#674 Packers Unscripted: Nothing’s ever easy

but I'm back. I was in the press box on Sunday to cover Packers Patriots, which turned out to be a wild game, a Green Bay overtime victory at lambeau Field and west the old adages there's nothing that ever comes easy in the NFL, and this game was the epitome of that. And with that coach, right, we all expected all week long, Bill Belichick is going to have a plan because we knew right from Friday there was gonna be no Mac Jones out there, so Brian Horyer

is going to be the quarterback. You knew you're gonna see a lot of Romandre Stevenson, you knew Damien Harris, those guys were gonna be a big part of the game plan, and defensively they were gonna mix it up. I mean, one of the things that Larry McCarron said last week that really held true is the amount of different looks Belichick's defenses are going to give you. And for the Green Bay Packers, it was a really interesting two halves for them. Offensively, got off to a slow start,

some turnovers, some unexpected things happened on that side of things. Defensively, lockdown for the most part in the first half, Brian Hoyer goes out with the concussion and then you have Bailey's Appy comes in rookie fourth round pick out of Western Kentucky. Second half, kind of a switch. Offensively, three straight drives or the Packers put up points, but defensively having a hard time stopping both those running backs in

the play action game. But at the end of the day, when the Packers had the gotta have them series to win this game, they accomplished the goal. Yeah. What stood to me about this game and it's it's unsettling for the fans, and trust me, it's unsettling in some respects for the coaches and players as well. Is on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively. There were wild swings in this game in terms of how the Packers are playing. You mentioned that you you detailed some of

it there. Aaron Rodgers went into halftime with an eleven point to passerrating when he throws that pick six right at the end of the first half, only the fourth of his career, only the second one at lambeau Field in his career, eleven point to passer rating. But then in the second half he throws for over two yards a couple of touchdowns. His second half passer rating was like one thirty plus, you know, something like that. So

Rogers got himself back to form. But you know that that was, you know, a wild swing there, a big pendulum back and forth in terms of the offense, and same thing with the defense where Zappy wasn't doing much for the Patriots offense for the bulk of the game.

But then two series in the second half, the power running game, a couple of key play action plays off of it, and the Patriots in very short order, actually without even facing a third down on either of those touchdown drives, they put up fourteen points with that rookie fourth round pick at quarterback and you're sitting there going what is going on with the Packers defense? How does how does it this? You know, this Jekyll and Hide thing,

you know, continue to show up. But you said it West when when the chips were down and when the Packers had to have it, they got it on both sides of the ball. Because offensively, you had that final drive in overtime. You drain the last six minutes and forty seven seconds of the overtime period twelve place seventy seven yards a J. Dillon with the power running a big third down conversion to Randall Cobb, and it sets

up the walk off field goal. Defensively, after those two touchdown drives, the Patriots did not get a first down the rest of the game, three three and outs, including the most important on coming in overtime where they had taken over at midfield, I believe, on their own forty nine yard line. So you're looking at what maybe sixteen seventeen eighteen yards probably one first down, but not necessarily even two first downs, and they're in position to kick

a field goal and win the game. And the Packers got a three and out and got the ball back, took over on their own ten yard line and won the ball game. So the for as much as last week against Tampa Bay, the sort of the the crunch time, the clutch moments. The Packers made one of them, the two point conversion stop right, but offensively and defensively, it was like, boy, that wasn't going well down the stretch.

There were clutch moments on both sides of the ball here, offensively and defensively for the Packers to pull this one out, and they needed every single one of them. Yeah, I'm sure when the team gets back in the building, when they start breaking down this game and moving on now to the New York Giants, there's gonna be a lot of great teachable moments on both as a ball and really all three phases. But it's fun from my perspective because I felt like this is a teachable moment for

Packer fans too. You know, we talk all the time about why you need to stop the run. Well, when you talk about them not giving up those first downs at the end, it's because they were containing the run better. They weren't allowing you know, those two backs to gash for five six yards. Because I would argue and I didn't do the charting of it, but I bet every single one is Appi's or at least most of them. His passes he completed were all off play actions. I'm

almost positive they were the play action crossers. They weren't reinventing the wheel with this offense. When they moved on to quarterback number three, Bill Belichick put that young man in a really good position to succeed. And that's what great Hall of Fame coaches are gonna do for Green Bay. It's really going to come down to the physicality piece. That's what Matt Lafleur mentioned. You asked the question on Monday about this run defense and where you want to

