#707 Packers Unscripted: Schedule musings

When you first saw this seventeen game slate, eighteen week schedule for twenty twenty three, what struck you?

would be bigger than just a game. You know if he would have opened the season here, but you know, we know how these schedule simulations go, how complicated they are. So instead, Packers are going back to back weeks on the road, which is the third time in franchise history that they'll have played Week one and Week two away from Green Bay. The other two were nineteen twenty four in twenty sixteen. So a big challenge opening up in Chicago and then going up and having to travel to Atlanta.

Two potentially very dynamic and potent rushing offenses that the defense is going to have to be ready for. But from Jordan Love's perspective, he'll get the opportunity for the first time to lead the Packers out of the tunnel at Lambelefield in Week three against New Orleans. By and large, I think it's a pretty balanced schedule, But that was the only thing silently I was rooting for. I did want to see a Week one opener at Lambelefield, just because it's been so long since we've had one.

Let Matt Lafleur call all the shots, the opponent, the day, the time of the game, the act for the pregame concert out in the parking lot, Like Matt Lafleur should just get to call all the shots for his first season opener at home whenever that does occur. But the other thing, that the other thing that struck me to right away, and this is where you wonder how this

kind of stuff happens. And I'm not, by no means suggesting any kind of conspiracy, but it is incredibly ironic to me that exactly one year after the Packers explicitly did not want the Week six by right after the London game in Week five because they felt it was too early in the season, and then in response to turning that down, the league gave the Packers the latest

possible bye last year in Week fourteen. That now in twenty twenty three, the Week six by, Oh, there, it is the one that you turned down last year because you felt it was too early in the season, but that's how that's how this thing goes. The Packers are going to have some significant rest opportunities early in the season because you have a Week four game on a Thursday night, so you get some extra time off there.

You actually go from a Thursday night to playing on Monday night in Week five at Las Vegas, so a break there between those two games, and then after the Week five game, you have your full bye week. So those rest opportunities the Packers are going to have to take advantage of that, you know, get the team healthy, get everybody geared up, because then after that Week six by, that's a lot of football to take you to the end of the season.

would have been the earliest in twenty twenty two. This year it's actually the second one, though There'll be four teams that'll be on buy in Week five, which is you and I discussed in some of our videos last week will be the inverse of what happened last year with the Packers, where they had to play three thirteen straight in a row and then finish the game this

season with four games. This year, there'll be four teams that will play four games, and then we'll have to finish with thirteen in a row to end the regular season. That's a gauntlet, man. I mean when the Packers, or not the Packers, but when the NFL came up with this idea that they were going to add the seventeenth regular season game, I was really hoping that that would mean that we would see more buys in the dead center of the season. Well, as it turns out, this year,

there's no Week eight byes at all. Not really sure everything that goes into those decisions, But so as weird as it says to say, well the Packers got a Week sixt fi, it could have actually been a lot

worse for them. They could have been stuck and saddled with that Week five by And the fact of the matter is, and I think what Matt Lafleur discussed with Larry mccaern when breaking down the schedule was you just look for the areas where you're going to be challenged, and certainly the one of the biggest challenges will be that opener against New Orleans and then coming back four days later in playing a Detroit Lions team that I think a lot of people in the NFL have huge

expectations for on Thursday Night football. The other end of it, though, that I think does work to green Bay's advantage, is when you look at the balance of it. After the bye, you have two home games against Minnesota and the Los

Angeles Rams. Aside from that early stretch there against Chicago and the Falcons, you don't have to play back to back weeks on the road until Christmas Eve against Carolina and then also New Year's Eve against Minnesota, which is really just a puddle jump over to the Twin Cities. So it's very difficult for me to say that this was a poorly laid out schedule for green Bay because

I actually feel like the balance is there. It's just that first month that I think green Bay is going to have to overcome and the win lost column, and also from an injuries perspective, trying to stay as healthy as possible.

on Thursday Night Football, so a primetime opportunity there. His first start at ford Field in Detroit will be on Thanksgiving Day, where if Detroit lives up to the expectations of where a lot of people think that franchise is heading, that could be one of the one of the biggest

