WEBVTT - #559 Packers Unscripted: Quick turnaround 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:14.640 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:17.759 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by my 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.800 trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:24.440 our studio at lambeau Field, and we's a very interesting 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:28.680 week here at twelve S. Lombardi Avenue. The Packers coming 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:33.960 off of a disheartening two loss to the Minnesota Vikings, 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:38.839 but no time to dwell on their sorrows because they 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:40.720 have to hop on a plane very shortly to go 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:43.440 to San Francisco and take on the forty nine on 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:46.640 Thursday Night football. This is a really interesting week around 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:51.080 here because I think obviously the Packers were hoping to 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:53.440 be heading to San Francisco with just the one loss 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:56.560 on their ledger. Now you're in danger of actually picking 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:59.520 up a third loss prior to the midway point of 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:01.720 the season. With this being game number eight. This is 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:04.720 a tough one because underneath Matt la Fleur, up until Sunday, 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.360 they only had lost one game by a touchdown or 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:11.039 inside a touchdown, And I think, if everybody's just being 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:13.400 honest with themselves, this was a game that Green Bay 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:16.000 just shouldn't have lost. I mean, it's just the way 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.360 that they finished it two in the fourth quarter that 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:20.399 that was more I think indicative of the team that 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:24.040 this is um. They're more consistent moving the ball. Offensively, 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:26.440 they had some guys while they didn't have al Lazar, 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:28.720 they did have some guys step up. Davante Adams caught 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:31.800 his third touchdown and the defense got too late stops. 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.360 But the problem was everything that happened in that second 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:36.800 and third quarter again for green Bay, and that's really 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:40.160 told the tale of this game Minnesota. Mike. It's a 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.000 lot like what you and I talked about last week. 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:43.959 It's a lot like Larry McCarn right over there on 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:48.240 our three Things video last Wednesday mentioned defensively, the Vikings 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.440 just don't have a ton of playmakers right now, whether 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:52.840 it be through injuries or just you know, decisions and 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:56.880 trades that they've made. And I gotta give a credit 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.920 to Mike Zimmer. He still made all the ends meet 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:03.800 and in this matchup, after the first quarter that was 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.880 largely dictated by green Bay, the momentum started to swing 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:09.720 a little bit towards Minnesota at the end of the 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:12.160 first half, and in the third quarter they took the 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:14.679 ball and Dalvin Cook ran away with it. Yeah. I mean, 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:17.280 you know, football is a team game, and I'm not 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:20.440 trying to minimize that, but it feels like the Green 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:22.720 Bay Packers got beat by one player. They got beat 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:25.440 by Dalvin Cook. On Sunday. He scores all four of 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:29.360 Minnesota's touchdowns, the Vikings getting touchdowns on on their first 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:32.600 four possessions of the game. He scores all four of them. 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.680 He has two six yards from scrimmage, a hundred and 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:40.200 sixty three rushing, sixty three receiving, including a fifty yard 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.639 touchdown on a third and nine screen pass. I believe 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:48.680 the two six yards was approximately se of Minnesota's total. 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.919 And yes, I take nothing away from Mike Zimmer's defense. 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:56.679 They were really banged up at cornerback. The windy conditions 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:59.399 certainly affected the passing game, but you thought the Packers 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:01.399 certainly would the way they started the game, they would 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:05.000 be more efficient on offense. But the bottom line is 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:08.520 the defense gave up four consecutive touchdowns, and when the 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:12.200 offense started to get some penalty flags in the third 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:15.600 quarter to stall out some drives, suddenly the Packers couldn't 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:18.160 keep up. And you're playing from behind, and I tell 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.000 you what, coming from behind two touchdowns against the Mike 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.160 Zimmer defense, it doesn't matter who's on the field. He's 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:27.359 got he's he's got the scheme and and the coaching 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:31.040 to make that a really, really difficult scenario. And it 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.079 was really hard for the Packers to come back. Yeah, 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:35.440 and and this and again. You have sixteen regular season 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:38.360 games you're not always going to be at and things 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.320 like this happened. But you really do get a feeling 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:42.480 like it was the perfect storm for the Packers in 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:45.240 this game. You go in without David back tr and 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.760 without Aaron Jones, and Jamal Williams has been incredibly solid. 