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OPE Season 3 Episode 14 Packers Aim to Curdle the Rams
20 Plays2 days ago
Aloha and welcome to another episode of OPE! This episode we preview the week 5 match up vs the LA Rams! We take a look at the extensive injury reports, the matchups and give some over/unders. We also add another chapter to our STFU segment.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Host's Anecdote
00:00:31
Speaker
Aloha and welcome to another episode of the Ohana Packers Edition podcast. The podcast where, like the Packers injury list, I am feeling a little out of it physically today, but we are here.
Rams vs. Packers Injury Overview
00:00:41
Speaker
Joe, we're previewing the Rams, and fittingly, the Rams are more banged up than the Packers are. But how are you feeling this week?
00:00:51
Speaker
Why do we need to get you in? Because this is like the second time in like a week and a half that you're under the weather for this. Oh, no, no, no. the This isn't a cold. This is just feeling every bit of the 33 years old that I am. So I have that every damn day. Help my cat get up. life I have that every damn day. Life alert for 30 year olds.
Packers' NFC Conference Ambitions
00:01:17
Speaker
Packers are sitting at 500, looking to get their get above 500 again, looking to get their first NFC Conference win, which is a big one. you know Obviously, it was great that they got the two wins with Malik Willis starting, but obviously, they count on the record, but they are two AFC wins, and you'd like to start for the tiebreaker purposes. You've already lost a division game. You're down 0-2 in conference games, so you want to start racking those up as well. Confidence-wise, how are you feeling going into this one overall, Joe?
00:01:46
Speaker
Well, like you said, considering that they're even more banged up than the Packers are right now, I'm feeling a little bit better. a Cup isn't going to be there. Pook is not going to be there. I was just trying to look up what the injury reports are for everybody. Pretty much like, so their injury report is short, but it's deceiving because like 80% of them are on IR or whatever. There was a point where, shoot, it was after cup.
00:02:15
Speaker
they're starting right tackle, and then I forget which other linemen got hurt. I think they got one of their guards got hurt, and they were like, they might not be able to put all of them on IR because they're approaching the 90-man roster limit, which is kind of insane when you think about it this early in the football season.
Rams Injury Impact and Performance
00:02:33
Speaker
like you know Everyone remembers the Super 45 roster with the 16 guys on IR and all that kind of stuff, but that was accumulated and over the course of the season. It wasn't like,
00:02:44
Speaker
less than a month in you're like oh shit our wide receiver room is down our o-line room is down and oh god here we go and same as you like the injuries they do like change the expectations for the week and also i think it's good that the rams are not like winless or you know they at least have that big win over the Niners i know the Niners aren't that great either at this point but you know, especially with the Packers kind of needing a win to it. You don't want to be quote unquote that team that faced that desperate team kind of thing. So kind of liking where Green Bay is sitting going into this one.
Packers' California Performance Concerns
00:03:21
Speaker
little bit of a lengthy. Well, the only other thing that, yeah, go for it. Uh, that it's one less thing that's going against the Packers, but they're still playing in Los Angeles and the Packers like,
00:03:35
Speaker
playing in Florida don't seem to do well over in against California teams. ah So at least there's one less thing for them having a go have to go against.
Injury Updates: Watson and Wyatt
00:03:47
Speaker
Yeah, so lengthy report for the Packers. Jair Kenny, Elton,
00:03:56
Speaker
Luke Musgrave, Christian Watson, and Devontae Wyatt were all DMPs today. I believe Jair Kenny, Elton, and Luke were all cited as part of the, the quote unquote, rehab group. The best news that we got out of the floor's presser is that Christian Watson's injury is not nearly as bad as they had kind of pronotic prognosticated. It would be you know just given how the injury looked when it occurred.
00:04:23
Speaker
ah ah And, you know, we kind of covered it on our recap of week four, where we were saying like, it seemed like it was good news that it was listed as, he was deemed out with an ankle as opposed to a knee injury on Sunday. And everything LaFleur has said since then has really just reiterated and really fortified that position that, you know, that he's in a much better place than they expected. And basically LaFleur has ruled out IR.
00:04:52
Speaker
He's almost definitely out this week. And now it gets into that hole. We've seen Watson struggle playing with the soft tissue injuries and all that kind of stuff. Obviously a boloed ankle is different.
