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S2 Ep22: Packers Catch Lightning
68 Plays2 years ago
Aloha and Welcome to another episode of Ohana: Packers Edition! This week we celebrate a big victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in a game no one thought the Packers could win! The Offense is showing signs of life and the Defense did just enough. We talk the highs and lows!
Find us wherever you get your favorite podcasts and youtube Please make sure to subscribe and drop us a like! Also, be sure to check out our website ohanapackers.org
Find us wherever you get your favorite podcasts and youtube Please make sure to subscribe and drop us a like! Also, be sure to check out our website ohanapackers.org
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Transcript
Offensive Breakthrough for Packers
00:00:25
Speaker
Aloha, and welcome back to a new episode of the Ohana Packers Edition podcast. The podcasts were two dudes from halfway around the world talk everything green and gold. I'm Mike, and that's Iowa Joe. Today, we're going over the fourth victory of the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 season. Joe, finally!
00:00:43
Speaker
We've crossed a bunch of landmarks for the offense. Forget the defense, but for the offense, more than 20 points for the first time in forever, almost 400 yards of offense. And the offense looked exciting. It wasn't like pulling teeth. Joe, how pumped are you after today's game? Well, and especially against a team that nobody had figured that they were going to beat.
00:01:06
Speaker
I mean, everybody was always all being Debbie downers about this game. I mean, even, well, I guess I wasn't on the preview show, but I wasn't even looking forward to this game. Cause I just figured that they would, you know, tear the hell out of the Packers, but you know, all side.
00:01:23
Speaker
If I had to honestly say it, this was probably the most complete game they've had in a long time. Yeah, the defense was doing some stupid things, but they were at least there when it mattered.
00:01:37
Speaker
Now I know some people are going to say, well, you know, the sun played a lot of that and, you know, the, the, a lot of the bad plays were the, was the sun and the receiver's eyes and whatever, but Hey, it happens, you know, that's, that's what you get when you're not in a dome. So, but yeah, like I said, most complete game that they've had in a long time, the first 300 yard passer since 2021, uh, two touchdowns, no interceptions.
00:02:07
Speaker
This is the type of game that we were waiting for from Jordan Love. So, you know, I'm excited. I feel a little bit better going into Thursday's game than I was previously, but yeah, it was a great game.
Jordan Love's Impressive Performance
00:02:27
Speaker
Yeah, let's just lead into the offense. Kind of said the big points, you know, they finally broke 20 points, even if just barely. And they've been trending towards 400. I think they've been like 396, 398, 397. They've been right on the brink of averaging 400 yards of offense the last three games. And against, you know, the Chargers were probably the worst defense of the three that they faced in the last three games. So good to see them. Their point for
00:02:53
Speaker
point totals start to match their you know it's slowly creeping up to matching their yardage production and a lot of that is on the back of Jordan you know playing his best game of the season and it was just great to see him you know like we said you know we're hoping that the Rams game would be a you know a potential turning point and so far so good you know that's three ducks in a row at this point and you just want to see him um continue that upward trajectory that he's been on the past few weeks um
00:03:21
Speaker
really, you know, first off, clean game. I don't think he really had any turnover worthy plays. There might have been some throws to the outside that potentially were on the fringe of that. But overall, I thought his decision making was really good today. He had like maybe two bad throws. The obvious one is the must grave on that wheel route in the
00:03:44
Speaker
third, fourth quarter in the fourth quarter. But outside of that, I thought he was, I thought he had some really good ball placement on his intermediate and especially outside the number throws. And his two touchdown throws, the kind of pop pass throw to Watson, it was a really good bucket shot to get it over the defenders at the goal line. And then the Dobbs one, that one was kind of fringing on again, leaving it too short. But I think that is the whole like,
00:04:11
Speaker
give your guy a chance and don't run him out the back of the end zone and at least this time he was throwing it to the one guy who wins jump balls on this roster so far so and Dobbs made a hell of a play on that thing um properly identified how deep the throw was went up snagged that thing out of the air and then like turtle over the ball so that um
00:04:32
Speaker
Mike Davis couldn't get in and break it up. So I thought love looked like he was in control all game, worked around some bad play around him. You know, there were like five or six drops by, um, you know, again, Aaron Jones had a rough one in the, in the flat. And side note on Jones, it sounds like he avoided something major. So that's always good news. That's good to see that. I,
00:04:53
Speaker
I know I was seeing things I think the floor said something in his press conference they were at or he was asked what the plan was and he said that you know it's all in Goody's hands but they're pretty sure that they have an idea on what they're going to be doing for the Thursday night or Thursday game. Yeah.
00:05:14
Speaker
um so but yeah it's um it's sounded pretty positive the initial returns is that his acl is intact and it's just a matter of the mri showing whatever else is in there so um but yeah i i really liked love's game today what how did you think he played today
Challenges in Consistency and Defense
00:05:31
Speaker
Like I said, I think this has been the best game he's played ever. I mean, this is even better than the short amount of time he played in the Philadelphia game, you know, last year. So I, you know, I said this one other time that if
00:05:50
Speaker
What would make me feel comfortable with Jordan Love? The first step of the way would be a 300 yard game, multiple TDs, no interceptions. All right. We just made that check on the list. You know, it's kind of helped with, you know, if you had other things on the list like Lee to come back, you know, stuff like that. He's already did that. He's just never has done the 300 yard.
00:06:21
Speaker
multiple TDs, no interceptions. Sorry, I'm being distracted because I turned the Denver game on and they just pulled ahead of the Minnesota Vikings. So there's your little news break for the moment. Um, but yeah, I just, I, I'm not ready to say, yeah, extend the guy and you know, go, but this is one of those games that
00:06:48
Speaker
we were waiting for one of those complete games one of those games that he was making great throws like you said yeah there were a couple of throws maybe he shouldn't have tried or maybe he should have took a little bit off or he put a little too much on but
00:07:06
Speaker
He looked like a true leader out there. You could even see at one point when he got frustrated with, I want to say it was Dontavian Wicks, where they were saying Wicks ran the wrong route. And he full on was, you know, you could see it where he was yelling at Wicks like you ran the wrong route and, you know, hey, what's going on? But yeah, I mean, it was a great game. It really was.
