Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Previewing Week 3 Matchup: Green Bay Packers vs. Cleveland Browns
0 Playsin 2 hours
In this episode, we preview the exciting NFL week 3 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns. Join us as we dive into the match analysis, discussing strategies, key player matchups, and what this game means for the Packers' season.
Recommended
Transcript
Intro
Week 3 Preview: Packers vs. Browns
00:00:21
Speaker
Aloha and welcome back week three opponent preview of the Ohana Packers edition podcast. Iowa Joe and we're going to go over the 2025 week three opponent. That would be the Cleveland Browns who will be wearing their alpha dog, all brown helmets sponsored by dude wipes.
00:00:42
Speaker
That's right. Oh,
00:00:48
Speaker
that That one put a smile on my face today. No, I have a serious question about the Dude Wipes. Are they? Because I don't know. I know what they are, but I don't know anything about them. Is that sponsored by Dude Perfect?
00:01:01
Speaker
I think it is. I think it's an offshoot. I'm not sure. or not sponsored, but is that one of their many products that they put out there? I know they're taking a lot of flack a lot lately because they've started to turn more corporate. No, they're not. They're not? Separate, yeah.
00:01:19
Speaker
Okay. No, I was just curious because I keep seeing those everywhere. It's like, yeah.
00:01:26
Speaker
All right. Before we get totally off the rails, back to the Packers.
Packers' Injury and Roster Updates
00:01:30
Speaker
It's late.
00:01:34
Speaker
So the Packers are heading into this week three game. They have, the they're coming off the mini by looking to get back on, you know, a more regular schedule. And not that this is a grueling part of the Packers schedule, but you know, said it ad nauseam the past few times, past few episodes, but two games in five days, it was grueling. So team's looking to get back into a more regular routine and,
00:02:00
Speaker
We're reaping some of the benefits of that already with today's injury report. The on team only had one did not participate, and was Jaden Reed who honestly will be going on IR tomorrow.
00:02:14
Speaker
anywhere from today to Saturday, basically, just so ah that Sunday's game counts towards his four games, the mandatory four games missed on IR. I do get the feeling that the front office is basically just slow playing it until they hit the four-week mark for, like, Marshawn Lloyd and Christian Watson.
00:02:37
Speaker
had kind of floated the idea that... If there had been a player they were interested going after, you to have on the roster, like from outside of the organization, you'd figure that they would have signed that player last week after the game so that you have the full weekend, extra days to practice kind of thing.
00:02:58
Speaker
This is more like a outside the 90-man roster kind of thing. So, you know, if there's someone on another practice squad, a street-free agent kind of thing or something, know, don't really need to sign someone off, you know, like they could slow play signing, bringing someone off the Packers practice swat itself because that guy's already in the building already like is kind of immersed in the playbook and stuff. But as it stands right now, the Packers are sitting at 52 players on the 53 man roster because they never filled Brenton Cox's spot when they put him on IR.
00:03:30
Speaker
And then I'm wondering if it's Micah Robinson because he'll be out call-ups here pretty quick because they've already used two of them. And um um on that front, Bo Melton and Nate Hobbs were both limited participants today. So both guys seem to be trending in the right direction there. We'll see if they...
00:03:51
Speaker
They could slow play it because they can definitely exhaust Robinson's final call-up and then make a decision after that. But my theory is that since they haven't filled either of those roster spots at this point, they're just at this point looking towards Watson and... Lloyd being ready to come back sooner than later, but also at the same time, they can utilize the 21 day practice window. So, you know, they're in a state of limbo. They're not on the active roster, so they can't be activated, but they can practice in that time. So,
00:04:27
Speaker
Like, we'll see. You know, we'll see what they end up doing. But that was just something that I figured that really did pique my interest in terms of, you know, what they're doing from a roster construction standpoint.
00:04:39
Speaker
But big news is that both Aaron Banks and Zach Tom returned to practice today. Very different outlooks from each player with regards to that.
00:04:50
Speaker
Aaron Banks basically said, yeah, I'm playing on Sunday, like no ifs, ands, or buts. And Zach, on the other hand, was much more apprehensive, stating that, you know, he feels good going laterally, but doesn't feel good trying to run in a straight line and stuff. And,
00:05:06
Speaker
In all honesty, unless something magical changes within the next, you know, what is that? 72 hours. But, you know, Thursday, you know, you're going to hear this on Thursday.
00:05:17
Speaker
Unless anything changes the next 72 hours, I just don't see a reason to start Zach Tom if he's less than 100%. One, you know, this is one of those games where I do think having a fully healthy, whether it's Belton, Kennard, or even if they bump Morgan over to right tackle, it's more useful to have a fully healthy guy than to have Tom trying to not just battle Garrett, but battle Garrett, you know, bringing a knife to a gunfight kind of thing. So I just think it's good that he's out there practicing, but at the same time,
00:05:54
Speaker
It's one of those why risk it. you We talk about it all the time. You've got to go and have a... You've got to approach it from a 10,000-foot view.
