WEBVTT - #456 Packers Unscripted: Top priorities 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:20.840 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:24.320 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my trusted colleague 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.480 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:30.200 at lambeau Field West. It's Friday, our final show of 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:34.000 the week leading up to Packers Raiders Sunday noon Central 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.720 time kickoff at lambeau Field. So it's Keys to Victory Day. 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.360 Packers only play the Raiders once every four years. These 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:45.920 uncommon opponents, sometimes it's hard to really gauge what exactly 0:00:45.960 --> 0:00:48.000 it's going to take. And certainly with the injuries that 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.720 are going on with the Packers this week, and some 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:53.159 for the Raiders too for that matter, but certainly with 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:56.520 Green Bay on the offensive side of the ball, where 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:58.880 do you start with this one? As far as what 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:01.560 will be the key to coming out victorious here, it's 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.480 really simple to me, Mike. This might be my simplest 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.399 one of the entire season. I just feel like, if 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:08.840 Aaron Rodgers takes control of this game, the Packers win. 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:11.120 I honestly feel like it's that I don't want to 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.880 say easy. Nothing's ever easy in this league, but I 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:17.360 think there's a very direct line between where the Packers 0:01:17.400 --> 0:01:19.440 stand today and where they want to get to by 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.480 Sunday night, and it comes down to how Aaron Rodgers 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.840 manages this offense and whatever weapons he's going to have 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.240 around him. At the time with which we're taping this, 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:30.240 we don't have the injury report yet. We're not exactly 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:31.720 sure what the Packers are going to decide to do 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:34.480 with those top three receivers. But even if one or 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:36.440 two of them go, you imagine they're going to be 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.160 dealing with some significant, not significant, but some hindrances. So 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:43.600 when you look at Alan Lazard and Jake Kumero, Darius Shephard, 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:46.520 Ryan Grant coming in the building on Wednesday, those could 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:49.200 very easily be your top four wide receivers in this matchup, 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:51.320 So making sure you get the most out of them, 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.320 but also utilizing your running backs, your tight ends. That's 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:56.680 what I think Aaron Rodgers has been such a brilliant 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.120 maestro the last two weeks, is making all of these 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:02.840 pieces fit together. There this Oakland Raiders defense. I don't 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.000 want to diminish him. We certainly talked about him in 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:07.760 our preview. They just don't do a lot of things 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:09.600 that jump off the page. The way that they're winning 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:13.320 right now is controlling the game, game management situations, time 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:15.240 of the clock, and a lot of that relies on 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.120 the offense. So I think if the Packers take care 0:02:17.120 --> 0:02:20.320 of business with Aaron Rodgers against Oakland's defense, they come 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:23.280 out victorious. Well, a couple of statistics for that Oakland 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:28.320 defense that stand out are where the Raiders rank in 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.119 third down defense and in red zone defense, and it's 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:33.520 not good. They're in the bottom quarter of the league. 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.120 I'm not sure of the exact rankings, but they're in 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.440 the bottom quarter of the league in both of those categories. 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:41.640 And those are two categories frankly where the Packers need 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.320 to get well on offense. They need to start converting 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.160 more third downs and they need to be more efficient 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.920 in the red zone. Obviously, the one red zone possession 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:53.160 that they didn't get a touchdown, they were only trying 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:55.280 to kick a field goal last week. So I don't 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:59.440 want to lay everything on the statistics, but the Packers 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:02.120 do need to to perform better on third down and 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:04.480 in the red zone generally speaking, and this might be 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:06.880 a game where you can start to turn that around. Yeah, 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:08.360 and I think you've started to seeing it a little 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:10.240 bit too. I Mean, there was a real big narrative 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:12.840 the first two weeks of this season where Packers just 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.120 really weren't able to finish drives off, they were having 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:17.200 problems scoring points in the red zone. In the last 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:18.960 few weeks, I think you've really seen them get into 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:21.480 their rhythm now. A big part of that, I think 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.720 is really the production of both Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams. 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:27.320 I think you've seen them sort of you know, sees 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.799 the game in the moments and you know, be able. 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:31.919 And that's a credit to the offensive line to making 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.280 things work. But when the ball has been in their 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:37.160 hands inside the twenty, they've more often than not found 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.320 a way to score the football. And this is a 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:42.240 game that while Oakland has a top ten run defense 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.360 right now statistically, I still think there's gonna be opportunities 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:47.880 for both of those two guys to get going and then, 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:49.480 to be quite honest with you, getting back to the 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.160 receiver's really quick. You know, you get one big play 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:54.720 here from Alan Lazard, you maybe make another one here 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:58.080 there with another player. You know, Mercedes Lewis came out 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:00.520 of relatively nowhere last week to have two twenty five 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.400 yard catches. In those two catches alone had more receiving 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.240 yards than he had throughout the entire two thousand eighteen seasons. 