Speaker 1: Hi, everybody.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 2: I am Mike Spafford, joined as always by my trusted
Speaker 2: colleague Wes Hodkotz. We're coming to you here from our
Speaker 2: studios at Lambo Field to preview Monday Night football. It
Speaker 2: will be the Green Bay Packers hosting the New Orleans
Speaker 2: Saints this coming Monday Night and West. There are a
Speaker 2: lot of ways to look at this game, and we'll
Speaker 2: talk about, obviously, the playoff implications and all that for
Speaker 2: the Packers. The Saints are coming in here at five
Speaker 2: and nine, But the last thing you want to do
Speaker 2: is look at the Saints as a five and nine
Speaker 2: football team.
Speaker 1: The easiest way to say.
Speaker 2: It is, since the coaching change, this team is three
Speaker 2: and two under interim coach Darren Rizzy, and those two
Speaker 2: losses are by seven points to the Rams and by
Speaker 2: one point to the Commanders, both of whom are right
Speaker 2: in the thick of the playoff chase in the NFC.
Speaker 2: This is a this is a Rams team that is
Speaker 2: that may not be making the playoffs this year. I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: a Saints team that may not be making the playoffs
Speaker 2: this year, but they are going to give Green Bay
Speaker 2: everything the Packers can handle.
Speaker 3: You know what, you just made me realize, Michael, I
Speaker 3: got Darren Rizzy's record wrong in this week's Game Program
Speaker 3: because he lost last week to the Washington Commanders. He's
Speaker 3: now three and two as an interim coach, not three
Speaker 3: and one, like well, ja, here's three and one Monday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and he was.
Speaker 2: He was a whisker a two point conversion play from
Speaker 2: being four and one. But sorry, the drawback to game
Speaker 2: program publication as opposed to our oddline work where.
Speaker 1: Oh wait, we can just go and fix it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's just like my old school newspaper days. You're
Speaker 3: gonna have to live with that one. Had Kowitz. No
Speaker 3: my number one thing I said, I put it an
Speaker 3: insider inbox this week. Darren Rizzy has this team playing
Speaker 3: inspired football.
Speaker 1: He does.
Speaker 4: They are banged up.
Speaker 3: They have had a lot of injuries, particularly on the
Speaker 3: offensive side of the ball, at premier positions, at key positions.
Speaker 3: But they still fight and I think in the second
Speaker 3: half of that game against Washington it was a pretty
Speaker 3: lethargic start. They make the switch over to Spencer Rattler,
Speaker 3: it just seemed like they were more competitive from that
Speaker 3: point and in again, this is a team that technically
Speaker 3: is not out of the hunt yet because of how
Speaker 3: things have sort of shuffled in the NFC South. So
Speaker 3: I imagine that's probably gonna be their rallying cry throughout
Speaker 3: this week is Hey, let's just win football games. Darren
Speaker 3: Rizzy would love to be a head coach. There are
Speaker 3: guys that are gonna want to play for him. Yeah,
Speaker 3: let's put on a show. That being said, it would
Speaker 3: be disingenuous for me to act like this is, you know,
Speaker 3: the Detroit Lions or the Minnesota Vikings. The Saints have
Speaker 3: some pretty gaping holes at a lot of different positions.
Speaker 3: They have guys that you can hurt you but you know,
Speaker 3: you take a guy like Mark Weisvelde Scantling for example,
Speaker 3: and Quez obviously did it here for a long time
Speaker 3: explosive player. He was released by Buffalo early this season,
Speaker 3: and now he finds himself as a starting receiver for
Speaker 3: the Saints. It just kind of shows you the way
Speaker 3: that this thing is sort of unfolded for them this season.
Speaker 3: Ye Alvin Kamara is still very dangerous on the ground,
Speaker 3: but there's been games when he's been a non factor.
Speaker 4: Too.
Speaker 3: He is their leading receiver so far on this season.
Speaker 3: Foster Moreau a guy that I respect at the tight
Speaker 3: end possession. Defensively, a lot of veterans on that side
Speaker 3: of things. Green Bay is still a heavy favorite going
Speaker 3: into this thing on Monday Night, and it's because of
Speaker 3: the way they perform, the consistency that they've had, and
Speaker 3: the fact that they're getting this thing back at lambeau
Speaker 3: Field winning. You're in right, that's pretty much the mantra. Yep,
Speaker 3: the Packers have to take care of business.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, it is a take care of business game
Speaker 2: for green Bay. Looking at at the Saints, since Rizzy
Speaker 2: took over as the interim coach, you mentioned most of
Speaker 2: their injuries have been on the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 2: There's been a lot of shuffling of personnel at quarterback,
Speaker 2: at running back, at wide receiver, everywhere. They've only scored.
