WEBVTT - #698 Packers Unscripted: Frustrating finality 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:10.520 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:13.960 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:16.800 by my trusted colleague Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to you 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:20.439 here from our studios at lambeau Field, unfortunately, to talk 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:24.680 about the end of the Green Bay Packers season twenty 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:27.560 to sixteen, a loss to the Detroit Lions. As we 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:31.360 talked about all last week, West, the Packers were right 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:33.840 where they wanted to be, the best position they could 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.360 have been in all things considered, when to get into 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:40.560 the playoffs, and instead it's a loss to go home, 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.800 and the season is over and the Packers will not 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:46.160 be in the playoffs for the first time in Matt 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:48.880 Lafleur's four seasons as head coach. Yeah. And the other 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:51.400 thing is too, We've found out hours before the game, 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:54.480 minutes for the game, really that the Detroit Lions weren't 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:57.160 going to be in the playoffs either, as by the 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.680 Seattle Seahawks winning that game. Again. The Los Angeles Rams 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:05.920 a lot of mixed emotions with this. You know, there 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:07.679 was a line and I'm not gonna be able to 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:11.400 like repeat it verbatim, but it was something that Alan 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:13.880 Lazard said in locker room that really hit home with 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:15.960 me after the game, and that was basically there were 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:19.160 a lot of parallels in his mind between that game 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:21.160 against the Lions and what happened to the Packers a 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:24.600 year ago against the San Francisco forty nine ers. It 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:29.319 just offensively, there just wasn't a lot to push with, 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:33.360 and I think the Packers for the most part, stuck 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:35.320 to the game plan in the first half, the one 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:37.839 that I was calling for, which was run it down 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:39.880 the lion's throats. I mean, this is a team that 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.200 again gave up more than three hundred rushing yards to 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:46.000 Carolina and also both you know, I had two hundred 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.680 yard backs in that game. Green Bay just could not 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:53.560 run the ball well enough against that defensive front from Minnesota. 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.640 They turned over the ball a couple times, and they 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.120 just didn't have the moments where they need to execute 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:02.120 in all three phases. A lot of good complimentary football 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:04.400 during the four game win streak for Green Bay and 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.000 unfortunately none of that was there for them when they 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.480 needed it against the Lions. Yeah, I think the biggest 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:14.160 thing that I lament as far as this opportunity getting 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:18.480 away from the Packers boils down to the fact that 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.840 there had been so much that went Green Bay's way 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:26.079 over the previous month, not just winning the games obviously 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.519 that they needed to win, but the Packers could have 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:33.280 won those games and still headed into Week eighteen with 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:36.880 nothing at stake, because other things could have happened that 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.400 the playoff field could have filled up. There were a 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.280 number of things that happened. It felt like a gift 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:45.200 from the football gods that the Packers were in the 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:47.639 position they were in because of all the other help 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:50.040 that they had gotten along the way. And look what 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:52.840 happened to the Lions right up to the very end. 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:55.800 A crazy game between Seattle and the Rams, back and 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:59.600 forth and goes to overtime, and their playoff hopes end 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.960 with Seattle, you know, kicking an overtime field goal, and 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:10.040 the Packers got an opportunity dropped into their lap by 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:14.440 a lot of happenstance, quite frankly, and to let that 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.799 get away is really the most disappointing thing because there 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:19.919 could be some other years here coming up, whether it's 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.240 next year or further down the road, where you might 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:26.480 be fighting for a you know, a ten and seven record, 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.600 maybe even an eleven and six record, and you need 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:31.600 some help to get where you need to go, and 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:33.760 you don't know if that help is going to come. 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:36.320 And the Packers got all the help that they could 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:39.880 have asked for, and yet the opportunity was squandered. That's 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:44.440 the hardest part, I think for me to swallow, because 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:46.920 you just don't know if the fates are going to 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:49.600 smile on you that much when you're in that situation. 