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OPE Season 3 Episode 12
34 Plays1 month ago
Aloha and welcome to another episode of OPE! On this episode we preview the week 5 game against heated rival Minnesota Vikings. We discuss whether we think the Vikings hot start has been a smoke screen or if its legit and what the Packers can do to defeat them.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Week Four Preview
00:00:31
Speaker
Aloha and welcome back to another episode of the AHANA Packers Edition podcast. Today, I will not be coughing up my lungs, but we'll see if my mic holds up tonight after I coughed on it too much on Sunday. I'm Mike, that's Iowa Joe, and we're previewing the week four matchup against the Vikings.
Packers' Season Start and Jordan Love's Practice Status
00:00:46
Speaker
Joe, this is kind of eerily similar to last season where Packers are two and one heading into their first divisional game of the season. It's at home and it's against a team that is, kind of outdoing expectations. You know, I don't think the Lions were expected to be that good last season and the Vikings are sort of in the same boat this season. So, you know, Packers have a chance to knock off an undefeated opponent and for whatever it's worth, Jordan Love is
Vikings' Performance and Defensive Observations
00:01:14
Speaker
practicing again. and How are you feeling going into this one? I think, I'll be honest, I think people are overblowing what the Vikings are doing.
00:01:23
Speaker
the and And it's not because of bias or anything, but I mean, when you look at the stats. Their defense she has been stepping up, but you also got to remember the three teams that they played and the biggest. Deal out of it all would have to be probably the. Them beating the 49ers, but the 49ers seem to be on some kind of tailspin right now. So they beat the Giants.
00:01:52
Speaker
They beat Houston, who is another team that seems to be struggling this year. And, and just going through the pro football reference page for the, for the Vikings, you know, Donald's only averaging 219 yards a game. This last game, he only had 181. He had the four touchdowns.
00:02:13
Speaker
but he only had 181 passing yards. And I think he was sitting at maybe 60% completion rate. So he doesn't scare me. Plus, like I've been telling everybody for the last couple of weeks, he's had this stretch before. He did it in Carolina. I wanted, I know I looked it up the other day and they went four and two with him as starter, but I think it started out like they went four and O.
Confidence in Jordan Love or Malik?
00:02:38
Speaker
And he looked like the second coming and then they, he just tanked. And that's where the two came out of the four and two. And then he got replaced by Baker Mayfield mid season. So I I'm not going to say that I'm scared of Darnold. Uh, Aaron Jones has been doing Aaron Jones stuff.
00:03:00
Speaker
You know, this is why we kind of wished he would have stayed around because that one, two punch of him and Jacobs would, would have been a deadly duo. So I don't know. I'm not, I will say this, if Jordan's playing, I'm definitely not scared right now. If Malik is playing, I'm not scared, but I'm not as confident with it either. And not, and it's nothing against Malik.
00:03:29
Speaker
He's been playing great. LeFlore has been coaching the hell out of him. You know, whatever. It's just you prefer your your your premier player more than you do your backup player.
Packers' Practice Updates and Injuries
00:03:43
Speaker
Yep, that's a fair assessment of it, Yeah.
00:03:48
Speaker
I will get into it when we get into the the Viking side of it, but capping off. So, you know, we're recording this Wednesday night. Packers did practice today. almost trough with the practice designations at 52 out of the 53 players on the active roster participated today. only one who didn't Jordan Morgan with that same shoulder. It's kind of getting into that funky area where it's kind of like, do they put him on IR do they let him write it out a couple more weeks kind of thing.
00:04:21
Speaker
It's not like if they would have done it by now. Yeah. And i and honestly, it's not like they're struggling for that that roster spot right now. So the best news out of all of these is Elton Jenkins was a limited part, one of the limited participants, but he was listed as old, not injury related rest. But then Of the limiteds you have Jair with a quad, Kenny with Kenny Clark with a toe, Tucker Craft with that same shoulder. They say quad for Jair because it yeah has it listed on here as an ankle. Um Um this is the quote-unquote official report which whose are you looking at? I don't know it's it's uh
00:05:01
Speaker
I just did a search and pulled up the first. This is the one that Demavsky tweeted, so maybe it got updated after, but I'll try to look for the teams one when after right after this.
Vikings' Injury Report
00:05:12
Speaker
Tucker with the shoulder, he was in the non-contact jersey, even though they were helmets only today, so i'm not really applicable. Jordan with the knee.
00:05:20
Speaker
Musgrave with the quad, Myers with the shoulder, Reid with the quad and the calf, Zach Tom with the quad, and Carrington with the ankle. So got Carrington back to practice. Jair is the only one I think that's a new injury. Everyone else is kind of the same. as the Oh, and I think Musgrave is new. the Viking side, Addison was a limited participant. He's been out the last week.