Speaker 2: The Saints have only scored more than twenty points once
Speaker 2: since Rizzy took over, but they have not allowed more
Speaker 2: than twenty one point right in a game. Defensively, since
Speaker 2: Rizzy took over, the backbone of this Saints team right
Speaker 2: now is its defense. They have thirty seven sacks on
Speaker 2: the season. They have eleven different players who've contributed to
Speaker 2: those sack numbers. Of course, everybody's talking about the eight
Speaker 2: sacks that they got last week against Jayden Daniels and
Speaker 2: the Washington Commanders, when, as you mentioned, they made the
Speaker 2: switch at quarterback from Jake Hayner to Spencer Rattler. They
Speaker 2: were down seventeen to nothing. They came all the way back,
Speaker 2: but they end up losing twenty to nineteen because instead
Speaker 2: of playing for overtime on their final touchdown, they decided
Speaker 2: to go for two and go for the win.
Speaker 1: They didn't get it, so Washington survived it.
Speaker 2: But this, uh, this Saints defense, they they're to steal
Speaker 2: a term from Larry mccaern, they're a salty bunch. It's
Speaker 2: it's and it's yeah, you know it's a veteran like
Speaker 2: Cam Jordan's in the middle of it, of course, yes,
Speaker 2: but there are a lot of other veterans on this
Speaker 2: defense as well that have that have been around the
Speaker 2: block in the NFL, and these guys, these guys know
Speaker 2: how to play defense.
Speaker 4: I don't know how much you've dove in all this.
Speaker 3: I was completely I'm blown away by exactly what is
Speaker 3: going on with the Saints defense, because you're right, they've
Speaker 3: played really well.
Speaker 4: They got off to a terrible start to the season.
Speaker 3: Right. They're still thirtieth in total yards, they're twenty seventh
Speaker 3: in rushing yards, they're twenty eighth against the pass. They
Speaker 3: are third to last in goal to go. There are
Speaker 3: so many things statistically that tell you this is a
Speaker 3: bad defense, but the eye test is different. And when
Speaker 3: you look at you know you have a guy like
Speaker 3: is it Brian in the middle of that defense, Brian
Speaker 3: Berz Braziz.
Speaker 4: I never could pronounce it.
Speaker 1: I know it's a true.
Speaker 4: It's a truth every year. Yes, he's there.
Speaker 1: He's their sack leader, Brian Berzee.
Speaker 3: You're getting a guy at a three tech position that's
Speaker 3: getting you seven and a half sacked. Carl Granderson has
Speaker 3: been doing it at a high level forever. Chase Young has
Speaker 3: taken some ridic some criticism this year, but still has
Speaker 3: five and a half sacks or five sacks this year.
Speaker 3: Tyron Matthew, the honey Badger is still back there. To
Speaker 3: Mario Davis, I mean this is and as you mentioned already,
Speaker 3: Cam Jordan, this is a name defense. These are premier
Speaker 3: players and a lot of veterans, and some of them
Speaker 3: are getting, including Davis, a little longer in the tooth now,
Speaker 3: but they're competitive and I feel like when Rizzy took
Speaker 3: this thing over, and obviously a guy that has done it,
Speaker 3: one of the best special teams coordinators in the last decade,
Speaker 3: the last two decades in the National Football League, has
Speaker 3: been waiting for that opportunity. He finally gets it, and
Speaker 3: it just seemed like guys have responded to his leadership.
Speaker 3: So keeping points off the board has been critical for them.
Speaker 3: It's so one thing that the Saints have been okay
Speaker 3: throughout the course of this year, and certainly going up
Speaker 3: against the Packers offense that has now had was it
Speaker 3: four or five games in a row with thirty plus points,
Speaker 3: that's gonna be a big tipping point in this matchup.
Speaker 2: It just when you look at things statistically and you know,
Speaker 2: we don't cover the Saints, We're not there every day,
Speaker 2: we're not on the New Orleans beat. But it just
Speaker 2: seems like something changed with this defense when Dennis Allen
Speaker 2: was dismissed and when Darren Rizzy took over a head coach,
Speaker 2: And I don't know what it is. I can't necessarily
Speaker 2: explain it. But you look at things statistically and it's
Speaker 2: very different. I mean, in this league, as competitive as
Speaker 2: it is, any defense that can go five consecutive games
Speaker 2: and not give up more than twenty one points, that's
Speaker 2: a defense that's doing something right. But yes, when you
Speaker 2: look at the overall season, because of some absolutely horrendous
Speaker 2: games they had defensively earlier this year, their numbers overall
Speaker 2: for the season defensively are not going to scare anybody.
Speaker 2: So it's hard to figure out. It's hard to figure
Speaker 2: out in that sense, other than to say that something
Speaker 2: changed with the way this defense has been playing since
Speaker 2: since Rizzy took over.
Speaker 3: Well and man point this out too, sure so leading
Speaker 3: up to Dennis Allen being dismissed in Dennis allen obviously
Speaker 3: history of defense, there, yeah, twenty six points allowed, twenty
Speaker 3: six points allowed, fifty one points allowed in a shellacking
Speaker 3: at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, thirty three
Speaker 3: points allowed, twenty six points allowed, twenty three points allowed.