00:05:04
Speaker
but po He's of that same type of player where it's like, OK, this is one of those explosive alien athletes, but how does he play at less than 100%? And you know how does that work out for the team? So that would be something to watch moving forward. And then the other big one is the floor noted that it seems like they caught a break on Devontae's injury too. He's a little behind where Watson is, but they said that they' they're also
00:05:34
Speaker
thinking he might avoid an IR stint as well. So big picture, Colby Wood is likely up this week and Davante and Christian are probably out this week, but sounds like the Packers dodged two big bullets so far. Right. And the Davante Wyatt one, kind of like we were saying with Christian, the way it happened, it looked like it was going to be worse than what it is because everybody figured it was a knee. But to kind of bounce off your idea about Wood and There's a chance Jonathan Ford could be back, too, because I guess they started his window for practice this week. Yeah. oh So we'll see. And the thing with it is is, hold on, let's. Oh, this is great radio. What is the packer? So I know that we have the Rams this week. I think the Cardinals next week. And then the Texans. And so. So just looking at that three window picture, it's in this interesting area where
00:06:32
Speaker
And we'll we'll re we'll recap this every week, but I kind of feel like you like Wooden's versatility and movement skills over Ford's just being massive. physicalness, but it is definitely a direction they can look at going in because, yeah, they like you said, they opened his 21-day practice window. So that is another body that they have that they can you know potentially bring back and into the fold and stuff. So
Roster Changes Amidst Injuries
00:06:58
Speaker
remains to be seen. And you know it's just another item to to to track as we move forward through the season. so
00:07:07
Speaker
It'll be interesting though with Ford because it's one of those where if both Watson and Davante Wyatt don't go to IR, then you get into the like, do they cut a Brenton Cox Jr. at this point in the season, who hasn't really, I think he's been active like one week so far, and to call up Ford, or do they cut someone at a different position? You know, is it Chris Brooks or something? Yeah, no just let Whelan do all the kicking, like you said. He'll just have to hold it as well. But yeah, we'll we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. but
00:07:42
Speaker
Honestly, like that's what backup quarterbacks used to do so we can I know back and I always did prefer the backup quarterback being the holder because you have a fire drill or you just have a fake you have someone who can legitimately throw the ball and look like they're supposed to throw the ball and especially if that backup quarterback is Malik Willis doing the holding if it does create a lot of opportunities for what you could what Versace can you know go to town with drawing stuff up but That's extremely tinfoil Hattie, but it would be kind of hilarious to see that happen. And the Packers did sign one of the kickers that they worked out the other day. Which one exactly? theyre They're both names that I didn't recognize off off theuff why no the what was it? Chris Rylan signed with Arizona, I thought. Oh, maybe that's what it was.
00:08:37
Speaker
yeah maybe that's gonna say i don't think they signed it no you're right i read the article i read the headline wrong that's what it was yeah you're right you're right or chad rylan that's what it was the the one i read was worded it had like a couple extra words and so it was like a double negative so i read it wrong so that's right packers did not sign one and then the cardinal swooped in and signed rylan so there you go but at least for another week looks like they're rolling with nervous in but We'll see. We'll see. We'll see if the floor was being honest when he said that believe in Narvis Inn. We'll see if Kudakunz was telling the truth when he said he's going to be more patient. We're going to find out. But as we've alluded to, this is a banged up Rams team that we are facing
Rams Offensive Challenges
00:09:27
Speaker
on Sunday. but
00:09:30
Speaker
They have played hard. They played with pride. You know you still have some a bunch of guys who are leftovers from the Super Bowl winning roster, but no one's really having a standout season so far. Stafford yeah through four games, he hasn't crossed a thousand yards yet, which is kind of surprising, especially given what their run game situation. and Yeah, but he's not that far under it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's at 978. But he also doesn't have good production. He's at a two and two ratio on his touchdowns to interceptions. I understand that's because of you know who he's st throwing the ball to, but
00:10:08
Speaker
just kind of goes to show the sledding that's been there for him on offense thus far. And because of their O-line situation, their run game has not gotten traction. You know, they had high hopes for Kyron Williams coming into the season.
00:10:25
Speaker
know He's on his way to 1,000 yards, but it's at a subpar clip of three and a half yards for Kerry. He does have five touchdowns on the season, but it's not an efficient rate that he's going at. So we kind of touched on it the past couple weeks, you know like especially going into that Tennessee game where that was an outmatched O-line.
00:10:45
Speaker
And again, Joe, this is a game where you expect the Green Bay Front 7, especially that D-line, should control this game because of the Rams O-line situation.
00:10:56
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, Stafford's going to Stafford. Yeah. he He's still a solid quarterback. He's probably not on the elite level anymore, but he's at least still... Somewhere in that 8-12 range. Yeah.
00:11:12
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, that's what he get when you're 36 years old and still playing quarterback in the NFL. And your your weapons are all broken right now. And your weapons are all gone. So let's see, what do they got? They've got, he's targeted Atwell, Whittington, Jordan Whittington, Tyler Johnson, which is surprise. See, that's a name that always surprises me that he's not Cause I remember that being big talk when he came out yeah during the, he was good. minnesota He was. Yeah, but just hasn't, and then he went to Tampa. Well, he ended up in the Buccaneers and just, he has a ring and get anything together. And yeah, yeah, that's about it. And then you got DeMarcus Robinson, who I think is probably their best guy right now since Pooka and Cooper are out. Yeah.
00:12:06
Speaker
nine receptions on 18 targets for 161 yards. That's about, I mean, at well, it's got 223, but I don't know it. Like we keep repeating it. They're just as banged up as the Packers are right now. So if this is one of those weeks where, uh, uh, shit, I'm blanking right now. Jair is like, oh, well, you know, I could go if I really had to. You can just say, no, just just say, yeah, you're not happy. We can probably throw out Corey Valentine and those guys. And even Carrington was limited this week. So maybe he's yeah on the route that Carrington can go because the not that he's special, but to to is the body type that you don't want.
