Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I have Mike Spoffer, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my partner in crime, Wes Honkowitz. We're coming to
Speaker 1: you here from our studios at Lambeoufield to review a
Speaker 1: down to the wire last second victory twenty four to
Speaker 1: twenty two over the Houston Texans on Sunday at Lambeufield.
Speaker 1: The Packers have improved a five and two. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of ground to cover with regard to this game West,
Speaker 1: but I think the discussion from this one starts with
Speaker 1: Jeff Haffley's defense, because while twenty two points is not
Speaker 1: a number where you go, oh, the defense played great
Speaker 1: when you watched what happened out there on the field,
Speaker 1: the defense played great.
Speaker 2: It did Mike, and it was one of the more creative, impressive,
Speaker 2: and consistent performances I think we've seen from the Packers
Speaker 2: defense this season. And I don't want to get hyperbolic
Speaker 2: about it because I just got done with last week
Speaker 2: saying okay, they only had two quarterback hits on Murray
Speaker 2: and no sacks, but it was one of their best
Speaker 2: pass rushing performances. I did feel like they built upon
Speaker 2: that though they built upon it with their four man rush,
Speaker 2: they built upon it with some of their third down
Speaker 2: blitz packages. And one other trend that some of the
Speaker 2: guys were talking about after the game is Averra McKinney
Speaker 2: among them is this idea, and it's a credit to
Speaker 2: Brian Flores and the Vikings. They were the ones that
Speaker 2: kind of started this thing of mugging up all these
Speaker 2: defensive players and then sometimes sending four, sometimes sending seven,
Speaker 2: sometimes dropping guys. You just never know what you're gonna get,
Speaker 2: and the quarterback has to be able to make sense
Speaker 2: of everything. And I felt like this came in particular.
Speaker 2: It wasn't just c J. Stroud. Their offensive line had
Speaker 2: a hard time adjusting to those looks. It helped create
Speaker 2: four tackles for a loss for Eric Wilson, two sacks,
Speaker 2: and relief of an injured kway Walker. I think I
Speaker 2: absolutely love what they're doing with Rashaun Gary. We talked
Speaker 2: about the need of trying to get him moving around
Speaker 2: a little bit more, not just having him come off
Speaker 2: the weak side, being able to kind of build upon
Speaker 2: some of the traits that we talked about early in
Speaker 2: his career with having some positional versatility on the line,
Speaker 2: and then first and foremost they threw for eighty six yards.
Speaker 2: And whether that's opposition being afraid of attacking the secondary
Speaker 2: now with having Xavier McKinney over the top of it,
Speaker 2: whether it's just the time clock of the quarterback getting disrupted,
Speaker 2: what have you. When you are limiting a quarterback, the
Speaker 2: reigning NFL offensive rookie of the year to under fewer
Speaker 2: than one hundred passing yards, you're doing something right defensively.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was pretty impressive. I mean, Joe Mixon certainly
Speaker 1: had his share of success. He ends up rushing for
Speaker 1: over one hundred yards, and it was interesting how that
Speaker 1: evolved because it felt like either the Packers were stacking
Speaker 1: up Nixon Mixon excuse me, at the line of scrimmage,
Speaker 1: or he was getting ten or twelve yards. There weren't
Speaker 1: really a whole lot of just the four or five
Speaker 1: yard kind of mediocre runs. It was either they stuffed
Speaker 1: him or he got an explosive, and through those combinations
Speaker 1: he ends up with over one hundred yards. And the
Speaker 1: Packers certainly had their challenge there. But you said it,
Speaker 1: I mean, the reigning offensive rookie of the year in C. J.
Speaker 1: Stroud comes into lambeau Field throws for only eighty six
Speaker 1: passing yards. There's actually a net passing yards of like
Speaker 1: fifty some because of the four sacks that for like
Speaker 1: minus thirty one and the quite frankly going through the
Speaker 1: defensive film and I've got a lot of clips out
Speaker 1: there on the third downs and by what you might
Speaker 1: have missed piece for those who want to check that out.