be able to clean things up. It comes down to the gap fitting. It comes down to make en sure that those gaps to begin with aren't too big. I will say the one thing that you and it's gonna be very important if he's not available on Sunday, losing Adrian Amos. I thought this was kind of an eye opener too, for for what he provides. It's not just about Rudy Ford going in at safety. It's about the fact that Adrian Amos since he signed here, has been

the general of this defense. They have their signal caller, they have the guy relaying them intove Andre Campbell. But Amos is a guy that has played in every situation green Bay has needed him to. If I may the where was green Bay able to win this game? As good as the Patriots were running the ball, the Packers

were just a little bit better. And when you were able to get a hundred and ninety rushing yards and a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers that you know is going to bounce back from a rough first half, it was the perfect recipe for Green Bay to be able to

stitch together the drives to pull out the victory. Yeah. Well, in terms of the individual performances in this game, I already mentioned Aaron Rodgers and how he went from I think statistically that eleven point to passerading the worst first half of his entire your career, UH to getting back to his old self in the second half. But the two guys, the two guys that jump out at us are Romeo Dobbs on offense and Rashawn Gary on defense. And with Dobbs, I know the fumble early in the game, Yes,

he needs to secure the ball better. He knows that Aaron Rodgers needs to give him a better pass on that wide receiver screen. He knows that as well. And Dobbs needs to be able to haul in that that forty yard touchdown in the in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, couldn't, you know, maintain control of the ball as he hit

the ground. But when you look at the whole body of work these last two weeks of what Romeo Dobbs has done in this offense, He's going to continue to get more and more involved and see more and more opportunities. That back shoulder touchdown on third down from the thirteen yard line um Aaron Rodgers throws. Aaron Rodgers throws touchdowns like that to the Jordy Nelson's and the Davante Adams and the Randall Cobbs of the world who have been

playing with him for a long time. He's been playing with Romeo Dobbs for four games, and down by seven points in the fourth quarter on a third down in the red zone, he went back shoulder to the rookie and it was perfectly executed. Those are the types of plays that just tell you Romeo Dobbs is just getting started. And they don't run the back shoulder as much as they did four or five years ago. It's in the repertoire, it's on the menu, but it's not go to play

for them in this type of offense. I really, as much as people want to talk about that fumble, as much as you know that drop was the number one thing he was asked about in the locker room afterwards, I don't care about any of it right now because the bigger story to me is the fact of what happened after the adversity, being able to come back after the fumble and behaving catching that pass to get Green Bay back in the game in the second half, making

a really good play on the ball, his natural ability, his ability to turn his hips, you know, get himself framed up correctly and win that one on one. That's huge. But to me even bigger was the run solutions on the twelve place seventy seven yard drive at the end of the game. That is a situation one where if the Packers don't have confidence in Romeo Dobbs, he's not going to be out there. That's a two minute situation. Packers have one basic series not only to try to score,

but also the run out. As much as this clock as you can to protect the tie. Romeo Dobbs was out there. Rogers liked what he saw in terms of how far the Patriots are playing off throws out those two quick passes. I'm back to back plays, Mike. It was like schoolyard football. They ran the same play back to back, and the Patriots didn't change how they defended it. Yeah, the only thing that was different was the one Dobbs

was lined up further to the outside. The second one he was actually lined up closer to the formation, and Rogers still flipped it to him anyway, because the Patriots weren't really guarding that side. He was one on one out there, and Rogers said, okay, kid, go get a some yards the Randall Cobb third and one conversion. That's the play of the game. But but Dobbs as catches there are what made a Okay, looks like Mason Crosby

is gonna be in the field goal range. Go to Okay, Now we're entering getting into the comfort zone of Mason Grosby's field goal range and being able to run the ball the way they did with a J. Dillon light treadit to Dobbs. Man I've said it, You've said it, Matt Lafleurs said it. The young man carries himself in a very even keeled manner and he plays that way too. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, you mentioned the third down conversion to uh to Cob,

we both talked about that one in overtime. There were two. There were two just classic Aaron Rodgers throws third down conversions in the second half that that we're really pivotal, pivotal in this game. The one is on the opening drive of the second half where you know, Rogers is

actually thrown two incomplete passes to start to drive. It's third and ten and he gives Alan Lazard a shot on a goal ball down the right sideline and uh, you know, the ball is in a perfect spot and it's a fantastic catch by Alan Nazar to dive layout, make that grab, move the chains, and that play, I really thought was the one that jump started green bas offense and you started to see Aaron Rodgers and the rest of these guys, the the whole unit kind of

snapped back into what we were thinking and hoping that it was going to be. The Other one that really stood out to me was on the tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, which ended with the Dobbs TD on the back shoulder to tie the game. At early in that drive, the Packers down by seven, They're facing third and six in their own territory and who does he go to? The old reliable Randall Cobb. It was a um. It was a combination route on on that

