Mike's Mid-Week Chat: How have the Packers improved on defense?

[Cheesehead]

Hey there, hope everybody had a great Christmas. Thanks for logging on today. Let's go ahead and get started.


Great job on WYMM once again Mike. Do you expect to see any of the defensive changes used last against Henry and the Titans to be used this week against Montgomery and the Bears?


Thanks for checking out the segment. The film was really interesting to go through. To your question, it really depends on how the Bears employ their personnel. If Chicago uses a bunch of two- and three-TE sets, then why not. But if the Bears are going to go three wide and try to run Montgomery that way, you still have to match personnel on the perimeter.


I know, I know. Just beat the Bears. However, if you will allow this indulgence, if the Packers do beat the Bears they will have the same record as last season's. Please compare and contrast.


This offense is in a completely different place than last year's. It's one of the best in the league. That wasn't the case a year ago. Defensively, the Packers are coming on strong late here, which is a good sign. Last year's unit might have been more consistent overall, but we saw it going the wrong way later in the year. Special teams aren't as sound and reliable. That's pretty obvious.


Good morning, Mike! We've been hearing a lot about the Bears' offensive resurgence. How has their defense been playing recently?


It's pretty good, but I don't think it's been as good as the past couple of years, certainly not like the '18 team that won the division. The Lions put up a bunch of points on them right before this recent winning streak started. Minnesota moved the ball pretty well on them, too. Hicks, Mack, Jackson, Roquan Smith are all top-flight players, and Nichols is really coming on. But overall they've been more vulnerable than other years we've seen, in my opinion.


Mike, thanks for your no-nonsense answer today in the Inbox about the Packers identity. I think this concept is a holdover from Vic's days here, but it's not one I could ever get behind. As far as I can tell, it's a fancy way to explain how a team wins games. Because you never hear talk about a team's identity when they lose.


I didn't mean to be dismissive, but I think it is an outdated concept to a certain extent because these young coaches like LaFleur, Shanahan, McVay, Flores and a bunch of others do a lot more game-planning week-to-week based on opponents. It's just how the game is played now.


Mike...are the roster rules the same during playoffs as they were during the season?


I'm not aware of anything different.


Hi Mike. Hope you had a great Christmas. What did you think about the Packers playing Krys Barnes in 95% of the snap count against the Titans compared to Christian Kirksey and Kamal Martin's 20%? Seemed like we were playing lots of man as well and it seemed to work fantastic.


The Packers have decided Barnes is their best inside LB, and he's earned it. I think I mentioned it a week ago and then it showed up again vs. the Titans -- Kirksey seems to be a higher-impact player with fewer snaps, less of a workload. They're getting more with less, and that's not a bad thing. Martin is a real wild card at that position. He flies around like crazy, and when he's in the right spot or makes the right move, he can make a high-impact play as well, but he also can be a little reckless.


Ultimately do you think it will benefit the Packers having so much riding on this game vs having it wrapped last week?


I don't know. We'll just have to see. If the Packers win and get out of Chicago healthy, all is well.