WEBVTT - #463 Packers Unscripted: Meaningful mentality 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:20.599 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:24.279 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to the one and 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.120 only West Hot Cooits were coming to you here from 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.200 our studios at landbeau Field. This show truly is unscripted. 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.640 I did not see that coming. All right, Wes, We're 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:37.760 a couple of days removed now from the Packers victory 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:41.920 at Arrowhead Stadium over the Kansas City Chiefs, and Matt Lafleur, 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:46.280 as usual, the day after a game, has his press conference. 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.200 He actually gave the players what's called a victory Monday, 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:54.160 where they weren't totally totally off on Monday leading into 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:58.360 their regular day off on Tuesday, but the responsibilities very minimal. 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.400 A lot of meetings got pushed back to Wednesday morning, 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:04.679 so the players getting a bit of a break. One 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:12.000 of the topics at la Fleur's press conference was his mentality, 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.760 his approach with the team, the whole going one to 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:18.120 know every week, staying focused on you know that game 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.840 right in front of you. It's an it's an old adage, 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:24.000 it's a it's a worn out cliche. But I wrote 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.759 about this on our website and looking at this Packers team, 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:32.600 the two thousand nineteen Green Bay Packers. It's this approach 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:36.280 is working, and it's interesting to me that it's working, 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:40.200 because this is not a team with a whole bunch 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.840 of NFL veterans who have chalked up all kinds of 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:48.480 playoff victories and winning seasons. And it's not a roster 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.760 of fifty three guys that necessarily knows what it takes 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.040 to do that in the NFL, to to deal with 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:57.320 the long haul and the grind and the week after 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:02.080 week and staying focused on what's in front of you. Yet, Um, 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:04.320 that's what these guys have done. And they're at the 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.440 midway point and their seven and one and uh whatever. 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:12.359 The message that Lafleur is delivering is definitely sinking in. Yeah. 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:14.440 I thought it was a really interesting thing that you 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:16.560 brought up in your story today or last night on 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.480 Packers dot com. You know, forty two of the fifty 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:21.560 three guys on this roster right now weren't even on 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:25.280 the two thousand and sixteen NFC Championship game team. Um 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.520 that shows you, I mean that. You know, there's been 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.440 nine draft classes since the Packers won the Super Bowl 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:35.400 in two thousand ten. So, yeah, the mentality needs to shift. 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:38.200 There needs to be sort of a rejuvenation of this roster. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.440 And you know, I was thinking about this too, and 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:42.400 it might even be something that leads to a story 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:45.400 here in the next couple of days or weeks. Aaron 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.919 Jones didn't win a lot in college and then he had, 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:51.959 you know, to below five seasons to start his NFL career. 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:54.720 Suddenly he's seven and one for what I imagine might 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:56.720 be the first time since high school, even if they 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.720 had that much success back then when him and Elvin Jr. 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:04.000 Were playing for Burgess High School and El Paso Texas 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:07.280 al Paso. But you know, I think if you would 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:09.280 have come out if Matt Lafour's message, not that he 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:11.040 would have ever done this or any coach would really 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:13.560 do this, but if his message going into the Chicago 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:17.040 game to start the season hundred season of the NFL 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:18.919 is I want to be seven and one at the 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:23.040 midway point in the season, everybody would be kind of like, oh, shoot, man, 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:25.320 that's a that's a big lofty goal. You could have 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:27.680 a team coming off of a Super Bowl and not 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.480 you know, be able to attain such a goal. But 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.000 when you look at it. You're taken in bits and pieces. 