00:06:03
Speaker
See the big picture. you Don't strain so hard trying to win a single game when you could lose more if
Managing Player Workloads and Opponent Strategy
00:06:09
Speaker
you... get a key player injured for the long haul. So other than that, Zane Anderson and Jordan Love were full participants.
00:06:18
Speaker
Love didn't have the protective, like, rap or the protective, He wasn't wearing any sort of guide on the thumb, but he did have some tape on it, according to the reporters.
00:06:29
Speaker
And then addition to Bankson, Tom, as noted, Hobbs and Melton were limited. The one that's a little concerning is Jacobs was listed as limited participant.
00:06:42
Speaker
And you did see him get dinged up on... I forget which play it was. I'd have to go back and look. But there was a play where you saw him get up slowly after a a run. And, you know, I think the stat is that Savion and Golden have more carries between the two of them than Chris Brooks and Emmanuel Wilson do at this point in the season.
00:07:09
Speaker
And it is one of those where... I get it. You got to get Jacobs going, but at the same time, you need him going in December, January, February. Like, yes, obviously you want him to, you know, get rolling as soon as you can, but you also don't want him to peter out in September kind of thing. And especially if you get, like i said, same thing,
00:07:28
Speaker
have the big picture you don't want to get him dinged up early and have him dealing with an ankle or something all season that's just dogging him you know where he you know he might be four yard carry instead of 4.4 yards a carry kind of guy so something to keep an eye on and we'll see if they you know try to lighten his load a little bit but that's where the injuries stand you know always say we're going off a one day of practice when we roll into these episodes so we'll see where it goes but Joe, you can't be much happier with where the Packers are at this point, sitting 2-0, 1-0 in the division, 2-0 in the conference at this point.
00:08:06
Speaker
Yeah, but this is one of those games that kind of worries you on the schedule because Cleveland's not playing the greatest. On offense, at least. Yeah. Right.
00:08:19
Speaker
But this will be one of those games where –
00:08:23
Speaker
Are we going to see the Packers of the past that played down to an opponent, or is this going to be the team that we're hoping we have and they're just going to go out and trash them? And, you know, unfortunately, we don't know yet because they've played two solid teams the first two weeks in a short amount of time.
00:08:42
Speaker
They're coming off a mini buy. Are they going to come out flat? Are they going to come out ready to go? You know, how are they going to do that? These injuries aren't helping much. but they aren't long-term injuries per se.
00:08:57
Speaker
Like you said, the Zach Tom one is going to be the question mark at what they're going to do at right tackle. If Banks is saying that he's going to play, then i don't see where...
00:09:09
Speaker
there's any doubt on that so that's going to open up morgan to play tackle belton or or canard or however if maybe maybe they bring up banks again from the practice squad however they want to do it but uh that's going to be the key because now i i can't say this 100 but i'm fairly certain that miles garrett only lines up over the right tackle they don't really switch him up much so that right side is going to be the side that is going to get pressured more often.
00:09:44
Speaker
Now on the plus side, that is the side that Jordan Love will see coming so he can do a little bit more with it. It's not like he's going on the blind side, but, you know, is that going to panic Jordan a little bit more? Is that going to know, how's that going to work if, if Garrett is, is,
00:10:04
Speaker
continually putting pressure. And what's he at? He's 30 now? 31? 30, I think. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, even though he's getting a little bit longer in the tooth, he's still a menace on that defense.
00:10:17
Speaker
And, you know, they have a pretty solid defense, even though it's a little bit of an older defense per se. I mean, they got some young bucks on there too, but, you know, just...
00:10:31
Speaker
How are the Packers going to handle it? And so far, they've handled good defenses well so far.
00:10:42
Speaker
I know we kind of joked about it all that stuff, but with the commanders having an old defense, but it was still a pretty solid defense. The ah ah Lions, even though they have a new defensive coordinator, still have a solid defense with the players that they have on that team.
00:10:59
Speaker
packers have been able to handle things but again who knows do they play down to the team like they have in the past or do they go in and want to go for the kill shot so it's and this is one of those games where when you look at it you you look at cleveland's stats and their stats are really funky because this you know it's only two games and this ravens game was a weird one so You know the final score, it's 41-17 Ravens over the Browns.
00:11:32
Speaker
But when you really look at what happened in that game, Cleveland closes the score to 20-10 with five minutes left in the third quarter. And then they start turning the ball over rapidly.
00:11:48
Speaker
And... What's it? You know, the... So even even make it 20-3, the Ravens score a touchdown on a five-yard drive after a turnover.
00:12:00
Speaker
Then later on um on, there's another interception, and then there's a fumble return for a touchdown. a blocked punt, and then a fumble return for a touchdown. I forget the order of it and stuff.
00:12:12
Speaker
So... If you look at it on, you know in terms of their points per game, their points per game, Cleveland ranks 25th because that 41 is a crooked number and their points per play allowed is a crooked number because of that points per game, but it's not all technically by the defense.
