WEBVTT - #814 Packers Unscripted: Two Thursdays of football

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from

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<v Speaker 1>Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spaffer, joined as always

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<v Speaker 1>by my trusted colleague Weston Hodkoitz. We're coming to you

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<v Speaker 1>here from our studios at lambeau Field and Wes. We

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<v Speaker 1>got another sort of double duty show here to do

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<v Speaker 1>because we have another Thursday night game coming up. We

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<v Speaker 1>haven't yet reviewed the Packers last game.

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<v Speaker 2>So what is today?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah? What day of the week is it? Right now?

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<v Speaker 2>Actually day?

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<v Speaker 1>But we're going to start with the Packers Thanksgiving Night

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<v Speaker 1>victory thirty to seventeen over the Miami Dolphins was the

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<v Speaker 1>final score. And I mean Packers did what they needed

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<v Speaker 1>to do, getting two home wins in five days to

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<v Speaker 1>get themselves to nine and three, And this one they

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<v Speaker 1>went about it a little bit differently, But what was

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<v Speaker 1>similar to the San Francisco game is the Packers jumped

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<v Speaker 1>out on top, built themselves a big lead, and then

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<v Speaker 1>kind of rode that to the finish line and walked

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<v Speaker 1>out a lambo with another w.

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<v Speaker 2>These two games, Mike, between San Francisco and Miami again

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<v Speaker 2>illustrate how important a fast start is in the National

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<v Speaker 2>Football League because it's not just about the points you

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<v Speaker 2>put on the board. It's how you really tell the opposition.

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<v Speaker 2>You got to change your game plan. Yeah, just like

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<v Speaker 2>that game against the forty nine ers, the Dolphins were

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<v Speaker 2>not able to get their run game going at all. Yes,

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<v Speaker 2>I know, two of three for three oun and sixty

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<v Speaker 2>five yards. I get all of that. But the fact

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<v Speaker 2>was is that from the very beginning they were having

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<v Speaker 2>to play from behind, and I just felt like green

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<v Speaker 2>Bay how they were able to really manipulate what Miami

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<v Speaker 2>wanted to do offensively, mixed in with a couple pivotal

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<v Speaker 2>plays early on that sort of just shifted their momentum

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<v Speaker 2>into green Bay's favor up. A lot of guys talked

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<v Speaker 2>about it after the San Francisco game, they felt like

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<v Speaker 2>that was a complete performance. I thought, by and large,

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<v Speaker 2>this was a complete performance. A lot of stuff you

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<v Speaker 2>can still improve upon, things you can correct, But I

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<v Speaker 2>think over these last three games, really, these three games

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<v Speaker 2>since they last saw the Detroit Lions, you've seen the

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<v Speaker 2>green Bay Packers start to round into form.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, this game quite frankly, you talk about momentum shifts,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a big one very early on because Packers

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<v Speaker 1>got the ball first. But went three and out missed

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<v Speaker 1>Jordan Love missed a deep throat to Jaden Reid when

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<v Speaker 1>he was open. Packers had to punt, but those cold

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<v Speaker 1>swirling wins. In the late evening at lambeau Field, messed

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<v Speaker 1>with Miami's putt returner Washington there he ends up muffing

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<v Speaker 1>the punt. Robert Rochelle recovers. It's a first in goal

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<v Speaker 1>situation from the nine yard line, and the Packers went

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<v Speaker 1>from three and out to three plays and in the

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<v Speaker 1>end zone and they were up seven to nothing. A

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<v Speaker 1>big play by the special teams, and.

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<v Speaker 2>As we were talking about with Rich Pasaccia on Monday night,

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<v Speaker 2>the Packers being able to start that game the longest

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<v Speaker 2>kick return of the season by Keishawn Nixon blocked up

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<v Speaker 2>very well. Looks like they're going to have that explosive

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<v Speaker 2>start they want. Offensively, did not have the series they

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<v Speaker 2>were looking for. Josh Jacobs even said it when I

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<v Speaker 2>was asking him in the locker room afterwards. He felt

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<v Speaker 2>like that was the only run, even though he only

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<v Speaker 2>had forty three rushing yards, he felt like that was

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<v Speaker 2>the only run he wanted back. He just wasn't happy

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<v Speaker 2>with how he cut back. Packers end up having to

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<v Speaker 2>punt despite having phenomenal field position. But then Robert Rochelle

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<v Speaker 2>makes it right and as we learned about afterwards, dealing

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<v Speaker 2>with a lot of stuff on the personal side, had

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<v Speaker 2>found out earlier on Thanksgiving morning that unfortunately two of

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<v Speaker 2>his childhood friends had been killed down in Louisiana. Played

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<v Speaker 2>through it, played with a purpose, and came up with

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<v Speaker 2>a huge moment there. Also want to say too, I

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<v Speaker 2>mean for green Bay Special Teams. I mean, we were

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<v Speaker 2>talking about this whole group sort of rounding into form

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<v Speaker 2>some really impressive work that the special Teams unit has

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<v Speaker 2>done really in every phase and every unit and every

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<v Speaker 2>core special teams area, and Green Bay gets the ball back,

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<v Speaker 2>they turn it into a Jad and Reed touchdown, and

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<v Speaker 2>they were often ronic.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. From there, the offense I felt, I felt much

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<v Speaker 1>like the San Francisco game. The Packers established what they

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to on the ground. They set the tone on

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<v Speaker 1>the ground with the running game, and it was a

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<v Speaker 1>combination of Jacobs and Emmanuel Wilson and Jayden Reed. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a nice run on an end around. I think by

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the first half, not only had the

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<v Speaker 1>Packers topped one hundred yards rushing. They had four different

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<v Speaker 1>ball carriers with twenty yards rushing, which just told you

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<v Speaker 1>how much the focus was on, Okay, run the football,

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<v Speaker 1>try to get Miami's excuse me defense on its heels

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit, and then by the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>game you look up and it's like, oh, Jordan Love. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>he also threw for two hundred and seventy five yards

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<v Speaker 1>and the offense ended up having a pretty darn efiichent night.

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<v Speaker 2>You have a longer history here with the Packers and

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<v Speaker 2>covering games, but I can tell you what this game

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<v Speaker 2>felt like. To me. It felt like the twenty fourteen season,

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<v Speaker 2>and what I mean by that is that was the

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<v Speaker 2>one year where you got prime Eddie Lacy mixed with

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<v Speaker 2>a relatively healthy Aaron Rodgers, and you saw what Eddie

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<v Speaker 2>Lacey did for Rogers during that season and how he

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<v Speaker 2>was really able to compliment everything he was doing in

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<v Speaker 2>the passing game. Yes, Josh Jacobs did not go off

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<v Speaker 2>for one hundred and fifty rushing yards in this game,

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<v Speaker 2>and he had to fight for a lot of the

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<v Speaker 2>yards that he did get. But whether it was what

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<v Speaker 2>he the short yarded situations that he converted in in

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<v Speaker 2>some of the passing game stuff that he did as well.

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<v Speaker 2>Those two things I thought were really a catalyst for

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<v Speaker 2>what Green Bay did offensively. Green Bay already over two

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<v Speaker 2>hundred carries this season with Josh Jacobs, and for a

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<v Speaker 2>guy that was brought in and heralded as such a

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<v Speaker 2>All Pro rushing champion, a durable back, he's lived up

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<v Speaker 2>to the hype here through the first thirteen weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you mentioned though, what he did in the passing game.

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<v Speaker 1>He ends up with over one hundred yards from scrimmage

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<v Speaker 1>in this game. When he takes the checkdown throw in

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<v Speaker 1>the fourth cores or makes one of the best open

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<v Speaker 1>field moves we've seen all season long ends up getting

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<v Speaker 1>forty nine yards there. So between the rushing and the receiving,

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<v Speaker 1>Jacobs goes over one hundred. The Packers go three out

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<v Speaker 1>of five in the red zone, which I think has

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<v Speaker 1>been not only not only the reduction in turnovers. Since

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<v Speaker 1>the first Detroit game. The Packers will only turned the

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<v Speaker 1>ball over once in their last three games. But after

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<v Speaker 1>that Detroit game, the first one, the Packers had gone

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<v Speaker 1>one for four in the red zone in that game,

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<v Speaker 1>and they had dropped a twenty ninth in the league

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<v Speaker 1>in red zone offense. Since then, the Packers have converted

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<v Speaker 1>eleven out of fifteen red zone opportunities into touchdown. They

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<v Speaker 1>have climbed from twenty ninth in the league in red

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<v Speaker 1>zone offense to eighteenth. They've jumped eleven spots in three

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<v Speaker 1>weeks because that efficiency has ratcheted up so high. So

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<v Speaker 1>that has been a major improvement in where you see

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<v Speaker 1>that in the turnovers where this Packers team is very,

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<v Speaker 1>very different from the first one that faced the Lions

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<v Speaker 1>a month ago.

