#432 Packers Unscripted: Diving into details

studios at lambeau Field and West. As the Packers moved toward preparation for the Minnesota Vikings in week two, a couple of things to still look back on week one here and the victory over the Chicago Bears in particular, I want to discuss another aspect of this defensive performance that was obviously very, very impressive, one of the best defensive performances start to finish, first quarter to fourth quarter that we've seen in Green Bay in a long time.

And I went through my ritual of the film review and my weekly regular season weekly piece what you might have missed for fans who are familiar with it that is now up on packers dot com, and what I examined in this which I didn't realize when I was watching the game from the press box, but with the Bears only converting three out of fifteen third downs, it's like, okay, well, how did the Packers do this defensively? Three out of fifteen? You know, that's a pretty low percentage to hold the

opponent to. You look at the film on third down mits true, Bisky never saw the same look in terms of pressure package, you know, on a third down passing situation. He never saw the same look. Twice Mike Patton, he'd put six guys up in the front, he'd rush four. He'd put six guys up there, he'd rush five. It was different guys rushing and dropping. One time he puts seven guys up there and rushed only three and two of them got pressure because the Bears offensive line was

so discombobulated. Buy it now. I don't know if you can play defense this way for sixteen games, Eventually your your bag of tricks kind of runs out, doesn't it. But but it was really something to go through the film fifteen third downs for the Bears, And I don't

know if Mike Patton gave Mr. Drobiski the same look twice. Yeah, it's funny, and it's one of those things that when you said that, and obviously when you had the story, it's sort of in the back of my mind, was like, yeah, I mean they're throwing a lot of you know, packages at this guy. You don't really realize just the full

multitude of what those packages truly look like. I mean, the one I keep going back to it was they ended up I think either called time out, there's a false start, but it was where they had overloaded on the right side where it was precedent Zadarius Smith both coming off one edge, and the other you had Dean Lowery and Kenny Clark on the other side. I mean, just just looks you're not used to seeing in pressure packages that just aren't familiar when you look at the

full gamut of the NFL. And let's be honest, Mike, I mean, the one thing you go back to that first news conference that Brian Goodin has had after he talked about all these off season acquisitions that they made, they wanted to put more tools in Mike Petton's toolbox. That was the point of this offseason. That wasn't just strictly about the caliber player, and certainly they got some high quality free agents from this class, but they wanted guys like Preston and Zadarius Smith who can play in

different roles and have that interchangeability. This game was the perfect reflection of that and how you're seeing that into reality. The other thing that stood out to me too. Now that this was a part of your story, but both of those guys basically played every down too. So when you when you ask about whether or not the Packers can stay in those packages. Can Preston Smiths play all but one defensive snap the entire game? I think Sadarius

Smith might have had four or five off. So they built this defense around those guys up front, and as we saw with some of the looks that they gave Trabinsky on third downs, they really are gonna they want to follow through a this in those pressure packages. Yeah, if you want to see what some of those third downs look like. The video clips are part of my what you might have missed, pieced their innersplae throughout text

explanation of kind of what was going on. But what really stood out to me is I was going through them. You know, we've talked about how the that Mike zimmer double a gap mug look that that he's sort of trademarked, and a lot of teams obviously used it as well. The Packers do. Where you have two linebackers who are lined up at the line of scrimmage on either side

of the center. On a third down. You don't know if both guys are gonna come, if both guys are gonna drop, if one's gonna come and one's gonna drop. But what was interesting to me and going through this and the way Patton was using those looks is sometimes it was Raven Green next to Blake Martinez in the other A gap. Sometimes it was Preston Smith in the

other A gaps. Sometimes it was a Darius in the other A gap and Kyler fatt I mean, he just kept shifting guys around, and there was no way to get there was no way to get a beat on exactly how things were playing out. There was another snap where there's a six man front. Three guys drop into coverage, but it's a four man rush because the fourth guy is coming from the second level. It's one of the safety's.

