.
Speaker 1: That being said, beyond Jenkins, there are a lot of
Speaker 1: questions there. I mean, yosh Niman is a guy that
Speaker 1: has been here now for two going on three years,
Speaker 1: but has been a real long term developmental project for them. Physically,
Speaker 1: has all the tools you look for. I thought at
Speaker 1: the left tackle position really benefited for how many reps
Speaker 1: he took this offseason, but still has really never played
Speaker 1: in an NFL game extensively beyond some some snaps at
Speaker 1: the end. You also have Dennis Kelly available. He had
Speaker 1: the knee injury at the end of camp. He's had
Speaker 1: some traditional experience at left tackle, though he's played mostly
Speaker 1: on the right side. Played on the right side last
Speaker 1: year for Tennessee and seventeen starts. There are options, But
Speaker 1: when you're going from talking about all pros and Pro
Speaker 1: Bowlers that this is a scenario which Packers were really
Speaker 1: lucky that a lot of other teams aren't. That you've
Speaker 1: been able to look into Elton Jenkins. So we have
Speaker 1: to see how the week goes there. That being said,
Speaker 1: the different packages, you know, Bosa, Fred Warner, the amount
Speaker 1: of playmakers that are on the San Francisco defense. Mike,
Speaker 1: I've been covering the Packers for nine years now full
Speaker 1: time on a basis knows my tenth season, every single gosh,
Speaker 1: darn year. They have had linebackers, they've had pass rushers,
Speaker 1: they have had different coordinators, and yet they've been able
Speaker 1: to maintain that standard. Damiko Ryan's is doing that now
Speaker 1: with this defense. Still a lot of the same principles
Speaker 1: you see from Robert Sala, but they're getting after it, man,
Speaker 1: and they have some pretty talented guys to do it with. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so let's get down to business here. What are the
Speaker 1: keys to victory for the Packers and what is going
Speaker 1: to be a very challenging road game. Let's start on
Speaker 1: the offensive side of the ball. What's it going to
Speaker 1: take here for the Packers to emerge victorious. You're going
Speaker 1: back to the Bay Area. I think you got to
Speaker 1: get in the red zone quick, and I think you
Speaker 1: gotta put up some points. Uh. You know. Defensively, you
Speaker 1: hope that the Packers have turned a corner. You saw
Speaker 1: the adjustments they made in the second half against the Lions,
Speaker 1: being able to get a little bit more pressure on
Speaker 1: Jared Goff. I think they found something with Eric Stokes.
Speaker 1: I don't know what the plan is going to be
Speaker 1: moving forward with how you get him on the field more,
Speaker 1: but he played well on the perimeter. I thought it
Speaker 1: was a really good option across from Jayrell Exander. But
Speaker 1: at the same time, this is about offensive football, and
Speaker 1: when you go on the road, you need your offense
Speaker 1: to set the tone. You talked about the crowd noise.
Speaker 1: You need to be able to take the crowd out
Speaker 1: of it what is probably gonna be a very energetic
Speaker 1: atmosphere inside Levi Stadium. That's where I think it's on
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers. I think it's on this Packers run game.
Speaker 1: It's on Davante Adams last week. I mean, even though
Speaker 1: it wasn't a picture perfect start, the fact that they
Speaker 1: came out with that eleven play drive for seventy five
Speaker 1: yards and got in the end zone. I really feel
Speaker 1: like that's what allowed Green Bay to stem that tide
Speaker 1: early on defensively and then ultimately take the momentum from there.
