#484 Packers Unscripted: Culture and chemistry

all of that good stuff. It's been a lot of things swirling around in the media amongst fans, a lot of discussion as to just what is the identity of the two thousand nineteen Green Bay Packers. We've talked about a little bit on this show. If there's any thing I've said along those lines, I think it's that this is a team that has proven more often than not it's the better team in the fourth quarter, and that's how it has won games. You look at defensively, they

get sacks, they pressure quarterbacks, they get turnovers. That's kind of the identity on that side of the ball. Offensively, we know this unit is at its best when the ball goes through the running backs for the most part, at least that's where it starts. Aaron Rodgers had a very interesting answer to this question, I thought in his post Wednesday practice media huddle at his locker, because he was asked the identity question and he didn't really talk

about the playbook. The play calls the xs and os on the field what somebody would see as this team's identity on film when they study the two thousand nineteen Green Bay Packers. His answer was very much rooted in the locker room and in the culture and in the

chemistry of the team. I thought that was very interesting because flat out he said he believes the identity of this team is that is everybody embracing his role, a role that has been handed down from the head coach, from the general manager, of the way the roster has been constructed. In all of that, I thought it was a very interesting answer because it really, in a lot of ways it had nothing to do with the identity that people talk about in the in the film study sense.

Right in Matt Lafleur, when he was discussing this said too, he's going to leave that identity identifying the identity up to the media whatever you want to say their identity is. That's well and good. The fact of the matter is the Packers, without this identity that's you know, has a title and a name and a description and a birthday, they have been able to get to nine and three at this point in Mike, for the first time in two years, you and I are covering meaningful December football,

legitimately meaningful December football. So if you're nine and three, if you've had the success that I don't think many people expected the Packers to have this year, to be at nine wins sitting in the first week of December, do you have an identity? And Rogers tapped into something that I've kind of been alluding to for most of

the season. It's one of the reasons I want to track down Mercedes Lewis in the locker room this week because so many times, Mike, it's like, Okay, there's Davantie Adams. He needs to get hundred and eleven catches, he needs to get yards and fifteen touchdowns, and that's the sign of a healthy, productive offense and team. And the reality

is that isn't that isn't it? The reality is is that you need guys like Mercedes Lewis and Jimmy Graham who have been stars, have been Pro bowlers in other locations that are in a different stage of their career that are willing to accept the role that's handed to him. You need Jamal Williams as a fourth round pick in two thousand seventeen being the secondary option to the guy that was taken around behind him. Aaron Jones that those two became close friends in the relationship that they have.

That's special because so many times times it can be adversarial. Uh, when you're when you're dealing with running backs and touches and things of that nature. And there's a lot of money at stake when these guys go for second contracts and all that kind of stuff. That's all part of the business too. Yeah, and you look at the receiving court, Yeah it is Davante Adams. But if Davante Adams has to take a back seat in any given week, he's

cool with it. And that permeates through the rest of the room, whether it's Al Lazard, Marcus Veld, the scantling, Jake Kumero. This list goes on and on of all these different guys that have stepped up in Geronimo Allison in that conversation as well, that is the identity defensively, it's the same situation when you look at Kyler Facral,

guy had ten and a half sacks last year. The Packer signed two premier pass rushers in the off season, guys that you know we're gonna be the two most coveted guys in terms of their age and what they put on the field and their potential. Packers got both of them, and Kyler Facral had to go back to a secondary role. You haven't heard him piping up this season, Kenny Clark. I mean the list goes on and on. So I mean for the Packers to be at this point,

you don't do that without camaraderie. You don't do that with chemistry. Without chemistry, and more importantly, Mike, it's the culture of that locker room right now that's helped him get to this position. Yeah. I thought it was interesting because, and if you want to check out my story, I fashioned a piece after the locker room interviews on Wednesday evening with you know, around Rogers comments, and I thought it was just very interesting how he mentioned guys the guy.