00:13:02
Speaker
You don't want s Stokes covering him. And I don't really think you want Valentine covering him either. but So it would be really nice to have Jair back and it would be great to have Carrington back. Either one, if you get both back healthy, that would obviously be the ideal. But you want one of them back just to match body types and play style types. So that's that's the one to watch in terms of the Green Bay injury situation because yeah, you just don't want to have just natural mismatches out there for the Rams to pick on. I don't even know what the Rams as offensive line looks like right now. it So who are the starters? You'll recognize the name of their left tackle, Alaric Jackson. Alaric Jackson.
00:13:46
Speaker
And see, he's been up and down from what I remember. He'd have one good year, and then yeah he'd have like a down year, and then he'd have a good year, and then he'd have a down year. I think what it is for him more than anything is... he's you know he's kind of like he's massive but like athletic wise he's like kind of a borderline nfl athlete kind of thing so when when he lines up his technique and you know he's and he's playing under control it looks great because you know he's just massive but if he gets out of rhythm gets out of technique then he can get beat like a doorknob kind of thing so he's there uh rob havenstein former badger from
00:14:25
Speaker
two generations ago is still with St. Louis. He's been around for a while. Yeah. Kevin Dot. So I think he's the one that they traded from so Pittsburgh for a couple years, a year or two ago, a bow limmer, which I'm not sure what that is. And a Logan brush. These are Oh, I guess the Wisconsin fans are going to start yelling at me for not knowing who Logan Bruss is. But I i do not recognize that Wisconsin badger name. And a Bo Limmer appears to be a former Arkansas Razorback. So forgive me for not recognizing.
00:15:04
Speaker
Yeah, forgive me for not recognizing
Packers Defensive Expectations
00:15:06
Speaker
who these people are, but they do not ring any bells. As we said, the Rams are down, both starting guards. Their left tackle, I think Havenstein was hurt, but he's just came back a week or two ago. And I don't even remember if Limmer was supposed to be their starting center or not. So yeah, it's been a shuffle up front for them. And like I said,
00:15:34
Speaker
And I don't know what this site's color code means because he's, I'm understanding that red means that they're out. I don't know what orange means, but it's him. And then Dylan McMahon is behind him. yeah So I don't know if that means he's the intended starter or if he's what maybe it means it's rookie. Cause then it's got Blake Corum is the same color and Cody Schrader.
00:16:02
Speaker
yeah So that's got to mean he's a rookie. And then Dotson, I don't know any, I don't remember anything about Dotson. Or Santana.
00:16:17
Speaker
na it so Kevin Dotson, we've played against him. So he was good as a rookie, if I recall correctly, OK as a sophomore and that his play just tanked after that in 2022. So that's why Pittsburgh kind of just pulled the plug on him and was like, yeah, we'll give him away for they got some like conditional sixth round pick for him or something like that from the Rams a year or two ago when they traded him. So.
00:16:43
Speaker
you know, journeymen, old linemen. So, like I said, kind of like going into that Tennessee game, I don't think we're gonna learn anything about the Green Bay D-line. You can only be more concerned and disappointed coming out of this game. This is a lot like the Tennessee game where it's like, this is an old line that our D-line should kick the butts of all day, all game kind of thing. And if they don't,
00:17:10
Speaker
there's only like there's only like one or two reasons you can point to one being the whole like if again Jair and Carrington don't play is McVey just scheming the shit out of his scheme to out of his playbook to get the ball out of Stafford's hand quickly and all that kind of stuff but even there you know you don't want it You can't be giving up big gains in the run game and stuff. Like I said, Kyron Williams and the running backs have not had a good season so far. So you can't be giving up any sort of gains there. And yeah, like at some point, that kind of even that kind of short passing king game planning has to be shut off to some degree. So like I said, we're not going to learn anything super positive about the Packers D-line.
00:18:00
Speaker
But if they don't have a good game, more red flags go up at this point.
Packers Injury Concerns in Defense
00:18:05
Speaker
Well, and this is going to be one of those games that if both Kenny and Devontae Wyatt don't play, then you're you've got backups out there. So you know it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. And you know you hope that Kenny can go, because I think he's been dealing with this so far all season. He's had them. I think the toe is new.
00:18:28
Speaker
but He's been dealing with a bunch of little stuff like the back showed up on week one or something like that and then... I'd have to go back through, but I'm pretty sure the toe has been out there for a couple weeks. Yeah. Yeah. So, but yeah, like you said, it's, it's going to be a weird week because the list is long. We're recording this on Wednesday nights. So obviously they've got two more practices to go, but yeah, it'll, it'll be interesting to see how this take gets taken up to, uh, through Friday and Saturday and you know,
00:19:00
Speaker
who they, you know, whether they do, like we said, make some of those moves with, bringing up Jonathan Ford and, you know, cutting or putting someone else on IR. Do they, know, do they, you know, is it just as simple as calling up Colby wooden? So be it. but yeah, we're, we're going to find out going into this. Well, it wouldn't necessarily be call up wooden. Yeah, you're right. Yeah. So.