00:07:37
Speaker
I think the next thing would be like we've said along just now he's got to stack successes. I know the next game is going to be one of the roughest game he's he's going to have, but let's face it, you know, they played a pretty. I know some people were saying that they aren't, but. The Chargers defense is not like horrid. Now granted, they did lose Joey Bosa. I don't know what we're hearing on the injury front for him.
00:08:05
Speaker
But, you know, they did drop Bosa, but frigging Kahlil Mack still had two sacks. And, uh, you know, that's not like they have scrubs at corner or safety. You know, they got Derwin James, they got a Sante Samuel Jr. Uh, uh, what's the other one they've got going on over there? Yeah. So, I mean, it's not like they're completely
00:08:31
Speaker
useless. You know, it's not like the Denver game. It's not like the Raiders game where, you know, we should have just torched them, but so it just, now we got to go into Thursday on a short week with uncertainty, you know, obviously at a running back, maybe a little bit of questionality of with
00:08:58
Speaker
uh, inside linebacker cause Devondre dropped. So we just, you got to stack them stack successes.
00:09:08
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's going to be the key. And like I said, the big thing is that we've seen Love do that the last three games. I know he had the two interceptions against Pittsburgh. But really, his games the last three weeks against the Rams, Steelers, and now the Chargers, his play has been on an upward climb. So it's just good to see him do it. And yeah, it's really important that this is a big part of the season. Like you said,
00:09:35
Speaker
They had their chances at what was the soft part of their schedule and they dropped a bunch of those games, you know, bad ones. They look really bad against like Atlanta now. That game looks like a terrible drop at this point. You know, the Denver and Raiders games, maybe not as bad. They're not total bottom dwellers. You know, they're kind of hanging more around 500 at this point in the season, but still at the time kind of inexplicable to be as
00:10:00
Speaker
You know, incompetent looking as they were and inept on offense as they were at the time. And like I said, when in the open, it looks like we have a functioning NFL offense at this point, which is night and day from where they were a month ago. You know, after really after they got their face kicked in by the Lions on Thursday night football, what was that all the way back in week four?
00:10:19
Speaker
they were scuffling around for the next four weeks and so it's just good to see them trend upwards and the fact that it's love who is like leading the charge you know it's not like the run game has really picked up the run game struggled again today it's it's been on the back of love and it's not like he's just throwing a bunch of you know he's not he's not getting um
00:10:38
Speaker
bad calorie stats like Justin Fields was in the preseason where he's just dumping two-yard screens off and they're turning him into like 60-yard touchdowns or anything like that. He is, you know, he is the one pushing the ball down the field, getting guys' completions in the intermediate zones. You know, like touchdown to Dobbs, that was a deeper throw so it was good to see him, you know, connect on one of those again.
Improving Offensive Dynamics
00:11:02
Speaker
And overall, the progression is just really nice. Even like you said, Joe, his command in the offense, whether it's just being the leader in the huddle or just how he looks, he's back to being the cool, calm, collected guy in the pocket again after having some weeks where he looked a little choppy back there. So it's good to see him get his figuratively and literally get his feet back under him after a rough month in the middle of the season.
00:11:30
Speaker
Here's a stat for you to show you how he's been hitting deep passes better. Dontavian Wicks, three catches, 91 yards. He averaged 30.3 yards a catch.
00:11:46
Speaker
So, you know, and he was hitting Dontavian Wicks at least, you know, average 30 yards per, you know, pass on to Wicks. So that just shows that he's having more successes down the field. It just seems like the short passes are what's hurting him more. And we've seen that, you know, the drops by Jones, the drops by, you know, during the screens and everything. So.
00:12:17
Speaker
Once he fixes that up, we could have a quarterback. Yep, absolutely. On that note, I did have a tweet in the game. It was after the miss to Musgrave on the wheel route. I said, and Mark Sanchez was kind of jotting on the spot. He's like, look at his footwork. It's all janky on this throw. And I was like, ah.
00:12:37
Speaker
Rogers played the long game by exposing love to too much wonky footwork and it Sabotage his development that way but but seriously, it's it's just really good to see love love improve his game and kind of like McCarthy Or was it clements that they said would like tied rope around I think his legs To get his leg, you know to get his footwork down
00:13:09
Speaker
I think it was Clements. I think that was a Clements mechanism. So maybe we need more of that. We need more of that. Put the ankle weights back on. Yeah. But duct tape.
00:13:20
Speaker
The other side of it, you know, it's not like love is throwing to chop liver out there. The good thing is that these young receivers are starting to stack their successes as well. And you know, like the article I wrote, that's kind of that it's a chicken or egg question, right? Like, which one do you need first? Do you need
00:13:39
Speaker
the better quarterback play to bring up the receivers? Or do you need the receivers to be going along at least at the same pace of development? So like you pointed out, Wix had a hell of a game. I think I'd have to go back and count. But I think on his three catches, the longest area yard was maybe 15 yards. But there was a stat I saw where he's the first Packers receiver to
00:14:05
Speaker
The first rookie Packers receiver, they have three catches of 25 yards or more. And when you think about like who some of the rookies in Packers history are, that's an insane stat to think about. Like that Sterling Sharp never did it. So I mean, that puts him in some rarefied air. So Wix, you know, he had the bad drop, but overcame it. You know, he was a 60% on targets today. Dobbs, like I said, you know,
00:14:34
Speaker
Paul Newton wrote an article about he's one of the most inefficient receivers. But you know what? He's the reliable guy right now. And if he becomes like the Donald driver where he's the guy you look for on tough spots, third downs, whatever, and Wix becomes your wide receiver one or whatever, so be it. But Dobbs is that guy that Love more often than not seems to want to look for on third downs because he just trusts that if I get it near him, he's going to bring it in.
00:15:03
Speaker
And I've always said that Dobbs was going to be the Davante Adams type. I know I want to preference that with saying, I don't think he's going to be Davante Adams, but he's going to be that Davante Adams type where he's going to be the route runner. He's going to be the one that breaks himself open. He's going to be the one that probably can be more reliable at the catch.
