WEBVTT - #352 Packers Unscripted: Keys to victory 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:20.560 Hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:24.799 I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz. 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:27.520 Were coming to you here from our studios at lambeau 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:32.840 Field and West. It's almost time Packers Patriots Sunday Night football, 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:38.360 Brady Rogers, Foxborough, Gillette Stadium, big one for both teams. 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:40.479 And uh, it's our last show of the week and 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.560 that means Keys to victory. So do we just start 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:47.480 with which number twelve plays better or and then turn 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:50.800 the cameras offers there more to talk about. It was 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:53.200 funny because I mentioned this in our Final Thoughts video 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:56.200 to Jamal Williams was asked in the locker room on 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:59.840 Wednesday about, you know, trying to come out on top 0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:01.279 of this and what it means to be a part 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:03.960 of the you know, the Brady versus Rogers game. How 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:08.240 infrequently this has happened in NFL history, and Williams said, 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:10.000 I just love the answer. He said, you know, my 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:11.800 job is to make sure the green twelve beats the 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.840 Blue twelve. That's his only focus going into this thing. 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:18.640 But certainly you think of all the Markey matchups, right 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:23.959 We love icons, we love celebrity athletes. We love being 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:26.840 able to watch something on television or be a part 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.640 of something that even if you don't have an affiliation 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:31.480 to the rivalry, if even if you're not a Packers 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:33.920 fan or a Patriots fan, you want to watch Aaron 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.600 Rodgers and Tom Brady play football and against each other 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:40.960 in that's setting Sunday Night football. It doesn't get any 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.920 better than that. So, yeah, from looking at a much 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:47.520 needed victory standpoint, though, Packers need Aaron Rodgers to be 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:49.200 on his a game, They need this offense to be 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:51.680 moving the football because you know, on the other side 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:53.880 of things, while Mike Patton does have a history against 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:56.720 Bill Belichick, there's only so much you can do to 0:01:56.800 --> 0:01:58.920 some extent with what Brady is able to accomplish and 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:00.680 what James White has been doing in this season. So 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:03.000 you gotta get your points, you gotta get your production. 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:05.480 You have to consistently move to football, and you need 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:07.480 to finally get out of there with a road victory. Yeah, 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.760 the Packers definitely need a road victory. Oh and three 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.320 on the road so far this year, and uh, you know, 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:17.880 some ugly performances. Frankly in Washington Detroit Packers best performance 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:20.200 of the season, whole more road for my money in 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:23.000 Los Angeles last week just came up a little bit 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:26.239 short it. They need to repeat it West, They need 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:28.440 they need to play like that again. You need to 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:31.680 prove that how you played in Los Angeles last week 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:35.560 is a better reflection of who you are than what 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:37.639 went on the first six games and all the up 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:40.600 and down and the roller coaster in the inconsistent play 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:42.920 prior to the bye week. This is a This is 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.760 a huge opportunity for the Packers. Obviously a win would 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:48.880 get them back above five, but more so it's about 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.640 continuing and building on what you did last week because 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.800 they established a level of play that we hadn't seen 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.640 for a four quarter game. My point was, I said 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.880 this during the Packers pregame radio appearance that I did. 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:04.080 I thought you need to go one and one in 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:06.000 this stretch. I thought, you need to steal one of 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:08.600 these games. Whatever you know term you want to use, 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.680 Packers came close last week. But I gotta be honest 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:13.280 with you, Mike. I think if the Packers can go 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:16.040 into Gilette Stadium and get a victory over Tom Brady, 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.200 Bill Belichick and what I think a lot of people 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:19.960 are considering to be the front runner in the a 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:24.040 f C right now for potential Super Bowl birth and 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.840 still have that performance in your back pocket against the Rams, 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.720 while disappointing, I think that gives you a huge jolt 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:32.840 of the momentum now into the second half, into this 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.480 third quarter of the season. Because the thing is, Mike, 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:38.040 is that you do get the Miami Dolphins at home 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.400 after this, and yeah, you're going on the road, you're 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:43.760 playing in Century Link on short rest against Seattle, but 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:46.000 you know, the Seahawks have been up and down to 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:50.040 the real big gauntlet that the teeth of this stretch 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:53.880 that they're in was the Rams and the Patriots. You 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.320 can go into the reasons why, I think everybody at 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:58.680 home knows. They don't need us to say it. But 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:00.800 if you're able to be able to pick out a 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.080 victory here, if you're able to knock off the Patriots 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:05.920 who are writing a five game winning streak into this matchup, 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:09.680 it changes the narrative very quickly. Yeah, and let's let's 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.240 be honest, it's been a bit of a tumultuous week 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:16.440 around here. At a really really tough loss in Los Angeles, 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:20.000 a lot of turmoil obviously over how it ended. The 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.599 trading deadline comes on Tuesday, and to establish veterans on 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:27.160 this team are shipped out for a number of different reasons. 