00:05:46
Speaker
Garrett Bradbury missed today's practice with an ankle, Jonathan Bullard limited with a knee, Sam Darnold full with the contusion. com ah ah Kamu Gruzier-Hill, limited with a knee. Josh Oliver, limited with a wrist. Ivan Pace Jr., one of their starting linebackers out with an ankle today. Dallas Turner, limited with a knee. And safety Jay Ward did not participate. So both teams are kind of in similar levels of health or
00:06:16
Speaker
healthiness I would say at this point. So no real eye
Vikings' Offensive Strategy: Play Action and Misdirection
00:06:19
Speaker
openers. I guess the biggest one is like Darnold was Charlie Horse pretty good late in that game against the Texans and he was hobbled a bit but I mean they're saying it's just like a bruise so we'll I don't think it'll really do much to him come Sunday but the big one for the pack doesn't really use his legs much anyway so like he he does he does shift around in the pocket a bunch and they do like to use him on boot legs and stuff but yeah it's he's like levis's level of mobile kind of thing it's not like a richard i don't think they would go back to the the week one week two strategy of like we've got to keep this guy in the pocket kind of thing the the only element of that is like they might do that thing where they they drop not drop but they
00:07:03
Speaker
They tell the backside defensive end on stretch zone looks to just sit there. And I don't know if you remember when we did that to Kirk back in like 2019, where it was like, we're just not going to play the cutback on stretch zone. We're just going to wait to see if you bootleg out at us. And I can see them doing something similar to that week, just because I know that, you know, O'Connell is from McVay's
Darnold's Past Struggles and Game Impact
00:07:24
Speaker
system. So a lot of play action and a lot of misdirection to kind of help Darnold, you know, because like you said,
00:07:33
Speaker
He's playing decently well to start the season, but he is still the guy that we expect him to be. I can't find the page right now, but I know he's thrown at least like two or three interceptable passes every week. And just kind of a microcosm of the Vikings game last week. so on the second Houston player, the second offensive Texan snap of the game, Stroud throws like a tip, a weird tip drill interception. And then later in the game, Darnold gets strip sacked and it bounces right to the Vikings running back who runs it for like 10 yards or something. So it was, it's one of those like, it's one of those games that the Vikings, you know, the Vikings always have these ones where they look like world beaters early in the season. But
00:08:19
Speaker
They are 3 and 0, one of only two in the NFC. So you can't take them super lightly. But I do think it's a little more smoke and mirrors than it is true. you know It is true like hard facts that they are this good kind of thing. so But we're going to find out. For sure. And like I said, I'm not i I'm not a darn old believer. I mean, I did kind of like him when he was coming out of college, but I think all the systems he's played in, it just screwed him over and it really derailed
Pressuring Darnold: Key to Success?
00:08:53
Speaker
the jets. yeah like yeah everyone and and and have done this development yeah Everyone makes fun of the, I'm seeing ghosts thing, but it's true. like
00:09:02
Speaker
When you, you know, you get, you get PTSD basically for all intensive purposes from playing quarterback. Right. And I said that exact thing it's about Zach Wilson too. You know, you take those hits. You don't have the playmakers around you. You're going to have those issues, but you know, it's.
00:09:20
Speaker
The, I know it's not a good thing to say it's good to see them on the injury report, but I would like to see Addison not play. Cause then we know we can shut down Jefferson and, and be good on that. Uh, same with Dallas Turner. Cause I know he was really beasting it before he missed last week. And that would be great to not have to deal with him, but.
00:09:49
Speaker
I think our line is strong enough that they'll be able to hold up. I, I, I want to get into a conspiracy theory and thought process with the or say that they didn't, they didn't play Jordan last week just to give him that one extra week of rest before facing this defense.
00:10:10
Speaker
But, you know, that that's taking a gamble because you got to think, all right, well, is Malik going to be able to continue on his streak and all that stuff, but.
Packers' Defensive Strategy and Key Performers
00:10:21
Speaker
You know, I go back to what that sideline reporter said that she was really shocked that he didn't play because of all the stuff he was going through during the pregame. And then you read some of the, you read also on top of that, you read some of the like comments from either some of the other players or some of the other coaches on the Packers staff that were kind of like, Oh, we really liked our game plan, no matter who started kind of thing. So no one's like outright saying like, and no one would say like, Oh,
00:10:50
Speaker
it's an AFC opponent so and we already won one with the backup quarterback so let's test our luck you know and we don't think it's just testing our luck because we really like the matchup and we really like how our game plan is looking so I know it's I wouldn't go full Tim foil hat but like I said I do think there was a bunch like a lot of um like uh chest puffing that was going around at 1265 Lombardi both before the game and definitely after the game where it's like we thought and we knew we would do it and we did it kind of thing. So there is a little you do get the sense of that a little bit in the air in Lambo before and after the game.
