Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my trusted colleague Weston had Kowitz. We're coming to
Speaker 1: you here from our studios at lambeau Field West, Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: here to talk about another loss for the Green Bay Packers,
Speaker 1: fourth in a row. The final was seventeen in Buffalo
Speaker 1: on Sunday Night Football and a different pattern to this
Speaker 1: game from previous weeks. The Packers got off to a
Speaker 1: terrible start, fell behind fourteen nothing seven at the half,
Speaker 1: and that was just way too big a hole to
Speaker 1: try to climb out of against a team that I
Speaker 1: believe is going to represent the a f C in
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. Whether they do or not, they are
Speaker 1: a bona fide Super Bowl contender in the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1: You can't play from behind against that bunch. No, And
Speaker 1: it was the big comment that a lot of guys
Speaker 1: in locker room, including Rasul Douglas, talked about afterwards, is
Speaker 1: that you can't spot a team like that points. I
Speaker 1: mean in the way that it went for Green Bay.
Speaker 1: Two was probably the most frustrating because once again the
Speaker 1: defense got a three and out right off the bat.
Speaker 1: I mean, but you know, even the Packers were able
Speaker 1: to move the ball a little bit, but then they
Speaker 1: hit those dull drums. In those dull drums last a
Speaker 1: quarter and a half and second half started, they were
Speaker 1: able to turn the tide a little bit, but offensively.
Speaker 1: In Matt Lafleur touched on Monday, this was a game
Speaker 1: where Green Bay ran the ball really well, They controlled
Speaker 1: the time of possession, they actually won the turnover battle.
Speaker 1: But what was the biggest issue. Too many explosive plays
Speaker 1: allowed and the Bills being able to generate points basically
Speaker 1: off all those explosives. Yeah, I think for me, you know,
Speaker 1: you always look at these games, and it really is
Speaker 1: true that games in the NFL come down to a
Speaker 1: handful of place all the time, right, And there's certainly
Speaker 1: that that handful for me, off the top of my head.
Speaker 1: The Packers have two fourth downs, two four and shorts
Speaker 1: that are in Buffalo territory where they get stopped come
Speaker 1: up short. That was potentially taking points off the board
Speaker 1: early in the game. You get Buffalo in a third
Speaker 1: and fourteen when the Bills are in scoring territory and
Speaker 1: Josh Allen's able to get out of the pocket, scrambled
Speaker 1: for twenty yards, puts them in uh, you know, first
Speaker 1: and goal, and then they ultimately score touchdown. That's a
Speaker 1: four point play because it's a touchdown ends up being
Speaker 1: a touchdown instead of a field goal. And then the
Speaker 1: Packers getting a touchdown wiped out on the offensive past
Speaker 1: interference call on Robert Tunyan. That's another four point play
Speaker 1: because the Packers end up settling for a field goal
Speaker 1: on that drive instead of getting a touchdown. Those are
Speaker 1: the types of things that that add up. It's it's
Speaker 1: always it's those handful of plays that you look that
Speaker 1: you look back at with regrets, where yes, even though
Speaker 1: the Packers were down seventeen and they were down multiple
Speaker 1: scores as they were trying to come back the entire
Speaker 1: second half, it's those key plays that happened along the
Speaker 1: way that that just make that hill so much harder
Speaker 1: to climb. Yeah, and and for the Green Bay Packers,
Speaker 1: I mean, when you fall behind to seven and the
Speaker 1: second half starts and they're able to you know, you're
Speaker 1: gonna get the ball, You're gonna have some opportunities. But
Speaker 1: the problem is when you are in a position where
Speaker 1: you are playing from behind against a defensive again of
Speaker 1: that caliber, against an offense of that caliber, it makes
Speaker 1: you make difficult decisions. Case in point, Buffalo is really
Speaker 1: prodigious for being able to defend the run out of
Speaker 1: their nickel defense. Well, why does that matter? It matters
Speaker 1: because it makes it so that you're not able to
Speaker 1: run as much, maybe two minutes, as you would being
Speaker 1: down three scores going into the second half. You know,
Speaker 1: the Packers ran the ball really well, but they kind
Speaker 1: of had to make an unaccustomed, uh difficult sort of
Speaker 1: change a pace comeback where you're running the ball a lot.