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.320 If you can come out of Gillette Stadium with a 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.680 big victory over Tom Brady and the Patriots, all of 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:37.280 the tumult, if you want to call it, that just 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.159 gets shoved that much farther into the review mirror and 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:43.720 that much more quickly, and you're moving on with where 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.559 you hope to be headed in. It's the first step 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.760 towards getting into what you hope to be a new 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:50.800 direction in terms of being able to build up some 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:55.120 consistently consistency, get some back to back wins together, feel 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.120 what it's like to be on a winning streak again. 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:00.240 That's what you're looking for, And to be honest with yeah, 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:01.919 I don't think this is the week where you know, 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.000 Davante Adams mentioned a number of weeks ago where hey, 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:06.920 you know, we don't want to have a heart attack 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.320 every time. This still might end up being one of 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:11.600 those games. I think you have to be ready for that. 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.160 But if you come out on the winning side of that, 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:16.880 then maybe there's a chance to start. You see the 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:18.600 top of the hill and you start to see in 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:21.400 the decline from there, so you know, being able to 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:24.320 you know, get the wheels spinning a little bit, not working, uh, 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:27.320 you know, and trying to scratch and claw your way 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:28.960 to some of these victories, find a way to start 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.080 making things happen. Because Mike, you and I have talked 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:33.080 about it for a number of weeks. Now, once the 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:38.880 calendar churns to December, things change, records change, You're starting 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:40.839 to get more of these teams at home. You're starting 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:43.360 to get these teams that aren't necessarily playoff contenders at 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.360 this point. That is going to be the big catalyst, 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:48.160 I think towards trying to get the Packers to make 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:49.840 a push at the end of the season. But you've 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:52.200 got to get the work done now. You gotta get 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:54.760 some wins in November. First off, And uh, let me 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:56.440 throw a question at you West, all right, and I 0:05:56.640 --> 0:06:00.520 think both agree that. And you brought up Eddie Lacy 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:04.200 from the game here against the Patriots and Belichick's defense. 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:07.719 You and I both agree that Aaron Jones is going 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:10.599 to play a very big role offensively in this game. 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.240 So My question for you is, does Aaron Jones get 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:17.120 his first one yard rushing game of this season on 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:20.039 Sunday night? Oh Michael, you put me on the spot. 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:24.560 Um gosh. And I don't usually like to have no 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:26.880 sound on this show, so I'm trying to think here 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:29.680 where the let's look here once. I want to give 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:32.760 you an intelligent answer. The Patriots are fourteen right now 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:36.400 and run defense giving up a hundred and five yards 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:40.960 per game. I'm gonna say no still, but I don't 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.719 necessarily mean that is a bad thing, if you know 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:45.840 what I'm saying. I think if the Packers can get 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:49.719 another fifteen touches out of Jones and he has ninety 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:51.800 rushing yards, that's still a really good day for this 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:54.200 offense because I think we're still going to see a 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:56.839 lot of Jamal Williams in this game as well. What 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.679 I do like, though, and I talked to Jones about 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:02.479 this week, and in hearing some of Jamal Williams comments, 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.920 is that there's a little more clarity to this situation 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:09.960 now they know there's two guys. And yeah, no disrespect 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:11.920 to Tray Carson, he's up on the fifty three man 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.520 roster too. But in a matchup like this and him 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:17.360 coming in on a short week after being on the 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:20.560 practice squad. It's going to be Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams. 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:24.160 That isn't a secret. I think that clarity is going 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:25.960 to help them in the long run because if you 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:28.440 look at their their styles of being a running back, 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:30.920 they really do complement each other really well. When you 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:33.600 look at the thunder lightning approach, that's what they can 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:36.880 potentially be. Now, whether or not that equates to a 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.640 hundred yard contest, I can't say that definitively, but I 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:43.480 will give you what I What I will add is 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.200 that if the Packers are going to win this game, 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:48.320 Aaron Jones needs to be a big part of it. Yeah, 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.760 I agree with that. I think Aaron Jones needs needs 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.120 to definitely be a big part of the offense. And 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.520 I'm gonna throw another thing at you that I think 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:59.920 is somewhat the hidden narrative of this game that will 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.680 lot of people are ignoring. And obviously it's it's about 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:08.000 Brady and Rodgers and the Belichick well almost but going 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:11.040 against the Belichick defense and and Mike Patton and his 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:14.320 history against the Patriots and what the Packers maybe do defensively. 