WEBVTT - #369 Packers Unscripted: Taking care of business 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:20.759 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.479 I am Mike Spofford. He is Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.360 to you here from our studios at lambau Field West. 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.200 Our final show of the week, and that means keys 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.560 to victory. It will be Packers Cardinals noon Central time, 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:37.800 kickoff on Sunday at lambeau Field. The Packers at four 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:40.879 six and one, trying to get win number five in 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:44.960 this season. What's it gonna take? You know, Mike, It's funny. 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:48.400 We are now in week thirteen. As you have alluded 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:51.519 to in the past, we've gotten to this point. The 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:54.480 records are what they are. Out of any game I 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:57.720 think the Packers have played this season, maybe with the 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:01.760 exception of the Buffalo Bills, it's a pretty clear and 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.720 defined path to victory and what they need to do. 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.280 When you look at the lines in this game coming 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:10.640 out of Vegas, you look at you know what the 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:14.640 outside perception is, regardless of all what the narrative is. 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.160 There's a reason why the Packers are favored in this 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:20.759 The Arizona Cardinals are in a tight spot right now 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:23.800 under Steve Wilkes, and in speaking with the media this week, 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:25.840 he acknowledged, you know, some of the things that they've 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.720 been working through him as a first year coach. Josh 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:32.160 Rosen is a rookie quarterback. All that being said, the 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:34.840 Packers have to take care of business in this game. 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:37.520 You asked me what the key to victory is. Everything 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.200 is the key to victory. Aaron Rodgers needs to play well. 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:42.560 The defense needs to take the ball away, Aaron Jones 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:45.560 needs to get involved. Davante Adams needs another hundred yard performance. 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.160 Whatever it takes to get that victory. The Packers need 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:51.480 to get it because at the end of the day, 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:54.000 while Mike Petton mentioned it, everybody in the locker room 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.800 talked about it. You're not looking past the Cardinals. You cannot. 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:58.880 You're not in a position to look past the Cardinals. 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.400 The facts are what they are. The Cardinals are two 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:03.280 and nine right now, they're on a three game skid. 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.720 They have the worst ranked offense in seventeen of the 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:11.160 top nineteen categories. That's just the facts. For the Green 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:12.800 Bay Packers. They need to pick up this win. They 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:14.600 need to get on a winning streak here to to 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.119 make this you know, potentially interesting here down the stretch. Yeah, 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:20.000 I mean, as you said, this one all points to 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.680 the Packers being so heavily favored because the Cardinals have 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.280 struggled as much as they have. Obviously, the Packers are 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.720 undefeated at lambeau Field this year. I said it earlier 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.520 this week. I said it on our Final Thoughts video 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.080 which is on our website, which we shot just before 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:38.200 we came and sat down here and turned the cameras on. 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:41.920 This is one of those games to me, all the 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:45.280 circumstances and everything surrounding it, that this is a team 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:48.240 you have to jump on them early, break whatever spirit 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.960 they might have in terms of trying to pull the upset, 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:53.640 and then you have to protect the football. And I 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:55.880 think if you do that, the combination of the fact 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.320 that the Cardinals are two and nine, they've had a 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:01.919 really rough go of it year with their rookie head coach. 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:05.640 They're a team from the southwestern corner of the United 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.240 States that plays in warm weather, that plays in a dome. 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:11.120 Coming up to lambeau Field where it's gonna the temperatures 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:13.799 are going to be in the thirties, don't give them 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:18.640 any idea, any sense that they can win this game 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.200 and where they'll get a sense of winning this game 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:25.120 is if the Packers don't start fast, and if the 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:27.600 Packers turn the ball over, that that's that's how you 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:30.520 give a team like this life in a situation like this, 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:32.360 And to me, it's as simple as that. That's what 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:34.040 the Packers have to do well. And it's kind of 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.640 stunning in some ways with the Cardinals because we're there. 