Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I'm Mike Spofford. He's Wes Hodkowitz. Were
Speaker 1: coming to here from our studios at lambeau Field West,
Speaker 1: Christmas Day, a three three pm Central Time kickoff at
Speaker 1: lambeau Field. It will be the Packers against the Browns
Speaker 1: here in week sixteen, if I have that correct um.
Speaker 1: This Cleveland Browns team, I tell you an interesting bunch
Speaker 1: seven and seven this year, right in the thick of things. Uh,
Speaker 1: they went from having a chance to be in first
Speaker 1: place in the a f C North had they hung
Speaker 1: on and and been able to beat the Las Vegas
Speaker 1: Raiders on Monday Night, But by losing that game on
Speaker 1: a walk off field goal, they dropped all the way
Speaker 1: to last place in the a f C North because
Speaker 1: things are bunched up so tightly in that division. The
Speaker 1: intriguing thing about this Browns team, though, is, and I
Speaker 1: admit I haven't watched a whole lot of their games,
Speaker 1: but you look at their results, you look at the
Speaker 1: way their season has gone, a lot of injuries, guys
Speaker 1: on the COVID list, all this kind of stuff. It
Speaker 1: just feels like you don't really know what you're gonna
Speaker 1: get with the Cleveland Browns. You might get the team
Speaker 1: that absolutely dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card
Speaker 1: round last January, or you might get the team that
Speaker 1: a handful of weeks ago lost forty to seven to
Speaker 1: the New England Patriots and was never really in the game. Um,
Speaker 1: and I guess that's how you end up seven and
Speaker 1: seven and and fighting for your playoff life here the
Speaker 1: last three weeks of the regular season. Well, and in
Speaker 1: that division too, Mike, doesn't it kind of feel like
Speaker 1: it's gonna end up coming down to some kind of
Speaker 1: tiebreaker that ultimately decides a ten or maybe even a
Speaker 1: nine win team from winning that division. Just how this
Speaker 1: thing has started gone in in the a f C North,
Speaker 1: And who knows with what the Steelers having that one
Speaker 1: tie on their record, like that's going to factor into
Speaker 1: all the positioning and whatnot as well. Yeah, and obviously
Speaker 1: the Steelers aren't out of this suddenly. So that's been
Speaker 1: my main takeaway this season from the North as it's
Speaker 1: just it's been this weird sort of thing where each
Speaker 1: of these teams looks really good at times and then
Speaker 1: also can look really bad. And from Cleveland's perspective, it's
Speaker 1: kind of you know, Kevin Stefanski has done a nice
Speaker 1: job with them there, Alex van Pelt, the offensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: they have the right core, it would appear, uh and
Speaker 1: in the direction in which they're moving. But unfortunately for
Speaker 1: the Browns, for the last basically fifteen years, it's been
Speaker 1: very much the same story. They've had some glimpses of hope,
Speaker 1: and then as soon as it looks like they've turned
Speaker 1: a quarter and are going to become a contender again,
Speaker 1: they take a step back. Now. Now, certainly this year,
Speaker 1: the questions with Baker Mayfield, the fourth quarters, you know,
Speaker 1: the comebacks and in the failed comebacks. Now the COVID
Speaker 1: list that extends to what fifteen players, it would appear
Speaker 1: there's been a lot for the Browns to overcome. But
Speaker 1: as I was telling our readers an insider inbox this week,
Speaker 1: offensively and defensively, they have guys you have to be
Speaker 1: aware of. I mean, Nick Chubb is in the conversation
Speaker 1: for the top five, top three running backs in the
Speaker 1: National Football League right now, and they still have a
Speaker 1: lot of weapons in this offense. Despite the fact that
Speaker 1: Odell Beckham Jr. Left. So it's going to be a battle.
Speaker 1: And I think that's the number one thing that Mattel
Speaker 1: Floor is probably gonna be talking these guys about, is
Speaker 1: this is a Browns team that is basically going to
Speaker 1: be playing for its season because there is not a
Speaker 1: lot of wiggle room if you don't win that division.