side of the field. Cobb was Cobb was kind of running an inn in and then out, and Christian Watson was outside of him running a go down the sideline, and Watson's go route kept the safety ten yards back. He completely had to respect watson speed in case that in case Rogers was going to take the deep shot, Cobb break makes off his route to the sideline and uh and Rogers just lays it in there absolutely perfectly twenty four yards converts a huge third and six that

then allows the Packers to tie the game. Those were the signs that this this Packers offense it's there. Yes, it's it's been fits and starts. The first half against Tampa Bay was great. The second half was lousy. The first half against New England was lousy except for the one drive that was all on the ground for the touchdown but then the second half this the Packers offense looked as close to unstoppable as as it's looked um

in quite some time. The signs are there. When is the when is a greater level of consistency going to arise? That's what we're waiting to find out. But but the signs are there on on both sides of the ball for this team, I believe. Yeah. Talking with A. J. Dillon a little bit after the game too, he reiterated what basically the entire offense said all offseason, which is so much as this is concentration is on the receiving corps. Oh what have they done? And who do they have?

You need to be able to appreciate and understand why Rogers is high on Alan Lazard in Randall Cobb and being able to have a guy like Sammy Watkins come in or Robert Tony in coming back and catching that steam route in the touch in the end zone, bang bang, play knows the safety is coming, got to hold onto the football and he does it because those are the type of plays that it goes beyond what your forty

time is, It goes beyond what your size is. It's about the heart and will and being on that same wavelength with Rogers those passes, some of these these third down conversions he's had. I think there's only been you know, Cobb has seven or eight pack receptions this year. I believe Mike there might have been a one foot window

among all of them. I mean there have been hairline on a rope passes that Cobb is not only as Rogers had to thread the needle to get it to him, Cobb has to catch that in rhythm because there's a lot of traffic around him as he's doing it. And and this game was a perfect embodiment to that. Also from Alan Bazards, you're spot on. If you don't catch that ball in third and ten, the second half star still look a lot different for green that does. Crowd

reaction to that would have been a lot different. But Lazard six catches whatever it was a sixty four of those catches over nineteen yards. I mean an explosive playing machine in that game for green Back. Yeah. Absolutely. I want to ask you one other thing here before we move on to some other topics. Rashan Gary gets a two SAT game, including a strip sack where he gets the sack the force fumble and the fumble recovery, all

by himself has five sacks and four games. Doesn't take a genius with math to figure out that that's a that's on pace for twenty maybe even twenty one sacks here. Now, I know it's only four games into the season, but what kind of a sack number do you think Rashan Gary's gonna put up this season? Is he legitimately gonna get twenty? I mean, thanks to the National Football League getting that seventeen game, he might have a shot at it. A lot to see how things look at the end

of the year and if the starters are playing. But I'll say this, Mike, that first sack he had, I'm Brian Hoyer. I leaned over to you. I leaned over to our ball us, Duke Bober. It was a completely legal hit. Gary did everything right, but it reminded me of the kid that's just a little bit bigger and a little bit faster in the middle school playground and somebody gets hurt because the kids just playing the way

he should play. But he's just that powerful. Um. I when I think I audibly did like, oh when I saw him coming in on on Hoyer, because The problem was is that he beat his blockers so badly that his entire rush was acceleration, you know, because sometimes it's it's power to speed right. You gotta get through and then you accelerate towards the quarterback. It was like he was shot off a line and a tractive field meat and Horrior was standing twenty yards down field. It was

a freight train coming at him. Five sacks. Certainly you look at the quarterback pressures. That's the big stat Matt Lafleur talks about he's affecting games, and he's affecting the quarterback in more and more teams now are having to take into account all of that. Yeah, no question about it. I'll take care of some sponsor business here West at Cousin Subs. Oh you know what, I'll start with Cousin

Subs today. Why not let it At Cousin Subs we have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin cheese cards, mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs fifty years of better and serious x M NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need seven three all right, Well, it is onto London for the Green Bay Packers and for us later this week. And the first London game

of two was this past Sunday. It involved the Minnesota Vikings in the New Orleans Saints and um, another dramatic down to the wire type of game with uh, you know, people wondering, Okay, so how come you know, how come the Packers struggle so much when the Patriots are on their third string quarterback, its r, etcetera. Well, the New Orleans Saints were missing Jamis Winston, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas,

