John Kuhn, Former Packers Fullback

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Get in the Zone AutoZone restrictions apply. Let's go out to the guest line right now and welcome in a legendary Packers fullback. And that, of course, is Jon Kuhn, friend of the show, kind enough to jump on board with us. Jon, happy Friday to you. Appreciate the time. How you been? Happy Friday.

Happy New Year. Always glad to jump on here with you, Zach. And hey, look at how big time you've got now. We did this thing live over the internet versus the airwaves.

A whole different vibe, a whole different feel. Good to put a face to a name now. Well, I appreciate that and always appreciate how kind you are jumping on with us. And usually it was talking about all this drama in Green Bay with your old teammate and good friend at Aaron Rodgers. But now look how this works. For two, three years, people were saying Gudekunz had no clue what he was doing. And now a lot of people with the play of Jordan Love are issuing a little bit of an apology to the Packers GM, Brian Gudekunz. Yeah, it's almost like there's a recipe to this whole franchise quarterback thing.

You have a good one. You get one before you're done with the old one. You let him learn for a couple years under the tutelage of that older one. You let him learn the process off the field in the meeting rooms at practice. And then you give him a chance in his third or fourth year and see what he can do on the field when he merely has to focus at things on the field versus the third or fourth year.

This is the things in the classroom and the things on the practice field. So it's worked a couple times in a row now. And Jordan Love, especially in the last seven games of the season, has really proven that to a point we saw the Lions last year towards the end of the season get hot and they won five out of six games and that carried over with the momentum that they were doing into the next season. When you look at Green Bay and they have a chance to go make the playoffs on Sunday and win five out of or, you know, get continue to get hot down the stretch. What have you seen with this team in the last few weeks where they've started to turn around and just play better football?

Well, specifically, it's been a play on the offensive side. Jordan Love's not the only young piece, the only inexperienced piece heading into this season. There's a lot of rookies on this offense when you talk about tight end, wide receiver, even on the offensive line.

So they all had to kind of collectively work together to grow and become a cohesive unit. And that that cohesiveness has really taken place these last, you know, two months of the season and they've kind of taken off. They've had a couple struggles, a couple hiccups in the last month of the season in December against Carolina and against Tampa Bay and against the New York Giants defensively. But if they can play a little bit more aggressive on the defensive end this week against Chicago, get themselves another victory. I've talked to a lot of coaches. I've talked to a lot of personnel in Green Bay, a playoff game, that type of experience in your first year as a starter for Jordan Love and a lot of these young guys on this offensive side.

That'll pay dividends exponentially going down here in the future. So getting this playoff game is huge, but it's it's been the play of Jordan Love in this young offense coming alive, which is why they are in the position or in talking to John Coon. Right now, you know, going into the year, I said, I don't really care about the wins or losses for the Packers this year.

And it's incredible. They have a chance to go make the playoffs coming up on Sunday. But it was more so at the end of the year. How do I feel about the quarterback? Do I think the quarterback has enough to be the guy moving forward and you get the best of both worlds right now? Like, how far are you willing to go with Jordan Love? And like, what do you think his ceiling could be as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers?

I'm going all the way with Jordan Love Zach. He showed things early on that a special type of athlete can show and that came about one every four plays. And then we had a dip in the middle of the season where he had some struggles with turnovers. And he had some struggles with getting the ball out on time. And then he learned about midway through the season. I don't need to be perfect on every single play.

I can use my check down. I can facilitate this offense even when it's much easier. And as the season progressed even further towards the end of the year, he's gotten so good before the snap of the football, recognizing the defense, getting in the right checks that he is now mentally and physically there so that three out of every four plays are something that a good and established veteran quarterback is doing. And I'm willing to say right now, I expected Jordan Love to be good at some point in time. I did not expect it to happen as fast as it has this season and Jordan Love right now towards the other season.

I dare say he's playing as good of football as nearly any quarterback in the National Football League right now and going into next year. There's no reason why he can't improve even more. Also, I think it's important when you look at all the drama since there was that decision to draft Jordan Love and all the fighting with right LaFleur and Gouda Coontz and Rogers that created a little bit of an unhealthy locker room.

And Love could have handled it one or two ways. I think him being quiet and him just right going to work and working each and every day in the role they were asking him, I think that gained him a lot of trust and respect in that locker room when they officially elected to trade Aaron Rogers. It was like, okay, we have a guy that we could believe in because of the way he conducted himself the last two, three years. Yeah, one thing this whole country is going to learn about Jordan Love is he is a very even keel person. He doesn't get very emotional. You don't see a whole lot of highs or lows at him, no matter how a football game is going.

No matter how the chaos is externally, it's always calm and collected on the inside. And, you know, some of that has to do with his age being much closer to a lot of the younger players on the offensive side. They have a great relationship a great rapport. Jordan Love it came out this week has been hosting dinners at his house on Monday nights and invites not only the offense but the defensive players to come over to to try and really create that cohesiveness that that a team really needs that bond that a team really needs and it's been refreshing to see a team kind of rally around each other because Jordan Love had to prove himself as much as anybody else on this football team this year. That hasn't been the case at the quarterback position in Green Bay for a very long time.

So for people to see Jordan Love earning his stripes while they are simultaneously earning their stripes. That is something that goes a long way and you root for one another in those aspects and you can definitely feel a tighter knit offensive group this year than what you have in years past. Wrap it up with John Coon who joins us right now on CBS Sports Radio. Let me talk about your friend down Rogers a little bit. I know he got in this whole controversy this week because he opened his mouth with McAfee and then he's talking about the Epstein list with with Kimball.