00:15:24
Speaker
where, you know, when they were drafted, everybody was excited about Watson. I was more excited about Dobbs because I thought he was going to end up being the more refined receiver and Watson was going to be the, the potential guy. And, you know, I know it's still early and everything, but that's the way it looks like it's working out right now. Now to kind of take a break,
00:15:51
Speaker
Denver beats Minnesota 21 20. So second Minnesota you lost to Denver too. I for an I baby. But yeah, and then
00:16:07
Speaker
Jaden Reid was
Strategic Game Planning Adjustments
00:16:09
Speaker
the run gate today. I know that the counting stacks look pretty for the Packers run gate. You look at it from a high-level view. It's like, oh, they got 100 yards rushing. And 3.6, it's not great, but it's not terrible. And then you look at what the running backs actually did. And you're like, oh, no, it was all bad. It was terrible. Well, it doesn't help when two of your running backs get injured and you happen to rely on just one guy.
00:16:34
Speaker
Yeah, but yeah Jaden Reid three four forty six and the average fifteen point three yards that brought the whole average up, but Yeah, so it was done through the air today and and then what confused me Was all right. You're having success running these into rounds these jet sweeps with read So you're gonna stop and give it to Watson
00:17:04
Speaker
I think that one was too telegraphed. Like you can't, you can't, um, you can't give it to him the first time he runs one, like in a game. Cause it's like, just put the neon light, you know, the Vegas neon light sign on his back on that one. So yeah, that one was kind of like a, all right. Like, like I do agree that you got to try and get the ball in Watson's hands anyway you can, but that one was a little bit too telegraphed for my liking. Well, and I have to say that I kind of.
00:17:34
Speaker
how do I want to say that I don't completely blame Watson on it, but he didn't look like he hit hard. He just kind of danced around a little too much. Yeah. And I know what you're getting at. It kind of looked like he was like, Oh, we're going to lose yards here. And once he like cleared the line of scrimmage, he was like, okay, like I saved it. This is good enough. Kind
00:17:56
Speaker
Like, yeah. Honestly, if he would have went full speed instead of the dance around, he probably got, could have gotten more than just the one yard because they wouldn't have been ready with the type of speed he has. They wouldn't have been ready for him. Now, would he have been able to take it back? Like, you know, Jayden did. No, he was never going to take it back, but he was, he could have gotten more than what he did. That was just my view. I know you, your favorite thing is to say is you got to watch the all 22 when it comes out.
00:18:26
Speaker
so I mean I could be reading it completely wrong but that's just what I seem to think. I think a lot of times on those plays you know everything is like everything is getting blocked to the outside it's getting blocked to the outside and guys are too reluctant to even take that look inside to try cut it back against the grain and
00:18:44
Speaker
Um, Watson is definitely got even this year where he's not super healthy. He's a guy where everyone's like, Oh my God, that's the alien athlete. Get outside of him. And if he just sticks his foot in the ground and forget cutting back, like just cuts up the field at some point, you know, like if he just dives kind of thing, you know, he is six foot five and you know, that's, you know, that's like at least a couple yards kind of thing and stuff. So I know, I know that it's not as simple as that, but I think, um,
00:19:13
Speaker
I can't remember who it was earlier in the game, but Dylan or Jones had a run earlier in the game where no, no, no, it was read on another one of those like, um, those kind of, those kind of runs. And it was kind of like, if you just cut that thing back, you had it and stuff. So, um, yeah, it's like, I know where the play is supposed to go, you know, on the whiteboard, but sometimes you got to show a little more imagination out there. So.
00:19:37
Speaker
I think today I think people need to, I know you're going to go on to the next point and I'm kind of bouncing around here, but the touchdown to Watson. Now, I believe it was LeFlore or maybe it was Love came out and said, that wasn't in the game plan at all. Yeah, LeFlore wrote it up on the sidelines because of what he was seeing out there.
00:20:07
Speaker
that tells me that the floor has an eye to do this. Yeah, we just need to see him do it more often. You know, if you got to stray away from the game plan a little bit, do it.
Player Development Focus
00:20:20
Speaker
Because the game plan isn't always going to be great. You can go in thinking you're going to be able to do it. But you know, to quote Mike Daniels to quote Mike Tyson, everybody has a plan until you punch him in the mouth.
00:20:33
Speaker
Yeah. And that tends to happen too much to the Packers. So if you have, if you can do it now, I'm not saying make your whole thing, just drawing up plays during the game or anything, but take it. You know, if you can, if you can go through, let's say a quarter or two and you see what the defense is giving you, write the damn thing up, send it in.
00:21:00
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And like that note from love, you know, that's the thing is like, it only gets it only gets a spotlight when it works. But when it doesn't work, it's like, oh, he didn't try. He didn't try anything different. He didn't make adjustments kind of thing and stuff. And that's the part where I'm not willing to give up on the floor as a plate. You know, some people are like, don't let him call, please. But it's like,
00:21:24
Speaker
You can't not have him call plays because that's the whole point. You have him as your head coach kind of thing. Come on. Who else are we going to have call play, Stinovich? We saw what Stinovich did in the preseason when LeFlore gave him play calling abilities.
00:21:39
Speaker
So yeah, so that's a good one to point out. And I think it's good for Watson to get another one under his belt, making positive plays, especially after you have the week that he just had, never hurts for confidence. So hopefully they can
00:21:58
Speaker
spring forward that forward but um you know the other thing that was really good to see is that uh musgrave had a solid game um and tucker craft tucker craft they used him on you know the play that i absolutely hate which is like just an out route by a tight end but craft is the guy you want doing that and he made it happen on that route you know
00:22:20
Speaker
Yes. And I know that he even craft even himself kind of made fun of himself after the game. It was like, ah, big stupid feet and and all. But I mean, that was a heck of a play to hurt a guy on the sideline. Well, you know, the fact that he happened to step out is just kind of like it happened. And it was just barely stepped out. Yeah. It wasn't like he full stepped out. I mean, it was still out. I'm not saying that I know what you mean. Well, yeah, I know. But
00:22:48
Speaker
It was before, was that after the, I, there was a moment where I called it out on Twitter where, um, I, they had, they hadn't must grave out where it was like a one-on-one situation and they threw it to him in hopes that he would break the, you know, break a tackle and everything else. And I called it and I was like, you've got a guy with the ability to do it.
00:23:17
Speaker
But you're going to give it to the guy that doesn't have the ability to do it. Yeah. And I can't remember if that was before or after. I think it was before. I think I know which play you're talking about. It was kind of like a stop route or something, like a stop route quick out or something like that. Yeah. And then the next thing you know, they're giving it to Kraft and Kraft is, you know, he makes one guy miss, he jumps over another guy. And yeah, so.
