WEBVTT - #800 Packers Unscripted: Win out west 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.280 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.880 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spafford, joined as always 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:25.560 by my partner in crime, Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:29.200 you here from our studios at lambeau Field to review 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:32.760 wes a twenty four to nineteen victory over the Los 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:37.239 Angeles Rams at Sofi Stadium on Sunday. It was not 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:42.199 pretty by any means, but there are no style points 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.559 in the NFL. Nope, you get the victory, you move on, 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:48.880 and the Packers are three and two, bottom line plenty 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:52.479 to work on. Lots of good things to take out 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.000 of this game, certainly when you post a victory on 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:57.880 the road. I think this one starts quite frankly though, 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:02.600 with the defense coming up up with the stop against 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.399 a future Hall of Fame quarterback yep, the game on 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.760 the line. The Packers defense got the stop it needed 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:10.920 in the final two minutes to win this. 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:14.000 Way in the players with which they got the stop with, right, 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:15.759 That was the other part of this that stood out 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.640 to me, and it was on my last tweets the game. 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:19.840 As we were getting ready to head down the locker room, 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:21.760 a lot of things went into that final drive, a 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:24.240 lot of players stepped up, but the fact that it 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:28.199 was Eddrin Cooper applying the quarterback hit in the fact 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.800 that it was Evan Williams in coverage against Colby Parkinson. 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.000 Now keep in mind he didn't get the PBu or 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.440 whatever you call it statistically, but his coverage on him 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:39.720 made that a very difficult catch and he's going up 0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:41.600 against a tight end and a slant put route there. 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.959 But as Evan talked about afterwards, that was probably a 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:48.560 case of the Rams going one too many times to 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:51.080 the water well there and being able to sort of 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:52.400 telegraph it a little bit. 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:55.480 That's what I was going to say, because for those 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:57.880 who like my what you might have missed piece with 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:00.640 the film clips that I post on Tuesday, I went 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:04.520 through the entire film looking at Evan Williams, the rookie 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:07.800 safety's game. He had only played maybe three dozen snaps 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.639 on defense through the first month of the regular season. 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:13.920 He played every snap on defense all seventy eight in 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:17.440 this game. And in reviewing his game, when you get 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:20.320 down to the end, it's fascinating West and you said it, 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:22.280 the Rams kind of went to the well one too 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:27.600 many times because the water. Well, they but they actually 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:29.399 they actually did it in the beginning of the game 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:30.800 and in the end of the game at the end 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.240 of the game because when the defense got the goal 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:35.880 line stop on the fourth and goal early in the game, 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:41.120 the third and fourth down plays were not exactly the same, 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.840 but pretty darn close. They were almost identical, and there 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.280 was a lot of communication going on between McKinney and 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:49.160 Williams to get the coverage straightened out, and the Packers 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:51.240 end up getting the stop. Well then at the end 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:53.520 of the game on the final drive, and I break 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.799 this down in the video clips, and it's really fascinating 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.240 to stop the video and look at how things are 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:03.480 played on the previous series of downs before the last 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:06.160 one where the Packers get the fourth down stop, same drive, 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:09.840 but previous series of downs, it's third and ten and 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:14.400 the Rams run that bunch concept, the route concept with 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:18.239 the bunch to the left and Parkinson the tight end, 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:21.359 basically just runs a quick little curl and he makes 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.760 the catch and Williams tackles him for a nine yard game. 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:25.880 It sets up fourth and one. They convert the fourth 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:28.560 and one and get the next set of down, and 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:30.799 then on the fourth and five. On that next set 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.639 of downs, they ran the exact same thing. And when 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:37.520 you look at how Williams plays those two plays, the 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:40.400 first one, at the snap of the ball, he's about 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.560 eleven yards off of Parkinson and at the time that 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.280 Parkinson sticks his foot in the ground to make the curl, 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:50.000 Williams is about five yards off, and he's he kind 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:52.000 of right before that kind of gets rubbed off a 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.680 little bit by one of the other routes. When it 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.120 comes at him again on fourth and five, he makes 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:01.320 the adjustments. He sees what's coming. He knows what's coming. 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:04.560 At the snap of the ball, his gap is closed 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:08.320 to about eight yards instead of eleven. At the time 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:12.080 of the curl. He's avoided the other rub route much 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.960 better and he's only three yards off of Parkinson at 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.400 the time of the curl, so he's right on him. 