Speaker 1: You're emphasizing that because again you're giving what the defense is.
Speaker 1: You know, you're taking what they're giving you, but it
Speaker 1: puts you in a position where the clock is your
Speaker 1: enemy for the entire second half. There were a lot
Speaker 1: of good things that happened in this game for green Bay.
Speaker 1: I look at it, you know, and then being eleven
Speaker 1: point dogs or whatever it was, green Bay looked feisty.
Speaker 1: They they you know, played to the whistle. You saw
Speaker 1: how competitive this was, how much you know, it got
Speaker 1: a little chippy between the two teams. This was not
Speaker 1: a team that was lying down by any means. But
Speaker 1: the problem is, Mike, because I illustrated our inbox inside
Speaker 1: your inbox column, Packers could have been six and one,
Speaker 1: seven and oh going into this game. They might still
Speaker 1: have been the dogs going into this just based on
Speaker 1: the way that Buffalo has been playing and how they've
Speaker 1: won these games, especially at home. But when you lose
Speaker 1: to Washington, when you fall in the second half in
Speaker 1: London and dropped that game against the Giants, you have
Speaker 1: to find a way to get these games back. And
Speaker 1: for the Packers, as far as consistency was concerned being
Speaker 1: able to move the ball through the air, there were
Speaker 1: not enough of those little things that happened in this
Speaker 1: game to be able to pull off that upset. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I like what you said though about the Packers sort
Speaker 1: of the fight and the dog, so to speak. That
Speaker 1: the Packers showed and and I think that I think
Speaker 1: that showed up because the Packers were running the ball
Speaker 1: and they were taking it to the number one rushing
Speaker 1: defense in the league. Yes, Buffalo was playing both of
Speaker 1: its safety's back, but that's what they've done all season,
Speaker 1: and they've still stopped the run. They've been the best
Speaker 1: run defense in the league, and the Packers piled up
Speaker 1: two hundred and eight yards on the ground, a hundred
Speaker 1: and ninety seven of them from Aaron Jones and a J. Dillon,
Speaker 1: with Jones leading the way with a hundred and forty
Speaker 1: three yards. The number of seven eight nine yard runs
Speaker 1: coupled with you know, I believe it was a twenty
Speaker 1: seven yard run by Dill in, a thirty two yard
Speaker 1: run by Jones. You had some other eleven and thirteen
Speaker 1: yard runs sprinkled in there the Packers. The Packers showed
Speaker 1: their fight by lining up and really trying to just
Speaker 1: run it right at them. And I think if there's, if,
Speaker 1: if there's a silver lining that you take out of
Speaker 1: this game, that's what it is. Because the Packers showed
Speaker 1: they can run the ball against a really good run defense.
Speaker 1: They can build they can build their offense around that.
Speaker 1: But as both Matt Lafleur and Aaron Rodgers said after
Speaker 1: the game, you also you still have to be able
Speaker 1: to push the ball down the field through the air
Speaker 1: at the crucial moments, and that's what the Packers need
Speaker 1: to find. As Romeo Dobbs continues to play, as Samari
Speaker 1: tour A, who got his first NFL touchdown, and Dobbs
Speaker 1: made a couple of spectacular catches in this game. Dobbs
Speaker 1: looked like the Dobbs that we saw in training camp.
Speaker 1: Every day. He was making plays like that in training camp,
Speaker 1: and I know the fans don't get to see that
Speaker 1: unless you're there at practice. We were seeing him making
Speaker 1: those kind of plays every day in camp, which is
Speaker 1: why we were talking about him so much. And he
Speaker 1: made two of those um against Buffalo on Sunday night.
Speaker 1: So there are some of those signs moving forward. But
Speaker 1: the Packers are also still dealing with the injuries that
Speaker 1: receiver Lizard missed the game, Cobb is still on I R.
Speaker 1: And Christian Watson, who was going to be a big
Speaker 1: part of this game plan, um ends up taking a
Speaker 1: helmet to helmet shot on the opening possession of the game,
Speaker 1: and uh and he exits with a cushion, And fortunately
Speaker 1: it sounds like Watson is okay. But that was a
Speaker 1: big blow for this offense with what they had built
Speaker 1: into the game plan for the rookie Watson well, first
Speaker 1: and foremost, looking at from a humanistic standpoint, so relieving
Speaker 1: to hear that Christian Watson is doing fine, because anytime
Speaker 1: you see a guy go down in the middle of
Speaker 1: the field, and unfortunately you and I've seen it too
Speaker 1: many times over the last ten years. Um, your your
Speaker 1: heart kind of gets up in your throat a little bit.