Speaker 1: The Houston Texans up front, their pass protection, the calls,
Speaker 1: the communication, whatever it was, they were just not on point.
Speaker 1: The Packers were confusing them. The Packers were getting them
Speaker 1: to hesitate, not quite sure you know who had whom,
Speaker 1: you know what to do, and it just it led
Speaker 1: to a lot of frustration for Stroud. Folks were talking
Speaker 1: about how he tossed his helmet on the sideline and
Speaker 1: you know, the Texans had the ball right at the
Speaker 1: beginning of the game at the eleven yard line after
Speaker 1: an interception by Jordan Love and yet had to settle
Speaker 1: for a field goal. They had a chance to, you know,
Speaker 1: potentially put the game away at the end with a
Speaker 1: first down in the red zone at the two minute warning,
Speaker 1: forcing the Packers to use their timeouts on defense there
Speaker 1: at the end, but the defense got back to back
Speaker 1: tackles for loss on Joe Mixon and forced the field
Speaker 1: goal there. The Packers' defense had had multiple takeaways every
Speaker 1: game through the first six games of the season, almost
Speaker 1: equaling the number of takeaways from all of last regular season.
Speaker 1: Not a single takeaway in this game, and this defense
Speaker 1: proved that it can succeed, it can play well, it
Speaker 1: can cause problems for opponents, not just because of the takeaways,
Speaker 1: but because of some of the other things that Jeff
Speaker 1: Hafley is learning about his guys and learning how to
Speaker 1: put them in certain positions to cause the offense problem.
Speaker 2: In my opinion, the Greevy Packers won this game. The
Speaker 2: overcame that turnover deficit because of the situation going on
Speaker 2: right now with being able to have the defensive front
Speaker 2: getting after the quarterback the way they did. But beyond that,
Speaker 2: third downs is huge. You have to be able to
Speaker 2: contain the opposition in those moments. I think at one
Speaker 2: point the Texans were two of ten and the adversity
Speaker 2: situation that the change of game situation. The defense really
Speaker 2: thrived in those and I was talking to Kenny Clark
Speaker 2: about this after the game, and as he said, when
Speaker 2: you look at an NFL football game, okay, when you
Speaker 2: are in a spot where you are stepping up and
Speaker 2: you can stop them. The only time it felt like
Speaker 2: they were going to be able to score points is
Speaker 2: when the position was already stacked in their favor. Yeah,
Speaker 2: if they made the Texans drive, they felt like they
Speaker 2: were getting the stop. So the one real I mean,
Speaker 2: there was a stretch of I think four straight three
Speaker 2: and oh it's at least three when they were able
Speaker 2: to mount that challenge late in the Texans were able
Speaker 2: to get down the field the way they did, that's
Speaker 2: when the offense stepped up. That's when Brandon McMahon stepped up.
Speaker 2: I thought this game was a perfect example of different
Speaker 2: phases lifting each other up at the right time. But
Speaker 2: the backbone of all of it was the defense holding
Speaker 2: court the way it did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you said it. Until the Texans final drive where
Speaker 1: they kicked the field goal to take the lead with
Speaker 1: just under two minutes to go to go, they had
Speaker 1: only converted two third downs they got there. They got
Speaker 1: two more third down conversions on that drive to end
Speaker 1: up four out of thirteen in the game. But as
Speaker 1: you said they were just two out of ten before
Speaker 1: that last drive, and whether and you know, it's another
Speaker 1: potpoie of individuals stepping up at different times, right, whether
Speaker 1: it's Evan Williams getting the stop on the two point
Speaker 1: conversion when they tried to run Joe Mixon from the
Speaker 1: one yard line, and again that was a two point
Speaker 1: conversion from the one yard line because of a defensive
Speaker 1: penalty that actually moved the ball closer. You mentioned Eric Wilson.