I mean the mixing and matching and the changeups that were being thrown on third down, and I mean, hey, Mr Dubinsky is still a young quarterback. That's exactly what you want to do. The more varied looks you can give him the greater chance there is that maybe it's something he hasn't seen yet, but also making him constantly adjust because the quarterback has a lot of responsibility in calling the protection. The quarterback in the center, they have

to call protection and make those adjustments. And if they don't make the right adjustment in a certain in a certain instance, then there's somebody who's not being blocked, and then that's how you end up getting pressure. And and Trubisky did not have a lot of time to throw in that game. And like I said, you can't just play the XS and ose scheme game all the time. You've got to be able to beat your man, beat the man across from you, especially when you get into

the fourth quarter and whatnot. But boy, this was this was some mixed bag that Mike Patton threw at the Bears offense. The first thing, as far as the safety blitzes are concerned, there's so little you can draw from from preseason, but you could actually see in the in those games how much Petton wants that to be a part of the defensive scheme. Whether it's Adrian Amos, you know, whether it is uh you know, maybe even Darniell Savage

dropping down a little bit. We saw some of the reserve safeties do it in the preseason and even in some of the practices, and I think you're seeing why particular guys fit well into his defense when he wants to deploy those type of players. There was a play that even you brought up about how they lined up seven on the defensive front and then they ended up only rushing three and I think one of them was Amos and the other one was Kenny Clark. I mean,

then they dropped the rest. Those are the type of games you can play when you start to put the quarterback on tilt a little bit, and they were successful on that. They were even able to drive that one home with I think maybe Zadarius Smith was Darius Smith was the third one, and fans always complain like, oh, a three man never works. Exactly, there was a three man rush and two guys actually helped flush Troubisky out of the pocket. The Bears offensive line just didn't have

an answer for that. Seven guys up front, four of them drop into coverage and they just didn't They didn't respond to it properly. The other thing I want to just touch on really quickly when you mentioned the double a gap looks and what they've done with Blake Martinez. Blake Martinez now has six sacks with Mike Petton in this defense over the last seventeen regular season games. It

is really remarkable how well he's fitting here. And I understand there's certain scheme adjustments and there's things that the defensive coordinator is doing to free Martinez up for those opportunities, but how effective Martinez has been being able to get through and be able to capitalize when he does get the whole when he does get the rush. He's really

fits this defense well. And I think that's why. You know, I know, people talk about the depth that inside linebacker, and you know, they want to know who's gonna be that next guy up. Certainly the Packers want to establish that player, but on an every down basis when everybody's healthy, Blake Martinez is an every down player for this defense.

And I think plays like that show you why because of not just what he offers as a traditional inside linebacker, but being able to be smart and savvy to find those opportunities to get after the quarterback when he gets deployed. Yeah, the one sack that he did have in the game, it was actually the second third down. It was on the Bears opening series, and on the first third down he had come up in that mug look in the

A gap and he dropped into coverage. Then on three plays later, at the very next third down, he's in the exact same spot. A different guy was next to him in the other A gap. And then this time Martinez came, you know, shot the gap between the center of the guard. Nobody blocked him. He got a he gotta clean um. He got a clean charge of Trabisky, and Troubisky was on the ground before he could even

look for a receiver. And you gotta remember, I mean, this is a two or thirty seven pound football player that is running through the beefiest, biggest part of an offensive line. And I don't mean this to be disrespectful to Joe Thomas, but there were a lot of times where don Key Apres would try to do something similar

with Joe Thomas. Thomas very rarely was just able to get home in those places because you're talking about a two eight pound man and he's getting hung up on a guard that maybe is weighing nine pounds more than him. I just think it's a credit to Blake Martinez that he can keep the offensive lines, you know, truthful in what he's able to accomplish there and be effective in that way. Yeah, well, another aspect of the game. Yeah, there you go, another aspect of the game that is

definitely worth revisiting. And you've got a story on our website related to this, um your occasional series that we call Player on the Rise. And quite frankly, a pretty easy choice with this one because second year punter J K. Scott, when you look at the numbers, when you look at the situations, everything that went into his performance in a defensive struggle out there at Soldier Field, J K. Scott definitely a guy who deserved a game ball and uh

and he was. He was featured in your piece. And statistically, boy, you can't start of the season any better than than what he just especially given the circumstances. I mean, you're gonna go back and you're gonna look at statistics. There's gonna be games where he had a higher gross, there's gonna be games where he had a higher net. But the fact of the matter is he punted a career high nine times in this ballgame. The Packers defense continually

