WEBVTT - #558 Packers Unscripted: The rematch awaits 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:14.600 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:18.319 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford sitting alongside the 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:20.880 one and only Wes Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:25.560 from our studio at lambeau Field West Packers Vikings at 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:29.960 lambeau Field Sunday. It'll be a noon Central Time kickoff 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:32.320 five and one versus one and five. But as we say, 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:36.000 certainly in division rivalries and in the border rivalry, as 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:39.440 this one is often called, you can forget about those numbers. 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:44.839 This is this is an interesting one because the Packers, 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.080 it's a game, obviously they're going to be expected to win. 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:51.680 The Vikings are coming off their bye week. There's been 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:55.040 some turmoil and whatnot. They've you know, they traded away 0:00:55.120 --> 0:01:00.920 one of their best defensive players. Who who that defensive player? 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:07.280 Yannick and go Unique. Sorry we had to worry about 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:10.319 that for the all of one game for the record, Yeah, okay, 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:12.800 you got a Gockway right though. Yeah, well that's the 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:18.240 one I've been working but in Gockway no longer with 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:21.320 the Vikings. He's been traded away. Danil Hunter, the other 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:24.680 star pass rusher, is out for the season after next surgery. 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:29.360 This Vikings defense West, it's not the Vikings defense that 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:33.360 we've seen in the past, and they've got they've got 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:37.000 a cornerback issue right now. Two of their top four corners, 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:40.360 Holting the Hill and Mike Hughes are on the injury 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.560 report right now, and a third cornerback, rookie Cameron Danceler, 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:45.880 the third round pick, is on the COVID reserve list. 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:48.680 This is this is going to This is going to 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:53.000 be an interesting matchup to see just exactly what Vikings team, 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:56.440 especially defensively, is on the field Sunday exactly, And you'd 0:01:56.480 --> 0:02:00.000 laid it out perfectly, particularly with the with the secondary 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.960 issues they're having there. It's a young secondary to begin with, 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:05.200 and now they have a litany of injuries that have 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.680 followed this very much is about the Packers. I want 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:10.240 to say, I don't want to say it's not, but 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:13.680 I think it ultimately is going to be what Minnesota 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:16.320 Vikings team do we see come into lambeau Field on 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.560 Sunday afternoon. One, just from the physical standpoint, pretty banged 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:22.600 up despite coming out of the bye week at at 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:28.680 meaningful positions. But two, they had such a dichotomy of 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:32.919 games before their bye week. They played Seattle so tough, right, 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:35.160 went right down to the wire and came up short. 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.480 They absolutely should have won that football game. And then 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.720 they come back the next week thinking that, hey, maybe 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:42.959 we should be able to knock off a previously winless 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:46.040 Atlanta Falcons team. They're not able to do it. That's 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:48.040 a really difficult way to go in the bye week. 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.680 You and I always talk about, you know, there's probably 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:53.280 one game a year where maybe we really are truly 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:56.160 pulling for a big victory, and as a reporter, it's 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.400 typically going into a bye week because those negative thoughts 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:01.919 linger with the fan base, they linger with the locker room. 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:05.160 It just it creates sort of this doubt factor, right, 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:07.800 and I think that's something that the Minnesota Vikings are 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:09.799 going to be really battling this week, in addition to 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:13.200 the fact that their secondary, more specifically that cornerback position 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:16.240 is really hurting here going into this matchup. Well, this 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:18.480 is a tough Vikings team to figure out because, as 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:23.040 you mentioned, they lost to the Atlanta Falcons when everybody thought, Okay, 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:25.680 this will be there, get well game, you know, chalk 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:29.320 up another victory that didn't happen. But yet two of 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:31.840 the best teams in the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks and 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.480 the Tennessee Titans, were both taken right to the wire 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:38.280 by this Minnesota Vikings team. So, as you said, it's 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:40.920 it's sort of which which team is going to show 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.960 up On the injury front for the Packers, we're seeing 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:46.760 the Packers starting to get a little bit healthier. Al 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.760 