00:12:33
Speaker
However, Cleveland's defense is first in yards allowed and second in opponent yards per play allowed, which is something that Green Bay is have to deal with. And in particular, they're very stingy against the run. and They're fresh off of holding a team with... They actually outgained the Ravens by 81 yards and held a Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry team to 45 rushing yards.
00:13:02
Speaker
And I know some people say, well, the Ravens didn't need to run that much. Cleveland provided enough points and all that kind of stuff. What I will say Turnover luck is fickle.
00:13:14
Speaker
Like, you know, Green Bay have relied on turnovers a lot last season. They're not having to a lot this season because they're just a much more talented defensive unit. But at the same time, if Cleveland takes better care of the ball, that game is a lot closer and maybe their inability to run, know, is a bigger problem.
Offensive Strategy Against Browns' Defense
00:13:35
Speaker
That's I just bring that up because that could be an issue for the Packers who have not had success running the ball yet so far this season, partly due to the shuffling of the offensive line. You know that that group hasn't had time to gel yet.
00:13:47
Speaker
But at the same time, you know, Jacobs has missed a few reads each game and he's dinged up now. You haven't seen much out of Brooks. You haven't.
00:13:58
Speaker
Wilson has like one carry on the season. and was like to bleed the clock at the end of the Detroit game. So Brooks has been used more in the passing game than anything else. And he's got in a couple like draws or that kind of like give up runs on third and forever is kind of thing. So You know, it remains to be seen what Green Bay is going to do on the ground. But what I think is a big feather in their cap is what LeFleur started to unveil this past game. You know, like I said, probably was kind of ticked off that he had to unveil some of the Savion package and stuff. But what that does for Green Bay is it'll help loosen up. Hopefully it'll help loosen up this Browns defense because the more...
00:14:39
Speaker
wrinkle stuff you show on field, the more things that Cleveland has to keep their eyes on, you know, the more eye candy you put on the field, the more attention you draw away from just running Josh Jacobs up the middle kind of thing. So it'll be interesting to see how that side of it plays out.
00:14:56
Speaker
Where I do think Green Bay could have some success is Cleveland plays something like 46 or something percent man coverage. And granted, you've got to be able to pass protect,
00:15:09
Speaker
But at the same time, if you can pass, but if you can buy Jordan and the receivers some time, they should have some success uncovering against this defense. And one of the statistics that I saw brought up on PFF's game preview is by their stats,
00:15:24
Speaker
Cleveland has been the best team through two games at denying tight ends receiving success. And Green Bay, you know, on the backs of Kraft's big day on Thursday night and Musgrave having those two catches for 32 yards. They're the best tight end receiving production team. So that'll be something interesting to see how that stacks up come Sunday.
00:15:48
Speaker
But are, you know, the two areas that... kind of stand out as like where this game could kind of flip on a dime is you know greenby's ability to gain success on the ground and if they can find room in the passing game well here's the stat for you so we're all happy with the packers run defense so far and they've given up 97 yards and in the past two games cleveland's only given up 91
00:16:19
Speaker
So that shows you that if we're happy with what the Packers are doing on run defense, then Cleveland's even happier with what they're doing on their run defense. So got got it's one of those things, and and I got into this a little bit with some Hawkeye fans because of the same issue, is you've got to learn when, if you can't run it, but you can throw it, continue to throw it until they make you stop.
00:16:50
Speaker
Make them show you they can stop the pass before you break into anything else. Don't continue to just pound the rock and say, oh, well, eventually something will break open.
00:17:00
Speaker
No, No, if if they're freely giving you the pass option and you can make it work, even if it's five, six yards of catch or something like that, do it.
00:17:13
Speaker
We've got the receivers. We've got the quarterback. We've got the guys that can do it, the tight ends that can do it. so if they're allowing you that and they're going to stop the run take the pass because eventually they're going to have have to start protecting the pass and that'll open up the run game so don't be bullheaded like freaking kirk ferentz just keep pounding the rock and hope something will happen Get some your gadget plays out there. Get some of your touch passes and pitches and stuff like that out there.
00:17:48
Speaker
Then you can start opening up the run game a little bit more. Yeah, and that factors in is that... Cleveland isn't very big up front on their defensive line. Like, you know, their edges are a little bigger. They're kind of in the 270 range.
00:18:05
Speaker
But then you have Malik Collins, know, a relatively reliable vet on the interior, but he's only 310 pounds. And then you have rookie Mason Graham, and he's listed at 315. I find that number a little dubious because he definitely was more in the, like,
00:18:23
Speaker
295 to 300 range when he was at Michigan. But the big thing, like you said, is in order to get Cleveland out of their comfort zone, they're a heavy cover one, cover three team.
00:18:36
Speaker
They like to run a lot of man because they trust their corners. you They've got a good pair in Denzel Ward. Newsome Ward. Newsome, yep. So you've got to be able to get separation there. This is a big game for the receivers. want to see, you know, Dobbs, Wicks, and, you know, if Golden can have some success out there, that would be absolutely wonderful for this offense.