Speaker 3: Since Rizzy has taken over seventeen fourteen to twenty one eleven,
Speaker 3: and that was good enough to beat the New York Giants,
Speaker 3: and then twenty last week against Jaden Daniels in a
Speaker 3: Washington offense that has lit up a lot of squads
Speaker 3: this year, and that had jumped out to a seventeen
Speaker 3: to nothing lead, and then but Washington could not put
Speaker 3: the Saints away. Yea, only after the seventeen to nothing lead,
Speaker 3: Washington managed a field goal three points for the rest
Speaker 3: of the football Yeah. So, and then I did see
Speaker 3: a stat too. I think Alante Taylor in their slot cornerback.
Speaker 3: Someone had mentioned this on Twitter has given up a
Speaker 3: lot of production this year though, and that that's another
Speaker 3: possession that you know, you look at. You know, Jaden
Speaker 3: Reid potentially some of these options in the middle field
Speaker 3: something Packers might potentially try to take advantage of.
Speaker 2: Well, on the offensive side we've been talking about, they
Speaker 2: made the switch from Jake Hayner, who had been designated
Speaker 2: to start in place of Derek Carr, who has a
Speaker 2: is it a left hand injury, It's an injury to
Speaker 2: his non throwing hand. But hayn really really struggled against Washington.
Speaker 2: They made the switch to Rattler, who had also played
Speaker 2: some earlier in the season. He's got one hundred and
Speaker 2: twenty pass attempts now on the year, as a rookie,
Speaker 2: was a rookie fifth thrond draft pick. A couple of
Speaker 2: things stand out. One is that he's only thrown two
Speaker 2: interceptions in those one hundred and twenty pass attempts, but
Speaker 2: he's been sacked fourteen times in one hundred and twenty
Speaker 2: pass attempts. Those those numbers kind of kind of stand
Speaker 2: out to you. One very positive, one very negative there,
Speaker 2: And you mentioned Alvin Kamara. Marquis Veldiz Scantling. Kamara is
Speaker 2: just shy of fifteen hundred total yards on the season,
Speaker 2: combining the rushing and receiving, and he is the team's
Speaker 2: leading rusher. He is the team's leading receiver yardage wise.
Speaker 2: But he's also injured right now and his status seems
Speaker 2: very much up in the air, so much so that
Speaker 2: the Saints just signed former Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards Hilaire,
Speaker 2: the former first round pick, to their practice squad. If
Speaker 2: Kamara can't go and they need some more depth at
Speaker 2: running back, Edwards Hilaire possibly could be elevated Monday night.
Speaker 2: You know, there's a lot of there's a lot of
Speaker 2: moving parts there, and with regard to MVS, he's only
Speaker 2: caught fourteen passes thus far since joining the Saints, but
Speaker 2: four of them are for touchdowns and he's averaging twenty
Speaker 2: five yards a cat. Yeah, this is a guy, as
Speaker 2: we know from his time in Green Bay, the speed
Speaker 2: that he brings, He threatens defenses down the field, and
Speaker 2: he will make big plays if if you're not on
Speaker 2: your p's and q's with the coverage of this guy.
Speaker 2: So really hard to say exactly what the Saints' offense
Speaker 2: is going to look like coming out at Lambellfield.
Speaker 1: On Monday Night.
Speaker 2: The one thing we do know, at least as certain
Speaker 2: as we can be, is that it will be Spencer Rattler.
Speaker 2: And this is a young man who's trying to establish
Speaker 2: himself as a quarterback in the National Football League, as
Speaker 2: Darren Rizzy is trying to establish himself as a legitimate
Speaker 2: head coaching candidate in the NFL. So a lot of motivation,
Speaker 2: even for a team that just has five wins, right.
Speaker 3: Ratler kind of reminds me of Matt Barkley from a
Speaker 3: number of years ago, where I think going into last year,
Speaker 3: his final year at South Carolina, everybody was expecting, Hey,
Speaker 3: this is the guy that could potentially stamp himself as
Speaker 3: an early pick, first round, second round, and then what
Speaker 3: ends up happening is we get those run of those
Speaker 3: six quarterbacks going the first twelve, and then Ratler and
Speaker 3: the rest of the group is waiting for basically another
Speaker 3: forty eight hours to get picked. Yeah, he ends up
Speaker 3: falling to New Orleans, but still a lot of pedigree
Speaker 3: there and a guy that was a gamer played some
Speaker 3: big games for them over the course of the years.
Speaker 3: Over at South Carolina. The weapons around him, though, is
Speaker 3: the issue, and as you touch Kamara obviously banged up.
Speaker 3: They lost Taysom Hill already. He'll had a lot of
Speaker 3: history of injuries at BYU. I mean when people talk
Speaker 3: about him not really having a position entering the NFL,
Speaker 3: that was one piece of why he went on draft
Speaker 3: and eventually signed here as a college free agent. It
Speaker 3: was also the fact of how many times he ended
Speaker 3: up finishing the year injured and not being able to
Speaker 3: be at the end of that season with the Cougars.