Speaker 1: It's going to be a log jam is trying to
Speaker 1: get those wild card spots and every win is gonna matter. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: There there are three names with this Brown's team that
Speaker 1: jump off the page at me. You've mentioned one of
Speaker 1: them already. And Nick Chubb, Um, this guy is a
Speaker 1: dynamic running back. And this is a Browns team with
Speaker 1: Kevin Stefanski at the helm. They are determined to run
Speaker 1: the football. They like to run the football. I think
Speaker 1: that's going to be one of the key elements to
Speaker 1: this game is how well the Browns potentially can establish
Speaker 1: the ground game in in carving their way toward a
Speaker 1: potential upset of the Packers. Here the other two names,
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield obviously at quarterback. Everybody one dring you know,
Speaker 1: will he be coming off the COVID list and be
Speaker 1: eligible to play on Saturday. My understanding is the Browns
Speaker 1: are expecting him, expecting to be able to activate him
Speaker 1: from the COVID list before Saturday's kickoff, and that he
Speaker 1: would play. Um. Now, that would be putting him out
Speaker 1: there to play essentially without having practiced for the last
Speaker 1: couple of weeks. Um and the Browns had to go
Speaker 1: to their third string quarterback in the Monday night game,
Speaker 1: the rescheduled Monday night game against the Raiders this past week,
Speaker 1: with with both Mayfield and case Keenum on the COVID list,
Speaker 1: and so they had to turn to Nick Mullins. And
Speaker 1: then the other name that you have to talk about
Speaker 1: with these guys is Miles Garrett, the pass rusher. He's
Speaker 1: got fifteen sacks this season. Now, he injured a groin
Speaker 1: in the game against the Raiders on Monday Night, is
Speaker 1: not practicing to this point this week. His status is
Speaker 1: very much up in the air. Um, if Myles Garrett
Speaker 1: can't play, that definitely changes the look of this Cleveland
Speaker 1: Browns defense. But if he is out there, this guy's
Speaker 1: big time pass rushing well, and a big reason for
Speaker 1: that is, you know, you know, Tach McKinley had his
Speaker 1: injury now, so I think he's basically out, you know,
Speaker 1: moving forward, he blew the Achilles, blew the Achilles. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so then you know Jadeveon Clowney is their next leading
Speaker 1: sack guy. I think he has five on the season
Speaker 1: or maybe six. I mean, this thing really runs through Garrett,
Speaker 1: and it's been that way for a number of years now.
Speaker 1: When you come in with a guy that's as Harold
Speaker 1: as he was, he's lived up to that hype as
Speaker 1: a as a top pick and and being able to
Speaker 1: contain him. When I looked at this matchup on paper
Speaker 1: before we knew anything on Monday, I was like, that's
Speaker 1: going to be the primary objective here for yash Nijman
Speaker 1: or however it works out with who's going to be
Speaker 1: defending him? Well, then lo and behold. Now he's banged up.
Speaker 1: That's what this season is though, right, and we've seen
Speaker 1: it at every corner, whether it be the COVID list
Speaker 1: or whether it be just with people's injury reports, it's
Speaker 1: going to be a battle. So certainly, I'm sure from
Speaker 1: the Packers perspective, if Myles Garrett decides not to partake
Speaker 1: in this football game, they are not going to be
Speaker 1: really too upset about that. But but certainly, as Matt
Speaker 1: Lafleur is kind of talked about, and some of these
Speaker 1: other defensive and offensive players have have assessed, you've got
Speaker 1: to just sort of look at what they have. And
Speaker 1: you know, Nick I should say Eric Stokes was the
Speaker 1: one that touched on this on Wednesday, is that you
Speaker 1: watch the film, but what these teams look like when
Speaker 1: they have all their pieces and then you kind of
Speaker 1: draw in and fill in the rest from there. And
Speaker 1: the thing is is that when Cleveland was a d percent,
Speaker 1: when they had what they felt to be their full
Speaker 1: complement of players, this was a legitimate contender in the
Speaker 1: a f C. So I think that's the version of
Speaker 1: the Browns you have to be prepared for because again
Speaker 1: them coming in on Christmas, them understanding that time as
Speaker 1: a ticking this is going to be a basically kind
Speaker 1: of almost a playing game for them. In relation to
Speaker 1: the in relation to the postseason, Yeah, absolutely, they're playing.
