WEBVTT - #493 Packers Unscripted: Formidable foe 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:14.920 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:17.840 I am Mike Spofford. He is the one and only 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:20.960 West Hotko Hits for coming to you here from our 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:23.439 studios at lambeau Field West. It's the middle of the 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:26.080 week and that means we take a closer look at 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:30.480 the Packers upcoming opponent, and that is surprise, surprise, it's 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:33.480 the Minnesota Vikings Monday Night Football. It'll be at us 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:39.440 Bank Stadium in Minneapolis this coming Monday on December. The 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:42.519 Vikings are ten and four. We all know what the 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:45.760 Packers playoffs scenarios are. When the NFC North with one 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.919 more victory clinch of first round by with two more victories. 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:51.920 The Vikings playoffs situation is this, they are in the 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:55.600 playoffs with one more win or a loss by the Rams, 0:00:56.640 --> 0:01:00.080 and if they win their last two games and and 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.720 the Packers would also lose to Detroit, then the Vikings 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:07.080 would be the NFC North champs. So that's where it 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.400 stands for them. And really, the one thing when I 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:13.720 my first glance at the Vikings statistical sheet before we 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.760 sat down here, there's one thing that jumped out at 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:19.479 me the most. It's that they are undefeated at home, 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:22.520 they are five hundred on the road. That old adage 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.399 of whin all your home games, split your road games 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:27.560 will be twelve and four, that's exactly from their perspective 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:29.920 what they're on track to do. They have two home 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.600 games to finish up there, six and oh at US 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:35.679 Bank Stadium this year, including an awfully big comeback victory 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:37.120 over the Broncos. And I don't know if it was 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:39.280 Aaron Rodgers or Matt Lafleur who talked about it, but 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.200 sometimes that strategy isn't even good enough now with the 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:44.959 way that the NFL plays out that also certainly in 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:47.600 the in the NFC this year, twelve and four does 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:49.920 not get you what it has gotten you in a 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.000 lot of other years. But be that as it made. 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.000 This has been a really difficult environment for the Packers 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:56.280 to play in. You and I were in there in 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.280 two thousand, was at sixteen, the year that they opened 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:01.640 it up, and I also covered games in the Metrodome, 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:03.920 and I can tell you for as much as the 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:09.239 Metrodome was praised and lauded for its volume and boisterous atmosphere, 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:12.720 the U. S Bank Stadium is its own different animal 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:16.560 because yeah, you're still getting a relatively loud environment. You 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:18.720 can debate how much of that is natural and how 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.080 much of that is synthesized. But they have you know, 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:23.320 they did the whole skull thing, they brought in the 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:25.919 mountain from Game of Thrones. You know, they've They've done 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:28.240 a lot of different things to kind of ramp up 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:30.600 their their action. But let's be honest, Mike, the biggest 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.600 thing is the on field product has been pretty darn 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.200 good here the last few seasons. They've had some ups, 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.600 they've had some downs, but every time they've had a 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:39.840 setback or a disappointment, I give Mike Zimmer a lot 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.240 of credit for rallying his team back. That's where they 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:43.800 sit right now, trying to make a run at this 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:45.960 thing in the postseason to come. Yeah, well, the Vikings 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:50.119 are in the uh. Their season has gone pretty much 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.799 to pattern. And what I mean by that is with 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:57.000 Mike Zimmer, the Vikings have been on this alternating years 0:02:57.120 --> 0:02:59.959 of being a playoff contender. In the odd numbered years fifth, 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:04.840 teen seventeen, and nineteen eighteen, they stumble a little bit 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:06.959 and they don't get back to the postseason. So they've 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:08.960 been on this kind of one one year up, one 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.880 year down. This is definitely an up year for them, 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:15.840 I think for all of the talk about Dalvin Cook, 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:19.160 and we'll certainly talk about him as the week goes along, 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.040 because he left last week's game when they were playing 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.360 the Chargers. He left with a shoulder injury. But the 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:27.040 reports out of Minnesota are that it's going to be 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:30.160 okay and they are expecting him to play on Monday night. 