Speaker 1: He steps in for kway Walker, not only to play
Speaker 1: the position, but to handle the communication, to wear the
Speaker 1: green dot, to relay all the signals to everybody. And
Speaker 1: Wilson not only keeps everybody defensively on the same page,
Speaker 1: but with those those a gap looks and some of
Speaker 1: that confusing stuff they were doing up front. He ends
Speaker 1: up with two sacks, four tackles for loss, a pass
Speaker 1: deflection on third down that led to a punt. Edgar
Speaker 1: and Cooper, we see in whatever role Jeff Hafley is
Speaker 1: giving him, the rookie linebacker is making an impact when
Speaker 1: he's out there. Some of this different pass rush stuff.
Speaker 1: We saw Rashan Gary kind of getting cut loose a
Speaker 1: little bit. He was getting some you know, some runs
Speaker 1: at the quarterback because of the you know, the stunting
Speaker 1: and the looping around and trying to get creative in
Speaker 1: that regard. So there was a lot a lot going
Speaker 1: on defensively that the Texans really had trouble with. And hey,
Speaker 1: it's a week to week league. Every game plan is
Speaker 1: going to be different. You know, there are going to
Speaker 1: be teams, I would say, like the Vikings a few
Speaker 1: weeks ago, who are going to handle the Packers preuss
Speaker 1: your packages better than the Texans did. That's going to happen.
Speaker 1: So then what are your counters, what are your answers,
Speaker 1: what are the adjustments you're going to make to still
Speaker 1: try to do things? And so that's where everything with
Speaker 1: this defense will be continue to be an evolution going forward.
Speaker 1: And on the offensive side, I guess just call it
Speaker 1: an up and down roller coaster kind of day. You know.
Speaker 1: Jordan Love's touchdown passes to Tucker Craft and Dontavian Wicks
Speaker 1: were absolutely incredible throws right on the money. Couldn't have
Speaker 1: put it in a better spot. But he also threw
Speaker 1: two interceptions obviously that he'd like to have back. The
Speaker 1: offense in the second half was backed up three times
Speaker 1: inside its own twenty yard line and went three and
Speaker 1: out and couldn't get a first down on three consecutive possessions.
Speaker 1: So there were all of these ups and downs with
Speaker 1: the offense. Fortunately, Love was able to put together that
Speaker 1: two minute drive. Buck forty four on the clock, Packers
Speaker 1: need a field goal to win. He completes four passes
Speaker 1: for thirty nine yards. They get another five yards thanks
Speaker 1: to a defensive offside and Brandon McManus, the new kicker,
Speaker 1: comes out to win the game and the Packers get
Speaker 1: the five and two. But yet are looking at the
Speaker 1: film on offense going, boy, we could have There's so
Speaker 1: much more you know that the Packers could have done
Speaker 1: in this game. So a lot to learn from. But
Speaker 1: pulling out a game with a two minute drive right
Speaker 1: at the end the way Jordan Love did, that's another
Speaker 1: step forward for that young man at quarterback.
Speaker 2: It is. And as Matt Lafleur keeps saying, the superpower
Speaker 2: of Jordan Love is always been able to move forward.
Speaker 2: And whatever has happened, it happened, You flush it, you
Speaker 2: move on to the next play. He doesn't allow those
Speaker 2: things to affect him. Now, certainly you do need to
Speaker 2: clean it up. The eight interceptions I think currently leads
Speaker 2: the NFL. I think the fifteen touchdowns also leads the
Speaker 2: NFL despite him missing two games. This is a big
Speaker 2: play quarterback, and we've all known that seeing him last season.
Speaker 2: The exciting thing for me is that with the start
Speaker 2: that he got off to last year and then how
Speaker 2: steady he was down the stretch, if he can replicate that,
Speaker 2: I mean, Jordan Love is trending in the right way,
Speaker 2: especially as he's continually getting himself back into a rhythm.
Speaker 2: What I loved about this game more than anything, though,
Speaker 2: is it was another reminder, with the defense playing into
Speaker 2: this as well, that the Green Bay Packers can win
Speaker 2: football games without being perfect. Offensively, they were not perfect.