00:18:58
Speaker
And like you said, Part of the reason why Cleveland is so good in the run is because they sit in that cover one pre-snap look so much so that they can, what's it? They can, you know, have eight guys in the box.
00:19:11
Speaker
And you have to, you know, they count on Garrett being able to disrupt the pocket to help them create havoc. So, you know,
00:19:23
Speaker
got to have a plan for Miles Garrett. The rest of their D-line, you know, isn't known for being pass rushing, you know great pass rushers you know mcguire is a second third year player now with eight and a half career s s sacks including one this year their reserve ends are former buck joe tryon shoyinka and alex wright so not big names there and then
00:19:52
Speaker
They're breaking in a couple. ah So there are three linebackers. They've got rookie Carson Swessinger out of UCLA. And then they're running. He's an athletic freak. Yeah. but still can be kind of caught going in the wrong direction at times.
00:20:07
Speaker
And then there are two outside linebackers, or two, you know, kind of hand-me-downs in Devin Bush and Jerome Baker, who, you know, so far are playing well early this season, but, you know, have been got on their former teams. So it's up to Green Bay to, you know,
00:20:27
Speaker
create movement in the pass game, like you said, so that you can spread out this defense and force them to have to play a little more know,
Preparations for the First Road Trip
00:20:35
Speaker
too high. And then from there, when you lighten the box, you can hopefully get the run game going. So,
00:20:44
Speaker
like you said, this game and the the week seven game in Arizona are the two where I... On paper, it shouldn't be a mystery that Green Bay should win these two games, especially with how those teams have played to start the year. But that Arizona game, that's your first West Coast trip, you know, like true cross-country trip.
00:21:04
Speaker
This one is your first road trip after starting two games at home. And so... It's really important for Green Bay. you It's all the basics this week. And you know that LaFleur has been drilling it in the long practice week.
00:21:19
Speaker
Take care of the football. This game is the absolute definition of a end every drive in a kick game. And you I use that adage a lot.
00:21:29
Speaker
And what that means is you take care of the football so that every drive ends with a punt, a field goal kick, or a point after touchdown, you a PAT kick. And that's the kind of football that you've got to play this weekend.
00:21:44
Speaker
You cannot give this Browns team any reason to feel like they belong. And something we also discussed this week is like, you don't want this to be um they're killing them everywhere but the scoreboard kind of game.
00:22:01
Speaker
Like, don't give crappy teams a reason to hang around. Like, you brought it up as your stale that, like, you know, could they have pushed the lead last week? I said that I'm waiting to see what happens because, you know, they're playing the two games in five nights.
00:22:16
Speaker
Now's the time for LaFleur. If you have a a chance to put the hammer down, put the hammer down. You can coast and play the clock when you're up three scores, but get to three scores.
00:22:27
Speaker
Don't just do the, oh, the two scores or if, you know, the field goal kicking and you're at an eight point and you treat the eight point lead as like a one and half. I hate that crap. Get a three score lead and then you can kind of bleed the clock at that point.
00:22:42
Speaker
And I say that like- And make sure it stays a three point lead. Yeah. yeah so like and i i don't want fans to think that it's easy and i also don't want fans to be alarmed if it looks hard for the packers this week they're still going with what's going to be some kind of shuffling on the offensive line because i do not believe tom is going to play play and if he does play he's not going to be a hundred percent and i wouldn't even risk it save him for the next game i wouldn't either
00:23:14
Speaker
Yeah, like, unless for some reason he miraculously wakes up tomorrow and it's completely healed and he's having no issues. Right, right. And like I said, I'm going purely off of how he looked in practice and the fact that he was so like,
00:23:31
Speaker
very careful with his words. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. You know, like those aren't the like, like I said, when you got one lineman being guarded like that and the other one's like, I would have played last week if it was a Sunday game and I'm definitely playing on Sunday kind of thing.
00:23:45
Speaker
Like it, you don't have to mask it very much. So yeah, like they have the offensive line shuffling. It's your first road test. You're coming off of two like,
00:23:57
Speaker
emotional galvanizing wins for the team you're still riding a little bit off the parsons high so all those things and then this is a good defense like make no mistake about it this might this legit might be one of the best defenses this team plays this whole season and you're catching them when they're still pretty healthy like the only brown preferred starter who's going to miss this game is a linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoa, which is a big one because he is ah legitimate sideline to sideline defender who Bay would have to be ah ah alert for. yeah.
00:24:41
Speaker
They've got a couple of injuries that it's a toss up. Like Delpit's got a back injury right now, so he was limited. uh what was the other one mike hall jr has a knee so he was limited now i had to laugh at this because this is the first time i've really seen this put on uh injury report but has it hasn't listed as denzel ward with shoulder and cramping And ah get the shoulder, but how do you end up on the injury report with cramping? Because doesn't that eventually go away?