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:33.160 So we'll see what shakes out there. But I have 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.400 to give a lot of credit to Kirk Cousins because 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:39.880 you look at his numbers this year. He obviously signed 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.280 that big contract with Minnesota. Last year came with all 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.360 kinds of pressure, all kinds of expectations, didn't live up 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:47.960 to them. The Vikings missed the playoffs one year after 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:51.760 being in the NFC Championship Game. But then this year 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:55.360 Kirk Cousins has come back and he without question is 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.000 having the best season of his career. Is passer rating 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:01.960 is one hund eleven, which is ten points higher than 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:04.760 any passer rating that he's ever had for a single 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:08.000 season in his career to this point. And I think 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:10.240 the most important thing that stands out about that is 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:13.040 that he's only thrown five interceptions this season with two 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.520 regular season games to go, and he has been in 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:20.279 double digit interceptions the last four years running. So kirk 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:24.719 Cousins has definitely taken his game to another level here. 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:27.240 And yes, he's got Stefon Diggs, he's got Adam Feeling, 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.440 he's got Dalvin Cook, and he's got that defense. But 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:32.880 they pretty much had all of that last year two 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:36.600 and kirk Cousins wasn't quite getting the job done he 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:38.719 is this year. So Marvin right now can put up 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.000 the video of me talking about kirk Cousins early in 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:42.839 the season when they had some of the issues they did, 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:45.280 and in me mentioning that, you know, this guy still 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.480 a pretty good quarterback. Mark, we can go, Marvin, we 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:48.640 can go to the tape right now if you want 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.560 to bring that up. There were so many fans that 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:53.760 wanted to throw him on the dosh. Yeah, they wanted 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:55.200 to kick him to the curve. And I get it 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.960 because you're a fan and you're super into it, but man, 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.440 you just got to pull yourself back. Can look at 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:04.599 this thing from like ten thousand feet up and there 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.120 aren't a lot of quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins in this league. 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.039 And then, by the way, that giant contract that he 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.000 had got a couple of years ago, that's set the 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:13.280 tone for all the other contracts to come. It's not 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:16.160 like you're just paying him tens of millions of dollars 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:18.560 more than what every other quarterbacks making. I mean, here 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:20.520 he is in year two of that contract, and his 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:23.000 salary does not look at that exhortable compared to what 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:26.760 other you know, other top level, elite level quarterbacks are 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.720 making in this Kirk Cousins is a dang fine quarterback 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:32.080 and he's helped them have a lot of success in Minnesota. 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.200 Mike Zimmer the quote I always go back to, you know, 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:35.800 in the last couple of weeks to keep bringing up 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:37.560 over and over again about the two thousand and sixteen 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:40.760 NFC Championship game and and Rogers and his comments about 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.400 when to play games at home. I thought the biggest 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:46.160 comment that Mike Zimmers made during his entire time as 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.400 a head coach right now with the Minnesota Vikings goes 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.240 back two years ago when he said, going into the 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:53.400 off season before they signed Kirk Cousins, they had all 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:55.240 these other quarterbacks they had to make a decision on 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:57.760 He said, we have to make the right choice because 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:00.320 I probably won't be able to survive it. Like they 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:02.880 have to get the right quarterback or the Mike Zimmer 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:06.039 era might have ended. They did that, Mike, and not 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:08.800 only that, they went and found the best quarterback available 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:10.479 and it happened to be a pretty darn good year 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:12.360 to do it. There are so many quarterbacks in this 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:15.040 league right now that have one good year, a couple 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.000 of good games as a backup, and they get paid 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:19.680 monstrous amount of money. Mike Glennon is the one that 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:22.040 probably jumps up more than any in this point in time. 