00:19:28
Speaker
But yeah, like I said, it's it's hard to talk about this Rams offense because none of these, I don't want to say none of these guys, but outside of Stafford, Kyron Williams, and I guess you can argue 2-2 at will, none of these other guys are the guys we were quote unquote supposed to talk about going into this game. So like I said,
00:19:49
Speaker
I don't even know half their names. I might as well get too old for this. yeah i don't even So it's one of those words, like I said, it's like you and you brought up, it's damned if you do damned if you don't, because it's a yeah, you're supposed to dominate this team. But if you don't dominate this offense, then it's like, yeah like, what's going on here, guys kind of thing. So And one of the ones you don't like to see pop up is edge Cooper popping up on the injury report with a hip. And I don't know if it's the same one that he was dealing with in the off season, but
00:20:22
Speaker
You're kind of like, uh, no, it might be a re aggravate. Yeah. You really hope it isn't. Um, thought he was moving pretty well on Sunday, but, and you don't know if it's, you know, he, and it's because he's playing sporadic snaps. You don't know if he just wasn't in for game plan purposes or if, oh crap, he aggravated it. So he's out kind of thing and stuff. I don't believe we saw like, uh, he's out because of injury during the game. But, you know, depending on when it happened.
00:20:47
Speaker
you know it would or if it's just he woke up Monday like my hip so we'll find out as the week goes on but going from the Rams offense to the Rams defense
Rams Young Defensive Talent
00:21:02
Speaker
again a lot of young names on this group. So they they're in a 3-4 defense now. They're relying a lot on some really young guys. So their D highlighted by Kobe Turner who is like their
00:21:22
Speaker
Obviously you're not going to replace Aaron do Donald, but he is Aaron Donald Lite, pun intended and not intended. Same kind of guy, interior penetrator. I think he had like nine and a half sacks as a rookie, playing alongside Aaron Donald last season.
00:21:42
Speaker
only has one sec so far, but, um, Bay's interior O-line play has been okay so far. So, you know, you hope that they were able to hold him at bay. Uh, rookie Braden Fisk from Florida State has flashed here and there, but he's adapting to the NFL game. But, Jared Vers, who is a guy that I was hoping would somehow slip to Green Bay, but obviously didn't. He has had a solid start to the season as a rookie edge player who's learning on the fly and, you know, learning how to play from a standup position. So front, you know, front seven wise, it's a good matchup for the Packers. A lot of guys who are learning on the job. Well, I want to say that they were talking about how their run defense is about on par with
00:22:29
Speaker
Uh, Oh, what was the team that we played that had a shitty run defense? Oh, the Colts. Yeah. There you go. On par with the Colts. Sorry. i'm for you You were talking about being out of it. I'm like, my mind is gone for some reason. and But yeah, they they were talking about how the Rams run defense is about on par with the Colts.
00:22:51
Speaker
So if they can't scheme around and get some open looks with the run game, then you have to kind of question what's going on there too, considering what the Packers were able to do with Malik Willis at QB one and the run, you know, the run heavy, uh, offensive playbook that they were, they were using that day. So.
00:23:14
Speaker
Yeah, they may have some better guys out there, but it seems like they're better past defenders than they are. Yeah. So run like I said, that's kind of the danger that you have when you play with, young front seven guys, because it's all about, you know, do you know how to fill your gaps? Do you know how to score your run fits or are you playing a little bit, you know, almost blind because you know, of, of youth and stuff. So, big week for the green bay O-line got to be able to, you know, execute your game plan.
00:23:44
Speaker
and And I do think Love shook off a lot of rust over the course of the game against Minnesota, but I do expect there's still going to be a bunch of that, especially being the first game that he's played on turf this season. And just going from grass, you know, he's only played on two fields so far. They've both been grass at this point. So yeah that first turf game, it feels weird on your joints and stuff like that. So It'll be important for him to get his feet under him and, you know, get his throws in because we saw that, you know, have an effect on the Green Day passing game on Sunday where this past Sunday where, you know, he was either not confident in the knee or, know, there was some pain that he pain tolerance that he was dealing with.
00:24:27
Speaker
so Hopefully you're another week removed from the injury. So on that side of it, you're another week better.
Packers Offensive Strategy Against Rams
00:24:34
Speaker
And on the other side of it, you played last week if you're Jordan. So now you're like, OK, I know what to expect. you know I know what it's like to be you know when the when the the fire the live fire is coming at me and I have to perform. So hope to see a bounce back from Jordan. But like you kind of pointed out, they're actually worse than, they're worse in the run game on defense than the Colts by a whole seven-tenths of a yard.
00:25:01
Speaker
but So yeah, that'll be something that I'm sure Loflora will want to exploit. And as much as I do want Jordan to you know get in in rhythm with all of his passing targets, you know get wi give Wicks a boost of confidence, which I do think he got in the late fourth quarter of last week's game, but continue to build on that.
00:25:21
Speaker
As much as you want to accomplish all that, you also got to get this win. And if you can just bleed this game out by just mashing the Rams into submission, the floor is going to do that. We've seen him do it at home already against the Colts with the backup quarterback. And I'm sure he won't make any apologies if he does it with love on their center. Right. And, you know, people were pointing out that even Josh Jacobs was getting kind of frustrated on the sideline.
