#330 Packers Unscripted: Necessary adjustments

rough news for the Packers on the defensive line. We found out on Monday from head coach Mike McCarthy that veteran d lineman Mohammed Wilkerson ended up having to stay behind at a hospital in d C for a procedure on his injured ankle before he was able to uh

come back to Green Bay. And McCarthy didn't lay out any timelines, but a lot of media reports out there that this is a season ending injury and a tough blow for the Packers defensive line for a guy Mike Patton had a lot of plans for him, was using him in a lot of different ways. Now they have

to make do without him. It's tough, Mike, because when you heard Mike Daniels, Kenny Clark, Dean Lawry, they all talked about it on Monday, just what he meant to that room and what I mean when he's back, what he'll continue to mean to that room. But just the presence he brought. Certainly his resume, two time All Pro defensive lineman, had two seasons with more than ten sacks, which is not easy to do at his position. The

Packers had, they had big hopes for him. I mean, you look at the way that Mike Patton, who worked with him his first two years with the Jets, he had packages designed for him. He was playing like that hybrid defensive end outside linebacker role, almost as a five technique rusher in that sub base package. They used that quite a bit against the Minnesota Vikings to a lot of success in the first three quarters. And certainly he can also push inside and get pressure as a three

technique interior rusher. So to lose him at this juncture the season, and listen to Mike Daniels, you know he mentioned he sits next to him on the team flight that was a tough blow for them, and it's something they're really gonna have to, you know, kind of rally around now and try to rebound from. Yeah. Well, a couple of guys whose roles are certainly going to increase, Guys who fall into that draft and developed category for

the Packers. Dean Lowry, of fourth round pick in the draft out of Northwestern Montrevius Adams, a third round pick in the draft out of Auburn UM Large Conference guys. Lowry certainly has more experience thus far in his NFL career. We've seen him get a little more comfortable over his first couple of seasons with lining up in some different spots across the defensive line and some of those run

defense base more base packages. He's at the five technique on across from the offensive tackle sub you know, nickel and dime. He's more of an in here your pass rusher. Um. He's been effective, but now we're going to see potentially an increased snapload for him with Wilkerson being on the show. Yeah, I mean, you look at how this goes. Lowry in

a lot of ways is a lot like Wilkerson. I mean, they're two completely different players, But I mean the way that they play the game and what they're asked to do in this defense is very similar. So in that way, it shouldn't be too far of a fall. He's six ft six two pounds. He can play that five technique defensive end when they need it, and they've actually played bass quite a bit the first three weeks of the season.

But then he can also push inside. As we saw during training camp, Mike, how many times you and I were standing out there and watching some of the one on one work and some of the half line drills. He was getting a lot of push. I mean, he's put a lot of strength on to his body and it's allowed him to be able to I think, kind

of complete his versatility. The other aspect of it, though, too, is that you know, he only played thirty three defensive snaps in the first three games, just all right, first two games, and got twenty four last weekend in Washington. There's an opportunity now with him being fresh and being ready to potentially be able to give a spark to that defensive front. The Packers felt good about this defensive line going back to February befine, before Mohamed Wilkerson was

signed in Montrevias Adams coming back from his injury. They felt good about it from day one. Yeah, Wilkerson added to it. But it is about getting back to the realization that, Okay, if it's on us four again, you know we can handle this. Yeah. And we saw the Packers certainly in the second half in Washington. They didn't have Wilkerson, he was he was out of the game by that point, and and the defensive front seemed to

adjust pretty well. Now, obviously it took a while. If you look at the fourth quarter Minnesota over time in the first half against Washington, seemed like it took a while for the Packers secondary to deal with the loss of Kevin king and and make adjustments there. So hopefully whatever adjustments need to be made upfront, maybe not quite so many growing pains. But again, we'll have to see things are things are week to week. It's it's a match bas league and uh. And we'll see what Buffalo

brings to the table on Sunday. Absolutely, and it's gonna be a stiff test for them, especially with the Buffalo coming off of that win against the Vikings. There's gonna be a lot of momentum built into that. But no doubt, one other thing I want to mention in the defensive line is Kenny Clark, and for my money, he's the best. He's played as well as anybody on that side of the ball. Uh these first three games, I would agree