00:11:32
Speaker
Did you notice, is he wearing a brace? Cause I swear somebody said on Twitter that on one of the videos of him during practice, that he was wearing a brace. And I was like, I don't remember seeing him wear any kind of, I know he's wearing a sleeve. Yeah. I think people um try to enter, not try, but they interchange those two.
00:11:52
Speaker
but it's it's uh it's a sleeve if if it's a brace it's the light compression yeah i i think it's more of a sleeve like if it if they're deeming it a brace it's the like you know the the velcro kind that you buy from like cvs but right yeah yeah because when if you look at like ryan wood's one his his his video where um love goes through the ladder drill and then he turns toward the camera that one whatever it makes whatever is under his tights look a little bulkier than if you're just looking at him from like a side profile so it's still yeah and i will trust if a few of them are saying it's a brace maybe it is a full-on brace but also he wouldn't be the first quarterback to wear a brace on his left knee like luck war one for almost his whole career i think brady basically did his whole career after he blew his knee out in 2007 right but they had knee
00:12:47
Speaker
Yeah, they had knee issues and I don't think he's ever had a knee issue, did he? Uh, no, I don't think so. This isn't like Roger's having the cadaver ligament in his knees. So, no, I think- Oh, trust me, I already heard about that one. Yeah. I think love's been pretty healthy overall. So, we'll see. I- I do think they were are always targeting this game as like, this is the one that we want him to definitely be ready for. And if he's back before it, great. But we, you know, this is the one we want. And it makes a lot of sense because it's a division game. You've already dropped the first conference
Matchups Analysis: Packers vs. Vikings
00:13:22
Speaker
game. You're playing two non-conference games. And we roll in at two and one when everyone's like, they might be 0 and 3 when they face the Vikings kind of thing. So it's.
00:13:33
Speaker
you know, found money, whatever cliche we want to use, but it's great that the Packers are here. and Like I said, it's very similar to last season where you roll into this first, it's a home division game, you roll in at two and one and you have a chance to take the lead in the division if you win on Sunday. So big, big step for the Packers. But like you said, main thing is if Love is back, hope that he is ready to roll for it.
00:14:00
Speaker
for sure. And, and I don't know if a lot of them were saying, and I just know I was scrolling through, through Twitter and just saw one guy or one person mentioned a knee brace. And I was like, well, I don't see a knee brace. I see this compression sleeve, but I don't see the brace because that makes me think that that ramps him up even further. Cause if he's trying to get used to the brace, yeah then for sure he's got to be because silver spoon and uh huber were both definitely calling it a sleeve last week and then yeah it's like i said ryan wood is the one who's definitely calling it a brace so yeah so we'll we'll see we'll see what how it goes but i i just
00:14:44
Speaker
That, like I said, it just makes me think that that pushes it. And like I said, whole conspiracy tinfoil hat thing. Is it, it also makes me think that he could have played last week, but they were like, no, it's the Titans, you know, let let's not risk it because we've got the Vikings afterwards. Let's just, you know, we'll, we'll get Malik as prepared as we can and go from there. But this is going to be the true test for this defense.
00:15:14
Speaker
This is it. Had it not been for that shitty ass game in week one. And I said from the beginning, that's not the team that I want to face in week one in a, in a environment. not Like let's just call it. yeah there one no And so, but this is actually going to be the true test. Are they going to be able to get pressure? Because if Darnold is hobbled, even though they're calling it a bruise, you know,
00:15:43
Speaker
He's not going to be as mobile, even though he's not a true mobile quarterback, but he's not going to be able to be as mobile. So if you can get the pressure on him, you know, uh, this is Kenny Clark's favorite offensive line, because he seems to be the only one that can tear apart Bradberry. And if Bradberry doesn't go, then, you know, that kind of hurts, but that also means they're dealing with a backup at center.