And it's just things you can't do. But he of course did them anyway. Obviously it stinks that the guy got hurt. I never thought he was going to return this year. We know he's always going to say what he wants to say. How do you think the next year or two and what could be the last two years of Aaron Rodgers NFL career which has been a great one are going to play out like what do you kind of expect from Rogers next season. Well I hope he has a healthy season. I hope he gets to play all 17 games because I'd like to see how he can perform and how he can go out here in New York. And this is retirement talk that we've been talking about for a couple years in Green Bay and now in New York and with the injury.

You never like to see somebody go out like that so I'd like to see him go out in his own terms. I'd like to see him come back next year be 100 percent healthy and not have to miss any time from the New York Jets because quite frankly with that roster and that team. I thought they were poised to make a playoff run in New York and without him you can clearly see it's a much different picture so I'd like to see what he's able to do in a new environment and and see if he can't add a little piece to his legacy. Let me ask you about two former Packers that have been tied to New York potentially. I think Bach tiari is definitely going to be on the Jets next year. Davante Adams I know he's under contract in a pretty large contract. May that be after that deal that he got from the Raiders. But as long as the Raiders keep Antonio Pierce I think Adams will stay with the Raiders. Just how about the future of two guys that you know well I'm in Davante Adams and David Bach tiari Yeah I couldn't agree with you more about Davante. He has publicly come out and said Antonio Pierce is his guy. I'd like to see him back next year.

He thinks he's earned that job. And right now if you're Raiders management you've got to think more about how do how do we keep this team that has played well towards the end of the year. How do we keep them together going forward and the change at the coaching staff could definitely blow everything up roster wise for that team. So I think Antonio Pierce ends up staying I think they learn from their mistakes with rich Versace letting him go a few years back.

And I think that keeps their team together especially Davante Adams with David Bach tiari becomes very interesting because the guy has had four surgeries in a matter of, you know, about two and a half years. He's only played a handful of games a little over a dozen games in the last three years since he was the highest paid left tackle in all of football so he's been very adamant and very vocal about his disdain with playing on turf, especially the turf in New York, it would be very interesting to me if he had to swallow those words and kind of eat some crow to go up there and play to obviously that would take some sort of releasing by the Green Bay Packers first or a trade or a force trade in that nature and I'm just not sure how likely all of those combined play into one another. And the last thing I'll ask you just to get the flip side of this Bears Packers game coming up on Sunday we talked about the Green Bay side with you.

The Chicago side right like we talked about the Raiders how you don't mess what's going well with Antonio Pierce. I think the Bears should bring back Justin Fields now with them having an opportunity if they walk out of Lambeau with the victory on Sunday to win five out of six down the stretch would you keep fields and maybe draft Marvin Harrison Jr or trade that number one pick again how would you approach it if you were the GM. Well, this is going to be a fascinating development after the season because everybody knows when you take a coaching job or GM job in Chicago number one goal is to beat Green Bay, you have to go up north and win and get some victories and I think they would have put one against Green Bay in their last nine attempts if they find a way to come up to Green Bay, and they have a matchup that could potentially upset the Green Bay Packers this weekend, if they can come up here and get a victory. They have a management to say, Hey, Justin Fields we got to move on from you, Maddie before we got to move on from you, I think they might consider it more to keep all of these guys around and build around Justin Fields, if they can come to Green Bay and get a victory. If they don't and I truly believe this game matters in the future for Justin Fields, if they don't and he goes over his career against the Green Bay Packers as the Chicago Bears quarterback. I don't think there's any way they keep them I think they're going they're drafting, they're picking a quarterback there early in the first round whether they trade back and do that we've seen him too crazy stuff in the past and the draft.

So I wouldn't hold against do anything, but I have to feel like Jordan or Justin Fields if he's going to coach or play football in Chicago in the future. He's got to get this victory this week and in Green Bay, and it's kind of crazy and I was talking about this to open up the show John Coon last week the fans are chanting we want to keep fields we want Justin, they lose this game this weekend. Things change very quickly in the NFL as you know, it is a week to week league, more than anything, more than any other sport, and that last taste in your mouth, especially when it's a division opponent, especially when it's that division opponent that it's said and written on your walls that you need to go up and get those victories against that one can sit really sour neck and promote a lot of changes when you come into the off season.

Hey, last thing I actually just one more thing that popped into mind, John Coon we talked about the Gouda Coon side. What's the fan perspective of the floor right now. It's, it's, it's road, a roller coaster throughout the year, it really has. I would say there was more optimism and patience at the beginning of season, but there was really a stretch there were fans thought we were underperforming and fans are sometimes a little impatient when it comes to the development of young players, but as this team is really taken off and it's all fences on the cusp of hitting a top 10 offensive National Football League. They're starting to realize that mountain floor he can scheme up some stuff and with Jordan loving these young wide receivers, they're going to be able to accomplish things offensively going forward. I think more of the heat lies on the floor, as it pertains to the rest of his coaching staff, and what he's going to do there with a defensive coordinator to various contract is up at the end of the year.

And where does he go from there because if there is some sort of retention there for Joe Berry, that's the only thing that would sit sour as far as the fans go here in Green Bay. Yeah, there's that I follow the tweets I follow the conversations. It is not a hot take to suggest that the Packers fans do not like their defensive coordinator he is john Coon john appreciate you doing this thanks so much you'll be well do it again soon. Absolutely.

Take care of that. There you go john Coon joining us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We will take a timeout when we come on back the Ohio State Buckeyes have their new quarterback. What does that mean for their head coach is the head coach Ryan day on the hot seat we'll discuss next 855-212-4CBS 855-212-4227 you can always follow the Zach Gelb show on social media, Twitter and Instagram at Zach Gelb that's z a c h g l b. Here is the Ackman rich Ackerman with the latest CBS Sports Radio update.