Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford sitting next to the one and
Speaker 1: only Wes Hodkowits were coming to you here from our
Speaker 1: studios at lambeau Field West, our final show of the week,
Speaker 1: Packers Bears, Sunday noon Central kickoff at lambeau Field. It's
Speaker 1: almost here and as we wrap up the week, that
Speaker 1: means keys to victory. So as the Packers search for
Speaker 1: win number eleven, trying to get to eleven and three
Speaker 1: before they hit the road for the final two regular
Speaker 1: season games of the year, what's it going to take
Speaker 1: in this one consistency? And that's one of the things
Speaker 1: we heard this week from Aaron Rodgers and Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 1: I think it isn't just a comfortable cliche though. It's
Speaker 1: something I think there's a lot of truth too, because
Speaker 1: if you look at the way that this offense, defense,
Speaker 1: and special teams have performed throughout the year, if you
Speaker 1: could put together all their top performances, they could compete
Speaker 1: with any team in the league. But it's about, Okay,
Speaker 1: what are you gonna get out of those three phases
Speaker 1: in any given week? And who's going to be the
Speaker 1: one that kind of rises above, because that's been the
Speaker 1: kind of the when their ten victories, one particular phase
Speaker 1: always seems to stand out. And I just think that
Speaker 1: when you hear guys talk about this in the locker room,
Speaker 1: we haven't played our best game yet, we haven't played
Speaker 1: a four quarter game yet. There is truth to that. Now.
Speaker 1: Don't get me wrong. It's been enough to be ten
Speaker 1: and three, and there's you know, twenty some teams in
Speaker 1: this league right now. They would do anything to have
Speaker 1: ten victories at this juncture the season. But it's what
Speaker 1: Matt Fleur keeps saying in terms of what's still out
Speaker 1: there for them. They feel like there's still things that
Speaker 1: they can accomplish. And when I look at this offense
Speaker 1: in particular, just the offense with Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones,
Speaker 1: Davante Adams, Alan Lazard, all these other pieces that we've
Speaker 1: talked about, they've all shined independently in different games and
Speaker 1: different scenarios. Can you get them all on the same
Speaker 1: age together, whether it's this week or Minnesota Detroit. I
Speaker 1: just think that's critical for them trying to mount the
Speaker 1: playoff push here to finally you know see what that
Speaker 1: looks like when you can get everything clicking on all cylinders. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think you and I both agree that this Packers
Speaker 1: team has not played its best game yet. I think
Speaker 1: both of us believe, as Matt lafleuris continue to say,
Speaker 1: as Aaron Rodgers has also said, there is another level
Speaker 1: out there for this team, but there's no guarantee you're
Speaker 1: going to get there. You still you still have to
Speaker 1: find it. You have to push your level of play there,
Speaker 1: and then you have to try to maintain yourself at
Speaker 1: that at that level of play for as long as possible.
Speaker 1: And I agree with you. I think whether it's whether
Speaker 1: it's this Sunday against the Bears, whether it's next week
Speaker 1: on Monday Night against Minnesota, I think the Packers need
Speaker 1: to find that level and uh then that will set
Speaker 1: themselves up potentially to make a run in January here
Speaker 1: as far as this Bears team is concerned, I think
Speaker 1: the Packers have to be ready for you know what,
Speaker 1: do you call it the punch in the mouth of
Speaker 1: the haymaker. I mean this Bears team, they are they
Speaker 1: are fired up. They were taking a lot of hits
Speaker 1: from all directions. The midpoint of the season, they had
Speaker 1: dropped to I believe it was three and five. At
Speaker 1: the midway point, they were three and five after eight games.