Speaker 1: And you know, they had the backboard out there for
Speaker 1: a second. I mean, obviously they're trying to diagnose what's
Speaker 1: going on here and making sure his neck is fine.
Speaker 1: To see him pop up and then to get that
Speaker 1: report from Matt Laflora. As disappointed as Dobbs was out,
Speaker 1: or excuse me, Watson was afterwards, it was great to
Speaker 1: hear that he's doing okay. You said, Dobbs looked like
Speaker 1: he did during training camp. I'm gonna go even one
Speaker 1: step further. I felt like all those receivers at the
Speaker 1: end of the game started looking like themselves in training
Speaker 1: camp again. Samory to point Dobbs was the star from
Speaker 1: the off season program on Samori to ray made some
Speaker 1: incredible plays in training camp to be able to work
Speaker 1: off schedule with Rogers there and get down field open
Speaker 1: for that touchdown. Even Rogers said a week earlier he
Speaker 1: had one catch for four yards. But Rodgers in this offense,
Speaker 1: they liked the things he was doing with the opportunities
Speaker 1: he got. You know, Jason v Abel, the Packers receivers coach,
Speaker 1: even said, you know after his first play where he
Speaker 1: went out there and just executed his assignment, was involved
Speaker 1: in a past play, but executed his assignment. How excited
Speaker 1: that young man was about it. And then also a
Speaker 1: Marie Rogers, I know things have been kind of rough
Speaker 1: here at times for him as a punt returner. I
Speaker 1: think the last two weeks he's shown you what he
Speaker 1: can offer and what we've seen at times from him
Speaker 1: as a receiver. He's a confident young receiver and being
Speaker 1: able to make that play down the sideline, pretty simple
Speaker 1: go route, you know, just trying to get up on
Speaker 1: top of the defense. He made the catch when it
Speaker 1: was put right on him. He showed he He is
Speaker 1: also showing he's a reliable blocker as absolutely running game
Speaker 1: as well. That's another thing that is going to regardless
Speaker 1: of where things are on special teams. Right now with
Speaker 1: a Marie Rogers, he's starting to earn himself more playing time.
Speaker 1: Obviously tour a too off schedule play as on you
Speaker 1: know late in the fourth quarter there with Rogers, the
Speaker 1: one the throw was a little short and you know,
Speaker 1: he was almost able to get it on the dive
Speaker 1: coming back to the ball um, but that one was incomplete.
Speaker 1: But he makes essentially a route adjustment UM and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, sees it the same way Aaron Rodgers does
Speaker 1: and boom thirty seven yard touchdown because he adjusted his
Speaker 1: route into the void in the coverage and he was
Speaker 1: wide open and Rodgers was totally comfortable just letting it
Speaker 1: rip right. So those are the kinds of things, Those
Speaker 1: are the kinds of things that you like to see.
Speaker 1: And we'll see, we'll see what happens moving forward. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: the Packers are three and five and starting to get
Speaker 1: behind the eight ball here a little bit. Two games
Speaker 1: under five UM for the first time under Matt Lafleur,
Speaker 1: which I think in some respects we we we need
Speaker 1: to tip a cap of respect to that that Matt
Speaker 1: Lafleurs in his fourth year as head coach, the middle
Speaker 1: of his fourth year as head coach, and it's the
Speaker 1: first time we're talking about the Green May Packers being
Speaker 1: two games under five. But that said, Packers also dealing
Speaker 1: with UM or dealt with in the game some other injuries.
