WEBVTT - #470 Packers Unscripted: Areas of emphasis 0:00:01.160 --> 0:00:20.479 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:23.239 I am Mike Spofford. He is the one and only 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:26.280 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:29.000 at lambeau Field, West. It is Friday, our final show 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:34.200 of the week prior to Packers Panthers PM Central Time 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.920 kickoff on Sunday at lambeau Field, and as usual, we 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.000 will wrap up the week with our Keys to Victory. 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:43.839 Packers are seven and two, looking to go to eight 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:46.200 and two and stay in first place in the NFC North. 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:51.880 What's it gonna take? Christian McCaffrey, You stopped him, That's all. 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:54.360 That's all it takes, right there, right there. We'll see 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:57.400 you next week, Packers on Scripted. No, I mean it 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.120 is West wants to get to the bye everybody. No, 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.680 I mean you're right, I mean Christian McCaffrey. It's funny 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:04.400 because you and I could sit in here and we 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.040 talked about Zeke Elliott. We've talked about a number of 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:10.080 these running backs. Certainly Dalvin Cook is really climbing the 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:12.119 charts here at that position as well. In the Packers 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:16.679 see him twice a year. Josh Jacobs, Josh Jacobs, But 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:21.000 I don't know. I can't think of anyone that jumps 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:23.360 off the top of my head. Maybe Lashawn McCoy is prime, 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:24.960 but even then, he didn't run the ball the way 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:28.360 Christian McCaffrey runs the ball. This guy is the biggest 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.600 threat I think the league has seen from an all 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:32.800 around component. I think you and I were discussing it. 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:34.240 I mean, in some ways, it sort of reminds you 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.280 of a Marshall Folk type run that he's been on. 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.240 And you know, I think he's a guy that when 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:40.920 it's all said and done, he could very easily have 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.840 a thousand yard rushing season, thousand yard receiving season. I mean, 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:46.840 that's the type of talent he has, and that's where 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:49.600 I think you see his game elevated towards. So for 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.240 the Green Bay Packers, what does this all mean? You know, 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:54.400 Mike Petton I thought was really good when he was 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.520 standing at the podium on Thursday evening discussing this, and 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:59.000 he said, you know, you can't go with just a 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.080 linebacker on him. If you do, you better have help. 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:04.280 You can't necessarily just go with a defensive back on him. 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:06.400 You need to have a plan, and you need to 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:09.400 stay true to that plan. There's a lot that that 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:12.120 we have to figure out that we won't know until 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:15.320 way after the show is posted to Packers dot com. 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:18.240 What's the status of Adrian Amos? What is this defense 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.240 configuration gonna look like? But no matter who it is, 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:23.520 the eleven players who are on the field have to 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:28.560 be accountable, gap sound fundamental. They need to tackle because 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.720 if you don't and Christian McCaffrey gets two feet in 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.400 front of him, he's going to be threatening your end zone. Yeah. 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:38.080 I mean, this is the guy that Carolina's season, for 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:40.640 the most part, has revolved around this one player. And 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:42.919 I'll stick with the running back theme in the sense 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.800 we were We've been talking all week about the Packers 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:49.919 getting back to generating their offense through Aaron Jones and 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.480 Jamal Williams, and so when you look at the running 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:57.480 backs involved here, the Packers with their duo, the Panthers 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:59.600 with McCaffrey, it's funny. I looked at the stats. I 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:01.440 didn't really less this till I actually looked at him. 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.840 McCaffrey has like a hundred and sixty five carries on 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:07.560 the season, and the next most carries of anybody on 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:11.800 that team is eleven. He he is the workhorse, and 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:14.680 that hundred and sixty five carries doesn't even include his 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.120 touches when he's catching passes out of the backfield. But 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.359 back to my point with regard to comparing the running 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:24.280 backs here, I'll say this, it would be a tall order, 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:26.720 I think, because Christian McCaffrey is going to get his 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:29.840 as they say, it would be a tall order for 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:34.440 Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams to surpass the production of 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:36.560 