WEBVTT - #694 Packers Unscripted: Christmas challenge 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:10.240 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:13.920 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by my 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.800 trusted colleague Weston hod Kowitz. We're coming to you Hear 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:20.520 from our studios at Lambefield to talk Packers Dolphins West. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:24.119 It will be a Christmas Day noon Central Time kickoff 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:27.840 from hard Rock Stadium in South Florida. We all know 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:30.159 what the implications are for the Packers. The Packers have 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:34.480 to keep winning and do some scoreboard watching on Saturday 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:37.440 on the flight down to Miami. And we'll talk about 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:40.720 those the games that impact that a little bit later 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:43.080 in the show. But you look at this Dolphins team 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.239 in two and it has been a team of streaks. 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:49.199 They began the season with three straight wins, then they 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:51.760 lost three straight games, then they won five in a row. 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:55.360 Now they head into this Christmas matchup with a three 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:58.600 game losing streak. Not to say that they're necessarily playing 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.040 poorly in this three game losing streak, but it was 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:05.160 a three game road gauntlet at San Francisco, at the 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:08.720 l A Chargers, at Buffalo they came up short all 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:12.480 three times. And that now with the Dolphins going from 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.360 eight and three to eight and six. They're fighting for 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.920 their playoff lives in the a f C. Very interesting 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:21.479 situation that Dolphins find themselves in because after this game 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.400 against Green Bay, they are traveling to the New New 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:27.600 England Patriots and then they finish up the season verse 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.720 hosting the Jets. So as much as we're talking about 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:33.000 the Packers and their run here towards the end of 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.399 the season, the Dolphins have very similar implications with this 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:38.720 whole run. The part of it that is the most 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:41.800 fascinating to me though, is, and we've talked about it 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:44.040 a couple of times throughout the week and the coverage 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.680 with Matt Lafleur and some of the players, this is 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:50.240 a different team at hard Rock Stadium. Uh. They're five 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:52.200 and one on the season and that only loss was 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:54.400 the game in which they did not have to uh 0:01:54.440 --> 0:02:00.520 available to them. So the the explosivity of this offense, 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.200 a running game that Green Bay is very familiar with 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:06.880 with Raheem Mostart, and by all indications it sounds like 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.760 Jeff Wilson will be back this week. Tyreek Hill is 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.079 one of the most dynamic receivers in this league, and 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.839 Jalen Waddle is a real nice up and comer for them. 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:20.760 I was a hundred and fifty wrong, Mike Um, and 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:23.079 I'm not ashamed to say it. I was. I had 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:26.280 some real questions when they acquired Hill about whether or 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:29.560 not this offense a new head coach to UH, they 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.600 were gonna be able to keep him happy and also 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:35.240 make sure that Jalen Waddle gets his touches. Mike Gasecki 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.800 hasn't really been the same type of receiving threat he's ben, 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:41.120 So it's not like everybody's flourishing. But for both of 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:43.120 those two receivers to be the only two in the 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:45.920 NFL right now with a thousand yards, this is a 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:49.000 stiff test for Green Bay going down into South Beach well. 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:52.120 And what's impressive about the numbers that Hill and Waddle 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:54.680 it put up. And credit to Mike McDaniel, the first 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:57.160 year head coach of the Dolphins, because you said it. 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.440 There were a lot of questions as to how they 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.160 were going to make this work offensively, and as Matt 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:05.000 Lafleur has told us this week, having worked with Mike 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:08.480 McDaniel UM as an assistant coach at at UH, you 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:12.120 know previous stops in UH in La Fleur's NFL career. 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:16.959 Hill and Waddle, they aren't just over a thousand yards. 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:20.080 I mean, Tyreek Hill is over fifteen hundred yards with 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:22.079 three games left to go in the regular season. And 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:25.519 he's already over a hundred receptions with three games left 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.359 to go. Jalen Waddle, this is the amazing thing. He's 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:31.680 over eleven hundred yards receiving any and on just sixty 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:35.200 two receptions. The guy is averaging eighteen yards per catch. 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:38.680 In this day and age of of the you know, 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:41.440 the quick game, the bubble screens and this and that 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.839 for a wide receiver in the current NFL, the way 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.680 passing games are designed to be averaging eighteen yards a 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.360 catch for an entire season is phenomenal. I mean, you 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:52.920 just don't see that. That's a you know that that's 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.040 sort of in the James Lofton category from back in 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:58.880 the in the nineteen eighties when he was in his heyday. 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:02.600 So and obviously then you know, you mentioned Mostard, who 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:07.320 hasn't had a huge workload necessarily for the Dolphins. But 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:09.560 lo and behold, the guy is averaging four point nine 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:12.480 yards per carry. He's still he's still lighten it up 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.200 as well. And then Gisicky doesn't have the big numbers, 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:18.359 but he's got four touchdowns this year despite everything that 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:20.839 that Hill and Waddle are doing in the passing game. 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.080 So this is a and you know I've been I've 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.400 been saying this all week long. This is no disrespect 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:28.880 to the Philadelphia Eagles, this is no disrespect to the 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.159 Dallas Cowboys, other teams the Packers have played this year. 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.159 I think this is the the biggest challenge the Packers 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:39.760 are gonna face defensively all season long. These guys, these 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:43.000 guys are dangerous, They're explosive, they can score from anywhere 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.680 on the field. And somebody has to explain to me 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:51.080 how to a Tago Vloa, as the leading fan vote 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:54.680 getter in the Pro Bowl and with the number one 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.880 passer rating in the league at one oh seven point eight, 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.400 somehow is not on the a f E roster for 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:04.120 the Pro Bowl games. Somebody has to explain to me 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:07.159 how that has happened. But whatever chip he may or 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:10.640 may not be carrying on his shoulder with regard to 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:14.480 that snub heading into this week to a especially having 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:17.680 come back from from a couple of scary moments with 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:20.200 the head injuries to us having a whale of a season. 