got stops when they needed them. But you know that's one half of the equation. When you're trying to dictate field position and tempo. When the offense sputters, it's never a good thing for momentum, but it can be compounded if the punter isn't able to at least, you know, maintain the field position. I thought j. K. Scott in this game in particular, did a phenomenal job of being able to dictate the terms in which the game was played. And he was going up against a pretty decent punter himself,

you know, Pat O'Connell on the other side. He was holding his ground. Trevor Davis didn't get a lot of chances for returns, but in the critical moments when j. K. Scott needed to make a punt, the last one that everyone keeps talking about is that final one. You know, there's one minute and fifty whatever seconds left. He needs to be able to pin the Bears back. He uncorks a sixty three yarder which ends up being brought back even a couple more yards after holding call on the Bears.

That's what makes them start their fourteen and that's what set up the four and out for the Packers defense. I was asking Kenny Clark about it in the locker room on Monday, he said, you know the way he's booming punts right now, that's flipping the field for this team. So at the end of the day, Mike, this is what special teams needs to do. That is where you don't want to give up chunk plays and you want to be able to maintain your leverage in that capacity.

J K. Scott being able to control his punts for the most part. I know there was one in the middle field he want wanted back, but other than that, you know, he did a really good job in this game of being able to make sure the Packers still maintain that momentum regardless of the situation. Yeah, he had the one early in the game when he was punning basically out of the back of the end zone when the Packers offense had gone nowhere. He put it down

in the middle of the field. Cohen got a good return. The Bears were starting at the Green Bay thirty six yard line, but to the credit of the Packers defense, they were able to hold him to a field goal and then that ended up being the only points the Bears scored. I thought Scott caught one other break where he had hit one not the greatest punt and it was kind of down the middle of the field, but Coden didn't field it and it took a nice bounce and I think that was his other his other sixty

plus yard or there. But what I will say to when you look at the nine punts and the statistic that five of them were inside the opponent's twenty yard line, We've seen it so many times West where a lot of times punters they they go for that big hero punt, you know where they're they're trying to drop it on you know, like the four yard line or the three yard line and trying to get you know, just the right lucky bounce to really pin a team, you know,

inside the five. Hey, I'll take the one that goes straight up in the air and they have to fair catch it on the tent. I'll take that every time over going for those hero punts that then you know, seven times out of nine are going to go into the end zone and they get the ball at the twenty, that's not what you want. Make him fair catch it on the ten yard line. That's a great spot for your defense to be in. And he did that a

handful of times in this game. Yeah, and it was interesting too, because he talked about that thirties the punt that ended up going to the thirty six, and he mentioned that's where they ended up getting their three points. But that's the you talked this week a lot about the narrow margins. That's one of those type of plays that when you just give them enough yardage, they're going to be able to find a way to score points

even if the defense holds serve. The thing I like about that idea that you just laid out there is that you know, dom Capers would talk about this a lot. If you take care of your business and don't give up explosive plays. The more you force an offense, the longer you force the offense to sustain a drive, the less likely it's going to be that they're gonna be

able to do that. So by putting them at the ten instead of the twenty, it might sound like a small thing, but in reality, that's an extra first down, and you know, if you're able to not give up the big chunk plays and not get penalized, that is what is going to ultimately allow you to maybe get that stop at the fifty instead of your forty, where now they're thinking about going forward on fourth down, or they have to make a decision on their kicker exactly.

That extra yardage can go a long way in games like this. And I again, J K. Scott, it's a long season. He talked about before, he felt like he kind of wore down down the stretch last year. He needs to be able to maintain that momentum. But listen to what Sean Manega has said about him in his approach this year. I think you're seeing a young guy that's maturing. Because the leg talent is always there. We've seen it. It's just about being able to be relaxed,

mature in falling through and what you need to accomplish. Yeah, alright, well I want to get your thoughts here West on that opening Monday night football game at the super domin New Orleans, New Orleans Saints hosting the Houston Texans, two teams that a lot of a lot of football analysts, a lot of fans out there expecting to be in the mix in January here in the postseason. A really interesting a f C versus NFC matchup to kick off Monday night football and uh boy, what a football game?

