WEBVTT - #513 Packers Unscripted: Abrupt ending 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:14.480 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:17.880 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my partner in crime, 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:21.080 West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:24.880 at lambeau Field, back from Santa Clara, California, West and 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.600 the Packers two thousand nineteen season unfortunately has come to 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:32.640 an end to loss in the NFC title Game to 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:35.199 the San Francisco forty Niners. And there are a lot 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.559 of different ways we can try to go about dissecting this, 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:41.680 but for me, we all know the Packers needed to 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.360 play better than they did in San Francisco in Week 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.199 twelve in order to get a different result, and the 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:50.360 bottom line is they didn't play better and because of that, 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:54.040 the San Francisco forty Niners. Hats off to them. They 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:56.200 are clearly the best team in the NFC and they 0:00:56.200 --> 0:01:00.600 will represent the conference in Super Bowl. And from just perspective, 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:03.480 you feel really good for Kyle Shanahan, Robert Sala, everybody 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:05.920 over there on that side of things, because San Francisco, 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:09.600 it's it's the very beginning is been a tremendous you know, uh, 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:12.440 They've done a tremendous job all season long in terms 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:13.920 of what they were able to do and how they 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:17.240 were able to accomplish it. And you know, they came 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:18.840 in and they did what they were supposed to do 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:21.959 in this game. And you know, it was an interesting 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:23.920 game plan. If you would have told me going into 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:26.600 this thing that Jimmy Garoppolo was only going to throw 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:29.160 the ball eight times eight times, I don't think I 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:32.000 would have believed you. But and then you know, certainly 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.119 Tevin Coleman has kind of been their bell couse, sort 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:36.919 of the power back for them. Well, he gets injured 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.920 with the shoulder injury, and where he mostart who was 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.000 probably one of the better stories in the NFL this 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:45.959 season when you consider where he came from, the amount 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:49.600 of stops he had leading up to San Francisco, and 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:51.320 even when he got to the forty niners he was 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:54.440 mostly a special team's hand. And then here he is 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.000 now six yards per carry for his career during the 0:01:57.000 --> 0:01:59.559 regular season and he busts out for two or twenty 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.000 yards in this game against Green Bay. The Packers did 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.840 not have an answer for them. And you know, guys 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.320 in the locker room, Blake Martinez among them, talked about it. 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:10.080 I mean they just San Francisco was able to switch 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.360 things up enough with their run concepts that the Packers 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:14.600 were never able to get comfortable outside of really that 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.800 opening drive where they went three and out. Beyond that, 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:20.360 San Francisco was able to move the ball at will. 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:22.639 And when you give up that amount of rushing yards 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:25.680 two five rushing yards, it's just it's it's that's a 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:28.320 big uphill battle to climb. Yeah, it was a combination 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:30.120 of two things in the first half in which the 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:32.400 Packers fell behind twenty seven and nothing. It was the 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.000 inability to stop the run with most Are doing the 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.960 vast majority of that damage, and then the Packers making 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:41.800 mistakes on offense. You look at most Are, I believe 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.840 he's been released cut like a half dozen times in 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.520 his career. He ends up with the two and twenty 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:49.959 yards and four touchdowns. He becomes the first player in 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:53.480 NFL history with two d plus yards and four rushing 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:57.080 touchdowns in a playoff game. The tuner and twenty yards 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:00.280 is the second most rushing yards in a playoff game 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:03.000 by an individual, behind only Eric Dickerson, who of course 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.880 is in the Hall of Fame. And on the Packers 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:10.600 side of things, you know, whether you're talking about penalties 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:15.160 or sacks or a fumbled snap when it's looking like 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:17.799 you're going to get on the board at seventeen to nothing, now, 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.720 I mean, you know, you can say, hey that, you know, 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:22.960 if the Packers get it to seventeen seven there, maybe 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.560 it's a different game. Yet. Maybe it is, but maybe 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:28.800 it isn't if you can't stop the run, because, um, 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.560 what San Francisco was doing in this game on the ground, 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:34.440 as you said, the Packers just didn't have an answer 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:38.280 for it. And when I sort of described it an 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:40.640 inside or inbox as I was writing in the wee 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:44.280 hours of the morning on the plane coming back, when 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.920 it's third and eight and a simple handoff goes thirty 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:51.120 six yards for a touchdown, you kind of go oh, 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:54.000 because that's not that's not how that's supposed to happen. 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.160 And it looked way too easy for the forty niners, 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:01.000 and it just kind of stayed easy through the bulk 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:02.800 of the ball well, and the Packers had shifted to 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.520 their dime there and they had run mostly based up 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:08.680 to that point. And for the most part, the Packers, 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:11.160 I actually think, have defended the run all right. On 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.600 draw plays with their dimes scheme this year, that wasn't 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.159 one of them, and most Are was able to get through. 