Speaker 3: So he's gone. Chris Olave just had a nightmare season
Speaker 3: not able to get to this point. Still they wouldn't
Speaker 3: I don't think they still have actually ruled him out
Speaker 3: for the year. But it's tough being the position that
Speaker 3: they're in. MBS was a savvy signing for them. He
Speaker 3: obviously is a guy that, as you said, could take
Speaker 3: a top off the defense, a Packers defense that very
Speaker 3: much prides itself on being able to keep coverage over
Speaker 3: the top of their defense that they're not going to
Speaker 3: get seventy five year touchdowns thrown against them.
Speaker 4: Jamal Williams is still in the equation for the New
Speaker 4: Orleans Saints.
Speaker 3: He could potentially be a lead back if it works
Speaker 3: out that way and you don't have Kamara in this thing.
Speaker 3: Lucas Patrick is on their starting offensive line. He has
Speaker 3: missed time this year due to injuries, but now has
Speaker 3: since return. So it's just been this musical chairs on
Speaker 3: the offensive side of the ball for New Orleans. And
Speaker 3: obviously you're seeing it settle out how it's settled out
Speaker 3: to this point.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, well, let's dive right into it here.
Speaker 2: Monday night, come kickoff, it's possible the Packers will have
Speaker 2: their playoff spot clinched, although it seems somewhat unlikely just
Speaker 2: because of the fact that the Falcons, who have now
Speaker 2: made the quarterback switch from Kirk Cousins to rookie Michael
Speaker 2: Pennix Junior. But they're playing a Giants team that has
Speaker 2: lost what is it ten in a row?
Speaker 1: Yeah, in a row, something like that.
Speaker 2: So if the Falcons beat the Giants, the Packers will
Speaker 2: not have their playoff spot clinch. They will need to
Speaker 2: beat the Saints in order to clinch it. So what
Speaker 2: are the keys to victory do you feel in this
Speaker 2: game for Green Bay?
Speaker 3: Well, first and foremost, just keep putting up points. As
Speaker 3: you talked about with New Orleans, the issues are having
Speaker 3: on the offensive side of the ball. They might catch
Speaker 3: you here and there, but especially if Kamara is not
Speaker 3: involved in this thing or limited in this thing, green
Speaker 3: Bay just I don't know if you need to score
Speaker 3: thirty again, but you probably got to score twenty and
Speaker 3: feel good about and protect the football defensively. You have
Speaker 3: to get after Rattler. You just have to. Sam Howell
Speaker 3: is a veteran now, he's been in a league for
Speaker 3: a number of years. But Green Bay just did not
Speaker 3: allow him to get comfortable at all in the second half.
Speaker 2: And see he looked when Sam Howell entered that game
Speaker 2: in Seattle on Sunday night, he looked uncomfortable from the
Speaker 2: very fift snap that he took and he never got
Speaker 2: comfortable at all, and a lot of that had to
Speaker 2: do with what the Packers were doing defensively upfront.
Speaker 3: But for green Bay, I think it really it comes
Speaker 3: down to just being able to execute the offense, get
Speaker 3: off to a fast start, use the conditions to your advantage.
Speaker 3: You are you know it's going to be a Monday
Speaker 3: night green Bay, Wisconsin going up against a team that
Speaker 3: plays in a dome in the southern portion of the
Speaker 3: state of the United States. I feel like it's all
Speaker 3: there for green Bay. Honestly, it's just it comes back
Speaker 3: to you just cannot overlook these type of opponents. There
Speaker 3: was times where I said this to you, as soon
Speaker 3: as I saw what the line was for this game,
Speaker 3: you go back to I believe it was either twenty
Speaker 3: twelve or twenty sixteen, but I think it might have
Speaker 3: been twenty twelve where Jacksonville was coming to green Bay.
Speaker 3: The Packers were like sixteen point favorites, and that was
Speaker 3: a knockdown, drag out battle against I think it was
Speaker 3: Chad Henny and they couldn't get any momentum in that
Speaker 3: game and they won it, but I think it was
Speaker 3: by like four points. I'm not saying you have to
Speaker 3: go out there and just absolutely demolish this team, But
Speaker 3: if you look at it, this is going to be
Speaker 3: as well as it sets up for you down the stretch.
Speaker 3: You have this game and then you're going to Minnesota
Speaker 3: on a six day week. You have a little bit
Speaker 3: more time to get refreshed after you know, a really
Speaker 3: taxing trip out to Seattle. Just come out and do
Speaker 3: what you have to do against a team that has
Speaker 3: really struggled for most of the season.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think for me, I look at this the
Speaker 2: fact that the Saints and that pass rush they did
Speaker 2: so much damage against Washington and Jaden Daniels that got
Speaker 2: the Saints back into that game. I look at Josh
Speaker 2: Jacobs and the running game here as a really big
Speaker 2: key because and I know, I just talked about how
Speaker 2: looking at the Saints' statistics defensively for the entire season
Speaker 2: can be misleading because of how different they've been since
Speaker 2: Rizzy took over. But even as much as things have
Speaker 2: changed with Rizzy, the Saints are still allowing one hundred
Speaker 2: and thirty four rushing yards per game on the Over
Speaker 2: the course of the season, they really stepped up their
Speaker 2: run defense against Washington. They actually forced Daniels the quarterback,
Speaker 2: to be the leading rusher for Washington in that game.