Lazard Christian Kirksey are both back at practice. So the 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:53.360 twenty one day window for them coming off of I 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:56.400 R where there's now the window for them to be 0:03:56.520 --> 0:04:00.160 activated and activated to the fifty three man roster, that 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.720 clock is now ticking. But I think for the the 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:07.480 more immediate with regards to this week and the Vikings game, 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.440 David Bakti is back at practice, Tyler Irvine is back 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:15.240 at practice, Darnell Savage, who missed last week's game, is 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.360 back at practice now, Kevin King and Aaron Jones are 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.960 still not at practice, and suddenly Mason Crosby is on 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.000 the injury report for the Packers as well. So we 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.640 will see what happens as the rest of the week 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:29.479 unfolds there. But for all of the injuries the Packers 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.320 have been dealing with, it seems that the health trend 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:35.520 is even though there are nineteen guys listed on the 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:39.520 injury report, the overall health trend in terms of participation 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:42.080 might be trending in the right direction. Well, this is 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:44.280 why it's important, right because you and I don't know 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.000 how many of these guys will legitimately be playing on Sunday. 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.480 But the fact that David Boxer was able to practice 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:52.039 on Wednesday, that's a pretty good sign. With the chess 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:54.040 injury that I think everyone's sort of been no pun 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:57.120 intended holding their breath over. And then you look over 0:04:57.200 --> 0:05:00.279 at at Tyler Irvin, I mean a risk injury like 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.760 that that he dealt with early on and then it 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:05.479 ends up sidelining him for two games. You really don't 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:07.719 know what to make of that from the outside looking in. 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:10.799 That's not a hamstring, that's not a quadricept that that's 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:13.039 it's a risk. So it makes you kind of raise 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:15.520 some questions in your mind of Okay, what's the forecast 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:18.200 here for him? And then also the biggest thing is 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.600 al Lazard being back. A core muscle injury is something 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:24.200 that they went in and repaired. That can be a 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.920 lot of different things, And I always go back to 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:30.640 two thousand and twelve that injury kept out Greg Jennings 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:33.800 for seven games. Now, again we have to see exactly 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.160 what the forecast is going to be here for Lazard, 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:37.800 how much of a rev up period they want to 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.200 give him. But the fact that they did start that 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:42.640 clock would indicate that they feel like he can get 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:45.240 back here in the month of November. That is absolutely 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:49.000 critical for this receiving corps and seeing exactly what this 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:52.160 guy brings, because it's not just the number two receiver role. 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:54.480 It's the fact that he can play in line. It's 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.960 the fact that they can do reversals with him. Al 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:00.320 Lazard is as much as we've talked about him this season, 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.520 he's a really underrated part of this offense now in 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:05.840 what they're able to use him and how they're able 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:07.880 to utilize him, in addition to the fact that he 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:11.000 can be a big play threat down field. Yeah, and 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:15.679 and he's arguably the Packers best blocker amongst the wide 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:17.840 receivers as well in terms of helping the run game. 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:19.960 And if you don't think that's a big deal, just 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.080 go watch the film of the Houston game and Brandon 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.480 Cooks for the Houston Texans. The guy didn't throw a 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:27.839 block on the edge, like the whole game in Houston's 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.040 running game suffered because of it. So I'll just throw 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:33.400 that out there as well. But it's at extra credit plays, right, Absolutely, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.000 It's not stuff that's gonna get you in anyone's fantasy. 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:38.280 Are you a complete player when you step on the 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:40.000 field and there are some guys who are and some 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.160 guys who are And if you're gonna do bunch formations 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:43.720 like the way that Matt Lafleur wants to do them, 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.120 you've got to be able to block. It's critical, yeah, 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:49.360 quickly before we get to our our keys to victory. Here. 