Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joint by my
Speaker 1: partner in crime, West Han Kowitz. Were coming to you
Speaker 1: here from our studios at lambeau Field West. It's time
Speaker 1: to preview Packers Cowboys. It will be a three pm
Speaker 1: Central Time kickoff on Sunday at lambeau Field. We all
Speaker 1: know where the Packers are five straight losses, three and six,
Speaker 1: trying to get back in the wind column. The Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys are six and two, right in the thick of
Speaker 1: the playoff chase in the NFC. And this is a
Speaker 1: team that is six and one since an opening loss
Speaker 1: in Week one, and their only loss since Week one
Speaker 1: is to the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. They have wins over
Speaker 1: the Bengals, the Giants, and the Rams among those. In
Speaker 1: the meantime. We obviously we're hoping the Packers would get
Speaker 1: things turned around before this, But if they can get
Speaker 1: it turned around against the Dallas Cowboys and get back
Speaker 1: in the win column, this would be a significant victory
Speaker 1: because this is a Cowboys team that is playing awfully
Speaker 1: well and coming off of their bye week. It's time
Speaker 1: the Packers need to get one here, Mike, You and
Speaker 1: I have talked about it for five straight weeks. Um,
Speaker 1: you know it has been a a grind here for
Speaker 1: this football team trying to get back into the win column.
Speaker 1: And what you and I said going into this game
Speaker 1: against Detroit last Sunday was that this road does not
Speaker 1: get any easier. Um, after Dallas, it's Tennessee. We know
Speaker 1: what Derek On a short week, no less on a
Speaker 1: short week, Philadelphia is the best of the business. Even
Speaker 1: even Chicago is not looking like the game it was
Speaker 1: two months ago. The Green Bay Packers have to take
Speaker 1: care of business on Sunday if they are going to
Speaker 1: make a run here towards the playoff spot and get
Speaker 1: back within this NFC conference race. The difficult thing when
Speaker 1: you look at Dallas on paper is they're just so dynamic,
Speaker 1: Uh and I multitude of different areas. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: not that they are the deepest team in the NFL.
Speaker 1: But between Dak Prescott, there two running back ceedee lamb Uh.
Speaker 1: You know you look at those defenders, Um, Michael Parsons
Speaker 1: might be the best in the game right now, most
Speaker 1: versatile for sure, probably probably the front runner right now.
Speaker 1: It's only halfway through the season, but the front runner
Speaker 1: for defensive Player of the Year most likely in the NFL.
Speaker 1: His statistics just jump off the page because it's not
Speaker 1: just the sex. It's the pressures, it's the interceptions, it's
Speaker 1: the takeaways, it's the the guy can hurt you in
Speaker 1: so many different ways. Trevon Diggs is one of the
Speaker 1: best ball hawks in the game right now. So the
Speaker 1: Packers have their work cut out for them against Mike
Speaker 1: McCarthy's team here. And and you know, the only way
Speaker 1: you can slice this is Packers are going to be
Speaker 1: the underdogs here this week, next Thursday, probably the week
Speaker 1: after that, regardless of the come of these games, you
Speaker 1: have to find a way. Well, with the injury earlier
Speaker 1: this season to Dak Prescott, it seemed as though the
Speaker 1: Cowboys with Cooper Rush the backup filling in, and they
Speaker 1: went four and oh I believe it was four and
Speaker 1: oh in his in Prescott's absence. With Cooper Rush at quarterback,
Speaker 1: It's almost as though they found their identity in that,
Speaker 1: in that this is a team that is based on
Speaker 1: its defense. These guys are these guys are ranked third
Speaker 1: in the league in points allowed and the statistic that
Speaker 1: absolutely jumps off the page to me that I mentioned
Speaker 1: in our three Things video that we shot after Wednesday's practice.
Speaker 1: These guys are plus twenty one in sack differential. They
Speaker 1: have thirty three sacks in eight games while only allowing
Speaker 1: twelve on the other side. That says something about how
Speaker 1: they are winning in the trenches on a consistent basis
Speaker 1: week after week. Michael Parsons leads the way with eight sacks.
Speaker 1: They have three other guys with four plus on the
Speaker 1: season um on the way to that that total of
Speaker 1: thirty three. And you mentioned Trayvon Diggs. He had the
Speaker 1: big year with all the interceptions last year, not quite
Speaker 1: as many this year, but still has three leading the team.