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<v Speaker 2>One thousand percent. And I just want to mention this

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<v Speaker 2>to kind of to go off that as well. So

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<v Speaker 2>many times the buzzword with football teams is what's your identity?

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<v Speaker 2>And it sometimes gets overblown. Sometimes there's truth to it,

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<v Speaker 2>but I think a lot of times it gets overblown.

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<v Speaker 2>What I look for in NFL teams is not necessarily

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<v Speaker 2>what your identity is, but what are you good at?

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<v Speaker 2>And I think what we've seen is the Packers season

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<v Speaker 2>has gone on as we've found out, Okay, inside the

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<v Speaker 2>red zone, whether it's a guy like Tucker Craft that

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<v Speaker 2>can extend plays, get those yards after catch, you know

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<v Speaker 2>you can throw it down short ten yards of the

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<v Speaker 2>goal line and he's gonna be able to make make

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<v Speaker 2>a push for the end zone, or a guy like

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<v Speaker 2>Josh Jacobs being able to convert in those those short

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<v Speaker 2>area goal to go situations. There's confidence there. You don't

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<v Speaker 2>you don't have to reinvent the game of football. You

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<v Speaker 2>can play the game the way it's intended. Your guys

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<v Speaker 2>can win. I think that has been very encouraging from

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<v Speaker 2>the Packer's side of things. In addition to the fact

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<v Speaker 2>that you've seen it didn't so much happened in this game,

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<v Speaker 2>but you know the explosive plays in the passing game.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, Christian Watson did have the forty six yard reception,

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<v Speaker 2>and obviously we've seen him go off for some big

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<v Speaker 2>plays here the last couple weeks, but it can be

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<v Speaker 2>a twenty three yard Jaden reed Cary as well. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>the multitude of options that Green Bay has offensively at

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<v Speaker 2>its fingertips. The best thing that they've done all season long,

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<v Speaker 2>whether Jordan Love has been in the lineup or not,

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<v Speaker 2>is moving the football. And over these last three games now,

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<v Speaker 2>we've seen them start to not only have that type

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<v Speaker 2>of production, but be able to carry that through in

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<v Speaker 2>the red zone and turn those into touchdowns.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, eleven out of fifteen the last three games has

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<v Speaker 1>been pretty impressive and it's why the Packers have been

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<v Speaker 1>putting up the point totals that they have. On the

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<v Speaker 1>defensive side of the ball. You mentioned it earlier, a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of passing yards for Tua Tagabaloa. It became pretty

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<v Speaker 1>obvious early on what Jeff Hafley's game plan was here.

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<v Speaker 1>The Packers did not have jyr Or Alexander once again,

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<v Speaker 1>the team's number one cornerback still not back from the

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<v Speaker 1>knee injury. He has come back to practice this week.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll see if he's going to be available Thursday night

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<v Speaker 1>in Detroit. But without your number one corner Look, you're

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<v Speaker 1>not gonna line up Mann de Man against Tyreek Hill

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<v Speaker 1>and Jalen Waddle with the Miami Dolphins when your best

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<v Speaker 1>cornerback is not available. So, Jeff haffley the game plan

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<v Speaker 1>was was try to flood the zones with it. Flooded

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<v Speaker 1>the passing lanes with your zone coverage, keep everything in

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<v Speaker 1>front of you, rally to the ball and make tackles.

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<v Speaker 1>We talked about last week how you can't let these

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<v Speaker 1>guys break tackle right because they take the short passes

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<v Speaker 1>and turn them into explosive gains, and I thought the

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<v Speaker 1>Packers did that. Yes, it got tiring. It got tiring

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<v Speaker 1>to see John hu Smith, in particular the tight end

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<v Speaker 1>for the Dolphins catching the passes over the middle and

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<v Speaker 1>getting eight or twelve or thirteen yard chunks as the

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<v Speaker 1>Dolphins were trying to come back from the big deficit.

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<v Speaker 1>But the Packers were okay with that because a the

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<v Speaker 1>Dolphins were going to burn some clock in order to

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<v Speaker 1>try to come back, and then b at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the day, the Miami Dolphins, one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>explosive offenses in the league, had one pass completion for

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<v Speaker 1>more than sixteen yards. Right, I mean the game plan,

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<v Speaker 1>the game plan was exactly that. And then where this

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<v Speaker 1>game hinged defensively was when the scores twenty seven to eleven.

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<v Speaker 1>Miami drives down and they are at second and goal

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<v Speaker 1>in the one yard line. It's early in the fourth quarter,

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<v Speaker 1>so a touchdown on a two point conversion there makes

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<v Speaker 1>it a one possession game, would make it an eight

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<v Speaker 1>point game. But from second and goal on the one

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<v Speaker 1>yard line, you get a run stop from Rashaun Gary,

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<v Speaker 1>you get a great pass breakup on a difficult play

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<v Speaker 1>by Keishawn Nixon on the play action to the right,

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<v Speaker 1>throwback to the left to John new Smith, and then

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<v Speaker 1>you get the fourth downsack quay Walker with the big

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<v Speaker 1>push from TJ. Slayton up the middle, really good coverage

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<v Speaker 1>in the end zone by Nixon and Valentine which two

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<v Speaker 1>has got nowhere to go with the ball, and Walker

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<v Speaker 1>eventually finishes it that goal line stand where the with

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<v Speaker 1>a touchdown on a two point conversion, Miami had a

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<v Speaker 1>chance to make it a one possession game there in

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<v Speaker 1>the fourth quarter. It didn't happen. The Dolphins never really

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<v Speaker 1>did get close, and the Packers put it away from there.

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<v Speaker 2>It was the key to the game. Obviously, I focused

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<v Speaker 2>my actual story that's called Key the Game on Rochelle

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<v Speaker 2>in his fumble recovery early, but I felt like after

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<v Speaker 2>that the air completely left the balloon. The Packers were

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<v Speaker 2>able to finish that thing. And what I like the

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<v Speaker 2>most about that series was, yes, it was it was

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<v Speaker 2>Rashan on first down, but then it ended up being

0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:50.760
<v Speaker 2>the guys that you want to see making plays. Not

0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:52.079
<v Speaker 2>that you don't want to see that with Rashaan, but

0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:55.760
<v Speaker 2>it's almost expected with Quay Walker, a guy that has been,

0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.240
<v Speaker 2>you know, had some ups and downs this season, and

0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:01.200
<v Speaker 2>I think everybody from Matt Laflorida to Jeff Hafley and

0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.080
<v Speaker 2>even I think to some extent Quay himself has talked

0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.040
<v Speaker 2>about you know, he's playing his best ball right now

0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:10.480
<v Speaker 2>and intangible wise, fundamentals wise, just what he brings to

0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:15.280
<v Speaker 2>the table. On paper, he is a every down middle

0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:19.000
<v Speaker 2>linebacker in this league. He is a mic linebacker with speed.

0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:21.920
<v Speaker 2>And I felt like this game, especially with not having

0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.200
<v Speaker 2>Edger and Cooper, they were going to need to use

0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.240
<v Speaker 2>a little bit more of his blitzing ability and they

0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.840
<v Speaker 2>did that, and yeah, b and right next to him,

0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:31.720
<v Speaker 2>alongside of him, you have Isaiah McDuffie, who had an

0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:33.839
<v Speaker 2>ankle injury that Matt Lefuller talked about. He didn't even

0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.000
<v Speaker 2>think coming out of that San Francisco game he was

0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:38.160
<v Speaker 2>going to be able to make the turn to Miami.

0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.160
<v Speaker 2>Jeff Hafley then added they weren't even sure if he

0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.160
<v Speaker 2>was gonna be able to finish the second half against

0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.839
<v Speaker 2>the forty nine ers. Not only that, McDuffie plays almost

0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:47.160
<v Speaker 2>ninety percent of the snaps, has ten tackles, force as

0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.720
<v Speaker 2>a fumble, a key breakup on a third down pass

0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:53.200
<v Speaker 2>that ended up leading to another turnover. On downs, the

0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.320
<v Speaker 2>Packers came through with the guys that are sort of

0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:59.680
<v Speaker 2>seen as I think, the complimentary pieces. And when you

0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.600
<v Speaker 2>have that, you have a guy like TJ. Slayton getting

0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.280
<v Speaker 2>some push. That's what gives you the confidence now that

0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:08.240
<v Speaker 2>this is a unit to be you know, trifled with. Yeah,

0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:10.680
<v Speaker 2>and could potentially help you win some of these games

0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:11.600
<v Speaker 2>into the month of December.