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:17.880 I think special teams is gonna play a huge role 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:19.880 in this game. And I can rattle off all kinds 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.440 of reasons, but but what's that? But you go back, 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:25.880 go back to the two thousand ten, the Matt Flynn 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:29.000 game at Gillette Stadium. A seventy yard kickoff returned by 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:31.720 an offensive lineman for the Patriots that set up a 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:35.960 touchdown was a huge play in that game. The Patriots 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:38.959 this season, as I mentioned earlier this week, two special 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:42.280 teams touchdowns that Soldier Field to beat a Bears team 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:44.840 that really did go toe to toe with them offensively 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.920 and defensively. But a kickoff returned for a touchdown by 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.079 Cordrell Patterson and a block punt returned for a touchdown 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:54.520 by New England special teams and the Patriots win that 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:57.880 game by seven. The Packers have had their issues on 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:00.040 special teams on the road this year. It was a 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.000 bad day on special teams in Detroit, very costly and 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.520 a loss to the Lions, and a couple of really 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:09.920 key mistakes down the stretch against Los Angeles last week 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.720 that that cost the Packers a shot at what what 0:09:13.000 --> 0:09:15.720 could have been a really big road victory. So do 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:19.319 the Packers. Whoever the kick returner is that replaces Time Montgomery, 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:22.520 Does that guy make a big play? Do the Packers 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:25.680 down a punt inside the five yard line once or 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:28.400 twice like the Rams did to the Packers last week? 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:31.800 Something like that. Cordorrell Patterson did fumble a kickoff in 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:35.360 Chicago before he had the runback for the touchdown that 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:37.800 set up a score for the Bears. So do the 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.760 Packers special teams make a play like that and get 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.880 a turnover somewhere along the line. I think something like 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:46.680 that has to happen. The Packers cannot keep losing the 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:50.160 battle on special teams, especially in these road games. They've 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:51.839 got to hold up their end and give them an 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:53.600 edge at some point here. You know what I like 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:56.400 the most about Bill Belichick because you know, sometimes Mike 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.720 he gets sort of a bad rap uh. You know 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.920 people they show that the news conferences in New England. 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:05.920 He says two or three words. It feels very ters. 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:08.880 But he's a very He's one of the smartest guys 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:10.640 who's probably ever walked this earth when it comes to 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:15.200 professional football, for one. But he is really analytical about 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:17.240 how he breaks things down. On these conference calls, and 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:18.839 I was a part of one of those this week 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:21.599 with the opposing team media. Now, if you want to 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:23.520 ask him about Chris Hogan or if Patterson is going 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:25.400 to be in the running of running back again this week, 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.280 he's not going to answer those questions. But what was 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:31.880 really interesting is getting back to your point about special teams, 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.400 is how much it means to him. And I know 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:36.679 he has some family ties of special teams. That was 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.000 sort of where his roots were as well. But for 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.800 so many people it's a forgotten phase. It's the Okay, 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:44.720 I'm gonna go up and get some cheetos and I'll 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:48.720 come back and then it'll be first down. But for Belichick, 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:52.120 he was breaking down the formations that ron Zook uses 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:55.640 on punts. He was talking about the different amount of 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:58.920 personnel that they roll out. It is a very important 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:01.080 focal point to him, and I think it stands to 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:04.439 reason why they've consistently been one of the top performers 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:07.319 year in a year out in that phase, despite how 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:10.840 many accolades their offense and defense and those coaches get. 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:15.320 For Belichick, though, going into this matchup, what's interesting is 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.400 that you're right, it is those small things. It's the 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:21.320 punt returns. It's you know, guys like Matthew Slayter that 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:23.640 have been perennial Pro Bowl type players because they do 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:27.400 all the little things right. It's about being able to 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:31.240 maintain an established field position. None of that is lost 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:33.800 on Belichick and it's why he doesn't overlook it. For 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.480 the Packers. Getting back to your original point, they need 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:38.240 to do a better job there. They have to clean 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:40.720 things up depending on who the kickoff returner is going 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:42.640 to be, depending on who the punt returner is going 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:44.960 to be. There are a lot of things that they 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:47.800 need to shore up on that side of things because 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:50.679 they're just not going to give you a lot of opportunities. 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:53.160 They're going to be able to capitalize. They execute and 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.840 all three phases very efficiently. Packers need to be able 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:59.480 to turn that a little bit and make sure that 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:01.800 they don't of that away as an advantage to New England. 