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.119 Ever again, yeah, people forget when they talked about run 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:54.000 the table. The Packers didn't run the table to get 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:55.800 a wild card spot. They ran the table to win 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.880 the division. Yeah, they actually that was a joint championship 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:02.560 for you know, that title this one. For them to 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:05.640 do it as the seventh seed with the wild card 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.280 on the line was pretty remarkable for the For the 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:11.240 table to be set the way it was for green 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.040 Bay going into this one, and you know, and I 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:15.640 don't mean to be flip it and I don't mean 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.039 to be crashed, but it just it looked like green 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:21.919 Bay just didn't quite have it together and the Detroit 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:24.320 Lions were the team that was playing to get in 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.800 the postseason. I mean, there was that quote after the 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.520 game and people laughed about it, and they kind of 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:32.120 you know, I think bar still put up is like 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:35.120 the most epic postgame ever. But like look at that 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.640 postgame interview with Jamal Williams where he's crying about his 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:41.159 you know, losing his grandfather, dedicating the game to him, 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:45.000 but then just completely being revved up, you know, saying 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:46.720 that people counted us out. We weren't going to get 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.640 counted out. You know. I think it just shows you 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:53.719 the energy and the aggression and a team much like 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.279 last year when the Packers played them in the finale, 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.880 that isn't going to be told that they can't win 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.080 or they can't make the playoffs. And I just thought 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.760 Detroit played with that energy the entire time, and the Packers, 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.839 while good and spurts just they didn't have enough big 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:13.600 plays offensively. Defensively they had a few lapses and special 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:15.920 teams they really weren't able to make anything happen. Yeah, 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:18.520 I think that's the thing. For me. You mentioned the 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:21.840 comparison that Lazard made and to me, to me, the 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:26.200 comparison that I felt because of the way the offense 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:30.080 was struggling, and really, for me, this game comes down 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:35.040 to an offensive failure. Five of the first six possessions 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:38.880 for the Packers they breached the Detroit thirty five yard line, 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:43.320 and with five of six possessions breaching the Detroit thirty 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.000 five yard line, the Packers had nine points on the board. 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:49.920 Between the goal to ghost, stop getting stalled, kicking long 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:52.400 field goals, the fumble by Aaron Jones late in the 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.880 first half, there were just so many opportunities, and to me, 0:05:55.960 --> 0:06:01.520 the comparison was somewhat the Miami game on Christmas, where 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:04.240 the Packers had all these chances to pile up a 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:09.560 bunch of points. The difference was in Miami on Christmas, 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:13.120 the defense started taking the football away. And we had 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:15.599 talked about that all last week, how the Detroit Lions 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:17.600 were not a team that turned the ball over only 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:21.640 three turnovers, no interceptions from Jared Goff over their previous 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:24.680 eight games coming into Green Bay on Sunday Night in 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:29.520 Week eighteen, and the Packers defense. While I thought, and 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.880 we'll talk about some of the problems in the second 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:35.320 half later on, I thought, for the most part, green 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.599 Bay's defense played a pretty solid game, but not getting 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:42.920 the takeaways that wasn't then enough to be able to 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.599 bail out an offense that was struggling and not getting 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:48.200 the points on the board with the opportunities that it had. 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:51.080 That's the way the game felt to me. Yeah, and dude, 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.800 we said it all week long, the tarn Erment I 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:56.240 wrote a story about it for Crying Out Load on Friday. 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:59.799 I mean, the turnover battled green Bay's penchant for forcing 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:04.040 takeaways the last month of the season versus the ability 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.200 for Detroit to protect the football. I mean, Jared Goff 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:08.960 is one thing. I mean, the run he got on 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.600 to go ten straight weeks to end the season without 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:15.520 a pick after being intercepted by JayR Alexander Detroit, that's exceptional. 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:18.240 But you and I know better than anybody about what 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.720 Jamal Williams is like. And Williams actually has a few 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:23.080 fumbles this year, but during his four seasons in Green 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.400 Bay didn't put it on the turf once. Yea once. 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:28.080 It's like five hundred and sixty career touches. I mean, 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:31.160 they're just very good at doing what they do. And 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:34.120 I just thought the consistency of it, it wasn't going 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:36.000 to be a blowout by any means. You know, there 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:39.400 were some procedural issues for Detroit. There were some execution issues, 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.120 but in a game where it's going to be twenty 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.880 to sixteen, Mike, it stands to reason that two to 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:47.120 zero and the turnovercolumn is going to make the difference. 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.200 And for Detroit it did. Yeah, and it was that 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.320 the Packers end up losing the turnover battle two to zero. 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:54.760 The fumble by Aaron Jones late in the first half 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:58.000 was significant because the Packers are up nine to three, 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:00.720 looking like they're going to get more points, and even 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.400 if the offense was going to stall out again, if 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:05.440 you kick a field goal and go up twelve to three, 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:08.600 that's still a two score lead at the half. Instead, 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:10.920 the Lions recover the fumble, they go the other way, 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:14.480 get a field goal before halftime, and suddenly, instead instead 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:17.800 of twelve to three or maybe even sixteen to three, 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:21.160 the game is nine to six. And for as much 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:24.320 as the Packers had controlled the back and forth the 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:26.280 you know, as far as moving the ball up and 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:29.000 down the field, as much as the Packers had controlled 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.240 the first half, to only be up by three points 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:35.600 didn't feel good, certainly, didn't didn't feel right, and quite frankly, 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:39.000 it almost becomes a three to zero loss in the 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.800 turnover battle. When the failed fourth and one early in 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:44.920 the game, when Green Bay's on its own thirty yard 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:48.240 line that essentially functions as a turnover, it was three points. 