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.680 They paid Kirk Cousins, and Kirk Cousins has produced for them, 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.000 and he has been the consistent presence that they have 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:32.159 needed for years in Minnesota. And you're right, during the 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.360 times where they haven't had Adam feeling, or they haven't 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:36.719 had Dalvin Cook or guys have been banged up, he's 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:39.200 been the galvanizing force that has pushed them forward and 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:43.480 allowed them to be here playing meaningful football into middle December. Yeah. Well, 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.680 a couple of those offensive weapons for the Minnesota Vikings, 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:51.160 Dalvin Cook and Stefon Diggs, having quite frankly monster seasons. 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:55.800 Dalvin Cook over rushing yards, Stefon Diggs is over a 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.400 thousand yards receiving, both of them with two regular season 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:01.760 games left to add to those totals. Adam Feeling not 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.400 having as big year, been dealing with a bunch of injuries, 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:08.040 but he actually still leads them in touchdown with six. 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.360 He's only caught thirty passes all season long, but six 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:14.440 for touchdowns, So one out of every five times Adam 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.000 Theland catching the game, it's in the end zone. Yeah, 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:21.239 he's missed a third of the season essentially, So um, 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:25.520 he's got Cousins, has a lot around him to work with. 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:29.080 And uh and this Vikings offense has been uh boy, 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.680 I mean they when when they get rolling, and especially 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:33.800 when they've been playing at home, I think, but even 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:36.960 we saw that Monday night game in Seattle when they 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:38.960 got down and then they got kind of got things 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:42.120 cranked up again. This is a this is a dangerous offense. 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.760 And uh and playing at their place, you know, the 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:46.880 fast track all of that kind of stuff. Packers are 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.160 gonna have their hands full here. Six and points right now, 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.640 twenty seven points per game, tenth and total yards twelfth 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:53.800 and passing fourth and rushing. Now, we do have to 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.800 actually see how things shake out with Cook this week. 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:57.960 Summer did express optimism, but I know there were some 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:01.000 ESPN reports out there questioning whether not Cook would play. 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:03.360 All this seems to be a thing where he keeps 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:06.120 leaving games and not being able to finish the game. 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:08.360 But then the next week he's back up again. And 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:10.480 so it's been happen with the ankle last week. It's 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:12.920 it's it's been this in and out thing with with 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:15.680 the injuries with him. So hard to say, but there 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:17.960 is an extra day here in terms of recovery with 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:19.880 the game being on a Monday night and all that. 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.080 So well, we will see how it plays out over 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:23.840 the weekend. And there's just no way to replace him. 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:26.360 I mean, he is he is the guy in that offense, 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:27.680 and you and I have had a chance to watch 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.240 him for a couple of seasons now when he's been healthy. Man, 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:31.640 I mean, this is one of the top two or 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:34.000 three running backs in the league at this point. And 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.839 Stefon Diggs to mention him, you know, this could be 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.520 a week we've seen Jaire Alexander really graduate. I think 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:43.360 over this last month to being a shutdown corner. I mean, 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:45.280 it seems like they're more comfortable putting them in that 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:48.880 role now having him travel with guys. Now Adam Feeling 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:51.520 is a big task himself, but I'm this will be 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:53.640 an interesting one for how they want to defend him 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.040 because it's not just about the Vikings and Diggs. It's 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:59.640 about Kenny Gallady the following week too. And although Matt 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:01.760 Staff for now is on in reserve and his season 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:03.720 is over, Galay is a guy that can still really 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:07.400 hurt you. So seeing exactly how they deploy Jr. Alexander 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:09.040 and these games to come is gonna be really interesting 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:10.520 because I think it's going to set the tone for 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:12.319 how they use them in the playoffs. Yeah, I think 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.000 so too. Here's an interesting thing West, As I said, 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:17.520 I kind of glanced through the Minnesota Vikings stat sheet 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:19.680 before we sat down here and turn the camera on. 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:25.120 Dalvin Cook thirteen rushing touchdowns this year, Aaron Jones fourteen 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:29.679 rushing touchdowns this year. The Minnesota Vikings defensively have sixteen interceptions. 