Hey everybody, thanks for logging on today. I see questions already coming in so I'll just get started.
I feel really bad for Narveson. A good kid with a strong leg. He was so excited to be a Packer. Now it's over.
He was given ample opportunity to prove himself, especially on a contending team that's expecting to win.
Hey Mike, hope all is well in GB! I woke up to mid 30s in St. Louis, Missouri today. How's the weather up there? Is there a temperature limit for the team to move practice inside?
It was chilly this morning but it'll be in the 50s for practice and rising the rest of the week. I expect the team to practice outside mostly this week.
Will the coaches try to cool off Jaire Alexander a little?
I'm sure there has been a discussion regarding his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but the team is going to keep that within the team.
Mike, great job with WYMM! Loved the focus on the O-line after a great game for them. I found myself going back each play to watch every player, especially the TEs, and then you had a bonus play covering their own blocking too! Awesome stuff.
Yeah, that was a lot of fun. I really thought the O-line played an outstanding game Sunday and wanted to take the time to put the spotlight once on each guy up front.
Looks like the kickers tree did have a kicker available.
Yup, and I know there are a lot of questions out there about McManus, so I'll address it here and then we'll move on. I trust the Packers did their due diligence to be comfortable making this move. I would imagine the fact that there have been no criminal charges filed, and the NFL, after investigating, did not believe the allegations warranted discipline under the personal conduct policy, factored into the team's decision. Beyond that, I will wait until I hear from the head coach and/or general manager before commenting further on the off-field issue. They know far more than I do, and it would be irresponsible of me to speak out of turn. The Packers obviously felt a change at kicker was needed, and there's no arguing that. They believe this is their best option and we'll see how he performs.
Will Wicks injury keep him out of practice?
I'll find out in about an hour.
Mike, After a slow start, what do you think the chances are this year for the New York Packers?
If the Jets can get better play from their offensive line, that offense with Rodgers, Adams, Wilson, Hall, Allen and others could be pretty good. But every time I watch them, I see Rodgers getting hit and hobbling around. That's not going to work.
Will you and Wes be in all white?
I don't own any white pants, so I guess the answer is no.
We have been spoiled with Chris Jacke, Ryan Longwell and Mason Crosby.
Indeed. And now after nearly 1 1/2 seasons with rookies, the Packers are turning to a veteran to get the job done. Hard to argue in that regard.
I suppose this is a packers by proxy Q. But what did you think of the Tae trade? a second round pick seems pretty cheap
Considering what the Raiders gave up to get him and the cap hits they're taking the next two years due to the contract he signed, it's rather minimal return.
The new kicker has bounced around a bit. Why do you think he has never stuck with one team?
He spent the bulk of his career with Denver. Nine years to be exact. Then was with Jacksonville last year, and Washington this year before being released.
Hopefully with the change at kicker the unsure feeling when the field goal group comes on the field will be a little better!
That's the goal. I did some statistical research. A lot of stories out there are pointing to McManus' 81.4% career FG rate. He's 45 of 82 in his career from 50-plus, a respectable 55% from long distance. From inside 50, he's at 91% for his career. Plus he's only missed 9 PATs, in 9 years, from the 33-yard distance, so one per year on average. Carlson missed 5 of those last year.
Carrington Valentine didn't see the field last game. Different story this week with more WE weapons, or is he just odd man out with current amount of talent?
It appears with the nickel defense -- which is what is played most often, 5 DBs -- the Packers are going with the O-line type approach with putting their best 5 on the field. Which based on playing time last game is Xavier McKinney,** Evan Williams,** Javon Bullard, Alexander and Keisean Nixon.** Eric Stokesonly played 16 defensive snaps last game. Having Stokes and Valentine for depth as 6th and 7th DBs is not a bad place to be.**
Hi, Mike! Here's something I think is super interesting, assuming it's accurate. Hoping you can confirm. There have been more GB fans in the stands for each of the first three away games. And the trend will almost certainly continue with the game in Jacksonville at the end of the month. That will give the Packers a "home fan" advantage in 10 straight games to start the season. Can't remember something like that happening before.
Yeah, that's probably true. It's been great to see the Packers reward their fans in the visiting stadiums with wins at Nashville and LA this year.
I'm surprised Jets haven't signed Bak...
Who's to say they won't? I have no idea what his health status is or how much money he would ask to continue playing, but until he signs elsewhere I wouldn't say the door is closed.
With the other RBs gaining more trust, do we see more of two RB as MLF talked about pre-season with AJ Dillon?