Speaker 1: He's the guy, he's sort of the takeaway guy with
Speaker 1: that defense and a lot of a lot of what
Speaker 1: the Cowboys have been able to accomplish when you look
Speaker 1: at the numbers is this is a team that starts
Speaker 1: fast and finished as strong. They have outscored opponents forty
Speaker 1: six to fifteen in the first quarter and fifty four
Speaker 1: to twenty three in the fourth quarter. They get on
Speaker 1: you in a hurry and then they finished the game late.
Speaker 1: That's why these guys are six and one since dropping
Speaker 1: an opening week UH ball game. I believe it was
Speaker 1: to Tampa Bay. Yeah, And if you look at this situation, Mike,
Speaker 1: where you know that first year Mike McCarthy gets there,
Speaker 1: he hires Mike Nolan as his DC, things don't really
Speaker 1: go in the right direction for them. In year one,
Speaker 1: Dan Quinn becomes available after his you know, separation from Atlanta,
Speaker 1: and you know, with everything that's happened over the last
Speaker 1: ten years, we've kind of forgotten about that that lineage
Speaker 1: of Seattle defensive coordinators and what they did and how
Speaker 1: many guys got head coaching jobs out of that position.
Speaker 1: Quinn was one that basically helped start that wave. And
Speaker 1: I think when listening to Matt Lafleur, who worked for
Speaker 1: Quinn for two years in Atlanta, hearing not only had
Speaker 1: the impact he made in terms of how they go
Speaker 1: about building a football team and having a basketball hoop
Speaker 1: in their you know, conference, their team meeting room. That's
Speaker 1: something that started with Quinn, but the way in which
Speaker 1: Quinn continually evolves his scheme every place he's been, his
Speaker 1: defense has looked a little bit different, trying to stay
Speaker 1: on the front edge of that wheel, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: parody in this league. And now you go through the
Speaker 1: names just if we can for this defense. You know,
Speaker 1: Micah Parsons obviously, DeMarcus Lawrence is having a fantastic year
Speaker 1: for them. Layton vander esh is a guy that I
Speaker 1: felt for years is one the more underrated off ball
Speaker 1: linebackers in this league. Anthony Barr is there now, Jrn
Speaker 1: curse Um, Dante Fowler has four sacks this season for them.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of talent, and there's a lot of names,
Speaker 1: and and being able to have guys sort of step
Speaker 1: up and and play to the scheme I think has
Speaker 1: been the real hallmark for them so far, and Quinn
Speaker 1: really getting the most out of these players. Certainly, you're
Speaker 1: throwing an athlete like Parsons that you see it all
Speaker 1: the time what a superstar can do for a defense,
Speaker 1: but you know they've got a lot of guys that
Speaker 1: are stepping up along with him. Yeah. But you make
Speaker 1: a great point with regard to Quinn because even when
Speaker 1: when Parsons was drafted out of Penn State and was
Speaker 1: first kind of trying to find his way with the
Speaker 1: Cowboys defense, everybody was wondering, like where does this guy fit? Like,
Speaker 1: what's he going to do? Well? Enter Dan Quinn and
Speaker 1: it's not about where does Micah Parsons fit. It's about
Speaker 1: just how do we use him? And that's how that's
Speaker 1: how Quinn has gone about it, and he has turned
Speaker 1: earned He has turned Parsons in a very short time
Speaker 1: into a superstar in this league. He is the he
Speaker 1: is the guy that jumps off the film. He is
Speaker 1: the guy you have to have a target on when
Speaker 1: you game plan against this defense. And uh and they
Speaker 1: use him. Dan Quinn uses him in so many different ways.
Speaker 1: And as you said, you rattle off all the other names,
Speaker 1: there's a heck of a there's a heck of a
Speaker 1: cast out there defensively for the Cowboys, that um that
Speaker 1: Quinn has to play with as well on the offensive side.
Speaker 1: I know there are some questions as far as whether
Speaker 1: or not Ezekiel Elliott is going to be available this week.
Speaker 1: We will have to see with regard to that. But
Speaker 1: Tony Pollard, he's averaging six point two yards per carry west.