0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:19.000 I wrote about it in our game notes. Six of 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:22.520 their ten longest plays went through he Mostert and he 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:24.360 you know, it was a thirty six yard carry. That 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:26.440 was his big game, the touchdown. But other than that, 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:29.640 it was just consistently being able to move the chains 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.120 and have explosive plays when they needed them. The thing 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:35.080 that's tough for Green Bay in a game like this 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:38.320 is that you pointed it out. I mean, offensively, they 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:40.159 just shot themselves in the foot too much in the 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:42.760 first half. Second half, they actually turned it up a 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.080 little bit. You saw Davante Adams get going. I thought 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.479 they were playing a little bit more free. Jimmy Graham 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:50.520 had a big catch. Certainly Aaron Jones didn't have a 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:52.800 bevy of opportunities, but I thought played pretty well with 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.800 the ones he did receive. But defensively, they could never 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.520 get the stop or the takeaway that they needed. Believe 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:01.000 it was five games this or where San Francisco and 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.279 Jimmy Garoppolo did not have a turnover, and two of 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:07.159 those were against Green Bay. So you can have some 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:10.040 of those missed opportunities. You can miss some tackles, but 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:11.960 if you give up the ball and you're not able 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.440 to force it and get gash for those explosive plays, 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:18.440 it's it's a very difficult battle to be able to 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.880 wage against a team like San Francisco. You and I 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.640 discussed this about you go back to that Lions game 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.039 at Ford Field. Like you, it was an up and 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:28.839 down game for Green Bay. They rallied late. When you 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:30.919 get to the postseason and you're against a team like 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:33.480 the forty Niners who are as good and as disciplined 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.400 and so many different aspects of the game, they're just 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:38.720 not going to afford you those opportunities to call yourself 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.640 back into it. And the result was what it was. Well, 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:44.080 you knew when the Packers were down to nothing in 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.880 the turnover category at halftime and facing such a big 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.920 deficit it was going to take a turnover to to 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:53.000 really turn the tide in this game. But you know, 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.000 turnovers come by either most of the time, sack fumbles 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.240 on the quarterback or interceptions. And if you're not making 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.159 the quarterback throw the ball, you're not gonna be able 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:04.839 to get those turnovers. And the forty Owners just controlled 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.000 things at the line of scrimmage. They um, they just 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:14.240 they look dominant. And I'll say this too. It as 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:17.599 I was kind of pondering all this flying back on 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:21.280 the on the plane late last night, you looked at 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:23.640 the NFC and how much of a meat grinder the 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:25.920 NFC was this year. The Vikings were a good team, 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:28.280 The Saints were a good team, Seahawks were pretty good. 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:32.320 Packers obviously were good, but all the rest of those 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:36.160 teams were still kind of just grinding along. In the playoffs, 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:40.240 the forty Niners found another level. They dominated Minnesota, they 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.159 dominated the Green Bay Packers. And as good as the 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.960 NFC was, the forty Niners were the one team in 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:49.679 that group of good teams in the NFC that rose 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:53.280 to another place in January. And that's why they're going 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:54.880 to the Super Well And and this is the part 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:56.720 I wanted to get into later in the show, but heck, 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.920 why not just get into it now? Uh, San Francisco, 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.480 Like they're the standard right now. They're the standard bearer 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:05.840 for the NFC. And we'll find out here in two 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.720 weeks maybe for the NFL in terms of how they 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:12.520 play in where they can win football games. For Green Bay, 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:14.920 they are ahead of schedule, and that's one of the 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:16.680 things I'm sure you and I'll be discussing a lot 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:20.280 this week. Nobody anticipated the thirteen win season, being back, 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.000 to get in the playoffs and also get a first 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:24.280 round by to win a game, to get back to 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.760 your third NFC championship game in six years. All those 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:32.280 things were phenomenal and terrific. But San Francisco, once Jimmy 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.720 Garoppolo got back, and once they got through that early 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:37.840 gamut in that first month of the season, people really 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.120 start to think, Okay, this guy, this team was sort 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.920 of a quarterback away, a pass rusher away, and you 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:44.560 could kind of see I mean I was saying it. 