#374 Packers Unscripted: Victory Monday

head coaching debut. I'm not sure where you want to start with this one, but a lot of good things happening on both sides of the ball here for the Packers on Sunday afternoon, and there was one common traite, Mike, that went for both the offense, defense, even the special teams.

I thought there was a lot of energy. I thought there was a lot of through husiasm, and I wrote about it and what ended up being our sidebar or locker room report talking to some of these guys in the locker room afterwards, just how people had bought into what Joe Philbin was saying this week. It was as tumultuous as a time as the Green Bay Packers have had to go through here in fifteen years. And Joe

Philbin hit all the right notes with those players. Offensively, they knew him, they were they were familiar with them, they were comfortable with them. The veterans that have been around during his first stint in the young guys that had bought into him since he came back. But defensively, he needed to sort of, I don't want to say, prove himself, but introduce himself to a lot of guys who didn't really deal with him on a daily basis

from where his position was as the offensive coordinators. So in that regard, I thought the Packers I said all week long, I thought this was gonna go one of two ways for the Packers. I didn't see a middle ground. I thought they were either gonna come out and play like champions, or I thought they were gonna look deflated. And they came out looking like champions. Yeah, they came

out right from the get go. And don't get me started on the challenges and the replay reviews, or I'm gonna say something about the command center in New York City that will get me fired. Um. But moving past that, the Falcons jump on top seven and nothing, and the Packers then respond not only with a touchdown, but with thirty four consecutive points before the Packers defense allowed Atlanta to score again. The game was well in hand then

in the second half at thirty four to seven. There were a lot of things that I liked about this game West, and I think I think for me, it just started with the very beginning, the first offensive possession, and I know people were wondering, why aren't the Packers trying to run the ball and all this, I think the game plan was clear in terms of getting Aaron Rodgers into a rhythm and into some kind of a comfort zone. Because I was keeping track during that first possession.

Aaron Rodgers dropped back to past eight times on that drive, if you include the defensive past interference that was part of that drive, eight times he drove back to pass, and seven of those eight times the ball was out on time and in rhythm. Only once was there to hold the ball, scramble around and look for another guy kind of thing. And I just thought that set the

tone for the way this offense needs to play. I thought it put the Falcons defense on its heels right away from the get go to have Aaron Rodgers in that kind of a rhythm, and that really paid off through the first three quarters as the Packers built a big lead. So, you know, all week long they made such a big deal. Not a big deal, but people pointed out that Joe Philbin hadn't been an offensive coordinea calling get you know plays since his time back in Northeastern.

But what was interesting to me on that first series in particular, you know what that reminded me a lot of two thousand eleven in that they were using a short passing game, quick passing game to get the offense moving. There was no regard whatsoever for the run. Early on, Jamal Williams started the game. Second play, he was out there. He ends up picking up uh, you know, Russia come

and off the edge by himself. So they made it a point to get Aaron Rodgers into a rhythm, and they use multiple personnel personnel packages to do that, a lot of players shuffling in and out from the sideline play after playoff play, and then what happened then in the second half, then you start to get the run going with Aaron Jones I have one of the funnier things. I was talking to Aaron Jones in the locker room.

They ran that screen right that went from minus one yard and I kind of said, I was like, so, what was going through your mind? Then when they dial up the same exact play to the right side, He's like, Oh, they're never going to see this coming. You know, when you have a play that quote unquote fails like that, why would you run the same exact thing to the

other side. The Packers do that, they get the first down, the fifteen yards, Aaron Jones starts rolling after that, fifty total yards of offense on that drive ending with the twenty nine yard touchdown. It was really I thought interesting and maybe even poetic that this game ended without I mean, Davante Adams had a fine game, Aaron Jones had a fine game. Aaron Rodgers stats were fine, but it wasn't

a dominating performance by one individual player. You heard the term complimentary football a lot, and whether it was offense or defense. With the shot Brilon stepping up with a pick six, Clay Matthews I thought had a really good game. They complimented both sides of the football there and realistically, I mean, that was the best game that they've played

going back to that Week four matchup against the Bills. Yeah, I want to talk a little bit more about that in terms of some things that we saw that we hadn't necessarily seen from the Packers, but real quickly, the Green Bay Packers get ready for game day with the powerful noise canceling technology of Bo's Quiet Comfort thirty five headphones. To learn more at www dot bos dot com. Slash Packers Bows the official headphones of the Green Bay Packers.