Speaker 2: But Washington also doesn't have a running back like Josh
Speaker 2: Jelcips And I think as much as the Green Bay
Speaker 2: Packers offensive line, which has been playing pretty darn well
Speaker 2: of late, really for the last couple of months, I
Speaker 2: would say, with the exception of the first half against
Speaker 2: the first quarter and a quarter and a half against
Speaker 2: Detroit a couple weeks back, other than that little rough stretch,
Speaker 2: the Packers offensive line has done a really, really good job,
Speaker 2: and I think they can protect Jordan Love from this
Speaker 2: pass rush. But I think the even better pass protection
Speaker 2: for Jordan Love is going to be to get the
Speaker 2: running game going. Yeah, and to make the Saints make
Speaker 2: the Saints have to commit more personnel, commit more attention
Speaker 2: to stopping Josh Jacobs and the running backs. And the
Speaker 2: other thing I'll say as a key to victory in
Speaker 2: this game is don't relax.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Washington got up on these guys seventeen to nothing, and
Speaker 2: the next thing they knew they couldn't run the football.
Speaker 2: Jaden Daniels is getting sacked all over the place, and
Speaker 2: Spencer Rattler comes in off the bench and starts slinging
Speaker 2: the ball all over the place, and suddenly the Saints
Speaker 2: are back in the game in the middle of the
Speaker 2: fourth quarter, and Washington's hanging on for dear life to
Speaker 2: win a game that they thought they had at one
Speaker 2: at halftime, because it looked like they did have it
Speaker 2: one at halftime. But that's not how this league works,
Speaker 2: and it'll be certainly be different with the Saints going
Speaker 2: on the road. Now that game was in New Orleans,
Speaker 2: it was it was a home game for the Saints
Speaker 2: last week. But you just can't whatever is going on
Speaker 2: in this game early on. I expect the Packers to
Speaker 2: come out throw some punches early and get a lead
Speaker 2: on these guys.
Speaker 1: But don't relax.
Speaker 3: Just keep punching and before we transition over to looking
Speaker 3: at the other games, winning on special teams too, is
Speaker 3: gonna be paramounting this. Rashid Shihed is one of the
Speaker 3: in my opinion, one of the most underrated punt returners
Speaker 3: in this league.
Speaker 1: He's a dangerous play.
Speaker 3: He is absolutely dangerous. He's returning one for a touchdown
Speaker 3: again this season. I think he's averaging fifteen yards per
Speaker 3: return Obviously a big punt return is going to factor
Speaker 3: into that. But I when I saw him last year,
Speaker 3: I just I this guy is a dynamic football player.
Speaker 3: They'll use him a little bit on offense too. He
Speaker 3: gets sprinkled in there as well. Somebody have to keep
Speaker 3: an eye on.
Speaker 2: But didn't he beat the Packers for a long touchdown
Speaker 2: pass last year the game the game here at Lambeau
Speaker 2: he caught a.
Speaker 1: Long TV you're in that really rougher. I don't remember.
Speaker 1: I think it was.
Speaker 2: I think it was from Car before Car ended up
Speaker 2: leaving that game with an injury. But yeah, he's he's
Speaker 2: a fast, dude, dangerous player and he hit the Packers
Speaker 2: over the top for a touchdown last season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you gotta imagine he'll be having that back in
Speaker 3: his mind too, coming back to Lambeufield looking for another explosive.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, well take care of some sponsored business here.
Speaker 2: Oh the other thing I was going to say too,
Speaker 2: for those who don't know, And it's great that you
Speaker 2: brought up special teams. Darren Rizzy's a special teams coach.
Speaker 2: He's one of the best in the league and has
Speaker 2: been one of the best in the league for a
Speaker 2: long time, So that is certainly an area the Packers
Speaker 2: need to be on top of heading into this one.
Speaker 2: Serious XMNFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to
Speaker 2: the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need. Twenty
Speaker 2: four to seven three sixty five and I have cousin subs.
Speaker 2: We have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin cheese curds,
Speaker 2: mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired
Speaker 2: with your favorite sub or sub and a bowl cousin
Speaker 2: subs fifty plus years better. All right, Week sixteen is
Speaker 2: here in the NFL. As we said, as far as
Speaker 2: playoff implications go, if the Packers win, they lock up
Speaker 2: a playoff spot in the NFC. We have reached the
Speaker 2: time in the year of Saturday football.
Speaker 1: In the NFL.
Speaker 4: We've almost reached the time of the year of Wednesday football.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's next week. Next week is Wednesday football on
Speaker 2: Christmas Day. The four teams that are playing on Christmas
Speaker 2: Day are the four teams that are playing on Saturday.