Speaker 1: I'm looking for points early, I'm looking for production early,
Speaker 1: and I'm looking for the Packers to shorten up this
Speaker 1: football game. Yeah, I'm with you. I think I think
Speaker 1: a fast start offensively, I mean, even after the Monday
Speaker 1: night victory over the Lions, Matt Lafleur said it, Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers said it, a fast start really on both sides
Speaker 1: of the ball, but particularly offensively. I think the Packers
Speaker 1: feel like they have to come out and set some
Speaker 1: kind of a tone on offense. They know they've got
Speaker 1: to get the ball to the playmakers, starting with Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones and Advante Adams, and then you work in the
Speaker 1: other complimentary pieces Robert Tunyan mvs. Al Lazard, whoever that
Speaker 1: might be a J. Dillon getting some opportunities when Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones needs a breather. But it starts with thirty three
Speaker 1: and seventeen with with twelve at the controls, and it
Speaker 1: really feels like the Packers cannot afford to go one
Speaker 1: or two possessions at the start of this game without
Speaker 1: getting some points on the board, because otherwise it feels
Speaker 1: like it could turn into a really long night. It
Speaker 1: really does. And and that's where if you look at
Speaker 1: San Francisco, while they did obviously give up some production
Speaker 1: laid against Detroit, that's been the commonality here in these
Speaker 1: early games. It's just how they've set the tone with
Speaker 1: what they've done defensively and kind of allowed the offense
Speaker 1: to find its rhythm from there. And and realistically, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'll say it again, Mike, I really love what San
Speaker 1: Francisco has done with their defense. In some ways, it
Speaker 1: kind of reminds me of Seattle from a number of
Speaker 1: years ago, where Okay, you know where you have your
Speaker 1: big three four, big playmate kers, but they augment that
Speaker 1: you have a DeFord in there now as a rotational guy,
Speaker 1: you know, Eric Armstead, Josh Norman's on this football team.
Speaker 1: I mean, they they have depth, inexperienced depth, depth positions
Speaker 1: in addition to the guys that are really your headline makers,
Speaker 1: the guys that are that are helping you with you know,
Speaker 1: kind of cultivate a really strong defensive presence. That to me,
Speaker 1: for green Bay, I think you got to find a
Speaker 1: way to break that. You have to find a way
Speaker 1: to do it. At the times in which Green Bay
Speaker 1: has been successful against San Francisco over the last half
Speaker 1: dozen years, it's been when offensively they've been able to
Speaker 1: put thirty points on the board, you know, and if
Speaker 1: the defense steps up and they get off to a
Speaker 1: fast start this week for green Bay, fantastic. But offensively,
Speaker 1: you know, when you're going on the road and you're
Speaker 1: playing in front of seventy thou people, I think that's
Speaker 1: what's required in order to to really set your own tempo. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: On the defensive side of the ball, some some fascinating
Speaker 1: matchups and decisions and what not to watch here. As
Speaker 1: far as how Green Bay handles this game, you mentioned
Speaker 1: already with Stokes. What are the Packers going to do
Speaker 1: with Stokes? What role is he going to have now
Speaker 1: that he went from just playing a handful of snaps
Speaker 1: in the opener against the Saints to playing forty plus
Speaker 1: snaps and having a much bigger role in the defense
Speaker 1: in week two. So there's that. Do you just match
Speaker 1: up toyear Alexander on Deebo Samuel for the entire game?
Speaker 1: Do you do you match there? Or you know, do
Speaker 1: you have Alexander play sides again? Another question that will
Speaker 1: have to see how they answer it. And then what
Speaker 1: do you do against George Kittle? Because Juwan Johnson for
Speaker 1: the Saints at tight end two touchdown receptions in week one.
Speaker 1: T J. Hockenson, who really is the key target for
Speaker 1: the Lions in in their passing game, didn't have any
Speaker 1: huge monster plays over the top or anything like that,
Speaker 1: but a very productive game and he got in the
Speaker 1: end zone as well for Detroit. So the Packers have
Speaker 1: given up some tight end production and now here comes
Speaker 1: George Kittle into the mix. And uh, you know, you
Speaker 1: can certainly play a bracket coverage type of thing on
Speaker 1: Kittle with a linebacker in front and a safety behind.