The names of guys that he rattled off, Marcedes Lewis, Jimmy Graham, Jamal Williams, Geronimo Alison, Kyler Facral. You look at you look at all of those guys. They have all had bigger and better seasons in their NFL careers than they're having right now, even Jamal Williams, because you look back at Williams rookie season he had. He had a stretch of three consecutive games in his rookie year where he had a hundred plus yards from scrimmage three games in a row. He was the bell cow. He

was getting it done. That's not his role this year. Geronimo Allison, last year we talked about how he was on pace for a thousand yards season before he got injured. He's not having that kind of year this year. Kyler Faco, you mentioned the double digit sacks. Marcedes Lewis and Jimmy Graham have gone to Pro Bowls before, They're not going to Neither one of them is going to a Pro Bowl this year. Let's just be honest, right, They're not

having that type of individual season. But yet nobody's nobody's complaining, nobody's barking. Everybody has accepted and the way Rogers described it as it's accepting a challenge that's handed down from the head coach saying, this is your role, this is what we want you to do. So give it everything you have and knock our socks off with this role that you've been that you've been handed And it's it is a big reason the Packers are nine and three

right now. And I think that's partly why, as we've discussed at other times on the show, you don't really know every week how the Packers are going to go about winning the game, or at least attempting or trying

to win the game. But the thing is, because of because of the culture they have and because of the roles that more polished players or players with more polished seasons in their careers earlier, because of the roles that they've accepted, they believe that if they buy into it, then they are putting their best foot forward for the for the team to have a shot to win the game.

It's it's it's fostered a belief and a confidence and and I I personally think that that type of confidence is what carries into the fourth quarter that if these guys are right there in the fourth quarter, they believe they're going to pull it out. Yeah. And it's different this year too, because the Packers haven't, to this point twelve weeks into the season, haven't had to deal with a lot of injuries. Would Geronimo Allison's roll be bigger

if you didn't have all these other secondary options? Would Jamal Williams will be bigger? Certain Jones wasn't having the season he's having, certainly, absolutely, And it can change like that. So that's why it's important to stay in tune with where you're at because there could come a day in two or three weeks where hey, now Jamal Williams is the featured back and he has to carry the load.

You have to be ready for all of that. You have to mentally be able to under stand, this is what's asked to me today and what could potentially be asked to me tomorrow, and how you react to both of those things matters, matters to the locker room, matters how these things go. Because if any of these guys, sixty three guys if you count the practice squad, any of them peep up with discontent or whatever that creates stress that creates dysfunction, It creates distractions that you don't need.

And I just feel like that's the thing that stands out to me about this your team. You don't have that. You asked me for a Tremont Williams quote when you're writing that story. Unfortunately I didn't have one for you when I knew you would. I knew you had talked to him. I had. I had missed his locker room scrum on Wednesday, and I was hoping maybe he had

a comment that I could use for my story. Turned out not to be the case, but He's gonna have one for one that I'm going to be using with Lewis, And it relates to what the importance is of showing a guy like that and a guy like Tremont too, who's been a star in this league, been a pro bowler in this league, and has made a lot of money playing the game of professional football, coming from very humble beginnings, being able to humble themselves and understands what's

asked of them today, because it's not just about what it does for the locker room. In two thousand nineteen, you have Gyr Alexander, you have Robert Tonyan, you have Ja Sternberger, You've got guys that are in the absolute spring of their NFL careers that are hopefully, in their eyes, going to be playing ten twelve years as well. They're

gonna remember those moments. They're gonna remember when when Mercedes Lewis says something, when he does something, or the way that Rogers interacts with him, and you're gonna remember the way that Truman Williams very selflessly came back and said, yeah, sure you need me at safety, although that's not my best position, Yeah let's play it because that's what I have to do to help this defense stay afloat for their second half of the season. That's that leaves big

