WEBVTT - #643 Packers Unscripted: Depth dynamics 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:10.639 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:14.080 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:17.319 by my trusted colleague Weston Hodkowitz. Were coming to you 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:21.560 here from our studios at lambeau Field West. The regular 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:24.960 season is over. The Packers finish at thirteen and four 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:28.720 a thirty seven to thirty loss to the Detroit Lions 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:33.320 on Sunday at Ford Field. Obviously a back and forth, 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.520 up and down game. Starters played most of the first half. 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:39.320 Packers used a lot of reserves, including at quarterback, and 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:42.160 all of that in the second half. The biggest news 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:44.319 out of this game, when you look at it from 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:48.559 the Packers perspective, is that left tackle David Baktieri and 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.600 center Josh Meyer's, the rookie second round pick out of 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.760 Ohio State, both returned to the lineup and returned to 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:58.600 the starting lineup, playing the bulk of the first half. 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:01.840 And this is something now to keep an eye on. Obviously, 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.680 with the Packers heading into the playoff bye week, getting 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.880 ready for the divisional round game coming up here in 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:12.080 you know, eleven or twelve days, whatever it is, Packers 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:16.080 might be getting back to a lot closer to full 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:19.160 strength on the offensive line than they've been in quite 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:23.120 some time. It was a really interesting postgame zoom pressor 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:25.880 because you were listening to David bat speaking at the 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:28.560 podium to the reporters in Detroit. I was over on 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.520 the other the side of things listening to Aaron Rodgers 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:36.640 and Rogers mentioning that he actually was sort of I 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.560 don't want to say coaxing Box to play into this, 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.360 but he kind of was. He said on Wednesday, he 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:44.800 kind of put it more in his ear of, you know, 0:01:44.800 --> 0:01:47.280 maybe to get some reps in this game, because honestly, 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:48.840 it kind of sounded like, you know, when they've they've 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:50.800 been through this process with him, you know. And Bok 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:52.560 Terry said he he thought it was probably gonna a 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:54.280 little bit earlier than he was gonna be coming back, 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.400 wanting to make sure that he's ready for the playoffs. 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.000 And it was Rogers point, and I thought it was 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.520 a really good one. Is that, you know, all the 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:04.600 talk was all about momentum, and it's all about building 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:07.760 out what they've done, and certainly there's there's truth to 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:10.399 all of that, but his number one reason to play 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:12.400 in that game was because he wanted to get snaps 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:14.600 with Josh Meyers at center, and he wanted to get 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:16.560 box Tr back out there. And I think if you 0:02:16.639 --> 0:02:18.959 check it and just look at it from that perspective, 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:22.959 Sunday was a success for David to play snaps. I 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:25.080 think Josh Meyers ended up playing thirty two just a 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:28.600 couple more, basically finished out that series for those guys 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:30.760 missing as much time as they have. And it was 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.840 important that Matt Lafleur pointed out to bak Tr has 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:36.359 eight years of reps built up. Josh Meyers even though 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:39.400 he actually has played this season, He's only played in 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:42.440 four or five NFL games at this point. For both 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:44.120 of those guys to get out there and the Packers 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:46.920 to start figuring out what their best five is for 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:50.520 the playoffs, what a benefit, What an opportunity after so 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:52.919 much time has been spent this season of them trying 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:57.480 to figure out, Okay, who are guys, who's healthy, who's available? Well, 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.000 now you can start to build your best five. Yeah, absolutely, 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.160 and I think that's uh, that's what's worth watching here 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:06.760 as um this next week and a half goes by. 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:10.400 The Packers did decide with bok Tr at left tackle, 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:14.600 and Myers at center, that Lucas Patrick, who had been 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.160 playing center, moved over to right guard. He started at 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.680 right guard in place of Royce Newman, and Matt lafleur 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:26.360 Um made a comment on Monday with regard to Lucas 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:28.800 Patrick that he is definitely one of the packers best 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.919 five offensive linemen right now. So that tells you that 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:37.280 if the coaches decide they feel comfortable and Josh Meyers 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:40.840 is good to go for the playoffs, that Patrick's going 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:43.520 to be starting at right guard, and then your next 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.280 man up at this point on the interior, if anything 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:48.680 were to happen at either of the guard spots, really 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.000 then becomes the rookie Royce Newman, who obviously has a 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:54.520 ton of games under his belt and everything at this point. 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:59.440 But if everybody feels good about box tr and Myers 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.040 and and all of this going forward, it looks like 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:05.880 the Packers are going to have really other than other 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:09.800 than John Runyon, the Packers are going to have quite 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:13.559 a bit a quite a bit of playoff experience um 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.679 in their offensive line. And that's even whether it's Dennis 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:20.240 Kelly or Billy Turner at right tackle, because Billy Turner 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.440 potentially could return to practice at some point this week 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:26.400 or next heading into that playoff. Yeah, and and that's 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.520 the important key I think for Green Bay here, and 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.280 as Matt said, it isn't just gonna be the offensive line. 