Speaker 1: We saw the Packers doing that in some instances a
Speaker 1: against Hackinson. But if you do that, obviously you're sacrificing
Speaker 1: somewhere else defensively. And uh, and those are the decisions
Speaker 1: you have to make. Where where can you sacrifice if
Speaker 1: you want to try to take take George Kittle out
Speaker 1: of things, or at least limit his production. It's an
Speaker 1: excellent point you raise. And you know Green Bay they
Speaker 1: want to get more from their pass rush, right. That's
Speaker 1: been sort of the statement here the first couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: Green Bay could have a really strong pass rushing performance
Speaker 1: in this game. It still might not be enough, just
Speaker 1: based on how San Francisco's offensive line is built. I mean,
Speaker 1: they have too of probably the best at their positions
Speaker 1: in the last decade in Trent Williams at left tackle,
Speaker 1: Alex mckets center, you have Mike mcglenchy at right tackle.
Speaker 1: I mean obviously um Lake and Thompinson's a guy too
Speaker 1: that has been in the league for a long time.
Speaker 1: They've only given up one sack this year on Garoppolo,
Speaker 1: So what does that mean. That means that you're hoping
Speaker 1: for the best from the pass rush, but you may
Speaker 1: need to cover, you may need to plaster. You mentioned
Speaker 1: the two biggest question marks I think for green Bay
Speaker 1: heading into this game, beginning with Kittle, because to me,
Speaker 1: this reminded me of the old Morgan Burnett games where
Speaker 1: it's like, take Morgan Burnett, you put him on the
Speaker 1: you put him on the tight end, and you give
Speaker 1: him some help occasionally, but that's going to be his
Speaker 1: assignment for this game. We called it the hybrid Nitro.
Speaker 1: Whatever you want to that. That was the thing. Maybe
Speaker 1: this is a game where you see either a Savage
Speaker 1: or an Amos matching up with him. Maybe you do
Speaker 1: have Devandry Campbell with some cloud coverage over him, with
Speaker 1: the safety help. Those are all things you have to
Speaker 1: think about. But as you mentioned, with the bracket looks,
Speaker 1: that's where Samuel can hurt you. That's where these running
Speaker 1: backs can hurt you. You can only have so much
Speaker 1: attention devoted to one player. The Gire Alexander matching up thing,
Speaker 1: I'll believe it when I see it. It still hasn't
Speaker 1: been a thing. They just like leaving him on his
Speaker 1: spot and you basically take away that side of the field.
Speaker 1: It's the old Richard Sherman kind of project, right. That
Speaker 1: being said, that is always something they have in the
Speaker 1: back of their hand. I think Alexander could be an
Speaker 1: elite star nickel slot corner this league. He just so
Speaker 1: also happens to be an absolute demon as a boundary
Speaker 1: corner as well, so all things Green Bay has to consider.