0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:13.640
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that sequence at the end of the first half

0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.319
<v Speaker 1>is worth mentioning here too before we move on, because

0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.760
<v Speaker 1>the score is twenty one to three. The Packers are

0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.800
<v Speaker 1>sitting on a pretty good lead, but Miami's got the

0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:25.320
<v Speaker 1>ball late in the first half. They cross midfield. They're

0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.320
<v Speaker 1>looking to get some points and Miami's going to get

0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.480
<v Speaker 1>the ball coming out at the start of the third quarter,

0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:33.000
<v Speaker 1>third down and five, the Dolphins are not yet in

0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:35.080
<v Speaker 1>field goal range. They need to get this first down

0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.880
<v Speaker 1>to get into field goal range. Third down and five,

0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.280
<v Speaker 1>and you know, a dump off pass over the middle.

0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.679
<v Speaker 1>McDuffie comes up and makes a big hit. I believe

0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:48.480
<v Speaker 1>it was Washington. Washington Milikua the receiver slash returner. Washington

0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:50.920
<v Speaker 1>takes that hit from McDuffie can't hang out of the

0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:55.640
<v Speaker 1>ball incomplete pass fourth and five, and Tua makes a

0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:57.840
<v Speaker 1>bad throw on fourth and five, so it's a turnover.

0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:01.240
<v Speaker 1>On downs. The Packers get it back two seconds on

0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:05.240
<v Speaker 1>the clock, but the Packers have all three of their timeouts,

0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:08.000
<v Speaker 1>use a couple of passes to tuck her craft a

0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:12.240
<v Speaker 1>nice run by Chris Brooks get in range using the timeouts. Wisely,

0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.600
<v Speaker 1>Brandon McManus comes out and drills a field goal at

0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:18.040
<v Speaker 1>the end of the first half. So instead of looking

0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:22.840
<v Speaker 1>at possibly twenty one to six, if the Dolphins get

0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:24.840
<v Speaker 1>a touchdown and then they're getting the ball coming out

0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:26.880
<v Speaker 1>to start of the third quarter at twenty one to six,

0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:29.200
<v Speaker 1>instead the game is twenty four to three.

0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:29.760
<v Speaker 2>It was.

0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:33.680
<v Speaker 1>It was a clear six point swing, where then it

0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:36.640
<v Speaker 1>wasn't as crucial in a sense that Miami was going

0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:38.600
<v Speaker 1>to get the ball starting the third quarter because the

0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:41.920
<v Speaker 1>Packers had then added to their lead. That sequence there,

0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.480
<v Speaker 1>which really in my mind, started with the big hit

0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.440
<v Speaker 1>by McDuffie to break up the third down pass. That

0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:50.920
<v Speaker 1>played a big part in how this game unfolded as well.

0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.000
<v Speaker 2>And things could have shifted there too. Miami getting the

0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:54.960
<v Speaker 2>ball in the second half. I mean being able to,

0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:57.360
<v Speaker 2>you know, do the double up. That's something that everyone

0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:01.120
<v Speaker 2>under the Shanahan tree mostly wants to always accom Yeah,

0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:03.040
<v Speaker 2>and even when it looks like twenty four to three,

0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:05.800
<v Speaker 2>well that score changes if it suddenly becomes twenty four

0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.440
<v Speaker 2>to seventeen. And the Packers didn't allow that to happen.

0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.160
<v Speaker 2>They actually ended up tacking on some more points. I

0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.240
<v Speaker 2>thought it was very important too. Matt Lafleur made kind

0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:13.720
<v Speaker 2>of a tongue in cheek joke about it at the

0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:17.160
<v Speaker 2>podium on Sunday, where he said, yeah, I mean, I mean,

0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:19.120
<v Speaker 2>you know, you got to save those timeouts right in

0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:21.000
<v Speaker 2>the first half. I mean so many times I think

0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:23.400
<v Speaker 2>there's people out there that just think, okay, well the

0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:25.240
<v Speaker 2>second half. You got to save them as long as

0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:27.120
<v Speaker 2>you can the first half, if you need to take

0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.720
<v Speaker 2>a few here and there. No, you saw in this game,

0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:31.320
<v Speaker 2>the value of being able to keep all three of

0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:34.920
<v Speaker 2>those timeouts twenty two seconds gets a lot longer if

0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.440
<v Speaker 2>you can stop the clock three times, and certainly.

0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:39.200
<v Speaker 1>And you can use the whole field. Absolutely, when you

0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:41.480
<v Speaker 1>can use the whole field, because you make the defense

0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:43.640
<v Speaker 1>defend the whole field, not just oh we can defend

0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.120
<v Speaker 1>the sideline, tackle them in bounds. The clock is going

0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:47.560
<v Speaker 1>to run, They're not gonna be able to guess in

0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:51.320
<v Speaker 1>kicking range. Right, So that was that was definitely a

0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:54.440
<v Speaker 1>key sequence in this game. We do have to move on, though,

0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:57.240
<v Speaker 1>to talk about this game coming up Thursday night in Detroit,

0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.280
<v Speaker 1>and we will do that right after this sponsored a

0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:04.080
<v Speaker 1>serious XMNFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to

0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.920
<v Speaker 1>the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need. Twenty

0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.840
<v Speaker 1>four to seven, three sixty five and at Cousin Subs,

0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.680
<v Speaker 1>we have something for everyone like our Wisconsin cheese curds,

0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:15.200
<v Speaker 1>mac and cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired

0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:17.320
<v Speaker 1>with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin

0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:22.040
<v Speaker 1>Subs fifty plus years of better. All right, well, it's

0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:25.240
<v Speaker 1>another Thursday game. It's another Thursday night game. This one

0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.320
<v Speaker 1>will be at Ford Field in Detroit, the nine and

0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:33.760
<v Speaker 1>three Packers visiting the eleven and one Detroit Lions. The

0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:37.440
<v Speaker 1>Lions a close shave on Thanksgiving, completely dominate the first

0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:41.280
<v Speaker 1>half against the Chicago Bears, and then they are hanging

0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:45.360
<v Speaker 1>on for dear life to not let the game go

0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:49.000
<v Speaker 1>to overtime. And the Bears end up batching the whole

0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.000
<v Speaker 1>final sequence, they get their coach fired and all that.

0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:56.280
<v Speaker 1>The bottom line is, the Detroit Lions are eleven and one.

0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:58.880
<v Speaker 1>The Packers are two games back at nine to three.

0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.160
<v Speaker 1>And let's be real here, Wes, if the Packers are

0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:06.840
<v Speaker 1>going to have any chance, any realistic chance of winning

0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:09.600
<v Speaker 1>the NFC North, they have to win this game on

0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.200
<v Speaker 1>Thursday night. If the Packers go to Detroit and lose

0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.320
<v Speaker 1>by all means not all is lost, but it becomes

0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:19.640
<v Speaker 1>wildcard or bust at that point. So if the Packers

0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:24.240
<v Speaker 1>are going to threaten the Lions for the NFC North title,

0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:27.320
<v Speaker 1>and the Vikings for that matter, it's on the line

0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:28.720
<v Speaker 1>Thursday night at Ford Field.

0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:31.480
<v Speaker 2>I saw this tweet, but when I give their proper credit,

0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:33.879
<v Speaker 2>I believe was Zach Cruz was the one that tweeted this.