It's a long season, and while Josh Jacobs is clearly RB1 here, there's no need to wear him out, especially with the Packers hoping to be playing deep into January. It's been impressive what Emanuel Wilson has done in just his second season after limited playing time as a rookie.
It's looking like yet another great draft class for Gute. Any word on how MarShawn Lloyd is recovering from his injury?
Haven't heard anything.
The AZ game felt good from the start. The team just seemed confident and loose. Hoping for more of the same this week. But a bigger challenge, right? Texans O has more weapons and Texans D packs more of a punch. What matchups should we watch for when Pack O and then D is on the field?
Mixon being back from injury is huge for Houston's ground game. They'll miss Nico Collins at WR, but Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell are plenty dangerous. And Stroud, the offensive rookie of the year last season, is running the show. Defensively, Anderson was the DROY last season, and the Packers are plenty familiar with Danielle Hunter coming off the other edge. This should be a whale of a game Sunday.
You know there are four days to get your pants...:)
No thanks. lol
Mike, I get things are crowded with the emergence of Williams on the backend, but I was surprised to see Valentine did not play any defensive snaps. I'm pretty sure he was active. What are your observations about snap counts for the DBs in recent games? Did Valentine play ST? Gotta love the depth of this team.
Valentine did play 11 snaps on special teams last game. Ballentine played 20, plus one snap on defense.
How has the Houston O-Line performed so far this year? I imagine pretty well for them to be 5-1. Would love to see our boys up front get after Stroud!
Stroud has been sacked 16 times so far, so less than three times per game. I thought their offense really missed Mixon when he was out, and with him back, their running game is plenty formidable.
National media all excited about the Adams and Cooper trades, as if the Jets and Bills "stole" them. When Tae went to Vegas and Cooper to the Browns, they were also "steals". Just sayin….
I wonder how much the Bills were in on Adams, or pushing to get him. Maybe he didn't want to go there, I don't know. But it wasn't a coincidence to me that as soon as the Adams to Jets deal was done, the Bills landed Cooper right after.
Have you ever seen so many receivers/tight ends run the football as the Packers have done this year?
Nope. It's providing a great changeup to the running game, stretching defenses laterally. Both Jayden Reed and Bo Melton have done good work on those plays.
"Can't pin your ears back against a mobile QB" feels like we face one every week.
Yeah, that's definitely the rule and not the exception in today's NFL. When you look at the guys who have retired in recent years -- Brady, Brees, Roethlisberger, etc. -- it makes sense.
Follow up on the DB post…..did Nixon ever get a run playing defense in Vegas, because he sure as heck has been a solid contributor at CB for the Packers.
He started only 2 games in 3 years with the Raiders, and he never had double-digit tackles in a season, so his playing time on defense was very limited.
Is Stroud a big threat to get out and go? Should expect some more mush rush this week?
Stroud hasn't run for a bunch of yards, only 75 so far, but he's a major threat to extend plays and try to gash you downfield from outside the pocket.
Not sure if this has been talked about but the Hutchinson injury -- what a bummer.
Yeah, I commented on that in the Inbox column this morning. Hate to see the league's best players go down like that. I hope his surgery was successful.
Did Mixon play in the game against the Vikings?
No. He was out.
Who's your guy and why, Mike?
Wes is my guy. Wes is always my guy. LOL. Oh, you mean for the game? That's what Final Thoughts is for. I can't give anything away now.
Keys to the game Sunday?
I think it's similar to how they beat the Cardinals. Balance on offense, and limiting explosives on defense. That's a pretty good formula most of the time.
Hanging out in the ICU with my dad (much improved). In his young career, what do you think are Stoud's strengths and weaknesses?
I've never seen him play live, and I confess to not having watched many, if any, Texans games all the way through. I've just seen plenty of highlights that tell me he's dangerous, and he came into the league playing above his years for such a difficult position.
Stroud was completely perplexed by the Vikings defensive system and aggressive approach. Do you think this is the week we may see Hafley's tendency finally bring pressure and blitz as we expected from preseason hype and his college history?
The Packers have to do what they do best, not try to copy anybody else. Hafley may not bluff as many blitzes as the Vikings do, but it's certainly in the arsenal. He also really picks his spots for when to bring the extra pressure, and the goal is to try not to be predictable. Easier said than done, but that's the objective.
Healthy knee, more under center. more under center, more motion and convincing play action?