Speaker 2: The NFL has set up this schedule so that nobody
Speaker 2: would have a Sunday to Wednesday turnaround. They just would
Speaker 2: have they go only Sunday to Saturday to Wednesday, so
Speaker 2: they're playing three games in eleven days. I just want
Speaker 2: to get your thoughts quickly on the Saturday games because
Speaker 2: both of them are have some pretty interesting implications in
Speaker 2: the AFC. Houston's at Kansas City and Pittsburgh is at
Speaker 2: Baltimore in the AFC North, should be some couple of
Speaker 2: pretty good contests.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and Houston is in this like somebody had to
Speaker 3: win the AFC South, and hell, it's gonna be us,
Speaker 3: you know, it's just the way it's sort of been.
Speaker 3: And and certainly Kansas City some questions here.
Speaker 4: This is.
Speaker 3: I was talking to my friend Scott Vincy about this
Speaker 3: on my way in, and I think, by and large,
Speaker 3: Patrick Mahomes is going to be okay after everything happened
Speaker 3: last week. So I was like, but this is still
Speaker 3: a really tough turn for a guy that got banged up. Yeah,
Speaker 3: you know a few days earlier where you're gonna play
Speaker 3: on Saturday, then you're gonna come back in your face
Speaker 3: the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday on Thanksgi or on Thanksgiving
Speaker 3: on Christmas.
Speaker 4: My goodness, you just.
Speaker 1: Don't want the calendar to keep what we're.
Speaker 3: No, I'm ready, I just want more Turkey, but you
Speaker 3: know Pittsburgh and Baltimore a lot of implications in that
Speaker 3: as well. This lined up really well in the NFL.
Speaker 3: Obviously knew what they were doing. You have a guy
Speaker 3: like Mike Tomlin who's never had a losing season before.
Speaker 3: You have the reigning MVP in Lamar Jackson, Kansas City
Speaker 3: is always going to be a draw, and people thought,
Speaker 3: I mean in some regards tech the Texas have been
Speaker 3: kind of a disappointment this year, as weird as it
Speaker 3: sounds to say about a nine win team with three
Speaker 3: to go, but they had really bend the world beater
Speaker 3: I think everybody expected after last year with CJ.
Speaker 1: Stroud agree.
Speaker 3: So they set it up perfectly in how this aligns.
Speaker 3: But the thing that's funny about it is, including the
Speaker 3: Denver Los Angeles Chargers game on Thursday, there actually aren't
Speaker 3: a lot of great Sunday games because of all this.
Speaker 3: The way it works out and into some regard, I
Speaker 3: guess you could say Monday's game just based on what
Speaker 3: the Saints record is. So but yeah, it'll be uh,
Speaker 3: it'll be a lot of fun. And yeah, two weeks here,
Speaker 3: we're gonna have a lot of football on a lot
Speaker 3: of days I wanted.
Speaker 1: To ask you too.
Speaker 2: You brought up Denver against the LA Chargers on Thursday Night.
Speaker 2: You know how I always like to talk about, Okay,
Speaker 2: how is a team gonna respond to what just happened?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 2: How do how do the Chargers respond on Thursday night
Speaker 2: football to that absolute debacle of a performance against the
Speaker 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That happens? That happened. Now the Chargers,
Speaker 2: you know, they're still in pretty good shape obviously to
Speaker 2: get a playoff spot in the AFC, But man, that
Speaker 2: was that was an ugly loss to Tampa Bay. And
Speaker 2: now they have to turn around on a short week
Speaker 2: and play division rival who is sitting ahead of them,
Speaker 2: and with the rookie quarterback in bo Nicks got Denver
Speaker 2: and Sean Payton headed to the postseason.
Speaker 4: So here's the thing about the Chargers.
Speaker 3: Yes, you got the Jim Harbaugh effect right now, you
Speaker 3: got that rub but this is a team that has
Speaker 3: faltered down the stretch in the Justin Herbert era. Yes,
Speaker 3: and yeah, as much as they want to finally get
Speaker 3: back to the playoffs, if you end up in that
Speaker 3: seven seed, congratulations, you're facing Kansas City or Buffalo probably
Speaker 3: Buffalo right now, not to say you can't beat them
Speaker 3: any given Sunday, Saturday, whatever, Wednesday, Wednesday, Monday. I think
Speaker 3: there's a Monday playoff game this year, Yeah, there is,
Speaker 3: But you still want to set yourself up better for this.
Speaker 3: You're one game behind Denver, You're one game behind Baltimore.
Speaker 3: You could potentially, I think you much rather face Houston
Speaker 3: or Pittsburgh, depending on how that shuffles out.
Speaker 4: So a lot on the line there.
Speaker 3: I just love the way the AFC lines up though,
Speaker 3: where it's the Chargers are at eight and six. Green
Speaker 3: Bay needs to win to get to eleven wins on
Speaker 3: Monday to clinch a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Chargers are
Speaker 3: two games ahead with eight wins in the AFC for
Speaker 3: the seventh seed against ahead of three teams who are
Speaker 3: all six and eight, who are the only ones that
Speaker 3: are still eligible for the postseason in the AFC.