All right, West, If you were to ask me, what were the two things that we saw in this game that we just haven't seen in through these through the Packers struggles over the last month and a half, it was converting on third down and it was getting a big game changing play from the defense the third downs seven out of thirteen. Maybe it is because I finally went through all of the horrible, crappy numbers on third down. On last Friday Show, the Packers had converted eight third

downs in their last three games combined. They converted seven on Sunday. That that tells you right there how much of an improvement it was. Now a couple of those were Aaron Rodgers scrambles. It wasn't that everything was smooth and hunky dory and completely in rhythm on third down. But if you're going to convert seven out of thirteen, you take that anytime. And then on the defensive side, Bashad Brill and getting that pick six. The Falcons make

the mistake on special teams after the Packers score. I forget the returner's name, but he must the kickoff, he must the kickoff at the goal line, and he only gets out to what is that the eight yard line? So the Falcons are in a field position bind. And then sure enough, a few plays later, Matt Ryan tries to force one in there, and Bryland is there for the pick and he just waltzes into the end zone. Suddenly a seven game, Marvin Hall right, Suddenly a ten

seven game is is seventeen to seven. The Packers are in complete control and that defense is riding high. The last interception the Packers had was Brilan's at Lambeau Field against Miami right three three, three, four weeks prior, whatever it was, and it was the first pick six by a Green Bay Packers defender since Week five of last season at Dallas. So we talk all the time about how big those types of plays are, and yeah, in a thirty four to twenty game, you know, it kind

of just becomes another play. But at the time ten to seven second quarter and it goes to seventeen to seven, I thought it really took whatever whatever energy the Falcons might have had from getting a touchdown on their opening drive. It was gone by them. You know, there's three things It's like West Hodds, three things always here that really stood out to me about this defensive performance. The first one is I gotta tip your cap to Mike Petton Joe ed Jr. For what they did with the defensive

passing game. Here's the deal, Mike, you don't have Kevin King, He's gone the rest of the year hamstring injury. In reserve. We'll see in So they start three rookie cornerbacks with Hermont Williams playing safety, jire Alexander, Josh Jackson, and Tony Brown in undrafted rookie who started the season on the team's practice squad. You have Bishod Brillan available. He's up, he has he's coming off the growing injury. It would have been really enticing for a past defense that has

had to weather a lot of injuries. He finally get somebody back here to throw Brilon out there and just you know, put the pedal to the medal. Petton didn't do that. Wit didn't do that. They were very strategic with how they used him. He even mentioned it afterwards Breland did, and that there, you know, he was on kind of a rep count. They wanted to be smart with them because they don't want to have one more

aggravation that could be the season. Well, didn't we see, and I'm sorry to interrupt you, didn't we see at one point early a defensive package with eight defensive wasn't one of them eight defensive backs on the field and Brian was still on the sideline. That's how careful they were being with Eddie Pleasant and Will Redmond entered in that package and Brian was still on the sideline. So

here's the deal. Breland finally comes in, makes the tackle right before that play, and then, as he's done so many times now throughout his career, is able to just perfectly time his jump. He knew it was basically one of two routes that they were gonna be looking for on that play to Hooper gets in front of the

ball and he's off to the end zone. The other thing I really liked about, you know, this whole defensive performances and not to be labor what you're trying to avoid early on with that, the two upheld challenges, make of them what you will. I'm sure at some point this offseason you and I are gonna be doing a Packer's unscripted talking about, Hey, we still don't know what

it catches. But here's the thing I really liked about it, and the thing that you know, Jyr Alexander, Truman, Williams, Clay Matthews, a number of guys talked about in the locker room that same thing. Was saying about, how you know, Joe Philbin's still sort of introducing himself to this defense. He can talk until he is blew in the face about unity and respect, accountability, all the things that he preaches as a head coach, but until you are in the heat of battle, you don't know what it's like

playing for a coach. JR. Alexander said it right from the beginning. He was matching Julio Jones having a head coach step up and say, you know what, I'm gonna throw their challenge flag on the first one, which wasn't a catch. I don't care if if me in my nephew aiden are playing football in the backyard, I would say, I'm sorry, son. That wasn't a care. Absolutely no way on God's green Earth that that was a reception two plays later, more of a traditional challenge where it was