Yeah, it's no accident that the healthier Love has gotten, the more snaps he's taken under center. Play-action is so much more effective there than in shotgun, in my opinion.
The Texans (5) have almost as many wins as the four teams the Packers have beaten combined (7). Does this make any difference to the Packers?
The best team the Packers faced this year was the Vikings, and they had a horrible first half, falling into a 28-0 hole. They know that's not a way to win big games. That's really all that matters.
I'm a big fan of Karl Brooks' development. That guy can play.
He's been making a key play or three every week in that D-line rotation. He's doing exactly what the Packers are asking him to.
Any idea what the injury was to Josh Myers and if you expect him to be listed on the injury report?
The injury wasn't announced in the press box that I recall, and he came back into the game later. So we'll see if he's listed or not.
Call me crazy, but I think there's a chance that the playoff representatives from E and S in the NFC will have to win their division to get in.
It's still early, and the NFC North has seen only one division game so far through 6 weeks (GB vs. MIN). But the out-of-division record certainly looks impressive. We'll see if the trend continues.
after 1/3 of the season, is it "this is who they are" more than "they come in bunches" as far as turnovers are concerned?
This is the type of defense Hafley was brought in to play. Getting multiple takeaways every game like this is almost unheard of, so they're going to be hard to come by at some point. But so far, the Packers are getting what they're emphasizing.
Is Jacob Monk ready to play? Ability? Injury status. He doesn't come in when Meyers went out?
I suspect he's the next guy up on the interior. But right now the top 4 are Myers, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan and Jordan Morgan.
Honestly, Stroud's coolness/calmness/steadiness seems really similar to Love's. I think both are fun to watch and root for.
No argument there.
Mike how did you feel this past weeks pass rush faired?
I thought the Packers did an exemplary job of not letting Murray get too comfortable back there, but also not letting him scramble and run around too much. The game plan was well-executed. Probably the best zero-sack pass-rush performance anyone could ask for.
You brought up Final Thoughts. Do you and Wes script that out or "wing it"? If it's on the fly, do you have multiple answers ready in case the other takes your answers?
We talk about it for, literally, 3 minutes before the camera gets turned on, just so we don't repeat topics/players. But that's the extent of the planning.
When Devonte Wyatt is back how many snaps has Karl Brooks earned?
That's up to the coaches. Brooks was still in the rotation with Wyatt in there. Colby Wooden was the guy inactive in that bunch. I think Wooden has helped out, too. The depth up front is a great asset.
Hi, really love the work. It seems like the defense has really improved their tackling this year even with the emphasis on taking away the ball. Seems like two opposing directions so how is this defense making it work this year?
Speed and vision. Bullard and Cooper have added significant speed. McKinney and Williams play with a ton of vision in the back end. The guys up front have executed the rush plans with discipline.
This may be a risky question, but what is your personal stance on players using their platform to advocate or highlight non-football topics? Stroud has used almost every chance he gets to give glory to Jesus and express his religious beliefs, some networks even clip out those portions of his interview answers, what are your thoughts on that?
It's a free country. If he wants to express those views, more power to him. If the media doesn't want to engage, that's their decision. I honestly don't give it much thought beyond that.
I'm betting the NFL really wishes they only needed a week to flex games the way this week looks.
Maybe they'll adjust that at some point. They can go down to just one week's notice later in the season, but not now.
Hi Mike, do you ever miss being able to just watch a Packer game and express excitement like Wayne and Larry do when calling the game?
I express plenty of fan emotions watching the Brewers.
Houston's D is ranked among the best for yards and passing yards in particular, but around the middle in terms of scoring allowed. What are your impressions?
When that unit has struggled, it has hurt itself with penalties. The Vikings game in particular that stood out.
I know everyone associated with these teams are professionals, but how much of a challenge is it to bring in a new player (kicker for us, 17 to Jets for example) mid week? Things like player jersey fit, number decisions (if not established), travel, etc.?
It's a lot more challenging with a position player than a specialist. Obviously the QB-WR relationship in NY will speed up the acclimation.
Nixon finally got to move with the ball this past week. How soon can we expect the weather to give him a lot more chances?
I think that's coming. We also may see him more on punt returns after that long one he had last week. Ball security bit him a little last year on punt returns but maybe he gets more opportunities now.
Speaking of penalties. I hope we don't get the crew that called Monday nights game.
Oof. That was brutal. No one is going to want that crew.
All right, with that, I've got to head out to practice, so we'll call it a chat. Thanks for all the participation folks, and we'll talk again soon.
Best,
Mike