Speaker 2: Too many take away or too many giveaways, too many
Speaker 2: three and outs, special teams not perfect. You had the
Speaker 2: muff punt that it hits Corey Ballentain's leg ends up
Speaker 2: being in a turnover. You had the situation late where
Speaker 2: Jayden Reid ends up catching the ball a little too
Speaker 2: deep and they have to start deep within their own
Speaker 2: ten yardland, their own five yard line. Certainly, as Matt
Speaker 2: Orzek I believe told Jason Wilde after the game. The
Speaker 2: snap wasn't where it needed to be. On the final
Speaker 2: field goal attempt, Daniel Wheelan made it right, Brandon McManus
Speaker 2: made the adjustment. They banged it through. So many different
Speaker 2: guys were able to pull through for this football team.
Speaker 2: They didn't rupture, they didn't lapse, They were able to
Speaker 2: continue pushing forward. These are the games I feel like,
Speaker 2: especially when you're playing a five to one football team,
Speaker 2: that you can learn the most from because Mike, they
Speaker 2: didn't do this against the Minnesota Vikings. They didn't do
Speaker 2: this in the opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. They did
Speaker 2: this against the Texas. They found a way to get
Speaker 2: that victory. And now as you press forward and cannot
Speaker 2: look past the Jacksonville Jaguars, you have to take care
Speaker 2: of business this week, but they have another one in
Speaker 2: two weeks on deck against the Detroit Lions. The stakes
Speaker 2: are going to get higher more and more as you
Speaker 2: press through this season. I feel like early crucibles like
Speaker 2: this are the things that really galvanize a football team.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, And as much as there were all these
Speaker 1: ups and downs on offense, you said it, there were
Speaker 1: ups and downs on special teams as well. Because there
Speaker 1: were the miscues on the punt returns. But man, what
Speaker 1: Daniel Wheelan did both as a punter and as a
Speaker 1: holder in this game. I mean five punts he averages
Speaker 1: fifty eight yards gross, but more importantly fifty one yards net.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you're averaging fifty plus yards net, punting
Speaker 1: when you have to punt that many times in a game,
Speaker 1: that's where your punter is is significantly impacting field position.
Speaker 1: I mentioned you know the three straight three and outs
Speaker 1: when the Packers were backed up. Well, the Texans after
Speaker 1: those three punts from the Packers being backed up, they
Speaker 1: didn't start any of those drives in front of their
Speaker 1: own forty yard line. I believe it was like the
Speaker 1: twenty five to thirty two and then thirty eight, and
Speaker 1: the thirty eight at the end was the one where
Speaker 1: then they put together their drive to get the field goal.
Speaker 1: But though, when a punter is punting from the goal line,
Speaker 1: you know with the snap putting him on the on
Speaker 1: the goal line to kick the ball, teams are hoping
Speaker 1: to be able to get the ball the forty to
Speaker 1: forty five to fifty. That didn't happen any of those
Speaker 1: times when Wheelan was kicking and then with the hold
Speaker 1: at the end, of course, everything goes perfectly smoothly with
Speaker 1: the operation. When the Texans call the time out to
Speaker 1: try to ice McManus right, everything is, everything is picture perfect.
Speaker 1: The kick is absolutely right down the middle, splits the uprights,
Speaker 1: but then you have to do it again and uh
Speaker 1: and Wheeland got a difficult snap there for McManus. It
Speaker 1: wasn't the kick wasn't exactly right down the middle, but
Speaker 1: it is obviously good hugging right inside the upright there
Speaker 1: that that hold. Man, I mean, you and I were
Speaker 1: sitting next to each other in the press box and
Speaker 1: both of us kind of what you know, when when
Speaker 1: when we saw that snap, it.
Speaker 2: Was to our end zone, you know, like that's the
Speaker 2: one we're nearest to.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean we we had a we had a
Speaker 1: perfect view of it, and it was it was oh boy,
Speaker 1: you know. And uh, you can't give enough credit to
Speaker 1: uh to Daniel wheel and he's he's a second year
Speaker 1: punter who really just learned all the nuances and the
Speaker 1: details and everything that go into whole for place kicks
Speaker 1: last year as a rookie, and he looks like one
Speaker 1: of the best in the business. Right. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: really been impressive what he's done.