he's playing a lot. I mean, one of the defensive snaps for the season, played fifty six out of sixty one snaps in Washington. He's twenty two years old. He feels like he's fresh and ready for it. I'd have to imagine as the season wears on that Jerry Montgomery and Mike mccarthur are gonna want to be smart with that. But he said on Monday, if he's needed right now, he's up for the challenge. Sixteen tackles, a sack in

two pass deflections. He's looked good early on. Yeah, you take a look at what Kenny Clark has done against the run, in particular my what you might have missed piece that is on our website. There's a handful of plays that just his his technique in run defense, the two gapping being you know, being able to shed the block to one side or the other, just been outstanding

and against Washington. He was doing it, lining up on the nose, lining up at three tech, lining up, shading the center, you know, in some different spots there and being effective. And in fact it's not in my piece, but on the long forty one yard run by Adrian Peterson, the guy who got in the backfield was Kenny Clark slowed that play down initially, but then Peterson was still able to bust it through when when other guys couldn't make the play. He he's been really really impressive back

to back weeks. I think he's been right up there at the team high and tackles. I mean, he's just he's been a maller so far, and the Packers are going to need more of that if they got to go with Wilkerson. Yeah, well, we'll also have to see what happens on the Packers offensive line. McCarthy did not have any updates on the back injury to Brian Blog at right tackle the shoulder injury to Justin McCrae at

right guard. So we'll see if one or both or none, you know, will be uh be playing on Sunday against Buffalo. The Packers essentially have three potential replacements for those two spots Jason Spriggs Byron Bell lous Patrick Spriggs pretty much just a tackle now, Patrick a guard, and Bell a guy who has played both guard and tackle. So we'll

see how that shakes out. But obviously, with Aaron Rodgers still not fully mobile, dealing with the knee injury and he changes on the offensive line, and with Rogers potentially not practicing, and the way things have been going, there's a lot for the Packers to sort out on offense. And and as we've talked about, try to start these games a little faster because against both Chicago and Washington,

the offense just got off to a really really slow start. Yeah, and protecting the football is going to be paramount to in this game against Buffalo. Ultimately, when you go back and look at what they did against Minnesota, I think that was the difference. That's how they won the game. Yeah, they won the game with early turnovers, field position, they built a lead and then they just hung on from there.

For the Packers, that will be important to start fast, and yeah, we'll have to see what formed the offensive line takes. Again, I mentioned this and I think yesterday so I thought Jason Spriggs had really settled in by the end of training camp at left tackle. Now he's going back to right tackle again. He's talked about the channel just that in the past, so if he's needed there Byron Bell is a pro. I mean, he's played guard, he's played tackle on this league for a long time.

He can handle that. And certainly Lucas Patrick gives you that guard to center flexibility. So the Packers were really smart and the three guys that they kept behind that starting offensive line was really good to be able to get the starting five out there together and playing together for you know, the first Uh, I guess it would end up being what ten quarters who had two and a half games, But well, we'll we'll have to see what form the week takes with the rest of those guys. Well.

The other change going on offensively for the Packers is the return of Aaron Jones, sat out the first two games due to a suspension. Got in the game on Sunday forty two yards I believe on six carries. His first two carries went for ten and for eight yards. Mike McCarthy had cautioned he was going to have a limited role first coming back after the time that he missed, and uh, you know, Packers are in a good situation now at running back. You have all three of your

options healthy. They all bring a little something different to the table. As I said in my postgame editorial, and I've repeated, you know, a couple of times in other places. I think the key now here for the Packers is to figure out what is the right productive mix in terms of having an effective and productive rotation, but not crossing that line to where everything's everything becomes disjointed on offense because you're changing things around all the time. That's

a that's a fine line to walk. The Packers coaches will figure that out as as as we go along here. But you know, I like the fact that all three of the backfield options are healthy and the coaching staff can you know, has in a way a problem to figure Yeah, And it's weird, Mike, It's just it just hasn't really been the case so far. They're just out of those three. Just seems like somebody's been nicked up or somebody's always sitting out. Yeah, Aaron Jones obviously being

out with the suspension. So for the first time here, it probably since the beginning when when Williams and Jones were unproven, but Packers have three legitimate options at that position. And breaking down what happened in this game against watched in Jamal Williams started the game, got thirty snaps, Time Montgomery twenty, and then Aaron Jones got seventeen. McCarthy has said in the past he'll ride the hot hand if it presents itself, but he's not averse to committee approaches.

