WEBVTT - #482 Packers Unscripted: Wider focus 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:14.600 Hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:17.239 I am Mike Spofford. He is the one and only 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:20.520 Wes Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:23.400 at lambeau Field and West. I want to start today's 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.920 show picking up sort of where we left off yesterday 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:31.360 with regards to Mason Crosby, because what will go down 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:33.919 in his career as one of the more emotional, one 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.559 of the more memorable games of his career for everything 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:41.319 that went into it. In the bigger picture, turns out 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:43.320 there was a little bit more to the story. And 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:46.760 what I'm talking about is that forty seven yard field 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:49.519 goal in the snow on the slick field in the 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:53.960 second quarter, which at the time extended the Packers lead 0:00:55.080 --> 0:01:00.200 over the Giants. It was actually outside the rain that 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.440 had been communicated to the head coach for where the 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:07.560 line was, the line of scrimmage the Packers needed to 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:11.880 get to, and yet Mason Crosby gave the head coach 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:13.840 the thumbs up. He's like, all right, I got this, 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:16.679 and he went out and nailed it. Yeah, it's incredible 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:19.040 if you take away everything else we discussed and what 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.200 he was dealing with off the field. Just in terms 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:23.560 of the actual mechanics of a field goal operation. It's 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:27.640 challenge because the conditions that Crosby kicked in before the 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.840 game had changed, and they when he came home up 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:33.399 was completely different than what he was dealing Within the 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:35.520 second they had rain and I think it one of 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:37.280 the reporters tweeted out, I mean, he had made from 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:39.920 fifty three, but it was raining then in the field, 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.200 was you know clear well by the time he went 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:44.360 out there in the second quarter for this actual forty 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:48.040 seven yard that that counts. Uh. Now, he was dealing 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:50.080 with the snow on the field. It's a field, turf 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:53.320 conditions and everything else that was happening at the time 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:56.559 with the wind and whatnot, and Crosby nails it. It's 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:58.080 one of those things that when you look at thirty 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.720 one to thirteen, eighteen point difference and score, it doesn't 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.520 seem like that big of a uh you know, a play, 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:07.360 so to speak. But again, as you kind of illustrated 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:09.560 when you go back to that moment, it was a 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:12.200 pretty critical time for the Packers to get three points 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:15.639 on the board, to get some production there, and Crosby, 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:18.400 as he always has done, came through. Well. Certainly when 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.240 you look at the fact that in the third quarter 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:23.440 of the game was seventeen to thirteen, those three points 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:27.679 were crucial at that time. He had just to sort 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.640 of give everybody the details of it. What had been 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.520 communicated to Matt Lafleur was that the target line going 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.760 in that direction, with the conditions and everything, they had estimated, 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:39.560 the Packers needed to get to the twenty seven yard line, 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:42.640 which would be a forty five yard field goal. That 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:46.120 was the range the Packers had fourth down. It was 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:48.040 either fourth and eight or fourth and ten. I'm not 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.960 sure exactly, but they're on the twenty nine yard line. 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.600 They were two yards two yards out, and Matt Lafleur 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.400 said in his press conference on Monday, he said, well, 0:02:57.440 --> 0:02:59.760 I at least wanted to ask him, because if he 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:01.919 didn't feel comfortable, he wasn't going to send him out 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.799 there to try it. But he asked him, He said, hey, Mason, 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:08.560 can you get it there? And Mason gave him, gave 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:10.239 him the thumbs up, and went out there and made 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:12.560 the kick. And obviously he made all four of his 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:15.720 extra points from the thirty three yard distance. But here's 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:18.000 my question for US. I was trying to think about this. 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.520 Crosby had those two fifty plus yard field goals in 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:27.040 Dallas in the playoffs, right, he had an overtime winner 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:30.240 against San Francisco. Last year, he had a chip shot, 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:34.000 you know, last second win one against Detroit. This year, 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:36.240 he had that big forty eight yard or in the 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:39.880 NFC Championship in Seattle that got that game to overtime 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.600 after the Packers had blown the lead. He kicked a 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.760 walk off game winner in the first game of his 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:49.280 NFL career in two thousand seven. I'm trying to figure out, like, 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:52.840 where where does this forty seven yard or in the snow? 