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:04.880 And in his Friday news conference, Mike McCarthy even reference 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.040 to Bill Belichick and his special teams when he was 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.880 the head coach at Cleveland, which is sort of the forgotten, 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:12.560 you know, era of his as a head coach when 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:15.680 things didn't go so well before he got to New England, 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:18.760 but he had that reputation with regards to special teams, 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.440 you know, all the way back then. So I think 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:23.640 it's uh. I think it's going to play a big 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:28.520 role in this game. Defensively for the Packers. We saw 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:33.600 last week how all the different pressure packages that Mike 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:37.640 Petton threw at the Rams. Most of the time it 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.560 was a five man pressure. It wasn't like some sort 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.880 of all out blitz, you know, a zero blitz, no 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.679 safety coverage, you know, any of that, But it was 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:48.760 it's always about which five guys are coming, you know, 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:52.400 and and disguising you know who, who's coming, who's dropping 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:54.880 into coverage, all that kind of stuff. It seemed to 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:59.040 get Jared Goff off his game certainly through the first quarter, 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:01.800 quarter and a half he was he was really struggling. 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:04.280 The coverage was there. The Packers were getting home and 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.839 getting sacks when the coverage was holding up. You're not 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.160 necessarily going to be able to do that to Tom Brady. 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:13.920 He's going to have quicker answers to what he sees 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.440 because he's seen it before. He's going to know exactly 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:21.200 where he's going with the ball. So defensively, what is 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.000 the key to this game for the Packers? Do you 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:27.200 think there are three keys? For me? One? You do 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:29.400 need to be able to get pressure. You can't just 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:32.800 let him sit home and feel comfortable and move inside 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:35.560 the pocket. As Mike Petton said, you can talk all 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:38.280 you want about his you know, mobility outside the pocket, 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.640 but inside the pocket there's no wasted motion. He makes 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:45.440 everything count and he's a shifty guy, even at forty 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.079 one years old, so you can't allow him to get comfortable. 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:49.960 I don't care if it equates the Saxon outs. He's 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:54.319 only been sacked eleven times this year in what dropbacks 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:56.480 it's gonna it's gonna be difficult to sack up, but 0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:58.360 you need to make sure that you make the pocket 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.680 warm and not allow him to get into a rhythm 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.480 in that way. My second point is this is a 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:05.880 big game for the secondary. I don't think there could 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:09.559 have been a bigger opportunity for Gyro Alexander to really 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:11.640 get into a rhythm, get into a flow, and get 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.600 some confidence than what he did with against the Rams. 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:16.880 He said, even going back to Louisville, he didn't have 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.720 five pass breakups in a game He also mentioned that 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:22.200 if he has five pass the defense, he wants to 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:24.280 make sure that one of those at least an interception too. 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.560 He wasn't happy about that aspect of it. Kevin King 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:30.080 what they do with Trumon Williams that is going to 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.440 be an important focal point for this and what the 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:36.280 Patriots are able to do downfield and underneath. Mike. I 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.440 don't know how they're going to defend James white but 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:40.280 the Packers have to have an answer there. I don't 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:42.200 know if it's like Martinez. I don't know if it's 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:45.040 Germaine Whitehead or Josh Jones or who exactly, maybe one 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.680 of the cornerbacks. They need to be able to contain 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:49.960 him because if you let him run loose, a guy 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.680 that's on pace for a hundred and ten receptions this year, 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:57.200 he not necessarily gonna burn you, but he's going to 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:00.240 keep that chain moving. Sometimes it's just as worse he's 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.120 he's the chain mover, because he's he's not he's not 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.400 just the safety valve and all that, but he's he's 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.560 kind of the Mr. Clutch you know, for for Brady 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:11.560 out of the backfield, and Mike Petton mentioned it when 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:14.400 he spoke with the media on Thursday. You can come 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.160 up with bracket coverage is on a guy like Gronk 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.960 or on a guy like Chris Hogan or Julian Aidelman 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.920 in the slot, it's really hard to double team or 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:27.080 running back. You're you're going to be left with really 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.800 only one guy that you can assign to that running back. 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:32.120 And as you said, whoever it is, if it's if 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.240 it's Martinez, or if it's or In Burke's or if 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:37.680 it's one of the safety's, that guy has to be 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.720 on his p's and q's, so to speak, and be 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:43.200 able to tackle because when it's one on one like 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:45.960 that in space, one mis tackle can be the difference 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.560 between a five yard reception and a fifteen or eighteen 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:51.960 yard reception. So the Packers really need to be really 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:54.160 need to lock things down in that respect. And to 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.800 make one more point, one thing that Packer's defense didn't 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.880 accomplish last week was a takeaway. They need one here. 