00:25:16
Speaker
mean, I've had some gnarly Charlie horses in my leg that kind of stick with you, but, you know, don't think I'd end up on the injury report with cramping. Yeah,
00:25:26
Speaker
I that feels like one of those Bill Belichick put the whole team on the injury report kind of things. It remains to be seen what happens there.
Challenges for Packers' Offensive Line
00:25:37
Speaker
Like, yeah, like i i said, just be smart with the football, take care of it, and win the line of scrimmage.
00:25:47
Speaker
Like, I do want to see the Packers make a statement in that regard. And... You know, like I said, they're not going to have a full deck, but see if you can create some movement and some guys off the line of scrimmage and, you know, impose your will. Like, I appreciate, like I said, I do appreciate that we have seen them when they've needed to score. You know, like when Washington cut the score to 17-10, they go right down the field and score touchdown.
00:26:18
Speaker
sort of similar in the detroit game where detroit you know it's detroit's kind of hanging around and you go and put the game out of reach at that point so i i do want to see them really flex that and then i think we both agree you get up you get a good 17 point 21.5 second half lead then lafleur you can bleed the clock and take the air out of the ball but Like you said, boy, if then you go if they score, then you make sure you go and get that lead back. Yeah, yeah, I agree. Because the like I said, it's all well and good with how they've been playing the last couple of weeks.
00:26:54
Speaker
But you need that killer mentality. And right now they're not showing quite that killer mentality yet. They're showing. What's a good euphemism for that they're showing.
00:27:08
Speaker
psychotic tendencies, but they haven't moved to to their killer instinct yet. So, and I know that, but we're in the Halloween season, so get over it. I'm trying to do my best with euphemisms here.
00:27:21
Speaker
But get that mentality. You want to see them go and just, like I said last week, you want to see them do what Detroit did to Chicago.
00:27:32
Speaker
You just want to throw 52 burger up there and call it good. And you want to, not that you're going to be able to do that week in and week out, but you need that mentality that we're going to go in here and we're to score 100 points.
00:27:45
Speaker
Yeah. Now, are they going to score 100 points? No, but you need that mentality that, hey, we're going to put this up. We're not going to stop until, you know, they throw the white flag. And even if they wave the white flag, we might not even stop then.
00:28:15
Speaker
thing.
00:28:16
Speaker
Go into the fourth quarter with 30 points. Like I want to see that kind of output. I know it's going to be tough against this team, this Browns team, because their defense is that good. But Like I said, hopefully you'll be the team that'll benefit from some short fields, some opportunities in that regard.
00:28:33
Speaker
But also go and make opportunities on your We're focusing a lot on the offense against the Packers offense against the Browns defense because that's what on paper should be the struggle in this
Exploiting Browns' Offensive Weaknesses
00:28:47
Speaker
game.
00:28:48
Speaker
On the other side of the field, it's like, just don't make mistakes. like like Right. They've got Flacco at quarterback, and he's as immobile as immobile can be. You got to figure the defense is going to feast on that.
00:29:01
Speaker
The big thing to watch on that is if they're going to continue a snap count for Micah Parsons. Now they do have some wide receivers to keep an eye but it's going to be long as they get the pressure on Flacco and they can cause that disruption, there should be no issues with the wide receivers.
00:29:25
Speaker
They're kind of struggling a little bit with the run game like the Packers are, but if the Packers' run defense continues like they have been, then that shouldn't even be an issue. So, yeah, we are concentrating more on the offensive side of the ball for the Packers, but that's because we kind of know what the offense for the Browns are going to be getting in. now now Now, this is one of those games that this would typically happen in, that something's going to happen to Flacco, and they're going to bring in one of the backups, and then the backup runs all over the Packers.
00:29:58
Speaker
Now, that's a possibility, You got the two rookies behind. i don't even know what their depth chart is Is Gabriel the next one up if something happens to Flacco? Yeah, Gabriel is QB too.
00:30:11
Speaker
So, you know, that's a possibility. And then they do have Packer killer Bailey Zappi on the practice squad if they decide to bring him up too. But, you know, I know Flacco has the history behind him.
00:30:29
Speaker
But he's at that 40-year mark. He's never been a running quarterback. He was able to escape pockets pretty good, but even that's limited anymore. So, again, steady dose of Micah, steady dose of Rashawn, steady dose of Lucas.
00:30:46
Speaker
Get pressure on him. And we shouldn't have any issues on on that side of the ball. Yeah, so on their offense, Jack Conklin, you know, he's trying to come back from an elbow injury, but the report is that it's probably not going to happen for them this week.
00:31:03
Speaker
At left tackle, you have DeJuan Jones, who's had a rough time adjusting to the NFL game. And then their longtime stalwart, Joel Betonio, he's dealing with a back issue, did not participate in practice on Wednesday. That'll be something to keep an eye on.