Speaker 2: I say this all the time. It was one of
Speaker 2: my big lines at Inbox today. I could not care
Speaker 2: less where Daniel Wheeland ranks against other punters in the
Speaker 2: National Football League. I don't know where his average or
Speaker 2: his gross average net average punts inside the twenty. I
Speaker 2: don't know where any of that stuff figures in. But
Speaker 2: I've always held this maxim same thing with when Mason
Speaker 2: Crosby was here. Mason Crosby was never a pro bowler,
Speaker 2: and he had a couple down seasons, but for the
Speaker 2: most part improved throughout his career and was a real
Speaker 2: stall work for them in that area. If you have
Speaker 2: confidence in your specialists to fulfill the job, that's the
Speaker 2: only thing that matters.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, when you know you have your guy,
Speaker 1: I mean, yes, he's not gonna you know, nobody's honor
Speaker 1: percent perfect. There's going to be a couple of hiccups
Speaker 1: here and there. But when you know you have your guy,
Speaker 1: that puts everybody at ease. Everybody has the confidence that
Speaker 1: the job is going to get done.
Speaker 2: And punting is so circumstantial too, because you can get
Speaker 2: to the forty five yard line and then the I
Speaker 2: has to punt and he's trying to pin him in
Speaker 2: there for maybe thirty six yard net and that's going
Speaker 2: to hurt your average Daniel Wheelan with his body type,
Speaker 2: with his hands, with everything he brings to the party
Speaker 2: here for the Packers, he has. While there's been all
Speaker 2: this consternation over the kicking position the last year and
Speaker 2: a half, Daniel Whelan has quietly settled the punting thing,
Speaker 2: which had been a rotating door for the last decade
Speaker 2: at that position. Basically since Tim Massday was let go
Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen, the Packers have been going through one
Speaker 2: punter after the next. Yep, Daniel Wheelan's the guy. And
Speaker 2: it's just been incredible to watch his maturation because it's
Speaker 2: not that he just won the job and then okay,
Speaker 2: well now you just roll with him. No. I mean,
Speaker 2: this guy has become one of the real central characters
Speaker 2: of this football team with the way in which he's
Speaker 2: affecting field position.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he had a field He's an anchor. He's an
Speaker 1: anchor on this special teams unit. There's no question about that.
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Speaker 1: of better. All right, Well, the good news is the
Speaker 1: Packers are five and two. The bad news is five
Speaker 1: and two is only good for third place in the
Speaker 1: NFC North because the Detroit Lions squeaked it out against
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings in a wildly entertaining game. I mean,
Speaker 1: I obviously wasn't watching it, but I watched the highlights
Speaker 1: and I was kind of like, wow, did everybody get
Speaker 1: their money's worth in that one? As well? Detroit beats
Speaker 1: Minnesota on a late field goal after blowing an eleven
Speaker 1: point lead in the fourth quarter. Detroit is five and one,
Speaker 1: Minnesota is five and one, Green Bay is five and two,
Speaker 1: and the Chicago Bears, who were on their by this
Speaker 1: past week, are four and two. There are if I
Speaker 1: counted it, correctly Wes after Tampa Bay's loss on Monday
Speaker 1: Night Football to the Baltimore Ravens. I believe six of
Speaker 1: the eight divisions in the NFL have a team with
Speaker 1: at least five wins. There are two divisions that do not.
Speaker 1: Do I have that right? What? Six? Six of the
Speaker 1: eight yeah, yep, six of the eight have a team
Speaker 1: with five wins five or more wins. My point is
Speaker 1: the NFC North is the only one with more than
Speaker 1: one team with five wins, and the NFC North has three.
Speaker 2: And also the AFC North. Now because Baltimore went less.