what McCaffrey is going to do in this game. If 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:40.080 the Packers duo can do that, I think the Packers 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:45.400 win this game hands down. But as long as the 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:51.640 Jones and Williams production is somewhat comparable to Christian McCaffrey, 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:53.520 I think the Packers can win this game because I 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.840 like the Packers that the other skill positions, and with 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:59.760 Aaron Rodgers at quarterback versus Kyle Allen, I think the 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.600 because I have a lot of advantages elsewhere. But if 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:06.240 Christian McCaffrey has a hundred and sixty five total yards 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:08.760 and a couple of touchdowns and Jones and Williams only 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.640 combined for you know, say seventy five or eighty yards 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:13.920 and there's this big disparity in the production of the 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:15.800 running backs. I think the Packers will have a hard 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.359 time winning this game. Yeah, and you're a big fantasy 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:23.480 football guy, No, Mike, multiple time champion. When you when 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:26.720 you have your matchup in your single play league, um, 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:28.799 you look at it. Okay, you might have Zeke Elliott, 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:31.960 your your opponent might have Christian McCaffrey. If Zeke Elliott 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:35.640 gets you twenty points, it can offset Christian McCaffrey having 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:38.400 That's just the way that this thing works, and I 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:40.800 think there are some parallels to how this NFL game 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.440 has played. The thing I like about Aaron Jones though, 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:45.039 is he's been up for a challenge. You know, you 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.760 go back to last month going into Dallas, the question 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.839 all week long was can you match Zeke Elliott, you know, 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:53.880 yard for yard, touchdown for touchdown. He had already done 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:56.160 that the previous year. Everybody just seemed to forget about it. 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:58.760 And then by the way, he did it again when 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:00.720 he got to a T and T stage him. Now, 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:03.560 I'm not saying that I'm guaranteeing that he's gonna outrush 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:07.200 Christian McCaffrey out. You know, yardage Christian McCaffrey. But if 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:11.040 you're within that realm, if you're within that that atmosphere 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:13.960 of of what he's doing, that's gonna mean good things 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.400 for the Packers offense. And I go back to last 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:17.960 week and you and I were shooting final thoughts a 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:20.640 few moments moments ago, and we were discussing this. I 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:24.640 didn't even realize that besides that first catch that Aaron 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:26.880 Jones had against the Charges, he didn't get another one 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:28.520 in that game, that one that end up going for 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:31.680 negative one yards off of the motion. You need to 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:33.240 find ways to get on the ball mat. The floor 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.560 has talked about it, Aaron Rodgers has talked about it. 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:38.160 If you go into a game and Aaron Jones only 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.720 has nine touches, it's not going to turn out very 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:42.240 well for your offense. It's not going to mean very 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:45.640 good balance, especially when you don't have Jamal Williams going 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:48.680 in that you know equation either. So both of those 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:50.839 running backs, I mean, yeah, Christian McCaffrey's the bell cow, 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:54.160 he's the workhorse. He does everything to make that offense 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:57.640 move for Carolina. Packers have two running backs though, and 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:01.040 then you factor in Davante Adams. All the same discussion 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:03.279 you and I had last week going into the Charges games, 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.360 it's still pertinent today. You need to get those weapons 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:10.760 going well. When you look at the statistics. A week ago, 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.880 Aaron Jones was leading the NFL and touchdowns with eleven. 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:17.120 The Packers go to Los Angeles, Aaron Jones does not 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:21.120 get a touchdown. Christian McCaffrey scores three touchdowns against the 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:24.720 Tennessee Titans. Now he leads the NFL and touchdowns with thirteen. 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:26.760 So there's been a little bit of a back and 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:28.880 forth going on here. So that's another thing to keep 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:31.120 an eye on. But I think if we were to 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:34.640 point to one other thing aside from the running backs, 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:37.080 that maybe the key to this game, At least in 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:41.240 my mind, it's the past protection for both teams, because 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:45.680 we've seen with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. There was 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:48.960 the stretch there of six games from Week two to 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:52.600 Week seven. Aaron Rodgers was sacked only seven times over 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:54.479 the course of six games, and he was throwing the 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:58.400 ball plenty. But there have been some leaks now the 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:02.159 last couple of weeks, and the protection hasn't quite been there. 