00:31:18
Speaker
And... Yeah, like you said, you know, they do have some names at wide receiver, you know, ah ah Jerry Judy, who's kind of found a rejuvenation in Cleveland. Cedric Tillman, who was, you know, ah a a favorite amongst Packer fans and Titans, David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. And they've got fellow rookie from Texas, Isaiah Bantu, who has talent that they've been kind of using like like the Packers have Matthew Golden with some, I think he's had one end around and then he's got a couple of catches for short gains, but yeah.
00:31:59
Speaker
Yeah. So it is just handle your business. Like, I don't mean to make it sound so simple, but it really is just a handle your business, take care of your, you know,
00:32:13
Speaker
what's it called? Manage your yard and all that kind of stuff, whatever adage you want to use to it. And it, you know, like I said, just from a Packers offense standpoint, this is a game where like, Jordan, we don't need you to do anything special.
Game Management and Defensive Threats
00:32:30
Speaker
Just take care of the football and don't give this Browns team a short field. Like that is... i don't want to say it's the only way you can lose, but it is like the most direct path Cleveland has to beat Green Bay is for Green Bay to just shit the bed in this game. So take care of the football. Like I said, end every drive in a kick.
00:32:50
Speaker
And... just win the field position battle. And this is one of those, like, fans, some fans will really complain if the Packers' offense just struggles to get traction. But like I said, this, hypothetically, especially with how healthy the unit is, could be the best defense they face all season. Like, just in terms of the way that they play as a unit, Miles Garrett still being at the top of his game, you know, being basically Parsons' equal in terms of, like,
00:33:20
Speaker
a single player front seven wrecking crew guy kind of thing so but the only thing that they don't have going for him on that end is they don't have a counterpart to him exactly where whereas the packers have three of them And so even more so, like, don't be shy about pouring resources into stopping Miles Garrett.
00:33:44
Speaker
Because if you're able to control him, you should be able to control this game on offense. So we bring the U71 package back out. I mean, I'm all for it at this point. Do whatever you got to do. But I think we've covered all the points on this one.
00:33:59
Speaker
So we'll go into our over unders for the game. Yeah, that's fine. So the first one I'm going to throw out here is have a number set, but this is basically will he score one? Will he not score one?
00:34:11
Speaker
And that's Josh Jacobs over under half a touchdown. I say yes, they're going to get him to tie the record. I've been thinking about as it. and And much as I hate to say this, they are going to do the we're just going to pound it.
00:34:30
Speaker
we're We're just going to pound the rock. We're going to pound the rock. So I do think he's going to get one, but I think it's going to be limited to one. My next one is more of a hope thing than anything because he's been kind of quiet so far, and that's over under 35 and a half yards for Matthew Golden, and I will put it as receiving yards.
00:34:53
Speaker
Got
00:34:54
Speaker
I'm going to go over.
00:34:57
Speaker
I'm going to say I'll put it 55.
00:35:02
Speaker
I'm hoping for an over, but I just have this feeling that it's not going to come. I have a feeling it's going to end up being like 35 yards period.
00:35:15
Speaker
And, and that's because there's so many weapons on this offense that it's not like one of those team need, those teams that need ah ah ah wide receiver because the rest of them on the team are Jags and they're just going to continue to throw him the ball just because that's the only guy that they have.
00:35:35
Speaker
This Packers offense is loaded with them. And even with Jaden Reed going down, you've got other guys that are going to step up. I mean, Dontavian Wicks has been looking good this year. Malik Heath is going to get at least one deep pass at some point.
00:35:51
Speaker
ah ah Of course, you've got Romeo that's going to be, I'm hoping for, Matthew to get more, and I'm still hoping that they make that connection on deep, but I'm going to go just under what I've got numbered for him on here.
00:36:09
Speaker
My next one, I'm going to go with Keyshawn Nixon over under one and a half pass breakups. And I'm doing this number because last game he had an ungodly amount of pass breakups with five of them.
00:36:23
Speaker
And I just want to say that I don't think he's a bad player. I just think he's getting a a lot of help from what's happening with the pass rush.
00:36:34
Speaker
So, yes, he's been in the area and he's actually made the plays on these. It's not been like flukes. But I think his numbers are going to come back down to earth.
00:36:47
Speaker
I'm going to say he's going to be lucky to even get one. So I'm going under. But not to say he's going to make any mistakes or anything like that, but I'm just saying that don't think he's going to get that chance to make the pass breakups like he did against Washington.
00:37:06
Speaker
And with the way they score these things in the stat line. So, yeah, I'm going under for that. i agree i think it's gonna be under i i think he'll get like one five is like five is a good year for a lot of corners kind of thing like five is a season total and not just not just a matter of how he individually is playing but it's also what the refs will let him get away with too and
00:37:35
Speaker
I do think he, for the most part, had good coverage on his opportunities, but he definitely was more physical in week two than he was in week one. I think he, you know, he sensed that he has the opportunity to play that more aggressive style because of the fact that, you know, Parsons is there and the the rest of the front seven has turned up their level of play.