00:25:46
Speaker
against Minnesota. It's like you have a Josh, you guys are down so many points. Yeah, I was making a joke that he was more upset like, hey, I left Oakland to get away for Las Vegas to get away from this kind of game. But yeah.
00:26:01
Speaker
But you would have to think that he would be able to have a better game this time around. yeah And you also have to wonder if his frustration was that he was this close from getting that receiving touchdown and he just missed it. i know So, you know you hope that It can't be frustration on anything else. It's just telling the game. Everyone is looking for a storyline and stuff like that. and especially you know This isn't a shot at like any gameplay. That's what the sideline reporter is supposed to do. is they're like
00:26:38
Speaker
oh like So it's, you know, there's a cameraman that's like, oh, I've got blank star player looking mad, frustrated on the sideline. Trent, what do you think he's thinking right now? Kind of thing and stuff. So that's that's what the booth and the sideline reporters are there for. So and yeah, I don't think there's anything to it. I think it's as much how the hell are we down 20 nothing as opposed to like my touches kind of thing and stuff. So yeah, I'm not concerned about it at all.
00:27:10
Speaker
But to kind of go with your point a little bit, I i think it was more self-confidence in Jordan's knee than anything because then he said, was it today or yesterday or whenever they talked to him in the locker room after practice, that he said that He, you know, he had a little bit of soreness, but that was to be expected, but he feels really good at the moment. And, and then the floor said something that he looks like he's a little bit more confident in his throws. And, you know, he goes, well, we saw what you guys were seeing, but it got better later on in the game. And now throughout practice, it looks better and stuff like that. So.
00:27:57
Speaker
You know, I got to go with that, but of course I go back to my, I wish they would just do away with press conferences because you don't get any information out of them anyway. but this'll, this'll be a game that I think with what Jane Reed has been putting together so far this year, I think this will be the game that he gets heavily focused in on.
00:28:26
Speaker
So that's going to hopefully open it up for other people, whether it's, you know, Romeo, which, you know, we all heard for the longest time that Romeo is, you know, loves favorite target in practice. And he's hoping it spreads out throughout, you know, into games and that.
00:28:43
Speaker
uh, Bo Melton, Malik Heath, you got to figure Heath will get, uh, will be active for the game with, if Christian, you wouldn't think Christian plays this week, but the way they talk to sound like he had a possibility. I was like, no, I don't think so. but you know, you got to hope that if they, if the Rams do focus in on Jayden, then they do.
00:29:07
Speaker
It opens it up and hopefully Jordan sees that because he is another one that. He's not as bad. He does spread it around, but if he's having success with one guy, he's going to continue to look at that one guy and try to get to him. And what like I said, he is. Hold up, go for it, go for it.
00:29:29
Speaker
No, I was just going to round it out and just say that he does try to spread it out. But that first look is always going to be the guy he's having success with in that game. Yeah. And I do think people need to like have a better understanding of what you know what you're saying, where his is more it's more in the in the pace of feeling out the game, who's winning their one-on-one kind of thing and stuff, how the scheme is opening guys up. It's not like he goes in thinking,
00:29:57
Speaker
I know Jaden's going to get me big plays, so I'm going there. it yeah You watch his targets pile up, they're pretty even to start a game. And then as the game goes, like you get Jaden, the two games that Love has been in, where it's like, that's the mismatch.
00:30:13
Speaker
That's where we're going because he's winning. He's open every time kind of thing. You look at the Dallas playoff game last season. It was Romeo like Romeo was just the guy that kept getting open that game and stuff. So it isn't the like far of or even Rogers were and to Rogers, but there isn't a Davante on this team kind of thing or there isn't a Sterling Sharp on this team. But whereas those guys were like, that's the only guy I trust Jordans. It's more of a oh,
00:30:42
Speaker
This is how the game is going. And then you see the, you know, he starts like with the whole, like he's got nine completions to six different guys. But then by the third quarter, you're like, Oh, that guy's got five catches got to take it stuff. So it's, it's not, when we were kind of seeing in that against the Vikings, you know, how many times did, did, uh, uh, Dontavian get targeted? What did we say it was 13 times? Yep.
00:31:08
Speaker
Well, he just kept going back to that well, back to that well, because it looked like Dontavian was having success getting open and all that other stuff more than others. But you hope that he can spread the ball around a little bit more. yeah You hope that they will get a little bit more exotic with some of their stuff like the end rounds. and because really we haven't seen a lot of the true blue end around. Yeah. They've been kind of the gimmicky toss to him. He's tossed to that. Yeah. It's like a reverse more than me you're not sweet. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. yeah You're not seeing as much as the jet sweep. And you know, I think, I think that's where Bo is going to have more of his success. Yeah. Is, you know, those little touch passes just,
00:31:57
Speaker
and let them burst out and so with this speed. So do a little bit of that, mix in your running backs. Honestly, depending on how severe Musgraves is looking right now, set him, let it be, you know, Tucker and Sims. And if you've got to do a call up, you know, I know they like that Messiah Swinson, because they just brought him back. So many life of Brian memes are ready in case he has any sort of game on Sunday or whenever he's called into action. but
00:32:34
Speaker
Yeah. Well, you have Messiah Swinson and then you have Adonai Mitchell and Adonai is Hebrew for Lord.