Speaker 1: But but certainly, I think this is a big game
Speaker 1: for coverage, Mike. I think this is where the cornerback,
Speaker 1: the linebackers, the safeties are going to earn their paychecks
Speaker 1: because you just can't be guaranteed anything against this offense
Speaker 1: in the way and how quickly they get that ball out. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and you mentioned the pass rush, and that'll that will
Speaker 1: certainly be a key here as well. We saw how
Speaker 1: things change so much first half to second half against
Speaker 1: the Detroit Lions on Monday night as far as um
Speaker 1: not only not only the pressure the Packers were able
Speaker 1: to generate on Jared Goff, but but also the different
Speaker 1: ways in which they were doing it. There were there
Speaker 1: were there were more changeups, there were more surprises. It
Speaker 1: wasn't it wasn't just the the standard looks, I guess,
Speaker 1: so to speak. So it'll be interesting to see how
Speaker 1: many other how many other wrinkles and changeups do you
Speaker 1: throw there. But again, as as you know, and as
Speaker 1: I just mentioned with Kittle, if you send, if you
Speaker 1: send a fifth rusher, right that, you know you're you're
Speaker 1: you're one guy down in coverage. I mean, it's it's
Speaker 1: a numbers game at the end of the day. It's
Speaker 1: eleven on eleven. If you send, if you send a
Speaker 1: fifth guy, you better make sure somebody gets home and
Speaker 1: somebody speeds up the quarterbacks clock because you're down one
Speaker 1: in the in the back end to try to take
Speaker 1: away a potential big play. So this, this is really
Speaker 1: this is really really an interesting game because because it
Speaker 1: it feels like the forty Niners in a lot of
Speaker 1: ways have already other than the running back situation, but
Speaker 1: it feels like the forty Niners have already kind of
Speaker 1: figured out who they are after going through all the
Speaker 1: injuries they did last year. Now it feels like they
Speaker 1: kind of have their band back together and and they're
Speaker 1: back to be in those and the Packers with a
Speaker 1: new defensive coordinator and they're working in a rookie first
Speaker 1: round pick at cornerback. They've got two rookies on the
Speaker 1: offensive line, some other questions up front, like we talked about,
Speaker 1: the Packers are still trying to kind of figure things
Speaker 1: out here, and uh and this is this is a
Speaker 1: really really tough road match up here in Green Bay
Speaker 1: for Green Bay in week three. Well, and just to
Speaker 1: give some credit to these backs too, because as you mentioned,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of scenarios. You saw this happen in
Speaker 1: Baltimore where eighteen different running backs go down and they
Speaker 1: had to make the moves that they did. What has
Speaker 1: always impressed with San Francisco is they find these guys
Speaker 1: and and you know, Matt Brita and Jeff Wilson and
Speaker 1: obviously Raheem Moster was the one they sort of finally
Speaker 1: settled on as their back. They run, so they run
Speaker 1: so much misdirection and so much of the window dressing
Speaker 1: and everything they get. They try to get defenses to
Speaker 1: essentially focus on the wrong thing. They try to distract
Speaker 1: your eyes, they try to get you looking in the
Speaker 1: wrong spots and then all of a sudden, some running
Speaker 1: back you've never heard of is slashing you for a
Speaker 1: fifteen yard game and you're like, where did that come from?
Speaker 1: It's like, well, it's because they they're really good at
Speaker 1: the distraction game. They really are. So even though you
Speaker 1: lose most are and then you have you know, whether
Speaker 1: it's Trace Sermon is a guy that you know, I
Speaker 1: think he's coming back out of the the concussion protocol. I believe,
Speaker 1: you know, you know, Ja Michael Hasty. I mean, they
Speaker 1: have guys Mike that just you can't guarantee. You know,
Speaker 1: there's so many times where it's like, okay, well they're
Speaker 1: down three backs arounder the fourth guy that was elevated
Speaker 1: off the practice squad, we feel pretty good about stopping
Speaker 1: the run. You never feel that way against the forty Niners. No,
Speaker 1: you don't. They're they're going to be able to throw
Speaker 1: multiple looks at you, and they have guys that can
Speaker 1: hurt you outside. It's a brilliant offensive scheme defensively, that
Speaker 1: blueprint has been put out there for years now. What
Speaker 1: they're looking to accomplish. Davante Adams even talked about it,
Speaker 1: where you know they aren't gonna see probably as many
Speaker 1: too high looks this week because those defenders are confident
Speaker 1: with what packages they have that whatever they see, they're
Speaker 1: going to be able to adjust to it. So it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a great game. It's gonna be great Sunday
Speaker 1: night football television. And certainly for Green Bays perspective, need
Speaker 1: to go and get this win on the road here
Speaker 1: because they're really looking at what for their next six
Speaker 1: is gonna be um you know, taking place outside of Lambo. Yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely well, a little bit of sponsored business here West
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Speaker 1: all right. I suggested this as we wrapped up our
Speaker 1: last show, and I want to take a look at
Speaker 1: this because the schedule the NFC North matchups this week
Speaker 1: across the border fascinating. You obviously have the Packers playing
Speaker 1: the forty Niners on the road. The Chicago Bears the
Speaker 1: Justin Fields era, which we knew was inevitable, but it's
Speaker 1: starting a little earlier than probably everyone thought. The Bears
Speaker 1: will be on the road at Cleveland taking on a
Speaker 1: Browns team that certainly feels like it should be too.