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:09.920 So when guys respond in that way and Aaron Rodgers 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:11.840 finds them and plays in rhythm, which I thought he 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.560 did really well in that last game, Uh, good things 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:16.760 are going to happen for this offense. But yeah, I 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:18.680 think Jamal Williams and Aaron Jones has to be one 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:20.960 of the big starting points for everything. Well, my question 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.360 to you with regards to those two running backs. We've 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:27.839 seen Matt Lafleur with the tendency to ride the hot 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.200 hand the last couple of weeks, and now obviously two 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:32.839 weeks ago, Jamal Williams wasn't on the field, but the 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.479 Packers did have Trey Carson was made for them. Yeah, 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.200 but they did have Tray Carson backing up Aaron Jones. 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.599 But once Aaron Jones got going, it was his show 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:44.280 in Dallas. You fast forward a week later, Jones has 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:46.640 a fumble early in the game. He drops a touchdown 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:49.320 pass down the seam. Jamal Williams seems to be the 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.000 more reliable productive guy with some of those four and 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.360 five yard runs on first down, and he's the guy 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:56.400 who ends up with over a hundred yards and I 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.240 believe over a hundred and thirty yards from scrimmage when 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.720 you factor in the receiving yards. What's your sent Do 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:04.040 you have any sense going into this game of maybe 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.800 which is the guy or do you just have to 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.000 see what happens? A great question because coming off of 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:12.719 the Philadelphia game, you know, it looked like, okay, well, 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:14.800 you know it's gonna be the you know Jamal or 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.320 I should say Aaron Jones, and then Aaron Jones goes 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:21.360 back to his home state, looks really good. And now 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.359 here we are with Jamal Williams stepping back to the forefront. 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:26.960 It's a really good position for the Packers to be 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:28.640 in because I think a lot of times what happens 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:30.720 with running back by committees or whatever you want to 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.400 call those type of things, it's because you really don't 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:35.360 have a guy who grabs the brass ring. I feel 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.080 like both of these guys have done it when they've 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:39.920 been given the opportunity. Now, I'm not going to try 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:41.600 to get in the XS and o's and tell you, 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:43.280 you know, I'm sure what Matt Laflour and his coaches 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:45.400 are trying to figure out which is okay, which one 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.279 of these thunder and lightning matches up better with what 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:50.880 Oakland does. Sometimes you just got to get into a 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.240 game situation, a game flow to figure that out. But 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:55.360 one thing I do want to say, though, to Jamal 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.600 Williams credit is he is incredibly consistent. And I think 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:00.520 some people in the past few season has took that 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:04.240 as a you know, a detriment or a slight. It's 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.680 really not. I mean, he's gone some odd touches now 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.960 without a fumble in his NFL career. He catches the ball, 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:14.600 he's sturdy and pass protection, he runs through the tackles, 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:18.000 and I think he finally showed his downfield explosiveness last week. 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:20.280 Jamal Williams is a really good running back man. I mean, 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:22.560 in a lot of cases where teams who don't have 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.080 an Aaron Jones on the roster, they'd be running Jamal 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:28.200 Williams every single play. I do honestly believe, and I 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:29.840 don't know how these guys feel about it, but you 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.040 know they have another year on their contracts when they 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:33.479 get to the end of these things. Neither one of 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:35.520 these guys are gonna be broken down and worn down 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:38.880 and have a thousand touches on their bodies for four seasons. 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:41.240 There's they This is I think, going to really make 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:44.080 both of their careers last a heck of a lot longer. 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:47.880 Kind of getting away from the original point, but I 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:49.800 guess you just gotta get in. You gotta wait and see, 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:51.520 and it's got to see how things developed. The one 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:53.680 thing I will say that is kind of interesting about 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:57.320 this particular combination. They do seem to get into more 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:00.640 rhythm when one is featured. This, doesn't you know they 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.359 when they do the tend carries ten carries, fifteen touches, 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:06.120 fifteen touches. It never really seems like both of them, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:08.760 you know, have a big game or have big explosive play. 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.320 So I don't know how the Packers consider that. I 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.280 don't know how you weigh it, but that's certainly something 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:16.440 they have to, you know, keeping take into account because 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:18.440 both of these guys, when they get twenty five touches 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:20.800 in a game, can really make, you know, defense hurt. Yeah, 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:23.000 And in the area of ball security, it's worth pointing 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.840 out that fumbled by Aaron Jones last week was only 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:29.240 the second symbol of his career, So even though Jamal 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:31.440 Williams obviously has had none, it's not like this has 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:33.760 been a problem for Aaron Jones. He had the one 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.440 against New England last year on Sunday Night football, and 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:39.560 then the second one of his career was last Monday Night, 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.160 and that broke a really long streak for him too. 