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:34.200 The Packers have fifteen interceptions. Zadarius and Preston Smith have 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.120 combined for twenty one and a half sacks. Daniel Hunter 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.520 and Everson Griffin have combined for twenty one and a 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:43.839 half sacks. There's just some statistics with these two teams 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:46.920 that are really interesting and how they correspond and how 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:50.439 they match up in uh, some key areas here. And 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.760 I for one, and we'll talk a little bit more 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.440 about the Vikings defense in a minute, but I for 0:09:56.520 --> 0:10:00.840 one think that this game, if if there is, if 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:04.600 there is a game that you're that you want to say, boy, 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:07.000 would be great for the Packers to win the turnover battle. 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:10.599 I think it's this one. I mean, in that environment 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:13.600 with what the Packers offensively are going to be dealing with, 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:16.600 with Minnesota's pass Russian, all of the noise and all 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:19.840 of the challenges that come with protecting the football in 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.840 that environment, if the Packers can successfully do that and 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.760 they might be able to get a takeaway or two 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.840 from Minnesota's offense, I just I just think any turnovers 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:34.679 in this game are going to potentially be huge, huge momentums. Yeah, 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:36.559 and there's only a handful of teams that rank in 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:39.160 the top ten in the league right now, and both 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:42.080 giveaways and takeaways in terms of limiting the number of 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:44.839 giveaways and the Packers and Vikings are in that category too. 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:46.679 So when you're playing Kirk Cousins and he plays as 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:50.000 high percentage of football as he does, which again I 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:52.920 understand for some Bikings fans that can be maddening at times, 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:55.000 but he plays really high percentage. You don't get a 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.160 seventy percent completion percentage just by winging it. He's very 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:01.160 methodical about how he approaches things. Yeah, that path, I mean. 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.640 I bet I bet Kirk Cousins if he's asked this 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:06.679 week leading up to this game about his season and 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.440 about the first game against Green Bay back in Week two, 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.280 I bet he would rank that interception he threw to 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:14.120 Kevin King in the end zone in the fourth quarter 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:16.520 at lambeau Field might be he might call that his 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:18.840 worst pass of the season. And I think he knows 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.320 he knows that, and to his credit, you know, I 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:25.920 it's not like he's gone on some interception binge as 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.680 I said. He's only had five interceptions all season long, 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:30.960 when he's been in double digits for the last four 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:33.800 years in a row. So, um, he he learned a 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:36.440 lesson a little bit from that first game here at 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:39.160 lambeau Field, and uh, the Packers are going to have 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:41.880 to force him into that kind of a mistake. I 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:44.280 think on Monday Night, he's not just going to make 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.400 it on his own as he did in that instance 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:48.640 when it was a basically a first and goal play 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:50.199 with the game on the line. Well, something else to 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:51.800 keep in mind too, there's a lot of times you'll 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.319 see quarterbacks in this league. I think Daniel Jones is 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:56.640 a good example of this, where Daniel Jones hasn't thrown 0:11:56.679 --> 0:11:59.440 an exorbitant amount of interceptions this year, but he hadn't 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.800 exorbitant amount of fumbles that he lost. Kirk Cousins doesn't 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:04.800 hurt you either way. It's not his fumbles. He only 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.560 has three loss on the season, and it's not his interceptions. 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:09.640 But if you go back and roll back the film, 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:11.959 in their four losses, three of them he has turned 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.280 over the football. I mean, it's just it's been that 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:16.400 kind of slight margin for Era that has been really 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:19.000 the difference between between victory and defeat for them this season. 