Speaker 1: And oh because they had the Kansas City Chiefs on
Speaker 1: the ropes in Week one, but we're not able to
Speaker 1: pull that game out. Baltimore is traveling to Detroit, and
Speaker 1: Seattle is traveling to Minnesota. So after Week one, the
Speaker 1: NFC North was a little bit of a laughing stock
Speaker 1: with everybody losing. The division was oh and four. Okay,
Speaker 1: so you've got the Niners, the Browns, the Ravens, and
Speaker 1: the Seahawks as the divisions four opponents this week. If
Speaker 1: the NFC North wants to make any kind of a
Speaker 1: statement that you know, they aren't they aren't some run
Speaker 1: of the mill division, this is a week to start
Speaker 1: to try to get some notice, right, this is the
Speaker 1: week to do it. I just on that fast track
Speaker 1: at Ford Field. I wonder what that defense is going
Speaker 1: to have for Lamar Jacks. That could be a long
Speaker 1: football game. You Kansas City has had a really good
Speaker 1: scheme here for a number of years since the you know,
Speaker 1: Andy Read basically committed themselves to rebuilding that defense about
Speaker 1: three years ago, four years ago, and Jackson's running all
Speaker 1: over the place on them and for for for Detroit,
Speaker 1: they do have some linebackers there, but with how banged
Speaker 1: up they are, that's gonna be an interesting one. Chicago
Speaker 1: is the one that, to me, that is going to
Speaker 1: be the headline making game because I think everybody pretty
Speaker 1: much agrees that Cleveland's going to be a contender again
Speaker 1: in a really good, you know, a f C North
Speaker 1: Division that they're a team to watch. Okay, so what
Speaker 1: is Chicago going to be able to do with this here?
Speaker 1: You come out of the gate, things don't go well.
Speaker 1: You you bounce back. I don't know what you thought
Speaker 1: of Fields last week. Um. I think he's incredibly talented.
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna be a good quarterback. I see
Speaker 1: everything that Ryan Pace saw on him to draft him
Speaker 1: where they did. I just it seems like Bears fans
Speaker 1: are running to this young man and Savior I was
Speaker 1: kind of the one from the beginning going there's a
Speaker 1: reason you have Andy Dalton there. Yeah. Now I will
Speaker 1: go back and I will tell you when they drafted
Speaker 1: Mitchell Robinsky, I was like, let that guy sit all
Speaker 1: year long. I think we could tell that he was
Speaker 1: far away. Fields seems a lot more NFL ready than Rabinsky,
Speaker 1: but he still got a ways to go, so you
Speaker 1: could you could see. I mean he he made a
Speaker 1: potentially just killer mistake in the fourth quarter that they
Speaker 1: had their their defense had pretty much put that game
Speaker 1: away against the Bengals, and Fields turns the ball over
Speaker 1: and and gives the Bengals a shot to get to
Speaker 1: get back in that. You can't make mistakes like that.
Speaker 1: The Bears offense really just didn't do much with Justin Fields,
Speaker 1: um at the controls now with Andy Dalton being hurt
Speaker 1: now he's taking all the reps in practice and everything
Speaker 1: like that. So um, those those kinds of things changed
Speaker 1: the equation. But going to be a very tough road game,
Speaker 1: I think for the Bears going to Cleveland with with
Speaker 1: a interesting matchup though that Bears defense against a Brown's
Speaker 1: offense that that's that's put up some points. And then
Speaker 1: Minnesota playing at home. This will be the home opener
Speaker 1: for the Vikings, but they're looking to avoid oh and three,
Speaker 1: and they've got to take on a Seattle Seahawks team
Speaker 1: that is, uh, you know, stung a little bit by
Speaker 1: by the fourth quarter um come back by the Tennessee Titans,
Speaker 1: and Tennessee ended up stealing that game in overtime in
Speaker 1: Seattle last week. But but the Seahawks still in a
Speaker 1: very tough NFC West, Like we talked about, Seahawks are
Speaker 1: still very much a contender and and Minnesota gonna do
Speaker 1: whatever it takes to try to avoid oh and three.