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:32.919 They're gonna have to figure this out at a number 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.560 of different positions at this point in the season. Was 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:37.000 this thing moving on me or was it just me? 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:39.560 I think it's it's a little loose. It's like a 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:41.480 little loose. I have to do some next time that 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:43.840 Marv's doing the shot strictly on you. I gotta do 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:47.279 some some work on this thing. So one man banned 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:50.240 operation here. I thought the thing was following down. No, 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:52.880 but they're gonna have figure this out at cornerback. They're 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:54.800 gonna have to figure this out. If Sadarius Smith comes 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:57.800 back an outside linebacker. They've certainly had to figure this 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.040 out with their receiving corps guys have gotten back, figuring 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:04.359 out where to incorporate guys to put the best eleven 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.320 on the field. An offensive line is one of the 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:09.760 very interesting spots where there really isn't much changeover once 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:11.920 you get your five out there, those are the five 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:15.320 guys you're running with and I think with Patrick specifically, 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.080 I think one thing a lot of people forget is 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:20.760 this is the second longest tenured guy on this offensive line. 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.159 He's also like the fifth longest tenure guy in the 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.520 entire roster. Lucas Patrick has a lot of experience built 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:30.080 up and served very amicably these last ten games to 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.720 start at center to be able to stem this tide 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:34.880 to get back to Myers. You tip your cap to him, 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.320 and I think he's definitely played himself into that conversation. 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:40.480 Royce Newman is the future, just like you know John 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.440 Runyon was the future last year, but yet it was 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.039 in more of a reserve capacity. The guys who have 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:47.200 had to step up have stepped up. The one I 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:49.400 got to just give one bit of credit to though, 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.120 before we move on as Dennis Kelly, because this is 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:56.000 a guy Mike that didn't play a single offensive snap 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:59.359 for like three and a half months since the regular 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:01.800 or the pre season open against Houston, Because then you 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:03.520 forget that he kind of had an injury at the 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.839 end of camp too, when he finally had to go 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.160 in for Billy Turner in mid December. The guy didn't 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.720 play on offense. He missed a month with his own injury. 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:12.120 I think it was a hip or something like that. 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:15.320 And he has not even I don't know if anybody's 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:19.039 even talked about the left side defensive end the last 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:20.839 couple of weeks. The guy has just been a stud. 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:22.960 And again, it just makes all these questions here as 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:25.799 Billy Turner comes back, as Box Try gets back comfortable, 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:27.719 what is going to be your best five? A much 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:29.680 different scenario than what Green Bay was faced with a 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.000 year ago at this time. Yeah, absolutely, and I totally 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.279 agree with you with regard to Dennis Kelly. It's it's 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:37.960 just it's interesting looking at looking at the film. You 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:40.159 maybe I don't know if it's a noticeable on TV 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.160 or not, but but Dennis Kelly is just such a 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:46.560 big guy, like huge, and and now this last game 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:48.680 when you had Dennis Kelly at right tackle and then 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.280 you have Box Try back there at left tackle, with 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:55.039 you know, with his wide stance and the big kickstep 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.599 that he takes, you know, with regard to pass protection 0:06:57.640 --> 0:06:59.920 and everything. You see those two guys on the edges 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.280 and it's like, you know, holy cow, it that's taken 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:04.520 nothing away from Billy Turner. If Turner steps back in 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:07.560 there at at right tackle. He's got the you know, 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.240 that wide kickstep to the other side. I mean, these 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.800 guys are these guys are such are such big bodies. 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:16.080 And the Packers, the Packers are fortunate to have this 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:18.760 much experience that they can choose from here heading in, 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.280 heading into the postseason. Yeah, Box tr and Myers. Obviously 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.040 they have to get their game conditioning back. They have 0:07:24.080 --> 0:07:26.560 to be ready to play fifty sixty you know, maybe 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:30.520 even seventy snaps depending on how things go. And that's 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:33.000 really the tricky part here, because whether you're talking about 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.960 Randall Cobb coming back year, Alexander coming back, maybe za 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.880 Darius Smith coming back, those guys can be worked in 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:44.080 um to you know, to certain packages. You can substitute 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:46.280 them in, have a few plays here, and then you 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:48.840 know they You don't necessarily have to ask those guys 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:51.680 to go play sixty snaps right away on the offensive line. 