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.920 Through eleven games here right now, Mike, they've only scored 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:42.520 more than three touchdowns, more than twenty one points in 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:46.120 one occasion, and it was victory over San Francisco, who 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.080 just so happens to be the only team they've beaten 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.160 this year. They did it twice to victories over the Ers. 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:56.640 So yeah, the main reason you always want to start fast, 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.920 You always want to stop on them early. But they're 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.240 coming off a forty I have to tend loss against 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:03.640 the Los Angeles Chargers. The thing I think a lot 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:05.560 of people aren't talking enough about in that game is 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:08.200 it was forty five on answered by the Chargers to 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:10.600 win that game. Right. The Cardinals had the lead earlier, 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:13.760 they led after the first quarter, tended nothing in the child. 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:16.000 I believe they missed a field goal somewhere in there too, 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:18.400 where they could have even pushed their lead a little 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:20.080 bit higher. So I mean, if you're looking at it 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:22.240 from the last three quarters perspective, this is a team 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.320 that's really reeling now. As I mentioned in our previous 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:28.200 show Mike on Wednesday, they still have a lot of playmakers. 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:30.240 They still have a lot of people that can disrupt 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:33.000 the game on both sides of the ball. Chandler's Jones, 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.880 Patrick Peterson, We'll see whether or not, Buddha Baker's and 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.680 the Plans. But on the other side of it, the 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:42.520 Green Bay Packers have played with some really good football 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:44.839 teams in the last over the last month. I understand 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.280 what the record is. I know they didn't win those games, 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:52.040 but there's a there's levels to this, right the Rams, Patriots, 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.800 and heck even to some extent, the Vikings in the 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.360 in the Seahawks. They're on a different level right now 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:59.839 than Arizona is. You can't play down to that. You 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:01.920 have to come out, you have to look strong, you 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:04.600 have to defend your home turf. Yeah. I did a 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.920 little bit of statistical searching this week with West with 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:12.080 regards to uh Steve Wilkes being a rookie head coach 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:14.200 coming in here into lambou Field. I took a look 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:16.719 at the entire Mike McCarthy era, dating back to two 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:20.680 thousand six and when the Packers have faced a rookie 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:23.160 head coach. Now, to define that, what I'm talking about 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:26.279 is a head coach who's in his first season as 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.839 a head coach in the NFL anywhere, So a coach 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:32.240 who is in his first year with a team but 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:34.520 has been a head coach somewhere else previously, not a 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.760 rookie head coach. That doesn't doesn't count. So yeah, the 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.600 North Turners, the John Foxes, you know, those guys who 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.280 have switched teams and whatnot and faced the Packers. That 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:48.720 doesn't count. Interesting thing that I found is that Mike 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:52.039 McCarthy actually has a pretty darn goood record against these 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:55.800 rookie head coaches. He's over his thirteen seasons now he 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:59.839 is twenty four and nine. And the interesting thing to 0:05:59.880 --> 0:06:02.840 me about that nine in the lost column is that 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:07.120 three of those nine losses came in McCarthy's own rookie 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.880 head coach season of two thousand and six. So if 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.440 you start at two thousand and seven, when McCarthy was No. 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:16.080 Longer a rookie head coach. He's only lost six times 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:19.640 in twelve years, including this year to a rookie head coach. 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:22.760 Now the loss to the Lions and Matt Patricia that's 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:26.720 the most recent one here, but not including this year. 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.679 You actually have to go back to when Aaron Rodgers 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:33.080 was injured and the Chip Kelly Carter chip Kelly Eagles 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.320 excuse me, came into lambeau Field and beat the Packers 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.680 in a game that Sonic Wallace started, and then Scott 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:40.960 Tolzene came in after the first series of the game. 