Speaker 1: Hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my trusted
Speaker 1: colleague West Hodkowits were coming to you here from our
Speaker 1: studios at lambeau Field West. It is Thursday. We are
Speaker 1: another day closer to the two Packers Bears meeting. It
Speaker 1: will be Sunday, a noon Central time kickoff at lambeau Field.
Speaker 1: Obviously a big game for both teams, as we've been
Speaker 1: talking about all week long, and as usual, after Wednesday's practice,
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers had his weekly media session at his locker,
Speaker 1: and he made no bones about it really was. He
Speaker 1: in discussing what he termed the quote unquote deciding factor
Speaker 1: for this Packers team in terms of whether it's going
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs, whether it's gonna win the division,
Speaker 1: how far this team will go, he said it will
Speaker 1: come down to consistency, and by that he means we've
Speaker 1: all seen certain levels the Packers have played at at
Speaker 1: different times this season down the stretch and moving forward,
Speaker 1: it's about finding that level and then staying there for
Speaker 1: as long as you can, because that's been the challenge
Speaker 1: with this team is to is to get itself to
Speaker 1: that level and then stay there for an extended period
Speaker 1: of time. Yeah, we've seen a few games this year
Speaker 1: out of the thirteen to date where the Packers I think,
Speaker 1: have achieved that for the most part. Maybe it wasn't
Speaker 1: the cleanest defensively, but you've seen the performances where they've
Speaker 1: dictated tempo. It's something I say a lot from the
Speaker 1: very beginning. Oakland defensively wasn't a gem of a game,
Speaker 1: But that's kind of the one that jumps out when
Speaker 1: I think back to that because of one how Rogers played,
Speaker 1: but to just the different contributions they got in that game.
Speaker 1: This offense, I think one thing we all have to
Speaker 1: step back and just realize for two thousand nineteen, this
Speaker 1: offense is going to operate at its best when you
Speaker 1: have multiple people contributing. They can win games when it's
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones, they can win games when it's Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: and you can win games in Davante Adams has a
Speaker 1: big hundred yard performance. But being able to get those
Speaker 1: things to happen simultaneously during the course of a sixty
Speaker 1: minute game is going to be what ultimately propels them
Speaker 1: into the playoffs and to make a championship run, and
Speaker 1: they've done it. They have that potential in them, and
Speaker 1: I think if there's anything that the Green May Packers
Speaker 1: can take from these last few weeks as they try
Speaker 1: to build up a playoff resume, is that they're going
Speaker 1: to have an opportunity here to really put that on display.
Speaker 1: The Chicago Bears are a different type of beast though,
Speaker 1: right it's not the Giants and it's not Washington. They're
Speaker 1: gonna have to raise their level another notch when you're
Speaker 1: playing a team that's kind of coming off a recent
Speaker 1: hot streak. But all that being said, I think it's
Speaker 1: the perfect opponent for them because what is the one
Speaker 1: game when you look at the course of this year
Speaker 1: where Green Bay, while they won, weren't able to find
Speaker 1: in their offensive rhythm. It was that Bears game. Because
Speaker 1: of how good they are defensively and because of some
Speaker 1: of the things the Packers are working through at that time,
Speaker 1: I think there is a better feel of self in
Speaker 1: what they are now as opposed to Week one, and
Speaker 1: when you look for areas of growth, while consistency still
Speaker 1: is the key, I think you've seen it over these
Speaker 1: last three months in the direction this offense is headed. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and Rogers was primarily talking about the offense and his
Speaker 1: discussion of consistency. But I think, and this is what
Speaker 1: I wrote about a little bit on our website Wednesday evening,
Speaker 1: is his words really apply to all three phases of
Speaker 1: the team, because we've seen the special teams have their
Speaker 1: ups and downs. And yes, it was a great step
Speaker 1: forward to find a punt return game against Washington, something
Speaker 1: the Packers hopefully will have now here the rest of
Speaker 1: the way. But one game does not mean your issue
Speaker 1: is entirely fixed, right. You can't just you can't just
Speaker 1: say that You've got to continue to do it again.