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:53.359 West Serious x M NFL Radio Channel eighty eight is 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.400 the only radio outlet dedicated to the National Football League 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:59.040 seven days a week, three sixty five days a year, 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:02.880 and Packers fans gear up four game day Open Up 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.360 Packers checking account from Associated Bank and score a fifty 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:09.320 dollar Packers Pro Shop gift card. Learn more at Associated 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:14.240 bank dot com. Backslash Packers all right on the offensive 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:18.400 side of the ball. If this if this Minnesota secondary 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.000 is as banged up as it appears, and if they 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:24.520 are dipping into their depth chart as far as they 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:27.400 may need to. On Sunday. I know, we talk about 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:30.200 the running game, and certainly Jamal Williams, if Aaron Jones 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:33.160 is sitting out another game, Jamal Williams will handle whatever 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.360 load you give him. But boy, with the state of 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:40.400 this Vikings cornerback group, you wonder if do you not 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:43.240 just turn the game over to Aaron Rodgers and say, go, 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:46.560 I mean how they had all their guys granted, a 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.800 couple of rookies, you know, making their NFL debuts without 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:54.480 any preseason games back in Week one. But but this cornerback, 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.720 this cornerback group is is not healthy for Minnesota. Well, 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:01.080 and the fact is right now, Mike, to underscore exactly 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:04.000 how banged up there. They have eight cornerbacks on their 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:07.280 active roster right now. Um. When when you see a 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:10.880 team over sort of inflate a position over the course 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.760 of the year, that tells you there's some concerns there. 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.320 It tells you that they're you know, whether the injuries, 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:19.920 the inconsistency, what have you. Um, that's an uphill battle 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:23.000 that they're going to have to climb. Mike Zimmer is 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:24.880 as smart of a defensive coach as there is in 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:28.200 this league head coach, defensive coordinator. He's he's there, right. 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:31.600 I'm just really curious what that game plan is going 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:33.160 to be because you know they're gonna want to take 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.720 Davanta Adams and I wrote about it this week too, 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:38.800 But if you try to take him away, what are 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.480 you giving up elsewhere? And if you do live him 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:44.400 in one on one situations, you see what happened last 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:48.520 week with the Houston Texans. That's a huge, not necessarily 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.880 a weak spot because again I'm I'm giving Zimmer the 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:55.200 benefit of the doubt. He's concocted some magnificent game plans before. 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:57.800 But that's just a major area concern for me going 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:00.760 into this game as it relates to Minnesota. Other thing too, 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.480 and this is no disrespect intended for the Vikings defense 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:05.320 because in a few minutes here, I'm going to completely 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:08.960 put their their offense over. But there are so many years, 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:11.400 Mike where you look at the starting eleven, starting fifteen 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:15.520 for Minnesota and there's just playmakers all over the place. 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:18.199 It doesn't matter if it's the defensive line, that linebacking 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:21.880 corps or in the secondary. The names have kind of 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:24.760 waned here a little bit for them. You still have 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:28.679 Harrison Smith, Anthony Harris, and obviously, um you look at 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.119 their you know, Eric Kendricks and what they have at linebacker. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:36.400 But beyond that, it starts to get a little bit sparse. So, um, Minnesota, 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:38.040 if they're going to turn this thing around, they're gonna 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:39.520 have to do it unconventionally. They're gonna have to get 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:41.920 away from their blueprint the last few years. And this 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:43.960 is a tough opponent for them to have to do 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:46.280 that against. Yeah, this is a group that doesn't have 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:48.680 any big names right now on the defensive line in 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:52.280 terms of being able to pressure quarterbacks. So then you wonder, okay, 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:54.079 as zim are going to dial up all of these 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.520 crazy blitz is with Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Harrison Smith. 