Speaker 1: I mean, you talk about how and I mentioned that
Speaker 1: obviously the defense is kind of the foundation and and
Speaker 1: the way they built this team with Prescott's injury and
Speaker 1: Cooper Rush playing quarterback. But Tony Pollard averaging six yards
Speaker 1: of carry is going to help out any quarterback. I
Speaker 1: don't care if it's Prescott or Russian there under center.
Speaker 1: This is a team that this is a team that
Speaker 1: can run the football when it wants to and uh,
Speaker 1: but also has has the big play weapons in Ceedee Lamb,
Speaker 1: Jake Ferguson, the former Wisconsin Titan, has a couple of
Speaker 1: touchdowns the last the last couple of weeks for um.
Speaker 1: For this Dallas offense, they have a lot of different
Speaker 1: places they can turn. It doesn't all fall on Dak
Speaker 1: Prescott now that he's back, and it didn't all fall
Speaker 1: on Cooper Rush, which is why they were able to
Speaker 1: win games without Prescott. This is what is so unfair
Speaker 1: about what Dallas has done this season. Look at Zeke
Speaker 1: Elliott and Tony Pollard. Pollard almost reminds me a little
Speaker 1: bit of like that m j D after you know,
Speaker 1: Fred Taylor, like some of these places that had a
Speaker 1: real name running back, but then there was a young
Speaker 1: guy that just sort of came up behind him. And
Speaker 1: and I'm not gonna dis disrespect Zeke at all. He
Speaker 1: could play in this game, he could easily go off
Speaker 1: for a hundred fifty yards. But there's a reason why
Speaker 1: so many people are talking about that platoon and that
Speaker 1: two headed monster, because Pollard has literally inserted himself into
Speaker 1: that conversation against one of the league's most noteworthy in
Speaker 1: name running backs. But it's not just that, right, Michael
Speaker 1: Gallup is banged up. They have guys stepping up at receiver.
Speaker 1: Dalton Schultz is not having the season he had last year.
Speaker 1: He's also battled some injuries. Well, then Jake Ferguson, as
Speaker 1: you said, has two touchdowns this season. Where they've needed
Speaker 1: guys to step up. Cooper Rush is the number one
Speaker 1: example of that. But at the skilled positions, at some
Speaker 1: of the other areas where they've lost a star, a
Speaker 1: bona fide starter, um or that player has just been
Speaker 1: banged up, they've had guys respond to that. So I
Speaker 1: think that's a credit to Mike McCarthy. I think that's
Speaker 1: a credit to Kellen Moore from making the most of
Speaker 1: those offensive weapons that he has. And also you have
Speaker 1: to give credit to the Jones family in the front
Speaker 1: office being able to acquire a lot of rich talent
Speaker 1: for this team. UM. The deeper you are, the better
Speaker 1: you're gonna do handling those injuries. Yeah. Well, I want
Speaker 1: to get to the keys to victory for the Packers
Speaker 1: here in a minute, But first a little bit of
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Speaker 1: fifty years of better. All right, Keys to victory for
Speaker 1: the Packers coming into this one. I don't like to
Speaker 1: uh um be rate the obvious, but I think this game,
Speaker 1: with as banged up as the Packers are receiver, we
Speaker 1: know things are still somewhat influx on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: I think Aaron Rodgers has to have the type of
Speaker 1: bounce back game that he has had regularly throughout his career.
Speaker 1: Through three interceptions for the first time in five seasons,
Speaker 1: but when he's had those rough games, he generally has
Speaker 1: bounced back with a really, really, really strong performance. And
Speaker 1: the Packers are absolutely going to need that from number
Speaker 1: twelve on something, and this team desperately just needed to
Speaker 1: get home. Um now, you have to make the most
Speaker 1: of this. It's not perfect. Five days, two games. It's
Speaker 1: still going to be a challenge, and you know the
Speaker 1: opponent waiting on the other side of it. But we
Speaker 1: saw the way they looked throughout this stretch of four
Speaker 1: road trips in five weeks. It just every week it
Speaker 1: just seemed like a little bit more energy was being
Speaker 1: zapped out of them. The injuries started to mount a
Speaker 1: little bit more. Well, now you kind of get to
Speaker 1: catch your breath again. In getting back to the Rogers situation,
Speaker 1: I really think this game is going to come down
Speaker 1: to turnovers, takeaways in ball control. UM. I said a
Speaker 1: lot of positive things about the Dallas Cowboys. The fact
Speaker 1: of the matter is their passing game hasn't been overly
Speaker 1: dynamic this year. They have been kind of one dimensional.