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:20.240 It makes it a much tougher throw for Stafford. And 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:24.000 you mentioned you mentioned Cooper with the pressure up the middle, 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:27.760 and yeah, the first time the Rams ran it, they 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:30.320 got nine yards. If they get nine yards on the 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:32.760 fourth and five, of course that drive continues and who 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:36.839 knows what happens. Williams made the adjustments incredible work for 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:39.600 a rookie, you know, really playing his first full game 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.880 in the National Football League. To make those adjustments and 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:47.919 make the play in that coverage to get the stop 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:49.560 and seal the game is tremendous work. 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.760 It is incredible to watch and Matt Lafleur discuss it 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:54.839 again on Monday, I mean, just how deep Green Bay 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.040 is at the safety position. It allowed them to almost 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.120 dial up a new nickel package, which which consisted of 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.760 Evan Williams playing on the back end, Javon Bullard still 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.480 playing in the slot of the nickel in, Keyshawn Nixon 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:09.719 for the first time in a full game Basis playing 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.440 outside on perimeter he'd been in their time to hear 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:14.760 and there Packers used them outside in the base this 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.560 season a couple injury things the past few years, but no, 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:20.200 this time. He's out on an island and they rotated 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:23.159 Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine at the other post. A 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:26.440 very innovative type scheme that Green Bay had, and they 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:28.559 had to work through some things. There were two big, 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:32.080 long touchdown drives that the Rams put together that sort 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.359 of got them started and also had them kind of 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:36.840 in control of the game at one point but Green 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:39.839 Bay every time they needed a response offensively, defensively, even 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:43.520 special teams, they rose to that occasion. So to get 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:45.280 back to the initial thing that you came in with 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.320 about how there's still mistakes, there's things they got to 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.080 clean up. The encouraging thing to me about this year 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.599 is they're winning these games. Last year they had to 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:56.520 go through these early crucibles. They had to go and 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:58.880 take their lumps early, and they had losses like they 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.880 had in Pittsburgh, they had losses like they had in Atlanta, 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:05.080 in Vegas and Vega, in Denver and Denver where it's 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:08.640 like exactly, they had stretches and they showed some flashes, 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.080 but then they something would happen, adversity would hit, and 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:13.960 they would they'd fall on the other side of it. 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.120 They're three and two. There's still a lot of work 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:16.520 to be done. 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:19.400 But I felt like this game, in particular, especially having 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:21.880 to go cross country to la and then really having 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:23.240 a gut check like they did at the end of 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.320 the first half, it shows this maturity of this team 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.320 and also the value of having a guy like Jordan 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:29.360 Love back out on the field. 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:33.640 Yeah, absolutely, and staying on the defensive side of things. 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:37.680 I mean, what more can you say about Xavier and 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.839 Kidnahing's point. You know, he he has a hand in 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:43.960 both of the turnovers in the third quarter, recovers the 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:48.160 fumble that's forced by kings Leannigbari on a great tackle 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:52.599 punch out move by by Anigbari. By the way, McKinney 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:56.200 gets that fumble recovery. Then he gets his fifth interception 0:06:56.760 --> 0:07:00.520 in five games as a member of the Packers on 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:06.480 an overthrow, and as he's done on multiple multiple interceptions 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:09.360 that he's had this season, he just read, he reads 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:12.000 the play, reads the quarterback, you know, gets over there 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.280 and puts himself in position to make the play. Almost 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.160 got another interception later in the game, almost got number six. 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:18.640 And that was and that's what he wanted to talk 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:20.560 about after the game. Oh yeah, not the five in 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:22.040 a row, right, it's the fact that I should have 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:23.920 six or should have six exactly. 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:25.080 It's just remarkable. 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:27.760 But the but the other key of course to that 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:32.920 third quarter is the Packers offense, which had struggled throughout 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:35.000 a good chunk of the first half, I mean, quite 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:38.520 frankly until the final drive of the first half, which 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:41.280 wasn't important drive to get a field goal right before intermission. 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:44.840 The offense had hit the big fifty three yard pass 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:46.840 to Jayden Reid to set up an early touchdown, but 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.040 other than that had not really done anything. There were 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:51.760 three three and ounce in there in the first half. 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.400 There was the pick six by Love when he's falling 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.440 down in the back of the end zone and mistakenly 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:00.680 tries to get rid of the ball to save the 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.000 safety in instead of the safety, it ends up being 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.200 six points for the Rams. So the offense had really 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.280 been scuffling. But off of both of the turnovers in 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.600 the third quarter, the Packers end up scoring touchdowns. You 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:15.440 get the long catch and run by Tucker Craft and 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.640 then Kraft finishes off the longer a little bit more 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.360 methodical drive. There was a really nice, like twenty yard 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.560 screen passing there to Josh Jacobs that got the Packers, 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:26.800 you know, really knocking on the door in a scoring range. 