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:47.600 I remember the conversation we had with Wayne Larvy during 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:49.760 one of our pepperis I set it back in September 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:51.960 and early October. I mean, San Francisco to me was 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:54.160 one of the best teams, if not the best team 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:56.320 in the NFL at that point, because they did all 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:59.960 the little things right, and they're incredibly fast, incredibly discipline 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.880 and in between the hashes, really tough on both sides 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:05.840 of the ball. For Green Bay, where they need to 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:07.880 look at now going in this offseason is that you 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:10.800 are ahead of schedule. And I'm writing this an Insider 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:14.880 inbox for Tuesday. This is a tremendous opportunity ahead of 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.680 them right now. But they have to be pragmatic. They 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:20.120 have to be disciplined in what they do and how 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:24.000 they approached this offseason to reach that next level. Last year, 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:26.480 John Lynch felt like, you need to go add d Ford. 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.720 Look at what de Ford added to this to this defense. 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:32.800 You've seen Joe, you know, Nick Bosa come in, have 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.120 what he's done, the speed of their linebackers, having a 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:39.680 veteran like Richard Sherman. I don't, as Aaron Rodgers said, 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:41.960 I don't see the Packers as being that far away 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:44.680 from where the forty niners are. But they need a smart, 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:47.280 savvy offseason to make that next step. Yeah, and I 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:48.920 want to get into a little bit more of Aaron 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:52.559 Rodgers comments here in a minute. West but select Cousin 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.920 Subs locations are now offering delivery. Whether you're ordering catering 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.800 or your favorite sub, They're delivering right to you when 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:02.120 you order online at in subs dot Com. Cousin Subs. 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:05.480 We believe in better, all right, well, Aaron Rodgers. Obviously 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:09.880 he's gone to the podium three times now in January 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:15.720 after an NFC championship loss on the road, and this one, 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.320 this was a different press conference. You know, obviously we 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:22.040 don't need to revisit Seattle and the heartbreak of all 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:26.400 of that. But three years ago against the Atlanta Falcons, 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:31.760 the Packers were dominated, um on the scoreboard and all 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:37.079 of that UM and Rogers. Rogers message, other than saying, hey, 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:39.280 we need to get a championship game at home, which 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.480 is something he still hasn't had yet in his career, 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:43.839 but as much as then was you know, hey we 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:47.199 gotta go all in. It's it's about it's about having 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:51.560 that that franchise changing off season. Well, it took a 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:54.559 couple of years. That franchise changing off season was this 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:59.360 past and so Roger's message after the game last night 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.720 against San Francisco was he he really feels the window 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:07.280 is open for this team, that there's there's a core 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:10.920 here now that Matt Lafleur as a Now we'll be 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:12.839 heading into his second year as a head coach, the 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:16.160 staff that he's put together, Brian Goudacunstall being his third 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:18.640 year as the general manager in charge of the roster. 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.760 There's a core here now to work with to figure out, 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.600 then what are the extra pieces that are needed to 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:28.680 move forward. It's not it's not about it's not about 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:32.200 needing some kind of an overhaul anymore, because that overhaul happened. 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:38.160 And Aaron Rodgers is he's he's very he's very optimistic. 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:41.000 He says he has a lot of trust in the leadership, 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:45.640 both personnel department, coaching staff. He has a lot of 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:47.640 trust in the leadership of the team, the locker room 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:50.800 as well himself included. As to where this team is headed. 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.480 In as much as a loss in the conference championship 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:55.719 when you're sixty minutes away from Super Bowl, as much 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.720 as it stings, and it's still going to sting for 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:01.200 a while, I just get the sense that the Packers 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.600 are going to be heading into an off season with 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:08.000 a really different feel this time than even three years 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.880 ago when they got to the same point in the postseason. Yeah, 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:13.440 it's it's a much different scenario this year and this 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:15.559 this time around. You know a couple of things that 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:17.920 the first thing I thought Aaron Rodgers that the line 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.560 he had about how you know this was fun again, 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:24.240 you know, and and him enjoying this season. Now, I 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:26.520 obviously I mentioned this a number of times on this 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.480 show over the last episodes. I didn't cover the Packers 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:32.160 daily like you did in two thousand ten and two 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:34.760 thousand eleven. But this was my eighth full time season 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:39.160 on this beat, and Mike, this was the tightest locker 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:43.320 room by far. It wasn't close. Two thousand and fourteen 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:48.360 was a great team. They were a phenomenally talented team 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:52.760 that was a super Bowl caliber squad. No doubt, that 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.720 team wasn't as tight knit as what this team was 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.600 in terms of the that X factor that she always 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:00.720 talked about. And I think that's one of the reasons 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:03.400 why is I walked in that locker room on Sunday night, 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:09.200 that that locker room was, you know, as emotional as 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:11.640 anyone I've ever been, and even more so in some 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:16.280 regards than two thousand fourteen, because guys understood what they 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.800 had accomplished and what it meant that that the health 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.280 of the team, the way that they came together. Um, 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.800 you know, they didn't lose back to back games all season. 