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:44.160 I think that dated back to even you tep of 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:47.880 how many consecutive touches he had without coughing up the football. 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:50.200 So certainly Aaron Jones gonna look to turn things around, 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.440 but even you go back and look at the performances 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:54.160 they had before that, he was having a hard time 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:56.680 getting traction and then he just kind of broke out. 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:58.480 I mean, that's just the way this game is. It's 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:01.640 it's humbling and you just gotta stick with it. Well, 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.680 on the defensive side of the ball for the Packers, 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:07.080 a couple of statistics kind of catch my eye with 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:10.560 regards to the Oakland Raiders offense, and specifically I'm talking 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:14.880 about quarterback Derek Carr in that through five games, he's 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:18.840 thrown just three interceptions, not an overly large total, and 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:22.880 he's only been sacked eight times This Packers defense obviously 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:27.600 has thrived off of Saxon turnovers. That's been the name 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:29.920 of the game when this defense is at its best, 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:31.800 So it will be interesting to see just what the 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:36.400 Packers can generate against this particular quarterback. What I will 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:40.079 say though, is that the last time this Packers defense 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:43.160 did not have a takeaway, which was against the Philadelphia Eagles, 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.319 they came back the following week with three interceptions of 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:49.319 Dak Prescott and very easily could have had five interceptions 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:52.760 of Dak Prescott in that game. Zero takeaways against the 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.520 Detroit Lions on Monday night, So we'll see how the 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:58.560 unit responds. It's funny, Mike, because the takeaway battle is 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:00.880 certainly one that you always have to take into account, 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:03.280 and I think we saw up until last week how 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:05.760 much it really does dictate who comes out victorious in 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.840 a particular matchup. The one thing that really strikes me 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:10.800 though about the Oakland Raiders. I said this to John 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:14.920 Coon when we're in the locker room on Thursday. They 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:19.400 are very high percentage with how they attack offensively. You 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:22.000 mentioned Derek her doesn't have a lot of interceptions here. 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:24.520 They just don't take a lot of chances they are 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.920 in some ways. I think it's their simplicity is their brilliance. Uh, 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:31.839 they're not going to try to just throw up fifty 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:34.520 yard passes every single time. This isn't your old Al 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:37.960 Davis Raiders with just speedsters on the outside and send 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.440 them down and throw it along by all means, get 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:42.439 that ball to Darius Heyward Bay we're getting to the 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:44.480 end zone. Right. No, it's not like that. I mean, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.920 they the reason, you know, Josh Jacobs I think made 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:49.440 so much sense for them is because he is I mean, 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:52.000 they have road graders up front, and he's a guy 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:53.959 that can dictate the temple of a football game, and 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:56.760 they can move the chains. Waller, They're they're tight end 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:58.920 that's blossom the last few you know, this last few 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:02.000 weeks and then adition to him getting that extension, he's 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.079 just a guy that moves the chains continuously. He's only 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.920 averaging nine points six yards you know per catch. He 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.240 doesn't have a touchdown yet. So, like it's just I 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:13.000 think the way that they're structured is they want to 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:14.800 be able to win the time of possession. You look 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:17.480 at how they did it against Chicago thirty four or 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.080 thirty five minutes time possession. When they beat the Colts 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:22.040 thirty three and a half minutes a time of possession, 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:25.160 they were able to just take the ball out of 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:29.200 the other quarterbacks hands and find ways to win. So, yeah, 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:31.000 takeaways is going to be huge in this game. The 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:33.199 Packers turning that around. When they get an opportunity to 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.280 make a play on a Derek Carr ball, take advantage 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:37.360 of it. If you can punch a ball out, great, 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:39.960 But ultimately, I think it's really gonna come down to 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.520 who makes the most of however many possessions they are, 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.960 because if you're the Oakland Raiders, they're trying to have 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.080 his few as possible in this game. Yeah, well, when 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:49.720 you talk about the time of possession, obviously for the Raiders, 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:51.800 a lot of that is going to hinge on their 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:57.319 rookie running back Josh Jacobs from Alabama. The Packers seem 0:10:57.440 --> 0:10:59.679 to get their run defense back on track against the 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.120 Detroit lines after a few questionable weeks as far as 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:05.360 the way things were going, do you have a number 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.160 in mind at all as far as what the Packers 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:10.680 need to hold Jacobs two, so to speak, or some 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.600 kind of a range where you'd feel comfortable with how 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.679 this defense is performing in this matchup. Yeah, because the 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:19.400 thing is he's gonna get touches. That that's you know, 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:21.840 he kind of like the Zeke Elliott problem a few 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:25.319 weeks ago. If he gets touches, you know, he's gonna 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:27.960 get yards. I just want to see it be manageable. 