Speaker 1: Elton Jenkins sort of a last minute decision was unable
Speaker 1: to go, got his foot stepped on in practice late
Speaker 1: last week, ended up being questionable on the injury report,
Speaker 1: and then when inactives were announced ninety minutes before kickoff,
Speaker 1: that foot was just not good enough to go. So
Speaker 1: rookie Zach tom who made his first NFL start at
Speaker 1: left tackle in Washington the previous week, Um steps in
Speaker 1: and starts at left guard for Jenkins, and on the
Speaker 1: defensive side, Davandre Campbell exits with a knee injury, and
Speaker 1: then the Packers also lose uh fellow inside linebacker Quay
Speaker 1: Walker to an ejection a lack of discipline there on
Speaker 1: the sideline, which which was very upsetting for Matt Lafleur
Speaker 1: and and certainly put this defense in a bind. I
Speaker 1: give credit to Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson. They went
Speaker 1: in there as the two inside linebackers. It wasn't as
Speaker 1: though there were some you know, glaring weakness or gaping
Speaker 1: holes or anything like that in terms of how they played.
Speaker 1: But losing Deveandre Campbell sounds like it's not a long
Speaker 1: term injury, which is good news, But losing Deveandre Campbell
Speaker 1: is uh, you know what was a big blow to
Speaker 1: this defense because we saw in Washington and Quay Walker
Speaker 1: to that extent to those two guys played really really
Speaker 1: well in Washington, and then now when you really needed
Speaker 1: him against against an offense like the Buffalo Bills, you
Speaker 1: didn't have either guy. Yeah, and and unfortunate for for
Speaker 1: Campbell where he makes such a big game breaking play,
Speaker 1: you feel like that could really be the ascent for
Speaker 1: him on the season. And then and then he gets
Speaker 1: knocked out by that injury. I don't want to say,
Speaker 1: you know you You mentioned Isaam McDuffie, the performance he had,
Speaker 1: and Eric Wilson, who has been here for less than
Speaker 1: a month, certainly played a lot of football in this
Speaker 1: league and alot of defense. Was a sixteen game starter
Speaker 1: from Minnesota number of years ago. But uh, going in
Speaker 1: there and only giving up three points in the second half,
Speaker 1: it sounded like there was maybe one call that was
Speaker 1: he was a little late getting in, but for the
Speaker 1: most part, being able to relay that defense and then
Speaker 1: play the positions um critical for what Green Bay was
Speaker 1: able to do in the second half. Another another young
Speaker 1: guy that started to prove himself in training camp in
Speaker 1: in the preseason this year and Isaiah McDuffie had to
Speaker 1: step in there in a tough situation. Credit to him,
Speaker 1: he handled it well. Yeah, And you know, you look
Speaker 1: at the situation with Walker and I was in the
Speaker 1: locker room and was one of the first ones to
Speaker 1: kind of to get into the breach so to speak,
Speaker 1: when we get in there, and quite to his you know,
Speaker 1: I give a lot of respect for the young man
Speaker 1: and how he handled it. It was very emotional. But
Speaker 1: sat in his locker and waited for the media to
Speaker 1: get in there, you know, talk to the media for
Speaker 1: about two and a half minutes and then kind of
Speaker 1: was overcome by emotion and I couldn't continue, so to speak. Um,
Speaker 1: But his big thing was, and you can read the stories,
Speaker 1: you can see all that stuff, but the understanding of
Speaker 1: how he fits into this puzzle and that it's not
Speaker 1: just him, it's his football team. And this was the
Speaker 1: perfect example of why you can't put yourself in that
Speaker 1: situation because the worst case scenario is realized when deve
Speaker 1: Andre Campbell has to go out of the game. Isaiah
Speaker 1: McDuffie originally goes in as the will next to Campbell,
Speaker 1: and then suddenly he's in the micro role when when
Speaker 1: Walker is unavailable. So those are the type of things
Speaker 1: that you have to do because the thing that's underrated
Speaker 1: Mike is you know, Quays had to take a couple
Speaker 1: of shots on the chin this year. It's a rookie
Speaker 1: getting used to it. But when he's moving and he's
Speaker 1: playing instinctually, he gets sidelined to sideline fast and he
Speaker 1: can collapse and fill u There's been a lot to
Speaker 1: like about his rookie season so far, and the Packers
Speaker 1: need him on the field. Gyr Alexander said it after
Speaker 1: the game he talked to him about He's like, you know,
Speaker 1: you just gotta you gotta be able to keep your
Speaker 1: emotions in check because we need you out there. We
Speaker 1: need you. You're one of the best players on this
Speaker 1: defense and we're not the same without you. Yeah, here's
Speaker 1: the question I want to ask you with regard to
Speaker 1: the defense, because we talked about obviously with the running game,
Speaker 1: what that showed offensively, hopefully something to look forward to.