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.160 You know my feelings on him. I've made that ambutdantly clear, 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:53.840 especially over the last few weeks. But if you look 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:57.000 back at the performances the Packers had last season, Aaron 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:59.280 Jones is a big reason they won those two games, 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:02.080 in one of which the Vikings didn't have Delvin Cook, 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:05.200 and you saw how the landscape changed. Then you have 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:07.960 the windy conditions, which plays the game more into a 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:12.160 run game type, you know, orientation. You have Alex Kemp's 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:15.360 crew making some tiki tach calls here and there, you 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.320 have just so many different things worked against the Packers 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.839 in this matchup, and at the end of the day, 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:22.800 he still ended up losing. You end up being five 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.440 and two. That's the rubb of the Green over you know, 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:28.039 of course of a long season. The key is now 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:29.960 though for Green Bay's you're gonna be going up against 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:32.680 the San Francisco forty Niners team that's really banged up. 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.160 Right now, I know what the record was last year 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:37.240 in the Bay Area. I know they've had some problems 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.680 on the West Coast. It really puts a big spotlight 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:42.039 on Green Bay needing to get this wind now after 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.000 you know what I think everybody would have agree was 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.000 a disappointing performance on Sunday. Yeah, real quickly here West. 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:48.360 I know we've got a lot of ground to cover 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:50.680 today and I don't want to forget our sponsor business. 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:55.200 So serious serious x M NFL Radio Channel is the 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:58.120 only radio outlet dedicated to the National Football League seven 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:02.080 days a week, s five days a year, and Packers 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.760 fans gear up four game day. Open a Packers checking 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:08.000 account from Associated Bank and score a fifty dollar Packers 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:10.920 Pro Shop gift card. Learn more at Associated bank dot com. 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:15.800 Backslash Packers. All right, Well, obviously there were shortcomings on 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:18.120 the offensive and defensive sides of the ball here for 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:21.039 the Packers as they dropped to five and two, The 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:22.960 good news is they stayed in first place in the 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:28.200 NFC North because the Chicago Bears lost in overtime to 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.080 the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field. So the Bears 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:34.240 are five and three, still that half game back of 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.960 Green Bay. The Bears have not had their bye week yet. 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:42.000 And you mentioned the San Francisco forty Niners being pretty 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.920 banged up, and yeah they are. They lost to one 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:48.080 of their division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks. The Forts, now 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:52.800 the defending NFC champions, are four and four, and here 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:56.599 here's the list. Here's the list Wes on defense, the 0:05:56.680 --> 0:06:01.760 following players around injured reserve, Nick Bosa, de Ford Solomon Thomas, 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:07.640 Ziggy Ansa and Richard Sherman. And on offense, Raheem Mostert 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.200 and Jordan Reed running back in tight end or on 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:14.200 injured reserve. And in this past game, Jimmy Garoppolo and 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:17.240 George Kittle have gone down with what appeared to be 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:21.040 long term injuries at least a month or two for 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:24.800 each of those guys. My point is, this team the 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.640 Packers are going to play on Thursday night out in 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:32.200 Santa Clara is not even going to resemble personnel wise 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:35.320 the team that they played twice out there last year. 