00:23:45
Speaker
Feed him. I've been saying it for a long time now. Feed him.
00:23:49
Speaker
Yeah, he's been making really good strides as a blocker and you got to reward him for the work he's put in on that, you know, in that part of his game because you took him, you know, he basically was his offense at South Dakota State. And you told him when you drafted him, all right, that guy's getting the ball. You're going to block all games. So it's like, like I said, I'm saying, like, throw him a bone every once in a while. Like, it doesn't have to be some sophisticated player or anything, but like, at least let him know, like, hey, like,
00:24:17
Speaker
you know you're banging your head against the wall but we appreciate what you're doing so here's you know like here's here's a couple pass plays kind of thing and stuff so it's nice to see him and anything as long as it keeps daguaro out of there i he had another one today where he completely whipped on some blood yeah and i know he did get hurt so we'll see what uh the end result of that one is but um and then kind of something we've talked about in previous weeks
00:24:43
Speaker
You had three guys with six targets, one guy with five, a couple more with four. So it's just nice to see that they're kind of getting back to just spreading the ball around. And I know that it's partially because like no one guy is necessarily, you know, deserving of Davante or Jordy or Jennings type of targets at this point. But at the same time, like they don't have that guy. So
00:25:08
Speaker
They shouldn't be trying to force feed one guy targets at this point. I don't think until, you know, someone really starts to separate themselves. And I've said it that in all their games where the offense has looked the best, they've spread the ball around, you know, like the Bears game, the Atlanta game, the
00:25:24
Speaker
Saints come back and then the last three weeks it's when they've spread the ball around where their offense has looked the best instead of trying to feature one guy. If you remember right, that was some of the best years Rogers was having when he had all those nice receiving groups and he could just spread the ball around. Not when he was just targeting a Devontae or whatever.
00:25:51
Speaker
He had some of his best years when he had the groups of Jennings and Jones and Cobb and driver or, you know, those groups where he could throw the ball to five different targets, seven different targets and gain his yardage. So if love can do it and these guys can step up, you know, this is a little bit early, but I still think they need a decent, another one or two pass catchers in the draft coming up.
00:26:20
Speaker
Uh, you know, keep rebuilding your, your, your group. They got away from that too long. And then we were getting to the point where we only had one right wide receiver that could be targeted. We only had that one guy. So, you know, do like he used to do draft a guy every year, just like you did the offensive line, draft a guy every year. Yep.
00:26:43
Speaker
I never heard it. You just got to keep reloading because that's what it is. The elite primes are fleeting in this league. So you just got to keep reloading. The whole line was just good enough.
00:26:59
Speaker
I don't know whether to emphasize the jest or the good enough in that sense, but you had some kind of wonky plays like the one where Love got stripped sacked on. That wasn't his fault at all. I don't think anybody blocked anybody on that play. You had a couple, there were a couple other situations like that where you just had guys come screaming in on different plays. And so I think the one where Love got called for intentional grounding was another one like that.
00:27:24
Speaker
I saw that people were saying, like, Ryan went in for Runyon at one point. But I was looking back at the highlights, and all the scoring drives were with Runyon on the field. So I'm not sure exactly which drive that was on or whatever. Yeah, it kept me in that, too. And I didn't remember seeing them out there. Yeah, and I was, like, especially looking for that on the replays. But I was, like, all the big scoring plays, Runyon was in at right guard.
00:27:52
Speaker
I don't think anyone on the O-line, like the best play on the O-line was Zach Tom recovering the strip sack. So I think Tom had a good game out at right tackle, but that was the biggest play of the game was securing that strip sack to keep possession at that point in the game. But other than that, like I said, and then I thought LeFlore, the only complaint I really have is I wish
00:28:16
Speaker
I wish you would have just let love throw it at the end of the game just to you know you live and die with at least you say you you tried to secure the win because it you know i mean we'll talk about it in a sec but uh putting it in the hands of the defense almost burned la floor at the end of the game so uh i i i thought third and five or six or whatever it was with um you know under the two minute warning at the end of the fourth quarter i thought it was a
00:28:42
Speaker
Decent enough down where you kind of let love have some kind of run past option look or something like that and Give him a chance to like stress the defense and potentially make a play. So But other than that, I thought Lafleur called a really good game today. I thought he Especially down to one running back. I thought he um
00:29:02
Speaker
put the ball in his quarterback's hand without like making it just definitively. It's a drop back passing game kind of game, so I thought he managed the injuries to Wilson and Jones pretty well. You know, speaking that they both happened in the second quarter, so I thought it was a especially
Injuries and Game Preparations
00:29:19
Speaker
the second half. I thought it was a good game from the floor today.
00:29:23
Speaker
Definitely. I know they said it was a shoulder injury for Wilson, but that was kind of weird because it really didn't look like he did anything. Not pro football doc, but another one of the ones that often tweets about in-game injuries. He was mentioning that he's questioning if Wilson dislocated his shoulder because of
00:29:48
Speaker
the lack of like you say and like even Sanchez was kind of saying is like I don't see anything you don't see like the kind of contact where you're like um oh he broke his collarbone or oh he you know he definitely sprained his ac joint you know he didn't fall on it or anything like that it wasn't even hard contact that's why I thought Wilson tore his bicep because um
00:30:11
Speaker
because of the way like he kind of he kind of yeah where he's packed because of how he like kind of went to stiff arm uh i think it was Kenneth Murray and then like you see him start to reach and then he starts to pull his arm back in kind of thing so i was like oh is that a muscle thing but um a dislocated shoulder would also make you roll on the ground in pain so
00:30:30
Speaker
Yeah, so I didn't see anything, but I'm hoping that Wilson will be able to play on Thursday. I think he's had some decent plays here and there. He looks assertive in the run game. I know he only gets like two carries a game and stuff, but I like how he runs. I like that he is like that decisive, no nonsense, one cut and go.
00:30:55
Speaker
Is it necessarily the right cut? Maybe not, but he's just going to go and burrow his way for whatever yards he can. And sometimes that, you know, he'll pop one out like he did against the Rams. And sometimes he just gets like two, but I do appreciate a guy who will just like, ah, screw it. I'm going to go get whatever yards I can at this point. So, well, you know, we've set up for a while now that the Packers run blocking hasn't been great either. So, I mean,
00:31:19
Speaker
You can't put it all on Wilson, so hopefully it's nothing major with him and maybe he has a shot at playing, but you know, otherwise they are going to have to sign somebody whether they want to or not.