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:30.079 I want to see be at a three point four 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.800 or three point yards per carry clip where he's not 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:35.199 burning you for a big number down field, because I 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:37.280 think you know, if you follow them close enough of 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:40.120 this year, Mike, I mean, Okay, so they lost to 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:43.320 Kansas City. He had twelve carries for yards. The one 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:46.400 team that kind of neutralized him was Minnesota ten carries 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:48.880 for forty four yards. And if you as you we 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:51.680 both already talked about Oakland played themselves out of that 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:54.000 game in US Bank Stadium, so well, just that he 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.360 only had ten carries his game and he's your feature 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:58.440 running back. But now these last couple of weeks, you 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.359 look at this twenty six for one, twenty three, seventeen 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.439 for seventy nine, he has a fifty one yard carry. 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:06.880 So it's not like he's not an explosive type player, 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:08.920 but a lot of his damage is done with a 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:11.960 high of sixteen with an eye high of eighteen, just 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:14.520 because of the way he carries people in the way 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:17.560 that those interior alignment blocked. Now, again getting back to 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:19.360 the injuryports situation, we don't know how this is going 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.640 to pan out here with Trent Brown and who's gonna 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:25.320 all be available for them at tackle, But inside that 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:27.199 is going to be an area where John Gruden and 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:28.840 this offense is going to look to go to work. 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:31.640 So if you're the defensive front, they had a tremendous 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.400 performance last week against Detroit. I think they got some 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:37.520 confidence back, got some of that that swagger and mojo 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.840 they were looking to get. Okay, now you're gonna see 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:41.840 a type of athlete here in Jacobs that's really going 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:44.160 to test that. And a big offensive line. This is 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:49.160 a different This is a different style size of offensive 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:53.000 line than what the Packers faced against Detroit. The Raiders 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:56.400 have built themselves big upfront, as you say, to control 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:59.000 time of possession, to try to pound the ball when 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:03.680 John Gruden when he wants to run the ball or 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:05.880 when he feels his team needs to run the ball, 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:08.040 he wants to be able to execute it that way. 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:10.560 Just line up and say Okay, here we come. And 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:12.760 that's what they built this offensive line to do. This 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:14.720 is where they kind of get a bad rap because 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:16.880 when you trade away Khalil Mack and you trade away 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:19.360 at Marie Cooper and you trade away these superstar type 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.920 players and people that you know are casual fans but 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:23.839 have Cooper on their fantasy football team are going to 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:27.440 raise an eyebrow about. Nobody really talked about the fact 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.840 that they invested heavily into the offensive line, to the 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.560 point that that is honestly one of their strongest positional 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.920 groups on this entire roster. Because so frequently Mike people 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:38.640 think of the quarterback, they think of the running back, 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:42.480 they don't really think about who's playing right guard. Raiders 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:45.280 didn't go that direction. I mean, they got Richie Incognito 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.400 out of retirement. They signed Rodney Hudson last year from 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:53.160 Kansas City. They have real legitimate guys in the trenches 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.440 that can move the football, and I think that is 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.600 what it's sort of allowed them to play the way 0:13:57.600 --> 0:13:59.400 that they have this first half of the season into 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:01.400 their credit have three and two going into this game 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:05.000 at Lambeau. Yeah, well, looking at what else is on 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:07.920 the slate in the NFL in Week seven, there's a 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:11.840 big game in the NFC North and that is I 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:14.800 believe it's at Ford Field. I'm gonna look here for you. Yes, 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:19.840 the Vikings are traveling to Detroit, so Minnesota at four 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:23.320 and to Detroit at two, two and one. The Lions 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:26.120 obviously on the short week coming off of very frustrating 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:30.160 loss and the billboards of the referees in Michigan and 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:33.720 everything else that's been going on with that. But it's 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.880 a big game in the division because, um, both of 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.440 these teams looking at it from the standpoint of they 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:41.360 need to try to keep pace with the Packers who 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:43.360 only have one loss at this point, and the Packers 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.720 looking to go six and one if they can beat 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:48.520 the Raiders. So a key game in the division here 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:50.960 in Minnesota versus Detroit. I am sure you're gonna want 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:52.920 to talk about all these matchups, but