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:44.159 McCarthy had actually gone a handful of years without losing 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:47.960 to a rookie head coach until until the loss in 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:51.320 Detroit earlier this year. So Steve Wilkes having a rough 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:54.400 go of it's so far in in Arizona, and the 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:57.640 track record for the Packers under Mike McCarthy that this 0:06:57.720 --> 0:06:59.520 is the type of game that they win well. And 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:01.719 I want to set this all up is just everything's 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:03.680 all doom and gloom with the Cardinals. They've had some 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:05.960 things go well for them. I think David Johnson has 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.320 re emerged in this offense over the last three games. 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:10.600 So you have to be cognizant of him. There's talent 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:12.760 on the roster, there's no question about it. We talked 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:16.320 about Chandler Jones with his eleven sacks, and he's a 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:19.000 premier pass rusher in this league. The news sounds pretty 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:22.120 good at this point on David bak Try at left 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:24.280 tackle being able to play for the Packers. He actually 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:28.000 did more in Thursday's practice than was anticipated. As long 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:30.840 as his rehab and recovery and everything goes well, it 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:33.080 sounds like he's going to play. But if he's not 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:35.360 at a hundred percent, you are going up against an 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:39.000 all Pro caliber rusher. Yeah, absolutely, and you look offensively 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:41.480 Larry Fitzgerald. We've talked about him this week and and 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:43.600 how savvy he is and what he could potentially do 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:46.080 to you. But at the end of the day, there 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:47.800 was a reason why I think a lot of people 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:50.640 view the Cardinals being a somewhat rebuilding mode and the 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:54.080 post Bruce arians era in the Packers to initially be 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:56.800 a title contender this season. It's the makeup of the roster, 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.160 it's the overall depth of the team, and while the 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:02.040 Packers are working through some injuries right now, I think 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:05.160 stud for stud playmaker for playmaker, there's the tilts to 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:09.000 their side of the field. So for me, I mean, 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:10.920 I understand these last couple of weeks have been tough 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:12.840 and they've taken some on the chin on the road 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.520 as difficult that is, you have to flush it. You 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:17.600 have to remember what you did to the Miami Dolphins 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:22.720 here three weeks ago, and what exactly went well in 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.560 that game for the Packers too, for the most part, 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:29.840 control the tempo of that entire contest. For Josh Rosen, 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:31.720 one of the things I brought up in our final 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:35.160 Thoughts video that you referenced six centers or eleven interceptions 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.560 eleven turnovers. Excuse me and keep messing that up. Over 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:41.160 the last six games, nine interceptions, two fumbles lost the 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.320 Grimmy Packers have wanted to go get the football. They 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:46.960 wanted to turn over the football. Mike Patton's big headline 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:50.280 type statement on Thursday night when he met with the 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:53.480 media was we have to take the football away. It's 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:55.560 what his best defense is. In addition to be top 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:58.240 ten units with the Jets and the Bills, they also 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.319 took the ball away a lot. That's the one thing 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.280 that's missing Rosen having the issues that he's had this year. 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:05.840 As you've mentioned before, Mike, when they took on Josh 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:07.880 Allen earlier this year, that turned out to be a 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.600 recipe for success. They need to do that again. Yeah, 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.040 and when you talk about the turnovers on defense, I'm 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:15.760 sure everybody's getting tired of us talking about it and 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:20.240 it being mentioned so often. But you can't you almost 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.240 can't harp on it enough because all you have to 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:25.280 do is look a few hours south at the Chicago 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:29.000 Bears and the fact that in the span of five days, 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:32.640 with two division games on the docket a Sunday night 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:36.560 game followed by Thursday afternoon game, the Bears got two 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:39.960 picks sixes from Eddie Jackson against Kirk Cousins and against 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:44.160 Matthew Stafford that both proved critical to winning those games. 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:46.679 The Bears are doing it with defense and takeaways. They 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:51.640 lead the league in turnover margin. And yes, there is 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:55.280 nothing that is necessarily spectacular about the Bears offense. Mitch 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:57.920 Drabinski is now injured. They're dealing with Chase Daniel as 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:01.680 a backup quarterback. The Bears are inning with defense and turnovers. 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.040 They're sitting there at eight and three in the in 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:06.959 the catbird seed in the NFC North because they take 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:10.160 the football away. And I was doing our Packers pregame 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:14.520 radio on Sunday night before that game against Minnesota, and 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:16.600 one of the things I said, not I'm not trying 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.320 to disrespect anybody here when I say this, but in 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:21.160 a lot of ways, the Bears kind of do remind 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:22.760 me of I believe it was that two thousand one 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:26.560 team where Jim Miller was their quarterbacks they and I 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:29.920 think Anthony Thomas was their running back still at that time, 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:33.880 I think, yeah, they were They did what they had 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:37.240 to do offensively, and that defense was just so overpowering, 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:38.960 and I believe they wrote it to a thirteen and 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:42.120 three record that year. The train eventually stopped for them, 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.600 but that was the year where Dick Geron really got 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:48.199 that team going. To a certain extent, this team reminds 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.400 me of that a little bit, just based on how 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.880 defense has controlled the temple of things. But at the 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:56.480 same time, I still don't think they're unbeatable. I still 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:58.960 think the Packers have a very realistic chance with Aaron 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.480 Rodgers go went into Soldier Field they've done in the 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.280 past and winning, but none of that matters if you 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:07.600 can't get past Arizona in Atlanta. So the big thing 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:09.800 we've talked about, Mike, and it's been almost three months now, 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:11.320 is that you have to get on a winning streak. 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:14.200 This is Taylor made to start a winning streak for them. 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:16.880 It's Taylor made to start building some momentum and you 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:19.960 have to capitalize on it well. As we usually do. 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:22.080 On our final show the week, we take a look 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:24.640 at other games around the league, and while we're talking 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:28.240 about the Bears, they have the New York Giants this week, 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:30.840 and that's a game that on paper a few weeks ago, 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.720 everybody's already chalking it up as a Chicago Bears victory. 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:38.719 But the Giants are playing better. They took the Philadelphia 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:41.000 Eagles to the wire last week and probably should have 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:43.160 beaten them. Quite frankly, they had the lead the bulk 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.440 of the game. Sae Kwan Barkley an incredibly dangerous player, 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:49.200 and it doesn't sound like the Bears are gonna have 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:52.480 Mitch Rubinsky again. For all the talk about last week, 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.440 the short week, it was on a Thursday, and if 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:56.720 the game had been on a Sunday, Trubisky probably would 0:11:56.720 --> 0:12:00.319 have played well. Here we are. Now he's too weeks 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:02.960 into his injury, and they're still talking about starting Chase 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.680 Daniel in East Rutherford on Sunday. This is I mean, 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:08.840 I know the Giants are three and eight, This is 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.760 no gimme for the Bears, and and with the Vikings 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:14.240 coming off of their win over the Packers, the Bears, 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:18.320 the Bears don't want to lose that catbird seat that 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:20.320 I just mentioned in the NFC norm Yeah, it's funny. 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.000 One of the things I've kind of always said. I've 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:23.640 never really said it on air, but I've always said 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:26.400 it to people on the beat. You know, you can talk, 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.320 but it's really that final inactive list that really speaks, right, 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:33.280 you know exactly. You know, Matt Nage can say, yeah, 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.280 you know, if it was you can put anybody questionable 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.199 on the court, right, I mean, you can't get fine, 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:40.920 you can't get fined if a guy is questionable. Whatever. 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:44.160 The ultimate decisions Bill Belichick, right. But I mean, but 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:45.679 that's the thing Nay said, you know, if it was 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.439 a full week, he'd play. You just never know, because 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:51.040 these are human beings and injuries are very real. So 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.280 I've paid I've paid attention to the Giants. I mean, 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:56.800 I still think there are some glaring weaknesses in that team, 0:12:56.840 --> 0:13:00.000 but you know, with Barkley, with you know, Odell Becky 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.199 Coom Jr. Seems to be in a groove right now 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.320 over a thousand yards again on the season. Evan Ingram 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:07.880 is healthy again for them, or at least you know, 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:10.760 was able to return, so potentially being able to to 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:12.920 build some momentum there. I think this whole week though, Mike, 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.200 when you look at the NFC race, you know the 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.520 Vikings have to go over to New England. I mean, yeah, 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:18.880 that was the next one I was going to ask 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:21.800 you about the Patriots hosting the Minnesota Vikings. That game 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.840 will be right after the Packer games. It's the late 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:29.000 afternoon kind of national TV spotlight there with with Minnesota 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.880 going to Foxborough. They're count off their win over the 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:35.800 Packers and uh and the Patriots Suddenly everybody's talking about 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:37.640 them getting the number one seed in the a f 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.480 C again because of the because of the Steelers losing 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:42.960 and the fact that they have the tiebreaker over the 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:46.000 Chiefs because because they beat him head to head. So 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:47.800 the door is still open for New England to get 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.440 the top seed in the a f C, and you 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:52.240 look at it. Washington's traveling to Philadelphia. Somebody's going to 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.360 take a loss there. Caroline has been up and down 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:56.600 there going up against the Tampa Bay team that seemed 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:58.480 to gain him a little bit of momentum last week. 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:01.960 And then certainly you see how this thing lines up 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:04.680 with the Cowboys yesterday getting a much needed victory over 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:07.000 the Saints. So yeah, there definitely isn't any given Sunday 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.680 approach right now to this conference, and we saw it. 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:11.440 You outlined at what this is gonna be like for 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:13.440 the Packers to get where they need to be. You 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:15.120 have to win five games and you have to see 0:14:15.120 --> 0:14:16.960 how the rest of the thing plays out. But the 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:18.840 one thing that's underrated, Mike, and I've seen this in 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:22.080 my own fantasy football league, if you win five straight games, 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.160 it's amazing sometimes how the rest of the pieces start 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:26.920 to fall in place for you. The Packers saw it 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.120 in two thousand thirteen, they saw it in two thousand 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.040 and sixteen. The Bears still out from front with that division, 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.680 with how log jam this conference is right now, the 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:36.920 door is still there. Yeah, what are your thoughts quickly 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.560 before we go on that Thursday night game, the Dallas 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:44.360 Cowboys holding the most explosive offense in the NFC. In 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:46.840 the New Orleans Saints a ten game winning streak, it 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.720 comes to an end at Jerry's World thirteen to ten. 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:53.000 The Saints had three first downs and fifty nine yards 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.720 of offense getting shut out in the first half, and 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:57.760 then they just couldn't quite muster enough in the second 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.240 half when they shut out the Cowboys themselves, because the 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:02.960 Cowboys are up thirteen nothing. Your thoughts on how that 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:05.760 played out and what that means now in the NFC playoffs, Well, 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:07.760 if you know, Matt Arvan up in the studio would 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:10.840 have our ability to play back video. I said the 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:12.760 day before this was going to be a supreme test 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.360 for for Dallas defense and to show if they're legit 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:19.440 or not. They're very legit. Amari Cooper has changed the 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:22.840 structure of that offense. I mean Dak Prescott, he had 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.520 Dez Bryant, before he had Jason Witten. There was a 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.720 dearth of options for him perimeter wise. They went and 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:30.400 got to Marie Cooper and I know it was only 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.160 eight catches for seventy five yards, but possessions stuff like 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:34.960 that and watching him the way he moved the ball 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.800 underneath there just with so much more rhythm with that offense. 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:41.120 Despite the fact that Zeke Elliott didn't have this monster game, 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:43.440 he only had seventy three carry or seventy six yards 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:47.080 on twenty three carries, and offensively, the Saints just couldn't 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.000 get anything going on their end of things. So, yeah, 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:52.080 the Dallas is right back in this thing in Washington 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.240 dealing with what they're dealing with injuries wise, it puts 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:55.840 them in a tough spot as well. That's what I 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:58.120 was gonna say is is now things kind of are 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.360 setting up for Dallas just the way you would. I know, 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:02.720 everybody was writing them off at three and five, and 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:05.400 what's wrong with the Cowboys and his Dak Prescott really 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:08.280 the quarterback of the future will Suddenly They've now won 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:11.320 four in a row, the fourth win coming against the 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.280 top team in the NFC that was riding a ten 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:17.120 game winning streak in the Saints and then their strongest 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:20.160 competition in the NFC East, has a backup quarterback for 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:22.760 the rest of the season because of that unfortunate and 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:26.800 horrific injury to Alex Smith. While the Super Bowl champion 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.760 defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles just haven't quite found 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:31.560 their footing yet and are still trying to get back 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:34.760 to five to say that, yeah, yeah, we're still in this. Yeah, 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:36.960 it's it's still right there for everybody, and it's gonna 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.360 be interesting to see how it plays out. Um. As 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.000 we begin to wrap up the show, Mike, am I 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:44.000 allowed to potentially add another segment to this thing? Sure, 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:47.480 I know you're the show. Here's um. I do want 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:49.360 to make notice that this is the My Cause, My 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.080 Cleats weekend for the Packers. Now, the way it works 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:54.160 is you can do it basically any week time between 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.280 week thirteen and week fifteen goes open. A majority of 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:00.920 the players, though wearing cleats for certain causes. Davante Adams 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.919 cystic vibrosis, Reggie Gilbert, a number of different guys, Aaron Rodgers, 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:08.000 I believe doing the Wounded Warrior fund um. But also 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:10.120 I want to mention jire Alexander, who had a chance 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.879 to in bed with earlier this week at a event 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:16.040 he hosted for the Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay. 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:18.600 Wrote a story for that on our website. Also some 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:21.000 great multimedia things we did as well. It's a really 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:23.040 good piece. By the way, you should definitely check it out. 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.000 Kind of gives you a little bit more of an 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.879 insight into Alexander's background and and just kind of the 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:32.000 personality that he is off the field, because we've seen 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:33.600 so much of what he's like on the field. And 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:35.840 and my biggest takeaway, if you get a chance to 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:38.360 check it out, or even if you don't, is kind 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:40.919 of getting understanding for how something like Boys and Girls 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:43.320 Club what kind of lasting impact that can have on 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.960 an individual. In jire Alexander's case, um, you know, he 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:50.560 he had some very humble beginnings. Football wasn't immediately presented 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:52.679 to him as an option. There were some things that 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.120 his family had to overcome. Well, it was actually through 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:56.879 the Boys and Girls Club down in his hometown of 0:17:56.960 --> 0:17:58.960 Charlotte that he got introduced to it. Was able to 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.080 play pop worn or foot ball through it. Um he said, 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:04.320 it wasn't, you know, always glamorous. You know, the fields 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:06.440 that they played on had thorns and holes and things 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:08.680 like that. He'd go home and he'd be scratching and itching. 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.399 But it was there that he developed the love for it. 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.399 And then as time went on, he realized this is 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.359 something that I can actually do to potentially help improve 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:19.320 my family situation, you know, and had a chance to 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:21.760 bring twenty kids out from the Green Bay Boys and 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:25.600 Girls Club. Uh, they went to flow yoga. UM. If 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.720 you know anything about Ryan Cunningham, she works with a 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:30.080 lot of packer players, Tremont Williams being one of her 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:32.680 main ones. Um and being able to just sit down 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.280 with kids for forty five minutes an hour, did all 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:37.760 the yoga poses with him, did the meditation, then had 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:41.359 probably the biggest most interactive Q and A session I 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:43.840 think I've ever witnessed from seven to twelve year olds. 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:46.480 I mean, it was incredible how engaged they were with it. 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:50.680 Jaire Alexander has a real interesting personality, as we've talked 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:54.800 about in the past, extremely extroverted, very confident in himself, 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:58.439 but also has a real tremendous ability to get on 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:00.960 the level of anybody. And in this case, it was 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.160 interacting with kids that he never met before but made 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:05.359 a point to learn their name and be able to 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:08.200