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:55.200 You don't necessarily want to be shuffling things around series 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.640 to series, quarter to quarter or a half to half whatever. 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.000 It was fine to do that against the Detroit Lions 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:03.240 when the Packers didn't need to win the game, but 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:05.760 the conditioning of those guys will be will be the 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.280 key as to whether they are ready to go for 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:11.320 the playoffs. And could you tell just how much that 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:14.400 game meant to David Baktr and and just the fact 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.240 that he was able to get back out there. Evan 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:18.280 Siegel had a great shot at him during the I 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.760 think it was a national anthem or some point during warmups. 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:24.960 A very emotional, very reflective David baktr looking back on that. 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:27.800 Our team at Packers dot com or video department and 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:31.920 David put together a fantastic, kind of funny, humorous video 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:33.959 of his big comeback that I know they've been working 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:37.240 on was that was fantastic. But when it comes down 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:38.800 to it, this is a guy that has put and 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.680 dedicated so much time to his craft. Is as humorous 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:43.199 and as funny as he likes to be. It was 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.240 a very serious moment for him to be back out there, 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.520 and as Aaron Rodgers said, extremely proud of him that 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:49.200 he was able to get those snaps under his belt. 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.400 And you would hope whenever that divisional playoff game comes 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:54.680 around here in a week and a half, that bacteria 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:56.640 will be able to lean back on those experiences and 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:58.559 feel confident again in that knee and where he's at 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.600 well on Sunday. The Troit Lions were a to win 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.960 football team with nothing to lose, and as I said 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.120 during the game, as I said an insider inbox, they 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.800 absolutely played like it. They try to fake punt early 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.079 in the game. Packers were able to defend that. They 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:15.480 tried a couple of trick plays, both of which worked 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:20.319 for long touchdowns. Packers had their ups and downs offensively. 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:22.560 You would have liked to have seen when the first 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:24.720 unit was in there with Rogers. You'd like to see 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.360 them capitalize off of the fake punt and get some 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:30.720 points there. That didn't happen. Rogers still was able to 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:36.000 throw two touchdown passes to Alan Lazard before halftime. UM 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:40.120 second half, Jordan's Love up and down lead some lad 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.440 some scoring drives, got the big screen pass four a touchdown. 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:47.680 I believe the Packers scored seventeen points if I'm not 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:50.640 mistaken with with Love at quarterback, two touchdowns in a 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:53.319 field goal. But then in the two minutes situations at 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:58.599 the end of the game, UM, things didn't work out defensively. UM. 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:01.960 Defensively again, a lot of a lot of ups and downs. 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:04.400 The trick plays seemed to kind of put the Packers 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:08.400 on their heels um defensively, and uh and and Matt 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:11.520 Lafleur not happy with with the defensive performance. This is 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:13.600 not what he wanted to see out of his defense 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.000 heading into the playoffs. And yes, in the second half 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:17.920 there were a lot of substitutions and a lot of 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:20.640 guys you know, running in and out. But there were 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:22.640 some there were some moments there in the first half 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.280 where Matt Lafleur wanted to see his defense really step 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.160 up and that didn't and that didn't happen, and he 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.920 wasn't he wasn't happy about that. Yeah, the most regrettable 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.000 part of this thing, I think where the trick plays, 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:36.200 because that's where a lot of the explosives kind of 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.240 came off of for Detroit. You can understand why Matt 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:41.760 Lafleur be a little frustrated about that, because ultimately, whoever 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:43.920 ends up being their divisional round opponent, they're gonna go 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:45.559 back and look at that be like, Okay, is there 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:47.280 something that we're gonna be able to take advantage of 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:51.480 here on the guys now, I would offer into evidence 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.200 and and as an insider inbox reader put this better 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:57.200 than I ever could we talked the entire season about 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:00.160 what Devandre Campbell has meant to this defense, how whort 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.240 and he has been as a quarterback, as a guy 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:04.640 that has a hundred fifty tackles and fifteen games or 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:07.320 whatever it ended up being. When you take him out 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:10.640 of the equation, the defense changes. You'd be remiss not 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:14.360 to admit that. That being said, in the adverse situations 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:18.160 and the explosives and the adversity moments Green they didn't 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.720 respond well enough to that. That's gonna be where they 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:24.319 need to find, you know, a little bit more um consistency. 