Speaker 1: Everybody was They've won four their last five now, including
Speaker 1: three in a row. They're coming in here with as
Speaker 1: we talked about way back at the beginning of the week,
Speaker 1: their season is on the line. They are going to
Speaker 1: absolutely pull up, pull out all the stops. They're coming
Speaker 1: off of back to back Thursday games, so they've had
Speaker 1: a little bit of extra rest since their big Thursday
Speaker 1: night victory at home last week against Dallas. I think
Speaker 1: the Packers really the Packers have to be ready for
Speaker 1: a team. I know it's a cliche to say you're
Speaker 1: going to get their best shot. The Packers really are
Speaker 1: going to get the Bears best shot on Sunday. There's
Speaker 1: no doubt in my mind about that. I've always had
Speaker 1: a lot of for Matt Nage. I think he's a
Speaker 1: brilliant offensive mind. I think what he was able to
Speaker 1: accomplish in Kansas sitting and then come into Chicago, it
Speaker 1: goes without saying at this point that he's a good
Speaker 1: football coach. I think what we learned this year about
Speaker 1: him is he's a good leader and for them to
Speaker 1: be able to pull out of this. There's Chicago Bears teams,
Speaker 1: I can tell you, and this isn't an indictment on
Speaker 1: any particular coach, but where there were years where if
Speaker 1: they fall three and five, the unravelings begun. And that's
Speaker 1: what they were hearing from the outside. That is like, oh,
Speaker 1: the Bears with Matt Nagge, there are a one year wonder.
Speaker 1: They went twelve and four, they got knocked out of
Speaker 1: the playoffs and that's it, you know, And it's like,
Speaker 1: do they need to find another quarterback instead of Trabisky.
Speaker 1: All of that was going on in Chicago and all
Speaker 1: of a sudden they're seven and six and they're fighting
Speaker 1: for everything they can get. And make no mistake, the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers need to win this game on Sunday.
Speaker 1: They need to take care of what they need to
Speaker 1: take care of. They have ten wins, the Bears have seven.
Speaker 1: And the Bears, even though they've called themselves back, it
Speaker 1: hasn't been against premier NFL talent and all that considered.
Speaker 1: Why I bring this all up is, let's just say
Speaker 1: the Packers do take care of business. It is still
Speaker 1: in Horton for the Bears to finish strong here, because
Speaker 1: I don't think you're gonna see a dissimilation of just
Speaker 1: this entire you know, organization. They still want to be
Speaker 1: within that reach of the playoffs to give themselves some confidence,
Speaker 1: to give themselves some belief that, Okay, two thousand twenty,
Speaker 1: we can still stay on this trajectory. Mitchell Rubinsky can
Speaker 1: be our guy in our defense. Is going to be
Speaker 1: the group that we think it is. The Packers need
Speaker 1: to kind of ease them into that next season. That's
Speaker 1: their goal. I mean, Aaron Jones even talked about it.
Speaker 1: He didn't really realize this. To be honest with you,
Speaker 1: I didn't realize this. The Chicago Bears and almost an
Speaker 1: exact same scenario last year, effectively shut the door on
Speaker 1: the Packers playoff hopes with that victory late in the season.
Speaker 1: Now Green Bay wants to do the same. Yeah. From
Speaker 1: an x IS and O standpoint here, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think you and I are definitely on the same page
Speaker 1: as far as this goes. I think defensively for the Packers,
Speaker 1: this game comes down to how you defend Mitchell Trubisky.
Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is whether he's doing
Speaker 1: the read option runs with David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen,
Speaker 1: or whether he's scrambling out of the pocket trying to
Speaker 1: make plays with his legs. Those are the kinds of
Speaker 1: things the Packers have to be. Matt Lafleur used the
Speaker 1: word discipline several times at the podium this week. It's
Speaker 1: disciplined with that read option so that you don't just
Speaker 1: sell out to stop the running back, because Trubisky can
Speaker 1: tuck the ball and run. It's discipline with your pass
Speaker 1: rush lanes so that when he when he drops back
Speaker 1: to pass, you're not giving him these easy escape routes
Speaker 1: to be able to to get to the marker and
Speaker 1: move the chains on a third and seven, for example.
Speaker 1: Those are the kinds of things if if the Packers,
Speaker 1: if the Packers can contain Mitchell Rubinsky and not let
Speaker 1: him dictate things with his legs, which is what which
Speaker 1: is really what he did against Chicago, I'm sorry, in
Speaker 1: Chicago against Dallas last week, I think that's uh. That
Speaker 1: to me, that's the whole key to this game and
Speaker 1: keeping the Bears down. He had excuse me, two yards
Speaker 1: passing on attempts and the opener was sacked five times.