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:21.960 And when Kirk Cousins is playing consistently, can work the 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:25.040 ball down field. Everybody always talks about that with him, right, 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:27.680 It's about developing a rhythm early and as the game 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:30.120 wears on, that's when the explosive play start to show 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.719 themselves a little bit more. That's gonna be the big 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.199 key for him, especially if Delvin Cook ends up being 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.400 limited or depending on what happens there with the shoulder 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:40.520 injury and it lies more on his hands. They're gonna 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:42.120 have to be something to watch. But I think if 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:45.120 nothing else has proven this season is that for the 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:48.800 first time you could make an argument that they now 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:51.120 have an offense that is right up there with their 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.800 defense when everything is firing the way it's supposed to be, 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:56.840 that they aren't playing catch up there in that stratusy, Yeah, 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:58.679 I would agree. I want to ask you one thing 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.120 about their defense, and there's certainly a lot of things 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:03.640 that jump out. As I said, they have sixteen interceptions 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.120 as a team. I believe it's Anthony Harris as safety 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:11.679 leads them with five. But Daniel Hunter thirteen and a 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.800 half sacks this year, I forget now if he I 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:17.360 think he's on a run of double digit sacks seasons. 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.440 I'm not exactly sure how many he's at now. But 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:23.120 where did this guy come from? West? Because because when 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:26.199 he first came into the league, nobody was talking about 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:30.600 this guy, and he's He's now one of the premier 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:34.080 pass rushing defensive ends, not just in the NFC North, 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:37.479 not just in the NFC, the entire league. This guy, 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:41.680 this guy is is one who really really recks offensive 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.400 game plans. So Packers get a lot of flak for 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.480 their two thousand fifteen NFL draft. Uh And And the 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.199 thing that I think people don't really realize when you 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:51.120 go back and look at it, the fifteen draft wasn't 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:54.920 an overly fruitful draft for really the entire league. It 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:58.960 was a down year for the most part. The Minnesota Vikings, 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:01.320 much like I always paired like the two thousand eleven 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:04.240 draft wasn't a great year for teams in general, but 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:06.760 Seattle ended up building a Super Bowl contender out of 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.400 that draft. I look at the two thousand fifteen group 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:13.480 much similar for the Vikings. That was a transformative UH 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:16.199 year for them coming off a fourteen and getting bar 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:18.160 And you look at their fifteen draft. Here you've got 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:21.560 Daniel Hunter. Daniel Hunter in the third round of that draft. 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.040 You got Eric Kendricks in the second, you got Trey 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:25.880 Wayne's in the first. Oh and then by the way, 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:28.520 Anthony Harris was a college free agent that year. You 0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:31.200 mentioned him with the five picks this year. The thing 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:33.760 that strikes me the most about Hunter is so often 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:37.000 with defensive ends or outside linebackers, it takes time for 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.960 them to really find their footing. His weakest year, his 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:45.000 least you know, statistically, you know, best year with six 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:47.840 sacks his rookie season. He went to twelve year after 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:49.160 that and it was seven and a half. And now 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:51.840 he's been going up and up and up. He's a problem. 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:55.040 He's a problem for defensive lines. And the reason why 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:58.360 Minnesota has been able to sustain their success with their 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.880 defense is because it's had other players emerged. It was 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.120 Everson Griffin for a while and he's still very formidable 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.680 with eight sacks this season. But Hunter has kind of 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.280 grabbed that role now and he's become one of the 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.280 faces of this defense. And seeing his maturation over the 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:13.160 last four years and how he's turned himself into a 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:15.760 complete player and not just a pass rusher, it's been 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:18.320 one of the most impressive things about Mike Zimmers unit. Yeah, 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.760 I think I think that's what we've seen with this 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:23.480 with this Zimmer defense over the years. I mean, a 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.560 couple of years ago, I remember feeling like in the 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.360 teen game at US Bank Stadium. I know that was 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:31.840 the game Aaron Rodgers got hurt, but I felt like 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:34.520 walking out of the building that day, it was like, boy, 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:37.000 Harrison Smith was the best player on the field today. 