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:54.920 No it wasn't the fourth quarter. No it wasn't the 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.840 game winner. But with all of the circumstances surrounding it, 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:00.560 with his family and everything that has gone on over 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:03.600 the last several months, I'm trying to, you know, figure 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:05.400 out where where to rank this one. I think it 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:07.680 goes somewhere in the top five or six of his 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:09.960 career um. And I don't even know if he would 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:12.080 necessarily have an answer to that question, but it's an 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:15.080 interesting one for a guy with a very decorated career. Yeah, 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:16.279 I don't know if I'd put it on the Mount 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:22.120 rushmore because you look at that NFC Divisional game in Dallas, 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.719 those two those two kicks back to back, you know, 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.160 late in the fourth quarter, those were three kicks as 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:29.880 it turned out, because of the one that was the 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:32.160 time out was called. But yes, but you know, for 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:34.800 him to make it, that had huge implications for the 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.440 Packers to get to an NFC championship game. If Mason 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:40.000 Crosby the Packers make the Super Bowl in two thousand, 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:43.160 in the you know, in fifteen, whatever you wanna call it, 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.760 that would have been a high notebook item. That would 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.600 have been a sidebar. Oh my goodness, Crosby making that kick. 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:51.880 No one ever talks about it in terms of difficult 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:53.960 and he and he was five for five that day 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.000 as well. A couple of those were short ones, but 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:58.680 he had a couple of long ones that day in Seattle, 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:01.880 including the forty order right at the end to tie 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:04.760 it and three in the first half right to get 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:07.279 the sixteen and nothing. But yeah, Packers that you know, 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:08.880 they need to rely on their kicker that day, and 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.679 their kickers stepped up. Here's so many times you hear 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:14.000 a team draft a left tackle, and they always use 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:16.120 the phrase your this is a guy that can be 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:19.000 a left tackle for a decade, twelve years. You know 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:21.280 this is gonna be your franchise. You can plug them 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:23.599 in there. You're not gonna think him out again. You 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:25.960 think about, you know, going back over the years with 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:29.720 the Chad Clifton's although that was a second rounder, Brian Blaga, 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:34.160 you're set. No one ever discusses a lot what it 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:37.000 means to have a kicker who can just be put 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.039 in there for ten fifteen years and you don't have 0:05:39.080 --> 0:05:41.440 to think about it. I think you saw this here 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.120 with the New England Patriots, what they're dealing with right now. 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:48.520 Stephen Giskowski gets hurt earlier in the season, and then 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:51.640 you know they're in a position where they're recycling through 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:55.400 all these different kickers because you know, they're just aren't 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:57.880 that many guys, Mike, that can do it at that level, 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.480 that have the leg talent ability and act or see 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.520 and then on top of that, have this iron clad 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:08.120 reserve to be able to just tone everything out and 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.560 do to the job and execute it under just incredibly 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:15.040 pressure packed situations. And we're talking about guys here, Mike 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.800 that play ten snaps a game, eight snaps a game. 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:20.120 Most of their day is spent sitting on the sideline 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.280 waiting for a chance to impact the football game, positively 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:27.280 or negatively. You also, I go back to Adam Venytaria 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.480 earlier this season when he was really struggling and we 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:33.200 sort of intimated that, okay, he might just retire. He's 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.479 forty seven, whatever it is now this is maybe it 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:41.520 colts winter and said, no, we need here even despite 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:43.360 some of the things are struggling and we need you, 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.120 and he's and he's still he's still struggling. He's still 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.760 trying to battle, battle through some things and help out 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:50.680 that team that's trying to make the playoffs. But someone 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.000 mentioned an insider inbox lately like, hey, it does it? 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.080 Is it just me? Or does it seem like there's 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:58.919 more miss kicks this here? There really are. I've not 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:00.880 done the full research yet. I'm looking forward to the 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:03.279 end of the season, once all the chips are down 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.760 to really look at it compare. But at first glance, 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:11.080 there is a huge disparity between how many kickers were 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:15.640 over last year and how many are well doing underneath 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:20.239 this year. Fortunately for Green Bay, despite everything that Mason 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:22.520 has been going through this year, he's having a career 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.080 year right now. He hasn't had the most field goal attempts, 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:27.560 but to make, he hasn't had as many as he's 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:30.560 had in other years, but his percentage is certainly way up. 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:32.400 To make fourteen and fifteen is really key. And I 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:34.840 want to make this point too quickly. A lot of 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.480 people and I'm not gonna name names here, and it's 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:40.880 not just local media's nationally they're very quick to write, Hey, 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:45.600 Crosby has bounced back after an inconsistent two thousand eighteen season. 