WEBVTT - #568 Packers Unscripted: Historic happenings 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:14.360 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:17.280 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spoffer, joined as always 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.760 by my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:26.000 here from different rooms in lambeau Field and West. The 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:31.760 Packers reached the nine and three mark of their season 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:35.080 with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, And 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.840 just when you thought, maybe, just maybe the Packers would 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:42.440 cruise and sort of have an easy one on their hands, 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:44.960 it didn't work out that way, did it. No. I 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:47.040 think there's basically one game this year where I've been 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:50.120 able to write, like start writing parts of my story. 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:52.479 I think it was Week two against Detroit. Other than that, 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:56.000 it seems like every single game there's always been something 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:58.240 to it that makes you, you know, kind of have 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:01.160 some pause. They're late. But the one thing that was 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:03.600 positive though about this game for Green Bay is that 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.280 they played pretty well for three and a half quarters. 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:08.280 It was just that little bit of a let up 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:10.200 there at the beginning of the fourth, but when they 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.120 needed a response, they got it. Uh. Aaron Jones the 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.720 seventy seven yard touchdown run, his longest touchdown run as 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:19.679 a professional football player, and it came at a time 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.720 right after the defense got a big stop and after that, 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:25.680 you know, the punt return for a touchdown. So you 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:28.360 saw the three different phases picking each other up throughout 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.240 the course of this game. And the I wrote about 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:32.560 it as our sidebar. I know you and I have 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:36.040 had some discussions about it, but that run by Jones itself, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:37.840 I just feel like those are one of them. It 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.720 was one of those plays that's that if this turns 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:42.839 into a very special season for the Green Bay Packers, 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:44.920 you're gonna you're gonna hearken back to that. You're gonna 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:48.240 think back to that moment where it was all eleven guys, 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:53.480 multiple position players blocking David baktr running stride for stride 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:56.160 with them down to the end zone. I just felt 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:57.960 like it was one of those galvanizing moments that you 0:01:58.000 --> 0:01:59.600 look for in a season and it allowed the green 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:01.880 Bay Packer US to get that ninth win, the sixteenth 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:04.680 time Mike since the turn of the century, since y 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:07.680 two k that the green Bay Packers have etched a 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.399 winning season here in Green Bay. Yeah. Well, you talk 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:12.800 about the importance of that long run. Not only was 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:15.200 it obviously big for the end of the game to 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.080 get the Packers back to a two score lead and 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.640 to put this one away against Philadelphia. But statistically West 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:25.040 the Packers had not had a rushing play of longer 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:28.400 than twenty yards since Week six, since back in in 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:32.040 Tampa Bay, the first quarter in Tampa Bay at that. 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:36.520 So this uh, this run game. As much as we 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.440 saw that it was coming against Chicago, you could see 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.160 there were a handful of ten plus runs and it 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:44.639 just felt like that that big one was eventually going 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:48.000 to come, and it came late in the fourth quarter here, 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.840 and as you said, it was it was frustrating, certainly 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:54.680 to see the Packers up twenty three to three. You 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:56.800 think they're going to cruise to a victory. Then the 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.680 game starts to go sideways. A fourth and eighteen touchdown 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.760 path us by Jalen Hurts, the rookie quarterback who stepped 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:05.639 in for Carson Wentz. Then the offense goes three and out, 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.280 Then the punt coverage team allows a seventy three yard 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.120 touched on return. Suddenly it's twenty three to sixteen. It's 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:14.600 a seven point game. But unlike a couple of weeks 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:17.960 prior in Indianapolis, where when the game started to go sideways, 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:20.960 it got very, very difficult for the Packers to get 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:24.680 things back on the right track. The defense took the 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.560 field at twenty three to sixteen, gotta stop. I believe 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:33.040 recorded the seventh sack of of the night on that series, 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:35.520 and then the offense responds with the seventy seven yard 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:38.400 touchdown run, breaking the big ones. So you got the 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:41.520 answer you needed in order to close this one out, 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.000 and now the Packers are are right on the verge 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:47.800 of clinching a playoff spot and possibly the NFC North Championship. Yeah, 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:49.560 and I'm glad you brought that up, Mike, because there's 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:51.440 a couple different things that we're gonna be talking about 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:53.880 later in this show when we recap the weekends, some 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:56.520 very strange things that happened to the National Football League. 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:58.920 The Seattle Seahawks, you know, kind of just you know, 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.960 laying an egg again, the New York Giants, who now 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.840 suddenly have command of the NFC East. You saw the 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:07.680 situation unfold with Washington being the team out of all 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.320 the teams to knock off Pittsburgh. This is a strange season. 