Speaker 1: They've dedicated themselves to the run a little bit more
Speaker 1: and making the most of those short yardage and in
Speaker 1: situational opportunities. One of the reasons they've been able to
Speaker 1: do that is they haven't had a ton of takeawahere.
Speaker 1: They haven't had a ton of giveaways and they have
Speaker 1: a defense that is leading the league in sacks. Is
Speaker 1: being able to pressure the opposition, they're winning as a
Speaker 1: complete football team. Uh, the Packers need to do that
Speaker 1: to be able to win this game on Sunday. I
Speaker 1: think it starts with Rogers. I think it starts with
Speaker 1: being able to not only move the football again that
Speaker 1: that if you could take yards and just PLoP it
Speaker 1: into this game with maybe a little bit more rushing offense.
Speaker 1: Perfect you get inside the red zone, you have to
Speaker 1: convert that into points. Packers came up short there against Detroit.
Speaker 1: That area has to get kind of flushed out here
Speaker 1: now against the Cowboys, I think another big area in
Speaker 1: this game. And I guess I bring it up because
Speaker 1: because the Packers are facing the Cowboys. And one of
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy's challenges this year as the head coach at
Speaker 1: Dallas was to cut back on the penalties because Dallas
Speaker 1: last year was flagged like crazy and all those flags
Speaker 1: that flew in the opening playoff game against San Francisco,
Speaker 1: that's why the Cowboys got knocked out in that round
Speaker 1: as as early as they did. And there were some
Speaker 1: penalty issues early this season with the Cowboys as well,
Speaker 1: but those numbers have come down during this five game
Speaker 1: losing streak. The Packers have been penalized way too many
Speaker 1: times some games. That's been the last couple of games.
Speaker 1: The personal files are the ones that have stood out
Speaker 1: the most. Before that, you know, there was there was
Speaker 1: holding and false start issues and things like that. It
Speaker 1: always seems to be every game there is, uh, there
Speaker 1: is some penalty category that sort of bites the Packers
Speaker 1: in the rear end and they've got they've got to
Speaker 1: be able to get rid of that. You can't continue
Speaker 1: to play four quarters and look at the stats at
Speaker 1: the end and see that you had eight or nine
Speaker 1: penalties called against you when there are always going to
Speaker 1: be a couple of penalties that are declined as well.
Speaker 1: Those are just the accepted ones. That's the that's the
Speaker 1: shoot yourself in the foot kind of stuff that that
Speaker 1: the Packers continue to do. Um they it comes back
Speaker 1: to it comes back to playing clean football on both
Speaker 1: sides of the ball and not just giving yardage away
Speaker 1: to your opponents, because the Packers have done that too
Speaker 1: much the last month. The big thing I look at,
Speaker 1: you know, through these games so far this season. Last year,
Speaker 1: nullified yards through seventeen games on this season, they're already
Speaker 1: at one. Uh. It's the when you look at you know,
Speaker 1: being able to start on first down, avoiding a holding
Speaker 1: penalty there, avoiding a false start, the procedural stuff that
Speaker 1: Matt Lafleur has talked about. There was some times this year.
Speaker 1: Didn't happen last week, but there's been some times, especially
Speaker 1: during this losing streak, where you've seen them have UM,
Speaker 1: you know, legal formation penalties that just they didn't have
Speaker 1: UM during the first couple of seasons underneath Matt la floor.
Speaker 1: And then certainly you know a player gets to the sideline,
Speaker 1: you get him out of bounds. You've got to be
Speaker 1: careful there. You have to be able to avoid that.
Speaker 1: Some things are going to happen. We talked with Kingsley
Speaker 1: and Igbari about this at his locker on Wednesday. He's
Speaker 1: going in for a sack, golf is going down. You've
Speaker 1: got to be were mindful of his hands. He's admitting that.