Speaker 2: Oh because Baltimore, Baltimore.
Speaker 1: That's the AFC. That's right, Because in the NFC they're
Speaker 1: the only thing. Because that's right. Baltimore got its fifth win.
Speaker 1: And Pittsburgh also have has five wins because they won
Speaker 1: on Sunday Night full again, they ran through the Jets.
Speaker 1: So two divisions in the NFL with multiple teams with
Speaker 1: five plus but the NFC North has three teams with
Speaker 1: five plus wins this race for the division championship. The
Speaker 1: Packers have played the Vikings and the Vikings got that win.
Speaker 1: The Vikings have played the Lions and the Lions got
Speaker 1: that win. Those are the only division games that have
Speaker 1: been played so far. This race for the division title
Speaker 1: is barely getting started.
Speaker 2: I've heard so many good things about Cole Comet down
Speaker 2: in Chicago, and I've and just watching him from Afar.
Speaker 2: I've gained a lot of appreciation for the way he speaks,
Speaker 2: obviously the way he plays, and it was really interesting.
Speaker 2: On Monday, as the Bears are getting back from their
Speaker 2: bye week, he met with the media and they were
Speaker 2: asking him about the North and he said, yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm not crazy about this. I mean, why would you be.
Speaker 2: You don't You don't necessarily want to be in a
Speaker 2: situation where you're you're having to be four and two
Speaker 2: and in fourth place right now. Yeah, But as he said,
Speaker 2: these are also the games you want to play in.
Speaker 2: These are this is the type of competition you want
Speaker 2: to have, especially for a young team like that trying
Speaker 2: to improve. It is going to be an absolute barn
Speaker 2: burner to the finish line. I just don't think there's
Speaker 2: gonna be any scenario in the next month that would
Speaker 2: change that. There's gonna be so many division games in
Speaker 2: the NFC North that are going to really dictate not
Speaker 2: only who's in the lead of this thing to try
Speaker 2: to claiming that championship but also trying to get into
Speaker 2: the playoffs there. So there's a lot that goes into that.
Speaker 2: I felt the Detroit Minnesota game you mentioned the down
Speaker 2: to the wire nature of that thing. One, I think
Speaker 2: it worked out to green Bay's benefit the fact that
Speaker 2: Detroit won they got that zero finally off of the
Speaker 2: Minnesota vikings. But two, it was another reminder that it
Speaker 2: wasn't like Detroit or Minnesota played poorly. Both of those
Speaker 2: teams did exactly what they've been doing. Jamiir Gibbs was
Speaker 2: fantastic in that game. Jared Goff got off to another
Speaker 2: incredible start, twelve straight completions to start that game. Aaron
Speaker 2: Jones came back from the hamstring injury to have a
Speaker 2: very Aaron Jones type performance. Sam Darnold, with the exception
Speaker 2: of one in was very efficient for them. Those teams
Speaker 2: are good football teams, good well coached football teams, and
Speaker 2: in the Packers are going to have their hands full
Speaker 2: in two weeks against the Lions. But that being said,
Speaker 2: the North is as difficult and as treacherous as everybody's
Speaker 2: making it out to be. There's just so many playmakers
Speaker 2: in this division, and honestly, I think a part of
Speaker 2: that Packers have been what they've been, But all these
Speaker 2: teams have made really savvy offseason moves, whether it's the
Speaker 2: drafting of the Chicago Bears, whether it's the Detroit Lions
Speaker 2: with their process that they've been going through the last
Speaker 2: four years, or Minnesota just completely overhauling the roster last season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think there's in some ways there's already
Speaker 1: a lesson to be learned from the two division games
Speaker 1: that have been played so far in the NFC North,
Speaker 1: because we saw the Vikings get up twenty eight to
Speaker 1: nothing on the Packers, where nothing was going right for
Speaker 1: Green Bay, everything is going right for Minnesota, and then
Speaker 1: the Packers make this furious comeback and end up losing
Speaker 1: by just two. Right then you look at how that
Speaker 1: Lions Vikings game went on Sunday. The Vikings jump on
Speaker 1: top ten to nothing in the early portion of the game.