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:13.560 And there was a remark made on I believe it 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:15.760 was my story or your story. I saw on Twitter 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:19.160 basically somebody saying that, well, it's great win, but can 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:20.880 you just imagine if they would have if they would 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:23.960 have found a way to beat Indianapolis and Minnesota games 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:26.000 they should have won, they'd be eleven and one right now. 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:29.280 They could be, but they're nine and three, and there's 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.280 a lot of teams in the National Football League that 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:34.440 are having very similar type moments to that, where you 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:38.400 might either lose late in a competitive football game or 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:40.240 you might just not show up against a team that 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:43.200 you should easily beat. Even the Minnesota Vikings having a 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:47.080 tough time with the Jacksonville Jaguar. So performances like this, 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:48.800 I think go a long way, because these are the 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:51.480 type of games that could get away from you special teams, Mike, 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:53.000 you go back and you look over the history of 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.080 the National Football League. When there's a special teams touchdown 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:59.320 that you allow, or a pick six, those type of plays, 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:02.360 it's sometimes difficult to win those matchups. The Green Bay 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.320 Packers did that. They shut the door in the biggest 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:07.520 story of all the fact that they started the game 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.200 that they the way that they did. They wanted energy 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:12.279 on the first drive, they wanted to be able to 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:14.760 take command of this game. They did it cerebral. Ye, 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:18.240 it wasn't perfect, but the Philadelphia Eagles had a lot 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:20.840 of questions to answer in this game. A year ago, 0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:23.680 Miles when you look at Miles Sanders, when you look 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.520 at um Jordan Howard, they ran for a what was 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.719 it a hundred sixty yards against the Green Bay Packers. 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:31.640 This game, they didn't get past fifty. Jalen Hurts comes 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:33.839 into the game. He had some success, but the Packers 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:36.279 were able to counter back. That was the tale of 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.240 this The better team won in the Green Bay Packers 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:40.800 when it came down a crunch time made sure that 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:43.440 they put an exclamation point on that. Yeah, when you 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:45.479 talk about the special teams, it's it's kind of a 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.400 double edged sword in a way, because we've seen the Packers. 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:51.560 They've been able to overcome allowing two punt returns for 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.159 touchdowns in two separate games and still get victories. As 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.599 you said, that's pretty rare. Just as we've seen the 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.159 last couple of weeks with the Minnesota Vikings. They've allowed 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.440 their opponents to score are three defensive touchdowns in the 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:04.719 last two weeks. But yet the Vikings have managed to 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.560 prevail in both of those games. That's rare. You don't 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:10.599 see that. Obviously. The flip side of it for the 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.600 Packers is that if you don't get this short up, 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:16.599 if you don't get this fixed, a special team's breakdown 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:20.120 is potentially going to cost you big time, whether it's 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:23.240 say against Tennessee in Week sixteen when you have that 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.120 big matchup at lambeau Field, or obviously in the playoffs 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.640 where a play like that on special teams could really 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:32.320 swing things. So the Packers are overcoming their mistakes. But 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:35.440 as Matt Lafleur said on Monday, there's plenty to clean 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:37.680 up here. There's still plenty of things for us to 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.080 coach and for the players to work on. There's no 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:43.839 shortage of things for this Packers coaching staff to keep 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.520 the players attention here as the as the fourth quarter 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:50.680 of the season starts, to uh to roll on here 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.480 these last four regular season games. Yeah, in that moment, 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:55.839 Mike is only as good as the Packers make out 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:57.279 of it. I mean, and this can be a real 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.320 teaching moment. It probably should have been the first time. 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:01.160 At Secondly, this is something that they're gonna have to 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:03.640 go back and look at Jalen Reagor is one of 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.160 the top returners, one of the top young talents in 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.719 this league. There was a reason why the Eagles drafted 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:10.400 him where they did. They feel like he can be 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:12.480 a guy that can help them in two different phases. 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:14.440 So if you punt the ball to him in the 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:16.600 middle of the field, that's a danger to begin with. 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:19.360 But then, as Matt Lafleur pointed out, the gunner then 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.800 gets washed inside, opening up the sideline for Reagor, and 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:24.960 from there the coverage team is not able to to 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.640 do anything with it seventy three yards to the house. 