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:37.919 This is going to be a completely different game and 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:41.599 a completely different challenge for the Packers aside from the 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:44.640 scheme part of things, because this is still Kyle Shanahan 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:48.960 and his team and what he and Robert Salad on 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.000 the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Well, and 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.160 that's the big thing here. I think there's a lot 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.560 of people that would agree that Kyle Shanahan's one of 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:58.000 the brightest offensive minds in the game right now. Matt 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.600 the floor is up there too. But if there's been 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:02.760 one coach over the last three and a half years 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.320 that has shown he can do more with less, it's 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:08.680 Kyle Shanahan. They've dealt with this before and they've won 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:11.840 football games in spite of that. Now, all that being said, 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:14.080 when you look at that injury report that they had 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:16.480 coming out of that Seattle game with Tevin Coleman also 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:19.520 dealing with a knee injury, now you've already lost Jeff 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:21.800 Wilson who's on I R with a high ankle sprain. 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:26.160 Jerick McKinnon, who's battled injuries the last two seasons. He's 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:28.040 been kind of held back a little bit due to 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:31.480 what they determined was leg fatigue. So now they're onto 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.200 basically their fifth string running back. So there's just so 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:38.080 many different areas of this game where if you look 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:40.440 at it on paper, the Packers need to go to work, 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:42.680 they need to pick up this win. But then you 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:44.840 also look at how the forty Niners finished that game 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.000 against Seattle. Now you can say it's garbage time. You 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:48.760 can say that the decision was at hand, but Nick 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:50.800 Mullins came in and put some wind at his sales 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.200 a little bit. I finished with a U and twenty 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.119 two passer rating. I don't care if you are taking 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.280 out a bunch of Arena league football players. If you 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:00.240 play that way in the fourth quarter and you up 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.440 three touchdowns, you're going to feel okay about your chances. 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.160 So much like you and I, for all of last week, 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:08.880 we're preaching Mike, you cannot take the Vikings. Lately, you 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:12.400 most definitely cannot take the forty Niners. Likely because if 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.480 we know anything, it's that an injured animal. Is that 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:18.680 it's most dangerous. Yeah. And the forty Niners here, quite frankly, 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.440 they're they're going to be about as desperate for a 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:25.720 win as you could, uh you could find because they 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:28.600 are four and four, They're in an incredibly tough division 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.240 in the NFC West. If they were to pick up 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:33.480 their fifth loss at this stage of the season, when 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:37.040 they still have games against their own division rivals in 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:40.720 the Rams, the Cardinals, and the Seahawks, and then they 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.720 also have a game I believe against the Saints on 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.400 their schedule coming up as well. Five losses right now 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:48.760 would be really, really tough for the forty Niners to 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.600 come back from the Packers in some senses, can you know, 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.120 can land a pretty good hay maker here? In terms 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:58.079 of the forty niners chances to repeat as NFC champions 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:02.400 if they can get this win on Thursday night, What 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:04.960 they're going to do offensively, I shouldn't say what they're 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.400 going to do, but who they're going to use, Whom 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:10.640 they're going to use offensively is what I'll be curious 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.280 to see. Because you mentioned Jerick McKinnon, I think they're 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.040 going to have to use him quite a bit, but 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:21.240 they also now have been employing a rookie running back 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:25.640 from Baylor, Jamichael Hasti. Um. And as far as the 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:28.199 tight end situation, yes, the Packers won't have to deal 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:32.040 with George Kittle. But don't sleep on Ross Dwelly. I 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.559 believe Ross is his first name, if I'm not mistaken. 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:37.720 He scored a touchdown and you were talking about, you know, 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:40.000 was it garbage time or not. Well, here's the thing. 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.720 I went back to go through the the highlights of 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:46.600 that game. Dwell he scores a touchdown with I believe 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:48.840 it was around four minutes left in the fourth quarter, 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:52.520 and with a two point conversion, the forty Niners would 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:54.720 have made that a one score game with four minutes 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.400 to go. They did not get the two point conversion. Therefore, um, 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:00.720 it was not a one score game at that stage. 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.600 But Nick Mullins brought them back and gave them a 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:08.040 shot um against the Seattle Seahawks before Russell Wilson then 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:11.760 drove the Seahawks down the field for the clinching touchdown 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.360 with uh, you know, with around two minutes to go. 