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:31.200 But Kraft finishes off that drive for another touchdown. The 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:34.600 second year tight end getting his first two touchdown game 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:39.280 career high eighty eight yards receiving. And I'm telling you 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:44.240 Wes that that young man number eighty five is turning 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:48.920 into a not just a major piece to this offense, 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:53.240 but a major weapon in this offense. And we're seeing 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:58.360 we're seeing this evolution that the more you put on 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.800 Tucker Craft's plate, the more he proves he can handle. 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:06.120 We all knew Xavier McKinney was going to be pretty special. 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:08.640 You just see what he's doing in the Giants. In fact, 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.720 he was twenty four years old. Josh Jacobs was an 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.680 All Pro. You know, Jaden Reid was the Packers' leading 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:20.400 receiver last year. The contributions they've gotten from Tucker Craft 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:22.880 in the first five games of this season, I think 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:27.440 constitutes at this point breakout player status. A guy that 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:29.920 I think when you look at the maturation of a 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:33.400 player in the idea of draft and development, he encapsulates 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:35.800 that this is a guy that didn't really get his 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:40.160 big opportunity until after Luke Musgraves unfortunate injury last season, 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.880 and he responded. He responded when it's time to block, 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:46.760 he responds when it's time to get the first down. 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:49.319 And then, as you saw in that sixty six yard pass, 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:52.440 when he gets the ball in the open field, his 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:55.600 mantra is, I'm not going to let any defensive back 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:59.440 tackle me, especially the first one, Yeah, and he is 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:01.280 not going to to be denied. And I thought it 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:02.880 was a good question and it was a good answer 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:06.280 for Matt Lafleur on Monday discussing Craft in the idea 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:08.360 of hey, you know he's taking some damage with the shoulder, 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:11.560 he's wearing the red jersey during practices, we see the 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:16.200 non contact jersey. Can he play this way? And as 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:17.880 Matt Lafuur said, he say, yeah, I think he can. 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:22.240 Because if you're smart about it, and you're pragmatic about 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:24.200 how you use your body and at what points you 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.040 sort of lay it on the line, it's going to 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:29.040 allow you to have a long, sustainable career. It's just 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.280 being able to know that boundary. And I think Kraft 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:34.679 knows it well. And the fact that this guy as 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:38.280 a third round pick, you know, from South Dakota State, 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:40.760 and we all heard the stories of him coming out 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:43.760 about how he could have taken more money, nil deals, 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:45.439 he could have transferred, he could have become a more 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:49.840 high profile player. This guy's a budding star man. The 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.640 way he speaks, the way he acts, the way he plays, 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:55.880 And the other thing Matt Lafuor said as well to 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:57.920 that point about the way he uses his physicality. It 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:00.760 reminds him in some ways of a George Kittle type 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:02.920 tight end, where hey, he's going to get nicked up 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:04.280 a couple times, what he's going to make a lot 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:06.800 of plays for you too, that this is the most 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.880 dynamic all around tight end that I can remember covering 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:11.560 so far with the Green Bay Packers. And he's in 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:13.800 the infancy of this thing. Yeah, I mean, he can 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:16.120 do everything you need a tight end to do. Yeah, 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:17.840 and he's doing at twenty three years old. 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:21.199 And what I like best about this performance in particular, 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:24.840 was that for as important as Tucker Craft has been 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.880 to this offense all season long, and we've seen him 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:32.960 make big time plays time after time, last week against Minnesota, 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.319 he had a holding penalty and he had a fumble, 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:40.080 probably the two biggest mistakes we've seen him make in 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.959 a long time. And he went he goes out there 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:47.640 the following week and it's just it's the previous week. 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.280 The mistakes were done and over with, and he got 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:53.080 back to being the guy that he's that he's been 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:57.440 right and for a young player that's not easy, but 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:00.680 that's how you prove that you're a pro right because 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:03.640 bad stuff is going to happen. Nobody's perfect, and some 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:07.080 mistakes are more noticeable than others. You know, when that 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:09.720 yellow flag comes out, when that ball hits the ground, 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:13.200 those are very noticeable mistakes. Other guys make mistakes too 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.720 that aren't as noticeable. Those are the ones that jump 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:18.960 out everybody starts talking about them. And Tucker Craft just 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:22.600 you know, I asked him actually about it last week. 