Speaker 1: They're playing for their season. And I think with everything
Speaker 1: that's gone on with this team, with the injuries and
Speaker 1: the COVID and stuff like that, particularly if you get
Speaker 1: your quarterback back, if Baker Mayfield comes back, even if
Speaker 1: he hasn't practiced but if he's activated and he's able
Speaker 1: to play, you know, that's the kind of thing that
Speaker 1: that provides some juice to a team, right that energize
Speaker 1: is a team that's been going through all of this,
Speaker 1: all this turmoil as far as who's going to be
Speaker 1: available and and who's not. So I think the Packers
Speaker 1: have to be ready, even though the Browns are on
Speaker 1: an even shorter week than the Packers are, with playing
Speaker 1: with a Saturday game, with the Browns just having played
Speaker 1: on Monday night, I think you have to be prepared
Speaker 1: for a very energized Cleveland team with everything they have
Speaker 1: on the line. And I want to see Baker because
Speaker 1: obviously we, like you said, Mike, we don't get a
Speaker 1: chance to watch a lot of the Browns basically because
Speaker 1: of our jobs and the fact that they haven't played
Speaker 1: him since that overtime game in Cleveland in two thousand seventeen.
Speaker 1: This young man, you know, he's kind of been maligned
Speaker 1: at times, but I still think there's a lot of
Speaker 1: potential there and there's a lot of talent. So I
Speaker 1: just from my own two eyes, just kind of understanding
Speaker 1: what he looks like, I am in a way sort
Speaker 1: of rooting for him to play in this game. But certainly,
Speaker 1: you know, that's the way this thing has gone with COVID.
Speaker 1: We didn't expect that Kenny Clark was not going to
Speaker 1: be available last week when you and I were going
Speaker 1: about our week. This week, I wrote about MVS. After
Speaker 1: the game, we all thought, Okay, well here we go.
Speaker 1: There's the key to this whole thing that defenses are
Speaker 1: doing against Davante Adams and then Marcus Veldi Scantling ends
Speaker 1: up on the COVID list. It's the nature of this season.
Speaker 1: And you know, hopefully for the Packers, they've been on
Speaker 1: the decent side of it when you look at the
Speaker 1: rest of the NFL so far. Yeah, and it'll be
Speaker 1: interesting to see, uh, whether or not the Packers can
Speaker 1: get back either MVS and or Kenny Clark off the
Speaker 1: COVID list to play in this game on Saturday. Um,
Speaker 1: the possibility is there, but there's also not necessarily any
Speaker 1: guarantee that that's going to happen. And and and if
Speaker 1: they if either one is able to come off the list,
Speaker 1: what kind of impact, um, they would be able to
Speaker 1: have so very much kind of a if he just
Speaker 1: feels like a wait and see thing um, you know,
Speaker 1: waiting up until kickoff on Saturday, if the Packers are
Speaker 1: gonna have these games. Matt la Fleur always plays these
Speaker 1: things pretty close to the vest, but kind of like
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy back in the day with the hard pressed,
Speaker 1: you know, somebody so and so will be hard pressed
Speaker 1: to play in this game. The floor sort of has
Speaker 1: his little idiosyncrasies too in terms of how he relates,
Speaker 1: you know, talks about players. It does sound like there's
Speaker 1: a really legitimate optimism there that Clark could be available. Certainly,
Speaker 1: you've got to go through the process this week, and
Speaker 1: the s is the one that because and the reason
Speaker 1: I think that too is because on a normal timeline,
Speaker 1: this would have been within the boundaries for Clark to play.
Speaker 1: MBS now becomes sort of the guinea pig here because
Speaker 1: you start to wonder, Okay, with these new COVID rules,
Speaker 1: what does that mean in terms of when he becomes
Speaker 1: asymptomatic or when he's available to be you know, back
Speaker 1: out there. That's the stuff over these next couple of weeks, Mike,
Speaker 1: we're just gonna have to kind of figure out because
Speaker 1: until that happens, where a guy test positive but then
Speaker 1: plays in the next game. You're you're kind of just
Speaker 1: sitting here wondering, you know when that that other foot
Speaker 1: is gonna drop? Yeah, absolutely well, a little bit of
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Speaker 1: A couple of items of Packers news to get to
Speaker 1: before we focus on our keys to victory. Pro Bowl
Speaker 1: announcements came out the Packers with three Pro Bowlers in
Speaker 1: the initial selection process. Aaron Rodgers sets a franchise record
Speaker 1: with his tenth Pro Bowl selection. He now surpasses Forrest
Speaker 1: greg and Brett Favre, who had nine a piece. Davante
Speaker 1: Adams gets his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl selection, which, as
Speaker 1: I believe you wrote about, is now one shy of
Speaker 1: James Lofton's streak of six consecutive for a Packers wide receiver,
Speaker 1: and then Kenny Clark gets his second Pro Bowl, not
Speaker 1: his first one as an original selection. Um certainly well
Speaker 1: deserved for all three of those guys, but I'm particularly
Speaker 1: happy for Kenny Clark because he's just He's a guy
Speaker 1: who plays that position. The stats aren't necessarily there, but
Speaker 1: his work, his impact on games on a regular basis
Speaker 1: when he's in there, is being recognized. You have to
Speaker 1: be able to understand, and I've said this so many
Speaker 1: times this year, Mike, to watch Kenny Clark is to
Speaker 1: know what kind of impact he's making on a football field.