Speaker 1: But it's a moving target game. Some things, unfortunately, are
Speaker 1: going to happen. But it's the discipline penalties. It's the
Speaker 1: ones that are going to tack on an extra fifteen
Speaker 1: yards to an eleven yard run. I mean, it's those
Speaker 1: type of things. Those are explosive plays, Mike, And when
Speaker 1: you tilt the field like that, it gives the opponent
Speaker 1: a real opportunity not only to get points, but zapp
Speaker 1: that momentum in their favor. Well, the Packers obviously, are
Speaker 1: are dealing with a number of injuries on both sides
Speaker 1: of the ball. We will see by the end of
Speaker 1: practice on Friday, when the final injury report comes out
Speaker 1: just where things stand with all these players. But with
Speaker 1: what we know about the injury situation, who are the
Speaker 1: guys that you see being forced into a larger role
Speaker 1: and more playing time than they've gotten in the past.
Speaker 1: And the guys that have to young guys that have
Speaker 1: to seize this opportunity not only to help the Packers,
Speaker 1: but potentially for their own careers. Well, it starts with Nigbari,
Speaker 1: because Mike, for two and a half years, you and
Speaker 1: I have been talking about, you know, Okay, you had
Speaker 1: the Smith Ros and you had Gary, who else is
Speaker 1: going to be the guy? And now they're at a
Speaker 1: situation where you have Preston and without Rashawn, Gary potentially
Speaker 1: here for the rest of the season. Who's going to
Speaker 1: step up. Enigbari is a guy that I think and
Speaker 1: you you touched on this too with some of your writings.
Speaker 1: You know, he's made steady improvement every week, and I
Speaker 1: think that's what you're looking for from him. Defends the
Speaker 1: run well, uh he and he even it was really
Speaker 1: interesting listen to him lay out his thought process, right
Speaker 1: because his number one thing is he's going through the
Speaker 1: preseason is He's like, I'm not really facing a whole
Speaker 1: lot of like starting NFL tackles, right, I'm going up
Speaker 1: against guys that maybe in the league, maybe on practice squads,
Speaker 1: maybe he won't even make the National Football League this season.
Speaker 1: But he said what that first sack against Tampa Bay
Speaker 1: did for him is it proved to him in his
Speaker 1: mind that Okay, I can not only hold my own
Speaker 1: that was the first step. I can make plays against
Speaker 1: these guys. And he said the next step, something that
Speaker 1: Rashawn Gary talks about a lot of the guys talk about,
Speaker 1: the veterans talk about on this team is finding dominance
Speaker 1: moments where you're going to dominate the opposition. An Igbari.
Speaker 1: Other than maybe that forty time Mike, there was so
Speaker 1: much to like about him coming out of South Carolina.
Speaker 1: Didn't have like a twenty five sacks season or anything,
Speaker 1: but just was a very consistent, steady guy, has great
Speaker 1: size for the position, and he's gonna be the next
Speaker 1: man up here. Jonathan Garvin, tip A nally I potentially
Speaker 1: coming back here, Ladarius Hamilton's there are other outside linebackers there,
Speaker 1: but ultimately, when you're looking for the guy that's probably
Speaker 1: gonna be starting opposite Preston Smith, it starts with Nigbari,
Speaker 1: and you have to think that offenses without Gary on
Speaker 1: the field, offenses are gonna are gonna shade their protection
Speaker 1: to Preston Smith's side. If there are one on ones
Speaker 1: on the other side, whether it's an Igbari or Garvin,
Speaker 1: or if nally I comes off of injured reserve and
Speaker 1: gets get some snaps there, you've got to be able
Speaker 1: to win that one on one and get that offense
Speaker 1: to to pay attention to the pass rush on the
Speaker 1: other side as well. I think offensively, we know Randall
Speaker 1: Cobb is still out. Romeo Dobbs it sounds like he's
Speaker 1: going to be out for at least a few weeks.
Speaker 1: Christian Watson has exited each of the last two games
Speaker 1: two weeks ago with concussion last week precautionary as we
Speaker 1: talked about on our last show. Turned out it was
Speaker 1: not a concussion. It was actually a shot to the uh,
Speaker 1: to the chest that knocked the wind out of him.
Speaker 1: Packers are gonna need Christian Watson. I know he hasn't
Speaker 1: been able to play as much as they would like
Speaker 1: and as much as he would like. He doesn't have
Speaker 1: the experience level based on all the time that he's
Speaker 1: missed that everybody was hoping that Christian Watson has the
Speaker 1: number thirty four overall pick in the draft, would have
Speaker 1: at the midpoint of the season, but you kind of
Speaker 1: in a way, you kind of have to throw that
Speaker 1: out the window and say, Christian Watson, this is your
Speaker 1: this is your time. This team really really needs you
Speaker 1: right now. And uh and I look for I look
Speaker 1: for the young man to to make an impact on
Speaker 1: Sunday if the Packers are gonna have a shot here.