Speaker 1: The middle portion of the game, the Lions completely dominate
Speaker 1: the Vikings by believe a twenty eight to seven count,
Speaker 1: because then the score is twenty eight to seventeen heading
Speaker 1: into the fourth quarter. Then the Vikings score twelve straight
Speaker 1: points to go ahead twenty nine to twenty eight, and
Speaker 1: then the Lions sort of they had the ball last
Speaker 1: kind of thing and end up getting in position to
Speaker 1: make the field goal. And actually I saw I don't
Speaker 1: know the details of it, but I saw some kind
Speaker 1: of a headline that referred to if it hadn't been
Speaker 1: for the Vikings getting the Vikings got the ball back
Speaker 1: with like fifteen seconds to go, and if it hadn't
Speaker 1: been for some kind of a penalty on Minnesota, they
Speaker 1: would have had they would have had a chance at
Speaker 1: a sixty eight yard field legal formation, illegal formation, that's
Speaker 1: what it was. They would have had a chance at
Speaker 1: a sixty eight yard field goal. And apparently they were
Speaker 1: going to let will Reikerd, the rookie kicker. They were
Speaker 1: going to let him try it. They're in us, Yeah,
Speaker 1: they were going to let him try that, and it
Speaker 1: didn't happen because then they ended up getting backed up
Speaker 1: another five yards. But my point is we've seen two
Speaker 1: NFC North Division games so far, and they've both been
Speaker 1: just these back and forth kind of you know, wild
Speaker 1: and crazy type of affairs. So whether it's you know,
Speaker 1: the Lions and the Bears, the Packers and the Bears,
Speaker 1: the you know, Lions, and the Packers in a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks. I think these are the kind of games
Speaker 1: that we can expect in this division the rest of
Speaker 1: the way.
Speaker 2: All these games are going to be in the second
Speaker 2: half of the season too. Like I mentioned, I think
Speaker 2: on the last show, the Lions and Packers are the
Speaker 2: only one before Week ten. Now, so I mean you
Speaker 2: will have had two three at that point division matchups
Speaker 2: in the first nine weeks that the season. That's remarkable.
Speaker 2: The Packers will have finished up against the AFC South
Speaker 2: by the time they play their second NFC North team,
Speaker 2: yeah Wi Yeah.
Speaker 1: And that last, that last AFC South team the Packers
Speaker 1: have to play as the Jacksonville Jaguars. That will be
Speaker 1: this week's upcoming opponent. We'll talk about them more on
Speaker 1: our next show. You got anything, I'm not letting you
Speaker 1: leave yet.
Speaker 2: One. We also got to make sure we talk about
Speaker 2: the NFL Draft. We got to get that in. I do.
Speaker 1: I'm ready for that.
Speaker 2: Before you do that, though, I need to mention one
Speaker 2: last thing because when we transitioned to the segment the
Speaker 2: first time, I wasn't completely done talking about this matchup
Speaker 2: against the Houston Texas. So I'm going to give you
Speaker 2: my three stars, my three underrated stars that we have
Speaker 2: not discussed yet. We don't have to know, and I
Speaker 2: just want to make sure, Oh this goes on. I
Speaker 2: want to hear it now. Okay, Josh Jacobs had his
Speaker 2: first NFL receiving touchdown. The Packers had had that in
Speaker 2: all week. They finally got it into play. He scores.
Speaker 2: That was really cool and noteworthy, and then there was
Speaker 2: some really nice banter back and forth about it being
Speaker 2: whether he should keep the football, Tucker Craft giving it
Speaker 2: to him, him wanting to give it to Jordan Love
Speaker 2: because it was his fiftieth passing touchdown. We'll see where
Speaker 2: that ends up happening. It was even more important, though,
Speaker 2: the fact that Josh Jacobs had twelve carries for seventy
Speaker 2: six yards, the reversals, the end a rounds, the receiver stuff.