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:20.000 So um this uh, this this for forty Niners team, 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.440 this coaching staff, they're They're going to give the Packers 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.800 absolutely everything they can handle. And the Packers have their 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.640 own issues to deal with here too, with A. J. Dillon, 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.640 the rookie running back going on the reserve COVID nineteen list. 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:34.720 At the time we're taping this on Tuesday morning, we 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:38.439 don't know exactly if there are any other implications as 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:40.920 far as other players, so I don't want to speculate 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:43.800 on that. We will just have to see come Thursday 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:48.560 at kickoff time who the Packers have available for this game. 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.040 But Packers kind of dealing with a strange week to 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.360 begin with, and then you have the wrinkle thrown in 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:57.920 with the first player since training camp being put on 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:00.840 the COVID nineteen list. Yeah, and just to touch on 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:02.600 this too really quickly before we move on to that. 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:05.640 As far as San Francisco is concerned, they had three 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:09.640 touchdown producing drives in that fourth quarter that amounted to 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:15.280 two and thirty nine of their one total yards I'm sorry, 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:17.600 three one total yards in that game, So almost two 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.719 thirds of their offense came with Mullins at quarterback there. 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:22.440 And if you want to talk about garbage time, to 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:24.880 tell that to Brandon Ayuk, I mean this is a 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.400 young man too, just like justin Jefferson, the Packers saw 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:29.559 another rookie receiver. They're gonna have to be cognizant of. 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.600 Back to your original point, a lot of challenges being 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.000 thrown Green Bay's way this year that they haven't had before. 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:38.440 They worked remotely on Monday. The one thing that maybe 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:41.360 does work to their benefit is is Adrian Ames mentioned 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.760 after the game this was going to be a heavily 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.320 mental week anyway. They're not going to actually stand and 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.840 have their actual normal practice on Tuesday. Maybe they get 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:52.920 on the field on Wednesdays. The way that that met 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:55.439 La Flour kind of made it sound so this is 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.440 a very unusual week, but it's an unusual week by 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:00.840 the virtue of it also be and just a Thursday 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:03.480 night football game. You got to go through your protocols. 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:05.720 You have to be in the communication with the NFL, 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:08.320 check all the right boxes. They did get permission to 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:10.679 be in the building on Tuesday, and you would hope 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.439 with the proper protocols being followed, they'd be able to 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:15.400 get out there and get on this game on Thursday. Yeah. 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.680 What we heard from Matt Lafleur on Monday afternoon is 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:21.480 that is that everything right now is still pointing to 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:26.119 The plans are to fly to Santa Clara on Wednesday 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:28.120 late in the day and the Packers will be kicking 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:33.240 this game off on Thursday. Will be interesting to see. 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.840 Packers have had three very very key players on offense 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.839 out for multiple weeks now, talking about David bock Tr 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.920 at left tackle, Aaron Jones obviously at running back in 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:49.319 Alan Lazard. All three of those players have um return 0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:54.720 to practice on some level. Um according to Yeah, according 0:12:54.760 --> 0:13:00.640 to the injury report, Um, it's it's it's a tough 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.600 spot to be in. You'd like you'd like for David 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:07.599 Baktr and Aaron Jones and Alan Lazard to get a 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:11.240 full week of practice in before they make their return 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.040 to the field for a game. I really don't know 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.280 how Matt Lafleur is going to handle this and and 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:18.800 what the opinion of the medical staff is going to be. 