I mean, I 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.200 think more than any other week on the schedule, this 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:57.800 is the biggest gut check for divisional matchups in the 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:00.880 NFL this week. Uh, just in terms of yes, you 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.040 have Minnesota in Detroit. I'll be happy to talk about 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.240 that in a second. You have the Bears having to 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:07.960 make a really big change here going up against a 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:11.120 team like New Orleans who have just been rolling through 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:13.600 people right now with Teddy Bridgewater as their quarterback and 0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:16.600 that defense and that defense. So NFC northwise, there are 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.000 huge stakes this week. I think it's one reason why 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:20.720 the Packers look at this. You're at least gonna get 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.840 one loss. Conceivably, this is a chance to really create 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.520 some breathing room in the division. But you have Philadelphia, 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.560 and you have Dallas. You have Baltimore going into Century 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.280 Link against Seattle. That's a really interesting one as far 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.400 as an a f C NFC matchup. The Baltimore Ravens 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:38.880 going into Seattle really really intriguing ball game. And here's 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:41.160 the other thing, Mike, the New England Patriots are going 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:43.680 up against the New York Jets this week. I know 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:46.160 everybody's gonna say, all right, we'll see on Monday morning 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:48.560 at seven, And oh yeah, you were. You were laughing 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:52.360 about the Cowboys Jets being the prime not prime time, 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:55.280 But the three like National game turned out to be 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:57.680 a whale of a game because Sam Donald suddenly the 0:15:57.720 --> 0:15:59.600 New York Jets look like a different team with their 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:03.240 quarterback if Sam Donald's down the field and everything's cool 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.160 with his spleen, I mean, that guy can play some football, 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:09.320 and that just shows you again how quarterbacks can change things. 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:10.720 I just want to get all that out there because 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:12.960 I think the whole steaks for this week in the 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:18.240 NFL are huge, the Minnesota Vikings going into Detroit. Here's 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.440 the thing where the Lions really gotta dig down deep 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:25.080 in this matchup, because I'm not blaming it all on 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:27.520 that loss last year against the Vikings, but I did 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:30.560 feel like Packers got that bad taste in their mouth 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:33.560 after the officiating against in that game, and it never 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:36.000 really seemed like they were able to wash it. Can 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.600 Detroit come out and get a victory at home against 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:41.720 the team and the Vikings that two weeks ago wasn't 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:45.360 looking so hot and just you know, get back on 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:48.480 the tracks, so to speak. This is gonna be a 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:51.520 real interesting matchup to watch from that aspect, and also 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:55.080 seeing you know, we saw the way that Detroit played 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:58.400 Aaron Rodgers for better or for worse, they were not 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.160 able to really get the past and game going down field. 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:04.080 How do they handle Stefon Diggs Adam feeling in what 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:07.560 appears to be a very rejuvenated Vikings passing attack. Yeah, 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.200 that's the thing. And now we we talked before about 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:12.960 the Vikings took their show on the road and got 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:15.800 a road win against the New York Giants. But this 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:18.520 is a whole different type of road trip from Minnesota 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.440 here because quite frankly, their offense didn't look that good 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:24.040 when they came to lambeau Field in week two. Now 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:27.240 they're going on the road to face another division opponents, 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.720 so a big test there. But you also mentioned, obviously 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:33.480 the Bears against the Saints, really really interesting game. The 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.600 Bears still waiting to find out or at least haven't 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.600 announced yet whether Mitchell Traubisky will be back at quarterback 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:42.480 or if they're still going to go with Chase Daniel. 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.320 Big blow to the Bears though, that Achem Hicks. They're 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:48.600 big defensive lineman in the middle of that defense, the 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:51.439 guy who I thought really made that defense quite good 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:55.520 before Khalil Mack arrived. Achem Hicks has gone on injured 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.960 reserve and is out for at least two months. They're 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:00.840 thinking maybe he could still come back um towards the 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:03.000 end of the year, which maybe he'd be back. When 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.840 I was gonna say Week seven right now, right, yeah, 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.440 if he if he, if he comes back, his first 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:11.119 game eligible would be when the Bears play at lambau 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:13.400 Field in the middle of December. But that's a big 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.760 loss for Chicago's defense to to not have Hicks and 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:19.359 the Saints now taking their show on the road with 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:23.080 Teddy Bridgewater and that defense that has uh really clamped 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:26.240 down on pretty much every team it has played against. 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:29.119 Really really interesting NFC showdown that So the question was 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:31.000 asked an insider inbox. I don't know if you saw 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:33.880 basically who should Packer fans root for? And that yeah, 0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:37.040 I saw. I answered that question as well. What is 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.840 your thought on that? Can you explain your rationale? My 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.720