With the Tennessee Titans scheduled to battle the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, I wanted to get a little more insight on the Packers, and explore some of the storylines surrounding arguably the best team in the NFC.
Big thanks to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic for taking time out his day to answer some questions I had for him.
I hope you all enjoy.
1. I want to start off by asking about Lambeau Field. I see NFL players talk all the time about how fun it is to play at Lambeau during this time of the year. What makes that specific field such a special destination during late December and throughout January?
Schneidman: Lambeau is the most iconic stadium in the NFL and arguably the most iconic stadium in sports. There’s just something about the snow falling, the ice cold temperatures, the aura of the stadium because of all its history that make it such a unique place to play. The metal bleachers, countless names of legendary Packers and old-school feel to the structure of the stadium contribute to that, too. Like Wrigley Field or Fenway Park or the old Yankee Stadium in baseball, Lambeau is a bucket list item for players and fans.
2. Moving on to the team you cover, the Packers are coming off a weird win against the Panthers. The offense was a little up and down, and there were some problems defensively as well. Was that performance a cause for concern moving forward? Or was this just an off night?
Schneidman: I think it was just an off night. They held the Panthers to 16 points, tied for the fewest any team has scored against Green Bay this season and tied for the second-fewest allowed by the defense (the Eagles scored a punt return touchdown in Green Bay and lost 30-16). So the defense wasn’t the issue. It was the offense’s inability to get Davante Adams going that probably presents the most concern — Aaron Jones still ran for 145 yards — but even that should be fixed against a leaky Titans defense on Sunday night. The Packers haven’t had two lackluster offensive performances in a row this season, and I’d expect them to bounce back again this week.
3. Matt LaFleur will get the chance to coach against his old boss on Sunday night. Has he talked much about his one year in Tennessee and if it’s helped with his own head coaching transition in Green Bay in any way?
Schneidman: Since your readers would rather read what LaFleur said exactly than read me paraphrase it, here’s LaFleur’s entire quote when asked what he learned from Mike Vrabel:
“There’s so much that you learn along the way. You learn every step of the way. I think you have to learn every day. Just, I think, Vrabes’ approach with the football team, he held everybody accountable, whether you’re the best player or the last man on the roster, and that goes for everyone, every coach as well, and so he was never afraid to say it and call it how it was. I think you always respect that. I also learned, it was a great learning experience from a play-calling aspect as well, just going through adversity and doing whatever it took to win games, and I know we didn’t win as many as we would have liked, and we didn’t get into the playoffs and honestly, I know the offensive numbers were not great when I was there. But that’s never something that concerned me. It was about winning football games, no matter who’s in there, no matter who you’re going against, it’s about playing complementary football. I think that’s helped me in my career here in calling plays.”
4. I want to talk about Davante Adams now. He’s consistently torched the league in the past, and he’s torching the league once again this year. But this year, it feels like he’s getting the proper respect he deserves when it comes to discussing the top WRs in the game. Am I wrong to think that?
Schneidman: Not at all. It hasn’t really felt like Adams gets the same recognition as Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins and Michael Thomas in years past, but this year he is. And rightfully so. He’s not the fastest wideout in the league, but he’s probably the best route-runner and has an NFL-high 98.8 receiving yards per game and 14 touchdowns catches (second in the league) this year. Maybe he hasn’t gotten that respect because of who his quarterback is, but Aaron Rodgers will tell you Adams is the NFL’s best wide receiver and one that makes his job infinitely easier.
When he was in third grade, he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.
“NBA or NFL star,” it said in his yearbook.
Now at age 27, Davante Adams is making history and stating his case for being the NFL’s best wide receiver: https://t.co/sZf9f8kwV1
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) December 10, 2020
5. When we discuss running backs, we talk so much about Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, the elite guys as we say. Aaron Jones has put up some great numbers himself, but he isn’t talked about as one of those elite players as much. In your opinion, is Jones a top tier back we should talk about more often?
Schneidman: I wouldn’t put him in the same group as the guys you mentioned (I’d also throw Alvin Kamara and Nick Chubb in there), but he’s right below them. Jones is extremely fast, shifty and can break any tackle. He’s also improved drastically as a pass-catcher and pass protector the last two seasons. He probably doesn’t get that recognition because he doesn’t run for as many yards as Henry and Cook, but his production as a whole isn’t too far behind. He’ll get a big bag this offseason in free agency.
Aaron Jones gives a shoutout to Derrick Henry for raising the value of RBs like him around the league.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) December 24, 2020
6. Last question before we get into some Aaron Rodgers talk. The Packers’ defense has ran into a little bit of trouble this year. What have been the biggest problems defensively for Green Bay this year, and are they big enough problems to warrant concern for this unit as we head into the postseason?
Schneidman: I’d say the linebacking corps is the biggest cause for concern. Veteran free-agent signing Christian Kirksey isn’t very good in pass coverage and their second and third inside linebackers are both rookies in Krys Barnes (undrafted) and Kamal Martin (fifth round). Everyone will talk about the run defense, especially with Henry coming to town this week, but if I’m a Packer fan I’d be more concerned about the Titans’ intermediate passing game over the middle and defending guys like A.J. Brown, Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith on crossing routes.
7. Aaron Rodgers is probably having one of the best seasons a 37 year old had ever had. So much so that he’s been labeled a very strong MVP candidate. Has he done anything different this year that has him playing at such a high level?
Schneidman: Nothing noticeably different, no. I think it’s just the second year in LaFleur’s offense and an improved play-calling communication from Year 1 to Year 2 with some of LaFleur’s wordy play calls that have helped more than anything, and the emergence of guys like tight end Robert Tonyan and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling as more reliable threats. Rodgers has been remarkably accurate this year, only throwing four interceptions (the fewest in the NFL). He also leads the league in touchdown passes (40), total touchdowns (43) and passer rating (118).
8. Back to the MVP talk, who do you currently have as the front runner to win the award?
Schneidman: I’d give it to Rodgers by a thread right now.
9. Can you tell me why he’s your front runner?
Schneidman: Rodgers has more passing touchdowns and rushing touchdowns, fewer interceptions, a better passer rating and a slightly worse group of pass-catchers to throw to than Mahomes. Mahomes’ team has a better record and he has more passing yards, and there are still two weeks left in the season for one player to state their final argument for the MVP. But right now I’d give a slight edge to Rodgers.
10. Before we officially get done with this, I can’t end this without asking for a prediction for Sunday night’s game. Who do you have pulling out a win in Titans-Packers?
Schneidman: I’ll go Packers 31, Titans 28. There will be points, and it’ll be a close game. But Rodgers wants that MVP and even more so he wants home-field advantage. I think he and Adams narrowly get it done on Sunday night.
Once again big thanks to Matt Schneidman for answering my questions!