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:00.600 But then if you do that, obviously you leaving that 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:03.120 back end, which which not only is banged up but 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.040 is also very young. As far as those cornerbacks, you're 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:08.319 leaving them more vulnerable if you're selling out to get 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:10.960 to the quarterback. So the Minnesota defense is in a 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:14.160 tough spot. I will say this about that group though, 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:16.920 for as much as it has struggled this year, as 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:19.760 the Vikings have gone one in five, and I believe 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:22.439 they're ranked in the league in total yards allowed to 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:25.000 the thirtie in the league and points allowed. They are 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:28.480 ranked third in the league in third down defense, and 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:30.439 they are somewhere in the top ten in the league 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:34.440 in red zone defense. So there are there are areas 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:37.960 where this defense has risen up and made some plays. Now, 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.120 you wonder, how can you be thirtieth in the league 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.839 in points but third and third downs, It's like, well, 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:45.880 it's because the defense hasn't gotten the opposing offense and 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:50.120 enough third downs. So from the Packers point of view, 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:52.000 you just you have to be on your p's and 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.160 q's if it does get to third down. That's where 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:56.400 that this defense has been at its best this year, 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.359 and those are going to be the most challenging plays. Yeah, absolutely, 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:01.320 Mike in you know, not to correct you on this, 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:02.920 but just to point out to I mean, they don't 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:05.560 have Anthony Barr right now either, right like he's he's 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.320 been on I R. So they have Eric wil No, 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:11.160 then that's okay, but Eric Wilson has been the one 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.439 that sort of stepped up. But that sort of illustrates 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:15.960 what they've been up against to this point of the season. 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:17.880 It's been a lot of that type of things. And 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:19.480 you know what, Mike, when you look at it, you 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.080 can go back to some of these Packers teams that 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:23.920 we've covered when injuries have really depleted them. Two thousandten 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:26.720 sort of jumps off to me right away. When that happens, 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:28.800 that's where you start to see the third downs, Wayne, 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:31.040 That's where you start to see the pass rush numbers. Wayne. 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.920 It starts with the personnel and then it all sort 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:36.320 of follows from there. So this has been a challenge 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:38.679 for Minnesota. Again, I'm not saying they can't come out 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:42.240 and play exceptionally well it's Mike Zimmer. They can do it. 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.120 But for Green Bay, I just think so much of 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:47.680 it is you built. You got your momentum back, right, 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.559 you got your mojo back last week against Houston. If 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.480 you can sustain that. On paper, this is a good 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:55.960 opponent to be able to have success against. Well. On 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.160 the defensive side of the ball for the Packers when 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:00.320 you look when you look at this Vikings Off fense, 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:04.200 Dalvin Cook is expected to be back. Alexander Madison the 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:07.560 number two running back. He filled in nicely at Seattle 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.719 and cracked the hundred yard barrier there when Cook had 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:13.840 gone out of the game. You've got Justin Jefferson, who 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:16.280 is really coming on as a rookie receiver. He's got 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.880 averaging nineteen yards a catch, wasn't much of a factor 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.679 in Week one when he was making his NFL debut. Obviously, 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.840 you have Adam thelan who's approven pro been there, done that. 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:30.600 He's got seven touchdown catches. Kirk Cousins, though, ten interceptions 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:35.040 through six games. That that is the biggest bugaboo for 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:38.400 this Vikings offense has been taking care of the football, 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:42.360 and that's that's the most important thing Minnesota has to 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:45.040 get fixed. And if you're the Packers, you're looking to 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:50.800 continue to disrupt Kirk Cousins, force him into some some inaccurate, 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.920 uncomfortable throws that perhaps you can take advantage of and 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.760 the Packers can maybe get the turnover thing going their 0:12:57.760 --> 0:12:59.800 way on defense. Well, and ultimately you and I can 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:02.199 see here and talk forever about all the things that 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.000 have kind of worked against Minnesota to this point. But 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.000 when you look at the takeaway numbers, when you look 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:09.800 at the actual turnover margin, and that's where they've really 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:11.960 hurt this year because they have been given it up 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:13.920 too much and they just haven't been taken it away 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.080 enough right now, thirtieth in the league, I think minus 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:19.320 seven overall and turnover differentials, So that's where those numbers 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.160 show up. Kirk Cousins, when he was at his his 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:24.640 optimal point in this offense, and even going back to 