00:16:14
Speaker
Wyatt is going to have to step in because, you know, is he going to continue his streak? You know, it is. And I know I probably got a lot of flack and I, and I'm sure I did for saying that I'm worried about the Rashawn thing, but you know, I understand he's getting pressures and he's doing this stuff. It's just the numbers aren't there yet. And that's what concerns you when you're paying the guy, what is it? A hundred, 240 million or something. And what I'll say for that is, I'm, I'm not concerned as much as I'm like,
00:16:48
Speaker
Disappoint so here's the thing is like there's two kinds of snaps that Roshan is getting when he's rushing the passer There's ones where he's one-on-one and there's ones where he's getting chipped or double chipped And so the ones where he's getting chipped and double chipped I like you I don't want to say you throw him out But you can't expect the guy to have to run through two people then get through a blocker and be like That guy is definitely gonna get a sack or a pressure it's the ones where he's one-on-one with the like especially this last week against an undermanned opponent and you're like he should be kicking this guy's ass and you're kind of like you saw the one sack you saw the sack he created for Lucas but outside of those two plays you're kind of like okay
00:17:28
Speaker
He wasn't getting double teamed or chipped helped on every other one of these plays. And you it's it's on those in between plays. Like you said, that's where I'm kind of like, I want more.
Key Players: Stokes, Nixon, and Valentine
00:17:37
Speaker
And I'm not concerned as in the word I would use. I have some consternation, I guess. But, know.
00:17:45
Speaker
as much as I fanboy, you know, my former Wolverines, I always want them to play as well as I know they can. And I don't think Roshan is up to his standards. I think he's trying to speed rush too much. I think he needs to use more of his power bill because like Brian O'Neill, O'Neill is a good right tackle. He can't handle Roshan. If Roshan is just going to bull rush him all game, he's going to stick him in the ground. So he has to adjust his his play style this weekend. But honestly,
00:18:11
Speaker
O'Neill and left tackle Christian Derosov, that's the strength of this Vikings O-line, very clearly. Those two guys on the outside, they've become ah ah one of the better tackle tandems in the league. so know Preston has gotten Daresaw a couple times. He's kind of like old man, him, you know, old man game to use like a basketball phrase, but it's really on the interior guys, you know, Kenny Wyatt to continue his ascension and Brooks, who's, I think he's at an okay start to the season, but, you know, I felt like he he ended, you know, his overall season last season was at a higher level than he's played so far this year. So those three guys, and then whatever, if wooden plays or,
00:18:51
Speaker
you know Slayton should be able to hold his ground in the middle of this O-line because like I said so none of those three interior O-line men are that robust or stout so Slayton should be hold his ground and maybe even collapse the pocket a little bit if he's in there on some passing downs and I hope we see more twists or like the plays where Inabere started over the center or like you have Rashawn inside in that old Zadarius role and stuff like that. So know it's a different defense, but it would be nice to see some of that action for the guys that are currently on the roster. And so I do think we're going to get there. But like you said, it's you're not wrong to start kind of prodding at it and say like, hey, is this thing, you know, is there something wrong here or do we need to be concerned right now?
00:19:38
Speaker
Well, and the other reason about what a consternation or concern or whatever the hell word you want to use for it is this is what we were seeing out of, out of them in college was yeah, he could get the pressures and all that, but he's not getting the numbers because of whatever reason. And if you think about it in college, he was in a four three and now he's in a four three and we're having the same kind of issues that that he was having in college. So this is where you need the coaches to step up and say, Rashawn, we know you you do this and you know, you do that. But this is how you need to play it. This is where the tape work really comes in, you know, whether he needs to use his bull rush more, whether he needs to work on his speed rush, whether he needs to, you know, for all the complaining about
00:20:36
Speaker
Uh, Van S not knowing anything but bull rush. It's kind of the same with Rashawn where, you know, he, he's stuck in one.
00:20:48
Speaker
move and he won't get off of that move. It's a little different because at least Lucas he's sticking with what he's really good at and he knows he's good at whereas Rashawn it's like okay you like you can win with speed but you're bread and butter and Mike Wall says it every week he's like if he just did speed to power or long arm every time he's like he would beat 85-90% of the tackles in this league because they just physically can't meet his you know his his physical talents and you know, the wall gets frustrated because and I see it too, it's like you're running around this guy and it's like you're just taking yourself out of the play kind of thing and you you know you might get a pressure according to you know whichever metric you're looking at but it's not a real one so
Defensive Adjustments and Athlete's Impact
00:21:32
Speaker
Yeah I agree and honestly that's the key to this game like you said because Darnold you know he's playing well and O'Connell has scripted really well around him but you put pressure on him and he's going to turn back into the guy he's always been but I do think it's key for that to come up the middle because He's had a lot of clean pockets despite this being a bad interior your O-line. And I think the Packers can really take advantage of that. Also, you know, you blitz Kway up the middle, you blitz, you know, if they keep playing Edge a few more snaps, you blitz Edge, you use Edge on those like interior loop actions like the sack he got against the Titans. I think you'll see success, you should see success. And like you said, we don't know if Addison's going to play, but, and you know, Jair, we don't know how limited he's going to be come Sunday, but
00:22:23
Speaker
you still, you know, no matter what you've got to still deal with Justin Jefferson. And I know he had his own little injury scare a couple of weeks ago, but he's obviously fine. Had the huge touchdown against the the Niners and, it's just still the, you know, probably the best receiver in the NFC North right now.