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:30.120 So these are moments that I'm sure with Shawn Meneinge 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:32.160 when he sits down with his special teams units this week, 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:33.840 they got to clean these things up. They have to 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:35.640 find a way to do it. Now. They've had injuries, 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:38.240 they've had some turnover there, but you still need to 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:40.560 be able to hold down the fort because, as we 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:43.840 were just saying, special teams can really open things up. Now, 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.400 all that being said, the Packers are sitting at nine 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:48.320 and three. It's a lot easier to learn from these 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.960 things when you're looking at winning game film in the 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:54.440 Packers because the defense got a late stop and because 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.360 obviously the success of Aaron Jones on that last run, 0:07:57.640 --> 0:07:59.200 they were able to pick each other up and get 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:03.080 that win. Yeah. Well, there were a lot of milestones. 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:05.560 There's a lot of history being made here by by 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:10.440 some spectacular Green Bay Packers players here in I'm gonna 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:13.280 give a rundown on the milestones from this last game, 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:14.920 and then I'll let you talk about the ones that 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:18.160 you want to First and foremost, Aaron Rodgers gets his 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:22.680 four dred career touchdown pass and he becomes the fastest 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:27.080 player in NFL history to do that one regular season 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:29.680 games to get to four hundred, and he's also the 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.000 first one to get to four hundred with less than 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:34.520 a hundred interceptions in his career. He only has eight 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:38.679 thus far. He also became the first quarterback in league 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:42.520 history to to have thirty five or more touchdown passes 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:45.880 in five different seasons. He even he admitted that one 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:48.280 probably won't last long because there are some other guys 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.120 coming along who are who are going to uh going 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:53.400 to surpass that sooner than later. But he's the first 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.680 guy to do it and currently the only one in 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:59.079 league history and then Davante Adams. He catches the four 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:02.200 hundred touchdown pass for Aaron Rodgers and presents him the 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.560 football in the end zone. But Adams gets over a 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:07.600 thousand yards for the season for the second time in 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:10.880 his career, and more importantly, from a historical perspective, a 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:15.240 touchdown reception in seven straight games, which nobody in Packer's 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:19.079 history has done since Don Hudson back in the ninetties. 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:21.840 So there are some special moments going on here in 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:26.959 this crazy different and odd season, and every once in 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.160 a while you just have to sit back and win 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:31.560 or lose or however this ends up in January for 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:33.480 the Packers, you have to kind of sit back and 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.120 relish it at least a little. Well, you definitely do, 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:39.320 because these type of moments don't happen. I mean you 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:42.240 you know, after every game we get the stat print out, 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.800 the notes print out that are terrific public relations staff 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:50.600 puts together. And just how expansive that's been this season, Mike. 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:52.280 There's times in the past that there might be one 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:55.440 or two notes of of something. Hey, you know, Richard 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.840 Rodgers became the first tight end to have eight touchdowns 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:00.839 since Bubba Franks. You know few years ago those type 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:03.120 of things work their way in there. This past week 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:05.040 looked like a dope sheet. By the time that they 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:07.760 got done, it looked like the weekly game notes in 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.360 terms of how many different things had happened. Even Robert 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:12.599 Tony and I think became the first tight end in 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:14.640 team history to have a touchdown catch of more than 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.560 twenty five yards UH in three straight games at first, 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:19.880 to do that in the NFL since seven, I mean, 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:22.679 it's just ridiculous, um, the amount of things that this 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:25.560 offense is accomplishing specifically, And we're not even talking about 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:28.560 what they've done defensively with Zadarius Smith back to back 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:31.960 ten secs seasons, first time that's been done in a decade. 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:34.280 But the stat obviously that you have to talk about 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:38.600 is Aaron Rodgers four hundred touchdown past is Mike four hundred, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.719 and he has yet to throw a hundred interceptions. I 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.000 joked during the game after a second one that he 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:49.200 would have to throw twelve consecutive interceptions before his next touchdown. Mike, 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:50.600 I think you're gonna have to go back to maybe 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:52.480 two thousand eight for the last time that he threw 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.400 more than twelve in an entire season for him not 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:57.160 to be able to be the first quarterback to do that. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.719 And he made a remark that I know you ran 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:01.840 with with your editorial as well, that you know his 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.000 goals now to get to five hundred without getting to 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.600 a hundred. I mean, that's the level he's playing at. 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:08.880 And more importantly, because I know in the past everything 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:11.760 was about well he protects the ball, he holds onto 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:13.400 it too long, he doesn't want to make a mistake. 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.400 He's playing in rhythm with this offense, and I that 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:20.000 that's the story here. It's the story for two thousand twenty, 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:22.320 and it's the story for beyond. You have seen a 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:26.719 synergy this year. Uh you know, two sides of an 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:30.760 offensive theory meeting an m v P quarterback, and it's 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:33.959 kind of fit in parallel this season. And I feel 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.880 like as the Packers get down this stretch here, yes 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:38.760 we're gonna be talking about Aaron Rodgers in the m 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.560 v P conversation. Arguably should be in that already in 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.080 terms of you know, I know what Patrick Mahomes has done. 