Speaker 1: The Packers kept a barrage of pressure in his face,
Speaker 1: and the edge resher has kept their integrity. That's going
Speaker 1: to be critical. The other thing I think is gonna
Speaker 1: be critical in this equation is David Montgomery, because well,
Speaker 1: Montgomery hasn't had maybe that two yard game where okay,
Speaker 1: all the Yahoo Fantasy and ESPN everyone's like talking about
Speaker 1: this guy. He's a star now and people start to
Speaker 1: want to put him on their roster and make sure
Speaker 1: he's a top five talent, and then everybody knows who
Speaker 1: David Montgomery has. He hasn't had that type of game yet,
Speaker 1: but he is their best option in the backfield now.
Speaker 1: Terrik Cohen a nice gap back, but David Montgomery, the
Speaker 1: reason they drafted him last year was to be that
Speaker 1: number one guy. This guys two pounds at five tens.
Speaker 1: He's got a lot of power in that in that body.
Speaker 1: He's a pistol. And for all the things that happened
Speaker 1: in that opening, we can talk about Trabisky, we can
Speaker 1: talk about the low scoring game. I thought the number
Speaker 1: one mistake the Bears did. And this is no disrespect
Speaker 1: to Mike Davis. I have a lot of respect for
Speaker 1: how he able, he was able to claw himself back
Speaker 1: and make a career out of this thing for himself.
Speaker 1: But they pulled the band aid half off this offseason.
Speaker 1: They either got to go all the way or you
Speaker 1: gotta keep it on. And what I mean by that
Speaker 1: is they got rid of Jordan Howard and then they
Speaker 1: signed Davis to a two year deal, who, for the
Speaker 1: most part, is a very similar type back if you're
Speaker 1: going to usher in the David Montgomery era for a
Speaker 1: running back usher in the David Montgomery era, he didn't
Speaker 1: get nearly enough touches in that opener, and we're seeing
Speaker 1: it now. Yeah, and Davis really wasn't able to get
Speaker 1: anything going, and they weren't able to run the ball.
Speaker 1: We can talk forever about all the things that went
Speaker 1: wrong with Trabinsky in that game. He didn't have a
Speaker 1: chance to get the run game going at all. And
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter if it's the Packers defense, it doesn't
Speaker 1: matter who you're playing. If you are one dimensional with
Speaker 1: a third year quarterback that has certain limitations, it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a long day at the office. I I just
Speaker 1: think that not only containing Trabinsky but also making sure
Speaker 1: that you hold Montgomery and check because this time he's
Speaker 1: going to get the touches, Mike. It's not going to
Speaker 1: be like the opener where he got six or seven
Speaker 1: carries and then a couple of catches. I mean, there's
Speaker 1: gonna be touch guy, Yeah, no question about it. You
Speaker 1: look at last week, Trabinsky had sixty plus rushing yards
Speaker 1: against the Cowboys. That was by far his biggest total
Speaker 1: of nineteen and actually his second largest rushing total of
Speaker 1: his career. So that's the sign that he's getting back
Speaker 1: to being that running and scrambling mits true biscuit that
Speaker 1: we saw the first couple of years of his career.
Speaker 1: And with regard to Montgomery, eighty six rushing yards last
Speaker 1: week against Dallas, that's that's his second highest total of
Speaker 1: his rookie season. He has one one yard game. He
Speaker 1: had a hundred and thirty five yards I believe it
Speaker 1: wasn't in one game this season. But the twenty carries
Speaker 1: for eighty six yards in the last game against the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: that's what I think the Packers are going to see
Speaker 1: on Sunday. He is going to be the bell cow.
Speaker 1: He's going to be the number one running back and
Speaker 1: that read option stuff you know, uh, you know, the
Speaker 1: the whole mesh point thing and is true bisky gonna
Speaker 1: hand it or pull it all that? I think. I
Speaker 1: think that's where this Bears offense is starting to kind
Speaker 1: of just get more comfortable with itself because Montgomery is
Speaker 1: settling into being that number one back here at the
Speaker 1: tail end of his rookie season, and Matt said all
Speaker 1: the right things about Dallas d defense and what he
Speaker 1: thought about him. I'm gonna tell you right now, for me,
Speaker 1: Cowboys defense has been a letdown this season. I thought
Speaker 1: how they defended the read option was very uninspired in
Speaker 1: that game. For how much speed they have right at
Speaker 1: the inside linebacker position, there were there were just assignments
Speaker 1: being ignored. You could see it on the film. So
Speaker 1: that's where I think for the Packers, it's going to
Speaker 1: be being disciplined. It's going to be making sure that
Speaker 1: you are holding your gaps and in playing with integrity.