and Minnesota Vikings couldn't put them away either. And if not for the double doink from sixty one yards, Will Lutz would have would have sent that game to overtime and made made some history of his own having drilled a sixty yard or earlier in that fourth quarter to tie the game. Um. What a game though in London, UM, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was certainly got an entertaining one. And we'll see what happens when the Packers take the field

in that same stadium this Sunday. Yeah, because my my biggest takeaway that game was just how gosh darn goodwill lots is respect for him for a long time, but my god, I mean he he he hit that, that's that's sixty one yard or that hit the upright and then hit the crossbar. It was it was. I mean he he made it look almost effortless. I mean, as soon as the ball came off his foot, You're like, oh my gosh, he might make that. I was actually

surprised that it fell short. You know, well, I didn't it hit the ball, but it hit the hit the upper I was gonna say too. I mean, has there ever been a situation where where kickers made to sixty yard field goals? Wouldn't's why I say he would have made NFL if that had gone through. No kickers ever made two of sixty plus in the same game. I talked with Alan Lazard after the game. Um, because I'm working on a game program this week go figure on

London and the Packers playing there. And Allen is a huge, huge soccer fans, so he's excited about the trip in and of itself. But he said watching that Saints and Vikings game and what the crowd was like for both teams. I mean, it was sixty minutes of pandemonia for the most part. And the fact that I think everybody believes that this crowd is probably gonna tilt and skew a little bit more towards Green Day with it being their

first trip out there. Lazard was just over the moon about this opportunity, and I think that's gonna be the coolest part about it is. I'm sure throughout the year, you know, guys, you know, fans will probably become a little bit more numb to it. But that first came out of the gate, the little bit that I was able to watch in the second half of that matchup, that was a live atmosphere and they had a great

game to watch. Yeah, absolutely well. That victory put the Vikings at three and one, tied with the Packers atop the the NFC North, both teams currently three and one. The Packers opponent this Sunday, the New York Giants, also three and one, after a victory over the Chicago Bears. And I'm gonna put you on the spot here because I forgot to kind of look up what the latest

was with regard to the Giants quarterback situation. This week is has there been any update to that news so as I haven't looked this morning, but as of yesterday, Tyrod Taylor was in the concussion protocol and the way that they said it, um, I'm forgetting the new head coaches name Brian Dable. Brian Dable said that, you know, basically Daniel Jones is day to day, so it looks

like he'll be Jones will be good to go. But losing Taylor, I mean a very interesting matchup against the Bears, where then say Jon Barkley is potentially the quarterback, and a lot of things working them weary out. But the number one thing will preview this later this week, but this game again reiterated, when the Giants are riding, say Kwon Barkley, he's healthy, they are formidable, Mike, because he

is not an easy object to stop. Yeah, absolutely, he's He's a he's a home run hitter in every sense of the word. Um, but also a guy that can carry the ball times on a given day and completely control of football game. And um yeah, we'll talk about that more on our second episode this week, which I promise I'll be here for. But um, the other thing I just I saw statistic this morning, and I didn't realize that um from a number standpoint, but it just it speaks to where we are in the NFL right now.

I saw that of the of the sixteen games that were played in Week four, fifteen of the sixteen the score was within one possession at some point in the fourth quarter of the game. Fifteen out of sixteen were a one possession game at some point in the fourth quarter, regardless of what the final score ended up being. Like we've said from the very beginning, buckle up, this is it's it's what this league is. You have to expect it every week. You have to be able to make

the plays in the key moments to win games. Because you know, it doesn't matter if you jump out to a fourteen nothing lead, as the Packers did in Tampa, as the Jacksonville Jaguars did against the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, the Baltimore Ravens had a twenty two three lead at

home against the Buffalo Bills. It doesn't matter. These games come down to making the key plays at crunch time, and you just have you just have to get used to it, and uh you have your team has to be toughened and hardened to uh, to know that that's what it's going to take, and you have to be able to rise up in those moments to do it, to chalk up games in the win column. And that's

the keyword, Mike two wards, the wind column. That's what this first month, That's what September football proved to me. No super Bowl is one in September, But my god, is it difficult to win in this league. You look at what the Raiders have done, You look at the Detroit Lions, the emotional games that they've had. One of the league leaders in offense. Right now, there's still one in three. It is not easy to win. So you pull out a victory like Green Bay did against New England.

You find a way to win on the road in Tampa Bay. And now with these three games now kind of coming up, if you want to call them home games before you get on a real road trip, Uh, you have to take care of business. Yeah, absolutely, Well it's gonna it's going to be. Uh, it's gonna be a fun trip to London. We'll talk about that more on our next episode, but for now we'll call it a wrap. On this edition of Packers Unscripted be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team. We've

got everything for you on packers dot com. For West, I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.