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:27.360 his time with Washington when he was in a real groove, 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:29.679 it was that he was being efficient, he was being 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:32.000 high percentage with his throws and they're just weren't that 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:35.079 the turnovers there, he was being safe, protective. You can 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:36.920 call a game manager, you can call whatever you want, 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.280 but he was given his defense a chance to help 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.520 them win these ball games. That's what's worked against them 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:46.080 this year. Now. Conversely, if you don't take the ball 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.240 away from them, Minnesota really can still cause a lot 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:52.080 of havoc, especially if you get Delvin cooked back. I 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:54.120 think Madison also has shown he can be a bell 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.520 call when they need him to be. But the big 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:58.400 guy here for them, and it's going to be a 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.600 problem here for the Packers in the next decade to come. 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:04.000 As justin Jefferson Um, this young man has shown big 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:06.520 play potential right off the bat, but He can also 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.440 do possession stuff as well. He moves the chains, and 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.400 he's been that compliment that they needed for Adam Feeland here, 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:15.120 you know, since Stefon Digs has had his up town 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:17.800 before the trade. And I just think that he's a 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:19.960 really good compliment for this offense and the vision of 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:21.840 where they want to get to. And if the Packers 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.160 aren't mindful of where Jefferson is, this guy can really 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:26.480 make you pay. Well. If Kevin King has to miss 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:30.280 another game, what are your thoughts on how Mike Petton 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.360 will match up as far as JayR, Alexander, Josh Jackson, 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.560 Adam Feland, justin Jefferson. What are your thoughts there? You know? 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:38.520 And one thing I'm gonna be interested to do that 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:39.960 I haven't been able to do to this point of 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:41.760 the season. Maybe I should have used the bye week 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:43.800 for this was actually sit down and figure out how 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.680 much they've actually matched him against guys. Uh. To me, 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:49.400 it still feels like mostly they've played sides this year 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:51.760 and and they just let him cover his island and 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.360 take the rest from there. This is the type of 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:56.560 game where you probably still want to do that because 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.880 they can hurt you a number of different ways. But 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:01.120 Jefferson is a guy that you need to know where 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:02.880 he's at on the field at all times. If it's 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:04.880 jayre and you want to go with that and just 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:07.280 give him that assignment and play off the rest of it. 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.760 I have full confidence in him at this point that 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.680 he can handle that, no problem. If he's not covering him, 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:14.920 that's where maybe you want to have the two shell. 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.040 You might want to have a safety over top of 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:19.040 the coverage and be aware of his whereabouts. But that's 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:21.560 the other issue here is that the more attention you 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:24.040 give a guy like Jefferson, the more that Adam Feeling 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:26.080 can hurt you, because he has hurt the Packers in 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.360 the past. The more that a guy like Delvin Cook 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:30.440 can hurt you as a receiver as a runner if 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.000 you're not minding where he's at on the field. Minnesota 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.240 still has all the tools to be able to play 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.760 with anybody. The game against Seattle showed that. But if 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:41.320 you're that that's why to me, it's so imperative that 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:42.760 you take the ball away, and you take the ball 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:45.640 away early. They're gonna have doubts in their head coming 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:49.680 off the bye week. You'd be inhuman not too. You've 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:51.640 got to make sure that you keep those doubts rolling 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:53.560 there because there is one team that's five and one 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:55.880 and there's one team that's one in five. It's just 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:57.680 what the statistics are. You have to go out and 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:00.240 prove which one that you are. Yeah, I think I 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:04.080 think Minnesota for as as good a rookie and a 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.960 potential rising star in this league as Justin Jefferson is, 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.880 and as reliable as Adam Thilan is, I think Minnesota 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:12.560 is going to come into this game wanting to run 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.600 the heck out of the football. You look, you look 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:19.080 at the Seattle the game at Seattle, even losing Dalvin Cook, 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.200 as I said, Madison ends up going over a hundred 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.760 yards rushing. That's how they're going to protect Kirk Cousins. 