Speaker 1: Different round, different year, and different expectations. But in some
Speaker 1: ways it kind of is that call back to what
Speaker 1: Marcus Velda Scantling had to do an eighteen and it
Speaker 1: was one of the reasons why it was when people
Speaker 1: get on MVS about his drops. I always was kind
Speaker 1: of like, are you guys are ridiculous here? Because one,
Speaker 1: he was a fifth round pick. Anything you get out
Speaker 1: of him there is a is a plus. But two,
Speaker 1: it was the dimension that he brought to the offense
Speaker 1: and he was thrown into a position to make plays
Speaker 1: that a lot of fifth round picks, especially in a
Speaker 1: contending team like the Packers expected to be that year
Speaker 1: they're they're typically not put into those spots. That's where
Speaker 1: Watson is right now. I mean, you look at that
Speaker 1: injury report on Wednesday for Green Bay, Mike, it's expansive. Now,
Speaker 1: we'll see what they do at the end of this week.
Speaker 1: There's some options with the practice squad. We'll see here.
Speaker 1: You know, next week next Thursday, Randall cob would be
Speaker 1: eligible that the first game he's eligible to come back for.
Speaker 1: Alan Lazard's gutting through some stuff. Smari two Ray has
Speaker 1: been in positions, but Watson was the second round pick.
Speaker 1: He's the guy that when he walks into the room,
Speaker 1: you go, wow, that's an NFL receiver in terms of
Speaker 1: how he's built, where he was drafted, in the speed
Speaker 1: that he has when he's on the field and Mike,
Speaker 1: Let's be honest, when Watson's there at least has been
Speaker 1: this way the past month, maybe you feel differently, but
Speaker 1: I feel like that's when the Packers offense looks the
Speaker 1: most like itself. Absolutely, I I believe. I believe that
Speaker 1: a hundred percent. I think I think because he brings
Speaker 1: a dimension to the offense that nobody else does, that
Speaker 1: defenses have a harder time against this Packers offense when
Speaker 1: he's on the field, and his his absence for at
Speaker 1: different times, different reasons, everything else, but his absence over
Speaker 1: the first nine games of the season I think is
Speaker 1: one of the biggest reasons this Packers offense is still
Speaker 1: trying to find itself. And I know there have been
Speaker 1: issues on the offensive line. His injury has not been
Speaker 1: the only one at receiver, so but if Christian Watson
Speaker 1: is out there on a regular basis, I think the
Speaker 1: Packers offense starts to will always look at least a
Speaker 1: little bit more like we expected to look. And I
Speaker 1: know Justin are working the controls here because Matt Arvin
Speaker 1: is on holiday. I know he doesn't have the Mike Spofford.
Speaker 1: You know, let's be real, moment of the week graphic
Speaker 1: queued up. But let's let's be real here about something else.
Speaker 1: It has been basically the worst case scenario for the
Speaker 1: Packers at receiver. The plan going into this season was,
Speaker 1: it's Al Lazard, It's Randall cob It's Sammy Watkins. That's
Speaker 1: gonna be the three, and you let all the young
Speaker 1: guys develop from there. Watkins has the hamstring injury, now
Speaker 1: he has the knee injury. Lazard ends up having to
Speaker 1: miss Week one because of the ankle he got stepped
Speaker 1: on in practice, and then he gets the shoulder injury.
Speaker 1: And obviously we know the situation with cop that was
Speaker 1: going to be what the Packers hang their hat on
Speaker 1: in the early part of the season. That fell apart.
Speaker 1: You needed Romeo Dobbs, you needed Watson when he's been available,
Speaker 1: and you've needed two ray to be those guys stepping up,
Speaker 1: all three of them, Mike, they've been in playing bigger roles,
Speaker 1: and I think any of us could have anticipated when
Speaker 1: they're on the field, and you hope going into the
Speaker 1: second half now they'll be better for it. As the
Speaker 1: Packers trying to mount some kind of push. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: While looking around the league in Week ten, a couple
Speaker 1: of games to touch on. First NFL regular season game
Speaker 1: in Germany on Sunday morning, Seattle against Tampa Bay. An
Speaker 1: interesting one, Um Tampa Bay. Maybe the Buccaneers found something
Speaker 1: with that fourth quarter comeback against the Rams last week.