I know that doesn't make fantasy football owners out there very happy, but it's true. And I thought this game, there's a lot of things didn't go well for the Packers. In this game, I had no problem whatsoever with what how the backfield was handled hundred and fifty six total yards, And I thought, when you look at the production of Williams, Montgomery and Jones altogether in a vacuum, the three guys did everything that they do well and the Packers were

able to capitalize on that. As you said, it's gonna be a balancing act, it's gonna be a juggling act these next games coming up. To figure out, Okay, you got Time Montgomery, here's what you can do with him, Here's the ways he can threaten and stress a defense. You know what Jamal Williams does in his consistency as a pass protector between the tackles runner, and obviously the explosiveness of Aaron Jones. That is a lot of options

to handle. But it's a good problem to have. And as I've said all along, since the very beginning, I think that this offense can be at its best when all three of those guys are available and healthy and ready to contribute. Right and it's about the long game. Right now, you have thirteen regular season games to go, You have all three of these guys healthy and playing. You want to keep it that way for as long as you can. You want to keep Aaron Jones healthy

from the start. People are like, what it was, seventeen snaps. He hadn't played in two weeks, and before that he was dealing with a hamstring injury. I mean, I get it. If you're playing Madden and it says, Okay, this guy no longer has a hamstring and he's clear to play, You're just gonna use him every single down. It just doesn't work that way in the NFL, though, So I would imagine if assuming everything checks out this well well with him this week, that could be a line for

more opportunities. You just have to wait and see. Yeah, I would agree. Um some sponsor business though, West, It's time to enter the Cousins Subs Best Seats in the House promotion. You and a guest could win a chance to kick back on the fifty yard line in style. Two pairs of lucky Packers fans will be chosen prior to each home game for this v I P experience. Enter daily now through December sixteen by completing the end reform and submitting for complete rules and eligibility, go to

Packers dot com slash Best Seats Cousin Subs. We believe in better? Okay West? On yesterday's show, we promised we would get to looking around the league a little bit at where things stand after three weeks in this topsy turvy NFL, and the long and the short of it is, out of thirty two teams, three teams are three and oh three teams are oh and three and twenty six teams are somewhere in between. So you figure it out, Okay, go, Hey, you know what I'm gonna start on the Bears. How

about that? I said a week ago that that game against Seattle was going to be really important, and lo and behold, you see Seattle actually is able to get a win this week, so they got off the schneid. But the Bears they get that win again Seattle, and then they go and Squeak went out against the Cardinals, coming back from down fourteen nothing on the road. By the way, suddenly number one in your division. And that's

just how the NFL works. Sometimes some people ask me this question was asked I think two days ago in inbox, is this the the tightest the the NFC North Race has ever been? It was tighter, Lie Steer, But I mean it's three it's three games in there, so there's so much to get There's so much to get sorted out. And for all the all the Packers fans who are who are like, jeez, you know the Packers are so close to you know, to be in three and o or having an extra win. Look at what the Chicago

Bears are thinking. The Bears are like, if we don't blow a twenty to nothing lead at lambeau Field, we're three and o and sitting pretty on top of the division right now. So there's it's it's early. There's so much that there's so much that has to get sorted out. But it looks like it's gonna be a fun year. Yeah, I think so. And then you look at the NFC North or the NFC at conference in general. You know, the Tampa Bay finally came back down to earth a

little bit there. Not saying Ryan's fits magic ran out, but I mean you started to see some of the takeaways and turnovers that that have been kind of staples of of his game in the past. When you live by the sword, sometimes you die by the sword. They still kept in it with Pittsburgh, who got a very big win for themselves, but certainly from that regard, and then obviously the shootout the Saints and Falcons and put the offensive on slot in the NFC. So it gonna

be a fun here. There's a lot of teams specifically in this conference that are going to be vying for playoff spots and every game is meaning. I mean, that's at the end of the day, if you're an NFL fan, if you're a football fan, that's what you're cheering for. Yeah. Absolutely, and you just look at you look at the way Week three went. Nobody thought Buffalo would go into Minneapolis and beat the Minnesota but nobody thought they would win,