On what a football game? What the last two minutes of that football game. Hi, it's funny for the Packers, this probably didn't go the way you wanted it to. With anytime an a f C team can be a contending NFC team that always have that in your back pocket at the end of the season. That's a that's a benefit. But I'll say this, man, the thing that stands out to me is Drew Brees his poise, his moxie at forty years old. You know, I mean that it was Deshaun Watson made two incredible throws to be

able to come back get the answer. They missed the extra point, the kicker was rough. They have to kick the extra point again. Now it's tied, all right now they whatever it worked out to be. Um. Yeah, then Houston got the lead on the extra point. It would have it would have been tied on the miss if not for the penalty. So and then Drew Brees saddles up, goes back out there on the clock and managing the game. It was funny. A guy like me, I'm just immediately

thinking called the time out. He got two first downs, left himself with six seconds or whatever it was. And then a mind boggling decision from Houston to go into prevent even though the Saints had the time out left, they going to prevent yards. They they had three guys that were thirty five yards off the line of scrimmage playing way back. They only rushed, you know, I believe they only rushed two guys or something like that, And yeah,

I'm with you. I I thought Breese was going to call the time out after the second completion about fifteen sixteen seconds, and when they were at midfield, I thought, Okay, he's gonna have to call it there, and he rushed him up to the line and spiked it, and I was like, wow, well, yeah, now you can still use the middle of the field. But um um, but yeah, Houston defensively, not exactly sure of the call or what they were what they were afraid of there, they conceded

the ten yards in the middle of the field. With the Saints having the time out left. Now a fifty eight yard field goal, I mean, that's you figure, that's probably a less than fifty fifty proposition. So maybe that was their thinking that rather than let you know, Breeze potentially beat them deep with something down the sideline, um, they would give up the ten yards and and hope the guy would miss the long kick. But but indoors

in a dome, you know he drilled it. And in the Saints are and Will Lots is a really talented kicker, and he's kicking inside his own building. I mean, if that's an energy, maybe that's the approach you have because he's not going to be as familiar with it. But Will Lutz knows that stadium as well as any kicker in the league. So to be in that position to hit a game winner a career long that didn't surprise me. The one thing I was interested in. Some people are

asking me this on Twitter. Maybe you can answer it for me. Breeze completes the catch that sets up the kick in ends up being the time out with two seconds left. If the Texans defender would not have touched the receiver after he falls to the ground, would the clock still run or is the receiver given No, the clock would still run, right if the if the if the if the offensive player gives himself up, if he concedes,

the offense can call a time out. So even so, even if he hadn't been touched with with the receiver going down on his own and conceding, which is clearly what he was told to do. Whether it's Sean Payton on the sideline next to a ref or breeze next to the ref on the field, they can they can call the time out if if their player has conceded and given up on the play. So Houston touching the

receiver that had no bearing. Wonder though, if you're Houston, though, if you just if that's the plan, if you're gonna let him have the catch, Like, I'm surprised the guy went up and still touched him. But what it is, what it is, um And obviously the Saints came out with a big victory. The Houston Texas and Deshaun Watson. Man, I gotta I have a lot of respect for them though. That's going to be an exciting football team with what

they did losing Lamar Miller right off the bat. Most hide comes in and kind of picks up the torch for them. Deshaun Watson's a winner, dude. As long as his knee holds up here and he doesn't have any more setbacks with that, I think that guy is gonna have a really special career. Yeah, well it was. It was quite the weak one. In the NFL as when the yeah, the Raiders with all of the controversy and the turmoil and everything swirling around, then they go out and I have to admit I went to bed. I

didn't see. Uh you didn't stay up for that game, But I didn't stay up from Raiders Broncos I had to. I just I had to watch and see exactly what this was gonna look like. And I gotta give John Gruden. I gotta give that defense a lot of credit to for as bad as they were last year defensively holding Joe Flacco and check throughout the first first half. You know,

second half he had some success. But I'll say this, man, Derek Carr is a player, and for him to have that type of game against Vic Fangio's defense the the big reason why Vic Fangio is a head coach right now. That scheme car twenty two of twenty six to nine and a touchdown. They looked really good in that game. It's gonna be uh, They're gonna be the big storyline all year long. Seen exactly how that team responds. It's gonna be uh, it's gonna be intriguing, to say the least. Yeah, No,

doubt about it. Well, with that, 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, subscribed to us, like us on iTunes and other podcast services. On Twitter, He's at west Hot, I'm at Mike Spoffer at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, We'll see you next time. Yeah h m hm