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.319 But certainly you could see as the Vikings made defensive 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.960 adjustments on Sunday to what the Packers are trying to 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:29.720 do with the jet motions with Tyler Irvin and some 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:33.720 of the different things, and and that the Packers were 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:37.560 missing their key guys offensively, and that also contributed to 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.559 to the difficulties and coming from behind. It's it's easy 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:43.600 to make up for. It's easy to make up for 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:47.720 missing pieces, uh key, missing pieces like that if you 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:50.160 are if you are playing from ahead and your defense 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:51.880 is in a different spot, and just the tenor of 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.400 the game is different, which is what the Houston game 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:57.360 was like the previous week. This one wasn't like that, 0:13:57.800 --> 0:13:59.800 and the Packers missed having a couple of their big 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:02.839 offensive playmakers. Davante Adams might be the best receiver in 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:04.920 the National Football League at three time Pro Bowler. I 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.480 think he's heading towards an all Pro type season. On 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.800 Sunday became I believe it was the first time his 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:12.520 career had three touchdowns in a game, only the third 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:15.120 receiver in franchise history to have five touchdowns against the 0:14:15.120 --> 0:14:18.000 Minnesota Vikings in a season. So I'm not sitting here 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:22.400 trying to, you know, diminish what his return meant. But 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:25.440 Green Bay, because of what Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:28.360 have done and how they've improved their own games, they 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:32.000 were able to be able to navigate that absence of 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.040 Adams by doing some things with those guys as receivers, 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:39.600 some two back stuff in the backfield, though, you just 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.640 can't replicate Aaron Jones what he brings as a threat 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:47.040 as a ball carrier, his ability to motion out and 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:49.280 also now catch the balls receiver. He's made a number 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:51.920 of spectacular catches this year that I as I've even 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:54.280 asked him about. I don't think three years ago he makes. 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:58.120 He's just become a really well rounded, explosive player. And 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:00.800 while Davante Adams is the biggest up it in this offense, 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:04.560 Aaron Jones undeniablies number two. So them not having him 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:06.880 on the field I think has had an effect here. 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:10.440 Jamal Williams steady as it goes, good running back, solid, 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:12.880 but Aaron Jones this isn't just about position. He's just 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:17.400 a playmaker. So last this is such an interesting scenario 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:20.000 because he got hurt in practice. Wasn't like it happened 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:21.880 in the game. We don't know what it looked like 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.280 or how bad it was, but it really seemed to 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.240 me that that originally was going to be just to 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:28.880 hold him out, be smart against Houston, get him back. 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:31.320 I was sort of somewhat taken aback that he wasn't 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:33.960 on the practice field last week. The fact he was 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:37.040 at least limited estimated limited on Monday, that would indicate 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:39.360 he's making the positive strides there you want to make. 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.480 But Mike, this offense, it's just different when Aaron Jones 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:43.720 is on the field. And then from there you can 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:47.000 talk about Davon you know, David Batr, Kevin King was 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.640 limited as well estimated on Monday. So there's a lot 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.360 of playmakers the Packers want to get back. But Aaron 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:55.080 Jones was doing some really special things before that calf tweek, 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.480 and it's it's had an impact on the offense not 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.240 having him out there. Yeah, well we we saw, you know, 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:04.520 Davante Adams the first two possessions on Sunday against the Vikings, 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.840 he makes a handful of catches, including two touchdowns down 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.280 close in the red zone. The Vikings were having a 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.240 hard time with them. They make they make the adjustment 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.960 to try to take him out of the game and 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:19.320 Adams only makes a couple of catches in the second half, 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.200 one of the third touchdown. I still don't know how 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:26.560 he caught them. Yeah, he he wasn't. He wasn't open 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:29.240 the ball. You know, the ball somehow drops in there 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.280 and he's able to get it. Another one of those 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.280 that you wonder how much he even saw the past 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:37.120 before it got to his hands, and he makes that catch. 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:41.040 But Adams wasn't much of a factor in the second half, 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.600 and and when the Packers were getting you know, these 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:47.240 holding penalties, and you know, one series the Packers crossed, 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:50.040 the Packers are well across the fifty yard line looking 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:52.160 like they're in scoring territory. All of a sudden, two 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.720 holding penalties. You're in first and thirty from midfield. Well, 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:57.640 you know, they're on a whole lot of you know, 0:16:57.800 --> 0:16:59.640 like coaches say, they're on a whole lot of calls 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:02.320 on the A sheet for first and thirty, um, so 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:04.959 that you know, a drive stalled out there. They had 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:08.880 another one after the big passed to uh to Robert Tonyan. 