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:47.760 But as I wrote an insider inbox on Tuesday, if 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:49.640 you believe everything everybody said at the begining of the 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:51.960 AAR Aaron Rodgers has no weapons. So it's incredible what 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:54.760 he's been able to accomplish without any weapons. Uh, this 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:57.160 season he should be an m v P. But all 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:00.400 that being said, this stretch that he's been on, you 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.600 have to step back. You have to appreciate it because 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.640 the game is not that easy and he's making it 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:09.840 look that way. Yeah, that that's the thing West. I 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:11.560 mean you you you look at you look at what 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:15.240 he's done. And even if I'm not mistaken, you know, 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.120 his four interceptions this season, I want to say two 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:20.240 of the four have been deflected, you know, or two 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:24.440 or tipped passes in some regards. So I really enjoyed 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.320 the fact that that he had the guts to to 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:29.319 tell the media like, yeah, I'm gonna go for five 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:31.920 hundred touchdowns before I get to a hundred. So of course, 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:35.360 when I sat down after the game to write that editorial, 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:37.400 I wanted to go back and do the math and 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:40.200 just see, Okay, how real? I like, is is this 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.520 a pipe dream or is this actually realistic? Well? I 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:47.040 counted it up between touchdown past number three hundred and 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:51.839 four hundred. Over his last hundred touchdowns he threw fourteen interceptions. 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:55.200 So the fact that he is twelve interceptions away from 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.960 a hundred uh, and he's talking about getting another hundred 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:03.800 touchdown passes before those twelve interceptions. It's not like out 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:06.079 of the realm of possibility by any stretch. I mean, 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:08.280 this is this is right in his wheelhouse. This, this 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:12.160 is now. It would be a tremendous accomplishment. But it's 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.880 it's not something that's uh, it's not something that's that's 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.480 an absolute pipe dream by any stretch. He could actually 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:19.280 pull this off. No, And some of it is is 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.319 you just said it is sometimes dumb luck. I mean 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:23.680 you mentioned that the deflected passes and those type of 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.920 things this year that happened in the past two, last 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.439 two or three seasons where it's been a deflected pass 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:31.920 here there that has turned in to an interception that 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:34.719 has led to that. So here, this is the way 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:37.640 I look at it. Aaron Rodgers, the way he's performed 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.680 this season, he's reminding the National Football League that you 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:43.439 guys can come up with every single type of narrative 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.719 that you want. He's been the same player, he continues 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.840 to be the same player, and he's having a heck 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:51.000 of a lot of fun right now. Matt Lafleur's offense. 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.120 La Fleur is not going to give himself any credit. 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:55.319 He always deflects it, and sometimes I think that actually 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:57.719 works against him when you get these Coach of the 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.560 Year conversations and things of that nature. He's not a 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:05.439 big personality, right But Matt Lafleur the job he's done, 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:08.120 not only implementing his system. Because they caught a lot 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.480 of people off guard last year by winning thirteen games 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:12.800 and making an NFC Championship game, there were a lot 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:15.680 of questions about the legitimate, city of legitimacy of that 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:19.200 going into this season. From the outside, that's all been 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.720 put to rest. The guy has, you know, already won 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:24.640 more games than any other head coach and team history 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.360 through the amount of time he's been here, and for 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.160 him and Rodgers to kind of find themselves, get that 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.760 get on the same page. This season, You've seen the 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.920 offense explode, You've seen Davante Adams become an All Pro receiver, 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.040 You've seen the emergence of Robert Toanian, even the offensive 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.000 line Mike They've played out of their mind this season. 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.560 And because they're blocking for a guy like Aaron Rodgers. 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.160 They're starting to get more notoriety because you and I 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:49.880 have seen Corey Linsley at this level. We saw last 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.880 year Elton Jenkins as I. As I mentioned in one 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:55.400 of my right ups last week too, this team has 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.800 more than one Pro bowler on that offensive line, whether 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:02.320 or not outsiders want to acknowledge that, So finally seeing 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:05.520 the fruits of that labor be found. Obviously, the super 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:07.800 Bowl is the goal. They want to win a division title. 