Speaker 2: And I did see, I saw, and I don't have
Speaker 2: it all in front of me, but there is a
Speaker 2: scenario of games. I believe it's like there's four results
Speaker 2: that if they go a certain way this week, that
Speaker 2: with two games left to go in the regular season,
Speaker 2: we will know the seven AFC playoff teams. It's possible
Speaker 2: that after this week now the seeding won't be all
Speaker 2: sorted out. But it's possible after this week that the
Speaker 2: seven teams will be mathematically determined and everybody else in
Speaker 2: the AFC will be eliminated with two weeks left to go,
Speaker 2: which would be pretty It would be unprecedented, certainly since
Speaker 2: the playoffs expanded to seven teams, but o three years ago,
Speaker 2: and it's unprecedented in quite a while now.
Speaker 1: Granted, it may not happen.
Speaker 2: There may still be some teams alive in the AFC
Speaker 2: after this week, but it's possible that it'll all be decided.
Speaker 3: So it's almost like maybe you didn't need seventeen regular
Speaker 3: season games to decide.
Speaker 2: These almost maybe, g do you think?
Speaker 3: But hey, before we go and talk about anything else,
Speaker 3: let's just talk about how great Aaron Rodgers is and
Speaker 3: now the Green Bay Packers, you know, old QB twelve
Speaker 3: slash one former one. We can take care of business
Speaker 3: this Sunday. I would behoove his old team too, right.
Speaker 1: You hold you're holding your breath on that one.
Speaker 4: No, not at all.
Speaker 3: I mean I think it's I think it's possible the
Speaker 3: Jets could beat the Rams. I mean, the Rams look
Speaker 3: very human in that game against the forty nine.
Speaker 2: That's the interesting thing because I mentioned last week, Okay,
Speaker 2: how does how does the Ram how does the Rams
Speaker 2: defense respond to, you know, getting lit up by Josh Allen. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and they survived that game forty four to forty two.
Speaker 2: And everybody's talking about how dangerous the Rams are. Yep,
Speaker 2: all these points they're putting up, and I was sort
Speaker 2: of looking at it from the other side, well, how
Speaker 2: is there? Where are they at on defense? Then they
Speaker 2: go out on Thursday night and their defense looks great.
Speaker 2: They completely befuddle brock Purty for four quarters, but their
Speaker 2: offense can't do anything. They don't even get a touchdown.
Speaker 2: But they win a Thursday night game twelve to six
Speaker 2: or twelve to nine.
Speaker 4: Or whatever the heck twelve to six.
Speaker 2: Twelve to six was the final score there.
Speaker 3: But only game this year with no touchdowns, that's right. Meanwhile,
Speaker 3: the Jets that second half Aaron Rodgers DeVante Adams a
Speaker 3: had no catches in the first half and then finished
Speaker 3: with what it was, nine for one ninety eight and
Speaker 3: a couple touch and a couple of touchdowns and then
Speaker 3: obviously to I want you to touch on this quick
Speaker 3: before we go.
Speaker 4: Yeh Minnesota Seattle. Yeah, because that was the next one
Speaker 4: I was going to you touched.
Speaker 3: On it and path to the playoffs. I thought this
Speaker 3: was really an interesting outlook on how this game should go.
Speaker 3: What you're thinking about it?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's the thing, is the number one
Speaker 2: question I've gotten this week.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: One.
Speaker 2: I mean, one of the scenarios for the Packers to
Speaker 2: clinch their playoff spot without getting their eleventh win would
Speaker 2: be for the Falcons to lose and for either the
Speaker 2: Rams or the Seahawks to lose, right, correct, So, but
Speaker 2: I think it still really behooves Packers fans more to
Speaker 2: cheer for Seattle to beat Minnesota. I have to believe
Speaker 2: the Packers are going to get at least get their
Speaker 2: eleventh win, if not their twelfth, by the end of
Speaker 2: the regular season, and maybe thirteen. So I still think
Speaker 2: Packers fans are better off rooting for Seattle to rooting
Speaker 2: for Seattle to beat Minnesota, and which sort of improves
Speaker 2: Green Bay's chances then of maybe being able to overtake
Speaker 2: the Vikings in the wild card seating in the NFC
Speaker 2: and We'll have to see, have to see how that
Speaker 2: sorts itself out.
Speaker 1: But a big game.
Speaker 2: In terms of the bounce back idea for Seattle after
Speaker 2: what the Packers did to them in their home stadium.
Speaker 2: Now Minnesota's going out out there, they get another home
Speaker 2: game against another playoff contender. It sounds like Gino Smith
Speaker 2: is going to be okay, but now sharbon A's hurt. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but now they're number one, well number two, but who
Speaker 2: had been there become their number one with Kenneth Walker out,
Speaker 2: So where Seattle is going to be offensively still still
Speaker 2: a little bit up in the air. And then uh,
Speaker 2: a key game as far as the NFC East goes. Uh.