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:26.440 They came out a halftime, I actually thought they played 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:29.160 pretty well. Got a couple you know, consecutive three and 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.240 outs that they earned. Yeah, that was that was where 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:33.720 it felt like the you know, the defense, the defense 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:37.240 was stepping up and potentially changing things. But then after that, 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:40.240 you know, the Packers kind of pulled out some of 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:42.559 their pulled out some of their main guys and and 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.280 and went with went with the backups. And then and 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:47.040 then in the fourth quarter of the Lions were able 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:49.640 to put together that seventy five yard touchdown drive that 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:51.559 that gave him the lead for good and This is 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:54.160 where I agree with Aaron Rodgers, because you can create 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:56.760 whatever narrative you want out of this going into the 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:58.800 Divisional round game, and if they win a super Bowl, 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:00.440 you can say, well, they took the right up approach. 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:03.120 The way I look at it, though, I think this 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:06.440 game actually gave Green Bay everything that they needed. You know, 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:08.959 you had a good start, you got the fast start 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.720 offensively right thirteen place, seventy four yards. They've had a 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.600 hard time on that first scoring drive. They got that 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.800 taken care of. They had some drives there that were regrettable. 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:18.960 Then the offense finishes on a high note with that 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:22.400 scoring drive right before halftime. Defensively, they got kicked in 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.600 the teeth a little bit. I think that's something that 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:26.120 can kind of be sort of a wake up call 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:28.480 for them understanding what the standard is and understanding what 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.640 they have to accomplish in this first playoff game. That 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:34.280 being said, the only thing I will say about what 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.440 Detroit did is to me, it seemed like you were 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:39.680 kind of playing your little brother and Madden, and the 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:41.400 little brother was just like, all right, I'm gonna pull 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:43.440 out every trick in the book. I have nothing to lose. 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:46.640 There is no tomorrow, and you know you got you 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:48.920 got hit on a couple of things. If the Detroit 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:51.680 Lions were playing to get in the playoffs, I think 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:54.680 you see a little bit different offensive game plan for 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.079 what they tried to do. Now, I will admit and 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.240 I will submit into evidence. The fake punts are nothing 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:00.800 new for Dan camp. Well, this is the way he 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.840 runs this thing. But you do kind of drive the 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:06.640 car a little bit differently if you don't care about 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:08.200 what the car is gonna look like at the end 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:11.439 of the season. So that's the only thing I would offer, 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.600 not saying that teams in the playoffs here can't try 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:17.360 some of that trickeration on Green Bay, but the stakes 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.360 are much much higher than they were in week than 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:22.520 what Detroit had in Week eighteen. Yeah, I I totally 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.840 agree with you. There. A little shout out to our 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:28.280 sponsors West Serious x M. NFL Radio delivers hard hitting 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.160 analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:35.520 football fanatics need seven three six and at Cousin Subs, 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.320 we have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin Cheese curds, 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:41.839 mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.240 with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl cousin 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:47.280 subs we believe in. I'm gonna close on this because 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:49.920 I don't know if we're gonna transition away from the game. Uh. 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.240 I would be also remiss if I didn't talk about 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:54.880 aman Ross st. Brown really quick. The Packers just don't 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:56.600 you know, There's been some a lot of upheavil with 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.600 the head coaching positions, certainly different quarterbacks that have gone through, 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.840 and they never seems to catch a break in terms 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:04.440 of the receiver position in this division. I mean you 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:06.080 look at all the guys that you know, whether it 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.319 was Kenny Galladay for years, Megatron was a constant problem, 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.080 and then he got aman Ross and Brown coming through town. 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:14.719 I mean, that guy, he's gonna be somebody to keep 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:16.000 an eye on here in these years to come. I 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:17.680 just want to I wanted to make sure I mentioned 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:19.280 that before we got out of that game. Yeah, he 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:22.880 sure looks like he's the next go to receiver for 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.040 for the Detroit. It's gonna catch a hundred passes a 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:27.720 year once he figures everything. Holy cow. Yeah, that he's 0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:30.640 um um. He is a he is a young he's 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.320 a young talent to watch while the Detroit Lions are 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:37.560 looking to build something here with with Dan Campbell. They 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.880 certainly they certainly have the have the fire in the attitude. 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:42.880 We talked about it all season long, how the Lions 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:46.360 played hard, and yeah they lost a lot of close games, 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.880 and yeah they lost a couple of blowouts too. They 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:52.280 weren't necessarily in every game, but Dan Campbell had those 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:54.560 guys playing really hard. The Lions are looking to build 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:57.600 something well. The Bears and the Vikings, both in the 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.720 NFC North, looking to completely start over and only moving 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:04.200 on from their head coaches, but they're their gms as well. 