0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:37.760
<v Speaker 2>The Packers, even if they beat the Lions and the Vikings,

0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:39.840
<v Speaker 2>I still think there's like a thirty six percent chance

0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.760
<v Speaker 2>of them winning the division. So losing either of those

0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.879
<v Speaker 2>games obviously would diminish that potential. Yeah, that's with the

0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:50.000
<v Speaker 2>New York Times playoff generator. All that being said, the

0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:53.920
<v Speaker 2>Detroit Lions, I thought, what Larry's point was in three

0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.040
<v Speaker 2>things might have been the most salient thing any of

0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:59.800
<v Speaker 2>us have said all season, where so many people, myself included,

0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:03.040
<v Speaker 2>We're watching that game against the Bears being like, all right,

0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:05.720
<v Speaker 2>come on, Chicago, let's pull this thing out. And Larry said,

0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:07.200
<v Speaker 2>He's like, no, if there's going to be a wake

0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.720
<v Speaker 2>up call, it should be against the Packers. And I

0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:12.480
<v Speaker 2>think there's a lot to be said for that. The

0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:15.960
<v Speaker 2>Packers momentum and how they've built since that loss to

0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:19.560
<v Speaker 2>the Lions has been really critical to how this season

0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:22.359
<v Speaker 2>has played out. And as Xavier McKinney said, he actually

0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:24.840
<v Speaker 2>sent a text message to some of his teammates after

0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:26.520
<v Speaker 2>the bye saying, hey, let's just win the rest of

0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:30.080
<v Speaker 2>these things. And he left that game as disappointing as

0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:31.880
<v Speaker 2>it was, as slow as a start as Green Bay

0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.359
<v Speaker 2>had against the Lions. He didn't feel like they were

0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:36.640
<v Speaker 2>all class. He didn't leave that game feeling like, hey,

0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:39.119
<v Speaker 2>we can't play with these guys. The Packers had a

0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:42.760
<v Speaker 2>menagerie of errors and penalties and setbacks that they just

0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:45.840
<v Speaker 2>could not overcome in that game. Yea, and now suddenly

0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.600
<v Speaker 2>everything's back there for you. Nine wins. I think there's

0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:52.040
<v Speaker 2>a ninety six percent chance right now green Bay making

0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.240
<v Speaker 2>the playoffs with five games to go on the regular season.

0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:56.800
<v Speaker 2>But you gotta go one game at a time, and

0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.359
<v Speaker 2>there is no bigger game than going back into Ford

0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:02.920
<v Speaker 2>Field just over a year after they played and defeated

0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:05.720
<v Speaker 2>and upset the Detroit Lions on their home field and

0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:07.560
<v Speaker 2>going back and trying to do it once again.

0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:10.960
<v Speaker 1>Well, the Packers are a very different team from the

0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:13.240
<v Speaker 1>first meeting, not only in the ways that we've been

0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:17.639
<v Speaker 1>talking about offensively, defensively, the way they're playing, certainly, the

0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.119
<v Speaker 1>way the running game is playing, the reduction in turnovers,

0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:24.560
<v Speaker 1>the red zone efficiency, what the run defense for Green

0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:28.280
<v Speaker 1>Bay is doing as of late, Christian McCaffrey, Devon h Chan,

0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:31.040
<v Speaker 1>Raheem Mostert, the running backs the Packers have faced the

0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:32.679
<v Speaker 1>last couple of weeks have not been able to do

0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:37.480
<v Speaker 1>anything on the ground. The Packers are also different from

0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:40.679
<v Speaker 1>a health standpoint compared to the first game against Detroit.

0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:43.160
<v Speaker 1>Jordan Love is certainly healthier he was coming. He had

0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:46.160
<v Speaker 1>just had the groin injury the week before in Jacksonville

0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:50.280
<v Speaker 1>when and basically didn't really practice all week long leading

0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:53.200
<v Speaker 1>up to the first Detroit game. He was healthy enough

0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:56.359
<v Speaker 1>to play, but obviously was not himself. Jordan Love is

0:19:56.400 --> 0:20:02.199
<v Speaker 1>in a very different place. Josh Myers, Williams, JayR Alexander

0:20:02.280 --> 0:20:06.080
<v Speaker 1>all missed the first Detroit game. That was the only

0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:08.880
<v Speaker 1>game this season the Packers have not had their main

0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:12.280
<v Speaker 1>starting five for the offensive line, where they had to

0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:15.440
<v Speaker 1>move Elton Jenkins to center and all that, so hopefully

0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:20.679
<v Speaker 1>the continuity is there for that group. Evan Williams has

0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:23.560
<v Speaker 1>since returned to the lineup from his hamstring injury that

0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:25.920
<v Speaker 1>forced him to miss the first Detroit game, and as

0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:28.640
<v Speaker 1>I said before, Alexander is back at practice this week

0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:30.680
<v Speaker 1>trying to work his way back from the knee injury.

0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:35.080
<v Speaker 1>We'll see it, We'll see if he's available. So health wise,

0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:37.080
<v Speaker 1>I think the Packers are a very different team than

0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:40.719
<v Speaker 1>the first time against Detroit. On the Lions side, the

0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:43.080
<v Speaker 1>Lions are banged up on defense. This is a very

0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:46.040
<v Speaker 1>different looking defense than the one the Packers faced a

0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:48.919
<v Speaker 1>month ago because now Hal Hutchinson was already out. But

0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:52.679
<v Speaker 1>they have had a number of injuries since then. Linebackers

0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.080
<v Speaker 1>who have gone on injured reserve and now some defensive

0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:57.760
<v Speaker 1>linemen who seem iffy for the game. As to whether

0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:01.200
<v Speaker 1>or not they're going to be able to play offensively.

0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:05.720
<v Speaker 1>The Lions are healthy, and this is the unit that

0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.080
<v Speaker 1>the Lions are relying on. This is the unit that

0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:12.800
<v Speaker 1>for Detroit they're looking at. These are the guys who

0:21:12.840 --> 0:21:14.960
<v Speaker 1>are gonna take them to the promised Land. I mean,

0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:18.400
<v Speaker 1>you know, Jared Goff, the two running backs, Saint Brown, Laporta,

0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:22.280
<v Speaker 1>all those guys. It feels like it's going to be

0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:24.760
<v Speaker 1>a very different matchup in a lot of ways than

0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:27.280
<v Speaker 1>a month ago. But the one thing that isn't different

0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:28.640
<v Speaker 1>is Detroit's offense.

0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.439
<v Speaker 2>Do you know, Mike, how many players the Detroit Lions

0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:34.080
<v Speaker 2>now have on injured reserve after they made some moves

0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:34.520
<v Speaker 2>this week.

0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:38.760
<v Speaker 1>I don't, but I'm guessing it's probably upwards of thirteen.

0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:41.919
<v Speaker 2>Eighteen got eighteen. I mean, they lost several guys at

0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:44.080
<v Speaker 2>the beginning of the season two even before the year,

0:21:44.920 --> 0:21:47.440
<v Speaker 2>they've been beat up. And as much as people talk

0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:50.240
<v Speaker 2>about Aiden Hutchinson, and you should, He's was potentially the

0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:51.879
<v Speaker 2>NFL defensive player of the Year at the time in

0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:55.080
<v Speaker 2>which he got injured. Yep. But Alex Azeloni, I say

0:21:55.080 --> 0:21:56.960
<v Speaker 2>it probably every time you and I do the show,

0:21:57.040 --> 0:21:59.680
<v Speaker 2>I think is the most underrated guy potentially in the

0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:02.160
<v Speaker 2>National Football League, but certainly when it comes to defensive

0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:05.600
<v Speaker 2>and lineback and play, this guy what he's turned himself into.

0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:08.760
<v Speaker 2>He is the heartbeat of that defense. He is the

0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:11.600
<v Speaker 2>guy that is the rallying cry for that team. And

0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:13.600
<v Speaker 2>to not have him available right now I think has

0:22:13.600 --> 0:22:15.840
<v Speaker 2>been a big hit for them. They've made some move.

0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:18.840
<v Speaker 2>Sadarius Smith obviously is now in Detroit. He has two

0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:22.560
<v Speaker 2>sacks and three games. They are moving him everywhere once again,

0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:25.200
<v Speaker 2>much like the Packers once did. If we know anything

0:22:25.240 --> 0:22:27.520
<v Speaker 2>about Sadarius when it comes to him coming out of

0:22:27.560 --> 0:22:29.800
<v Speaker 2>the gate, starting with a new team, a fresh start,

0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:32.200
<v Speaker 2>he always plays really well. He did it in Green Bay,

0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:34.440
<v Speaker 2>he did at Minnesota, and he certainly did it in Cleveland.

0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:37.280
<v Speaker 2>So seeing him the kind of the enthusiasm and the

0:22:37.400 --> 0:22:40.040
<v Speaker 2>energy that he's injected too that defense, you can feel it.