you know is Julio Jones and tough call. Joe Philbin is at a point right there where he has to make a decision do I want to challenge this and don't have any challenges the rest of the game doesn't mean enough to me? And Jr. Alexander said this. Traumont Williams said it. That was the quintessential moment of a head coach saying you know what, I have your back, I trust your talent. And even though they both got upheld, I think that gave this defense some juice. They ended

up scoring on that drive, no question about it. But the next five or six possessions, I forget what it was. They hold the Falcons six possessions, six possessions, no points. They caught a break. They caught a break with the one botched third down by Matt Ryan where he lost the handle in the ball and lost a bunch of yards and then they missed the field goal. But other than that, the other the other five possessions, one of them being the six pick the pick six, excuse me.

The other five possessions no points, no, no even real threatening to score then until the game was thirty four to seven and it was well inhanded, incredible, And I think that that was one of the things when you know, we didn't have a chance to talk to Mike pett Yeah, but I have to imagine Mike Petton appreciated that, because when you're in the heat, when when things are going down, you give a forty eight yards off the first two

plays that you feel are not completions. You need to be able to show that you're willing to step up for your guys. I think Joe Philbin did that. Yeah, well, speaking of having your back, I want to return to that topic in a second here West but at home or here in the stands, we all know that Green Bay fans give it their all and that takes a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness of Packers

fans everywhere try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. Just visit your local supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky Sup Official Sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. All Right, you said it. The defensive players felt that their head coach, their new head coach, their interim head coach, whatever you wanna call it, had their back with those early challenges.

As dubious as the strategy might have been, and Philbin admitted that after the game that throwing the second challenge flag less than two minutes into the game probably not not necessarily the um the smartest move from a strategic standpoint to make. But we saw at the end of the first half, Aaron Rodgers takes a shot from Atlanta defensive back Brian Pool as he scrambles, goes into a slide, takes a pretty big whack to the back of the shoulder,

you know, somewhere on on the back side there. Didn't didn't hit him in the head, didn't hit him with his head as far as I could tell. But a Packers offensive line down three starters, playing with three reserves in Lucas Patrick, Justin McCrae, and Jason Spriggs, all filling in up front, the first guy down the field to defend Mr Rogers and ended up creating a little bit of a melee, if you want to call it that.

In the in the middle of the field there is Lucas Patrick, the former undrafted player out of Duke and Uh. Aaron Rodgers said it flat out after the game. As far as his teammates reaction to him getting hit like that, he said, I loved it. Yeah, the moose stashed enforcer.

As I said on Twitter right afterwards. If you don't any thing about Lucas Patrick though, and you know, I believe this is only his third career NFL start, but if you go to training camp practices, if you go to some of these preseason games, he's not afraid to mix it up. And I think you always have to have some of those guys. T J. Laying was one of those guys. Evan Smith was one of those guys. Has always been one of the other side of the ball. YEP that if you got to step up for your teammates,

you have to step up for your quarterback. You're gonna do that. You know. You can get into a whole discussion on whether or not Pool's hit was illegal or illegal, I think from the law, the rule of what am I trying to stay here, the law of the land, letter of the law. Thank you, Michael English major Communications major uh is that it probably was a clean hit, but it was a rough physical hit. Pool left his body and and threw his shoulder almost his head into

the back of Rogers. So here comes three and eight pound Lucas Patrick and his buddy Corey Linsley charging down the field and they went right into the fray. Patrick ends up getting into a little bit of a dust up with d On Jones. Very interested to see what the league does with Dion Jones, because I know Jones was the first one to throw a punch, right I was. I was surprised, I said to you sitting in the

press box. As soon as it happened, when Jones kind of jumped on top of everybody, you could see him swing his arm. I'm like, well, there's an ejection and they didn't throw him now. But I think he's going to get one of those FedEx envelopes in his locker on Wednesday, don't you think. Yeah. I think he's gonna just not get a paycheck this week. I mean Honestly, that's a that's a tough thing. I don't know what his his stuff had been in the past. But here's

the deal. As far as Lucas Patrick getting back to the original point here, Mike, this is a guy that if you remember him from two years ago, over two years ago. Now he comes into the Green Bay Packers. He's on a tryout right at rookie orientation camp. They bring him in, they give him a couple of meals, they tap him on the head, say good job, son, They send him on his way. He's getting ready to move on to his real the real world, and the