Speaker 1: We're seeing the rookie receivers continue to develop despite a
Speaker 1: four game losing streak, which is not fun for anybody.
Speaker 1: But here's my question with regard to the defense. Last
Speaker 1: week in Washington. We saw the pick six by Campbell.
Speaker 1: We saw a fumble six that was unfortunately overturned by
Speaker 1: a penalty. Other interception opportunities they didn't quite come up with.
Speaker 1: Against Buffalo, Josh Allen got a little careless with the ball.
Speaker 1: In the second half, the Packers got two interceptions. There
Speaker 1: was actually another I think it was on the very
Speaker 1: first drive, that opening three and out. Alexander had a
Speaker 1: shot at an interception there in the first quarter. I'm wondering,
Speaker 1: is is the worm starting to turn, so to speak,
Speaker 1: with regard to turnovers with this Packers defense? Is it something?
Speaker 1: Is it something that's potentially pointing in the right direction
Speaker 1: that can help to uh, that can help this defense
Speaker 1: start to generate some momentum and play the way it
Speaker 1: wants to. The reversal of fortune started on the Douglas
Speaker 1: pick because for whatever reason, Greenby has not had those
Speaker 1: opportunities this year. Now, Aaron Rodgers, you and I get
Speaker 1: spoiled watching him play the position. He doesn't make a
Speaker 1: lot of you know, dumb decisions with the football in
Speaker 1: terms of basically throwing it to the opposition. For whatever reason,
Speaker 1: Greenby has faced us lou of backups of slow of
Speaker 1: unproven guys, but they haven't really gotten those opportunities despite
Speaker 1: the fact there's been a decent amount of pressure on
Speaker 1: the opposing quarterback. Finally, Alan scrambles out of the pocket
Speaker 1: and just makes a completely ill advised pass to Resul Douglas.
Speaker 1: The difficult thing about defensive back position because everybody likes
Speaker 1: to rip on oh well, that's they play cornerback for
Speaker 1: a reason. Well, they're also not the intended target. It
Speaker 1: is difficult when the opponent is not trying to get
Speaker 1: you the football and you have an opportunity in that
Speaker 1: moment to be able to grab it. You need to
Speaker 1: do it the best do it, but it's not a given.
Speaker 1: But for whatever reason, Green Bay just is really those opportunities,
Speaker 1: the ones where you're just playing your position and you
Speaker 1: get the ball. Those haven't happened this year for the
Speaker 1: most part, so that was good to see from douglass case.
Speaker 1: Of course, the ball gets turned back over to Buffalo
Speaker 1: on the very next play and then Alexander makes a
Speaker 1: play on a ball. They start getting that stuff figured
Speaker 1: out a little bit. That was good to see because
Speaker 1: you're not going to play Josh Allen every week. You're
Speaker 1: going to see guys that aren't of that m v
Speaker 1: P type ILK that are in that kind versation with
Speaker 1: a legitimate Super Bowl contender. That's where you want to
Speaker 1: see these turnovers and takeaways start to happen, because if
Speaker 1: you're able to generate big plays off of them, I've
Speaker 1: said for a while, Mike, I felt like this defense,
Speaker 1: that's the only thing that's been missing. They got to
Speaker 1: defend the run better. They need to be able to
Speaker 1: get out of those four minute offensive situations better. But
Speaker 1: if they're able to take away the football, I still
Speaker 1: feel like the talent is there that they're going to
Speaker 1: be able to let that snowball a little bit. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, those are the types of things we want
Speaker 1: to watch here moving forward as as the Packers try
Speaker 1: to Now, you know, the goal is to is to
Speaker 1: climb yourself back to five hundred at some point here
Speaker 1: right and then and then see where things stand and
Speaker 1: see if you can make a run late in the season.
Speaker 1: Still nine games left to go, So two games below
Speaker 1: five hundred doesn't put you out of anything, but it does, uh,
Speaker 1: it does put you behind, you know, the eight ball
Speaker 1: a little bit because because you just can't let you
Speaker 1: can't let any more losses keep piling up here, four
Speaker 1: in a row, first time in six years the Packers
Speaker 1: of have have been in this position. Yeah, and got
Speaker 1: to get to work. I mean, we'll we'll preview Detroit
Speaker 1: on Thursday a little bit. But you know, people are
Speaker 1: gonna look at that as a one win team. And
Speaker 1: then you look at the way they've played at Ford Field.