Speaker 1: It's about that word consistency. Defensively, the Packers haven't really
Speaker 1: returned earned to the form they were in in September,
Speaker 1: where really against the Bears, against the Vikings for the
Speaker 1: most part in week to certainly against the Broncos in
Speaker 1: Week three, the defensive side of the ball was dictating
Speaker 1: tempo a lot for the Packers in those games. Against
Speaker 1: Washington last week, we saw the defense allow less than
Speaker 1: two hundred yards total yards until Washington's final drive when
Speaker 1: it was twenty to nine and they were in the
Speaker 1: complete hurry up mode and they had to score twice
Speaker 1: within the last couple of minutes of the ballgame. So
Speaker 1: again that's a sign, but that doesn't mean everything is
Speaker 1: suddenly fixed, because you need to be able to stay
Speaker 1: at that level for an extended period and and on
Speaker 1: the offensive side of the ball. I think it has
Speaker 1: it has worked for this Packers team to have different
Speaker 1: guys step up at different times and for this team
Speaker 1: overall to find different ways to win. But that but
Speaker 1: we've seen the ups and downs of this as it's
Speaker 1: gone along through nineteen and the Packers need to you
Speaker 1: want to still, I mean, everybody needs to be ready
Speaker 1: for his opportunity, right if you're going to be the
Speaker 1: guy who's the star of that game, if you're going
Speaker 1: to be the guy who makes the key play at
Speaker 1: the key time. And that's how this team has put
Speaker 1: together ten wins in thirteen games so far. But on
Speaker 1: the whole, you have to find a certain level of
Speaker 1: play here. You've got all your division opponents coming up
Speaker 1: and then hopefully some more games in January. You have
Speaker 1: to find a certain level of play here and then
Speaker 1: maintain that standard because at this stage of the season,
Speaker 1: any significant dip can turn out to be really, really costly. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it really can. Because even though the Packers said at
Speaker 1: ten wins it was funny. I was talking with John
Speaker 1: Coon yesterday about this, and you know some of the
Speaker 1: things that they've worked through in two thousand and eight,
Speaker 1: the first time that he was able to beat the Bears,
Speaker 1: you know, that was a monumental moment for him, and
Speaker 1: it's end up being what set him up for that
Speaker 1: for that run that they got on over the next
Speaker 1: two years to win a Super Bowl. It all starts,
Speaker 1: it always starts in the division, and the Packers this
Speaker 1: year have a chance for the first time since two
Speaker 1: thousand eleven to go six and oh the division since
Speaker 1: two thousand and eleven. And this matchup with the Bears
Speaker 1: represents so much more than just a game, just an
Speaker 1: NFC North of Black and Blue Division matchup. There there's
Speaker 1: so much at stake here in terms of history and
Speaker 1: also in terms of being able to feel really good
Speaker 1: about yourself going into Minnesota the week after. But the
Speaker 1: game has changed a little bit. I look at two
Speaker 1: thousand four, I brought this up when I was kind
Speaker 1: of paging through the thumbing through the media guide. It
Speaker 1: was incredible to me that the Packers they had beaten
Speaker 1: Minnesota to win the NFC North. They went ten and
Speaker 1: six that year, Minnesota got into the playoffs. I think
Speaker 1: at eight and eight as a wild card. It's remarkable
Speaker 1: when you go back and think about it now, the
Speaker 1: Packers in most years sitting at ten and three. As
Speaker 1: as I said in yesterday's show, Mike McCarthy's old mantra,
Speaker 1: that's when you start thinking playoffs. This year, that's not
Speaker 1: the case. Ten wins may not get you in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Eleven wins could potentially not get you in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: There are mathematical there are mathematical scenarios where teams in
Speaker 1: the NFC, the Packers included, could finish eleven and five
Speaker 1: and still be on the outside looking at exactly and
Speaker 1: the Packers they want to win that. The intention once
Speaker 1: you get past this game, win loser draw on Sunday
Speaker 1: against the Bears is they want to go into US
Speaker 1: Bank Stadium and get that victory against the Vikings. That's
Speaker 1: the litmus test, that's the barometer, because by all accounts,
Speaker 1: the Vikings look to be a playoff team. But with
Speaker 1: this game against Chicago, if you're able to win this
Speaker 1: and then you win Detroit in two weeks, your work
Speaker 1: is cut out for you the division champion, and depending