marks and impressions on a locker room. So that that's why it's important to Darius Smith talk about him changing the culture, bringing in something new and energy, a passion, and being able to bring everyone along for the ride. Whatever. You don't want to make fun of the d train or kind of laugh about it, that's off matters because it's not about what the Packers are trying to do in two thousand nineteen, and by all means that's win

a super Bowl. It's getting back to a place where they can contend every single year and have a locker room, a coaching staff, and a culture that fits along with that vision. Yeah, and I think as much as uh, the guys that I rattled off before, they aren't every down players on this team. They have specific roles they've they've also taken on leadership roles to a certain extent. But also you see the leadership coming from those frontline

every down guys as well. And I'm talking about Davante Adams who didn't say a word about the fact that he went ten games or whatever it was without getting a touchdown this year. Now, yes, he's enjoying the fact that he's got three touchdowns in the last two games, but he didn't say anything about that. And and what what trickles down from there is is because, in my in my opinion, because that kind of stuff doesn't come out of his mouth, the the other receivers in that

room understand their value. Because if Davante Adams are saying, well, I gotta get a bunch of touchdowns, then the other receivers are like, well, what are we a bunch of chopped liver? You know, I mean, so it's hard to speak to that room when you're leading it absolutely, And I say the same thing about the Smiths that you know at outside linebacker, Preston's and Darius they are they are the every down guys. They hardly ever come off the field. They're the ones racking up all the statistics

and everything like that. But they have made it clear with their comments both publicly and behind the scenes. I think in the meeting room how important a guy like Kyler Facral is and the role and the role that he plays that yeah, maybe we're the ones racking up all the sacks, but hey, we need you out there and lo and behold who makes the play on the goal line against Carolina to preserve and and save that a point? And Kyler Facral is the first guy in

the backfield, right. So it's those kinds of things that you know that have helped, that have helped this team along and create I I give Matt Fleur, Matt la Fleur a lot of credit, and I don't know how much he'll be in the discussion potentially for Coach of the Year, and who knows. There's still four regular season games left and a lot of stuff can happen here.

But regardless of the any potential postseason award. I give Matt Lafleur a lot of credit because he's created this culture and this locker room with the help of Brian Guducunsten the players who were brought in in a really very very short amount of time. Now, winning helps, but but they aren't. You know, the culture isn't just there because of the winning. The culture has also contributed to

the winning. And it was interesting too because I wrote about this an Insider inbox because somebody was kind of I think taking la Fleur's comments a little too literal about where he's pointing at himself and saying it's on him, and somebody asked, well, when when's he gonna get this all figured out? When he's gon get the play call

and figure it out? You got to see past the words with that, because if Brian good excuse me, if Matt la floor sits up there and says, yeah, you know what, he didn't do very well, or you know what, Yeah, we're losing confidence in that guy. You know what, I can't really deal with what we're dealing with right now. Then what messages that send your locker room? The Fleur every single time he has stepped forward and there's been an issue, he points at himself. First, he did it

with J. K. Scott, the punter. What does the head coach have to do with the how the punter is performing? But he does that because if he doesn't look inward, if he doesn't act accountable, how do you expect people underneath you to be accountable? And this locker room, it goes back to that story I wrote at the beginning

of the season. The first time the Packers had to look themselves in the mirror when the defense came back from Baltimore and had a three am meeting after they played a preseason game, one quarter one preseason game against by the way, maybe the m v P of the league, Mr Jackson. So the way that you have to look at this is there is an accountability. There is a critiquing and understanding that before you go and say what you knew need to do better, I need to tell

you what I need to do better. That is what has impressed me the most. And by the way, that's the reason I leave. Matt Lafleur should be in the conversation for Coach the Year because the one thing you notice with these a p coach of the years. A lot of times it's the biggest turnaround. It's not always who wins the Super Bowl. Now, if he wins the Super Bowl, then I think that pretty much galvanizes it.