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:04.360 Some of the sacks. I believe Rogers has been sacked 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.599 eight times in the last two games, and he's the 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:08.960 first to admit some of those are on him. He 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:10.840 held the ball too long a couple of those. He 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.840 was frustrated that he couldn't get away from the pressure. 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.240 But he's been feeling more pressure the last couple of weeks, 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:19.760 and the Packers need to get back to where they 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:22.240 were a few weeks ago in that realm. And as 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:26.360 you've talked about with Kyle Allen, this is a young, 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.320 twenty three year old quarterback. He went his first four 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:33.440 starts this season without throwing an interception. Now he's thrown 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:36.360 four interceptions in his last two games. Some of that 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:39.480 is due to pressure, you know, getting to enforcing a 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.640 young quarterback to make mistakes. And that's what Mike Petton 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:45.880 and this Packers defense needs to do. Provided there at 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:49.360 least containing McCaffrey and not letting him completely control the 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:52.480 ball game. Yeah, because if you do, that's where I 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:54.600 think Kyle Allen can get into a rhythm. That's where 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:58.040 this passing game gets going, because then suddenly you're selling 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:00.720 out to stop Christian McCaffrey. And as I'm mentioned earlier, 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:02.920 when we were previewing the Panthers, they still have weapons 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:04.960 who can hurt you, and guys you know when you 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.040 look at Greg Olsen that can move the chains on you. 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:09.080 So that's why it has to be such a huge 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:11.960 emphasis for green Bay going into this one. But at 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:14.200 the same time, I mean, I look at this matchup 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.800 as Kyle Allen has done some great things this year, 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:22.120 especially early on, look phenomenal considering what I think a 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:25.560 lot of people's expectations were after Cam Newton went down, 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:27.200 and they're sitting at Owen too, and you wonder if 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:29.320 this season is just gonna spiral. Last year didn't go 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:32.520 according to plan, what's going to happen this year? Well, 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.200 what happened was Kyle Allen realized the resource he had 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:38.240 in McCaffrey and they built the offense around that. The 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:43.079 one team that's been you know, exceedingly successful in being 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.199 able to throw him off his game West San Francisco, 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:47.960 and they turned the ball over, they pressured him, and 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.679 I just feel like for green Bay last week it 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.800 did not go according to plan against Philip Rivers. And 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:55.760 the thing about Philip Rivers and the thing about Drew 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:57.960 Brees is those guys are gonna hurt you regardless if 0:08:57.960 --> 0:08:59.920 you get pressure because of just how quickly they get 0:08:59.920 --> 0:09:03.040 the ball out. You can't allow a guy like Alan 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:04.960 to get into that kind of rhythm in this game. 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:07.560 That's why someone asked us an insider inbox this week, 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:10.000 the Packers win the coin toss, what do you do? 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:13.000 I defer. I want my defense on the field. I 0:09:13.000 --> 0:09:14.960 want them to get that first crack and Allen, I 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:17.240 want them to get some energy if they can get 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:19.920 an early stop, you know, maybe not allow McCaffrey to 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.000 get that first first down. You do that, you start 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:25.080 to feel good about yourselves. Then it starts to go 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:28.040 back down to the reality of the situation in that 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:31.760 Kyle Allen, you know, kind of came in through humble 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.560 beginnings here in the NFL. He's still only twenty three. 