00:32:43
Speaker
Yes, but I have memes of John Cleese going, the Messiah, praise the Messiah. So we're just like one short of having like the Holy Trinity of the NFL right now. We just need a skill player with the first name, Brian. He's a very naughty boy.
00:33:05
Speaker
But we got that in goodie. We don't need, we don't need a player. We got good. But as you see, we've already gone to the Monty Python jokes. we've We've covered this matchup as much as we're going to at this point.
Game Prediction Challenges
00:33:18
Speaker
It's a get right game for the Packers defense, or it should be. And you kind of want to see them reestablish their ground game this week.
00:33:28
Speaker
I don't think Minnesota honestly was that good stopping the run game. The Packers stopped their own run game because they just couldn't take care of the ball and couldn't, you know. put the ball through the upgrades or put the ball in the end zone. So, well, yeah, they they were down so many points and we see that in every, with every game with everybody, you know, if you're down so many points, you've got to come back somehow. And the biggest way to get bigger gains is throwing the ball. It just, you know, people, receivers are dropping the ball. Jordan was having a little bit of trouble throwing the ball.
00:34:01
Speaker
it was It was a Murphy's Law game. there you know Jordan was just off enough and the receivers couldn't pick him up on Sunday. And when you have both of those going for you, it's it's a recipe for disaster. And it was just too little too late at the end of the game. but and And this game is a little bit hard to talk about because like we pointed out at the beginning of the episode,
00:34:24
Speaker
There's so many injuries. There's nobody that we can really talk about as this is needs to be our focus. This needs to be our focus. This is what we need to do because we don't even know who's playing right now. So that's why we, like I said, that's, that's why the life of Brian has been brought up at this point. And so just to say your biggest take to save us from any more foolishness. Joe, do you have over unders for this week? Yep. And then remember, we are going to do our favorite segment afterwards. And I do have one. I don't have a very many, but I do have one I want to touch on. absolutely I'm saying that more for my benefit, because like I said, I'm kind of, I don't know why I'm not focusing right now.
00:35:16
Speaker
so I gotta do it. It's been good luck so far this year. you know So can we make it five weeks in a row over, under half an interception for Xavier McKinney. And to do my part in keeping the good times rolling, I'm going to say no. And for anyone who says this is BS, go and watch when Sterling Sharp used to be on NFL network.
00:35:40
Speaker
Sterling would always talk up the Green Bay Packers would always you know I know that some question like how much he really enjoyed being for the blah blah blah but he always supported the Packers when he was on NFL Network and his thing was always he never picked the Packers so in in honor of Sterling Sharp's NFL Network career I am going under on Xavier McKinney because I have gone under and it has worked so to you Joe.
Rams' Strategic Limitations
00:36:06
Speaker
and I guess I gotta take the over on that because you know we just gotta to keep it going but I've said all year and I don't know what it is about it that it won't be until about halfway into the season that people will finally start realizing we can't throw it in his direction. Oh and then this is one of those weeks too where like
00:36:26
Speaker
The Rams are kind of screwed on game planning away from him because it's like, you can't like, you know, if you had Cooper Cup, it's like, okay, they're gonna shade safety help kind of thing and stuff. But you don't have Cooper Cup. You don't have Pukanakua. You don't have a tight end who's worth a damn at this point.
00:36:44
Speaker
Like, so yeah, I guess you do want to have someone over the top of 2-2 at well, but that's the thing is like, Stafford's always been that guy where it's like, he's kind of far of like, where it's like, okay, I'll play by the rules, play by the rules, but all right, fuck it. It's not working. I'm going to let it rip kind of thing. And it's to that point where you're kind of like, this is one where Xavier, it might be more of like an overthrow, under throw kind of thing, but he, you like the chances of him stealing, like literally stealing one in this scenario.
00:37:15
Speaker
Now, just to refresh my memory, Atwell is more of a route runner. But isn't Robinson a bit of a speedster?
00:37:27
Speaker
yeah it's the whole I don't think he's that fast, but he is the bigger receiver, because Tutu is kind of like Tank Del. And that's why I brought up that you hope that one of Jair or Carrington is able to play this week, because yeah, he's not a precise route runner, but he's quick and agile. So like having Stokes who's not that kind of a cornerback,
00:37:52
Speaker
or even Valentine who can kind of match. But I think Tutu it is in a different class of athletes. So it's ah it's a poor matchup for him as well. as So that's why I hope you have one of Valentine or Alexander out there. It and bodes well that Valentine was a limited participant limit and today. and But yeah, it does suck that Jair was DNP today. So we'll we'll yeah'll we'll just have to track that one as the week goes along.
00:38:19
Speaker
Well, the only thing I was thinking is maybe it's a different guy that I'm thinking of, but I was thinking that Atwell was more the, you know, gadget, you know, more than he had been in the past. He had been in the past, but because Cooper and because Cup and Puka are out.
00:38:36
Speaker
They're like, okay. And two, two is averaging like 20 yards of reception
Rams Receiving Options Discussion
00:38:39
Speaker
this season. So they're like, well, what I mean was I didn't think he was more like straight line speed. He was more of the, you know, kind of like done. where Yeah. It's not like a straight line speed. He's more, he's going to get open by making his moves then. But, and then for some reason I was thinking Demarcus Robinson was the one that was the straight line speedster. Is he the one that came from Kansas city? Yeah.