Speaker 1: Are Tom Brady and the Buck's gonna make a push here?
Speaker 1: Um Seattle with with Gino Smith playing lights out football
Speaker 1: at quarterback, the Seahawks are the surprise of the NFL
Speaker 1: as far as I'm concerned so far at roughly the
Speaker 1: midway point. A couple other games to keep an eye
Speaker 1: on Minnesota is that Buffalo. We don't know if Josh
Speaker 1: Allen is going to play or not with that elbow
Speaker 1: injury for the Buffalo Bills. And the Vikings, of course,
Speaker 1: having won six consecutive one score games and then another
Speaker 1: cross conference match. The Chargers, who I think maybe after
Speaker 1: a slow start, are are starting to find themselves a
Speaker 1: little bit with Justin Herbert settling in, you know, finding
Speaker 1: his rhythm a little bit. But now playing at San Francisco,
Speaker 1: a forty Niners team that really feels it's got a
Speaker 1: lot going for itself, with Christian McCaffrey another offensive weapon
Speaker 1: added to the mix in the Big Trade and all that.
Speaker 1: Those to me, other than Packers Cowboys obviously, at those
Speaker 1: are the three other games that are the most intriguing
Speaker 1: to me on the week tense schedule totally, and with
Speaker 1: the Chargers to you wonder like, I don't know if
Speaker 1: keenan Allen can get back this week. He's been kind
Speaker 1: of working through a lot of stuff. A man, if
Speaker 1: he they could just get that guy healthy in terms
Speaker 1: of the one to punch him and Herbert have been
Speaker 1: in the early part of his career. Cardinals and Rams
Speaker 1: is very interesting. You have to three win teams going
Speaker 1: up against each other. I know, Cliff, it's been in
Speaker 1: a tough spot so far, but it is interesting. I
Speaker 1: go back to that Vikings game because we'll see what
Speaker 1: happens with Josh Allen. If it's not Allen, then it's
Speaker 1: case Keenum and then there's another storyline there for you know,
Speaker 1: Minnesota beat writers just getting dropped right into their laps certainly,
Speaker 1: but realistically, I'm very interested to see this Minnesota offense
Speaker 1: go up against this Buffalo defense because Minnesota has not
Speaker 1: been running the ball as well as they have historically.
Speaker 1: Now some of that, again is Delvin Cook being a
Speaker 1: little banged up right now. But if this thing gets
Speaker 1: in Kirk Cousins hands, how does he react to that?
Speaker 1: How does he react if the defense isn't getting you know,
Speaker 1: prime field position for them. It's it's not the litmus
Speaker 1: test it would have been if Josh Allen, But it's
Speaker 1: still a very intriguing matchup considering when they saw in
Speaker 1: Miami they were facing Skylar Thompson and that just wasn't
Speaker 1: the same offense as it is with two or even
Speaker 1: Teddy Bridgewater. We I mean two is leading the league
Speaker 1: in passer rading right now, So I mean the fact
Speaker 1: that he the fact that he missed that game earlier
Speaker 1: against against Minnesota, completely changed that matchup. Yeah, So I
Speaker 1: mean this is I think it's gonna be really interesting
Speaker 1: to watch. My last thought, it's too bad Tampa has
Speaker 1: been on this this going through these dull drums they did,
Speaker 1: because how funny would have been Packers and Giants. That
Speaker 1: was the first time in fifteen years there was a
Speaker 1: winning team versus winning team in London. How funny would
Speaker 1: that have been? If Seattle will be taken on Tampa
Speaker 1: in the first game in Germany and they both would
Speaker 1: have been over five years teams with winning records, but
Speaker 1: they came one win short of that. So yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: it's a full Sunday of football. With that early game
Speaker 1: over there in Germany, you can can tune in from
Speaker 1: sun up to sundown to to the NFL on Sunday.
Speaker 1: With that, we'll call it a wrap on this edition
Speaker 1: of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
Speaker 1: coverage of Sunday's game against the Cowboys. We will have
Speaker 1: everything for you from lambeau Field right here on Packers
Speaker 1: dot com for Wes, I am Mike. Thank you for
Speaker 1: tuning in everybody. We'll see you next time.