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.000 That's not easy to do when you're looking at you know, 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:31.680 guys coming in in April installing and I had a 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:34.640 conversation with Mason Crosby as he was leaving locker room, 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.840 and he mentioned, it's just it's tough. It is tough 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:42.000 when you make it this far and you're that close 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:45.600 to your goals, and he's like, you know, it's you're tired. 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.720 You know it's been a long run and you just 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.160 want to make it that one extra step. But the 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:54.080 nice thing for this team, I think, even more so 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:57.280 than two thousand fourteen, and definitely more so than two 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:01.240 thousand sixteen, is they feel like, one, they're credibly young 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:06.640 in their talented but they also this roster that didn't 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:09.040 have playoff experience in a lot of ways, and now 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:12.240 they've got two great examples of it that they can 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:16.600 build off of. But it needs a productive, healthy offseason. 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:18.599 They need to take the principles that they've instilled this 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:20.720 past year under Matt la Fleur, and they need to 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:25.679 be able to find that path offensively to finding the 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:29.480 efficiency they look like defensively, finding more consistency and special teams, 0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:31.800 finding the playmakers that they need to make a difference 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:35.320 there because in so many ways they were exceptional, but 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:37.920 in so many ways. You also saw what it's going 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:41.480 to take to be that San Francisco forty Niners type 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:43.520 Super Bowl contender. Yeah, and I like what you said 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.160 about the locker room in terms of the closeness and 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:48.720 the tight knit feeling of it, because I would agree 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.360 it's been a long time since I've been in a 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:54.000 Packers locker room that felt this tight. And I will 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:57.800 say two thousand ten the Super Bowl Championship here, obviously 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:01.000 that was a very tight locker room, but it was 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:05.360 different because it was a closeness that was fostered by 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:09.400 circumstance and adversity because you know, Nick Barnett goes down, 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.199 Jare Michael Finley goes down, Mark Tauscher goes down. All 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:14.960 these starters were getting injured and these other guys have 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:16.800 to step in, and it was like the team just 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:21.120 kept getting growing closer and closer because of those circumstances 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:23.520 and what it had to deal with this team. I 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.240 think you would agree with me. This team felt like 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.200 it was pretty close before it even stepped on the 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:31.840 field in Chicago on that Thursday night in Week one. 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:35.120 There was something about the vibe in the locker room 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:38.880 and you know, everything with the coaching change, and knew 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:40.680 a lot of new faces in the locker room and 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:43.800 all of that, all all of the that change can 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:47.320 bring that about. But I think what was special about 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.520 this group was that that closeness happened so quickly, as 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.320 I say, before they even took the field in a 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:56.320 regular season game. They seemed to have it. And yeah, 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:58.960 it's disappointing that it ends here because you had a 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:01.240 lot of things that went your way. You were a 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:03.600 really healthy team for the most part. You caught some 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.960 opponents with some injuries that were in your favor because 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.680 they were missing some key players. You came out on 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:12.640 the on the right end of a lot of really 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:16.160 close games in one season, which doesn't always happen. A 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.360 lot of times those close games in the fourth quarter 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:20.960 end up you end up splitting them fifty fifty. The 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:23.320 Packers didn't split them fifty fifty, and that's why they 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:25.880 ended up thirteen and three and in the position that 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:27.520 they were. So there were a lot of things, and 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:30.480 Rogers even said at the podium after the game, there 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.640 were times where it just felt like maybe this was 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:35.720 meant to be just the way the way everything was going. 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.320 But quite frankly West, they ran into a juggernaut in 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:42.240 the San Francisco forty Niners, and that what the forty 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:45.360 Niners have done the last two weeks is maybe one 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:50.200 of the most impressive UH playoff runs, if you want 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:51.760 to call it that, even though it was only two 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:53.600 games with them being the top seed, but it's one 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.640 of the most impressive playoff runs I've seen in the 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.240 NFL in quite a while. And it is that way, Mike, 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:02.280 because it looked like they were losing the grasp on 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:05.760 it in December with five games that all came down 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:08.840 to the final play. They lose to Atlanta. You know, 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:13.720 they have the setbacks everything that they barely hang on 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.560 to beat the Seahawks. They barely hung on, you know, 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:18.800 needed a last second field goal to beat the Rams, 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.160 as you say, every way we talked about that last week. 