0:22:40.359 --> 0:22:41.960
<v Speaker 2>But the fact of the matter is is they still

0:22:41.960 --> 0:22:43.919
<v Speaker 2>are a hurting unit and there are a lot of

0:22:43.960 --> 0:22:46.480
<v Speaker 2>players in that secondary that I've had to kind of

0:22:46.520 --> 0:22:49.000
<v Speaker 2>fight through some things as well. They still have their

0:22:49.040 --> 0:22:52.760
<v Speaker 2>one two punch Kirby Joseph Brian Branch probably two as

0:22:52.760 --> 0:22:54.960
<v Speaker 2>good as they get in the National Football League, especially

0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:57.000
<v Speaker 2>with the versatility of Branch to pretty much move him

0:22:57.000 --> 0:23:00.880
<v Speaker 2>anywhere you want. He is an incredible chess piece. Offensively,

0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:03.800
<v Speaker 2>You're right, they are healthy. Taylor Decker does have some

0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:05.920
<v Speaker 2>questions though at left tackle. We'll see how this week

0:23:06.000 --> 0:23:06.800
<v Speaker 2>works out for him.

0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:10.120
<v Speaker 1>That's right. Dan Skipper has started a couple of games

0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:14.240
<v Speaker 1>at left tackle, including the Thanksgiving game against the Chicago Bears.

0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:16.480
<v Speaker 1>Skipper was in there in place of Decker.

0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:19.960
<v Speaker 2>And Skipper's kind of like the Evan Smith of that line,

0:23:20.000 --> 0:23:21.679
<v Speaker 2>like he's the guy that just always seems to be

0:23:21.720 --> 0:23:23.560
<v Speaker 2>in there if there's an injury that creeps up and

0:23:23.560 --> 0:23:26.000
<v Speaker 2>has been sort of a dependable letteran for them as well.

0:23:26.320 --> 0:23:28.639
<v Speaker 2>But the big difference for the Lions compared to that

0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:31.280
<v Speaker 2>first game is Jamison Williams is available. He's not suspended,

0:23:31.280 --> 0:23:35.000
<v Speaker 2>he's back. He's making huge plays for them. The contrast

0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:37.560
<v Speaker 2>of his explosive style with just the consistency of Amen

0:23:37.640 --> 0:23:41.080
<v Speaker 2>Ross Saint Brown, that is a very difficult thing to

0:23:41.119 --> 0:23:44.080
<v Speaker 2>deal with. Sam Laporta has battled some injuries. We'll see

0:23:44.080 --> 0:23:46.720
<v Speaker 2>exactly where he's at physically and how he performs in

0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:48.800
<v Speaker 2>this game. But with a one to two punch in

0:23:48.840 --> 0:23:52.320
<v Speaker 2>the backfield like gibbson Montgomery and potentially both of those

0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:55.440
<v Speaker 2>guys going over a thousand yards this season at said

0:23:55.520 --> 0:23:57.199
<v Speaker 2>last time. And Ben Johnson is going to be a

0:23:57.200 --> 0:23:59.080
<v Speaker 2>head coach in the National Football League this year, this

0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:01.159
<v Speaker 2>will be his last year. Is the offensive coordinator of

0:24:01.200 --> 0:24:03.440
<v Speaker 2>the Lions. You cannot see it any other way. He's

0:24:03.480 --> 0:24:05.119
<v Speaker 2>going to be the most highly coveted coach in the

0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:07.960
<v Speaker 2>National Football League in twenty twenty five. But in the

0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:10.199
<v Speaker 2>here and now, man, this is about as explosive and

0:24:10.200 --> 0:24:12.480
<v Speaker 2>as consistent as an offense as there is in the NFL.

0:24:12.600 --> 0:24:15.679
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, absolutely, I mean, Jared Goff is still completing seventy

0:24:15.720 --> 0:24:18.520
<v Speaker 1>two percent of his passes on the season. His season

0:24:18.600 --> 0:24:21.320
<v Speaker 1>passer rating is in the triple digits, over one hundred.

0:24:21.760 --> 0:24:25.520
<v Speaker 1>I added up what running backs David Montgomery and Jamier

0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:28.439
<v Speaker 1>Gibbs have done. This is crazy west three hundred and

0:24:28.480 --> 0:24:32.679
<v Speaker 1>twenty nine carries, one thousand, six hundred and ninety three yards,

0:24:32.960 --> 0:24:37.359
<v Speaker 1>and twenty one rushing touchdowns in twelve games. Yep, I mean,

0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:41.120
<v Speaker 1>those those are tremendous numbers for a one to two

0:24:41.200 --> 0:24:45.320
<v Speaker 1>running back punch for an entire season. And those guys

0:24:45.320 --> 0:24:48.359
<v Speaker 1>have done that three twenty nine, sixteen, ninety three, and

0:24:48.440 --> 0:24:53.280
<v Speaker 1>twenty one in twelve games. It is it's remarkable the

0:24:53.520 --> 0:24:57.320
<v Speaker 1>offensive machine that the Lions have become. Now here's the

0:24:57.400 --> 0:25:01.520
<v Speaker 1>interesting thing, though, Like they looked like they were just

0:25:01.720 --> 0:25:05.840
<v Speaker 1>on their way to a complete and total demolition of

0:25:05.880 --> 0:25:10.399
<v Speaker 1>the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving with that early game. But

0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:14.760
<v Speaker 1>in the second half, Chicago Bears defense started to stand tall.

0:25:15.760 --> 0:25:18.639
<v Speaker 1>The Bears got their offense going and they made a

0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:22.000
<v Speaker 1>game of it, and the Lions really the Lions never

0:25:22.200 --> 0:25:25.080
<v Speaker 1>put the game away with that offense, as much as

0:25:25.119 --> 0:25:27.240
<v Speaker 1>it was humming in the first half, they did have

0:25:27.280 --> 0:25:29.640
<v Speaker 1>some red zone struggles. They were kicking too many field goals,

0:25:29.680 --> 0:25:31.840
<v Speaker 1>so they didn't put the Bears away there. But then

0:25:31.880 --> 0:25:33.840
<v Speaker 1>they also couldn't put them away in the second half

0:25:33.880 --> 0:25:36.719
<v Speaker 1>because they couldn't get a big time drive going when

0:25:36.760 --> 0:25:41.879
<v Speaker 1>they really needed one. So it's interesting how this is

0:25:42.000 --> 0:25:45.000
<v Speaker 1>has unfolded because because while a lot of people are

0:25:45.040 --> 0:25:47.400
<v Speaker 1>saying the Lions might be the best team in football,

0:25:47.760 --> 0:25:51.280
<v Speaker 1>and at eleven and one, they certainly looked better as

0:25:51.320 --> 0:25:53.800
<v Speaker 1>a one loss team than the Kansas City Chiefs have.

0:25:54.240 --> 0:25:56.920
<v Speaker 1>So I certainly understand that argument, and I take nothing

0:25:56.960 --> 0:26:00.000
<v Speaker 1>away from them. But this isn't a team that played

0:26:00.320 --> 0:26:04.760
<v Speaker 1>perfect football, No and so, and the Packers are going

0:26:04.760 --> 0:26:08.000
<v Speaker 1>in there knowing, hey, Green Bay walked. They they walked

0:26:08.000 --> 0:26:10.239
<v Speaker 1>out of that tunnel at Ford Field last year on

0:26:10.280 --> 0:26:13.840
<v Speaker 1>Thanksgiving for that eleven thirty am Central time kickoff and

0:26:13.920 --> 0:26:16.040
<v Speaker 1>took it to the first place team when not a

0:26:16.040 --> 0:26:19.040
<v Speaker 1>lot of people gave him a chance, and and it was.

0:26:19.119 --> 0:26:19.440
<v Speaker 2>It was.

0:26:19.520 --> 0:26:21.800
<v Speaker 1>It was a win that ended up shaping a lot

0:26:21.840 --> 0:26:24.720
<v Speaker 1>of how the the end of the season unfolded for

0:26:24.800 --> 0:26:27.720
<v Speaker 1>the Packers. If you're Green Bay man, you're looking at

0:26:28.040 --> 0:26:30.240
<v Speaker 1>you're looking at trying to do exactly the same thing

0:26:30.400 --> 0:26:31.200
<v Speaker 1>on Thursday night.