00:31:36
Speaker
Uh, they do have that Merry weather on the practice squad, but it sounded like Dylan even got banged up during the game. So there's no way they're going to go in it with a banged up Dylan, a banged up Wilson and an unknown on the practice squad. You know what they need to do. I don't care what they needed. What anybody says. Tyler Goodson still over at Indianapolis practice squad. He know the playbook.
00:32:00
Speaker
especially if i know they said that it's not like long term for jones but if he's even on the fringe of like three weeks you just put him on ir and you bring good sin or somebody in because yeah you you need the roster spot and i think they're back at 53 at this point they
00:32:16
Speaker
They keep towing the line and then like signing people late. So I keep losing track of what exactly they've got or not. And we're going to know soon. They're going to have to make a decision tomorrow, basically, because it's a short week. You got to get that guy. Like you said, Meriwether is the only one in the building. That's why Goodson is a clear choice. You kind of look at him. Hell, you never know if they, I think,
00:32:44
Speaker
I'm pretty sure, um, Taylor's in, uh, New England on the pad squad, not Taylor, but, um, uh, Lou Nichols on the Philly practice. Like those are the kind of moves that you're kind of like, okay, that's what you got to do. The only thing with Nichols is, is he wasn't in the system long enough to know the playbook, you know, like a good scenario Taylor. Yeah.
00:33:10
Speaker
But at least he's got some kind of leg up on, you know, like I know what you're getting that he didn't play in the preseason, but at least he'd have some kind of leg up on anyone who would be brought in like just cold off the street kind of thing. So it'll be I think the what they do tomorrow is going to really indicate how injured Jones, like I said, if they put just flat out, put him on I.R., you know, with the opportunity to return him later.
00:33:38
Speaker
or if they're like nah like we're gonna play it out um with him play it out with wilson you know what they do tomorrow is gonna really kind of tip their hand as to how injured each guy and like you said even dylan was a little dinged up so um yeah i think they said his was a hip and that's the last thing you want to deal with is a hip when you're
00:33:59
Speaker
when you're running back. He's been running so good the last few, like, I know that he still will miss a cutback and things like that, but he just looks so much more aggressive and just aggressive and decisive. Yeah, it's not necessarily the right lane every time, but at least he's just kind of dropping his pads and saying, screw it, like, I am 250. Let's just go get whatever I can and stuff. So... I'll be honest, if he would have been running like this all year, I think he would get another contract.
00:34:29
Speaker
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I still don't think he's full. Oh, no, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not advocating for any of that. I'm just saying that. I'm just glad that the light has come on and he is being back to being the guy we saw in 2021 where it was like, oh, you can kind of see the vision of what they were thinking of and stuff. So it's just good to see him get back close to that. And my theory is that when he broke his rib against the 49ers in that playoff game,
00:34:57
Speaker
I think psychologically it's messed with his head in like taking extra hits and all that kind of stuff so who knows we'll never know but I do think it tracks back to that but yeah big day tomorrow for the Packers because
00:35:12
Speaker
Based on their track record under LaFleur especially, tomorrow is going to be their like, we practiced. I think somebody said, and I don't know if it was a big decision maker or not. Maybe it was LaFleur mentioned something in a presser, but I think this is all three days this week are just going to be walkthroughs. I wouldn't be surprised. Like,
00:35:36
Speaker
The only reason I could see like anything more is because you've got, you know, the, you had the two running backs go down. We're not sure what happened to Devondri.
00:35:50
Speaker
You had a couple other guys who kind of got dinged up during the game, so they might need walkthrough should be enough, but you never know if they might go like a shell day kind of thing just to get a little more reps on the field, but I kind of don't expect them to practice. I know they're not going to practice tomorrow. They're going to do the like today was an estimation and it'll be interesting to see what they do on Tuesday because.
00:36:12
Speaker
They've kind of split it. Yeah, they kind of split it. They've made it a mental day and they've also made it on like, yeah, we're going to run through do even if it's just half pads, like walkthrough kind of thing and stuff. You know what they need to do is just use one of these days is nothing but like a yoga day. There's number up. Stop all these soft tissue injuries. Yep. So. But after all the flowers we throw it on the team,
Defense's Role in Securing Wins
00:36:40
Speaker
the defense. And I shake my head because this is going to be another one of those games that gets thrown on the, they only gave up X number of points. And now people be like, they only gave up 20 points to this really good offense today. And it's like, okay, yeah, I know that's the facts. I know that's what the scoreboard says, all that kind of stuff, but
00:37:04
Speaker
You cannot dispute that giving up six and a half yards of play is not sustainable and four drops change this from four drops change this from a
00:37:20
Speaker
runaway Chargers win to whatever you want to call what it turned into today because that opening fourth down and that's the thing too is it's not like um it's not like Green Bay broke up any of those passes those are all flat out drops like
00:37:35
Speaker
that they, you know, the Chargers gave away a first down. They gave away eight points in the red zone on two Keenan Allen drops, which was just completely, astoundingly inexplicable. And then the Quinton-Johnson one, like, that would have made LaFleur's decision to not be more aggressive late in the gate, you know, on that, on Green Bay's final drive look kind of dumb.
00:38:00
Speaker
Of course, the one time Barry's like, I'm a run cover one. It's like, oh, and like seeing LaFleur say like, oh, it was great to see him do it. I was like, really? Like, you guys, you have Captain play it safe as your defensive coordinator. And the one time he decides to be aggressive is the time it should have gotten him burned. And it's like, yeah, that ain't it. Like, it's just one of those,
00:38:28
Speaker
Yeah. So, well, I agree. I mean, the defense was, I do credit them for forcing the fumble. Like that was, they did just enough to let the offense, you know, do what it needed to do. Yeah. But again, this is another thing where I don't think this helps Joe Berry's case for staying on. I'm worried that it does. And that's what I know about this kind of game. Yeah.
00:38:58
Speaker
You know, injuries again, Devondre dropped out. Keyshawn was kind of banged up a little bit. I know you have the rookies flashed on here. Anthony Johnson Jr., Valentine, Carl Brooks. I got to take a moment and say, Fox, do better with your commentators. Mark Sanchez just frigging sucked today.