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:23.600 Every game for them was coming down to the last minute. 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:26.920 So it was looking like there were some vulnerabilities there 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:30.080 from the team that had gone nine and one and 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:32.440 then got to ten and one by you know, blowing 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:35.680 out the Packers in Week twelve. But then they found 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:37.720 they found it again. As I said, they went to 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:40.120 another level in January when all the rest of these 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:43.160 very good, very competitive teams in the NFC, we're still 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:45.680 kind of just grinding away. And I think a lot 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:48.720 of credit goes to Robert Sala specifically, and I'm sure 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.000 Kyle Shanahan had a role in this too, But they 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:53.760 made some tough decisions going into the playoffs. They decided 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:57.320 to go with Mosley as their outside corner opposite of Sherman. Yeah, 0:16:57.360 --> 0:17:00.760 I mean, they made some decisions that were how they 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:02.720 started this season, but they felt like this is going 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.400 to give us the best chance to win. And defensively, 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:08.119 I felt like they found a lot of answers. You know, 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:11.439 this this team and seeing how they match up with 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:14.080 the with Kansas City, it's going to be very interesting 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:18.320 because Kansas City in many ways has won the same way, 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:22.320 but without the run game, in a more dynamic passing game. Now, 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:25.199 their defense wasn't nearly as suffocating as San Francisco was 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:28.320 this year, but they can be opportunistic and they can 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:29.720 make you pay. So it's going to be a very 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:33.159 captivating Super Bowl fifty four and for Green Bay, and 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:35.760 I'll even extend this out to Tennessee to two teams 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:39.160 that that really caught fire at the end of the season. Uh, 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:42.160 this is this is a big moment for them because 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:46.040 unlike college football, where you're gonna graduate junior classes and 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.080 senior classes and if you have a lot of talent, 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:49.840 you have a good feeling that you're gonna compete for 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:52.000 the national title the next year if you have enough guys, 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.919 returning doesn't always work like that in the NFL. And 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.600 that's why the off scenes is important. That's why making 0:17:57.600 --> 0:18:01.040 sure that the young Ross or that Brian Goodkin is 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:04.480 built dating back to March and April, not thinking about 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:07.040 Okay two thousand nineteen or bust, thinking about playing the 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:10.040 long game. Here. You want to see those strides and 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:14.040 I feel like, specifically looking at Matt Lafleur's offense, you 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:17.240 can see how this can be a real juggernaut in 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:21.840 its own right when Aaron Jones becomes a real solid 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:25.080 playmaker that you feel like if he stays healthy. Here 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:29.160 this is this is the type of dynamic, multifaceted playmaker 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:31.399 that the Packers have been looking for for years. It 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:34.600 isn't just a running back, it's not just a scat back. 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:37.160 He's a full fledged can give you everything he's got 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:39.359 for sixty minutes and do whatever's asked of him and 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:43.680 accomplish that well. Uh Davantae Adams is at the peak 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:45.920 of his powers. You saw a guy like Alan Lazard 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:48.840 step in. Elton Jenkins looks like the type of left 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:50.520 guard that you could stick in there for the next 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.640 ten years if you need to do it. And defensively, 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:57.080 the pieces that were added Sa Darius and Preston Smith 0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:01.760 both seven years old at this point, Adrian Amos, there's 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:03.840 a lot of things to be excited about right now 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:06.199 for Green Bay with what they did find. Can you 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:08.000 go back You're not gonna be able to make four 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:10.560 high profile signings again, Yeah you can't. Yeah, you're not 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:12.480 gonna be able to go out and spend a second 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:14.439 year in a row in from the agency like the 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:17.400 like the Packers did this past year. It doesn't work 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:21.600 that way. But you still we know Brian Goodakut is 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:25.240 going to be active. He's proven he's shown in his 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.520 time as GM when he said when he took over, 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:29.920 we're going to be involved in every conversation. We're going 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:33.479 to explore every avenue to improve the team. He has 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:35.680 stood by his word, and not just in the off season, 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:37.600 but during the season as well. And those are the 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:40.159 things Rogers talked about. When you're picking up guys like 0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:43.920 Tyler Irvin, Jared Veldeer, b J Goodson, these other role 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:47.359 player type of guys that have experience in the NFL 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:49.840 that can step in and help you out. They're not 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:52.520 it's not just some undrafted rookie off the bench who's 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:54.600 got to step in in a big moment. Those are 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:57.680 the kinds of things where this Packers roster has has 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.080 taken a step forward, and now it's a matter of 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:03.000 continuing that and sticking to that approach in the in 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:05.360 the process as you move forward. And this is where 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:07.520