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:35.360 There's an old phrase that a good friend of mine, 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.200 Jody Van Landen as Schwabon wrestling coach, always used to 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:41.240 use when I was covering preps. You know, basically seeing 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:44.120 you know, you're you're you're eating the elephant, and you 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.040 know it's one bite at a time. You can't take 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:48.800 the whole thing, and right at the beginning. And I 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:51.840 look at that in this situation and that perspective and 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:53.800 that vision is that you're seven and one and you've 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:55.800 earned every single one of those victories, and you've done 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:58.040 it in a week to week capacity, and when you 0:03:58.080 --> 0:03:59.720 have a roster of a lot of young guys that 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:02.720 haven't been to this level before, haven't seen this amount 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.480 of success in this league, you know, I think that's 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:07.480 the right approach. And it's for my money, one of 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:09.160 the reasons why I think Matt la Floor, like I 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:11.600 said at the end of yesterday's show, deserves to be 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.040 in that conversation right now for NFL Coach of the Year. Yeah. 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:16.720 I think I took a look at the roster construction 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:18.760 and putting that story together because I thought it was 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:20.920 really interesting. I mean, you and I have been here 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:23.520 a long time. You get used to a lot of 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:25.600 people around here got used to the Packers being in 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:27.880 the playoffs every year. It was a great run. Nine 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:32.360 straight playoff appearances, nine or eight again eight sorry, eight 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:37.120 straight playoff appearances. Yeah, well we'll see um. But then 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.679 you know, you have two losing seasons back to back, 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:41.960 and obviously a lot of different reasons, A lot went 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.960 into that. But you look at the roster. Thirty one 0:04:46.360 --> 0:04:49.520 thirty one of the fifty three players were not even 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:53.080 in the NFL when the Packers went to the NFC 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:56.760 championship game in two thousands sixteen. Then eleven additional players, 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:02.000 veteran players who are here, we're not on that particular 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:06.159 Packers two thousand sixteen team. And I think, I think 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:09.120 the dynamic, and this is a little bit of assumption 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:11.919 on my part, but I think part of the dynamic 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:16.240 that's making this work is you have a first year 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:20.600 coach whose message is sinking in, certainly sinking in to 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:24.320 that bevy of young players on this roster, But you 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:27.839 also have the veterans. Yes, you have your Mason Crosby's 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.600 and you'r Aaron Rodgers who have been a part of 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:33.359 a lot of success in Green Bay. But you also 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:37.720 those other veterans who are not here for the successful 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:41.880 season that that ended in Atlanta. You have your Marcedes Lewis, 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.400 you have your Za Darius Smith's, you have your Jimmy 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:48.400 Graham's um even Tremont Williams who was in Green Bay 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.200 and left and came back. Those are guys who have 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:57.360 been a part of successful postseason runs either elsewhere earlier 0:05:57.360 --> 0:05:59.760 in their careers, however you want to phrase it. And 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:03.360 their message in the locker room is backing up what 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:07.279 Matt what Matt Lafleur is preaching to his team about 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:10.960 going want to know every week and staying focused on 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:13.200 that game that's right in front of you and preparing 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:18.240 every putting everything you have preparation wise into that one game. 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:22.080 Because Frankly, West, that's how you That's how you answer 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:25.839 the bell when the Detroit Lions come into lambeau Field 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:27.960 on a Monday night and jump on you tend to nothing. 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.000 That's how you answer the bell when your fourteen nothing 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.840 lead at Arrowhead Stadium is wiped out almost in a flash, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.280 and you're down fourteen to start the second half. This 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:41.600 team has shown an ability to respond. And I don't 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:45.960 think a team can respond in those situations like that 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:48.760 if it's worried about the big picture, if it's worried 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:52.000 about anything other than that game that is right in 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.680 front of it, either from a preparation standpoint or in 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:57.599 the moment. And it's working for this group, it really is. 0:06:57.640 --> 0:06:59.560 And it's funny. If you ever want to have an 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:01.800 interest in conversation is what I've had, I think once 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.400 or twice this year. It was with Tremont Williams. Truman 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:06.880 Williams hasn't been to the playoffs since the NFC Championship 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.080 game in two thousand fourteen, and I think there was 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.000 a certain part of him that was wondering. You know, 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:13.920 he obviously when he resigned with Green Bay, that was 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:15.760 one of his motivating factors. You want to have one 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:17.600 more chance to make a run into Super Bowl Ring. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.040 But when the season goes like it did last year 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.480 and then suddenly you're thirty six, I mean you're starting 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:24.520 to see the horizon there a little bit, and then 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:27.320 suddenly here we are at seven and one at this 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:29.760 juncture of the season, and and you know, as much 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.560 momentum and you know, feelings as the packers have right 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:37.280 now what this potentially could become for this roster. But 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:39.200 as you said, I mean, I think that's one thing 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.920 that really stands out to me the most. When you know, 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:44.440 you look at this entire roster, piece by piece, brick 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:48.400 by brick. You know, there's a lot of guys that 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:50.920 are hungry, and they all have their different reasons. You 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:53.840 think about Jimmy Graham and in his continued search for 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:56.960 a you know, a Super Bowl ring. You think about, 0:07:57.040 --> 0:07:59.000 you know, the young guys in this roster like Jyry 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.600 Alexander that you know, they want to play winning football. 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:04.000 They want to be a part of that. And you know, 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:08.000 even you know, like at the receiver position, Davante Adams 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:10.560 has seen this offense, has seen this roster at its 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:15.400 best um two thousand, fourteen and sixteen. That's the stuff 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:17.440 that I think when you look at the entire it's 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.840 what makes football special. Because in the n b A 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:22.920 certainly you can go and sign a guy and bring 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:24.800 them in and you know, maybe it was Jason Terry 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:26.640 with the Bucks a few years ago that you know, 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:28.520 had some pelts on the wall and had a you know, 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:32.480 an NBA ring tattoo on his shoulder. But you know 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:35.160 a lot of those guys, unless you experience it, you 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.080 don't know what it's like. But with football, there's so 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:40.480 many guys in those locker rooms that somebody has a story, 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.600 you know, somebody you know has had their heart ripped out, 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.880 some somebody has triumphed. And I think it was about 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:48.760 two or three weeks ago Aaron Rodgers talked about it 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.400 as locker I mean, there's probably on one hand right 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:53.040 now guys that have a Super Bowl ring in that 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:56.800 locker room. And for Matt Lafleur, now he's also a 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:58.800 guy that has been at the pinnacle of his coaching 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:01.640 profession and seen, you know, what those big games are 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.160 like as a coordinator and as a position coach. So yeah, 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:05.840 he was. He was a coach who was in a 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.040 Super Bowl and on the verge of winning a Super 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:11.720 Bowl just three years ago with Atlanta in sen when 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.720 obviously the last time the Packers also had a successful season. 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:16.600 So I think when you go into a year like this, 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:18.600 when I think there's as many doubters as they had, 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:20.600 whether it was Aaron Rodgers, whether it was the Fleur, 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.079 whether it was just this entire makeup of this roster. 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:26.320 If this was all gonna work, Um, you know, Kevin King, 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:28.760 can he be a starting cornerback for this team. There's 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:30.640 just so many different things that people wanted to throw 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:33.320 on this football team. And the reason why, I mean, 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:35.600 at the end of the day, that they're sitting here 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:37.280 at seven and one is because of their faith in 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:39.680 that locker room. Now, certainly they've had it, you know, 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:41.840 they haven't been challenged a lot with adversity. There's been 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.640 a couple instances and the you know, those roadblocks will 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:46.360 eventually come and you have to deal with them then. 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.600 But it's a lot easier to deal with Mike when 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:50.920 you're five six, seven games above five hundred, and that's 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:53.719 the position the Packers have put themselves in. At the 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:56.000 mid quarter pole? Would you say that? Is that right? 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:58.520 The mid quarter pole the season? The second quarter poll 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:00.520 the season? No, I just called I just called the 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.360 midway point. You always use that, you always, like, I know, 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:05.880 I always I always would say quarter pole, But I'm 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.280 trying to get it. Once you get past that, you 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:11.240 can't use that anymore. Sorry, I should have warned I 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:13.640 liked my mid quarter pole phrase. I might work that 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:16.839 one into inbox here you have the freedom to do that. 