00:39:29
Speaker
And we know this is a conservative officiating groups. If they didn't think that hit that Anthony Johnson Jr. delivered in the end zone was
00:39:50
Speaker
Uh, if they thought that was a penalty, they were going to throw the penalty. We all know that there's no way they're going to let that one just go. So if they're seeing it and they're not thinking it's a penalty penalty, it's not a penalty. So shut the hell up. I thought he got away with one. So, um, but yeah, you get what I'm saying, you know, they're not shy from throwing the flag on that stuff. I mean, the Packers have been burned on it before. Yeah.
00:40:17
Speaker
But it just, if I didn't think it was, I thought he hit him just enough that he wasn't gonna be able to stop because he was already in motion. And I think he hit him just at the right angle that there was no way they could have called him. Yeah, the replay makes it look not as bad, but it is one of those where just how it looked alive. And especially because like,
00:40:41
Speaker
I don't know the way it looked it looked like it was delayed enough where the ball had hit the ground kind of thing and it just from my point of view that's where I was kind of like uh like and I was just kind of waiting for a flag to pop out but um
00:40:58
Speaker
I mean, Bakers can't be true. And of course, it didn't matter because they scored a touchdown on the next play. But the bigger point is I liked seeing that out of Johnson because I know that he's a feisty player. He does play physical, especially for a guy who was a cornerback. But it's good to see that they have someone who's willing to throw himself around back there. So I do like that aspect of it. I think that's important to see from some of your secondary players.
00:41:27
Speaker
Um, he's got to get more playing time and sorry, but Jonathan Owens needs to stick to strictly stay on special teams. There's, there's no excuse. And he just made LeFlore's comment from Friday looks so stupid because, um, that touchdown that he gave up was like,
00:41:47
Speaker
that was just horrible bad like you get and that's not even a receipt you know that's not Keenan Allen or Quinton Johnson who's dusting you that's a that's a no-name undrafted free agent tight end from nowhere division four or something like that that dusted you on the sideline and left you grasping for air so
00:42:07
Speaker
Yeah, whether Ford is back this week, whether Savage comes back, Owen should not be above Johnson Jr. on the ticker tape for the depth chart. And honestly, if it were me, he'd be on, you know, packing his bags and on the bus tomorrow. You know, bring Vinny Sapp up. He's at least can give you the special teams reps and play some defense when needed.
00:42:37
Speaker
So I know people are all about the Simone Biles thing, but it's not worth keeping a guy on the roster that can't play the ball just because of who he's married to. Yep, so just waiting to see what happens next week.
00:43:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's hard to tell what you know, we'll know we'll be doing our preview. We'll be recording it. No night dropping. Oh, no preview this week. No preview this week. Just kidding. I will just tweet out updates for practice this week. So right. Unless you want to do something on your own. I'm not thinking there's going to be a preview this week just because of the short turnaround. Got it. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. If anything, maybe we'll just do a quickie. I'll just do a quickie to like update the injury stuff and all. But yeah, I kind of get the feeling if
00:43:33
Speaker
forward wasn't even questionable this week i kind of don't feel like he's going to be back this week either so um should get more snaps for johnson like that's and like we you and i have been yelling this for a couple months already like there's no point in not playing him especially with savage out so um it's inexplicable to not have him see the field at this point through the rest of the season especially when
00:43:55
Speaker
yeah he's had some you know he's had some missed tackles and stuff but the guys who are supposed to be your good veteran tacklers they've missed a lot of tackles too so like at least put the guy with some coverage ability out there so
00:44:08
Speaker
Yeah, all the excuses for why Owens and even Ford should see reps over Johnson, I don't listen to any of them because they don't make any sense to me at this point. Play the rookie, figure out what the hell you have there, and move on at that point. And just live with whatever the outcomes are.
00:44:30
Speaker
I agree. And same thing, you know, with the rest of it. Valentine, I know he's getting the bulk of play right now, but even when Jair comes back, if Stokes comes back, just let him play, you know. I think there's a chance that Valentine's going to be your nickel at that point. You kind of free him up to do a few more things and also, because I think if Jock comes back, Valentine is the one who goes to the bench, not Valentine.
00:44:56
Speaker
b allen time goes to the bench and then um and then yeah if stokes is able to come back because what is it we are at where are we i think this is four weeks now we're getting pretty close let's see who was the
00:45:14
Speaker
Yeah, that was four games. So Savage and Stokes are able to return this week. I don't know if they will. I don't know if they've ever come out and said what the extent of the injury of Savage was. Yeah, it's kind of been in the dark.
00:45:32
Speaker
And I need to just tweet. Well, and the good thing is that they do kind of note the guys if they have opened up their 21 day. So we'll see, you know, they do press release that if they do that. So
00:45:47
Speaker
But I kind of have a hard time, especially if LaFleur's already said that they're not going to do more than, you know, walkthroughs. I think it's a stretch to expect either of them back this week. Oh, no, I don't expect either of them back this week. Yeah. So we'll keep an eye on it, let you guys know. But I think that the secondary they rolled out this week, the only exception would be if is if Jia is able to come back this week or not, that would be the only difference. So well, I think LaFleur said that Jiaer practiced
00:46:17
Speaker
Friday. And the floor said that he's doing much better. And he even I think he even said that there was a possibility he could go. Well, snyman was saying that it sounded like the expectation was he was gonna go today. So but I think because of the short week, they just went ahead and said, All right, just said it and we want you back for Detroit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So
Defensive Line and Rookies Evaluation
00:46:43
Speaker
Hopefully, you know, that would be a big thing to get back this week. So, and got a, got a stump for by Wolverine, you know, Steinman had the article that they need their hundred million dollar defender to produce more. Well, Rashawn got a sack and the ultimate irony of it is the sack he got was a total like coverage and offensive pass protection breakdown sack on his own. So it just kind of shows how.
00:47:08
Speaker
You know, on one end, I know that Snideman was more referencing like Rishan's pressure rate was down the last few weeks. And I think while it's a counting stat, I think that doesn't give enough credence to what the offenses they were facing were doing. But it was good to see him get the counting stat that everyone gets their eye on. So just to kind of quiet that storm a little bit. So big week for Rishan this week. You know, this is going to this Lions O-line is probably the best O-line they're going to face all season. So
00:47:38
Speaker
You know, kind of like we were saying going into week four, they've gotten their butts handed to them by this O-line three games in a row at this point. So got to flip the script at some point and get, you know, and try to take it back to them because that's how you're going to get to go. You know, that's how you're going to stop them is you've got to, you got to fight a mono and mono in the trenches, slow up their run game and make golf beat you. So.