Speaker 1: I mean they came within three points of being the
Speaker 1: only team that you know has beaten the Philadelphia Eagles
Speaker 1: this year. I mean that's that's the level of which
Speaker 1: they've played at home. Now, they've had some injuries, they've
Speaker 1: had some setbacks, but it is like that there is
Speaker 1: something about that environment that they've been able to carry
Speaker 1: over that has not been there for them on the road.
Speaker 1: Now that being said, green Bay's perspective, and I think
Speaker 1: this is the hardest thing right for the Packers, is
Speaker 1: that you played Buffalo so tough. You you did things
Speaker 1: well in that game. You ran the ball well, you
Speaker 1: dedicate yourself to the run a little bit more, and
Speaker 1: it helped open up some passing place. Well. Now on
Speaker 1: Sunday at noon Central time, you got to go back
Speaker 1: from scratch again. You have to go back out there
Speaker 1: and earn it. Over those four quarters. Nothing that you
Speaker 1: did in that game that went well is going to
Speaker 1: carry over, so to speak. You have to be able
Speaker 1: to reset the Packers if there was ever a time
Speaker 1: for them to play as close to four quarter football
Speaker 1: as you can. This is the one you need, because
Speaker 1: it doesn't get any easier. Mike when you look at
Speaker 1: the schedule over the next month. Yeah, I think you
Speaker 1: make a good point there, because we're going to talk
Speaker 1: all week about how well the Packers ran the ball
Speaker 1: two eight rushing yards against the number one rushing defense
Speaker 1: in the league. But when that ball is kicked off
Speaker 1: in Detroit on Sunday, the Packers have zero rushing yards
Speaker 1: and you have to earn every single one of them
Speaker 1: and re establish that and prove that the way Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones and a J. Dillon and all those blockers and
Speaker 1: the way they ran the ball in Buffalo was not
Speaker 1: was not just some sort of one off or some
Speaker 1: sort of flute, that this is something that can be
Speaker 1: the foundation of this offense moving forward. As this receiving
Speaker 1: corps continues to be in so much flux in terms
Speaker 1: of the injuries and availability and and UH and young
Speaker 1: players finding their way. So this defense Mike and Detroit
Speaker 1: has been gashed routinely this year, thirty second in the
Speaker 1: league right now in total yards their past defense. They
Speaker 1: just made some changes with their I think their cornerbacks coach.
Speaker 1: This is also a weak. We don't know who the
Speaker 1: receivers are going to be at this point in time,
Speaker 1: but this is also weak. You feel like that area
Speaker 1: of the game has to come together to Yeah, and
Speaker 1: we'll definitely talk more about that on on Thursday show
Speaker 1: a little bit of sponsored business here West Serious x
Speaker 1: M NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to
Speaker 1: the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need two seven,
Speaker 1: three six and at Cousin Subs, we have something for
Speaker 1: everyone like our Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac and Cheese, golden fries,
Speaker 1: and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or
Speaker 1: sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs fifty years of better
Speaker 1: all right. Elsewhere in the NFC, just the quick rundown
Speaker 1: on where the top teams are. The Philadelphia Eagles with
Speaker 1: another impressive victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kind of a
Speaker 1: blowout there in the state of Pennsylvania. Eagles are seven
Speaker 1: and oh, remaining the only undefeated team in the NFL.
Speaker 1: The Cowboys, Um, we're blowing out the Bears. Then it
Speaker 1: got close, then they blew them out again. Um and
Speaker 1: uh So the Cowboys are six and two. The Minnesota
Speaker 1: Vikings are six and one, sitting atop the NFC North
Speaker 1: with a very comfortable lead. They beat the Arizona Cardinals
Speaker 1: in in a very back and forth game, but one
Speaker 1: in which the Vikings for the most part, um had
Speaker 1: the lead in the second half. And the uh It's
Speaker 1: interesting because as much as you know, people look at
Speaker 1: you know, surprise, the Packers are three and five, you're surprised.