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:49.360 I take a major objection to that. He had one 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:53.000 god awful, terrible, got to forget about a game, and 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.600 he had brutal game. It was one of four, one 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:57.160 of five on field goals, and then he miss an 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:59.920 extra points extra point as well. Yeah, if you take 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:01.840 week six, and I tweeted this during the game, if 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:03.680 you go back and you go from week six on, 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:06.480 he's thirty three of thirty six and his last kicks 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:09.240 he actually managed to get his field goal percentage up 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:12.720 to when you missed that many kicks in a game. Yea, 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.680 that is not an easy thing to do. Crosby did 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.400 it thirty five years young, and he's still going at 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:20.320 it here for Greenbay. Yeah, And I tell you I've 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:23.600 said it an insider inbox. A couple of times kickers 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.520 you can rely on. And not every kicker is going 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:28.520 to make all the kicks. You get that part of it. 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:30.920 But a kicker you can rely on and have confidence 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:33.880 in is worth his weight in gold in this league. 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:37.240 Just just look at where the Carolina Panthers are right now. 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:42.200 Because Fry missed the twenty eight yard or in New Orleans, 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:44.439 they end up losing on a last second field goal 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:47.360 the other way, and then they blow a fourteen point 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.400 lead to Washington at home last week, and the Panthers 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:52.760 season is pretty much over there now. They're now five 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:55.760 and seven, having lost to the Packers, the Saints, and 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:59.280 the Redskins, all very very late in the game where 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.120 for a lot of reasons they couldn't pull things out. 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:04.439 But I just I think that twenty yard missed kick 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.000 by Fry at the super domin New Orleans just just 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.360 took all the life out of Carolina. Was was that 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:12.839 friar sly? Oh, I'm sorry, okay, I was sicking. Was 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:18.080 there another kicker that they had too, and if they did, 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.480 you're right in going into that game against Green Bay. 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:21.960 That was one of the things that I had written 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.280 in one of the preview copy and with some of 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:26.560 the things we were discussing, he was working through some 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:30.880 things there. And here's the thing, Mike, that position it is. 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.920 I don't want to like start throwing out like you know, 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.920 golf cliches and tin cup and things like that, but 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:39.880 that's okay. I like, yeah, But like the chili differ 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:42.920 references in terms of you have that first one that 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:44.560 goes wrong, you kind of laugh it off, and you 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:46.720 get the second one that goes wrong and you start 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:48.559 to look in the mirror. The thing that I love 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:50.840 about Mason Crosby and that's what it has allowed him 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.000 to stick around this long and execute as well as 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:55.400 he has because coming out of Colorado he had a 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:57.760 massive leg right that's why he was a sixth round pick. 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:02.240 But it's the mental fortitude, in disposition and mentality to 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.960 go out day after day trust your process. And he 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:06.800 talks about that a lot. It's not it's more than 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:09.800 a cliche. That's the truth. Trust your process. That's what 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:12.040 allowed him to get through two thousand twelve, which is 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:15.640 eons ago now and go on to have really successful 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:19.480 and then be in a position. Now we'll see how 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:21.360 this all shakes out. But I think you can make 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:24.760 a really good case. You know, this could be his 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.400 best case right now for a Pro Bowl type season. Yeah, 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:30.520 I would. I think is having a great year in Arizona. 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:32.440 But I mean I would, I would love. I would 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:34.360 love to see that happen for Crosby. And it cracks 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:37.040 me up when people always continue to mention two thousand 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:41.120 and twelve with him, because he's now actually kicked more 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:44.680 seasons since then than he did leading up to that, 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.520 that off year in two thousand twelve. But I totally 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.040 agree with you about last year as well, that people 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:52.560 point that as an off year. No, it was. It 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.280 was a bad game. And yeah, since then, the guy 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:56.800 has been rocks On. Yeah, I mean, if you throw, 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:58.959 I mean Brett for one of his luckiest things ever 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.480 when he threw in a set than interceptions against the Ram, 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:03.280 the Rams all those years ago in the playoffs. That 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:05.920 was six of them. Actually, yeah there, that wasn't during 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:08.040 the regular season. It didn't count, right, it doesn't. It 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:10.920 doesn't count towards the record that he holds anyway, but 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:13.480 could continue. But in terms of what his season would 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:16.280 have looked, right, Yeah, that's unfortunate thing for Mason. Doesn't 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.720 happened when it did. But if you look at it, Mike, 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.320 up until two thousand and twelve, he was escalating every 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.439 year improvement, improvement, improvement, had his best season in two 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:28.280 thousand eleven statistically struggles and twelve, and then refound found 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:31.000 himself came out better for it. On the other side. Yeah, 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:36.640 absolutely well. I mentioned Carolina losing to Washington this past week, 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.360 and we will talk a lot more about Washington on 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:44.079 tomorrow show as we start to preview Sunday's game at 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:47.360 lambeau Field. But we do need to, as I promised 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:49.520 on yesterday show, we would get to where things sit 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:52.240 in the NFC as far as the whole playoff picture. 