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:51.240 It handed the Lions three points because the failure there, 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.319 Detroit is already in scoring range. The defense gets the stop, 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.360 but Detroit gets the field goal to tie the game 0:08:56.960 --> 0:09:01.640 at three. At that point, I thought, defensively, really, through 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:03.920 the first three quarters of the game, I thought the 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:09.160 Packers played a pretty good defensive football game, only allowing 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.880 you know, one really backbreaking type of play, which was 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:16.760 the play action bootleg and throwback across the field to 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:19.880 Khalif Raymond down to the one yard line, which then 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:22.640 the Lions get their first touchdown off of that. But 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:26.440 then in the fourth quarter you saw the Lions really 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:31.240 establish the power running game with the play action off 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:35.520 of it, and you could see the rhythm that Jared 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:38.280 Goff and that offense got into where they where they 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:41.400 drove for the touchdown that gave them the lead. And 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:43.719 then also in the last three minutes three and a 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:45.680 half minutes of the game, when they killed the clock 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:48.920 and didn't give the Packers another chance, that the power 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.040 running with the play action and the rhythm they were 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.680 in there. The Packers just couldn't stop it. And you 0:09:54.720 --> 0:10:03.400 combine that, obviously with two egregious personal files by the Packers, 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:06.120 the one on Russeul Douglas on the field goal at 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:07.880 the end of the first half, and then the one 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:11.800 by Kay Walker that changed a what was going to 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.400 be a second and nine situation into first and goal 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:16.800 on what became the go ahead touchdown drive in the 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:20.040 fourth quarter. The Packers were not in a position to 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:24.400 be able to overcome those kinds of mistakes, and those 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:29.319 kinds of self inflicted wounds are what we saw many 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:32.200 times earlier in the season from the Packers, and it 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:33.800 bit them in the last game in the season and 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.360 they couldn't overcome it. For all the names we talked 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:38.640 about going into this game, certainly there were the connections 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:41.680 with Matt Lafleur and Joe Barry with Jared Goff during 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:44.160 their time in LA. We talked about aman Ross, Saint Brown, 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:48.720 We certainly talked about Jamal Williams. I don't think you 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:50.720 could have spent all week on it. You couldn't really 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.559 do justice to what the Detroit Lions offensive line is now. 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:56.720 They took so many years there, Mike, where they were 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.560 trying to build that thing up. They've done it in 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.439 Taylor Decker and Penny Seul, I thought were one of 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:05.520 the biggest reasons why they won this game when you 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:07.400 look at the fact of Packers edge rushers did not 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.880 have a quarterback hit, the pressures were minimal, and Golf 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.079 was able to operate the offense in which he wanted 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:17.720 to operate. And then I think about after the Walker penalty. 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:20.760 You know, Green Bay is in a position there that 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.480 they were kind of in last week against Minnesota, right, 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.160 but they held defensively. Yeah, different part of the game, 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:30.480 but they weren't able to breach that defensive front in 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:33.080 this game. You look at it, Seul is moving people, 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.920 Decker's moving people. Frank reag now on a bad wheel 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.959 is moving people. Detroit is set up so well to 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:43.040 win in short yardage situations and I feel like that 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:47.080 seeing it firsthand twice this year. As much credit goes 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:50.640 to Jamal Williams for his seventeen touchdowns, that offensive line 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:55.480 creating opportunities for him was fantastic. Like I've said an 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.360 insider inbox, the fact that the Lions got off to 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.640 such a slow start. The NFL got real lucky. The 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:04.200 NFC got real lucky because I think this is a 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:06.240 team that can give a lot of teams problems. Yes, 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:07.880 they might not be as good on the road as 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:10.000 they are at home, but I'll be honest with you, Mike, 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:12.240 on Sunday night, they look pretty darn good. Yeah. And 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:16.000 we had talked about we had talked about how last week, 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:17.960 how this was going to be such a different matchup 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:21.160 in the trenches from the game against Minnesota, and not 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:24.000 just because Minnesota was banged up on the offensive line. 0:12:24.040 --> 0:12:26.280 Even if Minnesota had all their preferred starters on the 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:28.400 offensive line, this was going to be a different matchup 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.560 in the trenches, and it played out