Speaker 1: You can't just look at a box score and understand
Speaker 1: how talented this guy is and in how much he's
Speaker 1: affecting the opposing team, in the opposing quarterback. The other
Speaker 1: reason I really thought that Kenny Honor was fantastic was
Speaker 1: from the standpoint of first time since Henry Jordan's Mike,
Speaker 1: going back to nineteen sixty six when he wont when
Speaker 1: he got to his last Probo believed the last of
Speaker 1: his five, that's the last time the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: have actually had a defensive tackle that's been able to
Speaker 1: go to multiple Pro Bowls. It's a difficult position to
Speaker 1: get accoltes. Think about all the tremendous defensive tackles the
Speaker 1: Packers have had over the years. The Gilbert Browns, the
Speaker 1: Mike Daniels, you know that. You know, the Brian Picketts,
Speaker 1: the b J Rodgers. It's not easy to do. So
Speaker 1: for Kenny to get that recognition, I think is well deserved.
Speaker 1: I think the one that jumps off the page to me, though,
Speaker 1: is the Davante Adams one, because now you start to
Speaker 1: stack these up, you would imagine here, in a few
Speaker 1: weeks you'll be all pro again. He's starting to put
Speaker 1: together that resume that could potentially give you that door
Speaker 1: into Canton. And that's been the thing that I thought
Speaker 1: was illuminating because for the first time, you know, Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: people give him credit. You know, people talk about Davante
Speaker 1: and and how he is one of the best now,
Speaker 1: if not the best receiver in the game. But when
Speaker 1: he was speaking to the media, and I can't even
Speaker 1: remember if it was to your question who asked it,
Speaker 1: but when he was talking about that, the thing he
Speaker 1: thinks about the most now is the gold jacket. To
Speaker 1: my recollection, that was the first time Davante has uttered
Speaker 1: those words out of his mouth and for him to
Speaker 1: start being able to channel that a little bit. That
Speaker 1: shows you the confidence the young man, but also the
Speaker 1: self reflection and understanding what he's accomplished in his first
Speaker 1: eight NFL seasons. He's right there now. And I think
Speaker 1: when you think of guys that could potential to keep
Speaker 1: stringing this together at age thirty one, I don't see why.
Speaker 1: Davante Adams. I don't see any signs of him slowing
Speaker 1: down here, especially with that synergy that he has with Rogers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it certainly doesn't look that way by any stretch of
Speaker 1: the Packers also did have some alternates um to the
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl roster, Aaron Jones was named a first alternate
Speaker 1: at running back, and then um, there are other alternates
Speaker 1: you know down down the way that aren't specified exactly
Speaker 1: what round they are, but cornerback Russeul Douglas and punter
Speaker 1: Corey Horkez. And was there another Gary? That's right, I
Speaker 1: knew I was forgetting one with Shawn Gary as well
Speaker 1: at edge Rusher. So for alternates total, the one here
Speaker 1: that of course jumps out at you is Russeul Douglas
Speaker 1: because and a lot of a lot of folks are
Speaker 1: asking asking me in the inbox, and I'm not quite
Speaker 1: sure how I'm going to be able to necessarily nail
Speaker 1: this down one way or another. But a guy who
Speaker 1: starts a season on a practice squad and ends up
Speaker 1: as a Pro Bowl alternate, I don't think I've never
Speaker 1: heard I've never heard of that happening before. But hats
Speaker 1: off to Rasseul Douglas. Obviously we talked about him a
Speaker 1: lot on this show already. But but that type of
Speaker 1: that type of path, that type of journey within one
Speaker 1: NFL season to be on a practice squad and then
Speaker 1: end up as an alternate to UH to the NFC
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl roster. Heck of an achievement. Resul Douglas was
Speaker 1: signed seventy nine days ago at the time in which
Speaker 1: we are taping this episode of Packers unscripted. What he
Speaker 1: has accomplished in just over two months time, not to
Speaker 1: learn a defense, not to get you know, kind of
Speaker 1: brought into a locker room, but to make the plays
Speaker 1: that he's made for a team that has legitimate Super
Speaker 1: Bowl aspirations. You'll see this a lot in the past, Mike.