Speaker 1: But the other thing is too, As you mentioned, I mean,
Speaker 1: you have to have the read to be able to
Speaker 1: have the option. And that's why the Montgomery and Trabinsky
Speaker 1: partnership I think has worked out so well, especially this
Speaker 1: year where he hasn't really had Trabinsky hasn't had all
Speaker 1: of his trusted weapons that that maybe he developed his
Speaker 1: last season. So again, I just I look at Strabinsky.
Speaker 1: I look at being able to pressure him, but being
Speaker 1: able to keep him in the pocket, not allowing him
Speaker 1: to screep, you know, kind of streak out into space.
Speaker 1: And in terms of Montgomery, making sure that you keep
Speaker 1: a hat on him for four quarters because if you don't,
Speaker 1: they're going to be able to move the chance. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna throw a stat at you, and then um
Speaker 1: after that, in an unreal aid matter, I'm going to
Speaker 1: ask you a question. Here's something I found wes first
Speaker 1: quarters of games this year. The Packers have outscored their
Speaker 1: opponents six Okay, that's better than a two to one ratio.
Speaker 1: We've talked about how how much getting off to a
Speaker 1: fast starting games has been a big part of the
Speaker 1: formula for the Packers getting to double digit wins. But
Speaker 1: listen to this. In the third quarter, the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: have outscored their opponents to thirty, more than a three
Speaker 1: to one ratio. So whereas the Packers come out of
Speaker 1: the locker room at the beginning of the game trying
Speaker 1: to make their statement, you know, and set the pace.
Speaker 1: The Bears come out of the locker room at halftime
Speaker 1: and they're gonna throw some punches there that that that's
Speaker 1: when they have taken control of the games that they
Speaker 1: have won. So I think that's something to keep in
Speaker 1: mind as we go into Sunday looking at the beginning
Speaker 1: of the first half and the beginning of the second half.
Speaker 1: The question I want to ask you, though we all
Speaker 1: know about Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and Aaron Jones and
Speaker 1: everything he means, we've seen so many different guy us
Speaker 1: throughout the course of this season for the Packers be
Speaker 1: that complementary piece on offense in a given game to
Speaker 1: help put this team over the top and get the
Speaker 1: points that are needed for a victory. Is there somebody
Speaker 1: in that perimeter skill position group that you think might
Speaker 1: be that complimentary piece on Sunday? It's Robert Tanyan. Is
Speaker 1: the guy I looked towards right now because I thought
Speaker 1: we saw him look like himself again last week. You know,
Speaker 1: he missed five games with that hip injury that he
Speaker 1: was dealing with and wasn't able really quite able to
Speaker 1: get past it and finally just had the bye week,
Speaker 1: and you know, I was able to rest it up
Speaker 1: and got back last week. I thought it showed you
Speaker 1: the dimension he adds when when he's right, and being
Speaker 1: able to get that twelve year touchdown pass I thought
Speaker 1: was critical. He is the kind of in between of
Speaker 1: all these different tight end personnel because, as Matt Lafleur said,
Speaker 1: going back to the NFL owners meetings in March, they
Speaker 1: want to be a tight end team. That's a package
Speaker 1: that he likes to live in. It's a package. A
Speaker 1: lot of those teams running that Shanahan West Coast Varia,
Speaker 1: you know version um, they like to use very ants
Speaker 1: with the word I was trying to go for their
Speaker 1: I just think that Tanyan is the guy that not
Speaker 1: only can play in line, but he can give you
Speaker 1: some snaps. Is this is a you know, spread guy
Speaker 1: as well. He just fits the mold for what the
Speaker 1: Packers want to do. And I'm not saying he needs
Speaker 1: to play more than Jimmy Graham or Marcedes Lewis, but
Speaker 1: I just think that you're seeing how he can be
Speaker 1: useful in the fact that Aaron Rodgers does have that
Speaker 1: trust in him and for a young guy a second
Speaker 1: year player that was an undrafted free agent. This just
Speaker 1: screams to me like the type of game where they
Speaker 1: could make some hay in the middle of the field
Speaker 1: and Tanny and I think could be a really good
Speaker 1: conduit to accomplishing that. Yeah, I could definitely see that.