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:19.240 But you're halfway through the regular season. Now it goes 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.640 just like that, and you know, you look at Atlanta 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:24.160 and some of these teams that are struggling. You have 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.719 to be grateful for what you have today. Packers going 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:28.240 to l A now with a chance to pick up 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.520 their eighth win. YEA. One other point I want to 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:35.000 make too, there's some interesting dynamics with the new players 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.160 that were brought in here. A couple of them that 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:40.040 I didn't mention when you talk about their history in 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:43.439 the NFL, their pedigree, whatever you want to call it. 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:47.920 You know, Preston Smith, he makes the playoffs as a rookie. 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:51.080 If I'm not mistaken in Washington, he hasn't been back. 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:53.559 Got bounced by the Packers. Yeah, bounced by the Packers 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.280 as a rookie, but didn't make it back to the playoffs. 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:59.640 Now he's in year five trying to get that that 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:02.960 haste of the postseason and make a run. Adrian Amos 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:06.080 finally makes it to the playoffs in his fourth year 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.600 with the Chicago Bears. They win the NFC North, They 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:12.720 get bounced right away in the first round. He decides 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:16.320 to obviously go go another way with free agency. He 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.920 comes to Green Bay, but he just got a taste 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:21.600 of it and wants to keep it going. To me, 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.240 it's as you say, every guy has a story, and 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:26.680 I think I think a lot of those stories in 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.320 in the packers locker room are are adding up to 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.560 just a really interesting mix as to what's going on. 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:34.319 I smell an inbox headline too, by the way. Okay, 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:35.800 I think either whether it's you or me, I mean, 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:37.200 if you want to take that one, feel free. But 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:39.400 I think that can definitely work for an inbox headline. No, 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:41.800 I mean, and it's absolutely true. And you know, one 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:43.200 more thing I just want to touch on before we 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:45.120 move on. It was another aspect of your story that 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:47.000 I was reading that I think is really critical when 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:49.200 you look at how this team is constructed, specifically on 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:52.240 the offensive side the ball. Matt Lafleur was asked about, Okay, 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.040 you had these emerging weapons. Now when you look at 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.320 what Aaron Jones and went Jamal Williams have done, what 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.480 are you gonna do with all these pieces? Once Stavante 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:00.560 Adams is back in the fold. He said, it's a 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:02.880 good problem to have. It is a you know, it 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:04.280 is an issue they're gonna have to figure out. But 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:07.520 what I really like about the maturation process of both 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:11.160 Jones and Williams they also know how to operate when 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.000 they don't get the touches. I'm not saying they won't 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.480 get touches, but it's not like, Okay, you're going to 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:17.600 a game plan. You know, I gotta feed Aaron Jones. 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:19.560 He has to touch the ball twenty times. Jamal has 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:21.199 to get the ball fifteen times. It's just the way 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:23.000 it has to be. It's the only way we're gonna 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:27.559 make this thing work. Those guys are just incredibly flexible 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:29.640 with how they use them and they don't get pushy 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.600 about it. That's I think, ultimately what can make this 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.439 offense it's most dangerous. There's a lot of unselfish ball players, 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.080 and it's led by that number seventeen in that room 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.040 and the receivers, and I think at the same time, 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:44.160 the other the other perimeter weapons the Packers have. We'll 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.600 see if Davante Adams is back this week or whenever 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:48.400 he does come back, but I think part of the 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:50.560 message at that point is going to be not for 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:53.400 the rest of these guys to you know, take a 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.600 deep breath and go, Okay, you know Davante's back. It's like, no, 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.560 stay as hungry as you've been for getting the ball 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.800 and for the touches. Yes, you have to