that way. I 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:32.920 agree with you totally with what you're saying about the 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:35.679 guys on Detroit's offensive line. I went back and glanced 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.120 at the film the Packers goal to ghost situation early 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:41.920 on in the game. I can't remember his first name 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.120 at the moment, but his last name is Bugs number 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:48.880 ninety six, big defensive lineman. First down, first down, he 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.920 whips Josh Myers and gets and gets the tackle. On 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.480 the running play. Second down, he whips Elton Jenkins and 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:56.920 gets the tackle on the running play, sets up the 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:58.840 third down. The Packers can't score and you kick the 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:01.920 field goal. This was a different matchup in the trenches, 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:05.480 and the Packers didn't and it wasn't It wasn't just 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:08.040 one guy, you know. And the Packers made the switch 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:11.199 at right tackle, putting Zach Tom in for Josh and Iman. 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.760 But the problems upfront for the Packers were not just 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:17.560 because of Josh and Iman at right tackle. There were problems. 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:20.719 There were problems across the board in this game. And 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.400 uh and when the other team, when the other team 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:26.760 has your number in the trenches, it becomes a very 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:30.000 very difficult game to win, and the Packers just didn't 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.840 have enough to win it. I don't know what happened 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.240 with Detroit's defenses year with Aaron Glen, and obviously we 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.400 heard about the mid season shuffling they had. I haven't 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.280 watched a lot of lines football outside of preparing for 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.360 these games and watching these two games. There must have 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:47.840 just been something in the water for how Glenn attacked 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:49.320 them and how they were able to have as much 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.720 success as they did. I know they mixed their coverages. 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:53.400 I know they did a lot of different things, but 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:58.120 like green Bay had such a difficult time working sideline 0:13:58.120 --> 0:13:59.679 to sideline in this game. It's not about they just 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:01.400 didn't weren't able to run the ball. They weren't. They 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:05.240 were disrupting what green Bay typically does well with their motions, 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.640 with their move stuff, their play action. I mean, they 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.240 had some success with Christian Watson, but for the most part, 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.400 Detroit did an exceptional job of neutralizing that and taking 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:16.160 green Bay out of its rhythm. Yeah, I mean eight 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:18.679 quarters against the Lions this year, the Packers only scored 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:21.360 two touchdowns. Al Lazard had a touchdown in Detroit. He 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:24.760 had the one in the second half on Sunday Night, 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:28.320 and yardage wise, the Packers moved the ball in both 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:32.720 games against Detroit, but anytime they got within scoring range, 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.720 it became a huge struggle to do what you needed 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:38.480 to do to get the points that you needed to 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:42.040 get in those opportunities. And that's really how both of 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:45.880 those games played out, where the Packers defense didn't play 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:49.800 that poorly, but yet the offense wasn't able to take 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.760 advantage of what it had. And two losses to the Lions, 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:56.920 two very very agonizing and maddening and frustrating losses to 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.720 the Lions is why the Packers are not continuing to 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:02.560 play right now. Yeah, And it was, like you said, Mike, 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:06.320 it's in a situation where so many things had to 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:09.240 go their way, and they did, and green Bay took 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.280 the field on Sunday at home in their place, and 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:16.400 whether that was what twenty outside I mean, like you 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:18.760 thought this was setting up in aligning to be the 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:20.600 type of game green Bay needed it to be to 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.120 be able to make that trip back to the postseason. 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.800 But as we saw over the course of those sixty minutes, 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:29.640 specifically the last fifteen just wasn't meant to be. Yeah, Well, 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.200 a little bit of sponsor business here. West Serious XM 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.080 NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:38.600 minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:41.360 to seven, three sixty five And at Cousin Subs, we 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:44.320 have something for everyone like our Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.840 and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.960 your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:55.280 fifty years of better. All Right. On Monday, the day 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:58.160 after the loss, we had the final open locker room 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:01.920 session and then also heard or the final time as 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.760 far as the season goes from head coach Matt Lafleur, 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:09.000 I want to touch on some of the reactions and 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:13.160 comments from that before we sign off for today. The 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:17.160 locker room reaction there was, and I wrote about this 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:19.120 on the website if for those who want to check 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:22.360 out the piece I put together on the Packers processing 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.800 their emotions and the uncertainty. And as always at this stage, 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:29.280 there's a lot of uncertainty about the upcoming offseason, certainly 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.480 Aaron Rodgers being at the top of the list, and 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:34.040 I don't want to get into all the speculation in 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:35.640 this and that Aaron Rodgers is going to make his 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:37.720 decision at some point, he'll do it in a timely 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:39.960 fashion and the Packers will make their plans for twenty 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:44.200 twenty three moving forward from there. The sense I got 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:48.560 in the locker room west was that was that while 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:51.200 there was there was a certain amount of pride that 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:55.080 the players had in turning around a four and eight 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:58.080 season that looked like it was going nowhere and being 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:01.640 able to give themselves a chance, there was just there 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:05.240 was a ton of regret that all of that effort 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:10.000 to turn it around and generate something in a positive direction. 