00:22:43
Speaker
And, yeah, you've got to deal with that. The Niners thought they could put single coverage on him and they got their asses handed to him for it. You know, we can debate all day whether Jair's really going to have him one on one, but the Packer, you know, half. it This is the thing we've been talking about all off-season. We knew what Joe Berry was and wasn't. We trust that Halfly is the guy with the plan and is going to adjust if need be. And that's... Honestly, that's where a lot of my confidence going into this game is. Like you said earlier, especially if Addison is out. Right, but you also got to throw in that we're a little bit more confident in our safeties right now. You know, it's kind of nice having the faith in McKinney back there. At least one really good one, yeah.
00:23:26
Speaker
Yeah. So you know that if, if something happens and you've at least got McKinney over the top, that he's going to be able to do something. But yeah, like you said, it's going to depend on Jair and whether or not he's full to go. But yeah you know, it and this is just my fan brain going off, but he shut Justin Jefferson down.
00:23:55
Speaker
So in my mind, there should be no doubt that you can have him one on one with Jefferson. And now with the added help from a better safety group, they should be able to shut them down again. yeah Now, if Addison is is a go, then you got to kind of, OK, we got to throw some more in there. And I'm not saying all their receivers are complete shit, but None of them are Justin Jefferson. Yeah, Jalen Naylor has, you know, they they've utilized him a lot more this season, but I do think that's kind of out of necessity. And it goes back to the whole, like,
00:24:34
Speaker
This is honestly, as much as we're talking about Jair and Xavier, this is honestly a big game for Stokes, Nixon, and Valentine if he's able to go because it's those other guys because obviously Jefferson is going to get Jair and some amount of extra help. you know We have seen Jair travel with guys. you know He pretty much covered AJ Brown for the majority of week one. and I think he did sort of follow like Alec Pierce around in week two, but you know it's just as much as we're talking about Jagere. It's as big for Stokes to have a good week, Valentine to have a good week, if he plays Nixon to have a good week, Bullard if he's playing in the slot because that's where you know the Vikings have gotten Naylor involved and even Addison to an extent because
00:25:20
Speaker
So much attention has to get put on Jefferson that some of these other guys have less, you know, lesser coverage guys on him and stuff. And then, of course, it all ties back. Got to get pressure. So, you know, it's a very complimentary game on defense that we got to see this week. But,
Aaron Jones' Performance vs. Vikings' Defense
00:25:35
Speaker
you know, the stuff I know it's only three weeks, but the stuff we've seen, the adjustments in game we've seen from athlete, you've got to be excited about what, you know, he's going to try and potentially be able to do against this Vikings offense come Sunday.
00:25:49
Speaker
Right. So, and I was just looking here, they've got, and I don't know a lot of these guys, so I'm not sure what, I know Naylor cause he was kind of like Jair, not Jair, Jaden Reed. Yeah. He was like Jaden Reed's understudy. Yeah. So they were supposed to be similar.
00:26:12
Speaker
but there's Trent Sherfield, Brandon Powell, who's a really undersized receiver, uh, Tristan Jackson. And that's it. Other than Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Now I don't know what they have on their practice squad. So I don't know if maybe if Addison's out, they make a, uh, a call up or something, but.
00:26:35
Speaker
Yeah, this is definitely going to be a game for Stokes, especially if Addison is a go. I have not seen anything to not like about Stokes this year. Yeah. I think now that he's confident that kind of like you were saying last episode with with Christian Watson, now that he's knowing that he's not going to his legs are going to explode when he moves kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. He looks a little bit.
00:27:04
Speaker
No, go for it. go in I should should say he looks more confident. He's, you know, he's getting in there on tackles. Yeah. He's going to have the occasional mistake, but I don't think anybody can fully expect him to be a Jair Alexander. You know, that's just like a saying, you know, we expect Jordan Addison to be Justin Jefferson.
00:27:25
Speaker
It's not going to happen because they're one-of-a-kind type players. And then add a compound that with Stokes has missed a season and a half, or basically two seasons for all intents and purposes. So, yeah. But, you know, it's... And they're tight ends, not much to say, because Hawkinson is on our... I don't know if he's on IR or just basically ruled out at this point.