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:25.120 I haven't been involved in too many scrums at his locker, 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:27.320 but I was at the one last week and I 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:29.640 asked him, Okay, you've made a bunch of big plays. 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:31.640 He came out of the Vikings game with a couple 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:35.240 of regrets, like, how you know, what's the line between 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.000 learning from you mistakes but not dwelling on them so 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:40.560 they affect you the next time, right, And he basically 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.480 just said, you can't turn back the clock. You know, 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.160 it's all it's all about you learn from mistakes and 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.400 you move forward. And it's really that simple. And that's 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:51.640 so that you're not you're not dwelling on him. You 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:55.880 you process the mistakes, but you move forward. And I 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:58.800 thought he you know, I thought he did that over 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:01.560 the course of these last two weeks pretty impressive, and 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:05.320 quite frankly, the Packers needed him. They were down Christian Watson. 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.240 Also missing Romeo Dobbs, who was suspended for this game 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.360 for conduct detrimental to the team when he missed practice, 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:15.480 skipped out on practice last week Thursday and Friday. Signs 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.400 are pointing to Romeo Dobbs being back at practice on Wednesday. 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:20.480 That's what we heard from Matt Lafleur. So we'll see 0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:26.080 how that situation evolves this week. But Packers needed Tucker 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.000 Craft and Jaden Reid to do their thing offensively in 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:31.840 this game with Watson and Dobbs out, and those guys delivered. 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:33.760 I felt like there's a lot of things I've played 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:36.839 in the outcome of this game vary, some very peculiar statistics, 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:38.400 the fact that Green Bay got I think into the 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:43.280 third quarter without having a third down conversion at that point, certainly, 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:47.920 the takeover, the takeaways. This streak that Xavier McKinney on 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.679 is on right now is just unparalleled. But I felt, overall, 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:53.920 as I was leaving that stadium, the difference in that 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:58.640 game was which team overcame their setbacks better. Packer's probably 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:00.960 a little bit deeper in terms of their skill positions 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:05.080 than what the Rams are without Puka Nakua, without Cooper Cup. 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.760 But I mean the fact was is that you saw 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:11.320 a player like Craft step up. You saw the second 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.120 effort yardage that a guy like Josh Shacobs provided in 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:17.120 this you know, including getting that touchdown at the end 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.240 of the first drive or the second drive, excuse me, 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.720 in the first quarter. The Packers just sort of responded. 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:25.000 I felt like the appropriate way they needed to respond. 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:27.240 And the other thing I will do commending Matt Lafleur 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.040 on this. Packers had a lot of adversity at the 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:32.760 end of last season. They're in the middle of this run, 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.600 they're trying to make the playoffs. That JayR Alexander situation 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.560 happens in Carolina and they shut him down for a 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.440 very very critical game against the Minnesota Viking. 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:43.280 Yeah, the season was on the line. I mean New 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.600 Year's Eve week seventeen, second to last game of the season. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:50.960 The Packers gotta have it, and they didn't have Alexander 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:51.720 for that ballgame. 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:54.920 And you know, in this game, Christian Watson was unlikely 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:57.680 to play, had not practiced because of the ankle injury. 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.400 And then you make the decision to to spend Romeo 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:05.560 for the conduct detrimental to the team, and talking in 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:07.120 the locker room with some of the players, I thought 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:09.760 Dontavian Wicks had one of the best points of out 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:11.840 of anybody. He's like, we only had four guys up 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:15.360 at receiver, but we know they believe in us and 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.560 we believe in each other. And Jayden Reid said he 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.040 had good conversations with rome He's excited for him to 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.480 be back here this week as well. The Packers will 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:25.960 proceed and they will take that next step forward, just 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.200 like they did last year without Jaira and in the 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.720 aftermath of JayR and how JayR performed then in that 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:35.040 game against Dallas in the playoffs. But more importantly, it 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:38.600 is about the idea of team and I think these 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.120 type of victories and how the Packers responded to that 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.920 adversity once again, it shows you the culture that Matt 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:48.200 Lafleur has built in that locker room and also the 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:51.320 way in which players I think have responded to each 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:57.560 other in understanding that when something comes up, expected unexpected injuries, setbacks, 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:01.400 what have you, it's all about the next guy that 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:03.640 could potentially make an impact for this football team, and 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:05.040 there were several of them in this matchup. 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:07.960 Yeah, when you talk about you talk about the resiliency, 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.560 you talk about bouncing back and recovering. It is absolutely 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:14.600 the culture that Matt Lafleur has built in that locker room. 