Speaker 1: We did the stories ourselves back in two thousand and
Speaker 1: eighteen when the Packers were out of playoff contention, things
Speaker 1: weren't really going the right way. We'll see guys that
Speaker 1: kind of pop up on a roster and make an
Speaker 1: impact late in the season. They make for good stories.
Speaker 1: This guy is a game changer. This guy at some
Speaker 1: intervals could be considered the best player on this defense
Speaker 1: at times with what he's been bringing in the points
Speaker 1: in which he has been generating, with some of these turnovers,
Speaker 1: I've never seen anything like it. And well, we'll get
Speaker 1: down the road here. The Packers are going to try
Speaker 1: to win a Super Bowl and this will be something
Speaker 1: way down the line will reflect upon. But the job
Speaker 1: that Brian Goodkins has done his scouting department have done
Speaker 1: over the last twelve months, given the salary cap sort
Speaker 1: of limitations that they're under, has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Speaker 1: And for Matt Laflour to take that talent along with
Speaker 1: his coaching staff and make their scheme adjustable enough to
Speaker 1: welcome in guys mid season to have them be able
Speaker 1: to play it their full at their best. This is
Speaker 1: how a team with three Pro bowlers gets to be
Speaker 1: eleven and three. That's how you do it, and it's
Speaker 1: been incredible to watch. Yeah. Absolutely, I want to make
Speaker 1: one more announcement here. With Christmas right around the corner,
Speaker 1: anyone looking for a holiday gift. Idea of folks, team
Speaker 1: history and Cliff crystals book, The Greatest Story in Sports
Speaker 1: is now available at the Packers Pro Shop. It's a
Speaker 1: four volume hardcover book set that tells the true complete
Speaker 1: story of the Packers first century, from humble beginnings to
Speaker 1: heartbreaks and triumphs. Buy your copy online or in store today.
Speaker 1: And I got an update for you, Mike. I was
Speaker 1: just down in the Pro Shop. I picked up my
Speaker 1: NFC North Champions hat in T shirt. I gotta go
Speaker 1: do that, man, you do Yeah, I can't do that
Speaker 1: for you. There's a checklist I have to go. I
Speaker 1: have to go do that. But they got a new
Speaker 1: batch of these books back in there. It was getting
Speaker 1: pretty bare there for a second. These things were flying
Speaker 1: off the shelves hot cakes. I'm telling you, Mike. Uh.
Speaker 1: The fact that they got some more down there. Cliff
Speaker 1: Crystal was nice enough, generous enough, gracious enough to sign
Speaker 1: my book as well. So, yeah, if you haven't had
Speaker 1: a chance yet, we're running short on time here. If
Speaker 1: you celebrate Christmas. You gotta pick up a book. Just
Speaker 1: a couple of days away now, All right, West Saturday
Speaker 1: lambeau Field, Packers, Browns, Keys to victory here for Green Bay.
Speaker 1: We all know what's on the line for the Packers.
Speaker 1: You're looking at as of now. If you win out,
Speaker 1: you're the number one seed, you get a buy, you
Speaker 1: get home field and all that. We talked about everything
Speaker 1: that's on the line for the Browns. There's certainly plenty
Speaker 1: on the line for the Packers. What do the Packers
Speaker 1: have to do? What is the top priority? Two finish things?