0:26:31.359 --> 0:26:33.520
<v Speaker 2>You and again, I don't know if you're probably gonna

0:26:33.640 --> 0:26:35.359
<v Speaker 2>spin this off into the keys of victory. So I

0:26:35.359 --> 0:26:37.600
<v Speaker 2>don't want to give away too much, but you have

0:26:37.640 --> 0:26:41.080
<v Speaker 2>to play with physicality against Lions. There aren't any losses

0:26:41.119 --> 0:26:43.560
<v Speaker 2>to really point to in terms of what's the key

0:26:43.600 --> 0:26:45.960
<v Speaker 2>to beating them. The one that they did I remember

0:26:46.200 --> 0:26:49.320
<v Speaker 2>that was where they afterwards, you know, you kind of

0:26:49.320 --> 0:26:50.960
<v Speaker 2>heard Dan Campbell fall on the sword for some of

0:26:50.960 --> 0:26:52.919
<v Speaker 2>the coaching decisions that were made in that loss to

0:26:52.960 --> 0:26:56.360
<v Speaker 2>Tampa Bay in Week two. But when it's been close

0:26:57.040 --> 0:26:59.680
<v Speaker 2>whether it was what Chicago did or Houston or somebody's

0:26:59.680 --> 0:27:02.720
<v Speaker 2>that teats, it's when teams played physical. You gotta play

0:27:03.080 --> 0:27:05.920
<v Speaker 2>error free football. You can't set yourself back with penalties.

0:27:05.960 --> 0:27:07.919
<v Speaker 2>You can't turn it over. They'll make you pay for it.

0:27:09.080 --> 0:27:12.320
<v Speaker 2>Possessions are always at a premium with this team, but

0:27:12.400 --> 0:27:15.000
<v Speaker 2>you have to play with physicality and I think Green

0:27:15.000 --> 0:27:17.040
<v Speaker 2>Bay knows that and they saw that. The other thing

0:27:17.080 --> 0:27:19.560
<v Speaker 2>that stands out that's interesting to me is Lions have

0:27:19.560 --> 0:27:22.480
<v Speaker 2>outscored teams three eighty three to two oh three, almost

0:27:22.480 --> 0:27:25.280
<v Speaker 2>doubling up teams, but they've been outscored in the first

0:27:25.280 --> 0:27:28.200
<v Speaker 2>and fourth quarters, fourth quarter. It makes total sense because

0:27:28.280 --> 0:27:30.320
<v Speaker 2>you know they're playing with leads teams.

0:27:30.119 --> 0:27:32.920
<v Speaker 1>Don't, and they've had some games with massive leads, absolutely

0:27:33.040 --> 0:27:33.960
<v Speaker 1>huge leads.

0:27:33.720 --> 0:27:35.880
<v Speaker 2>But a lot of their damage is done in those

0:27:35.880 --> 0:27:38.680
<v Speaker 2>second and third quarters. Forty eight points in the first

0:27:38.760 --> 0:27:43.119
<v Speaker 2>quarter to one seventy four in the second, the third

0:27:43.200 --> 0:27:45.320
<v Speaker 2>quarter one oh six. I mean they are looking to

0:27:45.400 --> 0:27:47.480
<v Speaker 2>double you up at the end of the half. They

0:27:47.480 --> 0:27:50.920
<v Speaker 2>are looking to really take it to you and take

0:27:50.960 --> 0:27:54.000
<v Speaker 2>games away from you. Jacksonville added a lot to that.

0:27:54.160 --> 0:27:56.560
<v Speaker 2>Some of these games have added a lot to those numbers.

0:27:56.960 --> 0:27:59.639
<v Speaker 2>But that being said, this is a very dangerous football

0:27:59.680 --> 0:28:02.560
<v Speaker 2>team if you do not counter their punches. And I

0:28:02.560 --> 0:28:04.520
<v Speaker 2>think the Green Bay Packers with that first matchup at

0:28:04.600 --> 0:28:08.000
<v Speaker 2>Lambeufield understand exactly what the type of opponent that they're

0:28:08.000 --> 0:28:09.760
<v Speaker 2>facing and what you have to do to take them down.

0:28:09.800 --> 0:28:13.280
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they've basically averaged two touchdowns per game in the

0:28:13.320 --> 0:28:16.919
<v Speaker 1>second quarter, and they get their offense rolling the points

0:28:16.960 --> 0:28:21.440
<v Speaker 1>that they end up putting up before halftime is pretty impressive,

0:28:21.480 --> 0:28:23.560
<v Speaker 1>I would say. If there is if you look at

0:28:23.600 --> 0:28:26.639
<v Speaker 1>the three the three games this year that Detroit has

0:28:26.720 --> 0:28:30.400
<v Speaker 1>looked the most vulnerable, the loss to Tampa Bay back

0:28:30.400 --> 0:28:32.919
<v Speaker 1>in Week two, the very close loss where they had

0:28:32.960 --> 0:28:35.440
<v Speaker 1>to come from behind against Houston, and then last week

0:28:35.560 --> 0:28:39.240
<v Speaker 1>against the Bears. If there's a common thread to those,

0:28:39.440 --> 0:28:43.120
<v Speaker 1>it's the opposing defense rising up in the red zone

0:28:43.240 --> 0:28:46.600
<v Speaker 1>and making the Lions kick field goals instead of getting touchdowns.

0:28:46.600 --> 0:28:49.200
<v Speaker 1>Because when the Lions get touchdowns, they end up with

0:28:49.280 --> 0:28:51.560
<v Speaker 1>forty plus on the board. But you make them kick

0:28:51.600 --> 0:28:53.600
<v Speaker 1>field goals, you can keep the point total in the

0:28:53.600 --> 0:28:56.320
<v Speaker 1>twenties and that gives you a chance. That gives your

0:28:56.320 --> 0:28:59.360
<v Speaker 1>offense a chance, especially right now with their defenses banged

0:28:59.400 --> 0:29:01.560
<v Speaker 1>up as it is, it gives your offense a chance

0:29:01.600 --> 0:29:05.960
<v Speaker 1>to score enough to be able to win. Let's go

0:29:06.080 --> 0:29:08.080
<v Speaker 1>right into keys to victory and a lot of them

0:29:08.200 --> 0:29:13.360
<v Speaker 1>we've already talked about for me, and again I don't

0:29:13.400 --> 0:29:15.960
<v Speaker 1>I'm not taking anything away from the Lions, but looking

0:29:16.000 --> 0:29:19.160
<v Speaker 1>strictly at what the Packers have been doing, you have

0:29:19.240 --> 0:29:21.400
<v Speaker 1>to just keep doing what you're doing. You have to

0:29:21.480 --> 0:29:23.760
<v Speaker 1>keep the turnovers to a minimum, you have to keep

0:29:23.760 --> 0:29:26.560
<v Speaker 1>the red zone efficiency up, you have to keep the

0:29:27.480 --> 0:29:31.200
<v Speaker 1>miscues to a minimum. You know, talking about the drop passes,

0:29:32.320 --> 0:29:35.120
<v Speaker 1>the penalties which I think are down on the defensive

0:29:35.160 --> 0:29:38.040
<v Speaker 1>side of the ball for those I mean the fans

0:29:38.040 --> 0:29:41.920
<v Speaker 1>are frustrated with the jumping off sides, the lining up

0:29:41.960 --> 0:29:44.760
<v Speaker 1>off sides and stuff like that. Don't think the Packers

0:29:44.760 --> 0:29:46.800
<v Speaker 1>aren't frustrated with it as well. Just take a look

0:29:46.840 --> 0:29:49.480
<v Speaker 1>at what Matt Lafleur said at the podium with regard

0:29:49.560 --> 0:29:51.440
<v Speaker 1>to that, Take a look at what Jeff Hafley said

0:29:51.440 --> 0:29:54.760
<v Speaker 1>at the podium with regard to the off sides. The

0:29:54.760 --> 0:29:57.680
<v Speaker 1>Packers just they they haven't figured out how to stop it,

0:29:57.840 --> 0:30:02.200
<v Speaker 1>stop that happening yet, but there is definitely frustration mounting

0:30:02.360 --> 0:30:05.440
<v Speaker 1>in that it can't continue. The Packers know they can't

0:30:05.480 --> 0:30:08.880
<v Speaker 1>do that two, three, four times against the Detroit Lions

0:30:08.880 --> 0:30:11.520
<v Speaker 1>on Thursday night and expect to win. You're just giving away.

0:30:11.960 --> 0:30:15.000
<v Speaker 1>You're giving away too much. So all of those things.

0:30:15.920 --> 0:30:19.680
<v Speaker 1>If the penalties start to come down in the same

0:30:19.720 --> 0:30:23.640
<v Speaker 1>way that the drop passes have been reduced, the turnos

0:30:23.640 --> 0:30:26.240
<v Speaker 1>have been reduced, and the red zone efficiency has gone up.