00:27:48
Speaker
Okay. There you go. And then Josh Oliver, like, like I said, he's injured and they're not sure, you know, I'm not sure what his, uh, the only thing I know about Josh Oliver was when I watched him in the draft that year, some, there was a, I was reading some of the scouting reports and somebody had said a phrase and it just stuck with me every time I heard Josh Oliver's name and that he, that was, he had flailing arms. Interesting. Oh.
00:28:17
Speaker
Yeah, I just so every time I watch him or hear anything about him, it's i that phrase always comes in my mind that he has flailing arms. We shall see. But I mean, I feel like we've and then, of course, the Aaron Jones of it all. So and Jones is having a nice season so far. I mean, in terms of Jones, it's kind of what he's been in Green Bay, where I don't think this is a good run blocking o-line I think he is just doing what he does where he takes advantage of creases space that is created by attention being put elsewhere, he's still a good strong runner for his size but I don't think he's doing, I don't think he's like necessarily reinventing the wheel or anything like that.
00:29:03
Speaker
and You know, I do think Green Bay has the scheme and the pieces to hold him down. And it's one of those where if he has like 80, 90 yards at like four yards per carry, I think Halfly might be okay with that because maybe it means that they're not beating you with the pass or something. I don't know.
00:29:25
Speaker
i It's still so early in the season that I still don't know how to feel about any of these opponents, you know, in terms of what is a trend and what is just sort of, noise because of early season, uh, success or, you know, that kind of stuff. So, we're going to find out on Sunday. Of course I've said that and now Jones is going to go off for 200 fucking rushing yards. That's just my luck with these kinds of things. So, but I think you hit the nail on the head perfectly with him. He's having his typical year.
00:29:53
Speaker
Now, the one thing that is lacking with him right now, he only has one touchdown for the year. For as well as he's been playing, he still only has the one touchdown. He's got 42 attempts, 228 yards. He's averaging 5.4 yards of carry. So, I mean, that's all prototypical Aaron Jones stats. He just doesn't have the touchdowns.
00:30:19
Speaker
Yeah, so we'll see. and Like I said, I think that speaks to how relatively ineffective this interior O-line is blocking in the red zone. So can't be soft in the middle, but I think Green Bay will be up to the task.
Vikings' Special Teams and Injuries
00:30:33
Speaker
And on defense, a lot has been said about how you know this is a ah this is Brian Floyd system. It's an attacking system. I do think he has better pieces around his defense this season, but there's still There's somewhere between young and upcoming in the front seven. And then in the secondary, it's a lot of names that you're like, I know that name. I know that name. Obviously, the big one is Harrison Smith, who's been around forever. But everyone else, you're kind of like Stefan Gilmour. Okay, he was great. Seven years ago. yeah.
00:31:09
Speaker
yeah Shaquille Griffin, I mean the last time we saw the last that we saw of Stefan Gilmour, Wix was leaving him in his dust in the in the red zone so and then Shaquille Griffin, former Seahawk,
00:31:22
Speaker
for one time victim of Devontae, not one time, multiple time victim of Devontae Adams. And then their nickel is Byron Murphy Jr. who is one of the worst nickels honestly. He gets a lot of like ha ha intersections and stuff but half the time it's because he's out of position and just toast but then like off target throws because of the pressure this front gives and that's the thing you know you you kind of brought up like you know what does you know how how mobile how comfortable is love this week because we saw it in that game uh the week 17 game last season where
00:32:00
Speaker
you know love had so much success against this defense but what kind of helped it is that he was able to move around the pocket you know not not running for big yards or anything like that but his ability to top buy time within the pocket was huge because especially on like first and second downs where floyd it like leads the league by like a wide margin with blitzes You've got to be able to like step to your right and fade and make a throw against zero coverage and stuff. So I do think that's going to be a big part of this game plan if love is in it. And honestly, if Willis is the quarterback for whatever reason, I think you almost like go you' almost bang heads against the wall and see like you've got to run into some of these blitzes and see if you can be like,
00:32:46
Speaker
pre-sum a little bit and stuff but like i said it's hard to preview it because as much as you and i both think they've been setting up for love to return this week we don't know at this point in time so like like i said earlier we don't know about this minnesota team either right exactly you know right now they're looking good but you know is it just a bunch of smokescreen and and when they come against a better team. Because yeah cause yeah, exactly. You can write it up that this is a good unit and you know they've you know Floyd has figured the pieces out and he's got the veterans in the back end that are making up for if you know the front end can't get pressure or whatever. But at the same time you look at it, you kind of listed their opponents already.