Speaker 1: I think that's a good calling with with the Bears
Speaker 1: dealing with replacing role Kwan Smith in the middle of
Speaker 1: the field and all that as well. If I were
Speaker 1: to pick a complimentary piece for this game, I think
Speaker 1: I have to go with Jamal Williams. And I mentioned
Speaker 1: him as kind of, you know, my guy player to
Speaker 1: watch in our final Thoughts video because you know, you're
Speaker 1: talking about highs in the teens on Sunday, it's going
Speaker 1: to be cold. Having that that power running back for
Speaker 1: the short yardage, for the goal line stuff, I think
Speaker 1: Jamal Williams could play a pretty big role in this
Speaker 1: game on Sunday. And looking at his statistics on the season,
Speaker 1: he was he was on a streak middle portion of
Speaker 1: the season. He caught a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: in four consecutive games. He still leads the Packers overall
Speaker 1: this season with five touchdown catches, which is really unusual
Speaker 1: that you get this late in a season at a
Speaker 1: running back is is your top guy there? But since
Speaker 1: that streak of four straight games with a touchdown catch,
Speaker 1: he hasn't had any. He's gone four games now without
Speaker 1: a touchdown catch. And I just wonder if you know,
Speaker 1: in in the red zone, the goal to go situation,
Speaker 1: if maybe that's something that the Packers pull back out
Speaker 1: and uh and Jamal Williams starts finding the end zone again,
Speaker 1: agree with you, and it would be. I think when
Speaker 1: you see Jamal, especially in the red area, how effective
Speaker 1: he can be as both a runner and a pass catcher.
Speaker 1: Those are things I definitely look for this game in particular,
Speaker 1: I really am looking for Aaron Jones though, And and
Speaker 1: why I say that is if you go back over
Speaker 1: the last two and a half year playing the Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears has not been kind to Aaron Jones. There have
Speaker 1: been injuries, there are times where he just you know,
Speaker 1: like the the opener he only had thirteen carries for
Speaker 1: thirty nine yards. I just feel like these next two weeks, man,
Speaker 1: if you want to make a real statement, I don't
Speaker 1: care what the scoreboard looks like. I don't care what
Speaker 1: even the result is, But if you want to make
Speaker 1: a statement that says this team is a team to
Speaker 1: be messed within the playoffs, if you can get Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones to really break out hundred and twenty total yards,
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty total yards and to do it against
Speaker 1: the defense the caliber of Chicago and or Minnesota, that
Speaker 1: makes a statement. Here we talked about the consistency side
Speaker 1: of it. Now, all that being said is Aaron Jones
Speaker 1: doesn't need thirty touches to do that. We've seen it.
Speaker 1: He can do that in fifteen to twenty touch is fine.
Speaker 1: There's still room there for Jamal Williams. And every single
Speaker 1: time someone asks about Aaron Jones, Matt Lafleur is quick
Speaker 1: to mention Jamal Williams is a big part of this too,
Speaker 1: because what makes them so great together. It's not just
Speaker 1: their chemistry, it's not just their friendship that makes us
Speaker 1: all work together. It's the fact that, despite being entirely
Speaker 1: different running backs, they both fit the scheme well. Uh.
Speaker 1: They both can run the inside zone concepts and they
Speaker 1: can succeed in their own ways. The yards are there.
Speaker 1: I think people sometimes forget if something would happen and
Speaker 1: you do not want this by any means for Aaron Jones,
Speaker 1: but let's say he ends up being knocked out for
Speaker 1: a season in Week two. Jamal Williams is a guy
Speaker 1: that could easily be a thousand yard back in this league.