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:12.919 But then suddenly two incompletes the Tyler Irvin two incompletes 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.480 the eq st Brown. You wonder, you know where was 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:18.680 Davantae Adams in that sequence while the Vikings were doing 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:20.560 their best to take him out of the game, because 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:22.920 you know Aaron Rodgers is looking for him. I mean 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.520 that that's definitely part of the equation here. So the 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:29.640 Packers need to get the offense back to full strength 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:31.920 and on the defensive side of the ball. We talk 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.320 about it all the time when it happens, but they've 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:35.960 got to figure out a way to slow down the 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.080 run game because this defense, they can get after quarterbacks, 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.399 and when you get after quarterbacks, that's how you generate turnovers. 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:46.520 Those things just did not happen against Kirk Cousins, the 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:49.960 league leader in interceptions at quarterback playing, and simply because 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.040 the Packers couldn't stop the run right. And I'm not 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:54.240 trying to bury Horowitz myself with like the pat on 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:57.119 the back or anything here, but this is what I 0:17:57.119 --> 0:17:59.200 wrote in box, and you and I discussed it last week. 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:00.960 That game was going to be one of the trenches, 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.040 even before we knew full on what the wind was 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:05.760 going to be like, just knowing that Dalvin Cook was 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:07.840 going to be back, that's where that game was going 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:10.639 to be played. In credit again to Minnesota. They achieved 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:12.679 what they needed to achieve to get that win. And 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:14.480 I think you and I would both agree the Minnesota 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:17.359 Vikings are a much different and much better football team 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:19.639 when Cook is on the field. But you've got a 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.480 rise to that challenge. I said it also an inbox 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:24.800 last week. This was the test that that run defense 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.560 needed because they had put together some solid performances in 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:30.440 the past few weeks. They didn't. They weren't able to 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:32.920 be able to grab that brass ring. That weren't able 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:35.520 to take advantage of the opportunity. And people asked us 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:37.760 time and time again, Mike, well, what's the problem. What's 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:40.600 the issue? It was everything. It was the fact that 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:42.280 the gaps were too big. It was the fact that 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:44.679 at the second level, not enough guys were making plays. 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:47.560 And Adrian name has probably had the most salient point 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:50.600 of all. You need multiple guys on a running back. 0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:53.359 You need multiple tacklers converging to the ball. The best 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:55.880 tackling teams are the ones that don't ask one guy 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:58.240 to make the tackle all the time. That's the bottom line. 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:00.520 And the other thing I'll say to sorry to interrupted, 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:02.760 but I thought it was interesting. A couple of things 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.400 that Matt Lafleur said on Monday afternoon struck me because 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:07.840 he was talking about how the issues with the run 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:09.840 defense it was a combination of a lot of things. 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:13.480 A couple of things he mentioned. One he suggested, you know, 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:15.840 guys trying to do too much, sort of trying to 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:19.160 make that hero play to stop Dalvin Cook. And when 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.680 you're not just doing your responsibility, that you know, can 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.520 throw everything off. And the other thing he said is 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:28.159 if you're tired, we got other guys who can go 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:31.760 in and play, suggesting that the Packers on D and 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.439 the defensive front, they had guys that were getting tired, 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:37.320 but they weren't subbing themselves out. They weren't going to 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.760 the depth that was available because this defense was about 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:42.960 as healthy as it had been in a long time 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:47.280 on that side of the ball. And uh and yet 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:50.320 that didn't look like a healthy, fresh defense at all 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:53.440 against Minnesota. That was the most bizarre thing. When I 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:54.959 went and looked at the box score, I was one 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:56.760 to actually count it up. It It end up being 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:59.840 ten guys played at least the defensive snaps. That is 0:19:59.880 --> 0:20:04.160 a huge number because that's including defensive lineman, that's including 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:06.760