00:33:33
Speaker
Week one is the Giants laugh. Week two, it's the 49ers who are just in pure disarray at this point in time. And then week three, they're playing a Houston team that, you know, was expected to be gangbusters in the AFC this season, but Stroud is still a second year quarterback and their offense has been kind of up and down. You know, they played two decent to good defense in the last two weeks in the Bears in week two and then Houston last week. And their offense has been cold for most of those games. So it's hard to say, you know, is it they're that good or like you said, is it a matter of who they've played more than really what it is they are in fact. So we'll find out from Sunday. And even if you look at the San Francisco game, they only won it by six points.
00:34:24
Speaker
Purdy still went 28 to 36 for 319 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Yeah. He was sacked six times, but but their line has been struggling. And when you look at the defense for the 49ers, they combined for four sacks that game with yeah five QB hits and two forced fumbles.
00:34:49
Speaker
Yep. And like I said, that's where it is, is like, Darnold is still the same guy. He's still not super secure with the football. He's still going to throw interceptable passes. he's you know he's only thrown He's only thrown two interceptions on the season, but he's had some that he's thrown it into either into a crowd or he's thrown it into a defender's chest or face and it just hasn't been caught. so way this week, if you get a chance, you've got to come down with it. And that goes for the whole defense. But I, you know, I say, or really any of the linebackers, because Darnold is that kind of quarterback where you might turn around and have a ball whistling at your face because
00:35:30
Speaker
he's just going to kind of huck it and duck a little bit. So got to take advantage of your opportunities. And for the most part, you know, that's why that koi one against the Colts kind of sucks is because it's one of the few times him and then Nixon in week one. Those are like the two only examples where this defense hasn't taken advantages of opportunities to turn the ball over. And, you know, time and time. And I know this is that was in the past, but You know, let's face it. It wasn't an easy thing for him to go after either. I mean, he was in midair. Oh, yeah. I know. and and ah yeah I know. It's not you, but it you you hear that from a lot of content creators and a lot of fans. Oh, well, you should have had, yeah, but it's not that easy to be jumping into air. and
00:36:17
Speaker
and trying to come down with a pass that's this far above your head. And it's funny because, you know, they're like, oh, like, comparable athlete, blah, blah, blah. But I'm like, there's cornerbacks who can't catch with a shit in this league. They're, you know, the same athletes as receivers. Linebackers are relative to either tight ends, but really catching the ball. They're the equivalent of a fullback. And what's the rule with the fullback? Don't make him reach. Don't make him jump. Don't make him turn. You've got to throw it so that he either catches it or it gets stuck in him somewhere. So I mean, like, yeah, there is an element to like linebacker interceptions. You know, the Wilson one from week two, those are worth their weight in gold because they're not, you know, they're not expected to happen. So you take them as they go. And then for specialists, they've got
00:37:06
Speaker
So they've got, reason the reason Nick Saban retired, Will Rikerd graduated from Bama, and Nick Saban said, fuck it, I'm not looking for any more kickers. I've had enough of that in my career. But no, Rikerd was a really good college kicker. Let's see how he's doing on the season so far. 100%, 100% so far.
00:37:27
Speaker
He is, okay, he is five for five on field goals and 10 for 10 on extra points on the season. So, you know, kind of doing what you expected him to do because he was a good kicker. And then other than that, their return guys aren't anyone of note
Predictions and Final Thoughts
00:37:45
Speaker
really. And then their punter is, he's like a third year guy and he's kind of just okay and stuff. So,
00:37:53
Speaker
You know, nothing too much about the special teams. you know the I guess that means Jaden and Nixon might have some opportunities to return some kicks. other than that, that's kind of it. So you got over-unders for tomorrow or for Sunday?
00:38:07
Speaker
Yeah, I've got a few of them that I can come up with off the top of my head, but it's going to be the prototypical ones that we pretty much had. But unfortunately, the guy that I normally have look up on the betting sites for their over ah ah understood jump off or, you know, to to pick apart so I can bring on here. They didn't have them listed on any of the sites that he had. So they're not even putting out oh anything but like points and all that shit. So I guess the obvious one is, yes, no, Jordan love play or not.
00:38:47
Speaker
I'm going to say yes, because I do think this was the plan all along. And I agree. i Well, I don't know if this was the plan all along. i think The hope, at least. i really think Right. But I really think that they were thinking he was going to be fully set to go last week. But I think they figured You know, if he is wearing a brace, maybe it's something to do with the brace saying, Hey, we still want you to get comfortable with the brace. We still want you to, you know, so just whatever you're, you're not feeling it with the brace. Let's just, you know, sit you down. But I do think he's a go. I think he has to be a go, especially Vikings at Lambo. I think he's got to be a go.