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:37.000 You need him to play like a twenty three year 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:38.679 old quarterback. And the best way to do that is 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:41.760 Zadarius Smith, Preston Smith, those type of guys with the 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:45.520 back of their minds constantly thinking about Christian McCaffrey, but 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:47.880 also making sure that they can't hurt you with that 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.520 pass game either. Well, what are your thoughts here, Wes 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.360 with regard to the weather for this game on Sunday, 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:58.000 because the forecast at this point is high on Sunday 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:01.480 is load a mid thirties. The low on Sunday night 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.840 will be twenty degrees. And with a three kickoff, and 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.839 with the clocks changing a week ago, we're looking at 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:10.360 you get towards the end of the second quarter, it's 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:12.720 dark outside. This will be this will essentially be a 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:16.080 night game for the last two and a half quarters 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:18.200 of the game, so the temperature is going to be 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:20.920 in the twenties. I haven't looked through all of Kyle 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:24.240 Allen's background, but I would imagine he hasn't played I mean, 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:28.000 having played in college at Houston and now in Carolina 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:31.600 as a as a rookie. He's from Scottsdale, Arizona. That 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:33.960 was the part I didn't know is exactly where he's from. 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:37.480 I don't think cold weather football is something that he 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.720 has played before. And I'm really interested to see how 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:42.640 this plays out with him. Obviously they are going to 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.480 run their offense through McCaffrey here, but you know how 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:49.920 it is west when when it gets cold, that ball 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:53.040 is harder for quarterbacks to hang onto. It's more difficult 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:57.800 to to be completely pinpoint accurate on your passes. If 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:01.240 this truly is Kyle Allen's first cold other game, it's 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.199 something the Packers need to take advantage of. Absolutely. I 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:06.080 mean the way I look at this is, I mean, 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.320 Kyle Allen's played well enough that I expect him to 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:11.320 be mature enough to be able to handle that. But 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:12.920 I think I always think of it this way, like 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.040 you're you're you've been writing stories now for what twenty years? 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:18.480 Twenty five years a professional career. Now that's a little 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:20.600 bit longer than Kyle Allen has been playing quarterback. But 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.680 you know, if if I throw a wind tunnel in 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.280 front of you, it's not gonna be fun, but you 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.120 should still be able to write a story. If I 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:29.800 put a giant bass next to you, it's going to 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:31.880 be annoying, but you should still be able to write 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.000 your story. That's what this is like a lot the 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:35.880 way I look at it for quarterbacks. Yeah, it's cold 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:37.959 that you've been playing football your entire life. Deal with 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:40.080 it now. The one area where I think the Packers 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.920 have a decided advantage there is what Aaron Jones was 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.000 talking about this week, the fact that they have been 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:47.720 out on the practice field at Nichki Field, you know, 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:50.240 doing their team periods in the cold, getting used to 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:54.000 that again. Traymont Smith catching kickoffs and punts out in 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:57.480 the cold. Aaron Jones, who's from El Paso, who when 0:11:57.480 --> 0:11:58.760 I was talking to him this week, he said, I 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:00.920 mean until he basically got to NFL, he never played 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:04.200 any cold weather games. He said. You never get used 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:06.360 to it, but you learn how to adapt to it, 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.240 you learn how to play in it. And for that reason, 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:12.200 that's why this is so beneficial for Green Bay this week, 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:15.400 this time of the year, everybody in December expects, Okay, 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:17.199 you're gonna play cold weather football, is just the way 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:19.319 it is. There's enough teams in the North and the 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:20.800 East said it's something you're gonna have to deal with. 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:23.080 But to have a game like this in November, Mike, 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:25.400 I remember a few years ago against Indianapolis Colts, it's 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:29.560 like seventy degrees at Lambeau. Basically this week of the 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:33.120 season are roughly right around, so nobody's anticipating, much like Maha, 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.880 nobody's anticipating that this is gonna be a game that's 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:39.400 gonna be seven degrees. But when they did flex it 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.320 back a little bit, and it does get dark out 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.160 this close to the daylight savings time. These are all 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:46.240 the factors that come into play, and I, for one, 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:47.840 am I going to be very interested to see how 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.800 Kyle Allen adapts is Did you hear the quotes if 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.240 I heard them correctly? There were some comments from Ron 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:56.120 Rivera coming out of Carolina that he didn't actually believe 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.400 the Packers were practicing outside. He told Yea, he told 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.599 the media down there, let's let's be clear, they're practicing indoors. 