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.080 You know. Then there are times I've watched Packers Vikings 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.800 games and got boy Xavier Rhodes looked like the best 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:46.040 player on the field today. Now it's it's as though, 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:48.320 as you say, the guy who has who has grabbed 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:50.760 onto that is Daniel Hunter, and he's the guy who 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.680 really makes this defense go. Not to not to take 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:56.360 anything away from those other guys who are still very 0:15:56.480 --> 0:16:00.520 solid professional football players who really know what they're doing, 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:02.760 and these guys have played together for a long time, 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:05.840 but it seems the Vikings continue to have these guys 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.560 that rise up to that level as uh as just 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:13.040 the guys in the spotlight, and uh they take advantage 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:16.760 of it, and everybody kind of gravitates towards that and 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:18.840 and and that's where they go. It seems like Hunter 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:21.000 is that guy this year. Yeah, he definitely is. And 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.000 it's interesting too because you and I will go here 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:25.960 will preview these teams every single week. These defenses every 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.800 single week on the show, and everybody else does it too, right, 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.160 and every once in a while it's like, Okay, you 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:32.960 know who the big hitters are. Those are the guys 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:34.960 you hit on. When you talk about Minnesota, you can 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.760 go nine ten deep talking about their stars. They just 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:39.400 have so many different guys and actually, I think they 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.680 have some really good reserves too. They brought back Andrews 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:44.800 in Dajo, he's been the primary backup now as safety. 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:47.080 He already has two picks and he's got a couple 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:48.880 of picks right after he came back. So I mean, 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.440 they're just so diverse with their talent and where it 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.120 comes from, and when they have a spot open up, 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:56.800 they have guys who fill it. And it's allowed them 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:59.400 to be able to sustain this because for so often, Mike, 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:01.440 when a def it's reaches its pinnacle, when it's one 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:03.600 that considered one of the top defense is the league, 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:05.720 it's so hard to hold onto that because a lot 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:07.320 of times you have a lot of veteran players who 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:09.439 sometimes start to be on the downside of their career. 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.679 Minnesota has bucked that trend and they continue to be 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:14.720 one of the league's best. Now, are they as dominant 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:17.520 statistically as they've been in previous years. Probably not, But 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.200 with the way that the offense is playing, in the 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:21.119 fact that special teams is kind of picking them up 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:24.840 too at points this season, they haven't really needed to be. Yeah. Well, 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:28.480 before we go on today's show, we do want to 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.680 talk about the Pro Bowl announcement which was made on 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:35.920 Tuesday night. The Packers with two Pro Bowl selections, quarterback 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:39.240 Aaron Rodgers left tackle David Baktiari. For Rogers, it's his 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:41.880 eighth Pro Bowl selection, so he is now only one 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:46.720 behind Brett Farvan Forced Greg for the most in by 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:49.840 a single player in Packers history. Far and Greg both 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:54.760 were chosen nine times. Bok TR congratulations to David an 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:58.520 overdue honor. I think he would even admit, while this 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:00.639 has been a very very solid season for him, and 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:02.879 I think box Tr has played better in the second 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:04.399 half of the season this year than he did in 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:06.520 the first half, he would not say this is his 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:08.840 best season, but this is the year that he gets 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:11.480 the Pro Bowl recognition after three straight years of getting 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.280 either second or first team All Pro. Yeah, yeah, exactly, 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:16.439 And for that very reason, I want to just go 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:19.040 out there right now and congratulates to Darius and Preston 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.639 Smith on their Pro Bowls in two thousand twenty, because 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.600 that's typically how this process ends up working, right. I mean, 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.080 I don't even want don't get me started on one 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:29.959 of the Smiths. Okay, both of the Smith's not making it. 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:34.360 Come on, bro, come on, um, but Box tr this 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:36.960 it's funny. I mean, he was a three time All Pro, 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:40.240 a first team All Pro last year, and he couldn't 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.920 get he couldn't get the Pro Bowl nod. Um, So 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:45.199 it's it's it's good for him. He finally did it. Obviously, 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:47.840