Speaker 1: on how much anarchy happens here in the NFC, you
Speaker 1: could be something even more than that. I look at
Speaker 1: this matchup in terms of, yes, what it means historically, Yes,
Speaker 1: what it means to this year's team, but also from
Speaker 1: the standpoint of what's the best way to get hot
Speaker 1: late in the season in December. When you look at
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers numbers, it's to win these NFC North matchups
Speaker 1: with how this division layout is played out in what
Speaker 1: better way to do it than a win against the
Speaker 1: Bears on Sunday. Yeah, And we saw what this exact
Speaker 1: NFC North gonet it did for the Packers in three
Speaker 1: years ago when they were in a different position where
Speaker 1: they were they were fighting to get into the playoffs,
Speaker 1: they were looking for help from elsewhere. But they had
Speaker 1: all three division opponents lined up in weeks fifteen, sixteen seventeen,
Speaker 1: and they ran it, and they ran it all the
Speaker 1: way to the NFC Championship game before they before they
Speaker 1: ran into a buzz on in Atlanta. And it's really coincidental, Mike,
Speaker 1: because that reason I was thumbing through the media guide
Speaker 1: was because an inbox reader it asked, when was the
Speaker 1: last time the Packers have finished with back to back
Speaker 1: road games to finish a season? That is that is
Speaker 1: a challenging aspect to this year's schedule, and it was
Speaker 1: it was two thousand and four. And for the Packers
Speaker 1: to be in a position here to have eleven wins
Speaker 1: entering that stretch that gives you a little bit more
Speaker 1: breathing room depending on crazy scenarios that could play out.
Speaker 1: And then, by the way, if you take care of
Speaker 1: business and you win all three of these things, well
Speaker 1: then you get a buy. So the stakes I wrote
Speaker 1: this in a Darnell Savage player on the Rise that
Speaker 1: I put together on Thursday, the stakes are extremely high
Speaker 1: right now. And when the NFL made this adjustment to
Speaker 1: finish the year against your division, this was the type
Speaker 1: of you know, drama they hope to create. And for
Speaker 1: the Packers to be back in this scenario where these
Speaker 1: things are meaningful and the Packers are looking to get
Speaker 1: to the postseason for the first time since two thousand
Speaker 1: and sixteen, doesn't get much more exciting than that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: just to clarify for folks too, if you're looking at, okay,
Speaker 1: how can the Packers win the division if they don't
Speaker 1: run it and win all three and finish thirteen and three.
Speaker 1: A couple of different ways. You can beat the Bears
Speaker 1: and beat the Lions and get to twelve wins, and
Speaker 1: you'll be the division champs if the Packers were to
Speaker 1: happen to lose to the Bears and the Lions. But
Speaker 1: if they beat the Vikings next week, the Packers are
Speaker 1: also division champs. Um with um because that would be
Speaker 1: the Vikings fifth loss. Both teams would finish eleven and
Speaker 1: five in that potential scenario, and the Packers would have
Speaker 1: the head to head sweep. So there's a couple of
Speaker 1: different ways here Green Bay can win the division. But
Speaker 1: you just mentioned the rookie set rookie safety. Excuse me,
Speaker 1: Darnell Savage and and you uh later today or at
Speaker 1: some point after we're done taping here, a story as
Speaker 1: this week's Player on the Rise will be posted on
Speaker 1: our website with regard to Savage. And what's interesting to
Speaker 1: me is we we had talked about this at the
Speaker 1: beginning of the season. I think we're starting to see
Speaker 1: it come to fruition now the combination of a rookie,
Speaker 1: very athletic, very talented young safety being paired with a
Speaker 1: veteran who has been through a lot of battles, been
Speaker 1: through a lot of wars, so to speak, and and
Speaker 1: kind of knows the landscape of the NFL. It took
Speaker 1: a little bit of a break when Savage had to
Speaker 1: miss a couple of games back in October with an
Speaker 1: ankle injury. But this, this pairing in the back end
Speaker 1: of the Packers secondary, I think is is really starting
Speaker 1: to become what they were hoping well. And it was
Speaker 1: tough for the Packers during that time too, because not
Speaker 1: only were they without Savage, then you also had to
Speaker 1: take ad your names and move him up to being
Speaker 1: a box linebacker, playing that hybrid role next to Blake Martinez. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's playing a little out of position there. I tip
Speaker 1: my cap to Amos for what he did. He did