Speaker 1: On Saturday night at twelve and three. I think there's
Speaker 1: two things that need to happen, and I'm probably gonna
Speaker 1: end up stealing one of years, but I want to
Speaker 1: address this. If they can get Kenny Clark back, I
Speaker 1: feel like this Packers run defense is a championship quality
Speaker 1: caliber unit. Times have it changed? You're not seeing the
Speaker 1: thousand pound line anymore of picket Raji Howard Green. You've
Speaker 1: got guys that are a little bit more versatile, a
Speaker 1: little smaller, but yet still really stout. And when Kenny
Speaker 1: Clark is in the ballgame, like how many times this year,
Speaker 1: I wish there was a stat I'm sure PFF has
Speaker 1: it whatever, But I mean, how many times have we
Speaker 1: seen it where he gets in the backfield and it
Speaker 1: redirects a runner off of what his assignment is. That's
Speaker 1: big time football. So if Kenny Clark is back, I
Speaker 1: think stopping the run as paramount. But as I've continued
Speaker 1: to say, I think getting off to a fast start.
Speaker 1: I think if you can break the will of the
Speaker 1: Browns right off the bat, if this offense can get
Speaker 1: into a rhythm from series one, like you saw what
Speaker 1: happened in the second half of that game. Offensively, you
Speaker 1: get it's a momentum driven game. You get a feeling
Speaker 1: of Okay, is this going the direction you want to
Speaker 1: go or is it not really going the direction you go?
Speaker 1: Do you feel like the Packers can move the ball
Speaker 1: downfield or does it feel like it's gonna be difficult
Speaker 1: getting a yard. I had no qualms, no doubts, no
Speaker 1: confusion whatsoever what the Packers were able to do in
Speaker 1: the second half of that game against the Ravens. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I think this is a game in which you start fast,
Speaker 1: you put your foot down on the pedal, you come
Speaker 1: up with that twelve victory. Yeah, my initial thought at
Speaker 1: the beginning of the week when I was asked an
Speaker 1: insider inbox, are the keys to winning this game for
Speaker 1: the Packers? And this is what I wrote. I said,
Speaker 1: block Myles Garrett and tackle Nick Chubb. Those are the
Speaker 1: to me, that's what this game comes down to, those
Speaker 1: two things. Now, we don't know if Myles Garrett is
Speaker 1: going to play or not, so we talked about that before.
Speaker 1: But Nick Chubb is going to play. And this is
Speaker 1: a this is a run oriented Brown's offense, and it's
Speaker 1: not an opponent you know that you see, Like, like
Speaker 1: we said, two thousand seventeen was the last time the
Speaker 1: Packers face these guys, right, and and we saw last
Speaker 1: week facing a somewhat unconventional Baltimore Ravens offense, it gave
Speaker 1: the Packers some problems that you know, both early in
Speaker 1: the game and then also late in the game. So
Speaker 1: to me, to me, if you can, if you can
Speaker 1: prevent Nick Chubb from being the guy that's sort of
Speaker 1: controlling the tempo and controlling the down and distance and whatnot,
Speaker 1: then I I like the Packers. I like the Packers
Speaker 1: chances to win this game because if the Browns don't
Speaker 1: get nick upgoing. I just don't see them being able
Speaker 1: to score enough points to keep up with Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: And where this Packers offense is the fact that this
Speaker 1: Packers offense has scored thirty plus points, not including Rasul
Speaker 1: Douglass pick six is has scored thirty plus points in
Speaker 1: the last two games. And yeah, it would be great
Speaker 1: to get Kenny Clark back, but I also think the
Speaker 1: guy that the guy that's taken this Packers run defense
Speaker 1: to a different level from what we've seen in past
Speaker 1: years is Devandre Campbell in the middle of things. And
Speaker 1: I know a lot of fans are wondering, how does
Speaker 1: Devandre Campbell not make the Pro Bowl and all this?
Speaker 1: And look, Deveandre Campbell has had a Pro Bowl caliber season,
Speaker 1: there's no denying that. But in the NFC, there are
Speaker 1: only two inside linebackers selected on the Pro Bowl team,
Speaker 1: and they're Micah Parsons and Bobby Wagner. You can't have
Speaker 1: any qualms about those two selections, quite frankly, and that's
Speaker 1: nothing against Campbell the season that he's had. But if
Speaker 1: Devandre Campbell is going to make the Pro Bowl team,
Speaker 1: then either Micah Parsons or Bobby Wagner is not going
Speaker 1: to make it, and that to me, it's just not
Speaker 1: realistic and and uhum, And I say that not taking
Speaker 1: anything away from the player Campbell is and the impact
Speaker 1: that he's had for the Packers, particularly with the run defense.