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:55.959 Coming off of Monday Night football, the Seattle Seahawks beat 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.880 the Minnesota Vikings whale of a football game, um May 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.240 in game really very entertaining. Seattle gets the win. Seattle 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.880 improves to ten into the Vikings fall to eight and four, 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:10.800 so the Packers are back to their one game lead 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:16.080 over Minnesota in the NFC North. A few consequences to 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.960 this as far as um the Packers and and the 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:22.840 picture are concerned. As far as the big picture goes, 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:28.760 Seattle now technically is leading the NFC West. They're tied 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:30.880 with San Francisco at ten and two, but they beat 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.600 them in the one head to head game to this point, 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:37.600 which actually, if you do that whole if the season 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.040 ended today, which I always think it's kind of silly 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:44.040 because it doesn't. But for the purposes of discussion, the 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.000 ten and two forty Niners are actually the five seed 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:50.000 because they would be a wild card at this stage 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:52.880 of things. And the other thing that this result does 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:55.120 for the Packers, not that you want to think of 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:57.360 it in this terms, because you're shooting for the moon. 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:00.000 You're going you're trying to get get into the playoffs, 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.719 get the best seed you can. But the Packers can 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:08.040 actually win the NFC North without having to beat Minnesota again. 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:12.680 If the Packers beat Washington, Chicago and Detroit, they will 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:16.120 be NFC North champs. The Packers are at the stage 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:19.240 now where if they get to twelve wins, whether it's 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:21.600 by winning the other three or whether it's by beating 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.680 Minnesota along the way. However, the Packers get to twelve wins. 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.800 Twelve wins wins the NFC North for green Bay right 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:32.440 now because of the tiebreakers. Yeah, and here's I'm not 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.200 trying to actually just regurgitate the win, you know, want 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:38.920 to know, let's focus on this week mentality. But the 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.120 reason I say that is because the Packers did what 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.360 they were supposed to do against the Giants, they need 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:46.880 to replicate that again now against Washington. Absolutely that has 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.880 to happen. But that Bears game is looking a lot 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.280 different now with the way that they're starting to pull 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.960 themselves together. If you get a Keen Hicks back for 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:58.080 that game, that is a big, big boost for their defense, 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.040 and then you're gonna have a test are going into Minnesota. 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:02.880 But the reason I want to bring that up is 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:06.120 I like the way this aligns for green Bay. You 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:08.080 get a chance here against the Giants, and if you 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.480 take care of business against Washington to get yourselves on 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.280 a winning streak to start feeling good about yourself, then 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:15.640 you're gonna have a step up in competition, as it 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:18.520 looks like on paper right now with Chicago, and then 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.560 you're gonna go another step versus Minnesota. And then you 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:23.760 see where the chips are and then go into Detroit, 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:26.640 hopefully in a situation where you can either tie some 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:30.320 things up or if everything else works out, okay, maybe 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.120 you're looking to kind of do a mini run the 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:35.320 table here going into the playoffs. Whatever the case may be, 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:40.800 Minnesota still is incredibly dangerous. Now. The thing that stood 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:42.800 out to me in this game, other than just a 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:46.320 jackal and hide first half and second half performance. For 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.640 whatever reason, and I don't know if it's the offensive line, 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:51.080 I don't know exactly what the construct is. They are 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.800 having a difficult time getting the run game going in 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.600 these last three two or three games. So much attention 0:14:57.680 --> 0:14:59.760 is put on Kirk Cousins and they are going to 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:04.440 beat that storyline to deaths Monday night thing. We're gonna 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.840 be hearing about that all the way leading up to 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.280 that December twenty three game at US Bank Stadium. And yeah, 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:13.320 I mean, Kirk Cousins got to get tired of that. 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.880 And here's the thing. He needs to play better. No question, 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:19.720 there were mistakes made down the stretch, but if Minnesota 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:21.960 can't get Dalvin Cook going here and we got to 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:23.640 see what the status is with his injury and this 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:27.280 clavical and everything that's going on. You can only put 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:29.480 so much of this on cousin shoulders. I've been trying 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:31.200 to say all year long, and I know there's a 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:33.520 lot of Vikings fans that watch the show, but I've 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.440 been trying to say all year long, Kirk Cousins is 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.960 a good, great quarterback in this league. Much like the 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.360 kicker conversation. There aren't a whole lot of guys on 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:46.040 the level of Kirk Cousins, but he has flaws. N 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:49.360 nine per of the quarterbacks in this league at any 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:53.920 given time have flaws, and the problem for Minnesota is 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.600 when they lose when he struggles, they just don't have 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.240 the people picking them up. I thought in the first half, 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:00.960 you saw that. I thought when they got the forced 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.320 fumble and returned for a touchdown, I think it was 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.920 a fumble, right, would you call that it was an interception? 