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.520 Ended up going for naught because they didn't get their 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:16.000 shot at the postseason, which which is what the players 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:18.280 play for. That that's the sense that I got. I 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:22.520 was in the locker room in Chicago and in Miami, 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:24.920 a very spacious locker room in Miami, when the other 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:28.320 media were not able to get to the game. I 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:30.439 was in there after they beat the Rams, and I 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.320 definitely was in there after they beat the Vikings as 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:37.560 we do our postgame media responsibilities. And as I walked 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.879 into the locker room on Sunday night, and guys, you 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:42.600 know that we were all let in a little bit 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:44.560 earlier than usual because you don't have to go over 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.520 what to tomorrow's schedule is or anything like that. Most 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:49.760 of the guys were in their lockers taking their clothes off. 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:52.080 There was Tyler Davis. This image of Tyler Davis that 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.000 I think is going to be burned on my brain 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.320 until I leave this earth, still in his pads, with 0:17:57.359 --> 0:18:00.280 his hands up, with his jersey everything hands up. You're 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.720 just staring right at the middle of the locker room, 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:06.159 something I never really quite seen before. And I was 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.199 in Seattle and fourteen. I've seen a lot, you know, 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:10.040 over the years and what these locker rooms can be like. 0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:13.080 And I think it was that I'm not going to 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:15.359 speak for Tyler. I always spoke with Jason Wilde about this, 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:19.760 but it was that realization that not necessarily that everything 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:23.120 you've done for was for not but more just the 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:26.520 idea of you. The work they put in not only 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:30.080 this season but specifically over this last month, the energy, 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:34.240 the enthusiasm, the positivity, the ability to not cast stones 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:36.040 at each other, the ability to look at each other 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.720 and say we can still do this. How it all ends. 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.679 Most seasons end this way for thirty one. Other teams, 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:45.119 you're gonna end either with not being able to make 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:47.640 the playoffs or losing when you get to said postseason. 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:49.960 But I think the Packers really thought they did have 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:53.919 something special brewing. Yeah, And it shows you when you 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:56.480 dig yourself into a hole the way that Green Bay 0:18:56.520 --> 0:19:00.479 dug themselves into a hole. There is no margin for error. 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:04.560 Matt Lafleur mentioned the margin for error probably twenty times 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.679 since the end of the game on Sunday. It is 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.200 razor thin. There are things that need to change this offseason. 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.119 It sounds from what Matt laflor said. It won't be 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:14.919 on the coaching staff side of things. It's probably more 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.199 in terms of philosophy in terms of what's emphasized. But 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:19.800 the Packers do have a lot of work to do 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:22.199 because they still have big goals and there are a 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:24.600 lot there is a lot of talent on this football team, 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:28.199 and this year, for whatever reason, everybody they had, the 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:30.639 draft picks they made, the players they signed, the players 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.399 they retained, it wasn't enough to get them back to 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.600 that plate, that postseason dance. Yeah, and I wanted to 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:39.240 touch on some of the comments from Lafleur as well, 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:42.879 because because he said it, you know, towards the end 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.919 of his thirty minute you know, Q and A with 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:48.919 the media that when you have the expectations that you 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:50.800 have in Green Bay and you have a season that 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:55.320 ends like this, it's a complete failure. And and I 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:58.840 think I think that's a that's an important message to 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:01.639 the fans, just so that you know there aren't people 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.480 out there who think, oh, so the Packers won four 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:06.800 games in a row towards the end of the regular season, 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:09.119 like they really, you know, they really feel like they 0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:11.320 have this figured out for twenty twenty three, or that 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:13.240 they're going to hang their hat on that or something 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:19.280 that is not absolutely not the message that Matt Lafleur 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:23.000 was delivering on Monday. There is a lot to study, 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:24.560 there is a lot to work on, a lot to 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:28.439 go over. He did say, as you noted, he's not 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.480 anticipating any changes to the coaching staff unless coaches get 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:37.480 opportunities promotions potentially to go elsewhere, which we saw happen 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:43.320