Speaker 1: The only thing I was gonna say is with Michael
Speaker 1: Parson's maybe you can make an argument it could be
Speaker 1: an outside linebacker. Very kind he ends up getting slotted
Speaker 1: in the roster as a as an inside linebacker, and
Speaker 1: you're right about that. Maybe maybe that's not exactly where
Speaker 1: he fits and it could have opened up a spot
Speaker 1: for something. But that's what makes Micah Parsons Micah Parsons, Yes,
Speaker 1: I have lived long enough. No though that I've watched
Speaker 1: Julius Peppers play inside linebacker in a Pro Bowl game.
Speaker 1: So I mean, these are the things that happened with
Speaker 1: a very inexact science and imperfect And we've seen Clay
Speaker 1: Matthews play inside linebacker for half a season plus playoffs,
Speaker 1: so you know there's there's that as well. One thing
Speaker 1: to keep an eye on the AP voting is going
Speaker 1: to happen here in a few weeks. I'm telling you, man,
Speaker 1: even if you know Devondre Campbell doesn't make his way
Speaker 1: in the Pro Bowl. There are four spots for a
Speaker 1: p first and second team and inside linebacker. I'd be
Speaker 1: very interested in maybe some people out there, some educated
Speaker 1: writers are able to take notice of it's a it's
Speaker 1: it's a tough group to crack. We were talking about
Speaker 1: some of the names the other day inside linebacker in
Speaker 1: the NFC. It's a tough group to crack. But as
Speaker 1: you said, the four spots first team, second team on
Speaker 1: the All Pro it will be it will be interesting
Speaker 1: to see quick shout out to Corey Lindsley too. He's
Speaker 1: a first team All Pro center and now he can
Speaker 1: finally call himself a Pro Bowler. Here we go. Took
Speaker 1: the David Bakti pathwords, got got All Pro first and
Speaker 1: then and then Pro Bowl came later. A couple of
Speaker 1: quick thoughts I want to get from us. With regard
Speaker 1: to other games, the most important one on the slate
Speaker 1: as it relates to the Packers this week will be
Speaker 1: Sunday Night football the Washington football team at Dallas. The Cowboys,
Speaker 1: of course, looking to win the NFC East and stay
Speaker 1: in the hunt for the number one seed. They are
Speaker 1: the team that is the biggest threat to the number
Speaker 1: one seed um that the Packers are trying to get
Speaker 1: right now, because even though they are one game, but
Speaker 1: I'm the Packers at ten and four, with Green Bay
Speaker 1: at eleven and three, they have the best NFC record,
Speaker 1: the best conference record, and they could steal that number
Speaker 1: one seed if they went out and the Packers were
Speaker 1: to lose the game. Conversely, if Dallas were to lose
Speaker 1: another game, suddenly the Packers have the leeway to the
Speaker 1: extent that they don't necessarily have to win out in
Speaker 1: order to get the number seed. So that's an interesting
Speaker 1: one to keep an eye on here and Washington. Much
Speaker 1: like a lot of these teams in the NFC fighting
Speaker 1: for wild card spots, that squad has a heck of
Speaker 1: a lot on the line Sunday night, Yeah, Mike, And
Speaker 1: that's part of it that I think is the most
Speaker 1: interesting here as this thing comes down the stretch. I
Speaker 1: was trying to get up the standings for everything, but
Speaker 1: our internet alright, T staff might have actually popped out
Speaker 1: for Christmas a little bit early. But uh that said, uh, listen,
Speaker 1: you know you're when you looked at your path to
Speaker 1: the playoffs, and I had a chance to thumb through
Speaker 1: it already. Dallas is such an interesting anomaly in this
Speaker 1: whole deal because of how their season lined up. The
Speaker 1: Packers have to play Cleveland this week, all the Inner Conference,
Speaker 1: all the a f C stuff that's already behind the Cowboys.