Speaker 1: not complain about it. He stepped up admirally. But as
Speaker 1: I mentioned to you back then to Mike, the Packers
Speaker 1: didn't pay Adrian Amos the money that they did. They
Speaker 1: didn't bring him in from Chicago to be an inside
Speaker 1: linebacker next to Blake Martinez. They had to do that
Speaker 1: out of necessity trying to bridge the gap to when
Speaker 1: they got Ibraheim Campbell back after losing Raven Green. But
Speaker 1: they want him playing in that setting, that deep at
Speaker 1: the back end. They want him being able to rove
Speaker 1: a little bit, you know, make plays as a strong safety,
Speaker 1: but not necessarily be a guy that's just lining up
Speaker 1: right five yards behind the defensive front. And I really
Speaker 1: from Amos's perspective starting there, I thought that Washington game
Speaker 1: really illustrated his value to this defense. He made a
Speaker 1: clutch interception at the end of the first half that
Speaker 1: that ended a potential drive there for Washington. He had
Speaker 1: the sack early off of Blitz. He was uncovered, he
Speaker 1: was nobody covered his hat, but he still was able
Speaker 1: to finish it against an athletic quarterback against Haskins for
Speaker 1: negative yardists play got the big guy down. And even
Speaker 1: more than that, you just see how smart he is
Speaker 1: and how he's utilized in the secondary. I mentioned this
Speaker 1: earlier this week. I'm gonna mention again so much wants
Speaker 1: to be made out of Amos playing the Bears. I'm
Speaker 1: sure Clinton Dix is answering the questions about Green Bay
Speaker 1: right now, but both of these guys for what's being
Speaker 1: asked to them fit those secondary pictures really well. I
Speaker 1: don't think there's a winner and the loser in this case.
Speaker 1: If anything, the Packers got an extra fourth round pick
Speaker 1: out of this transaction. Okay, Now looking at Savage, a
Speaker 1: young man that came in, he rose up the boards
Speaker 1: four point three six forty time, which is just remarkable
Speaker 1: for a free safety. He he ends up being a
Speaker 1: first round pick, the first defensive pack off the board.
Speaker 1: And how many times can you remember, Mike and all
Speaker 1: your years covering this team where we've mis stepped into
Speaker 1: that first o t a practice and there's a rookie
Speaker 1: that's starting out there with the defense. It doesn't work
Speaker 1: like that. The story I always say is Eddie Lacey
Speaker 1: for his harolded as he was when they drafted him
Speaker 1: in two thousand thirteen. He was still behind Alex Green
Speaker 1: and James Starks and in the veteran running backs. The
Speaker 1: Packers thought so much of Savage in in what his
Speaker 1: role had to be this year, he was out there
Speaker 1: from day one. He made two big plays the first
Speaker 1: month of the season, became the first safety to start
Speaker 1: the regular season opener since Morgan Burnett in two thousand
Speaker 1: and ten, he has to work through the ankle injury.
Speaker 1: But I think now these last few weeks, you're seeing
Speaker 1: a guy that's getting comfortable. He's still only twenty two
Speaker 1: years old, and he's making plays at a critical position
Speaker 1: in this defense. If the Packers defense the things that
Speaker 1: you were outlining that they need to do to return
Speaker 1: to form here and to make a real presence this
Speaker 1: last month in the season and into the postseason, it
Speaker 1: starts with that safety position. I think you're seeing Amos
Speaker 1: and Savage both being healthy and playing their natural roles,
Speaker 1: being able to bring that dimension to the secondary. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think we've certainly seen some of the
Speaker 1: expected ups and downs with the rookie safety and needed
Speaker 1: to have the injury to deal with the middle of
Speaker 1: the season and all that. I'd like to also comment
Speaker 1: though on Amos for those who like to check out
Speaker 1: my what you Might Have Missed feature with a little
Speaker 1: bit of the game film which was posted on the
Speaker 1: website on Tuesday. Going through the defensive film from the
Speaker 1: Washington game, I was really really impressed with Amos and
Speaker 1: I got a couple of snap on there. I'm not
Speaker 1: showing his interception and the unblocked, you know, sack on
Speaker 1: the blitz. You're like, yeah, did anybody miss that? Like
Speaker 1: that was pretty obvious, right, But I put a couple
Speaker 1: of snaps in there that showed that, Uh, that showed
Speaker 1: both both against run and pass some of the players
Speaker 1: that Amos was making in that game. His run support
Speaker 1: against Adrian Peterson in that Washington game was really really key.