00:48:01
Speaker
I don't have much faith in it because it's still a Barry defense, but you know, big week for Rashawn to, you know, try to get it off on the right foot. Well, and I know people are kind of down on the Lucas or Lucas van S right now too, but I mean, he's, he's still raw, but he's fine. He's getting pressures and he's, and he's setting the edge fairly well compared to what
00:48:25
Speaker
others on the team are doing. Yeah. People are just mad that he's not getting, you know, he's a first round pick, but he barely, you know, it's that whole thing again. And it's the same as, you know, the why do you pick Rashawn when you had the Smith brothers and, and at least Barry plays the reserves more, you know, like that was the whole thing with
00:48:46
Speaker
2019 was it was like, oh my god, are Zadarius and Preston going to make it to the playoffs? There was that stretch where Zadarius was going out every third play of a game kind of thing. And they were still playing like 80% of the snap shares and stuff. So I think Lucas has been fine. He hasn't had that big splash play. His biggest splash play was when he ragdolled that Rams tight end a few weeks ago and got the quarterback hit.
00:49:13
Speaker
against Brett Ripon but I think he's been playing well it's one of those where until he gets the counting stats it's not going to shut anyone up but it's not like like you said he's not getting he's not getting his lunch fed to him by the the linemen that he's facing he's beating up the tight ends that try to block him and
00:49:35
Speaker
you do see his number flash in the backfield every now and then. And he's still pursuing the ball well in terms of effort plays on plays that are away from him. So I don't have a lot of complaint of what I'm seeing from Van Ness. They're relying on him to develop, improve this season. They're not asking him to go and play. They're not even asking him necessarily to be edge three. They're like, you learn the ropes, get your feet wet, all that kind of stuff.
00:50:01
Speaker
I think the best days are ahead of him, but I'm not at all disappointed in what he's doing. I just think that that's more on the rest of this defense than it is on him, if that makes sense.
00:50:14
Speaker
No, I agree. I mean, people are going to say, well, you're biased. You're a homer anyway. And that's why I've got on the soapbox for you because because I think we're on we're in we're in lock step on the Van Ness pick. I thought it was the no brainer pick. And I just think that people who are looking at it purely from well, he doesn't have to suck since week one. It's like, OK, like,
00:50:37
Speaker
Easy there, bro. Like, just chill. Right. And, you know, not everybody is going to just pop off right off the bat. I mean, even Rashawn didn't pop off right off the bat, even though he was, you know, like you just said, you know, he was fighting for reps when he came in, when he was drafted.
00:50:59
Speaker
So it is what it is. I would be concerned if, you know, we were getting blindside, you know, the tackle was pushing him all the way back and throwing him, you know, dumping him into the stands or something like that. But he's not. He's holding his own. Yeah, the play, you know, the stats aren't there, but you got to give him time.
00:51:22
Speaker
Yeah, and you know, but it just seemed like every day this week I was seeing Article after article and comment after comment that oh, well are we already seeing a bust out of Lucas van Ness and It was that a wasted pic and why didn't they take this one over that one? And it's like guys come on. Why are we always second-guessing these pigs?
Special Teams Analysis
00:51:46
Speaker
Give them a chance before you second-guess anything
00:51:51
Speaker
Yeah, he's going to be a good player. I'm not even going to say why he won't. I'm convinced that he's going to be at least a solid player unless the worst happens. So I'm not worried at all. If he doesn't make it, it's not going to be his fault. I'm just going to put it that way. So yeah, that's all I've got to say on Lucas. His time will come, and I'm not at all concerned about it.
00:52:18
Speaker
Oh, I'm not concerned about it either. Hell, let's draft a few more Iowa guys.
00:52:23
Speaker
Yep, but special teams. The big concern is, OK, I know Anders missed one today, but I think the long snapping was the bigger problem. You saw Whelan out there looking like a receiver, trying to snag some of these passes. Not passes, but some of these long snaps. And I thought that bodes really well for, excuse me,
00:52:51
Speaker
goes really well for wheeling because you know that was always a question for him coming in as the new punters it's like okay like he's especially for O'Donnell who's like a you know a vet who's been around for a zillion years so it was good to see wheeling get the ball down and um you know give
00:53:06
Speaker
give Anders the opportunity but you know you would like Anders to make a couple more of those but both of the missed extra point and the missed field goal it was off of like a snap where Whelan had to like overextend himself just to make sure the ball didn't get past him and stuff so you like to see him make those kicks every once in a while but I think that's a Orzic problem more than it's an Anders problem.
00:53:31
Speaker
Right. And you still got to remember that this guy would get in his head when he was still, you know, when he was missing. So, you know, he he likes to overthink things instead of just doing it. Yeah. And I could see him overthinking when that kind of stuff happened. And that's what led to the, you know, being off just a little bit. So give him a little bit of time. Let him
00:53:59
Speaker
I keep seeing Wendell Ferreira. I love you Wendell, but you got to get off of this. You don't draft kickers. He's been pretty good considering what we thought he was going to be. So you just got to let it be. They did draft him. You know, I'm glad they didn't pull a San Francisco and take him in the third round or anything. Yeah, I know. But
00:54:28
Speaker
You know, the last two kickers on this team have been drafted kickers and you know, the last one was pretty damn good.
00:54:37
Speaker
Yeah, so overall it's it's fine. You know he's even with the miss today from field goal. You know he's still what is that he's still at 82 over 82 percent and that's the thing is like Crosby's stats are more you know he was really good but he wasn't ever elite like his stats are all just from being around for forever so.
00:55:01
Speaker
I was going to say Mason was, I don't think he ever was above like 90%. Was he? No, no, except for the one, what was that? 2021 or whatever the year he made all of them or 2020 other than that, it was no, it was 2020.
Evaluating Key Performers and Future Outlook
00:55:14
Speaker
Cause obviously 21, he had that weird Bengals game, but yeah, like he had, like there was a point where his average was hanging like at 79% or something like that. So, um, I'm just just doing fine. Like I, I think he's doing all right.