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.160 The ball was deflected a couple It was deflected a 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:12.200 couple of times, but then it was picked off before 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:14.520 it hit the ground. Yeah, that's where the turning point 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:16.960 was for me in that game. I thought, Okay, Minnesota, 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:18.920 this is what they need, and then they come out 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:21.720 flat in the second half. Seattle is dangerous, and they 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:25.200 challenged Russell Wilson to throw from the pocket. He accepted 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:27.280 that challenge and did a lot of damage during those 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.840 last thirty minutes. Yeah, I took two things out of 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:34.280 that Minnesota Seattle game. One is that I think both 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:37.160 of those teams who will be playing in January, and 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.520 both of them will be very tough outs in January, 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:44.880 no question about it. The other thing is that I don't, yes, 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:49.120 it has it has major impact in the standings, the seatings, 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:50.880 the records and all that kind of stuff. The fact 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:53.840 that Seattle won the game, I don't put a whole 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.600 lot into Okay, Seattle one and they're just better than 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.200 Minnesota because for a couple of reasons. One, it was 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:02.640 a primetime game on the road for the Vikings, which 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:05.240 just asked the New England Patriots going down to Houston, 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:07.840 primetime games on the road, asked the Packers going to 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.560 San Francisco. Those are the toughest games in this league 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:12.840 to win when you have to be on the road 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.879 at night. But the other thing I'll say is just 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.200 look at the way that game went west. That game 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:22.320 was completely dictated by the turnovers. Minnesota gets the pick six, 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:25.320 They're in control of the game. The second half, Dalvin 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.600 Cook fumbles, Cousins throws a pick, Seattle gets all the 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.240 momentum and starts going the other way, and Seattle's on 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:34.080 the verge of putting that game away, and DK Metcalf 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:36.520 fumbles and all of a sudden, Minnesota then starts to 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:39.040 rally and ends up with a shot at the bit 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.879 at the comeback at the end that that game was. 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:47.040 That game just screamed how huge turnovers are in the 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:49.399 NFL and how they affect games, because it was just 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.160 going back and forth that way. And that's the one 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:53.960 thing I will say about the Packers. And you talk 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:56.560 about flaws, I know the Packers have their flaws. They 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:59.320 have their flaws on both sides of the ball. But 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:01.960 the thing that they have done so well this year 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:05.960 is offensively they have they have protected the football and 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:08.840 defensively they have taken it away. And that is a 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.480 way that you can win any game you have to 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:16.000 play in this league. And that's what the Packers are 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:17.919 going to take with them into the stretch run and 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:21.680 hopefully into January into the postseason, is that they are 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:24.280 a team that way more often than not, wins the 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:27.600 turnover battle, and uh and you know that's that, that's 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.399 why this is that this is the greatest anything can 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:32.920 happen league. Yeah, it is, Mike. And the thing that 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:36.520 I think sometimes fans get blindsided by. And I don't 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:38.760 understand why, because it's been two years since the Packers 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:43.960 have really played winning football. You are nine and three 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.920 right now. You are a good team with flaws. There's 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.240 a huge difference right now and this thing being a 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:51.520 great team with some flaws as opposed to being a 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:55.760 bad football team. There are bad football teams on every 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:59.280 channel every Sunday. You have to be thankful for where 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:01.320 you're at in the way this is Mike. If you 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:04.040 line up, if you take away all the team names, Okay, 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.159 I'm gonna put them all up on your whiteboard. You 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:07.679 take away all the team names, you put down the 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:10.000 last five four or five games here on the schedule 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:12.720 for all those teams which schedule are you taking In 0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:14.639 a lot of cases, you're taking Green Bays. When you 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:16.639 look at what New Orleans is dealing with, when you 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:18.679 look at what Seattle has coming up, and when you 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:20.920 look at San Francisco, and then by the way, you 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.439 got the Rams trying to factor into all this as well, 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:26.159 and they can, and they kept themselves very much in 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:28.840 the thick of things with a win over Arizona and 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:31.359 the fact that Minnesota lost. The Rams are not only 0:19:31.400 --> 0:19:34.560 one game behind the Vikings and and two games behind 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:37.359 the Packers at seven and five. They're lingering. They have 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:40.000 they have a tough schedule, but they are the defending 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:42.600