Speaker 1: Just played disciplined, disciplined football where where it was like
Speaker 1: he wasn't necessarily like, oh, I've got to rush up
Speaker 1: and make the tackle. There were a couple of instances
Speaker 1: he had to do that, but sometimes it was I
Speaker 1: need to rush up and get into the right spot
Speaker 1: to funnel him, to funnel the running back back to
Speaker 1: where the pursuit is to bring him down, and his
Speaker 1: job was to make sure Peterson couldn't bounce outside and
Speaker 1: get to the sideline. Things like that. He also had
Speaker 1: another play where he chased down um chased down a
Speaker 1: pass play the he came up to try to to
Speaker 1: potentially take the tight end. The tight end leaked into
Speaker 1: the flat Kyler Facker want with him. There was an
Speaker 1: over route coming from coming behind Amos. He just turned
Speaker 1: his back and sprinted over to the sideline and for
Speaker 1: folks who remember that was the past that basically hit
Speaker 1: him in the back of the head, But he beat
Speaker 1: the receiver to the spot in in that instance, and
Speaker 1: that's why that's why he was there to make the play.
Speaker 1: So I was just really really impressed with his game.
Speaker 1: And obviously we all remember that he was the hero
Speaker 1: in Chicago in Week one with the interception in the
Speaker 1: end zone in the fourth quarter. But he's a guy
Speaker 1: who continues to play down this whole thing about playing
Speaker 1: against his former team and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1: That's not what it's about for him, especially here in
Speaker 1: week fifteen. This is about where this Packers team has
Speaker 1: potentially had. I don't know if Adrian has ever met
Speaker 1: Morgan Burnett, but I mean, like there's a lot of
Speaker 1: similarities between those two, and I always I got along
Speaker 1: really well with Morgan. So maybe that's why I really
Speaker 1: like what Amos brings. Because he's not a demonstrative person.
Speaker 1: He's very even keel and he'll respectfully answer your question.
Speaker 1: He's just he doesn't buy into that, and it's not
Speaker 1: because he doesn't want to create headlines. He legitimately doesn't
Speaker 1: care now and if anything, We're we've already got on
Speaker 1: through what he knew he was gonna have to go
Speaker 1: through that week one. Why would that still be a
Speaker 1: conversation now, I mean, are we We're just gonna sit
Speaker 1: here and just keep asking guys about Therefore, you know,
Speaker 1: should we ask some questions about Zadarius Smith and Baltimore
Speaker 1: like next year? I mean, it is what it is,
Speaker 1: But in terms of his impact, I think it needs
Speaker 1: to be put out there too, that Eddie Jackson had
Speaker 1: a terrible injury coming out of Alabama, but they asked
Speaker 1: Aimos to be the compliment to him. This rookie that was,
Speaker 1: you know, wasn't able to do a lot of stuff
Speaker 1: during the offseason program, was not able to do stuff
Speaker 1: during the pre draft process. They asked him to partner
Speaker 1: with this kid, and and you see, Jackson has kind
Speaker 1: of flourished into an All Pro player. And I think
Speaker 1: when you look at the intangibles, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: those same parallels that can be drawn with Darnell Savage
Speaker 1: and being able to get on a run with two
Speaker 1: safeties at the same position, being able to play off
Speaker 1: each other. That's when these secondaries have been at their best.