Thanksgiving games at ford Field in quite some time. And then you're Jordan Love's first trip as the starting quarterback into the noisy confines of US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis will be in primetime on New Year's Eve in week seventeen. And then in week eighteen, you know, the one that's

listed as TBD against the Chicago Bears. If there's anything at stake, if there's anything at stake for either team in that game, there's a good chance that that finds a prime slot, either as a National three twenty five game or maybe even in primetime. They're Packers and Bears, so the division games are always important. They are. They are the shortest, most efficient, most impactful way to carve

out a path to the postseason for your team. But the extra spotlight that is on those division games here and Jordan Love's first season is pretty significant.

know how quickly these things can change. We saw it last year with it with how competitive New York's both of the New York teams ended up being Washington. But the Packers won't actually play a team coming off a playoff appearance until Week eight against Minnesota, and we've already seen some of the Vegas lines out there on the vikings, you know, putting their win lost total right around maybe

seven or eight. So it is going to be very back heavy where the challenges potentially lie there for green Bay. But as it always was the case, whether it was Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Jordan Love, Brett Hunley, whoever, it comes down to winning in the division. And I think with the last couple of seasons where the Packers kind of got tripped up was in some of those division matchups, whether it was against Minnesota or last year, you know,

losing both of them to the Lions. Certainly, you know, Matt Lafleur still has yet to lose game to the Bears. So that will be critical both beginning the season and ending the season for green Bay. But to have two Thursday night matchups against the Lions after everything that Detroit did, after you know, really this feeling that hey, they've been building every single year. Dan Campbell has been in the

Motor City. Though for as much as there's gonna be Kansas City and there's gonna be you know, justin Herbert in Los Angeles, it's gonna sound kind of monotonous. But for as many times as the Packers have played the Lions, especially to end the season, they've played a couple of playing games against them, those two matchups against them both in Week four and then at the end of the season. I think are really going to have a lot to do with where their season goes.

So there will be a lot of attention on Detroit, and I agree with you, a big spotlight on those Green Bay Detroit games, those two NFC North matchups this year. I want to take care of a little bit of sponsor business here. West Sirius XM. NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty

five and Ed cousin subs. We have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin cheese curds, Mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or sub and a bowl cousin subs fifty years of better. All Right, I just a'll throw out a couple of questions to you. We've touched on a few of these highlights already, but when it comes to the opponent you are most looking forward to seeing visit Lambellfield and the road trip for the Packers in twenty twenty three that

you are most looking forward to? What are your selections?

Very interested to see. How you know, Jordan Love, He's going to get a taste to some of these these primetime matchups right off the bat. As we mentioned, Lions on Thursday Night football, coming right back against the Raiders the following week. That's where the national eye really comes on to you and seeing what you have to offer. And I'm very intrigued to see how the Packers handle

that type of moment. Aaron Rodgers always seemed to embrace him, you know, when you would have the you know that that national you know, he always talked about the romanticism that's kind of involved with you're the only television game, You're the only NFL game that everybody's watching. To be in the you know, Las Vegas first time, you know, you and I will get a chance to be in a new stadium in a while that we haven't been to.

That's very intriguing to me. And then certainly I'm going to steal the other good one here, which is that December third matchup against Kansas City. As you've outlined so many times before already an Inbox and a lot of our other stories on Packers dot Com, it'll be the first time Patrick mahomes in theory, if you can stay healthy here, we'll be making a start at lambeau Field.

One of the things I led Inbox with last week was just how special those moments are because especially when it's a cross conference team that I mean, maybe now there's more of an opportunity than there was before for those guys to come over and play road games. It's not just once every eight years anymore because of that cross conference matchup, but still it's very rare that you're going to see Patrick Mahomes in this type of stadium.

I want to say, Tom Brady only played here what two or three times, So that's something I think all Packer fans will have on their calendar because it's a game that's a little bit more than just the win and the loss. It's also what it represents, knowing that you're probably watching one of the a player that will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history.

forward to. And I totally agree with you as far as a road trip Las Vegas. It's it's not just the Packers obviously have have never played in Vegas. It's the DeVante Adams and you know, presumably matched up against Jay R Alexander and uh and And for me personally, there are only two current in use NFL stadiums that that I have at which I have not covered a game. Las Vegas is one. The other is Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles. So I get to chalk another one off

my list. Until Buffalo builds its new stadium and all the other new ones start getting built in then yeah, then then there'll be more that uh that I'll that I'll still need to visit. Here's a thought that just occurred to me though, and and I I'm dead serious that this just occurred to me all, you know, late

last week looking over things. I didn't realize this, but in his first season as a starting quarterback, I'm counting I'm counting four stadiums at which Jordan Love could get a victory in which stadiums in which Aaron Rodgers never got a victory as the quarterback of the Packers. And I'm talking about Atlanta, which is the new Mercedes Benz