Speaker 1: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are three and five. The defending
Speaker 1: Super Bowl champion l A Rams are below five hundred.
Speaker 1: Now the surprise on the other side has got to
Speaker 1: be the Seattle Seahawks. They are five and three with
Speaker 1: Geno Smith at quarterback, and they just handed the New
Speaker 1: York Giants their giants second loss of the season. The
Speaker 1: Giants still six and two, sitting in great shape, but
Speaker 1: they went out to Seattle and lost the Seahawks team
Speaker 1: by two touchdowns. The Seattle Seahawks and Pete Carroll Man,
Speaker 1: they are. They are in a position nobody thought they
Speaker 1: would be in as we approached the midway point of
Speaker 1: the seasons. Certainly everybody that was kind of condemned them
Speaker 1: after the Wills and trade, right, I mean, you see
Speaker 1: how those two directions have gone so far. It was
Speaker 1: really fun listening to Pete Carroll uh at his press
Speaker 1: conference this week and was asked about it. This is
Speaker 1: the most fun he's had. You remember that this is
Speaker 1: a seventy year old man, oldest coach in the National
Speaker 1: Football League, and he sounds like a kid. I mean,
Speaker 1: and to be honest with you, this what's happening with
Speaker 1: Gino Smith and even to some extent, what's happening with
Speaker 1: that land On Marcus Mariota right now? That's what makes
Speaker 1: this game fun because as much as it is about
Speaker 1: the guys that you put on the billboard for Sunday
Speaker 1: Night Football, it's those type of stories that I think
Speaker 1: are at the real heart of the National Football League. Now.
Speaker 1: Are the Seattle Seahawks a Super Bowl contender right now?
Speaker 1: I don't think people would say that, but and you
Speaker 1: don't even know if they're going to be able to
Speaker 1: sustain it with with nine games left to go. I
Speaker 1: mean five and three, that's a great start for them,
Speaker 1: but with nine games left to go, their season could
Speaker 1: go in a gazillion different directions, just like the Pack.
Speaker 1: But with what that division was supposed to be this season,
Speaker 1: that they're even at the top of it right now
Speaker 1: absolutely a strange little victory in and of itself. The
Speaker 1: other surprise I just want to touch on it really
Speaker 1: quickly is the Minnesota Vikings, because I know that the
Speaker 1: quote came out this past week. I believe it was
Speaker 1: from Justin Jefferson talking about how the league is kind
Speaker 1: of sleeping on them so far. I would still say rightfully. So.
Speaker 1: The reason why I say that is not to disrespect
Speaker 1: the Vikings, but they had a slew of changes this offseason.
Speaker 1: They haven't blown out anybody. I mean they're the biggest
Speaker 1: victory was that Week one win over Green Bay. They
Speaker 1: haven't won any other games by two scores yet. I
Speaker 1: don't believe they've beaten anybody with a winning record. Obviously,
Speaker 1: if they're beating teams, they're handing losses to those teams
Speaker 1: are gonna have a harder time getting a winning record.
Speaker 1: That being said, that is a fact they have not
Speaker 1: beaten a team that has a winning record in the
Speaker 1: NFL right now, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago, and then obviously
Speaker 1: Miami with the quarterback issues they had at that point
Speaker 1: in time. It is what it is now. That being said,
Speaker 1: you can only play the teams that are on your schedule.
Speaker 1: As things have been so difficult for the Packers. Things
Speaker 1: have lined up a little bit easier for the Vikings,
Speaker 1: but over the next few weeks, maybe not this Sunday,
Speaker 1: but we will learn something about them. Buffalo, Dallas, Patriots
Speaker 1: and Jets coming up after that. So what does that
Speaker 1: tell you? It tells you the Green Packers if he
Speaker 1: gets some wins, three and a half games back or
Speaker 1: whatever it is in the division right now, that has
Speaker 1: to start this Sunday. It absolutely has to start Sunday
Speaker 1: in Detroit. And we'll talk more about that game on Thursday.
Speaker 1: For now, we'll call it a wrap on this edition
Speaker 1: of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
Speaker 1: coverage of the team all week long. We'll have it
Speaker 1: for you on Packers dot Com. For West, I'm Mike.
Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in, everybody. See you next time.