0:30:26.520 --> 0:30:29.360
<v Speaker 1>If the penalties come down along with that, the Packers

0:30:29.400 --> 0:30:31.200
<v Speaker 1>will give themselves a chance to win this game.

0:30:31.560 --> 0:30:34.680
<v Speaker 2>There is no team in the National Football League, at

0:30:34.760 --> 0:30:37.360
<v Speaker 2>least from I haven't run the whole like sybermetrics numbers

0:30:37.400 --> 0:30:39.680
<v Speaker 2>or anything like that, but when you look at situational

0:30:39.680 --> 0:30:44.120
<v Speaker 2>football on both offense and defense, Detroit is the cream

0:30:44.120 --> 0:30:48.600
<v Speaker 2>of the crop. Offensively, you look at it fourth in

0:30:48.680 --> 0:30:51.840
<v Speaker 2>third down conversions, sixth in red zone, third and goal

0:30:51.880 --> 0:30:54.160
<v Speaker 2>to go. You look at the defensive side of things

0:30:54.160 --> 0:30:57.720
<v Speaker 2>for them, first in third down defense, second in red zone,

0:30:57.920 --> 0:31:01.920
<v Speaker 2>third in goal to go, beat you inside the twenty.

0:31:02.200 --> 0:31:04.600
<v Speaker 2>That's how they win. So what do you have to

0:31:04.640 --> 0:31:06.600
<v Speaker 2>do well? First and foremost, you cannot be in third

0:31:06.600 --> 0:31:09.640
<v Speaker 2>and long against this team. Kirby Joseph is just salivating

0:31:09.680 --> 0:31:11.520
<v Speaker 2>on the back end, wanting you to throw that football

0:31:11.520 --> 0:31:14.360
<v Speaker 2>in those instances. Jordan Love somewhat saw that last, you know,

0:31:14.400 --> 0:31:16.880
<v Speaker 2>on this last encounter with them. Yep, you see him.

0:31:16.960 --> 0:31:19.760
<v Speaker 2>When you get put in adverse situations. If you can't

0:31:19.840 --> 0:31:22.160
<v Speaker 2>run against their front, if you can't cut those yards

0:31:22.160 --> 0:31:24.880
<v Speaker 2>in half on first down, the Detroit Lions are going

0:31:24.920 --> 0:31:30.000
<v Speaker 2>to feast. Conversely, the first thing that the Brad Holmes

0:31:30.160 --> 0:31:34.160
<v Speaker 2>Dan Campbell philosophy since the very beginning, the thing that

0:31:34.200 --> 0:31:36.480
<v Speaker 2>they instilled even when they were a third three win team,

0:31:36.640 --> 0:31:40.000
<v Speaker 2>was we are going to run the football. They did

0:31:40.000 --> 0:31:42.160
<v Speaker 2>it with Jamal Williams. Jamal Williams set the single season

0:31:42.280 --> 0:31:44.880
<v Speaker 2>touchdown record and then they let him go. I mean,

0:31:45.120 --> 0:31:47.560
<v Speaker 2>this is the way that these guys are wired. Yeah,

0:31:47.720 --> 0:31:49.480
<v Speaker 2>they want to run the football. They want to have

0:31:49.600 --> 0:31:53.480
<v Speaker 2>that contrast between Montgomery and Gibbs. Personally, I favor Gibbs.

0:31:53.480 --> 0:31:56.280
<v Speaker 2>I've watched Montgomery for a lot of years. Very talented guy,

0:31:56.360 --> 0:31:59.080
<v Speaker 2>very violent running back, Difficult to bring him to the ground.

0:31:59.480 --> 0:32:01.880
<v Speaker 2>Jam gives is a home run hitter. Jamior Gibbs is

0:32:01.880 --> 0:32:04.080
<v Speaker 2>going to play a long time in the National Football League,

0:32:04.480 --> 0:32:07.160
<v Speaker 2>And I feel like if you can take away the

0:32:07.280 --> 0:32:10.920
<v Speaker 2>explosive gains there you have a chance. What happened in

0:32:10.960 --> 0:32:13.240
<v Speaker 2>that first game was they kept them. And Jeff Hafley

0:32:13.280 --> 0:32:15.840
<v Speaker 2>talked about this, There's so many times where the Packers

0:32:15.840 --> 0:32:17.959
<v Speaker 2>will keep you to a one yard game, a negative

0:32:18.000 --> 0:32:20.840
<v Speaker 2>two yard rush, zero yards, and then they will spin

0:32:20.920 --> 0:32:23.800
<v Speaker 2>one off for sixteen. Green Bay has to keep that

0:32:23.840 --> 0:32:26.920
<v Speaker 2>stuff in check because if you do that, Jared Goff's

0:32:26.920 --> 0:32:28.120
<v Speaker 2>going to be right where he wants to be.

0:32:28.280 --> 0:32:31.680
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Montgomery is the running back who wears you out.

0:32:32.120 --> 0:32:35.240
<v Speaker 1>Gibbs as the running back who scares you. Yeah.

0:32:35.320 --> 0:32:37.040
<v Speaker 2>Because of that, he's the one that knocks you out.

0:32:37.200 --> 0:32:40.840
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. The home run, the home run hitting ability that

0:32:42.080 --> 0:32:46.479
<v Speaker 1>he has. Well, I already sort of started with in

0:32:46.520 --> 0:32:49.440
<v Speaker 1>the transition to talking about the Lions with where things

0:32:49.480 --> 0:32:52.120
<v Speaker 1>are the NFC North implications of this game, it's pretty

0:32:52.120 --> 0:32:55.520
<v Speaker 1>clear for green Bay. In between green Bay and Detroit,

0:32:55.600 --> 0:32:57.680
<v Speaker 1>of course, you still have the Minnesota Vikings. They are

0:32:57.720 --> 0:33:00.720
<v Speaker 1>at ten and two. They survived a a very close

0:33:00.760 --> 0:33:05.000
<v Speaker 1>call against the Arizona Cardinals. I'll just say they got

0:33:05.040 --> 0:33:07.200
<v Speaker 1>a little bit of help from the officials in that one,

0:33:07.520 --> 0:33:10.320
<v Speaker 1>a little but but hey, we move on.

0:33:10.360 --> 0:33:12.080
<v Speaker 2>But hey, Sam Darnold got his face mask in the

0:33:12.120 --> 0:33:13.520
<v Speaker 2>end zone grabbed at some point.

0:33:13.960 --> 0:33:15.360
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's true, very true.

0:33:16.200 --> 0:33:17.560
<v Speaker 2>They had no chance to when that came out.

0:33:17.640 --> 0:33:22.240
<v Speaker 1>But it's it's funny, Wes. If you if you had

0:33:22.240 --> 0:33:25.120
<v Speaker 1>told me, if you had told me at the beginning

0:33:25.160 --> 0:33:28.440
<v Speaker 1>of the season that the Packers would be nine and

0:33:28.560 --> 0:33:31.520
<v Speaker 1>three going to Detroit for this big Thursday night game,

0:33:31.960 --> 0:33:34.280
<v Speaker 1>but they'd be sitting in third place and two games

0:33:34.320 --> 0:33:38.800
<v Speaker 1>back in the division. It's it. Before the season started,

0:33:38.800 --> 0:33:41.520
<v Speaker 1>it would have been hard to picture like that actually

0:33:41.720 --> 0:33:45.600
<v Speaker 1>being reality. But here we are. The Lions have eleven wins,

0:33:45.640 --> 0:33:48.720
<v Speaker 1>the Vikings have ten, the Packers have nine. The whole

0:33:48.720 --> 0:33:51.280
<v Speaker 1>country is going to be watching. The whole country is

0:33:51.320 --> 0:33:54.600
<v Speaker 1>going to be watching this one. And uh, it's it's

0:33:54.600 --> 0:33:57.720
<v Speaker 1>one of the Uh, it's one of the first really

0:33:57.760 --> 0:34:01.560
<v Speaker 1>really big down the street games in the NFL. Here,

0:34:01.560 --> 0:34:02.080
<v Speaker 1>Oh for sure.

0:34:02.080 --> 0:34:03.480
<v Speaker 2>I mean, if you want to get pumped up for

0:34:03.520 --> 0:34:05.640
<v Speaker 2>this game. I ended up basically writing a story on it.