let alone win by base three touchdowns. It was seventeen It's one of the it's it's one of the biggest, one of the biggest upsets. You know, a seventeen point underdog on the road. And then there weren't a whole lot of people that gave Matt Patricia a chance to beat his old boss on Sunday night football at Ford Field, and uh, that was no fluke win either. The Detroit the Detroit Lions clearly outplayed the New England Patriots. The Patriots now sitting at one and two, the Lions get

off the schneid. They're they're at one and two, and hey, with everything else that was going on for them for two weeks, they sit there and go, well, the Bears are two and one at the top of the division, were only one game out of first place. I mean,

how else would you look at it? Quickly turns too, because you and I were talking about, Okay, the Packers and Buffalo coming up in Detroit and not saying that those still aren't winnable games, but the narrative changes a little bit absolutely, And also the fact that carry on Johnson ended the streaks rusher in Detroit, so the last their last one coming actually against the Packers Reggie but

Reggie Bush Thanksgiving Day. That that awful game for Green Bay when Matt Flynn was filling in for Aaron Rodgers from his first broken collar one I believe the final score was forty to ten. And uh that was when obviously it looked like the Lions were on their way to the division championship, and low and behold by between Thanksgiving and Week seventeen, it was suddenly the Packers against the Bears that Soldier Field for the division title and

the Lions had completely fallen out of it. But that was their last one yard rusher in a game Thanksgiving against the Packers until Sunday night against the Patriots, of all teams. And I think that was the last hundred yard rushing performance of Reggie Bush's career or two. So yeah, it was. It was a wacky game, probably in terms of just the game in which the Packers lost, not

talking about some insurmountable comeback or anything like that. Is the craziest game I covered, just because it was just the whole Anything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong in the contest. I think the offensive line got banged up from what I recall, but be that as

it may. Uh In two thousand eighteen, matt Patricia, who I believe on the first play or the first series where they ended up kicking the field goal on fourth and short, got booed for like the fifth or sixth consecutive game or whatever it's been at at Ford Field. Just can't make people happy. But hopefully Detroit fans now keept him a little slack because I think he said all the right things. He's done what he's needed to do in that post. He's kept an even keeled mindset.

Matthew Stafford is one of the best in the business. I still maintained that. I love his moxie. I think he's proven himself over the years. And yeah, it's at the NFC North, for my money, is still I think the best division division right now in football. I think it's gonna be them and probably the self that are gonna be competing for that on it this year. But it's gonna be a fun year. It really is well and there there are some things to figure out with

regards to the NFC West. Suddenly, Jimmy Garoppolo and San Francisco is out for the season. The Rams are three, you know, on top of that division. The Seahawks get off the schneid, they get their first win of the year, so we'll see what happens with that. But really a big game, potentially for NFC implications coming up this Thursday Night West the Los Angeles Rams against the Minnesota Vikings, and both teams banged up. The Rams their two starting cornerbacks,

Marcus Peters a key to leave dealing with injuries. The Vikings hoping to maybe get Dalvin Cook back at running back, but then some personal and legal issues going on with Everson Griffin, so and and and all of a sudden, Thursday night football, here's a pretty big game in the NFC, and you don't even know who's going to be out there. Well, this is what I love. It's like because this is the whole Fox deal now right right there in Fox.

And suddenly the Minnesota Vikings are playing the l A Rams in week four of a Thursday night football game. I'm used to like the being the Browns and the Jets or something like that, and nothing's really on the line. This is a huge game. Fox Fox Fox forked out some big money for this Thursday night package and the schedule maker delivered for because these Thursday night matchups this year are not what we're used to know. I know,

I'm like, this is this is Sunday Night football. I mean, everybody knew what the Vikings and Rams are gonna be. But that being said, this is a huge test for l A. I saw that stat that they're three and oh, but the teams in which they've beaten right now other than the loss, are one in five combined. So this is I mean, I get the Vikings right now are one one in one as well, but I still maintain that they're right up there with the top of the

class in this conference. Seeing how they can bounce back and rally back going on the road and seeing if l you know, l A can hold serve and maybe try to get some separation in this conference. Big implications all around. Yeah, definitely. Well, when we get to tomorrow show, we'll start breaking down the Buffalo Bills a little bit looking ahead to Sunday, but for now we will call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team

on Packers dot com. On Twitter, He's at west Odd, I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time. H