Speaker 1: He has the durability for it. He's a guy that
Speaker 1: I think it could be a mutter that late in
Speaker 1: the season can really ramp things up. That hasn't been
Speaker 1: his role and he hasn't complained about that at all
Speaker 1: in Green Bay. But make no mistake, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of times I keep drawing these comparisons to Edgar Bennett.
Speaker 1: I really feel like this is a guy that could
Speaker 1: be in every down back if you need him to be.
Speaker 1: And sometimes people forget that Aaron Jones is flashy, he's
Speaker 1: really fun. You can do different things with him, and
Speaker 1: he's rounded out his game as a pass catcher and
Speaker 1: a pass protector. But Jamal Williams is a big part
Speaker 1: of this too. So the original point, it would not
Speaker 1: surprise me at all of a guy like him actually
Speaker 1: came out and balled out on Sunday. Yeah, Well, looking
Speaker 1: at what else is going on in Week fifteen around
Speaker 1: the NFL. Obviously a lot of games impacting where the
Speaker 1: Packers stand and where they can potentially go. Just to
Speaker 1: lay out a couple of different scenarios, one is the
Speaker 1: Packers can clinch a playoff spot this week if they
Speaker 1: get a victory, and if the Cowboys can beat the Rams.
Speaker 1: A Packers win in a Rams loss would assure green
Speaker 1: may have a playoff spot no matter what would happen
Speaker 1: over the final two weeks. As far as the NFC
Speaker 1: North is concerned, the Packers can win this division one
Speaker 1: of two ways. You can either beat the Bears this
Speaker 1: week and the Lions in week seventeen, or you can
Speaker 1: beat the Vikings in week sixteen. If you do it
Speaker 1: either way, you will win the NFC North. Now, obviously
Speaker 1: you can't play the Vikings this week, so you might
Speaker 1: as well beat the Bears, and if you do that,
Speaker 1: you give yourself essentially the option of winning one of
Speaker 1: the last two in order to win the division. So
Speaker 1: that's where the Packers sit. And with regard to potential
Speaker 1: seating in the playoffs, we all know Green Bay controls
Speaker 1: the situation for potentially getting one of those first round
Speaker 1: by is getting a top two seed. If the Packers
Speaker 1: win their final three games, they will have a week
Speaker 1: off in the postseason in January. So the first one
Speaker 1: amidst all that mix that affects the Packers is Cowboys
Speaker 1: hosting the Rams. In terms of the immediate trying to
Speaker 1: clinch a playoff spot. What do you think here? What
Speaker 1: I think? Moving forward? I'm gonna just start referring to
Speaker 1: you as Mike the playoffs situation. I think that's gonna
Speaker 1: be my nickname for you. I enjoy, I enjoy, So
Speaker 1: I enjoy wrapping my brain around at all. Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you do, because my i Q wasn't high
Speaker 1: enough to be able to figure all this stuff out. Okay,
Speaker 1: So here's the way I've always looked at this, Right,
Speaker 1: You shop for groceries every once in a while. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I did this morning, so I came to work. So
Speaker 1: are you the guy that puts together your list before
Speaker 1: you go or you the guy that just kind of
Speaker 1: keeps it in the back of your mind and just
Speaker 1: feels I gotta have a list. And so I'm the
Speaker 1: feeling out guy. I've never had a list for shopping
Speaker 1: with you. You'd take too long. I probably would. So anyway,
Speaker 1: So I go through the grocery store, and I pick
Speaker 1: up what I need. Maybe you gonna impulse by here there,
Speaker 1: you know, hey, let's have some fun, get crazy at
Speaker 1: age thirty two. Uh. But this is the way I
Speaker 1: also look at playoffs scenarios. Right, because you can make
Speaker 1: your list, that's fine. The way I look at it
Speaker 1: is that every single week, it's picking up an apple,
Speaker 1: it's picking up your carrots, it's picking up your salad,
Speaker 1: it's picking up your cereal, your milk, you're yogurt, whatever.