But you know, the fact that Mike McCarthy didn't get it in two thousand seven has always kind of bothered me because if a team it goes fifteen and one or they win a Super Bowl, coaches don't always get those accolades. Matt Lafleur should be right in the middle of this conversation because of how quickly they've been able

to turn this thing around. Yeah, and I like what you said about la Fleur in terms of in terms of his accountability because there are a lot of head coaches in this league there we always talk about there are different ways to do things right. There are a lot of head coaches in this league who they wouldn't They don't say things to the media at the podium the way Matt Lafleur does because they're afraid that it

projects weakness. You know, Matt Lafleur believes that it projects accountability and that is then what trickles down to the rest of the team and I got to kick out of that question. You answered an insider inbox about you know, when is Matt Lafleur gonna fig hear out this play calling thing and stop having to say that you know he should have called better plays or there so that I got news for you. Everybody in the NFL who's calling offensive plays are calling defensive plays, no matter how

long they've been doing it every game. They have regrets, they have play calls that they want back. They don't always say that. They don't always make it known to everybody that yeah, you know, I screwed up a few times. But trust me, every single one of those guys, like nobody's got this whole thing figured out. You know, just because Matt la Fleur is the one who's saying, yeah, I gotta call better plays, I gotta put my guys

in better position. He doesn't just say I need to coach better, which is what a lot of coaches say. And that's fine. They don't want to get into the details publicly. That's their choice. Matte Fleur has, you know, has pulled back the curtain a little bit in terms of where he feels he needs to help the team more. And uh and I and I agree with you. I think that's projected something that has trickled down to the other leaders in the locker room, which then trickles down

to the rest of the locker room. That Hey, account ability starts with looking in the mirror. And if that guy is going to stand in front of all those cameras at the podium and take the blame for something, then you guys can do it behind closed doors as well. Yeah, and I'll tell you what I mean when you look at how this season has unfolded for green Bay, I still don't think if you don't have that type of leadership,

if you don't have that type of oversight. As much was made coming into Green Bay about Matt Lafleur's offense and what he's gonna do to, you know, revitalize things, if you don't have that, I don't think the Packers are at nine and three the way that he's handled this because they've had to win so many close games, They've had to pull things out late in ball games, and they've really had to dig deep at different intervals

and have that contribution come from a number of different positions, phases, what have you. And now you're down to the final four games. And I wrote about this an inbox on on Tuesday. You never apologize for victory because it's so

difficult to attain it. Asked the Atlanta Falcons, asked these teams that thought they were legitimate at contenders, asked the Chicago Bears, the fact that they've had to be the team now that's like, okay, they went twelve, they went twelve and four a year ago, and right now they have an extremely difficult schedule in looking at ten and six as the best they can do if they can run through a gauntlet of a final month. So if you're staying at nine and three, you can say whatever

you want. The identity to be my identity. The way I look at that is you're a winner and you have a real chance right now to do something special in January. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, you wrote another follow up story to Mason Crosby. Um, not just related to coming off of the Giants game and everything that was going on there, but you had some interesting statistics in there within the context of the fact that Crosby and we don't want to jinx our veteran kicker here, but he

did knock on woods. Yeah, every of the lockers are made of woods, because guys will do that occasionally. He's only missed one field goal so far this season. He's perfect on his extra points. He's having a career year from a percentage and an accuracy standpoint. But it's interesting because across the league that's not what's happened. The field goal percentages are down league wide compared to where they've

been in recent years. It's it's kind of interesting how this is unfolding and we're seeing how injuries at kicker or under performance at kicker with other teams and stuff. It's leading to a revolving door, kind of a carousel of of kickers jumping around to different teams and taking their shot and then getting cut right away and all this other kind of stuff. And uh, you know, the Packers have as much stability, if not more so, at

that position than than anybody could ask for at this point. Yeah. No, strangely, a lot of kicker injuries this year. Yeah, that has that has definitely factored. Yeah, Robbie Gold has been injured, and I'm then Terry's hurt again. The money Badger in l A was out for a long time. Michael Badgeley so I mean like there's actually been like quite a

few of those, yeah, for New England. So as of you know, we saw on Wednesday the Patriots didn't have a kicker during practice, and it turned out because they had put in a claim on Chase McLoughlin, who had just been released from San Francisco because Gold is back, and then three teams place a waiver claim on him and he gets picked up by the Colts, who now don't have venetary. So this shows you one how difficult it is to find a kicker in the NFL too.