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:07.600 Matt Lafleur is suddenly the longest tenured head coach in 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:12.200 UH in the NFC North, just as he finishes his 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.600 h his third season here. I want to take a 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:18.360 look at the playoff picture, and we'll get into more 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:21.400 specifics about some of these matchups, especially in the NFC, 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.520 on our next show later this week. But I have 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:26.400 to get your thoughts even before I go to the 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:32.000 NFC about that Raiders Chargers game on Sunday night, which, 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:38.360 as I'm sure y'all know, this setup was that the 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.480 winner was going to go to the playoffs, the loser 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:43.680 was going to be out, but because the Colts had 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:49.200 lost to the two win coming in Jaguars and essentially 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:53.360 blew their playoff spot with what should have been a 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:55.640 as easy a win to get in game as you 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:59.240 could ask for in a league like the NFL. The 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:03.480 scenario is available in which if the Raiders and Chargers 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:07.760 tied played to an overtime tie, they would both get 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.600 in and that would keep the Pittsburgh Steelers out. The 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.440 Steelers looking to steal the last spot that the that 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:17.080 the Colts had let get away and lo and behold. 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:20.880 It almost did play to an overtime tie. What what 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.440 were you thinking watching that? You know? It wasn't even 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.120 so much what I was thinking when I was watching it. 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:27.880 It was everything that happened afterwards. Like I don't know 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:29.800 if you've seen that clip, but that clip of Austin 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:33.000 Ekeler talking to I don't even know which member that 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.560 was of the last in Las Vegas Raiders where you 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:38.800 can kind of, you know, do some lip reading there 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:42.280 and then literally like the guy tells me, we were, 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:46.880 you know, basically gonna kneel, and then l A calls 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.120 the time out. You've said it a number of different 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.600 times and we even you know, looked at the NFL 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:55.680 and analyze things. These are all decisions that have to 0:16:55.680 --> 0:17:00.480 get made in the split second, in an instant, but 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:04.000 sometimes coaches overthink these things. And for Brandon Staley, who 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:07.320 by the way, is one of the brightest defensive minds 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:12.119 in the game today, has an incredible history probably in 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:15.280 terms of you looking like an indoctoration into defense, has 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:18.920 gotten the best education of maybe anyone in NFL recent 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:22.719 NFL history. And he called time out there when it 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:24.840 looks like Raiders are just going to be content to 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:26.320 run this thing, because I think no one I don't 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:27.800 think really has been talking about is the Raiders had 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:30.640 a lot to lose there too. If you make a mistake, 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:33.879 if there's an interception, if there's if there's a fumble return, 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.200 even lining up for a field goal, I mean there 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.960 was a blocked field goal that gets taken the other way. 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.399 You know there there's there's risk there. There there was 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.000 way more risk to the Raiders lining up for that 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:47.760 field goal than there was to just to just take 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:49.960 a knee, And I think there was I think there 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.359 was a sense. I think there was a sense. Now 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:54.760 the Raiders still just handed the ball off on third 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:58.159 and four. They didn't necessarily change exactly what they were 0:17:58.160 --> 0:17:59.840 going to do. I'm still not sure if they would 0:17:59.840 --> 0:18:03.160 have necessarily taken a knee before the time out was called. 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:05.480 Maybe they would have. But there was a sense that 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.520 because the time out was called with thirty eight seconds left, 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:12.320 that the Raiders had to be like, all right, we 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:14.960 we can't we can't just kneel on it because maybe 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:16.840 they want the ball back, and then they're gonna try 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:18.880 to throw pass and kick a field goal, so they're 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:21.639 gonna make us punt. Yeah, so yeah, so so it's like, 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:23.679 have you have to you have to still try to 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:28.639 play to win and uh. And then the Chargers Brandon 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:31.440 Staley says after the game, he calls the time out 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:33.879 because he wants to get his best run defense on 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.280 the field, knowing that the Raiders were going to run 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:38.280 the ball. Well, your best run defense gave up a 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:40.640 ten yard run that turned a fifty seven yard field 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.600 goal into a forty seven yard one and uh and 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:45.760 now you're going home in your season. It was an 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:51.639 absolutely unprecedented situation, never seen anything like it before. An 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:56.520 unbelievable comeback by Justin Herbert. The Chargers quarterback. They survived 0:18:56.600 --> 0:19:01.000 six fourth downs, two us in the span of multiple 0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:03.639 possessions to keep that game alive, five of them with 0:19:03.720 --> 0:19:07.919 past completions, one with the defensive penalty. Surviving six fourth downs, 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.360 any one of those would have essentially ended the game 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:13.280 and ended their season, and they stayed alive all the 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:16.600 way until the final snap when that kick went through 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:19.280 the uprights. It was it was. It was absolutely incredible. 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:21.240