Speaker 1: This is kind of a stretch on a comparison here
Speaker 1: because they're different types of coaches. There were different types
Speaker 1: of success before they hit a kind of a skid.
Speaker 1: But what Minnesota is going through right now really reminds
Speaker 1: me of like what the New Orleans Saints did in
Speaker 1: like that early part of the two thousand tens. And
Speaker 1: what I mean by that is they just it's just
Speaker 1: it's such a grind for them to win football games
Speaker 1: right now. Now. Obviously the Saints, they'd want a Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Sean Paynton was so celebrated still is, so everybody was
Speaker 1: willing to wait through it to see if they what
Speaker 1: they can get. On the other side, you look at
Speaker 1: it where Minnesota is at, it just seems like every
Speaker 1: single week, it doesn't matter if they're playing the top
Speaker 1: team in the NFL or the last they're just in
Speaker 1: a barn burner and there's just one or two things
Speaker 1: that don't go their way. And here they are at
Speaker 1: Owen two. I mean, Mike Zimmer is an excellent coach.
Speaker 1: I'll put them up there. Mike, honestly, outside of what
Speaker 1: the Packers have offered, is probably the best guy the
Speaker 1: NFC North has produced from a head coaching perspective the
Speaker 1: last what fifteen years? Conservative, But their defense, it's been
Speaker 1: They've They've been trying to rebuild this thing. Offensively, Kirk
Speaker 1: Cousins looks great. It doesn't look good, looks great. The
Speaker 1: consistency factor outside of Delvin Cook has been the big
Speaker 1: question mark for them, and they are not going to
Speaker 1: have an easy opponent against the Seattle Seahawks coming into
Speaker 1: their house. It's a crazy thing about this league. You
Speaker 1: mentioned it, the VI the Vikings are O and two,
Speaker 1: but they are They were this close in each of
Speaker 1: those games from winning them against the Bank Thills and
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, you know, so close to being too and
Speaker 1: oh yet there oh and two, and they have a
Speaker 1: really really tough game for their home opener in week
Speaker 1: three to UH to try to avoid that oh and
Speaker 1: three start. Um. But a big week overall for the
Speaker 1: NFC North with these matchups against NFC West and a
Speaker 1: f C North team. Yeah, and if I can see
Speaker 1: this too, I mean, it's a great week if you're
Speaker 1: if you're agreement Packers you can get a win. I mean,
Speaker 1: you have the Buccaneers beating up on the Rams. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of Eagles in the the Cowboys. Only
Speaker 1: one of those teams is gonna walk out with the Dubs.
Speaker 1: So I mean it's a good opportunity if you can
Speaker 1: find a way to get this win in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: With the NFC North facing these oppositions, some of these
Speaker 1: NFC NFC teams kind of beating up on each other,
Speaker 1: you start to find a way to kind of pull
Speaker 1: away from the pack here in the first quarter of
Speaker 1: the season. It's as good of a weekend as any. Yeah,
Speaker 1: definitely a chance to UH to make some noise. So
Speaker 1: with that we'll call it a wrap on this edition
Speaker 1: of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
Speaker 1: coverage of the team and everything With Sunday Nights Big
Speaker 1: Game from San Francisco. Will have it all for you
Speaker 1: on Packers dot com for West, I'm Mike. Thank you
Speaker 1: for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.
Speaker 1: M HM.