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.040 They need to be able to turn over the football. 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:03.480 And to keep in mind, I just want to put 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.040 out the stat Tom Brady seven interceptions and eight games 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.040 this year. Mike. I'm not trying to paint a portrait 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.000 that he's going under anything. But he's on pace for 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.720 his most picks right now since two thousand five. So 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:16.720 if he's given him away, if he's exposing the football 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.440 a little bit more, a guy like JayR Alexander, Kevin King, 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:20.880 those type of players need to make a play on 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.320 the ball. Yeah, you gotta get one for sure. Before 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:25.080 we go west, let's take a quick look at what 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:28.200 else is going on around the National Football League here 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:30.720 in week is a Week nine? Is that that's where 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:36.800 at already? Okay, UM NFC North Lions against the Vikings. 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:40.160 We've been talking before about how Lions Bears, Vikings. None 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:42.200 of them have played each other here as we've reached 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.720 close to the midpoint of the season. But here's the 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:51.640 first one. The Lions traveled to Minneapolis, UM Minneapolis or Minnesota, 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:53.960 I should say, coming off of that that tough home 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.280 loss to the Saints last week, they want to get 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:59.080 back on the right track. And the Detroit Lions kind 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:01.720 of in the position they've they seem to be in 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:03.840 on a regular basis every time they come up to 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.199 a division game, like when they played the Packers a 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:10.000 few weeks ago. If they get a win they're right there, 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:13.400 and uh and you know, an opportunity for Detroit as 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:16.440 they as they head into a tough place to play 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.560 against the Vikings. I was saying, I mean again, you 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:20.639 know my stance on must win games, Michael, I'm not 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:22.240 a big fan of them. I don't I don't like 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.760 the terminology in week nine. But one of the reasons 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:26.679 why I think this game is so critical for the 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:30.120 Packers isn't necessarily because of just the what it does 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:31.840 for you, what kind of boost it gives you if 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:36.200 you beat the Patriots. It's also because this division, everybody's 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.680 just log jam right together. Going around the first turn. 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:41.359 You're trying to see exactly who's going to be the 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:43.680 team that kind of finally edges their nose out front 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:47.600 a little bit and get some momentum. Nobody's really accomplished that. 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:49.840 This week. You know, Mike Zimmer was talking about his 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:51.440 own team, and you know, he likes where they are. 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:53.400 He feels like, you know, they're starting to come into 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.320 their own a little bit. But you know, Matt Patricia, 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.320 they've had some good moments as well, and I have 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.400 to imagine the Airs are feeling pretty good about where 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:03.720 they're at. After sort of beaten, being sort of the 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.359 welcome matt for a lot of these teams will past 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.000 few seasons in the NFC North. So when you look 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:11.119 at this matchup with the Vikings in Detroit, it's very 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:13.840 interesting to me for two reasons. One, Vikings actually have 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:16.240 a chance to get up two games above five hundred, 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:18.840 start to feel a little good about themselves and potentially 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:20.880 being able to get on a run of their own. 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.600 The Lions are trying to prove that they aren't just 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:27.080 a five hundred or you know, seven and nine type team. 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:29.320 They want to prove that they can contend this year 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:31.520 when they hired Mat Patricia and the moves that they 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:33.800 made for the most part, I mean, you can debate 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:36.320 the golden tape thing, but for the most part, they 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:38.880 made those moves because they want to win now. So 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:41.119 whoever comes out in there, we know how tough it 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:44.200 is to play in that stadium. It's gonna really, I think, 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:49.399 help shape the the landscape of this division somewhat in 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:52.639 terms of, Okay, are we pulling everybody back together or 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:54.960 are the Vikings starting to to get out there a 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:57.280 little bit? Yeah. And the other one in the NFC North, 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:01.359 this weekend the Chicago Bears hos sting, I believe the 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:05.280 Buffalo Bills. Um, no, sorry, the Bears are on the road. 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:08.879 Oh sorry, they're playing the game is in Buffalo, but um, 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:11.240 but they are playing the Bills. So I'm gonna talk 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.719 about how this is just a sure win for the Bears, 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:15.399 because when I did that about a month and a 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.760 half ago with the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo bill shocked 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:22.960 everybody and smoked Minnesota and through the division into a tizzy. 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:25.399 So the Bears are gonna win this game going away, 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:27.600 no problem. We don't even need to talk. So you're 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:29.800