00:39:05
Speaker
Okay. Then I think he's the one that's a little bit more straight line speed. yeah So if anybody, I think is going to get the shade, it's probably going to be him just because I know Stokes has got the speed to him, but I think because of Stafford's arm, they're going to want to cover that a little bit more because I think they feel like they have the underneath covered. So the deep route is probably going to need the extra help.
00:39:34
Speaker
help So, okay. Let's see. Well, let's go with the Josh Jacobs one. We'll go over. that over I don't care what the number is. It's over. and Well, I'm trying to think what do you, what do we do? If you say a hundred five i'm seeing over, we'll go 65 and a half.
00:39:56
Speaker
over
00:39:58
Speaker
I'm going to say over, but I think it's going to be slightly. Just, and it's not because he's not going to get the touches, but I think it's going to be to the point where, you know, they're going to rotate to him and yeah and Wilson in and out. Well, you don't want to wear him down this early. You're playing the long game, all that kind of stuff. Yeah, I do agree. Right. And I think they're going to try getting him in because I think they are going to try opening up the past game a little bit. So I think they're going to have more.
00:40:25
Speaker
Uh, you know, like running back screens and stuff like that. He'll get his 25 touches, but it'll be like 15 to 20 rushes and like five ish catches kind of thing. Yeah. Right. So he'll get his you he'll give his yards, but it's going to be a solid mix where it's going to be, you know, 60 running 30 receiving or whatever, but and probably more. I'm just, like I said, I'm just coming up with numbers off the top of my head.
00:40:53
Speaker
Uh, let's say, let's go with the defense side. Let's go three and a half. No, we'll go two and a half sacks. I'm going to do like I'm doing with Xavier. I'm going to say under because I have been disappointed and also I still believe in you. So under we're pulling out all the stops, baby. I'm going to say over. And then I'm going to ask you a question without looking it up.
Packers Defensive Insights
00:41:19
Speaker
So no Google, no Cheatner, whatever. Do you know who's ranked second on the team when in sacks? It's Kishan, isn't it? Yeah. ah So that that's, it's pretty sad when you have a cornerback that that is your number two. And and one of his sacks is like a tackled the quarterback behind the, like it's, it's technically a sack, but not like this last week's one where he like strip sapped him on a slot blitz kind of thing. But see that one is a technical sack too, because he didn't really take the quarterback down. He took the ball from him. Yeah. um, so I think we'll go over.
00:42:04
Speaker
i Do think there is gonna be a fire under Gary right now because of all the criticism. He's kind of receiving Not just from like fans, but you can tell like the talking heads are Starting to write them a little bit It's and I think you're gonna have to rely on Especially if Kenny and Devontae are out, you're going to have to rely more on your edges. Yeah. So you're going to have to rotate them in and out. Maybe, ah ah maybe Jeff halfly, if you're listening, you know, you can finally do it. Rashawn on the edge and put Lucas right next to him and just have them collapse that line. Uh, do it, do it one time.
00:42:53
Speaker
And if it never, if it doesn't work, I will, I won't even say your name ever again. And, but ah ah so I'm going to go over. Cause like I said, I think that the edge rushers are really going to have to be the focus, especially if both Kenny and Devontae are out. Uh, what is that? That's three of them. Three of them.
00:43:19
Speaker
Let's do this one and we'll hope for the best. But like you said, I think there's still going to be some things he's got to work out beings that this is only going to be game three forum over under one and a half interceptions for Jordan Love. I'm going under. I think he will throw one, but I think he'll throw just the one.
00:43:40
Speaker
I think it's going to get close. I think there's going to be a couple of them because they do have a pretty good secondary. They just don't have anything else. I'll say the under, but I think it'll be like one interception and i like and then address throws kind of thing and stuff. Yeah.
00:43:59
Speaker
and Where it's going to end up being like a half interception just because of how many the they drop. Yeah. And that's the thing is like even fully healthy, that's just who Jordan is. Like he and Stafford are a lot of like where it's like, we're going to take some chances because I'm the guy with the biggest gun kind of thing and stuff. So yeah, it's going to be there.
00:44:20
Speaker
And, and even though they keep talking it up, I still think he's going to have a little bit of confident issues with the legs. So it's still gonna, I still think you're going to have some issues with the, the past tailing off on a few, and maybe it's early. And then later in the game, he gets, you know, into it, or maybe he doesn't early, but later on, the fatigue is kind of setting in and then it starts happening. But all right. So shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up.
00:44:50
Speaker
so this one is uh comes from this past week against the vikings and it's a twitter a tweet on the old elon machine and the username is stat muse wolves and and it's mn muse on twitter i'm assuming he's a Vikings guy just because of the tweet and I think this is gonna be a kind of a not really controversial shut the fuck up but I think it's gonna be a it's gonna be one of those that's gonna be debated by a people if they actually pay attention to it this is the tweet
00:45:40
Speaker
Aaron Jones versus Josh Jacobs today. Jones 27 touches 139 yards, 7 million contract versus Jacobs 13 touches 78 yards, $12 million dollars contract. Thank you at Packers. So this is where I'm going to do the shut the fuck out. You set it yourself in your own tweet. 27 touches versus 13 touches. That makes all the difference in the world.