00:37:57
Speaker
So, I think that, but this game, i think you combined like a different referee crew with, what's it, and then just a different kind of team this week. Like the way Washington plays because they play to Daniels' strengths, you know, it's a little bit more of like a college style offense with more quick hitters. routes that Nixon is better at covering, you know, whereas I do think that Cleveland will try to test Nixon deep. I i don't know if Flacco will have time to throw those, but those are the kind of routes that have given Nixon more trouble where, you know, he just doesn't have the ball skills to find the ball when his back is to the quarterback and stuff.
00:38:40
Speaker
So I think you combine all of those and I do think he'll be under. And he's only got five pass breakups for the season, and all five of them came last week against Washington.
00:38:52
Speaker
So my next one is defense over under two and a half sacks. I probably should have set this at like three and a half because I do think it's going to be an over, it but I just, there's always that chance that I don't know.
00:39:08
Speaker
So something weird can go down where they're getting pressures. They just can't get home on the pressures. So I'm going to go over, but with that caveat, I'm going over and I'm going well over five.
00:39:23
Speaker
I think that they're, like you said, the one way that it doesn't happen is if Flacco just goes like full Brady mode and just starts dirtying the ball instead of taking hits kind of thing, which he sort of did at different points against Baltimore. But also Baltimore, they have guys who have rushed the passer at times, but they don't.
00:39:44
Speaker
do it consistently like Green Bay's front has been doing it. So I think, excuse me, I think that we're going to see Green Bay have a lot more success on that front.
00:39:56
Speaker
And as much as, you know I've got some concerns with how Green Bay's line is going to handle Miles Garrett, like you said, their whole old line's got to deal with Green Bay's whole defensive front. And I think that Green Bay, you know, especially if Betonio is any kind of limited, the Juan Jones, Parsons, he might not put a hand on Parsons at certain points of the game.
00:40:20
Speaker
And, you know, Cornelius Lucas is probably going to get the start at right tackle. So, know, you have two bigger, slower-footed tackles in the game for Cleveland, and that's just kind of a recipe for disaster.
00:40:33
Speaker
you've got slow-footed Flacco back there passing the ball. So, like I said, the only way that I can see them not going over on this is if they're getting pressures, but they're not able to get home so flaco's getting the ball out quicker or you know they're they're running some kind of trick play that that the defense isn't catching on to or something like that so uh my last one is kind of a cleveland one right now it's miles garrett miles garrett over under one and a half sacks and i don't have a number for what i think the d our defense is going to do so
00:41:14
Speaker
I'm going to say he's going to go over. i think he does hit the two sack mark because let me make sure I'm saying the right number real quick, but I'm pretty sure he's at like three and a half sacks already for the season.
00:41:26
Speaker
Yeah, three and a half sacks for the season. And last week he had two. So that means he's almost averaging two sacks a a game right now. So, and and with the injuries that the Packers are dealing with at right tackle, which is going to be his primary spot, belt if Belton's starting or Morgan's starting or whatever, they're going to have to be perfect to stop him.
00:41:51
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. This is out of pure respect for how good he is. Like I said, I know LaFleur is going to have a plan for him, but...
00:42:01
Speaker
Garrett had a sack against Ronnie Stanley, who has had injury problems but is still a very good offensive tackle. yeah yeah Garrett went around Stanley like he didn't exist. And he just went into the backfield at Will and brought Lamar Jackson down. Lamar didn't have a chance to pump fake on the play. It was so fast. So it's one of those where...
00:42:23
Speaker
he's going to get his and it's just about mitigating damage. Like I said, take care of the football and maximize your other opportunities because he's that good that, he know, it's like Parsons. He's so good. He's going to get his. So just so here's a question for you that doesn't go over under or anything like that. So we don't have to keep track of it. But do you think this is a game that they could have all four of the tight ends active?
00:42:50
Speaker
Because Ben Sims is a little bit more of that inline pass blocker than than the other three. could see it, especially because Fitzpatrick, he's been a little he's had some moments.
00:43:03
Speaker
Yeah, but he's had some moment. And it's kind of like what, you know, in one of our group chats where, know, some people. just in the fan base, we're like, oh, Fitzpatrick should get it above Sims. But I'm like, I don't think they're ready to move on from Sims yet because Sims has been such a reliable blocker for them in the past.
00:43:24
Speaker
Fitzpatrick, you see where they want to go with it, but at the same time, He's still, think he's almost too tall for his body because, you know, you can tell that, you know, technician wise and, and, draw, you know, willpower, you know, like he, he wants to be a good blocker. The effort is there, but he's six, seven.
00:43:48
Speaker
And like, he just gets out leveraged as an inline blocker. And, he's, he's doing his best, but you've seen multiple times in each of the past two games where he's kind of just gotten thrown out of the way kind of thing. And his best blocking has been when he's been out on the perimeter, kind leading some plays and stuff like that, or couple of those ones where they motion into the backfield and he's almost like a full back on certain plays. So I do agree with you that this could be the one where you potentially see him, where you see Sims up as well.