Stadium in Atlanta. Obviously, Rogers won, you know, a big playoff game at the Georgia Dome, but lost once in the regular season once in the playoffs in Atlanta's new stadium, Las Vegas. We just mentioned that the Packers have never played there. Denver, the road game at Denver. Rogers only played one game, one regular season game in Denver in twenty fifteen. Lost that one. That was when Peyton Manning was quarterbacking the Broncos, and the Broncos eventually.

another primetime another primetime matchup. So just interesting the way things fall that that Jordan love in his first year there, because Aaron Rodgers has won a lot of games, of course all over the NFL, but there are four stadiums on this on this road slate for the Packers in twenty twenty three where Rogers never won a game, and and Jordan Lovell have an opportunity to chalk those off his list right away.

I mean, the fact that you're going to have right now, you have ten receivers on the team between the ages of twenty one and twenty six, not one of them with more than one accrued season two new rookie tight ends obviously a very veteran backfield, but seeing this offense kind of come together and develop its identity behind Jordan Love is going to be so important, and also how they handle the week to week challenges that the NFL schedule presents. It's going to start right off the bat.

I mean, even you look at the preseason, you know you're traveling to Cincinnati, and then you're going to be going up against New England and then also closing against Seattle. It's going to be the type of year where you're really going to have to figure out what this path is going to be if you're Matt Lafleur, and how you're going to go about utilizing Jordan Love and how

you're going about deploying starters in these matchups. It's a lot different than a lot of other years where I think it would just always kind of become a foregone conclusion of what your plan is going to be with Aaron Rodgers, So just seeing from week to week how you handle those challenges that that's probably gonna be the most exciting aspect of the schedule regardless of what the real layout was.

the other thing to mention too before we go. We talked about that Week eighteen game against the Bears, which is the which is the TVD and if that game, because the game at Chicago is a three twenty five kickoff, if the Week eighteen game Packers Bears at lambeau Field does not end up in primetime, that will actually end

one of the longest streaks in NFL scheduling history. The Packers and Bears have played a primetime game at least once in seventeen consecutive seasons, and that streak is actually in jeopardy of ending here if Packers Bears in Week

eighteen is not a primetime game. But you know what, it would be pretty cool if it did become a primetime game, not only because of the streak, but because that would mean something really, really big is on the line there in Week eighteam between those between those rivals, So that would be that'll be something to watch as the stretch run unfolds here in December and January.

even if it isn't necessarily at seven to fifty. But all that being said, certainly everybody's felt like that's a huge rivalry and the matchups that had been played in that too, the one hundred season for both the Packers and the Bears in the league, and you know some of the you know, you think about how the thirteen season ended between Green Bay and Chicago and the play in game winner take all for the NFC North and the Randall Cobb touchdown, so many incredible moments, and it

would be nice if it does work out in the week eighteen that Jordan Love's first year as a starter in Green Bay kind of continues on that trajectory. Found it very interesting you talked about it in one of our other videos that we did, actually, I think it was the Q and A. If it does end, it ends in the same way it almost started where the Packers were actually playing Week one and Week seventeen at the time against the Bears. It just so happened that that first year the game was flex back.

one primetime game every year. The other the other little quirk that I wasn't aware of right away when we saw the schedule, but the for those who look closely, the Week fourteen Monday night game for the Packers, which is at the Giants, is listed as being televised on ABC, and the reason for that is there are that Monday night there are a few different Monday Nights during the course of the season where there are two games, but it's not it's not a traditional double header Monday Night.

It's actually two Monday Night games that overlap each other a little bit in terms of the kickoff time. So, and that happens to be one of them, the Packers at Giants there in Week fourteen. There is I don't I can't think off the top of my head what the other Monday Night. Probably some West Coast game, yeah, but there will be. There will be two Monday Night games on that Monday, December eleventh, and the Packers are

one of the two. And that's why they are listed as on being on ABC as opposed to the traditional ESPN for Monday night football. So any other thoughts here West before we go on the schedule. I know you and I have to get to some news conferences with the Packers assistant coaches, the coordinators are going to get started here shortly, so we'll have that to talk about on our next show. But anything else on the schedule here before we wrap it up.