be you 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:04.520 have to be a team player, but you have to 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:08.080 maintain that hunger and that awareness and that alertness as 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:11.000 to when your opportunity is going to come, because they're 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:15.160 still going to be more opportunities down the road. And 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:17.400 what has happened the last four weeks and getting all 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.120 these other guys involved as we talked about the Packers 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:24.199 want to make that payoff down the road when those 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.240 guys individually need to answer the bell in the future. Yeah, 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:29.360 because I guarantee you right now, Mike, the Packers are 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.079 not going to have an empty injury report in week 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.000 sixteen or seventeen. Question, there's gonna be players you're gonna 0:13:35.000 --> 0:13:37.160 have to persevere on without. It's just the way that 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:38.840 you know this game is played, the way the league 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.120 is constructed. But the nice thing for the Green Bay 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.640 Packers is there now, two weeks away from their bye week, 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:46.400 they're at seven and one and for the most part, 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.680 despite a few nixs and bruises, have had most of 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:51.800 their complementary pieces, and when you didn't have that big 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:54.360 one in Davante Adams, they've still found a way to win. Yeh, 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.760 keep keep on winning. Well, let's review a little bit 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.280 of what happened in Week eight in the nf fell. 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:02.560 I think the place to start is the game I 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:07.040 think that's most interesting to Packers fans because it involved 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:10.000 the Chicago Bears and Green Bay's upcoming opponent to Los 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:15.439 Angeles Chargers, seventeen to sixteen at Soldier Field. The Chargers 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:18.840 squeak out of victory, the Bears dropped below five hundred 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:20.560 at three and four. You want to know how quickly 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:22.600 things can turn in the NFL, just look at the 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.720 Chicago Bears. They've gone in half a season. They've gone 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.560 from the defending NFC North champions to last place in 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.880 the division, just like that. I mean, and I'm not 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:32.840 saying that the season is over for the Bears by 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:36.160 any means. They're still They only have seven games and 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:38.080 they've still got nine left to go. They have plenty 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.680 of time to figure this out. But the Bears lose 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:45.640 on a last second missed field goal by Eddie Pinero. 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.040 Really strange games when you take a look at the 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:51.680 highlights of this one. Both these teams. The kickers were 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.840 missing field goals. Both teams were getting the ball inside 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.480 the ten, inside the five goal to go situations and 0:14:58.480 --> 0:15:01.480 nobody could punch it in. They kept having to settle 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:05.520 for those chip shot field goals. That's why the score 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:09.200 ended up seventeen to sixteen. Both of these teams were 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.920 absolutely desperate for a victory in a lot of ways, 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:16.720 and the Chargers for everything that's gone wrong late in 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:20.400 games for them multiple times this year. They finally caught 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:24.320 a break and the missed field goal gives Los Angeles 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:27.240 a three and five record now heading into the matchup 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.840 with Green Bay. You know, the one thing, uh, you 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:33.320 mentioned the fact that obviously they've had some issues with 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:38.240 kickers in this game. You know, the Chargers, they've kind 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:40.160 of been thrown in a bad spot because of Michael 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:42.280 Bagley and his injury. I mean, he was one of 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:44.160 the top kickers in the league last year. I did 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:45.760 talk to him at the combine two years ago. I 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:48.200 just want to put that out there, um, and they've 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.000 kind of had to throw their cards up in the air, 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:52.680 and you know, makes sense of all this. The Chicago 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.040 Bears is nothing new. This has been a storyline that 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.200 has followed them for a better part of you know what, 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.880 two years now, two and a half years at this 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:03.000 juncture of it, and whenever they decided to move on 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:07.760 from Robbie Gold, which obviously looks like an extremely poor 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.200 decision on their part because they haven't they haven't been 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:12.440 able to make it work. Yeah, and I've said since 0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:15.320 the beginning, especially when there was this kicking competition, I 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:18.520 wish Sham ficking well in the Jets, But once you 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:22.040 know what you have, you don't want to start making 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:25.680 questions at that position. And credit to both Ted Thompson 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:30.360 with Mason Crosby in two thousand twelve, in thirteen and 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:33.720 now Brian Gudun said they've stayed true to their kicker. 