00:44:22
Speaker
The only reason I'm kind of hesitant on it is don't know who they wouldn't have active instead. I guess one option is if, which I can't see them not doing, but it's like, you know, he takes Reed's spot on on the game day active roster, basically. You know, you just go one for one there.
00:44:40
Speaker
So we'll see how that works out. But yeah, I could definitely see it this week, especially like you said, If LeFleur is just intent on grinding this game out, you know, get... Well, I was thinking more as the guy that would lend help to the right side for Myles Garrett because I do think Sims is the better blocker than than other three.
00:45:05
Speaker
And it's nothing against Tucker in the blocking range because Tucker's a good blocker. just... I think Sims was brought in to be that Mercedes Lewis replacement at blocking because he was near that level when it came to things. So it just makes me wonder if they'll have all four or maybe this will be the week that they sent Fitzpatrick and just leave Sims or, you know, suit up sims but i i really do think that they're gonna have to throw some help over on that right side no matter who's starting over there and especially to like the other angle about it is like if you have sims up you can send craft down the field like you you don't have to you don't have to basically at this point it's wasting craft if he's got a chip on every plate like that that's a wasted rep that
00:45:55
Speaker
I know he can still get open, can still run a route, but he's not getting downfield if he's got to stay in to chip because it's 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-
00:46:12
Speaker
Otherwise, yeah, I am. The one thing on offense that I'm really curious to watch is if they lean more kind of spread with three wide receiver looks or if they go bigger with like 12 or 13 personnel and try to like...
00:46:28
Speaker
Because I do think they want to do, know, these linebackers for the Dolphins, they're younger than the ones that the Redskins or the Commanders have. But at the same time, i i do think they want to see Kraft and Musgrave have their opportunities, you know, getting behind these linebackers, putting those defenders in conflict and seeing what, you know, the the Packers are able to do on offense in that regard. So it'll be interesting to see. Just like we've both said, what it really comes down to is just whatever buttons LaFleur's got to push to get out of Cleveland with a win, push them.
00:47:00
Speaker
Like, that's really it. It's as simple as that. Pretty much.
00:47:06
Speaker
Anything else this game or we'll just put a bow on it for tonight? think we're good. I mean, other than just hoping that we come out with no major injuries, you know, or anything like that. And, know,
00:47:19
Speaker
You know, let's continue this push. I mean, so far this has looked like a pretty solid team. And this is just another in a long line of games that they're going to have to play to hit that hole in that we're all wanting them to hit.
00:47:38
Speaker
Yep. So, you know, McCarthy to always say, like, you you want to, you know, split the season into quarters and you you want to go through each quarter three and one.
00:47:49
Speaker
And, hey, if you hit, if you get this win on Sunday... You're at three wins and, you know, obviously you want to beat the Cowboys. That's a conference game and you want to stick it to Jerry and all that kind of stuff. But you want to be racking up these wins early in the season. So, you know, as, know, fatigue sets potential injuries set all that kind of stuff.
00:48:11
Speaker
the Packers have spent last three years really playing from behind because 2022, really all three years, they lost a bunch of games early in the season that they missed opportunities on. you They kind of slugged around at 500 for half the season.
00:48:27
Speaker
And then you they did catch fire late in the season, but it's like you had your opportunity to be doing better. So it's these kind of moments where You know, like we've said in previous seasons on this show, you want to prove you're a a good team, win the games you're supposed to win. And like I said, this one, because of how good Cleveland, you know, Cleveland is a a very uneven seesawed team in terms of which side of the ball they're better on.
00:48:51
Speaker
But this is one of those go get a win that you're supposed to walk away with easily. Just do it. Like, no ifs, ands, or buts. And like you said, come out healthy.
00:49:03
Speaker
For sure. But yeah, that's like I said, we're going to put up, put this one to bed so that Joe can edit quickly and get to bed. So check out the website, Ohana Packers.org. we're starting to put up more articles, so please check those out.
00:49:20
Speaker
Uh, past episodes of this, this show cheese talk radio are all on there. support the channel by going to our shop, check out our merch, please, please support us there.
00:49:31
Speaker
And please give us feedback on the articles. you We want to be writing the things that you're looking for, that you're interested in. can give us that feedback on our social medias. can follow either of us individually or follow the show at Ohana underscore Packers on Twitter.
00:49:46
Speaker
You can follow the two of us on Blue Sky, on Instagram at Ohana Packers Edition, and on Facebook. you We keep saying we want to hit that 100 follower mark so that if we do any live streams that we can stream it to Facebook along with other platforms.
00:50:01
Speaker
Please follow the podcast on your favorite podcasting apps. Please give us a like and a subscribe. And hey, We're all pulling in the same direction. We're rowing in the same direction, trying to get to 3-0 on the season. And, you know, hopefully we'll have another happy episode and a happy Victory Monday to boot to start the week off.
00:50:21
Speaker
So with that, go Pack Go and aloha.