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:27.200 That's how they're gonna set up Kirk Cousins for success. 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:29.400 Is to pound the ball in the run and try 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:32.960 to establish that running game as much as possible against 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.120 the Packers. And that's going to be a challenge for 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.600 this Packers run defense, which has stood up pretty well 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:41.880 again in the in the Atlanta game, in the Houston game, 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.240 the run defense was was absolutely on top of things. 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:48.440 But we've also seen some leakage in the run game 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:51.320 in in other instances, and getting back to the injury situation, 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:53.920 I should mention as well, Tyler Lancaster was back at 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.200 practice from his shoulder injury on the defensive line for 0:16:57.240 --> 0:17:00.680 the Packers. But I I think Minnesota's game plan offensively 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.280 is going to be to to run Dalvin Cook and 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:06.920 Alexander Madison at this Packers defense as much as they can. Yeah, 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:08.959 and you go back and look Mike before that injury 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:12.080 that that Cook dealt with there after the the Houston 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:15.000 game or excuse the Seattle game before that against Houston, 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.520 a hundred thirty rushing yards, two touchdowns. Then against Tennessee, 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.119 who's considered one of the front runners in this in 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:24.080 this league right now, he had one rushing yards in 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:26.600 a touchdown. I mean, this guy was going off after 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.320 he signed that extension. And he's a guy that obviously 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:32.400 the Packers are well familiar with. You know, Adrian Peterson 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:35.000 for a lot of years gave defensive coordinators and coaches 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.240 a lot of you know, headaches in the NFC North 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.480 and and Cook has all those same you know, you 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.880 know potential as well at years old. Now again we're 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:46.440 gonna have to see Obviously he's ready to go rip roaring, 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.240 but first game back, you know, do you see him 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.480 play a complimentary role with Madison. That's why they drafted Madison. 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:54.400 I mean, they wanted to be able to go deep. 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.760 They saw what happened when they lost Cook in the past, 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.159 and now they have two reliable options to turn to, 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.440 if you know, depending on what the workload is or 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.119 what they're looking to get out of Cooking this matchup. Yeah, alright, 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:07.360 well Week eight in the NFL. I want to get 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:09.640 your thoughts before we go on some of the other 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.640 games going on. I'll throw these out to you, and uh, 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:16.120 you can start wherever you'd like. Indianapolis is at Detroit. 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:18.639 I think that's a very interesting game, not only because 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.320 obviously the Packers are going to be playing both of 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:24.280 those teams here yet as the season rolls along, but 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:28.520 it's that age old question with Detroit. Can the Lions 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:31.480 build on a big victory and start getting something going 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:34.719 against an indie team that is actually I believe the 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.520 only team above five hundred that the Lions are gonna 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:40.439 play over the next five weeks. So this is a 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:44.960 I give credit to an inbox reader for throwing that 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:46.480 one at me. I read I read that in the 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:51.520 inbox when I was going through. UM, but I think 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:54.720 that's an interesting one for Detroit, and obviously Indie is 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:56.880 a team on the on the Packers schedule coming up. 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:01.000 San Francisco is at Seattle, a big chip in the NFC. 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:05.120 West New Orleans is at Chicago, a gut check game 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:07.600 for the Bears after what happened to them on Monday 0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:10.760 Night football. Chicago's on a short week now after a 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:12.960 game that did not go well at all for them 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.000 against the Rams. And then the big one in the 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:17.040 a f C is Pittsburgh at Baltimore in the a 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:21.159 f C North. So many to talk about. I do 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:22.879 want to get your thoughts, and I want to close 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:25.320 on San Francisco in Seattle. So let's just put a 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.520 little pin at one, okay, because there's some things I 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.639 want to talk to you about that matchup. From a 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:32.639