Speaker 1: They have an interesting slate here to finish the season
Speaker 1: against the NFC. So you won't be scoreboard watching because
Speaker 1: you're a game up right now on everybody. You just
Speaker 1: want to focus on beating the Cleveland Browns and getting
Speaker 1: onto the next one. But that being said, following what
Speaker 1: Dallas is going to do against the NFC is a
Speaker 1: really strange sort of anomaly that developed here over the
Speaker 1: last few weeks. And and certainly, you know l A
Speaker 1: is still very much in this Tampa Bay has a
Speaker 1: very favorable schedule. There's a lot out there for these
Speaker 1: other contenders to get up back into the race for
Speaker 1: the first seed, but it's Dallas and and Dallas has
Speaker 1: been a team too that has kind of gone through
Speaker 1: its own issues, its own ubs and flows, and just
Speaker 1: seeing what that team looks like at the end of
Speaker 1: the season, because arguably they have the two most exciting
Speaker 1: young defensive players in the league right now it's it's
Speaker 1: gonna be something to watch. Yeah, one last one to
Speaker 1: throw at you, Rams at Vikings, Rams on a very
Speaker 1: show actually having played on Tuesday night. Oh you got
Speaker 1: your connection back. But now I'm on week Rams at Vikings.
Speaker 1: And I just bring this up because I mentioned it
Speaker 1: in the Path of the Playoffs um piece, which is
Speaker 1: which is now posted on Packers dot com. The Rams
Speaker 1: are ten and four. They're one of these four teams
Speaker 1: that is just one game behind the Packers in uh
Speaker 1: that chase for the top spot in the NFC. If
Speaker 1: you're a Packers fan, do you cheer? Do you cheer
Speaker 1: for the Rams to get another loss? Or because it's
Speaker 1: the Vikings and they're the NFC North rivals, do you
Speaker 1: not want to see your NFC North rival You do
Speaker 1: you want to see your NFC North rivals playoff chances
Speaker 1: take a hit? So you cheer for the Rams to
Speaker 1: beat Minnesota? What are your thoughts? So here's a great
Speaker 1: question because I was talking to Stephen Huddy, our Packers
Speaker 1: social media coordinator, about this, because he was talking about
Speaker 1: how you really don't want to play the ram or
Speaker 1: do you really don't play the Vikings? Really don't want
Speaker 1: to play the forty nine years. The thing is that
Speaker 1: so many gosh darn teams make the playoffs. Now you're
Speaker 1: gonna have to eventually see some of these guys make it.
Speaker 1: So my thought is, I think Minnesota in San Francisco,
Speaker 1: both of those teams are fully capable of winning in
Speaker 1: the postseason. I don't know if they're going to be
Speaker 1: able to win two games in a row, though, but
Speaker 1: they're good enough that they can create some chaos. So
Speaker 1: that's why in my mind I look at it as
Speaker 1: the Packers want to get that first seed. They want
Speaker 1: to get to buy. Minnesota doesn't threaten them with that
Speaker 1: right now. If you if you're if you're the Packers,
Speaker 1: if you get if you get the buy, you're not
Speaker 1: competing against a against a seven team playoff field. You're
Speaker 1: competing against the fourth field because by the time you
Speaker 1: have to play, three teams are eliminated. So my thought
Speaker 1: process is, yes, would Minnesota be riding on into Lambeau
Speaker 1: feeling pretty good about itself if they beat the Los
Speaker 1: Angeles Ram, Sure, But if the Green Bay Packers are
Speaker 1: the number one seed right now in the NFC, that
Speaker 1: shouldn't matter. You should take care of business against the Vikings,
Speaker 1: hit them down, get them back down there with the peasants.
Speaker 1: So my thought is is it's like the more distance
Speaker 1: you create with these other top contenders, the better. Same
Speaker 1: thing I look at with with the Cowboys right now.
Speaker 1: If the Cowboys can get knocked off the pedestal in
Speaker 1: one of these games, it gives you that much more
Speaker 1: breathing room. My thought is if the Greenbay Packers can
Speaker 1: go into Detroit needing to win, I'm under no disillusions
Speaker 1: here that they're just gonna be able to be rest
Speaker 1: starters against Detroit with the way the set up works now.
Speaker 1: But if you're able to go in there and know
Speaker 1: that we just gotta beat this Detroit team that's gone
Speaker 1: through a lot of problems this season to have the
Speaker 1: one seed in the bye, that's all that's really the
Speaker 1: ultimate goal here, and then finally get that that by
Speaker 1: get the get the week off. So yeah, I guess
Speaker 1: I tend to favor the Vikings in that matchup, all right,
Speaker 1: And with that we'll call it a wrap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of
Speaker 1: our coverage of Saturday's game against the Browns. Will have
Speaker 1: it for you on packers dot com for WES. I
Speaker 1: am Mike, Thank you for tuning in. Everybody, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1: We will see you next time.