00:55:30
Speaker
thought Whelan was punting pretty good today and you know today was like it wasn't a frigid day but you know it's starting to dip towards the low 40s and it was good to see him still getting you know good height and distance on his punts today and I think the charges only had one return so the biggest critique is like you'd like to see him get a couple more to nail inside the 20 yard line kind of thing but
00:55:55
Speaker
I think Whelan's doing all right. We'll kind of keep tracking it as the next few weeks ago, because obviously, like I said, we're getting colder and then. So. All right, you were right with the 2020 he was 100%. 2019 he was 91%. Oh, there you go. All the other times it's either been. High 70s or mid to low 80%. Yeah. So.
00:56:24
Speaker
not Tucker. He's not Tucker. Right. But yeah, so yeah, but I mean,
00:56:33
Speaker
Like you said, after what we were preparing ourselves for, it's been not bad. Like, he hasn't just, like, overlaid a bunch of them or anything like that, so. Yeah. And, you know, again, we've got to wait with him and Whelan just to see what happens when the cold sets in and the snow is flying and all that. But so far, so good. And I'll take what we've got. Yeah, absolutely.
00:57:00
Speaker
And the last one I have here, coverage units were solid, but damn it, Dalen Levitt, get off my roster. You are pointless. You are a pointless waste of a roster spot. I mean, I'm all for- If Bessachia can't get rid of his binky, he can go take the Raiders job this offseason. Well, yeah, that's what I was just going to say. I'm all for giving Bessachia his guys.
00:57:26
Speaker
But when they're even hurting what's going on, then just cut loose. Get somebody else. Yeah. Like, yeah. Dalin Lovin is such a waste of a roster spot. It's not even funny at this point. But MVP, who you got? Honestly, there's so many of them you could go with right now. I'm going to take the easy way out and just go Jordan Love.
00:57:56
Speaker
And, you know, he's been, this has been his best game. It's easily his best game. So I think just go ahead and give it to him.
00:58:10
Speaker
Sounds good. I'll also take an easy way out and I'll just say the receiving room for helping him look as good as he did today. Like I said, you know, it's not the like, oh my God, they made like seven highlight reel catches or anything like that. Like honestly, the Dobbs touchdown catch was probably the most highlight realsy of the catches. We kind of pointed out earlier, but this was one of love's best games in terms of ball placement all season. So, but
00:58:38
Speaker
You know, I know I said that there were like six drops today, but when it mattered most, those guys made the plays that needed to be made out there and, you know, they converted all afternoon long. So it was really good to see that from this receiving core that's had its up and downs this whole season. So it's, you know, just like for love to be trending upward, it's good for the receiving core to be trending upwards through the past few games as well.
00:59:06
Speaker
Definitely. Yeah. LVP, who you got? Jonathan Owens. That's it. I mean, there's so many of them. Again, there's so many of them you could pick from, but that one I've got to say is it Jonathan Owens. He missed tackles. He was slow in coverage. Like you just said with Levitt, you know, I wouldn't, it wouldn't break my heart to see Jonathan Owens off the team tomorrow.
00:59:33
Speaker
and you just named mine, Levitt is mine, but oh, at one one point I forgot to bring up in the recap, Zane Anderson does exist because he made the tackle on the on the Chargers one punt return. So Zane Anderson does indeed exist or someone at least ran out there with his uniform. Yeah, I think it was it was some somebody else who was here for who was here for Alumni Week. I know I know Tremont was a different week, but
01:00:02
Speaker
What's here this week? Well, it couldn't have been this week. It was JC Tredder and Brian Bulaga. Here's no way those guys. I don't know. Bulaga looks like he slimmed out a little bit in retirement. Nah, I'm kidding. No, those knees. I don't think those knees are going to be able to. I know.
01:00:22
Speaker
to get out there and chase somebody down like that. He was only going straight when he made the tackle, but all jokes aside, it was good to see, you know, we beleaguered the point for a while and it's like, why are they using a roster spot on the, you know, not even necessarily like the 53, but it's like, he's been hurt with a hamstring, put him on IR kind of thing and stuff. So yeah, like, you know what? It's good to see him out there and make a positive play on special teams. So I'll take it. You know what?
01:00:51
Speaker
it's if he's it's finally come to fruition that he's made a positive place so be it i'll take it at this point but joe anything else for us this week i mean over for the most part you know the defense is going to be the defense and we've said it the last couple weeks but this stretch you know the chargers they dodged a lot of bullets they they they rode winners on russian roulette four times in a row but um
01:01:19
Speaker
You know, other than that, I think it's looking, you know, this team is trending upwards and everywhere else heading into this Detroit game. But what else, anything you got going into Thursday night's game? Not really. It's Thursday day game. Day game, that's right. Yeah.
01:01:38
Speaker
Not really. I mean, they just got to build on what they did today. You know, I know we said it where everybody says the chargers weren't a great team anyway, but they're still a tough team. Yeah. Hopefully this, you know, preps them a little bit better to go into Thursday's game against Detroit. It is in Detroit. It is on the dreaded, you know, Ford field turf. I know they did change out.
01:02:07
Speaker
You know, they did change up the turf a little bit, but I think it still is turf So Yeah, I just Hopefully, you know that they can build on it and just let them you know, go out and have a good game Yeah
01:02:29
Speaker
you know, the vibes are looking better. So never, you know, can't discount that. So hopefully it leads to another win, but
01:02:39
Speaker
That's going to do it for us today. Like Joe mentioned, we probably won't have a preview, but we won't lock that in. I might have time to put something together this week. Try and get something out on Wednesday if that's the case. But that's going to do it for us. The Packers move to 4 and 6 and head into a Thanksgiving duel with the Lions.
01:03:03
Speaker
Thank you for listening to this episode. Please follow us and the podcast on Twitter. I am at Kawano Mike. Iowa Joe is at Iowa underscore Joe 86. The podcast is at Ohana, Ohana underscore Packers. Please go check out our website Ohana Packers.org. We've got a bunch of good blog posts and all of the streams of the podcast episodes are available on there for your consumption.
01:03:30
Speaker
Please follow the pod on your favorite podcast apps. Give us a subscribe, a like, and even if you're not liking it, please give us comments to review. We do appreciate those. Like I said, that's going to do it for us this week. The Packers are four and six going into a big time game against the Lions on Thanksgiving. Wish you all a happy Thanksgiving week and aloha.