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:05.840 And yes, all of the photos from the media and 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.480 everything are indoors because the packers did have done their 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.559 initial the initial parts of the workouts have been in 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:13.560 the Hudson Center, but then for all of the eleven 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:17.160 on eleven on Wednesday and Thursday, they go outside onto 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:20.079 the the heated portion of the field where the snow 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.080 is gone and it's cleared off and and they're dealing 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:26.040 with the elements in the actual scrimmage eleven on eleven 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.720 portions of practice. It didn't sound like Rivera even believed 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.840 that the packers were actually doing it, weren't stretching outside 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.439 or anything like that. But I don't Yeah. I mean, well, 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:36.560 it's just it's just interesting to me when I heard 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.200 when I heard those comments. If I heard them correctly, 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:42.000 I will I will qualify. Yeah, and I haven't seen them, 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.640 but let's say that is true. Because you're an upstanding citizen, 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:47.520 I assume that they are. Uh one. If you saw 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:49.520 him Matt Lafleur and he went to the podium after 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.160 practice on Thursday, they weren't practicing outside. He was just 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:56.200 sitting in a freezer for two hours into Evan Siegel 0:13:56.240 --> 0:14:00.199 are very trusted colleague and photographer. He has foe those 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:03.040 of them outside at practice. So be that as it may. 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:05.520 I just think when you look at there's a lot 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:07.160 of first year players are getting used to this, but 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:09.160 there's a lot of veteran players too on this team 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.400 that have dealt with this. Sadarius Smith dealt with it 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:14.000 in summer gard in Baltimore. You have a guy like 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:17.000 Adrian Amos, despite the hamstring injury right now, he played 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.840 in it for four years at at Chicago. He dealt 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.440 with it at Penn State. So like, there are guys 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:24.680 that I think are ready for this and understand what 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.600 this is gonna be. I'm mostly curious to see all 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:29.800 the side stuff. You know, how you know in the 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:31.760 special teams, how does that affect things? You know, if 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:36.040 Mason Crosby, does that give him an advantage? And seeing 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:38.640 how these teams react to this once you get into 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:40.720 that second half and it really starts to get cold. 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:43.080 I never tried to make too much out of weather storylines, 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:46.000 but just given the unique timing of this matchup, it 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.560 is very interesting. Now you know, this is something that's 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.200 coming into play this early well, and neither one of 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:54.160 these teams has done much in the return game kickoff 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:57.640 returns or pump returns, really and you wonder, especially on kickoffs, 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:00.000 it's gonna be a lot harder to sail that ball 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:01.680 all the way through the end zone. I think there 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.720 will be opportunities for both teams to try to get 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.000 something done in the kickoff return games. So you wonder 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:10.920 if one of these special teams units provides a spark 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.760 in that way, because neither one of these return games 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:17.600 for the Panthers or the Packers have been very impactful 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:19.440 this year at all. No, they haven't been. And I 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:21.680 think you obviously Caroline has done the right thing over 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:22.960 the course of years. You don't want to be using 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.920 Christian McCaffrey in that way, but they've been trying to 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:27.560 find someone there. I think d J. Moore has been 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:30.480 handling it at times this season, but he's also kind 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.480 of done a breakthrough player for them on offense. So 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:34.800 those things are really going to be interesting to watch, 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:37.320 you know. I brought up the Crosby example because you know, 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:39.360 Joey Slide really hasn't been late in the world on 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:41.880 fire right now for the Panthers had another miskick last 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.080 week fifteen and twenty one on the season, twenty twenty 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.960 two on extra points. So he's from Virginia. I I 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:50.040 don't know what his experience isn't play in the cold, 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:51.640 but like, those are the things that are interesting to 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:55.400 me because while they're very small, how many times mike 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:57.200 over the course of years and it's