Speaker 1: If you can do that for three more weeks, here
Speaker 1: you get a by Man and and I keep reiterating
Speaker 1: this over and over and over, but I remember sitting
Speaker 1: in Man, was it I gotta actually remember how I
Speaker 1: did this. Was it the Georgia Dome or was it
Speaker 1: Mercedes Ben's At that point in sixteen when they lost,
Speaker 1: it was still Georgia, still Georgia. I remember sitting there
Speaker 1: in that news in the press conference after with Rogers
Speaker 1: and and I keep bringing this up, but he kept
Speaker 1: talking about we have to play these games in Green Bay.
Speaker 1: I've I've I've had I've played that sound bite in
Speaker 1: my mind from losing the Packers losing that NFC Championship
Speaker 1: game in Atlanta and Rogers just said, you know, these
Speaker 1: are the kind of games we have to play at Lambo.
Speaker 1: That's that's what's going to get this team to the
Speaker 1: next age. And for the first time, Mike since what
Speaker 1: two thousand fourteen, the Green Bay Packers are in a
Speaker 1: position right now. They don't need the San Francisco forty
Speaker 1: Niners to lose three straight. They don't need the Saints
Speaker 1: to lose two out of three. They don't need Minnesota
Speaker 1: to go on a slide here, they don't need Detroit
Speaker 1: to fall apart. To win a division, they need to
Speaker 1: win three games. Yeah, they're in command of their own situation.
Speaker 1: So yeah, you win Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, any of those
Speaker 1: variations those permutations. But if you keep winning, you win
Speaker 1: on Sunday, you find a way to win a US Bank,
Speaker 1: you take your business against Detroit, well, suddenly remember the
Speaker 1: whole run the table thing in sixteen. You've got a
Speaker 1: comparable streak now going into the playoffs. That's why I
Speaker 1: think these are so valuable, and that's why I really
Speaker 1: do truly respect what Matt la Floor says when he says,
Speaker 1: just want to know, win this game in front of you,
Speaker 1: Because if you get the reset button every week, because
Speaker 1: because we it's a week to week league, everything starts
Speaker 1: over every Monday. And the point I want to make is,
Speaker 1: no matter what's on that list, no matter what you
Speaker 1: aut about going into that store, if your cart is
Speaker 1: full as you go to that register, the groceries are
Speaker 1: in the best right there. I mean, you have collected
Speaker 1: what you need to collect going in the playoffs. And
Speaker 1: I think, Mike, this team really could stay healthier these
Speaker 1: last couple of weeks. What a benefit it would be
Speaker 1: to them then to be able to have a buy
Speaker 1: and be able to actually bring this thing back to
Speaker 1: Lambele Field in January, which is a special place to
Speaker 1: play postseason football. Yeah, no doubt about it. That would
Speaker 1: that would be special if the Packers can get back
Speaker 1: to that. Rams are at the Cowboys, the Vikings are
Speaker 1: at the Chargers, a second West coast trip in three
Speaker 1: weeks from Minnesota. So obviously Packers Charger well have Yeah
Speaker 1: they did. They wrecked up what was at forty? I
Speaker 1: think it was with anybody? So um, yeah, the Chargers
Speaker 1: are definitely not mailing in any even though they're not
Speaker 1: really in the playoff hunt. Other games I'm sure Packers
Speaker 1: fans will have their eye on the Seattle Seahawks travel
Speaker 1: to Carolina, so you keep an eye on what Seattle
Speaker 1: is doing. The San Francisco forty Niners are at home
Speaker 1: against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons like the most up
Speaker 1: and down, maybe the most unpredictable team in the entire
Speaker 1: NFC this year, but um, that's a game that Packers
Speaker 1: fans will have their eye on as well. And then
Speaker 1: the New Orleans Saints. Um, I believe that's on Monday Night.
Speaker 1: New Orleans is hosting the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts who
Speaker 1: are suddenly fighting for their playoff lives. When a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago they looked like they were in great shape,
Speaker 1: and now the Colts have to go into the super Dome.
Speaker 1: Who's the executive like sitting in the room? Like weekft,
Speaker 1: let's go Colts Saints on Monday Night football. We'll get this.
Speaker 1: Next week, the Saints are playing the Tennessee Titans. The
Speaker 1: Saints are playing two a f C games AFC opponents
Speaker 1: back to back in weeks fifteen and sixteen. I don't
Speaker 1: know how anybody comes up with that schedule, but but yeah,
Speaker 1: that's that's where the SATs. The Steaks don't get any higher.