00:39:37
Speaker
Yeah. So my other favorite one that I love to do is over under half a interception for McKinney. I'm going to say no, just to keep the magic going. Well, I got to go. Yes. Cause like I said, we're not halfway into the season yet. And.
00:39:52
Speaker
If anything, I think this is a game that he could have multiples. Darnold is on that list. Yeah, just like Levis was on that list and Richardson was questionably on that list. Darnold is definitely on that list. And I like where you're going where it might not be like a supreme playmaking one where he like, you know, like last week where he ranges over from center field or week one where he like undercuts the throw from the opposite hash mark. I think this is one is going to be more like week two where it's like,
00:40:20
Speaker
It's a duck and he's just the duck wrangler kind of thing. So, yeah, i I am going to go with you over on that, but I think he only gets the one even though it with Darnold, it's possible. And if they get enough pressure on him, it's possible you get a couple out of it. Let's go over under 50 and a half rushing for Jacobs. I'm going to go over. I mean, he had a quote unquote bad game and he still got over. So.
00:40:49
Speaker
I'm going to say, I'm going to take that over, but I think with what Wilson really showed last week, that I think they're going to evenly split the carries.
00:41:04
Speaker
And I think they're going to trickle in a little bit more from that Brooks, because it sounds like they really like what he he actually got some earlier snaps than I realized he was in on one of the reverses they ran. I think it was the Melton one that they ran into the sideline. He was he was the lead blocker on that play. And there was a couple other ones. And then obviously he got those carries on the final drive. But yeah, I was it was one of those when I went back to rewatch the game, I was like, oh, 30 is in the game. And so yeah I was a little bit of a surprise that he's in as early as he was.
00:41:34
Speaker
And let's go. Let's do this over under two and a half sacks for the defense over his defense over. I think that I don't know who's going to get them, but I think our D our D tackles are going to just smoke that interior old line. Yeah, I can see it. I'll go over with that and I'll do one even for Viking side. So.
00:41:59
Speaker
I've been, I've said this all along, I'm an avid Aaron Jones fan, so we got to do something for him. And I didn't read it, but supposedly he pinned a really heartfelt letter this week to Packer fans. I'll read it after the game. Don't jump in the stands, Aaron. Don't jump in the stands. Let's go over under.
00:42:28
Speaker
55 and a half yards for him. I think he's gonna go over because I think they're gonna be gearing up to stop the passing game I'm gonna go under and I'm gonna give this reason not because I don't like Aaron Jones. Trust me. It's not because I don't like Aaron Jones. I think This could be the complete coming out party for the the defense. I would love it if it is. Yeah. And, you know, they've played great the last two games. They struggled in game one, but like I said, we have to throw that film out just because conditions, but they've played great the last two games. This is going to be a real test for them. And I think Halfly is going to have them completely um um prepared and this will be there coming out.
00:43:17
Speaker
Yup. Sounds good. And then I want to throw one thing in there, even though it's not this week for the segment, I'm going to throw it in there. Shut the fuck up PFF. Your reasoning for saying that wasn't a, you didn't add that into your equation for a sack given up by Lane Johnson is complete bullshit. You just don't want to give credit where credit's due. Fuck off. Shut the fuck up.
00:43:44
Speaker
I tweeted it, I said, this is this is the group that wouldn't admit that Jordan Love forced a mistackle by Damario Davis last season. That was the one, I think, I forget when they did it, they were like, I think they were in like week six and they were like, Damario Davis still doesn't have a mistackle on the season and all the Packer fans and even some non-Packer fans were like, what is this? Like, I'm pretty sure that's 56.
00:44:10
Speaker
And yeah they came up with another bullshit excuse. So yeah, not surprised at all. Just digging the hole deeper. It just goes to show that they're junk. i it's It's junk figuring. it's It's making up stats and thinking you're good at what you're doing. And you're just bullshit. So shut the fuck up.
00:44:33
Speaker
But that's going to do it for us on this opponent preview for week four against the Vikings. follow our web Check out our website, ohanapackers.org. We're getting a lot of contribution from all all of our writers. Streams of cheeseta Cheese Talk show are up there. Older episodes of this show are up there. And merch, please support us. Go to our shop. Buy merch. Support us to dingoes. Support our writers.
00:44:58
Speaker
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00:45:21
Speaker
Follow the podcast on your favorite podcasting apps. Give us like and subscribe, please. And positive or negative comments, we want to be creating the content you're looking for. So leave it all for us. Packers look to take the lead in the division by beating the Vikings this weekend. We're going to have our wrap up post game on Sunday. That episode will come out on Tuesday. But until then, go Pack Go and Aloha.