When you get that guy, how important it is to stand by them because there are going to be highs and lows and ups and downs. But if you feel like you have a guy you can be confident in, you need to value that guy. There was a conversation.

I hope I'm not speaking out of school here, but I was talking with Crosby afterwards after we did the interview for the story, and he was talking about how they went out for practice on Wednesday, and he said that was one of the more difficult days he's been out kicking outside because of how the wind currents are fluctuating, the temperatures go down I don't think people fully appreciate what Crosby has been able to do here for thirteen years.

And you can ask Ryan Longwell about this. You can probably go back and ask Chester Markle about it if you want to. It is not easy to kick in these conditions. I thought the Bears took that for granted when they moved away from Gold four years ago and they struggled to replace that. I totally agree with you. So you have Crosby now, who has made fifteen, fourteen and fifteen field goals, not been a ton of attempts,

He's made every single extra point. He has a chance to potentially for the first time since they moved that back, to make every single extra And if you go back to that disastrous scheme against Detroit and Crosby's not about statistics, he said, he really doesn't think about him because that's only then you're doing it for the wrong reasons. But he fully understands he would have had the best year of his career if you could just take away Detroit last year. You have been on his field goal makes

and since that game he's made thirty three or thirty six. Now, that's the funny thing is that you you look at field goals. He missed more field goals against Detroit than he's missed since that Detroit game. And think about that. That's that's more than a full season of games. Because Detroit last year was what week six, and here we are to week fourteen of nineteen. So just that that

alone is pretty market inutive extra points. So I mean, it's really you know, you look at where he's come from and what he's endured and the I don't want to talk about two twelve anymore because that's so far long ago. But if you actually go back and look and just see the years that he's put together eight eighty six, the level of consistency that he's maintained since then is really admirable, aside from kind of a weird two thousand seventeen season where they didn't kick a lot

of field goals. In the fact, you want to mix in what's he's dealt with with his wife, what happened with Brittany, and you know, he also mentioned that Matt Lafleur actually sent him a text Tuesday night just to see how he was doing and see if everything went okay. When he was in Texas on Monday, and Tuesday being a player's off day, he made his way back to Green Bay. He's here on Thursday to practice. He'll go back for the funeral on Friday, then he'll fly back

to Green Bay. The jet leg, the emotions, all of that. Mason Crosby, thirty five years young, potentially making an argument for his first Pro Bowl of his career. Um, some good kickers still in the NFC, with Will luttson Zane Gonzalez. But man, with what Crosby has done in the obstacles he's had to overcome to get there. I just again, you just have to kind of put your head down at night. And if you're a Packer fan and you know, thank your lucky stars that he's been your kicker for

the last thirteen years. Yeah, and you certainly can't discount the value of the kicking game. As the Packers are going to play back to back December home games before they move indoors for weeks sixteen and seventeen Minnesota and Detroit. But these, uh, these two outdoor games, Uh, the kicking game is going to be at a premium for sure.

So I didn't even look at it. Might but I'm trying to think like, so would he be would he be the third longest tenured kicker in the league now at this point because Venetaris Venetarian Guskowski's time has been together, that's s been since oh six, right in Mason came in oh seven. So I mean you talk about a run with one team, yeah, as far as yeah, as far as a tenure, a tenure with one team, yet it's uh yeah, it's rare. Yeah, it's absolutely as well.

With that, we will sign off on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com. You can subscribe to us, like us on iTunes and other podcast services, and check out the Packers YouTube channel. All kinds of great video content there. For West, I'm Mike. Thanks for tuning in. See you next time. H