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:37.280 Stand by your kicker. But here's the other thing. As 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:39.960 far as the Chicago Bears are concerned, a lot was 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:41.760 made out of the decision at the end of that game. 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:45.760 I understand why Matt Negie did what he did. Would 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:49.720 I have run the ball? I think I would have. Um. Now, 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:54.160 if you have Adam Venytari in his prime, you know, 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:55.640 and it's just like get him the ball at the 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:58.080 right hash mark from forty one yards out. You have 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.960 the confidence absolutely that's not the deck they're playing with 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:04.399 though right now. And I think even if it was 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.760 an extra yard or two, as it showed with with 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:10.000 Pinero doinking it off, was it the right, upright, left, 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:12.560 up right? Yeah, his his first field goal attempt the 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:15.240 day early in the game, he clanked it off the 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:19.200 upright from basically extra point distance. Now you're another eight 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.560 yards back from that. You're relying on him to make 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:24.360 a forty one yard or I think the question to 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.520 to take a knee there was. It was a highly 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:31.080 questionable decision because again, let's be real here, this has 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.680 Soldier Field there there, you're right on the lake, there's 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:36.919 there are winds. This is not an easy place to 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:41.440 kick if any time you are outside of extra point 0:17:41.520 --> 0:17:44.520 distance in a stadium like that and you're not smacked out, 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:46.040 even if you are in the middle of the field 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:49.800 from forty yards anything anything thirty five plus that Soldier 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:53.160 field can be an adventure at any given moment, And 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:57.159 certainly with the position the Bears are in and the 0:17:57.160 --> 0:17:59.800 fact that Pinero had already missed one earlier in the game, 0:17:59.840 --> 0:18:02.160 I just think you have to you have to try 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:05.680 to get as close as possible and not just concede 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:07.840 that you're going to kick a forty plus yard or there. 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:11.320 And and uh Naggie obviously has has gone on the 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:14.639 defensive with it. Certainly his his prerogative, He's going to 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:18.920 defend his decision, but I think perfectly within anyone's rights 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.280 to question it. Well. And the way this is gonna 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.160 play out now for the Bears is they have one 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:25.320 of the hardest schedules in the second half of the 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:28.080 season really of any team in the NFL. They get 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:32.440 that divisional uh you know, reward or whatever you wanna 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:34.280 call it, where you gotta take on the top those 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:37.400 those first place teams, first place teams from a year ago. 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:39.600 So they're gonna have the Philadelphia Eagles here coming up. 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:43.719 There's there's a lot of questions there the Bears are 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:45.560 gonna have to answer, and it doesn't get any easier, 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.280 especially with the Eagles coming off of a pretty big 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:52.000 win against the Buffalo Bills. Um, I'll look at this 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.000 whole thing, Mike, and it's just interesting to me and 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.000 that the way this season is playing out, you have 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:59.000 undefeated teams, you have winless teams, we could very well 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:03.159 have the first season, you know, since maybe ever that 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:05.560 you're gonna end up having two winless teams. That's potential 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.040 the way that this plan out with Cincinnati right now, 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:12.280 and then obviously the issue that Miami's working through. But 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:15.359 the I mean, you look at this Cincinnati in Miami 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:18.520 play each they let me look. But as I'm looking 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.119 at that, the fact of the matter is this NFC 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:24.639 race is just incredible to watch. I mean San Francisco, uh, 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:28.320 just walloping Carolina and then you look at you know, 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:30.879 the way that New Orleans was able to stem the 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:32.760 tide to get back to Drew Brees, and Drew Brees 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:35.200 looks like he never left in that game. I mean, 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:37.920 that's that's incredible how that works out. They do play 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:40.360