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, The Packers lost Morgan Burnett to an
Speaker 1: a C L in two thousand and ten and that
Speaker 1: forced them to have to pivot to Charlie Pepper. But
Speaker 1: then you had Collins and Pepper kind of working off
Speaker 1: each other. When you get two guys that can play
Speaker 1: their natural spots and be able to understand the responsibilities together,
Speaker 1: that's going to be what helps you out on those
Speaker 1: deep balls, on those explosive plays. And I love that
Speaker 1: you had illustrated that play that that Amos had made
Speaker 1: because those are the somewhat off script type things that
Speaker 1: a safety of free safety is strong safety. They just
Speaker 1: have to be accountable for you see that a guy
Speaker 1: has covered. Okay, go find work. Where can you make
Speaker 1: yourself useful? It's on the trick that they're trying to
Speaker 1: pull behind you with the with the outroute. So it's
Speaker 1: it's it's it's it's making those it's making those reactions.
Speaker 1: I'm sure part of it was film study that he recognized,
Speaker 1: he recognized in the proper moment where the ball was
Speaker 1: potentially going to go, and so so he got himself there.
Speaker 1: And that those are the kinds of things that veterans
Speaker 1: can do and can help teach a young guy like
Speaker 1: Savage so that he gets to that level as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and and the other thing is too that I don't
Speaker 1: think you can discount about this, and we'll be able
Speaker 1: to discuss this all offseason. I imagine it's going to
Speaker 1: be a huge storyline when we go to the combine
Speaker 1: and maybe even through to the owners meetings, how healthy
Speaker 1: this team has been this year. Matt Lafleur keeps he
Speaker 1: keeps cushioning all that by saying, you have to be fortunate, lucky,
Speaker 1: and there is truth to that. There's just strange things
Speaker 1: that happened. Guys get hurt and you have to play
Speaker 1: through it. But the thing that I think is underrated
Speaker 1: about all this is that again on Wednesday's practice practice
Speaker 1: it was modified, but you had all fifty three guys
Speaker 1: out there. Last week, they had all fifty three guys
Speaker 1: out there. When these guys can work like that, especially
Speaker 1: in this defense, I don't think it is any type of,
Speaker 1: you know, coincidence that you've seen the defense, relatively speaking,
Speaker 1: have two strong performances back to back out of any
Speaker 1: particular phase or unit that probably needed to be able
Speaker 1: to get some confidence back. It's Mike Petton's team and
Speaker 1: being able to, you know, have everybody out there and
Speaker 1: everybody participating. Trumon Williams has been a veteran rusk guy,
Speaker 1: but for the most part, they've been able to just
Speaker 1: kind of work with those pieces together. That goes a
Speaker 1: long way. Yeah, And the other thing I wanted to
Speaker 1: mention also with the defense, when I mentioned Washington's total
Speaker 1: yards under two d until the final drive last week,
Speaker 1: only really two explosive plays allowed until that final drive
Speaker 1: late in the fourth quarter, Darius Guys had a twenty
Speaker 1: three yard run. They hit a thirty yard pass over
Speaker 1: the middle on a on a third and long situation. Otherwise,
Speaker 1: the gains the progress Washington was make was was in
Speaker 1: much smaller chunks. It was kept more manageable. I think
Speaker 1: that's also a very good sign for this defense going forward.
Speaker 1: But as I said, one game doesn't mean that your
Speaker 1: issue is fixed. So before we go here, West, I
Speaker 1: want to I started the show by saying, it's the
Speaker 1: two Packers Bearers game coming up this Sunday. Do you
Speaker 1: have a specific Packers Bears rivalry memory from your youth?
Speaker 1: I mean, before we got into all this, Like, that's
Speaker 1: a great question. All that is there one? Is there
Speaker 1: one from your youth that sticks out? You know which
Speaker 1: one always? I kind of remember. I think it was
Speaker 1: oh one, right when they went thirteen and three under
Speaker 1: Dick Drawn Yes, and Jim Miller was the quarterback, Jim
Speaker 1: Jim Miller and Shane Matthews. Shane Matthews started at the beginning,
Speaker 1: and then it became Miller. I think this was mostly
Speaker 1: because Kate McNown really didn't work out for them, and
Speaker 1: Miller the journeyman, Jim Miller ends up being their starter,
Speaker 1: if I remember correctly. Uh, the Bears went thirteen and
Speaker 1: three that year, and I believe the Packers handed them
Speaker 1: their two losses, right, two of those two of those
Speaker 1: three losses. Yes, we're to Green Bayes. That is correct,
Speaker 1: And that was kind of always fun for me I
Speaker 1: as a kid. I just thought that was really cool
Speaker 1: because it's like even when the Bears like had their
Speaker 1: good year, Uh, the Packers still ended up getting the
Speaker 1: better of them. That season. Was a great defense, much
Speaker 1: like what they had in two thousand six, very defensive
Speaker 1: heavy team. Um, that's one that stands out to me.