0:34:05.920 --> 0:34:09.359
<v Speaker 2>On Monday, Dan Campbell's presser where he's talking about this

0:34:09.520 --> 0:34:12.640
<v Speaker 2>race that's beginning in the NFC North, and you know,

0:34:12.840 --> 0:34:15.520
<v Speaker 2>so many guys are like Matt Lafleora's reaction to figuring

0:34:15.600 --> 0:34:18.520
<v Speaker 2>finding out that the Vikings won. Dan Campbell almost seemed

0:34:18.520 --> 0:34:20.880
<v Speaker 2>to be embracing it. He's like, hey, won great, you know,

0:34:21.000 --> 0:34:24.960
<v Speaker 2>like the guy is just wired differently. He is embracing

0:34:25.000 --> 0:34:27.200
<v Speaker 2>that grind and if it means pushing his team to

0:34:27.239 --> 0:34:30.200
<v Speaker 2>being sixteen and one to win the North, he's fine

0:34:30.239 --> 0:34:32.359
<v Speaker 2>with it. That's what it ends up having to be, right.

0:34:32.640 --> 0:34:36.040
<v Speaker 2>But all that being said, I did that story this

0:34:36.160 --> 0:34:38.719
<v Speaker 2>week looking at the NFC North. I found this absolutely

0:34:38.719 --> 0:34:41.600
<v Speaker 2>fascinating because people want to kind of dog on the

0:34:41.600 --> 0:34:43.279
<v Speaker 2>Bears a little bit. Yeah, they've gone through a lot,

0:34:43.280 --> 0:34:45.000
<v Speaker 2>but the Bears have won four games. At one point,

0:34:45.040 --> 0:34:47.640
<v Speaker 2>we're four and two. The thirty four wins that the

0:34:47.760 --> 0:34:50.800
<v Speaker 2>NFC North has a mass through thirteen weeks is already

0:34:50.840 --> 0:34:53.080
<v Speaker 2>the third most of the division, tied for the third

0:34:53.080 --> 0:34:56.399
<v Speaker 2>most that the division has won going back to two

0:34:56.480 --> 0:35:00.759
<v Speaker 2>thousand and two. I mean, in twenty eight they've won

0:35:00.840 --> 0:35:03.400
<v Speaker 2>thirty six games, but that was partially bullied by the

0:35:03.400 --> 0:35:06.440
<v Speaker 2>fact that the Packers won fifteen of their own. The

0:35:06.760 --> 0:35:08.879
<v Speaker 2>competition there and the way that all three of these

0:35:08.880 --> 0:35:10.759
<v Speaker 2>teams are performing, and the fact that they have six

0:35:10.840 --> 0:35:14.520
<v Speaker 2>losses amongst the Lions, Vikings and Packers, and three of

0:35:14.520 --> 0:35:17.360
<v Speaker 2>those were divvied out amongst themselves. I mean, it just

0:35:17.400 --> 0:35:19.319
<v Speaker 2>shows you that the standard and the way that in

0:35:19.360 --> 0:35:22.400
<v Speaker 2>all three of these teams have done it differently. Minnesota

0:35:22.480 --> 0:35:24.560
<v Speaker 2>was the team that I had in the cellar of

0:35:24.600 --> 0:35:27.759
<v Speaker 2>the division this year, right after JJ McCarthy got hurt.

0:35:27.800 --> 0:35:31.080
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, this team's got no chance, and Kevin O'Connell

0:35:31.120 --> 0:35:33.799
<v Speaker 2>does is doing what Kevin O'Connell does and making this

0:35:33.840 --> 0:35:37.080
<v Speaker 2>thing work. Detroit has been the team, the juggernaut everybody

0:35:37.080 --> 0:35:38.960
<v Speaker 2>expects of the being. Green Bay has taken that next

0:35:39.000 --> 0:35:42.680
<v Speaker 2>step through the first three to thirteen weeks. Just I

0:35:42.719 --> 0:35:44.319
<v Speaker 2>know it's a different week, so I don't want to

0:35:44.320 --> 0:35:46.680
<v Speaker 2>get too far ahead of myself, but there's a pivotal

0:35:46.719 --> 0:35:50.280
<v Speaker 2>game at US Banks Stadium this weekend between the Atlanta Falcons,

0:35:50.320 --> 0:35:53.520
<v Speaker 2>who now they're having questions should Michael Pennock should he

0:35:53.560 --> 0:35:56.120
<v Speaker 2>be the quarterback? They're six and six, but still right

0:35:56.160 --> 0:35:58.319
<v Speaker 2>in the thick of this thing for a wide open

0:35:58.440 --> 0:35:59.400
<v Speaker 2>NFC South.

0:35:59.280 --> 0:36:02.520
<v Speaker 1>Right when Kirk Cousins is coming back to Minneapolis, right,

0:36:02.600 --> 0:36:07.040
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's it's it's it's funny how these how

0:36:07.080 --> 0:36:09.200
<v Speaker 1>these things unfold, the and the timing of them.

0:36:09.480 --> 0:36:12.080
<v Speaker 2>And I give the Vikings brass a lot of credit. Man,

0:36:12.120 --> 0:36:14.760
<v Speaker 2>they made a difficult decision to move on from Kirk Cousins,

0:36:14.760 --> 0:36:16.759
<v Speaker 2>But the fact of the matter was they had to

0:36:16.760 --> 0:36:18.840
<v Speaker 2>do better. What they did, they gave it a good shot,

0:36:18.880 --> 0:36:21.680
<v Speaker 2>it didn't work. What's the next step? Who's the next quarterback?

0:36:22.239 --> 0:36:24.520
<v Speaker 2>You get Sam Darnold on a one year deal for

0:36:24.560 --> 0:36:26.680
<v Speaker 2>ten million dollars and he plays half the season like

0:36:26.719 --> 0:36:30.680
<v Speaker 2>an MVP. These are the type of kind of gut

0:36:30.680 --> 0:36:33.040
<v Speaker 2>wrenching moves that you occasionally have to make. The Packers

0:36:33.040 --> 0:36:34.880
<v Speaker 2>had to make one of their own with Aaron Jones. So,

0:36:35.600 --> 0:36:37.439
<v Speaker 2>uh yeah, I mean this is this is a very

0:36:37.440 --> 0:36:40.960
<v Speaker 2>interesting week for the whole NFL and and certainly the

0:36:41.000 --> 0:36:43.520
<v Speaker 2>Packers kick it off against the Lions and if you

0:36:43.560 --> 0:36:45.120
<v Speaker 2>could find a way to win this thing again and

0:36:45.160 --> 0:36:48.440
<v Speaker 2>make it two for two at Ford Field, and suddenly

0:36:48.480 --> 0:36:50.960
<v Speaker 2>the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings find themselves one

0:36:51.000 --> 0:36:53.359
<v Speaker 2>game behind the Lions with four games left to play.

0:36:53.440 --> 0:36:56.279
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, absolutely, that's the that's the scenario the Packers are

0:36:56.320 --> 0:37:00.359
<v Speaker 1>hoping for, and we will see what unfolds. Before we go,

0:37:00.480 --> 0:37:02.840
<v Speaker 1>I have to let you know the countdown to the

0:37:02.920 --> 0:37:06.400
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five NFL Draft has begun. Green Bay is

0:37:06.440 --> 0:37:09.440
<v Speaker 1>hosting this year and you won't want to miss it.

0:37:09.520 --> 0:37:12.760
<v Speaker 1>Mark your calendars for April twenty four through April twenty

0:37:12.840 --> 0:37:15.640
<v Speaker 1>six of twenty twenty five, and visit green Bay dot

0:37:15.680 --> 0:37:20.200
<v Speaker 1>com slash Draft twenty five for more information. With that,

0:37:20.719 --> 0:37:23.279
<v Speaker 1>we'll call it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted.

0:37:23.320 --> 0:37:25.920
<v Speaker 1>Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the

0:37:25.960 --> 0:37:29.720
<v Speaker 1>team and of Thursday nights big game from Ford Field

0:37:29.719 --> 0:37:31.560
<v Speaker 1>and Detroit. Wes and I will be there. We will

0:37:31.560 --> 0:37:34.040
<v Speaker 1>have it all for you on Packers dot Com, and

0:37:34.080 --> 0:37:37.960
<v Speaker 1>we'll be back on our regular two shows per week

0:37:38.280 --> 0:37:42.960
<v Speaker 1>schedule with Packers Unscripted beginning next week. So thank you

0:37:43.000 --> 0:37:45.879
<v Speaker 1>for tuning in, everybody, and we will see you next time.