Packers end up calling him back. They give him a chance to come into training camp the next year, doesn't make the roster, but ends up on the practice squad the whole year, and then last year due to probably a lot of attrition and injuries on the offensive line, he ends up making the roster with Justin mccraie as

their backup interior offensive lineman. This is a guy that has been through the back roads of the NFL and and one of the things he mentioned the locker room afterwards is Aaron Rodgers in what he's done for him kind of having his arm around his shoulder and having his back over the years as a formal tryout guy, now protecting the highest paid quarterback in the NFL. Rogers has been there, he supported him, and with given the opportunity, he wants to reciprocate. He wants to have Rogers back.

He's not afraid. He was asked about, Okay, you were pretty light with the offensive line. If you get tossed there, did you think about what that can mean? And he's like, no, I really didn't. That didn't enter my head. But he said it was a reaction. He wanted to go out there and have his quarterbacks back. And Davante Adams, I thought, had a really interesting quote too, you know, as a Pro Bowl receiver kind of having a knowledge of of Patrick saying, this is one of the toughest guys I've

been around. So I don't know if it's the stash, but obviously it meant a lot for the Packers to see him step up. Well, it's certainly meant a lot to Aaron Rodgers and Rogers also referenced in his postgame press conference the a similar type of situation two years ago down in Tennessee. Rogers Packers are losing the game

by a fairly large margin. But Rogers scrambles and scores a touchdown and he's three or four yards into the end zone and gets hit by a Tennessee Titans defender and a bunch of guys, as Rogers said, here comes the cavalry, like a bunch of guys really came to his his defense there. And it was actually a video clip that Rogers kept on his phone because he liked it so much of how how his guys kind of rallied around him when when he took an unnecessary shot

from a defensive player there. So personally, I thought, for everything that we've seen over the last several weeks, how the Packers have come out of the locker room after halftime at Seattle at Minnesota against Arizona really being flat and not having any energy in the in the second half, I thought the fact that that happened right before halftime, and I'm sure that was what all those guys were talking about in the locker room for that twelve thirteen

minute intermission, I thought that had a big factor in the Packers coming out and bang bang two touchdowns on two drives to start the second half, and putting that game away. Yeah, I agree, and I mean it also. I was the headline on my sidebars that you know, this team still has a lot of fight left. I think that showed you what fight this team has left. And Rogers said that said that as well. That was one of his comments. If you're if your quarterbacks get

hit like that, you aren't stepping up. I'm not saying you have to go in there and start throwing haymakers that guys, but you're pushing the pile a little bit and showing him that it's not going to stand. Yeah, you need to be able to check the temperature a little bit like that. Lucas Patrick Shure did it back in the day, just out of curiosity. Did you ever wear a mustache at all? No? I can. I can't

grow one if I Patricks is pretty good. Oh yeah, he's if if you're standing on the field and you see that man number sixty two eight pounds wearing that mustache coming after you, you know it's on. Yeah. Well, and and somehow he avoided the unnecessary roughness penalty because they they gave it to Core. They gave it to

number sixty three instead of number six. You ended up being off setting and it didn't matter, but it's how it sounded like Lindsley kind of got a kick out of that after the game when he was told the penalty was actually called on him. Yeah, it was pretty pretty funny how that works out. Now we're gonna have to see what the league has to say about that on Friday. But you know, be that as it may.

Maybe maybe Corey Lindsley's FedEx envelope is going to end up in Lucas Patrick's locker, but by the time practices over. But but yeah, those are those are the you know, those are the type of moments where you really see what your team is made out of. And I thought, you know, credit to the offensive lineman. I mean, also give credit to Patrick and McRae and just Jason Spriggs for stepping up the way they did. I know it

wasn't a percent clean performance. There's some places they want to have back, but that's a tough spot to be in to be down three offensive lineman. The Packers were up to the task. Yeah, well, it was a big weekend in NFL Football West and I know we're we're kind of up against it time wise here and with the Vikings and the Seahawks playing on Monday Night football. Let's save our discussion of the rest of the week

in the league for tomorrow. We'll have a lot more time to go over everything with the Bears and the Vikings and and where everything stands, So for now, let's just call it a wrap on this edition of Packers on Scripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com on Twitter for his mustache comments, He's at West Hot I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.