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:09.760 They want to get that by in the first round 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:12.760 of the playoffs. But taking a step back every once 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:14.720 in a while is okay to sort of appreciate what 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:16.720 this team has done through the first twelve games of 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.320 this season. Yeah. Absolutely, And I wanted to get back 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:21.000 to one other point too. You mentioned the m v 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:24.320 P discussion. I think the m v P in the 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:28.040 NFL and is between Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. I 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:32.400 don't see anybody else really, and it's the conversation at 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.240 this point. But there are four regular season games left. 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:37.680 We're only three quarters of the way through the regular season, 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:41.480 so with of the regular season to go, I don't 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:43.880 think it's I don't think it's worth arguing right now 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:46.760 who it should be quite frankly, there's there's a lot 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:49.880 of football left to be played here. Let's see how 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:51.880 this plays out, and and we'll see. But I do 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:55.800 think it's basically down to two guys already. One other 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:59.840 thing that that I want to get to before we 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.680 move on to some of that that recap of of 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:06.440 last weekend's games. What we're seeing here that I think 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.400 is potentially a really good sign for the Packers going forward. 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.320 Not just that you know, Aaron Rodgers doing what he's doing, 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:15.400 and Davante Adams and Aaron Jones finally busted a big 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.680 run and you know everything you're saying about the offensive line, 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:21.400 but we're seeing on the defensive side of the ball 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.240 west some young players for the Packers who are starting 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:26.040 to come into their own a little bit. We've talked 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:29.400 about Rashan Gary and what he's done. He had I believe, 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.200 one and a half sacks out of those UH seven 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:36.280 against the Eagles. Kingsley Kiki, a second year defensive lineman. 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:40.360 He has his second two sack game of the season. 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:44.600 Darnell Savage, the second year safety, a first round pick 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:47.880 just like Rashan Gary, he gets an interception laid in 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:50.240 the game when the defense rose up. He now has 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:53.320 three interceptions in the last two games. A young player 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:55.880 maybe starting to hit his stride here down the stretch. 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.720 The young players here that the Packers, as we've talked 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:01.520 about and as a lot of people know, the Packers 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:04.800 have invested a lot of resources in the draft, in 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.280 the defense, and some of these guys they might just 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.720 be hitting their stride at the right time here. Yeah, 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.600 it was funny. I was doing the Packers pregame radio 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:17.439 show at James Jones, you know, Packers longtime receiver now 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:20.000 works for NFL Network, one of my all time favorites, 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.720 j J. Just for a lot of folks, right, very 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.880 professional guy handled himself the right way throughout his two 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:29.119 stints in Green Bay, and he actually drew the parallels. 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:30.720 It's funny because some of us have done this over 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:33.120 the here and I'm guilty of it too, for comparing 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:36.880 every every core, every safety that shows a glimpse of promise, 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:40.600 comparing them to Nick Collins. But he really made a 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:44.040 strong comparison to not necessarily just totally as a player, 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.679 but the development of a Nick Collins in putting that 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:49.440 in line with what Darnell Savage has done over the 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.720 last two seasons. A lot of raw ability, a lot 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.920 of speed, and just really the understanding of the defense 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:57.840 when that comes to him and he can play more 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:00.920 off his instincts and his football. I Q that's when 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:04.160 you see a real playmaker, a Pro Bowl type safety 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.800 emerge and he feels like that's kind of what you've 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.280 seen with Darnell Savage. Into James's credit, this was before 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:11.199 he had the interception on Sunday. I mean, this is 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:13.639 something that he had been kind of making note of 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:15.240 throughout the course of the year, and now you're starting 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:17.400 to see it. It kind of happened more and more 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:19.919 last week. I asked Adrian Amos about that during his 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:22.120 Zoom call and the fact that when a young guy 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:26.159 gets gets picks like that, when he makes plays, it 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:28.680 isn't that necessarily you want to be chasing them, because 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:30.920 that isn't the be all end all, but it does 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:33.600 sort of remind a safety of what they're capable of, 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:36.600 gives them that confidence that, you know what, I got those. 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.119 There shouldn't be any pressure on interceptions. I got some, 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.160 let's get some more. So from that regard, I think 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:44.560 you're seeing a real step that that Savage has taken 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.160 here in the last couple of weeks. I'd be remiss, though, Mike, 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.359 if I didn't talk about the fact that Kingsley Kiki 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:52.359 has come on four sacks now on the season. This 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:53.720 is a guy that I know some people have drawn 0:18:53.800 --> 0:18:56.840 some comparisons with, you know, Mike Daniels and being able 0:18:56.880 --> 0:18:59.480 to maybe get that guy that isn't the typical six 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:02.880 foot three, six ft four three and fifteen pound defensive tackle, 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:04.840 a guy that's more around that to ninety range, that 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:07.800 can win with leverage, win with getting underneath the shoulder 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:12.040