affected the Packers 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.680 in a negative way too. Have you seen a game 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.680 in no Member in December be decided by a miss 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:06.720 you know, extra point, a missle, you know, punt, a 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:09.720 return that ends up being you know, uh, either muffed 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.520 or whatnot. So those are the areas in Sean Menega 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:13.880 talked a lot about this week and some of the 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:16.960 emphasis that they're putting on it, trying to get more production, 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.120 whether it is the return game, whether it's their blockers, 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:21.960 whether it is punts. I mean, Packers special teams want 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:24.440 to play better and this is one area with this 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:26.320 type of work that they got this week that they 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.760 could potentially do that. Yeah. Well, let's take a quick 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:31.800 look around before we go at what else is going 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.840 on in Week ten in the NFL. In the NFC North, 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:39.240 some significant matchups here. The Lions and the Bears are 0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:41.880 facing each other for the first time. This one is 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.720 in Chicago before they have the rematch later this month 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:49.160 on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit, and this is really the 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:51.480 right now for Lions and Bears. It's the battle to 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:53.720 avoid the seller. One of these teams looking for their 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.320 fourth victory to stay in third place, the loser will 0:16:57.360 --> 0:17:00.440 be in last place after ten weeks of the season. 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.120 And then the other one that I'm sure all Packers 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:06.520 fans will be watching once Green Bay and Carolina wrap up. 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:13.280 Sunday Night Football Minnesota down in Dallas. Vikings at Cowboys 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:15.680 are really interesting one, not only for the NFC North, 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:17.959 but also with what's going on in the NFC East 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:21.840 and the NFC playoff picture as a whole. Yeah, it's 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:24.840 a fascinating week just starting off with the Bears and 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:28.480 lines really quickly. Really, no outcome is negative for Green Bay. 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.480 They could one team could win, they could tie. Everything 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:34.080 is you know, kind of beneficial in that regard. The 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:37.600 Cowboys matchups fascinating from the standpoint of you know, Dallas 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:41.040 looked good early on, fell into a lull, and then 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:42.720 here they are right back in the thick of things 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.600 again in Minnesota in some ways probably a little bit 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:47.280 more on the positive end of the spectrum, but has 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:50.760 sort of mirrord mirrored what Dallas has done, so seeing 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.080 you know, what they could potentially do in that environment 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.040 and if they can pick themselves up after the Kansas 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:58.800 City lost the game. That I'm probably more than any though, 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.879 just from a standpoint of, uh, you know, intrigue for 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:06.800 me is l a going to Pittsburgh because for a 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:10.320 couple different standpoints here. One, the Rams are in a 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.280 division right now where they have to keep up in 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.000 that wild card race. With the way that San Francisco 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:17.960 is just running away with the West right now in 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:21.160 outpacing Seattle for the front of that division right now, 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:23.760 they need to get this win the Rams do against 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:25.919 the Steelers. But the thing that's interesting about the Steelers, Mike, 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:27.879 I don't even know if you realize this, for as 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:29.800 much as we made out of you know, the issues 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.119 with while you start off going back to Antonio Brown 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:35.000 and then they lose Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph has a 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.720 terrible you know, you know, hit their second in the 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:42.080 league right now and turnover margin only to New England. 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:44.600 And that's the reason they're four and four right now. 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:46.520 So you gotta give Mike Tomlin a lot of credit. 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.240 And if you're the Green Bay Packers, you are cheering 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:51.119 all the way for the Steelers in this matchup because 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:54.240 for the Rams to be potentially sitting at five and 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:57.880 four after the year that they had, uh we talked 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.280 all the time about being seven and two and or one, 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:02.199 and these type of records, what they do for you 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:04.119 over the course of the season, how that separates you 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:06.960 in the second half of the year. That's why, because 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:09.040