Speaker 1: I remember there was some some solid performances that Edgar
Speaker 1: Bennett had against the Bears when I was really young. Um,
Speaker 1: but yeah, those are those are the ones. Like you
Speaker 1: asked me a question like that, that's the first thing
Speaker 1: that pops off on my mind. Well, I'll tell a story,
Speaker 1: and I've mentioned this story and Insider in Box. Actually
Speaker 1: I've got two stories for you if you got some time.
Speaker 1: I think. Um, I've told this story and Insider Inbox before.
Speaker 1: When I was a kid. Four was the first year
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears held their training up in Platteville in
Speaker 1: my hometown. Okay, I've never been to an NFL game
Speaker 1: in my life. My father that year for Christmas got um,
Speaker 1: got us tickets to Packers Bears at Soldier Field. There
Speaker 1: was like a fan bus type thing leaving from our
Speaker 1: hometown to go to Chicago. Back then, it was about
Speaker 1: a four hour about a four hour car. So this
Speaker 1: and this is a This is a late December game
Speaker 1: Packers Bears at Soldier Field. Lind Dicky was injured. Whoever
Speaker 1: the Bear starting quarterback was at the time was injured.
Speaker 1: This was Rich Campbell against Greg Landry Okay at quarterback,
Speaker 1: and Landry actually gets hurt in the game and Walter
Speaker 1: Payton plays quarterback for a couple of series. It was
Speaker 1: before the wildcat had ever been invented. Walter Payton's taken
Speaker 1: shotgun snaps trying to throw it, actually through an interception
Speaker 1: at the end of the first half. The Packers end
Speaker 1: up winning the game on essentially a hail Mary type
Speaker 1: of pass from Rich Campbell to Philip Epps the final minute.
Speaker 1: The Packers pull it out. The Bears ended up going
Speaker 1: to the playoffs that year. The Packers weren't going anywhere,
Speaker 1: but it was definitely a feather in the cap of
Speaker 1: the Packers to knock off the Bears late in the season.
Speaker 1: That's the first NFL game I ever attended in my life.
Speaker 1: I was twelve years old at the time, and I'll
Speaker 1: never forget it. The other story I want to tell
Speaker 1: you quickly, my first year in the newspaper business. I'm
Speaker 1: at the wa Saw Daily Herald. It's the fall of
Speaker 1: I had just gotten out of school and it was
Speaker 1: November and I'm working Saturday night. We're putting putting together
Speaker 1: the sports pages for the Sunday morning paper and everything,
Speaker 1: working late, make deadline, the presses start running and everything.
Speaker 1: The next day. That that Sunday, the Packers were hosting
Speaker 1: the Bears, and both teams were, you know, right in
Speaker 1: the hunt. You know, it was mid November at that time.
Speaker 1: And our city editor just comes walking by my desk
Speaker 1: as he's about to walk out of the building after
Speaker 1: the end of the long night of work. He's like,
Speaker 1: what are you doing tomorrow? I'm like, nothing, I got
Speaker 1: the day off, and he drops two tickets to lambeau
Speaker 1: Field on my desk for the Packers Bears game in uh.
Speaker 1: And I and one of my best friends was actually
Speaker 1: coming up to visit. We were going out for drinks
Speaker 1: when I got off of work. So we get to
Speaker 1: the bar and I slapped the tickets down and front
Speaker 1: and go, look where we're going tomorrow, pal, you know,
Speaker 1: and and so we and that ends up being the
Speaker 1: Brett Farve Ankle game with the five touchdown passest eight.