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:18.240 It's also what's embodied in his quarterback right in Jordan Love, 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:24.239 because we saw it he made. I mean, considering the stakes. Obviously, 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:26.720 the interception at the end of the San Francisco playoff 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:29.520 game last year was the biggest mistake of his career. 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.680 This one, I would say was probably the ugliest perhaps 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:38.000 a mistake of his career with not taking the safety 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:39.560 you know, I mean, he's in the back of the 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.480 end zone. He's trying to go deep on third and long, 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:45.640 and you know, as he sets his feet and then 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:50.240 gets hit, ends up, ends up resulting in disaster, in 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:53.040 just a gift of a pick six for the Rams. 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.360 But then what does Jordan Love do? He comes back out, 0:16:57.560 --> 0:16:59.880 He drives the offense down the field to get a 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:03.120 field goal before halftime, so the halftime score is thirteen 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:07.879 to ten instead of thirteen to seven. And then he 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.400 comes out in the second half and in taking advantage 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:14.479 of the two takeaways, scores the two touchdowns, ultimately ends 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:18.160 up putting together a streak of nine consecutive completions after 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:22.280 the pick six and essentially putting seventeen points on the 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:26.760 board after a pick six before he throws, before he 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:30.959 misses on another pass, before he throws another incompletion. You 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:34.240 can't you can't coach that kind of response. You can't 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:39.680 teach the mentality, the mental fortitude it takes to respond 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:43.200 that way to an absolutely disastrous play that happened in 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.000 the game, which put the Packers behind a game that 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:49.120 they felt they were kind of in control of, even 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:50.880 though it was only seven to seven at the time. 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.679 But the Packers were feeling okay about how things were going, 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.640 and then suddenly that happens back by your own goal line, 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.679 and you're losing the game seventeen straight points, nine straight 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:06.679 completions after that disastrous play. That that is what is 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.800 moving the Packers forward right now is Jordan Love as 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:12.920 he's still figuring this out. He is not a finished product. 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:15.640 He is still he is going to make mistakes out there. 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.399 Things are not going to be perfect. But what we 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:20.800 know about Jordan Love is he's going to shake it 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:24.359 off and just play the next play. And that's invaluable 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:27.720 not only for him at the quarterback position, but as 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:29.520 an example to the team as a whole. 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:31.840 In my opinion, it's one hundred percent right, Mike, And 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.719 you know, Mattlelifuler talked about again after the game. I mean, 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.280 that is Jordan's superpower. And the more I cover this league, 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:40.240 there are so many intangibles you look for. You look 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:45.600 for size, height, You know, obviously hand size is something 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:49.040 people talk about forty times. You know what a guy's 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:51.600 arm length is like in terms of just the passing. 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:54.800 And then you look at the moxie side of it, 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:57.040 and you can't time it. You can't put it on 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.639 a stopwatch, you can't you know, throw it out there 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:02.800 at the co and measure it. But it's a big 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:04.960 part of how you play football and of how you 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.040 play quarterback, and Jordan has it. It's it's something that 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:10.000 people have talked about dating back to his time at 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:14.639 Utah State. There is this cold, cerebral side to him 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:19.560 that is going to weather whatever storms come in his path. Yeah, 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:22.520 and a couple of things happen in that game. I 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:24.159 got a kick out of. You know, a lot of 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:26.760 the Monday Morning quarterbacking of the fifty three yard pass 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:28.560 he had to Jden Reid early in that game too. 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.359 I've had two things that floated through my mind because 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:34.280 I saw Barstool put this up as like, oh, he 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:36.880 might have some Brett favreblood in him. 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:41.440 It's like, yeah, he does, always have that, he does. 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.200 I was preparing people if you go back and bring 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:47.800 up all the podcasts and all the appearances, I'm sure 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:50.600 I said on these shows too. Going into the twenty 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.640 twenty three season, I kept telling people just a reminder, 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.679 there's a lot more Brett Favre to Jordan's game than 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:57.919 they're probably is Aaron Rodgers. 0:19:58.000 --> 0:19:58.600 Yeah. 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:02.320 Now, I think Jordan has done a wonderful job of 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:05.800 marrying those two things. I think Tom Clemens has built 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:09.200 into him the importance of fundamentals and footwork and being 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:11.840 on time with your throws. But at the same time, 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:13.840 he has a cannon of an arm and he is 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.679 not afraid to use it. And when you look at 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:19.159 that pass to Read yet, yeah it's triple coverage, and 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:20.840 you know, Read makes an incredible play. 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:21.800 But you know what about that. 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:24.439 The worst thing that happens there is somebody picks it 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:27.080 off at the five yard line, right Like. That was 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:29.080 kind of the thinking in my head with that. I'm like, 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:30.360