Speaker 1: I mean, well, I mean, the Colts were a playoff
Speaker 1: team last year. Nobody saw a retirement coming. I know,
Speaker 1: but I mean I can, I can. All I'm saying
Speaker 1: is I can see back in the spring where people
Speaker 1: would say, oh, the Colts and the Saints, like late
Speaker 1: in the year, that actually looks like it could be
Speaker 1: an intriguing matchup, And right now it doesn't because because
Speaker 1: the Colts are really stumbling and the Saints are already
Speaker 1: a division champ. Yeah, I just think it's funny. It's
Speaker 1: just a f C versus NFC. I'm gonna but whatever
Speaker 1: money I football schedule never makes any sense anyway, Uh,
Speaker 1: Rams and Cowboys, this is this is the game for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys. If you have any chance of winning this division,
Speaker 1: you have to win this game, because if you lose
Speaker 1: to the Rams and go six and eight against Philadelphia
Speaker 1: next week, good luck. I mean, I don't care how
Speaker 1: beat up the Eagles are at this point, but if
Speaker 1: you're if you, I mean, there is something to having
Speaker 1: a semblance of momentum during a playoff. I mean, you've
Speaker 1: got to be able to win this at least Convince
Speaker 1: yourself that you're a playoff team. Do you think the
Speaker 1: Cowboys win that game at home? Man, the Rams are
Speaker 1: playing pretty good. I think the Rams and the Cowboys
Speaker 1: are probably one of these It seems to me, And
Speaker 1: I don't have stats to back to. Something seems to
Speaker 1: me the Cowboys are one of the worst home teams
Speaker 1: in the NFL right now. Yeah, they haven't kind of
Speaker 1: haven't flipped the coin where they haven't played well at home.
Speaker 1: The one thing I will say, I do think the
Speaker 1: Rams are playing really well. I think they're tough out
Speaker 1: right now. But if the Cowboys are going to regroup
Speaker 1: at all, it's the same thing the Bears are doing.
Speaker 1: Coming off of the back to back Thursday games. The
Speaker 1: Cowboys ended up losing both. They lost on Thanksgiving, then
Speaker 1: they lost last Thursday against Chicago. At least they've had
Speaker 1: a little bit of extra time to regroup. If they're
Speaker 1: going to find something, it's got to be this week
Speaker 1: against the Rams. And if they do, that's something that
Speaker 1: could help the Packers. Yeah, and and I really do
Speaker 1: I think the Charges are gonna be an interesting matchup there.
Speaker 1: If I think yeah, well, I know we'll be scoreboard
Speaker 1: watching that one as we're putting together all our postgame
Speaker 1: content after Sunday's game. And to close on this one,
Speaker 1: the game that you're probably only your grandfather's talking about,
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay going to Detroit. Uh, I just want to
Speaker 1: mention this. Bruce Aaron's team is playing pretty well right now.
Speaker 1: They seem to be kind of not having as many turnovers. Now.
Speaker 1: The reason you want the Buccaneers to win this is,
Speaker 1: I think you want to get that Week seventeen game
Speaker 1: against Alliance down to We just want to end the
Speaker 1: season like Detroit has just there's nothing there's no reason
Speaker 1: to put Stafford back, Oh, there's nothing else in a
Speaker 1: victory for the Buccaneers would help accomplish that. Yeah, Bruce
Speaker 1: arians seems to be kind of changing the culture down there,
Speaker 1: and they have a good defense, Like that's the thing.
Speaker 1: They turned the ball over a lot this year, but
Speaker 1: I mean defensively, they're doing some good things. Yeah. All right, Well,
Speaker 1: with that, we are going to call it a wrap
Speaker 1: on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow
Speaker 1: all of our coverage of the team and everything with
Speaker 1: regards to with regard excuse me, to Sunday's big game.
Speaker 1: On Sunday, at lambeau Field. It'll all beyond Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: Be sure to check out the Packers YouTube channel for
Speaker 1: all the great video content, and subscribe to us like
Speaker 1: us on iTunes and other podcast services. For West, I'm Mike.
Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We'll see you next time.