Speaker 2: Houston was hipped to it, and the Packers stayed in
Speaker 2: front of that. Though with how Josh Jacobs ran the football,
Speaker 2: two Romeo Dobs bawled out on some day, eight catches
Speaker 2: ninety four yards. I don't know if there was a
Speaker 2: single one of them that wasn't meaningless. Every single one
Speaker 2: of them, including on the final drive to set up
Speaker 2: the touchdown. Ye insane game by Rome and showed really
Speaker 2: good hands throughout that. I mean again the possession receiver
Speaker 2: that I think has become the Jordan Nelson, the DeVante
Speaker 2: Adams to Jordan Love that Adams and Nelson were to Rogers. Lastly,
Speaker 2: Stefan Diggs, for all the pomp and circumstance before the games,
Speaker 2: had five catches for twenty three yards. I believe this
Speaker 2: was Bill Rabier who had mentioned this to me while
Speaker 2: we were waiting to go in the locker room. I
Speaker 2: believe it was in nine games he has like ten
Speaker 2: touchdowns against Green Bay.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he had had a streak. He had had a
Speaker 1: streak of I believe it was eight consecutive games against
Speaker 1: the Packers between his time with Minnesota obviously when he
Speaker 1: was playing twice a year, and then also with Buffalo.
Speaker 1: He had scored a touchdown against the Packers like eight
Speaker 1: straight times and he didn't come close to one.
Speaker 2: On Nico Collins isn't on the field. That's a huge
Speaker 2: loss for them. The Packers pressured CJ. Stroud constantly, but
Speaker 2: I think that's a huge credit to jy R. Alexander.
Speaker 2: It's a huge credit to Keishawn Nixon when he was
Speaker 2: matched up in how Green Bay defended it. Could say
Speaker 2: what you want about Jay R, but I'm telling you, man,
Speaker 2: just guy is one heck of an NFL cornerback. Yeah
Speaker 2: he is. That's it Now I'm done talking.
Speaker 1: No, that's okay. Sorry, I didn't let you get to
Speaker 1: that stuff.
Speaker 2: No, it was okay. We talked about a lot already.
Speaker 2: There was a lot to discuss out of this game,
Speaker 2: but it was just like, once we get to Thursday,
Speaker 2: it's not gonna be able to discuss as much. Dobbs,
Speaker 2: Jacobs and jah I felt like had three of the
Speaker 2: most noteworthy performances without having an insane touchdown catch like
Speaker 2: Tucker Kraft or you know, the TFLs and the sacks
Speaker 2: and everything. It's just they were just so consistent. The
Speaker 2: Packers don't win this game without them. Yeah, absolutely, thank you.
Speaker 2: I'll pay you in paper and coins.
Speaker 1: No, I have to pay you back now with this
Speaker 1: NFL Draft promo, because the countdown to the twenty twenty
Speaker 1: five NFL Draft in Green Bay has begun. Mark your
Speaker 1: calendars for April twenty fourth through April twenty six twenty
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Speaker 1: twenty five for more information.
Speaker 2: It's six months away, brou I know, unbelievable.
Speaker 1: We have a lot to get through before then, but yeah,
Speaker 1: you're right, it's only.
Speaker 2: Six months away.
Speaker 1: It's only six months.
Speaker 2: When you get to advanced age like you and I like,
Speaker 2: six months is not that far away. Like to a
Speaker 2: fifteen year old, they'd be like, oh, that's like three
Speaker 2: years away, dude. But I mean, like to me, it's
Speaker 2: like we're gonna blink and that's gonna be here already.
Speaker 1: Yes, we are. We are gonna blink, So keep your
Speaker 1: eyes open because we got a lot of football left
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty four. Yeah, or you get to the
Speaker 1: draft in twenty five. But with that, we'll call it
Speaker 1: a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscript. You'd be
Speaker 1: sure to follow all of our coverage of the team
Speaker 1: on Packers dot com for Wes, I am Mike. Thank
Speaker 1: you for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.