00:46:07
Speaker
Jacob still almost hit a young a hundred yards on 13 touches Now III honestly and without doing the math on everything and and all that I'm pretty sure he added all all the yards so both pack receiving and rushing yards Because I don't think Aaron hit 139 yards on the ground Diddy. I don't know that far ah So, and I'm pretty sure Josh didn't hit 78 yards just on rushes. I think he was at like 60 some, and then he had a few, like 10 or so of receiving. So you said it yourself 27 touches versus 13 touches $7 million dollars contract versus $12 million dollars contract. But you have to remember how much money Aaron Jones is making from the Green Bay Packers because of all the dead money they had to give up.
00:47:03
Speaker
It was a lot easier for him to take that $7 million dollars contract knowing that he's probably getting another $7 million from the Green Bay Packers to offset things. The Brandon Jacobs is pure free agency. There's no release. There's no nothing. It was a pure free agent. ah ah Josh Jacobs. Sorry. I told you I'm all out of it. is a pure free agent signing. That's what he was going to be making no matter where he went.
00:47:34
Speaker
Matter of fact, I think there was a little bit more. Didn't he say the chiefs offered him more, but he refused to go to the chiefs because all the years he played against them. So your, your tweet makes no sense. I understand you're trying to get that little jab and that gotcha Packers, gotcha Packers, but it doesn't work. There are two different players. Jacobs is younger. Jones, while still is older.
00:48:05
Speaker
The body types are completely different. Their they their play styles are completely different. There are different points in their careers. And you got to look at the game. Yeah, Jacobs would have got more touches had it been a more relevant game other than a quarter and a half. Had it been a full game where there was only two points between the two teams throughout the whole game,
00:48:35
Speaker
Jacobs would have got more touches on the ground or more passes through the air. But he didn't because they were so far behind from the first half. So the Packers, like we mentioned earlier, what's the best way to come make a comeback through the air because that's where you're going to get your motor your bigger chunks of yards. and So now, while this isn't a really controversial shut the fuck up,
00:48:59
Speaker
This is still an important shut the fuck up because that tweet, you proved yourself wrong and your own damn tweet. You were trying to get that. Gotcha. Gotcha. That little jab in and it didn't work. Well, I guess it did work because we're making a deal out of it, but it didn't do what you think it was going to do. So what'd I say your name was? M in muse. Shut the fuck up.
00:49:28
Speaker
You know, just, and you know, like you said, it's, it's the, skin it's the weird one where when you're on the losing side of it and you go scoreboard. Like you said, Jacobs wasn't going to rush the ball 20 plus times when you're down 28 to nothing in the early parts of the second quarter of a game. So just is what it is. Well, yeah, because you know, what's the easiest way to ah ah stop the clock?
00:49:56
Speaker
It's not by handing it to your running back and let them bounce off a few guys. Yep. It's throw the ball at to a place where nobody's going to catch it. Yep. So. That's that. And just like the rest of this episode, we're not going to drag this one out much longer than it needs to be. So that's going to do it for us tonight. Thank you for joining us on this opponent preview. Please check out the website, bohannapackers.org. Please support our crucial catch theme for that that Joe has put together and puts a lot of hard work into. Joe, do you have you wanted to give a little spiel on that one for what
00:50:33
Speaker
our outreach is going to with that that line? We'll probably do a video here pretty soon just to talk about everything but two t-shirt designs there are multiple colors to choose from you don't have to choose the two colors at the pictures or that's just to show you what it looks like Uh, but the cancer awareness one, we are donating to Trisha's troops and we selected two American legions that are going to be getting the money from the, uh, I don't really want to call it salute to service, just in case the NFL finds out and say, you can't do that. but the veterans help charity.
00:51:18
Speaker
Uh, one is local to me. It's just in the next town over. And the other one is, uh, a friend of my dad's is one of the members and officers of, and he's already told me that whatever money is raised, we'll be going to purchase new flags for their cemetery when they go out and do their Memorial day and their, their, their holiday flags and stuff like that. ah So go over.
00:51:46
Speaker
Buy you, you know, a dozen church or so support a good cause and, you know, help ah help out people who are in need. Uh, there are two causes that are really, you know, I think they're close to me. They're close to everybody else. Everybody's had somebody in the military or everybody's had somebody who's been affected by cancer. So, you know, go over support us, support the causes.
00:52:13
Speaker
and check out all of our um our blog posts, check out streams of the episodes, us, Cheesehead Talk. check out or Please be following the the show's Twitter account at Ohana underscore Packers. Have updates on any new product lines, stories, episodes, episode drops, all of that will be linked to the Twitter account and to be eligible for drawings, you've got to be following that account.
00:52:41
Speaker
please follow the podcast on your favorite podcasting app. Give us a like and a subscribe and all of your comments. We want to hear all of it because we want to create the content you're looking for. The Packers look to get above 500 again and get their first conference win of the season over in California. So go Pack Go and Aloha!