Outside the Nest: packers beat writer offers view from the other side

Packers receiver Romeo Doubs is back from suspension. QB Jordan Love may be trying too hard to justify that four-year, $220 million contract extension. Green Bay is trying to keep pace in an unexpectedly elite division.

It’s time for another edition of Outside the Nest as the Arizona Cardinals head to the upper Midwest for a matchup with the storied Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Here are six questions with beat writer Ryan Wood, who covers the team for the Green Bay Press-Gazette and USA Today Network.

---

Where do the Packers fit in the suddenly competitive NFC North?

“It’s too early to really know, but this is probably the best division in football through the first five weeks. The Bears with Caleb Williams believe that they’re a team that can go to the playoffs. The Lions were my Super Bowl pick to win the NFC North and eventually lose to the Chiefs. And then the Vikings, no one had that coming on their bingo card. They’re the last remaining undefeated team in the NFC. That’s shocking, especially when you lose JJ McCarthy (injured), but you’ve got the only division in football where all four teams are over .500.

“At the end of the day, I still think that the Packers are loaded with talent. It’d be a shock, just an absolute shock if they didn’t make the playoffs, and I think they have as good a chance as just about anybody to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. It’s just too early to really know how it’s going to play out, but it’s very, very competitive.”

Can you describe the Packers experience to the uninitiated?

“It’s a small-town community with a gigantic NFL stadium and franchise plopped in the middle of it. Right across Lombardi Avenue, the community comes out and paints Packers fences right before the season. It’s very community based, so start there.

“My first season on the beat was 2014 and I’ll never forget my first Packers-Bears game at Lambeau Field. I’m looking out in the stands and I see all this orange, and I’m really confused. I’m like, ‘That’s not what this rivalry was supposed to be. Where are the Packers fans?’ And someone says, ‘That’s not Bears fans. They’re all wearing hunting gear to stay warm. It’s just orange hunting gear.’ I’m like, ‘Oh.’ That’s what they do. They just strap up in their hunting gear late in the season and let’s go rock the cold.

“There’s no place in the NFL like Lambeau Field late in the season when it’s snowing. It’s like sitting inside a real life snow globe and watching an NFL game. It’s a majestic type of experience, but the Cardinals aren’t going to get that. It’s going to be in the 50s here, which is shockingly warm for this time of year.”

---

How would you evaluate QB Jordan Love thus far?

“There’s huge expectations on a guy when he signs the type of mega-contract extension that he signed this offseason, but the reality with him is he’s still a young quarterback. He’s still early on in his second year starting so I think you’ve seen the warts, the growth, the learning moments of a young guy who’s still developing. And sometimes development is not always linear.

“The last two months of last season, he was the hottest quarterback in the NFL. You kind of expect that compass to just keep pointing north, but it doesn’t always happen that way. He’s even had some mistakes that we didn’t see last year. The difference is, he’s making huge plays now in a way that we didn’t see a year ago when he went through his struggles.

“[Coach] Matt Lafleur said after this Rams game that this offense has been very feast or famine. A year ago, it was just famine. So they do feast. This is a big-play offense and a big-play quarterback who can throw the ball down the field and wants to push it. It’s just knowing the right time to do that. Maybe some of that comes in the wake of this contract extension where he’s trying to earn it all at once. It doesn’t work that way. It’s knowing when to pick your spots.”

What’s the latest on receiver Romeo Doubs’ situation?

“Last week was a mess that I don’t think anyone in the Packers organization saw coming. They’ve been trumpeting since the start of last year how there’s all these young guys and it’s all a brotherhood and Kumbaya. This offense is filled with young playmakers. It’s a big reason why Jordan Love finished the way he did last season. But what is the NFL first? The NFL is a business first. All these guys are on first contracts. Everybody in the league wants to make it big on that second contract, and there’s only one football so you know you’re going to have some egos that they’re going to have to wade through.

“Romeo Doubs decided not to show up to practice on Thursday (last week) because his ego was bruised, and he got suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, which was just a terrible, terrible decision. The understanding is he wasn’t pleased with the ball distribution, the targets, which doesn’t make a lot of sense because he had 20 targets through the first four games, two of those games without Jordan Love.

“He’s going to have to come back with a mea culpa; an apology. He has not spoken with the media yet (as of Thursday). We don’t really know a lot about the situation. [Receiver] Christian Watson referenced mental health. He didn’t say anything more than that. I don’t know what that means and I wouldn’t speculate, but not showing up at your locker and talking on your first day back is not exactly accountability. It puts your teammates in position to answer really awkward and difficult questions that are best meant for you. I didn’t think that was a good look.”

---

Is Xavier McKinney the NFL’s best safety?

“Since the 1970 merger, no NFL player has ever picked off a pass in each of his first five games with a team. Xavier McKinney has been incredible. His ball skills are incredible, but he’s not giving up big plays, and he’s making other plays that aren’t interceptions. Before the interception this weekend, they were down 13-10, there’s a fumble, loose ball on the field, and it’s Xavier McKinney that scoops it. The first third down of the game last week, Matthew Stafford throws deep middle and Xavier McKinney times a perfect hit to force an incompletion. He just makes a ton of plays without giving up a ton of plays.

“McKinney did tell me in the locker room in LA that [Rams QB] Matthew Stafford looked him off more than any quarterback has all year. It seems kind of obvious, but the point is that the reputation is out on him, and that’s not going to get better. The more you take the ball away, they’re going to start looking you off. So that’s going to be an interesting adjustment once that happens.

“[New defensive coordinator] Jeff Hafley is a lifelong DBs coach. A big reason why the Packers hired him is because they needed a fix for the secondary. It was a big problem last year. So he comes in and he’s implemented this vision-based defense, which not every team can do. You have to have the personnel to play with vision. You’ve got to have instinctual players that are able to see the field, read it and trigger. And Xavier McKinney has done that at a high level. He’s been a good fit for the scheme.”

What is the Packers’ X factor in this game?

“Jeff Hafley very much believes that he’s got a great defensive front, and he’s very determined in the scheme to get home with four. He doesn’t blitz a whole lot, but they have not been getting home consistently with four. They had eight sacks against the Tennessee Titans, but if you look at the other four games, it has been a struggle.

“They have, however, already played [Eagles QB] Jalen Hurts and [Colts QB] Anthony Richardson this season. And one thing that they’ve done well as a defensive front is keep those guys from hurting them with their legs. That was a huge priority; a huge emphasis for them. They’ve seen the Kyler Murray prototype twice already this year. I think it will be interesting to see if Kyler Murray can break out with his legs against them because Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson sure didn’t.”

Top illustration via Sidney Pinger and Shane Dieffenbach, ALLCITY Network

Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter