Speaker 1: Hi, everybody.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 2: I am like Spofford, joined as always by my trust
Speaker 2: and colleague Wes Hodkoitz. We're coming to you Hear from
Speaker 2: our studios at Lambeaufield to preview Sunday's Packers Bears showdown.
Speaker 2: It will be at Soldier Field in Chicago, a noon
Speaker 2: Central time.
Speaker 1: Kickoff and west.
Speaker 2: Before we dive a little bit deeper into this four
Speaker 2: and five Chicago Bears team, a quick.
Speaker 1: Update on the.
Speaker 2: Health department for the Packers. Quarterback Jordan Love, a full
Speaker 2: participant in practice on Wednesday, took all of the reps.
Speaker 2: That was certainly good news to hear. Jay r, Alexander,
Speaker 2: Evan Williams, Josh Myers all back at practice on Wednesday
Speaker 2: after missing the last game against the Lions before the bye.
Speaker 2: Colby Wooden defensive lineman, second year pro. He was the
Speaker 2: only player on the Packers current active roster who did
Speaker 2: not practice on Wednesday. He has a shoulder injury. By
Speaker 2: all accounts, at least so far, the bye week did
Speaker 2: some good for the Packers as far as their injury report.
Speaker 3: You missed the biggest one of all Michael Tucker Craft
Speaker 3: no longer in the red non contact jersey Tucker Klaft
Speaker 3: Craft will once again be unleashed on the Packers defense
Speaker 3: in practices after having to take off him here the
Speaker 3: last couple months. But you know, all joking aside, I
Speaker 3: felt like it was a reason why I ended up
Speaker 3: doing my Thursday morning story. I mean, this was what
Speaker 3: everybody was waiting to see. You know, you saw Evan Williams,
Speaker 3: you sat jyr Alexander, you sat Josh Myers going into
Speaker 3: the Lions game. Jordan was dealing with what he was
Speaker 3: dealing with. How are they going to look on the
Speaker 3: other side of this thing? I thought Wednesday's practice obviously
Speaker 3: was very positive. Nobody's making any promises. Evan Williams wasn't,
Speaker 3: Josh Myers wasn't at his locker, But it does sound
Speaker 3: like there's optimism there that all those guys are making
Speaker 3: the progress you want to see. And even more than that, Michael,
Speaker 3: I just look at a team that did so many
Speaker 3: things well in the first half of the season despite
Speaker 3: some not a huge rash of injuries, but like nagging
Speaker 3: things at bad positions where you don't want to have
Speaker 3: nagging things right when you think about the quarterback issues
Speaker 3: green Bay went through, when you think about the secondary
Speaker 3: and some of the things they've had to navigate to
Speaker 3: getting back a guy like Evan Williams, with how well
Speaker 3: he's played in the first half of the season, what
Speaker 3: that could do for the Packers. We saw the domino
Speaker 3: effect of Josh Myers not being out there, Elton Jenkins
Speaker 3: having to move in, different communications set up up front.
Speaker 3: I just feel like what we saw is Green Bay
Speaker 3: getting closer to being healthy, which means them getting closer
Speaker 3: to being comfortable within their assignments, and from there, hopefully
Speaker 3: the Packers can continue to fly here in the second half.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we'll see how things play out for the
Speaker 2: rest of the week. Obviously, Thursday's practice is always a
Speaker 2: big indicator because they put the pads on. It's really
Speaker 2: more of the full contact practice the one time they
Speaker 2: do that during the week. So we'll keep our eye
Speaker 2: on that injury report as the week unfolds. The opponent
Speaker 2: this week, the Chicago Bears. We talked about a little
Speaker 2: bit on our last show. This is a team that
Speaker 2: was one play away from being five and two and
Speaker 2: feeling really, really good about itself. The Hail Mary goes
Speaker 2: the wrong way for Chicago. In Washington, they lose to
Speaker 2: the Commanders, and there's there's been some kind of what
Speaker 2: you call it a hangover effect, whatever you want to say.
Speaker 2: The last two Bears performances have just been complete duds.
Speaker 2: They've gotten, you know, handled quite easily, to be brutally honest,
Speaker 2: by the Arizona Cardinals and by a struggling New England
Speaker 2: Patriots team that has now led to a change at
Speaker 2: offensive coordinator. Shane Waldron is out and Thomas Brown is
Speaker 2: in as offensive coordinator for Chicago. And you know, I'm
Speaker 2: not sure exactly how much is going to change with
Speaker 2: the with the Bears offense. I think you have to
Speaker 2: be kind of ready for some unscouted looks. You have
Speaker 2: to be ready for some tendency breakers. If I'm Thomas Brown,
Speaker 2: I'm coming into this game against the Packers saying, you know,
Speaker 2: our rookie quarterback is having his struggles, our pass protection
Speaker 2: unit is having its struggles. As the Bears gave up
Speaker 2: nine sacks to the New England Patriots. The running back
Speaker 2: is the best friend in those situations, the running game.
Speaker 2: I think the Packers have to be ready for a healthy,
Speaker 2: healthy dose of DeAndre Swift coming at him in this game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, one hundred percent. The tough thing was as I
Speaker 3: was looking back at that game against New England and
Speaker 3: where they came up short. Certainly the nine sacks jump
Speaker 3: off the page and we're not going to sit here
Speaker 3: and you can listen to Chicago media as far as
Speaker 3: who's all the blame for that. But you know one
Speaker 3: thing that I think has really hurt this team when
Speaker 3: I look at them on paper is the fact that
Speaker 3: Braxton Jones has been banged up. Darnell Wright has been
Speaker 3: banged up. Those are your two bookends on the offensive line.
Speaker 3: They've had a lot of change on the interior offensive
Speaker 3: line there, and it just seems like they haven't been
Speaker 3: able to get into much of a rhythm. And I
Speaker 3: covered this on Insider inbox Er this week, where I
Speaker 3: feel like, when you're building a team and you have
Speaker 3: a new quarterback, a young quarterback, you have to build
Speaker 3: from the inside out. And in no disrespect to Chicago
Speaker 3: or what they're doing, but I mean they kind of
Speaker 3: built from the outside in. It feels like, now that
Speaker 3: being said, DeAndre Swift was a move they needed to make.
Speaker 3: You're gonna lose David Montgomery. You're gonna lose some of
Speaker 3: those proven assets in your backfield. You have to find
Speaker 3: a way to be able to make up for that. Swift.
Speaker 3: To me, he's been okay this year. I thought last
Speaker 3: year he was sensational. I thought he really It made
Speaker 3: it look like both them and the Lions made the
Speaker 3: right moves with how they did their running back situations.
Speaker 3: But this year it's been a little bit harder running.
Speaker 3: But that being said, he does have a fifty six
Speaker 3: yard touchdown. He is the lead back. There is no
Speaker 3: committee there. This is the guy, and he's been able
Speaker 3: to stay healthy for the most part in that role
Speaker 3: in Chicago. And when you're talking about as much as
Speaker 3: everybody will talk and discuss about unscouted looks and trick
Speaker 3: plays and all these other things, the number one thing
Speaker 3: that I would imagine the Bears are thinking right now
Speaker 3: is how can we make life easier on Caleb Williams.
Speaker 3: And to your initial point, that goes back to the
Speaker 3: wrong game and getting in favorable down in distance.
Speaker 1: I think so too.
Speaker 2: I think that's I think that's what this Bears offense
Speaker 2: is going to start to focus on to really help
Speaker 2: out Caleb Williams, the number one.
Speaker 1: Overall draft pick.
Speaker 2: As far as the passing game goes, he's certainly spread
Speaker 2: the ball around quite a bit. Roma Duneesa, DJ morricle comet.
Speaker 2: All these guys have produced. Nobody really stands out as
Speaker 2: necessarily like the go to guy for Caleb Williams, which
Speaker 2: I think is a good thing for a young quarterback.
Speaker 2: But the Bears need to find something to hang their
Speaker 2: hat on offensively, to really to be the foundation of
Speaker 2: what they're going to do and who they're going to be.
Speaker 2: And I think whatever that is going to be, I
Speaker 2: think it's going to start this week against the Packers
Speaker 2: because of this big if now at offensive coordinate, there's.
Speaker 3: Just no explosiveness to the offense, is what my initial
Speaker 3: thing has been. Again that's not a criticism, it's just
Speaker 3: the facts. I mean, they just they have a bunch
Speaker 3: of guys that have caught the ball. Nobody's had that
Speaker 3: big game breaker. I think their longest catch of the
Speaker 3: year is forty seven yards and it wasn't even a touchdown.
Speaker 3: I mean, like, they haven't had those explosive type plays
Speaker 3: that I think sometimes can really help boost a young
Speaker 3: quarterbacks confidence and Because of that, they are what is it,
Speaker 3: the thirty first ranked third down offense in the National
Speaker 3: Football League. It's just been tough sledding offensively, trying to
Speaker 3: find some consistency there. Now, that being said, I want
Speaker 3: to make this clear because I know we'll transition here
Speaker 3: shortly to the defense. But the Chicago Bears are four
Speaker 3: and five. They lost threes in a row here now
Speaker 3: coming out of the buy they are still undefeated this season.
Speaker 3: When their offense scores over twenty points. Yeah, defensively they
Speaker 3: can play with anybody in the league. It's just been
Speaker 3: a grind trying to find ways to generate offense and
Speaker 3: twenty three straight drives now whatever it is without a
Speaker 3: touchdown or passing touchdown. I mean, there is a lot
Speaker 3: of bad mojo feeling around this team right now. But
Speaker 3: that being said, an opening driver, you go down the
Speaker 3: field and you score, it changes everything, especially when you
Speaker 3: make a change on the coaching staff. So my message
Speaker 3: this week has been you got to treat this team
Speaker 3: just like you treated the Detroit Lions. You have to
Speaker 3: have your antennas up. You got to think about them
Speaker 3: as not just an opponent, an obstruction from your seventh
Speaker 3: win but you got to get NFC wins, You got
Speaker 3: to get division wins, and it starts with the Chicago
Speaker 3: Bears and keeping this winning street going under Matt Lafleur
Speaker 3: at Soldier Field.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think there's I think there's a perception out
Speaker 2: there amongst Packer fans because the Bears are struggling so much,
Speaker 2: especially on offense, they can't get things going with Caleb
Speaker 2: Williams and all that, there's there's this perception that you
Speaker 2: know that if the Packers, you know, they get themselves
Speaker 2: healthier on offense, they get rolling, that that they can
Speaker 2: go into that they can go into Soldier Field and
Speaker 2: just and steamroll the Bears. Here, you look at this
Speaker 2: Bears defense and that's simply not going to be the case.
Speaker 2: I mentioned this an Insider Inbox. I mentioned it on
Speaker 2: our Three Things video with Larry yesterday. This Bears defense
Speaker 2: has allowed more than twenty one points only once all season,
Speaker 2: and that was to the Arizona Cardinals the game right
Speaker 2: after they hail Mary. This is a defense that's taken
Speaker 2: the ball away sixteen times. They have eight interceptions, they
Speaker 2: have eight fumble recoveries. That's only a few takeaways behind
Speaker 2: the Packers. It's only a few takeaways off of the
Speaker 2: league lead across the board. Two big things situationally where
Speaker 2: this defense is really really tough. They are seventh in
Speaker 2: the league in third down percentage allowed. I believe it's
Speaker 2: around thirty three percent, only allowing third down conversions a
Speaker 2: third of the time. And this is the best statistically,
Speaker 2: the best defense in the league in the red zone
Speaker 2: in terms of the low percentage of touchdowns allowed. And
Speaker 2: that really becomes a very interesting thing in this matchup
Speaker 2: because while the Bears are the top ranked team in
Speaker 2: red zone defense, the Packers are near the bottom twenty
Speaker 2: ninth in the league in red zone offense. So there's
Speaker 2: a lot to look at here from situational and a
Speaker 2: statistical matchup between the Packers offense and the Bears defense.
Speaker 2: One significant injury, safety Jaikwon Brisker, has already been ruled
Speaker 2: out for this week. He's in the concussion protocol in Chicago.
Speaker 2: They've already said he's out this week.
Speaker 1: He won't be playing.
Speaker 2: That's a big loss because he's, you know, kind of
Speaker 2: one of those free ranging safeties. He can play deep,
Speaker 2: he can attack the line of scrimmage. He's all over
Speaker 2: the field. He won't be out there, but this Bears
Speaker 2: defense is not to be trifled with. These guys can play.
Speaker 2: They've really there's really only been one game and that
Speaker 2: was the game against the Cardinals. The final score I
Speaker 2: believe was twenty nine to nine. That's really the only
Speaker 2: game where the Bears defense did not give Chicago a
Speaker 2: legitimate chance to win the football game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know a couple of things that go
Speaker 3: into this one. I guess that means we'll probably see
Speaker 3: Jonathan Owens on Sunday perhaps. Think as far as the
Speaker 3: backup there, I know they have some younger guys as well.
Speaker 3: But here's all I want to say about this, because
Speaker 3: this came up this week because obviously Mattiberflu's he's been
Speaker 3: under He's in the hot seat, people, he's under the microscope. Yep,
Speaker 3: whatever idiom you want to use on that. I want
Speaker 3: to say, the Chicago Bears are doing something right. Because yes, offensively,
Speaker 3: it's not been what you wanted. But when you have
Speaker 3: a defensive head coach and your team's not performing the
Speaker 3: way you wanted to perform, I feel like you gain
Speaker 3: nothing from letting that defensive coach go in the middle
Speaker 3: of a season, if their unit, the area that they
Speaker 3: specialize in, the area that they master in, if that
Speaker 3: unit's performing. The Bears have done that this season. I mean,
Speaker 3: you look at what the Jets are going through right now.
Speaker 3: Not only did you lose your head coach, I felt
Speaker 3: like they lost their defensive identity. They when they let
Speaker 3: you know, Robert Salad go absolutely the Bears are committed
Speaker 3: to a long term plan. Here. They're going to be
Speaker 3: some strikes and some balls, and you're gonna have to
Speaker 3: some swings and misses. But defensively, Matti Aberflu's coming here
Speaker 3: from Indianapolis. It's been everything you would expect the defense
Speaker 3: to be. They just haven't won enough and they haven't
Speaker 3: done enough offensively. But that being said, the unit, why
Speaker 3: they got off to their fast start, it was because
Speaker 3: of defense and special teams. It was because they were
Speaker 3: finding ways to win those close matchups. They lost that
Speaker 3: the last few weeks, but that doesn't mean it can't
Speaker 3: come back. So seeing and it's a very diverse group.
Speaker 3: I think fourteen different guys that have a sack this season.
Speaker 3: You talk about you know, Tremaine Edmonds in the middle
Speaker 3: of that defense. They've always had really good linebacker played there, TJ.
Speaker 1: Edwards, one of their team captains.
Speaker 3: Yes, and the fact that you know Montes sweat that
Speaker 3: all this conversation between him and the Packers in the
Speaker 3: back and the fourth and the rivalry he's talking about,
Speaker 3: it is what it is when the game gets played.
Speaker 3: But you can tell these guys are motivated to play it.
Speaker 3: So I just think it's it's a matchup where the
Speaker 3: Green Bay Packers have to take the threat seriously. You
Speaker 3: have to put points on the board, you have to
Speaker 3: protect the football, you have to play clean. But more
Speaker 3: than anything, the opportunities that are presented to make the
Speaker 3: Bears question what they're doing. Those are the times where
Speaker 3: you really have to pounce because they aren't going to
Speaker 3: last their and if they get the wind in their
Speaker 3: sales in this matchup, particularly early on at their home
Speaker 3: stadium against the Green Bay Packers, a place team they
Speaker 3: have not beat since the Mike McCarthy era, they they're
Speaker 3: gonna be feeling themselves.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And there's a there's a lot of curiosity with
Speaker 2: regard to the fan base as well as the players
Speaker 2: in the locker room as to just maybe what what
Speaker 2: the offense can do with with the changeup at coordinator,
Speaker 2: emphasizing some different things, some tendency breakers, you know, all
Speaker 2: that kind of stuff. And as you say, especially when
Speaker 2: you're playing at home, if you start to get the
Speaker 2: win in your sales a little bit, it doesn't matter
Speaker 2: who the opponent is on the other side, the Bears
Speaker 2: are going to start feeling like that team that was
Speaker 2: four and two and on the verge of being five
Speaker 2: and two, not the team that has that you know,
Speaker 2: has really struggled these last couple of weeks and seeing
Speaker 2: their season start to slip away.
Speaker 3: And I want to make sure I bring this back
Speaker 3: full circle because the point I'm trying to make with
Speaker 3: all my assessments here is Thomas Brown was the offensive
Speaker 3: coordinator for Carolina Panthers last year. He was the guy
Speaker 3: that had to go in there and they had to
Speaker 3: try to devise a game plan for Bryce Young against
Speaker 3: the Packers, and they nearly won the game. Young had
Speaker 3: one of the best games of his career. To this point.
Speaker 2: Carolina probably wins that game if Carolina gets the ball back,
Speaker 2: you know, or just gets the ball back ten seconds sooner,
Speaker 2: I mean literally another ten seconds on the clock, and
Speaker 2: Bryce Young might have beaten the Packers in that game.
Speaker 3: And why did it happen? Why did it play out
Speaker 3: that way? Because the Packers did not put Away Young
Speaker 3: in that offense. Early on, they got they made some
Speaker 3: explosive plays, they had some big plays late, and then
Speaker 3: they almost came close to Vietnam. So though, those are
Speaker 3: all the things you have to keep in mind. But yeah,
Speaker 3: there's a lot of different traps and things you have
Speaker 3: to be cognizant of in this matchup with the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 3: But more than anything, getting back to your initial point,
Speaker 3: the Bears have not scored a lot lately, they have
Speaker 3: not had a lot of success. They had an absolute
Speaker 3: awful way to lose a football game against Washington. Yep,
Speaker 3: you have to make sure you keep them down.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, a little bit of sponsor business here. West
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Speaker 2: We've are obviously suggested. Hint today, Oh I got plenty more?
Speaker 2: What I have plenty more? Okay, we haven't even scratched
Speaker 2: the surface yet, Brev.
Speaker 1: All right, go ahead.
Speaker 3: Oh you can continue talking if you want.
Speaker 2: No, that's all right, I'll throw I'll toss it over
Speaker 2: to you. What's at the top of your list.
Speaker 3: Packers have to run the football in this game. They
Speaker 3: have to run it well. When you look defensively at
Speaker 3: what Chicago where they've struggled this season, it's been against
Speaker 3: the run. Now again, there's a couple of chunk games
Speaker 3: in there. I think that have added that up. But
Speaker 3: it's not just the fact they're twenty fourth and rushing
Speaker 3: defenses here. It's a fact they're twenty eighth in yards
Speaker 3: per carry almost five yards per carry allowed this season.
Speaker 2: Which means you can stay ahead of the sticks as
Speaker 2: long as you're not committing penalties, right, bingo, what's its name?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 3: I mean that's the fact. I mean, when you are
Speaker 3: able to control the line a scrimmage the way that
Speaker 3: the Packers have when they've been successful this season, I
Speaker 3: feel like the blueprint is there. So many people are
Speaker 3: gonna make this about Jordan Love. He's a full participant,
Speaker 3: He's getting all his practice reps. Everything's hunky dory in
Speaker 3: that regard. Josh Jacobs is a third leading rusher in
Speaker 3: the National Football League right now this season at this point.
Speaker 3: Getting him going, getting manageable down in distance and then
Speaker 3: executing when you get in the red zone, I think
Speaker 3: is going to be absolutely paramount. In Michael, I don't
Speaker 3: want to steal any of your stuff. I know you're
Speaker 3: gonna have plenty of points here too. But the fact
Speaker 3: of the matter is the Chicago Bears gave up nine
Speaker 3: sacks last week. Yeah, Green Bay Packers have made some
Speaker 3: significant changes with their defensive front. I'm very interested to
Speaker 3: see exactly who the personnel is going to be in
Speaker 3: those third down rush packages. Will we see more Aaron Moseby.
Speaker 3: Could Brenton Cox Junior be involved in that? Where is
Speaker 3: Rashaan Gary going to be? Hey, Eddrian Cooper is playing
Speaker 3: really well, Maybe he gets involved in this thing, whatever
Speaker 3: the case is. You know, Evan Williams talked about this
Speaker 3: at his locker on Wednesday. You know, Caleb's gonna run
Speaker 3: a little bit, you know, he's going to try to
Speaker 3: extend place. But that's also an opportunity if you've plaster
Speaker 3: to potentially make up play. Yeah, Packers have to be
Speaker 3: able to execute in that regard.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what rises And I certainly agree with all of
Speaker 2: those as keys to Vic, Thank you, no disagreement there whatsoever.
Speaker 1: For me?
Speaker 2: What rises to the top of my list? I go
Speaker 2: back to the situational discrepancy that we talked about before.
Speaker 2: The Bears are the number one red zone defense in
Speaker 2: the league. Statistically, the Packers are the twenty ninth ranked
Speaker 2: red zone offense in the league. Pretty amazing, quite frankly,
Speaker 2: that the Packers are ninth in the league in scoring yep,
Speaker 2: yet twenty ninth in the league in red zone it
Speaker 2: tells you how many opportunities the Packers have left out
Speaker 2: there and how close, as we talked about on our
Speaker 2: last show, how close the Packers are to seeing this
Speaker 2: offense really hit full gear and hit full stride. I
Speaker 2: think this game comes down to can the Packers finish drives?
Speaker 2: Because I think with Josh Jacobs, with the balance that
Speaker 2: the Packers generally have on offense, they will be able
Speaker 2: to move the football against the Chicago Bears. But when
Speaker 2: they get into scoring territory, are they going to be
Speaker 2: able to finish drives against the number one red zone
Speaker 2: defense in the league and get the ball in the
Speaker 2: end zone or are they going to be relegated kicking
Speaker 2: field goals all day? Yep, if the Packers, and you're
Speaker 2: not going to finish every single drive. But obviously you
Speaker 2: know if you're in the red zone, if you're in
Speaker 2: the red zone four times, there's a huge difference on
Speaker 2: the scoreboard between going three for four in the red
Speaker 2: zone and going one for four in the rest right,
Speaker 2: and that really becomes the difference in where I think
Speaker 2: this game gets.
Speaker 3: It's funny too you mention that because if you want
Speaker 3: to look at the glass, not that that was glass
Speaker 3: half empty, but the other aspect of it, when you
Speaker 3: talk about the discrepancy between these two teams, it is
Speaker 3: the explosive plays. Now I don't have the true media
Speaker 3: stats in front of me, but when you talk about
Speaker 3: how many yards Green Based produced, how many points they
Speaker 3: still produce, it's because the explosive plays they've had a
Speaker 3: lot of times have also led to touchdowns, whether it's
Speaker 3: that drive or whether it's the play itself. Yeah, they've
Speaker 3: been able to extend for that, and that's where Chicago
Speaker 3: has struggled this season. So bring it back to what
Speaker 3: I was talking about with the defense and what they
Speaker 3: have to do against the Bears, not allowing those plays
Speaker 3: to rupture, playing well in front of them, and making
Speaker 3: sure that you're making the tackles that you have to make. Certainly,
Speaker 3: there's gonna be a lot of different factors and variables
Speaker 3: that can played into this outcome and how they're gonna
Speaker 3: win it. But there's a lot of things that Green
Speaker 3: Bay does significantly better than the Chicago Bears. They need
Speaker 3: to be able to carry that over into this matchup.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, you need to you need to be you
Speaker 2: need to be who you are and uh and the
Speaker 2: Packers know they have the thing, they have the things
Speaker 2: that they need to clean up and all that. But really,
Speaker 2: as much as we've talked about the changing offensive coordinator
Speaker 2: and how good this Bears defense can be and everything,
Speaker 2: this this still just is It's one of those games
Speaker 2: that strike strikes me where this is this is about what.
Speaker 1: The Packers do.
Speaker 3: One hundred percent of Bears do.
Speaker 2: If the Packers bring their bring their a game and
Speaker 2: play like it the Packers are the better team. They've
Speaker 2: proven it over the long haul so far this season,
Speaker 2: and if they do that, they should be able.
Speaker 1: To win this game.
Speaker 2: Looking around the league, Week eleven, elsewhere in the NFC NO,
Speaker 2: Minnesota is at Tennessee. Jacksonville is at Detroit. So those
Speaker 2: are a couple of NFC North versus AFC South matchups.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna be holding my breath on either one
Speaker 2: of those. Quite frankly. Jacksonville playing with Mac Jones again
Speaker 2: at quarterback. They couldn't do Diddley squad on offense against.
Speaker 3: Diddley pooh, I think is the what's that is the
Speaker 3: expression Diddley pooh oh? Okay, well, I forget Who's Diddley
Speaker 3: squad is the one I grew up with. So I'm
Speaker 3: just I'm not holding my breath on on either one
Speaker 3: of those games. I mean, it will be interesting to
Speaker 3: see Minnesota going on the road back to back weeks
Speaker 3: now with all of you know, last week they went
Speaker 3: to Jacksonville, couldn't score touchdown and Sam Darnold through three interceptions,
Speaker 3: so well, their offense, you know, get something going more
Speaker 3: in a positive direction against Tennessee or not, but it
Speaker 3: is interesting though that if I believe it comes down
Speaker 3: to if the Vikings and the Lions win these two games,
Speaker 3: the NFC North, the NFC North versus AFC South will
Speaker 3: be all done after this weekend, and if the Vikings
Speaker 3: and the Lions win these games, the final tally will
Speaker 3: be fourteen and two. Wow.
Speaker 2: The only to this point, the only AFC South versus
Speaker 2: AFC South beating the NFC North is that both Houston
Speaker 2: and Indianapolis beat Chicago and Tennessee should have too, and
Speaker 2: Tennessee should have beaten Chicago. Dude, you know what's hilarious
Speaker 2: about that now that you think, yeah, possibly fourteen and
Speaker 2: two if the favored teams, the Vikings and the Lions
Speaker 2: win this week.
Speaker 3: So you're telling me the NFC North is done with
Speaker 3: the season series at the AFC South this week after
Speaker 3: this weekend, and this is the first time the Bears
Speaker 3: are playing an NFC North opponent, correct? Yeah? Is this?
Speaker 3: They did a number on that schedule that the.
Speaker 2: Schedule this year is just it's it's bizarre. It's bizarre
Speaker 2: in a in a number of ways. But aside, huh
Speaker 2: from that, the other this is a really really interesting
Speaker 2: win this week eleven schedule in the NFL because it
Speaker 2: is the first time from what I read, it is
Speaker 2: the first time since the league merger that in Week
Speaker 2: eleven there are three games where all six of the
Speaker 2: teams have seven or more wins in Week eleven playing
Speaker 2: each other. And it starts tonight, starts on Thursday Night
Speaker 2: Football with Washington at Philadelphia, and then continues on Sunday
Speaker 2: with Baltimore at Pittsburgh and Kansas City at Buffalo. So
Speaker 2: these are some major, major mid season matchups here. And
Speaker 2: of course Packers fans are going to have, you know,
Speaker 2: their eye on Packers Bears, and that's where our attention
Speaker 2: will be. But this is quite the slate of games
Speaker 2: for one week in the NFL, well.
Speaker 3: In Washington, Philly. Man, you were talking about it last
Speaker 3: week on the show. I mean the fact that we've
Speaker 3: got these really pivotal, critical division matchups here on Thursday
Speaker 3: Night Football. One, it's obviously I agree with you, it's
Speaker 3: the way to go. But two, it really raises the
Speaker 3: stakes because you're looking at Washington now where hey, dude,
Speaker 3: there's seven and three. I will not disrespect that record. Obviously,
Speaker 3: I've sat up here before and I've talked about Jayden
Speaker 3: Daniels and everything, that.
Speaker 2: They were an eyelash from being eight and two because
Speaker 2: they were right there with a chance to beat the
Speaker 2: Steelers last week.
Speaker 3: They absolutely were. But the part of it that I
Speaker 3: thought was really interesting when I was breaking it down,
Speaker 3: because you know, I'm sophisticated, I have NFL gsis and everything.
Speaker 3: The strength of victory for Washington is one of the
Speaker 3: worst of the National Football League. It's three thirty eight.
Speaker 3: I guess it's yeah, no, it only twenty three wins
Speaker 3: against the opponent that their opponents have won. This is
Speaker 3: a big moment for Washington to show that they can
Speaker 3: play with one of the upper echelon teams and credit
Speaker 3: to Philadelphia the way that they've kind of been able
Speaker 3: to pull themselves back together, pull itself back together after
Speaker 3: how last year unfolded. They're proving once again that they
Speaker 3: are still not to be trifled with and that NFC
Speaker 3: East and absolutely the part that I didn't know all
Speaker 3: the ins and outs of it when you were explaining
Speaker 3: some of those statistics with the seven and eight win
Speaker 3: teams playing each other. When I first looked at this
Speaker 3: sc this week, what I thought was most interesting is
Speaker 3: how much teams are paired against each other a similar record.
Speaker 3: Really Detroit and in Jacksonville's the only like really huge difference.
Speaker 3: I mean when you look at Kansas City Buffalo, but
Speaker 3: even there's like five and four playing four and five teams.
Speaker 3: I mean there's a lot on the line in terms
Speaker 3: of stakes for a week eleven matchup, and certainly Green
Speaker 3: Bay is a part of that. You're trying to, you know,
Speaker 3: extend themselves out from the Bears and also keep themselves
Speaker 3: in contention there with their other two NFC North adversaries.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well in those in those big matchups with teams
Speaker 2: with seven plus wins. Two of those our division games
Speaker 2: Washington at Philadelphia in the NFC East, Baltimore at Pittsburgh
Speaker 2: in the AFC North. That's one that'll have a lot
Speaker 2: of eyes on it. You know, Russell Wilson has taken
Speaker 2: over at quarterback for the Steelers and and you know
Speaker 2: that team keeps winning and then a lot of eyes
Speaker 2: I believe it's I'm assuming it's you know, kind of
Speaker 2: the game in the national window the Kansas City, Kansas
Speaker 2: City is at Buffalo. What do you think do you
Speaker 2: think Kansas City stays undefeated or do the Bills hand
Speaker 2: the Chiefs their first loss. The Kansas City has been
Speaker 2: they've been riding right out of the edge. And not
Speaker 2: just block field goal last week, but we've seen in
Speaker 2: other games, you know they I mean, it was overtime
Speaker 2: against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football the week before.
Speaker 2: They've had other games earlier in the season that just
Speaker 2: that came right down to the end. And no apologies,
Speaker 2: Kansas City is finding ways to win, and you take
Speaker 2: nothing away from him, but they have been on the
Speaker 2: edge and you have to feel like one of these teams,
Speaker 2: and maybe it's Buffalo this weekend, is finally going to
Speaker 2: knock them all.
Speaker 3: They're on the edge of glory. And I'll tell you
Speaker 3: what I think Buffalo wins. That's my pick for this one. Okay,
Speaker 3: not that I often offer predictions, but that is what
Speaker 3: I'm thinking. But here's the thing that's funny about it. It
Speaker 3: doesn't matter. Kansas City is the closest thing. I've said
Speaker 3: this for a while now. They're the closest thing to
Speaker 3: an NCAA basketball team where it's like the regular season
Speaker 3: is the regular season. Yeah, they'll win the you know
Speaker 3: SEC or whatever the ACC and then it's all about
Speaker 3: how good are you entering the tournament? Last year was
Speaker 3: another example of that. You know, Packers ended up beating
Speaker 3: them in December here at Lambeufield, but they just kept building.
Speaker 3: That's what New England did during its dynasty, and that's
Speaker 3: what Kansas City is doing.
Speaker 2: And I think what and not to go on too
Speaker 2: much of a tangent in the AFC, but I think
Speaker 2: what was most impressive about Kansas City's run to the championship,
Speaker 2: to the Super Bowl Championship last year is that they
Speaker 2: weren't just.
Speaker 1: Playing at Arrowhead. No.
Speaker 2: In the playoffs, they had to go to Buffalo, they
Speaker 2: had to go to Baltimore. They were winning those playoff
Speaker 2: games on the road in order to get there. And
Speaker 2: again that's where it sort of does become like they're
Speaker 2: the NCAA tournament team where it doesn't matter if they
Speaker 2: end up with a one seed or a four seed
Speaker 2: or a six seed or whatever. They're going to be
Speaker 2: formidable in the postseason because they've been there and they've
Speaker 2: won those kinds of games in any condition, in any location,
Speaker 2: And you're right, and they're for all the attention that's
Speaker 2: going to be on this Buffalo Kansas City matchup, it's
Speaker 2: probably just a preview of another matchup coming up in January.
Speaker 2: To question of then where is that game going to be?
Speaker 3: Which is That's the only question that Josh Allen and
Speaker 3: Sean McDermott they have to answer, is that is that question?
Speaker 3: Because Kansas City has been the final boss, it's been
Speaker 3: the final boss for the entire league, but definitely Buffalo
Speaker 3: because Buffalo. We were talking beforehand about how Houston and
Speaker 3: the bumfill era would run into Pittsburgh and Buffalo keeps
Speaker 3: running into Kansas City and it just cannot get through it.
Speaker 3: Now that being said, for them being nine to zero,
Speaker 3: the Chiefs still have a lot of issues when you
Speaker 3: look at they have been dinged up everywhere on the offense.
Speaker 3: I mean, now they brought in DeAndre Hopkins and they
Speaker 3: made moves to try to augment that. But this is
Speaker 3: another example I feel like of proving why Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 3: is a perennial MVP contender because he is lifting that
Speaker 3: football team up with the way he's playing, in addition
Speaker 3: to a very talented defense. But for me, for that reason, yes,
Speaker 3: the eyes will be on that game, and certainly it's
Speaker 3: for the right reasons, but I think Baltimore and Pittsburgh's
Speaker 3: probably the one I have my my most interest in
Speaker 3: because Mike Tomlin's doing what he does and Russell Wilson
Speaker 3: is resuscitating his career after people like myself question whether
Speaker 3: or not there was anything left in the gas tank.
Speaker 3: The Baltimore Ravens have a lot of issues now on defense,
Speaker 3: but they still got Lamar Jackson, So it's like seeing
Speaker 3: how all that interacts. That's what's fun about this time
Speaker 3: of the year, because, yeah, all these teams are going
Speaker 3: to be in the playoffs, but these are where you
Speaker 3: kind of put your your flag in the ground and say,
Speaker 3: I should be the one that's out front of this thing.
Speaker 2: Right And when you're talking these divisional matchups, that not
Speaker 2: to say that anything's going to be decided in week eleven,
Speaker 2: but a game that is going to have a big
Speaker 2: influence on who wins a division versus who You're talking
Speaker 2: about the difference between maybe a one or two seed
Speaker 2: and being a five seed, right, because that's just how
Speaker 2: the that's how the numbers break down, and how the
Speaker 2: structure of the playoffs breaks down with the four division
Speaker 2: champions being one through four.
Speaker 3: And that's what the longer I cover this league, the
Speaker 3: more you'll see it am I writing, the more you'll
Speaker 3: hear me say it on the show, whether it's September
Speaker 3: or December. Now in January, you have to keep stacking
Speaker 3: those wins, because how often is it? Mike. We'll be
Speaker 3: doing the same thing here with the Packers in week
Speaker 3: seventeen and eighteen, hopefully talking about okay, playoff positioning, getting
Speaker 3: in seeding, buys, all this type of stuff, and it
Speaker 3: all comes back to these games that you play in
Speaker 3: week eleven. Yep, that at the time feel like you're
Speaker 3: just trying to get one win, but in reality have
Speaker 3: a much much more important purpose.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, well, it should be a good one in Chicago.
Speaker 3: And the yeah, good one in Green Bay.
Speaker 2: Two before we go April, the countdown to the twenty
Speaker 2: twenty five NFL Draft in Green Bay has begun. Mark
Speaker 2: your calendars for April twenty four through April twenty six
Speaker 2: of twenty twenty five, and visit green Bay dot com
Speaker 2: slash Draft twenty five for more information. With that, we'll
Speaker 2: call it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted.
Speaker 2: Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
Speaker 2: team and everything from Sunday's big game against the Bears
Speaker 2: at Soldier Field.
Speaker 1: Wes and I will be there. We will have it.
Speaker 2: All for you on packers dot com.
Speaker 1: For Wes, I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in. Everybody.
Speaker 1: We will see you next time.