Speaker 2: Philadelphia is at Washington. Philadelphia won the first meeting between
Speaker 2: these two teams, that was on a Thursday night earlier
Speaker 2: this season. Philadelphia, I believe, just needs to win this
Speaker 2: game and they clinched the division champions Trek, they win
Speaker 2: and they clinched the division. Washington, it's not even really
Speaker 2: so much necessarily about trying to keep the division title
Speaker 2: hopes alive, but about playoff positioning and trying to for Washington,
Speaker 2: trying to hold off whoever might be the runner up
Speaker 2: in the NFC West in terms of in terms of
Speaker 2: a wild card spot there. So that's a that's a
Speaker 2: really big game for Washington at Hole against the division leader.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Huge, And certainly it's the type of matchup where if
Speaker 3: you can win it, yeah you're out of that. You're
Speaker 3: still probably out of the division race. But I mean
Speaker 3: that they've been looking for a signature win. We hear
Speaker 3: this all the time about the Packers, will the winning records,
Speaker 3: beating teams with winning records. This would be a huge
Speaker 3: feather in Jaden Daniel's cap if he could solve that defense.
Speaker 3: No doubt what Vic Fangio has done this year and
Speaker 3: the swagger that has been reinstilled in Philly. I mean, dude,
Speaker 3: how rough was the end of last season And now
Speaker 3: suddenly you got Jalen Hurts being able to actually answer
Speaker 3: some of his critics with the passing game. You got
Speaker 3: their defense looking I mean, whether it's Cooper Cup or
Speaker 3: Quinnon Mitchell a Cooper Cup, oh my god, Cooper Dijon.
Speaker 3: I got to stop talking and do something else. I
Speaker 3: like to get some sleep, but I think that's the
Speaker 3: other thing too out. But but the defense looks good.
Speaker 3: I mean they are strong, and that's gonna be a
Speaker 3: real difficult Pu's.
Speaker 2: Got that MVP candidate in the backfield there too, And
Speaker 2: says John Barkley that you know, it's it's funny because that,
Speaker 2: honestly might be the really the difference in how Philadelphia
Speaker 2: has truly bounced back from that disastrous end to last
Speaker 2: season is Saquon Barkley is the anchor of that whole
Speaker 2: offense in the backfield.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: He was the new guy they brought in, and he
Speaker 2: has lived up to everything they needed him to.
Speaker 1: Be and more.
Speaker 2: Quite frankly, he's a He is a star and a
Speaker 2: legitimate MVP candidate. Along with a guy like Josh Allen.
Speaker 3: There are really good running backs in the league that
Speaker 3: are homegrown. It is just wild how many guys have
Speaker 3: really balled out after switching teams this offseason. Yeah, like
Speaker 3: even Aaron Jones going to Minnesota. Aaron's on the precipice
Speaker 3: here of getting another thousand yard season, I think his
Speaker 3: four thousand yard season.
Speaker 2: And we've seen the guy here, Josh Jacobs coming over
Speaker 2: from the Raiders and racking up another thousand yard season.
Speaker 3: Aaron Jones has played great this year and nobody even
Speaker 3: talks about it because how well Jacobs has performed right
Speaker 3: and rightfully. So I don't I love Aaron. I think
Speaker 3: he's doing a great job at Minnesota. The way that
Speaker 3: the offense is structured this year, it's a better fit
Speaker 3: for Josh Shacops and what he's been able to do
Speaker 3: the goal and he has what five or six one
Speaker 3: yard touchdowns now this season on the goal line. Alis,
Speaker 3: Do you want to have any quick thoughts on Jacksonville,
Speaker 3: Vegas before we head out? No?
Speaker 1: Do you know, Okay, I just want to have it
Speaker 1: out there.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I figured, all right, well, Marlos.
Speaker 3: Things that the Raiders are legitimately going to be like
Speaker 3: doing what I mean, obviously everybody's competing you want to win,
Speaker 3: but they would probably really like to have.
Speaker 4: Shador Sanders instead.
Speaker 2: I would imagine, yeah, that there's gonna be There's gonna
Speaker 2: be a fair amount of attention this weekend. As you mentioned,
Speaker 2: not a whole lot of great Sunday games because of.
Speaker 1: The way the schedule fell.
Speaker 2: There's going to be a lot of attention on NFL
Speaker 2: Twitter and elsewhere on Sunday the race for the number
Speaker 2: one draft pick.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and how and.
Speaker 2: Who's who's going to be winning and losing as we
Speaker 2: head into the final couple weeks of the regular season,
Speaker 2: but mark your calendar's fall, folks. The twenty twenty five
Speaker 2: NFL Draft, speaking of the race for the number one pick,
Speaker 2: is coming to Green Bay. Be among the thousands of
Speaker 2: football fans cheering on their team's picks by joining us
Speaker 2: April twenty four through April twenty six of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: Visit green Bay dot com slash Draft twenty five for
Speaker 2: more information, and with that, we'll call it a rap
Speaker 2: on this edition of Packers Unscripted. I'm sure to follow
Speaker 2: all of our coverage of the team and everything from
Speaker 2: Monday night's game against the Saints at Lambeufield. We'll have
Speaker 2: it for you on Packers dot com. For Wes, I'm Mike.
Speaker 2: Thank you for tuning in, everybody. We will see you
Speaker 2: next time.