Speaker 1: The Packers end up beating the Bears. Eric Kramer actually
Speaker 1: converted like a hail Mary pass at the end of
Speaker 1: the first half, and it was just a great, great
Speaker 1: football game. And uh and you know, the roar of
Speaker 1: the crowd when Farve came out because he hadn't practiced
Speaker 1: all week and nobody knew if he was going to play.
Speaker 1: I ended up being at that game in the stands
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field by an absolute stroke of luck, and
Speaker 1: uh yeah, and it's it goes down as one of
Speaker 1: the great Packers Bears games of all time because of
Speaker 1: far throwing the five touchdowns on the bad ankle with
Speaker 1: the big rap on it and everything, and I was
Speaker 1: fortunate enough to be there. So those are my Packers
Speaker 1: Bears memories. As we get set for game number two
Speaker 1: hundred on Sunday and want to just throw in one
Speaker 1: of mine that was from my actual work experience, I
Speaker 1: have to do a shout out to the two thousand
Speaker 1: thirteen game and the Rogers to Cob catch because the
Speaker 1: Soldier Field press box is good for nothing. It is
Speaker 1: a terrible, terrible view of a game. Terrible location, yes,
Speaker 1: and if it wasn't for the location wasn't bad enough,
Speaker 1: they got like these weird like white like things that
Speaker 1: are on there that like block certain parts of Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: the whole the whole window frames set up and everything
Speaker 1: like that. I mean, forget about I mean, it's like
Speaker 1: trying to cover a game out of your grandmother's house.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's a terrible view. All that being said,
Speaker 1: it actually was a great view for the Randall Cob
Speaker 1: play and watching and watching that develop the way it did.
Speaker 1: There aren't too many moments, Detroit, and fifteen is certainly
Speaker 1: one of them. There aren't too many moments that you
Speaker 1: actually remember I remember from just watching the game visibly,
Speaker 1: but that's one of them, because it's just it was
Speaker 1: incredible watching that develop in understanding what had just happened,
Speaker 1: how there would have been that breakdown and coverage and
Speaker 1: Rogers just having that lazy or focus on Cobb. They're
Speaker 1: being able to extend that play. It was one of
Speaker 1: those that's so easy that you could drop it right
Speaker 1: and cop comes through and it comes right at us. Well,
Speaker 1: and I don't know if you remember, I don't know
Speaker 1: if your ears recall this, but our good friend Jason Wildy,
Speaker 1: who's been covering the Packers for a long time, I
Speaker 1: will never forget because he was I was in the
Speaker 1: second row of the press box. Jason Wilde is in
Speaker 1: front of me at that particular time, and before Rogers
Speaker 1: throws the ball, all I hear is Willdi's voice go,
Speaker 1: He's wide open, you know. And that's before anybody on
Speaker 1: TV could see it, because on television you don't see
Speaker 1: that Cob is wide open until the ball is coming
Speaker 1: and uh, and I just remember that because the press
Speaker 1: box was completely quiet, and of course, you know, everybody
Speaker 1: is supposed to be professional and we are and uh
Speaker 1: and it was just funny. It was. It was, yeah,
Speaker 1: it was. It was just this sort of stunned small
Speaker 1: outbursts like he's wide open, and it was like everybody
Speaker 1: in the press box heard it. And then of course
Speaker 1: the ball gets caught in the touchdown and the Packers
Speaker 1: go to the playoffs, So yeah, they're there are certainly
Speaker 1: memories from being in US boxes as well as sitting
Speaker 1: in this and that one's just one that's always going
Speaker 1: to be seared on my brain, just because of how
Speaker 1: terrible it usually is trying to watch a game there,
Speaker 1: and in that particular instance, it was absolutely perfect. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we had a great view of that play. Well, we've
Speaker 1: gone a little bit over time today, but we will
Speaker 1: sign off on this edition of Packers Unscript, but be
Speaker 1: sure to follow all of our coverage of the team
Speaker 1: on Packers dot com, Subscribe to us like us on
Speaker 1: iTunes and other podcast services, and check out the Packers
Speaker 1: YouTube channel for all kinds of great video content for West.
Speaker 1: I'm Mike, Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.