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:22.840 It was the thing. I was writing our story on 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.400 Aaron Rodgers and his media scrum on Wednesday, and I 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.080 had asked him about Tega the Law, and it was 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:31.280 interesting in that I was going to go in there 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:33.680 and I was just gonna take for granted that he'd 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:35.800 been in the Pro Bowl. As I was getting ready 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:38.880 to basically press him in my story, the guy's leading 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:41.120 the league and passer rating. How is the number one 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.120 passer rating quarterback in the league? Like not on a 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.160 Pro Bowl ros. There's a lot of players and coaches 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.440 out there that must not have felt very strongly about it. 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:51.159 But goodness, whatever the case may be. I mean, you 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:53.720 listen to them talk. The way he carries himself. He 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:56.039 was like that at Alabama, He's been like that in Miami. 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:57.960 And and here's the most exciting thing if you're a 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:02.719 Dolphins fan, I think Mike McDaniel the best compliment I 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:07.520 can pay him is he basically replicated the blueprint that 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:10.320 San Francisco used, and he did it in year one. 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.480 Um a good offensive line, tarn Armstead. You know, as 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:17.240 much as we talked about David baktr In the thirteen draft, 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:19.640 tarn Armstead was just as good of a pick one 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:23.440 round earlier for the New Orleans Saints. He comes to Miami, 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.120 he now makes a Pro Bowl in his first year there. 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:30.120 That that running offense with mostart in now Wilson. After 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.800 the acquisition, you know, alec Ingold was coming off an 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:37.480 a c L injury. I don't know what happened. Well, 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:38.919 there's a lot of things that happened. But with the 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:42.160 Raiders non tendering all these guys, Ingold got non tenure, 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:46.560 Nixon got nontendered, Keshan Nixon, and in Ingold has been, 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:48.840 you know, one of the better fullbacks in this league 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:51.720 and is playing kind of that Kyle us Chick role 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.080 for this offense where he's not going to show up 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:55.440 a lout of a statu sheet, but he's going to 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:58.040 be a part of this game plan um. And then 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.039 having the two receivers that they have. I love the 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.800 way that those pieces have fit together for Miami. Now, 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:06.520 the one thing about this, as you said, is it's 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:08.760 been a streaky team. They've had off weeks, they've had 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:11.680 on weeks, but their strength of schedule and their strength 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.080 of victory have been pretty impressive. And as much as 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:15.920 you can point to that three game losing streak, they 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:19.320 took care of business against Houston and Cleveland before that, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.440 and those aren't necessarily teams that a lot of you 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:24.280 know clubs have had success, you know, beating them by 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:28.400 two scores this season. Yeah, absolutely, and the uh and 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:30.600 give the Dolphins credit to I think we mentioned this 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.640 on our last show, how they they went into Buffalo 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:39.000 in Buffalo weather in prime time last weekend, with you know, 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.800 the cold, the snow started flying in the second half 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.240 and all that kind of stuff, and they were they 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:47.000 were right there against the Buffalo Bills with with a 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:50.760 lead in the fourth quarter, um end up losing on 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.120 a on a walk off field goal to a Buffalo 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.160 Bills team that is looking to wrap up the number 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:58.920 one seed, number one playoff seed in the a f C. 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:05.080 So defensively though, here for the Dolphins, there are certainly 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.040 guys to watch out for. They acquired Bradley Chubb to 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:11.520 help out with with the pass rush. I believe Melvin 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:13.840 Ingram is another one of their pass rushers, a guy 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.160 who's hopped around to some different teams, but he's he 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:20.720 remains productive. But the bottom line West. This Dolphins defense 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:22.960 is twenty three in the league and yards allowed tied 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.000 for twenty six in the league, and points allowed. It's 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:28.280 a defense that can be had. It's a defense that 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:32.760 that has given up its share. And with the way, 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:36.520 with the way the Packers offense has turned a corner 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:39.040 here the last month in terms of getting healthier at 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:42.880 the perimeter positions, the you know rookies more the rookie 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.520 receivers in particular, and then Zack tom at left tackle 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:49.840 coming along and uh and making this making this unit 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:53.160 more productive in a unit that would have scored thirty 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.800 plus again on Monday night had it not been for 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:57.800 you know, taking a knee on the one yard line 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:02.439 there in the last two minutes. Packers offense, you're moving 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.840 out of the cold. Now. It's gonna be fifty something 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.280 degrees or whatever down in Miami. Um, certainly it'll be 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:10.600 a fast track for the Dolphins. But the Packers have 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.240 to take advantage of of these um, you know, ideal 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:17.760 conditions so to speak for Green Bay's offense and UH 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:20.600 and and have a big time game because it's it's 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:24.560 going to be difficult to stop these Miami Dolphins from scoring. Yeah, 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.400 it will be. Uh, the most fascinating part about the 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:30.000 Dolphins though, as you touched on the defense, I don't 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:31.839 mean to be disrespectful when I say this, but it's 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:34.680 a very meat and potatoes unit. Uh. It is a 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:37.559 unit that has not taken the ball away much this year. 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:40.880 I mean, Xavien Howard the number one positive thing you 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:44.040 can say at him, much like you know Ji Alexander here. 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:48.079 He is a traditional shutdown Durrell Reava's type cornerback. Teams 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:50.280 just don't want to throw at him. And you know, 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:52.720 he only has one pick on the season. The Dolphins 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.240 as a team only have seven interceptions on the year. 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:59.040 Despite as impressive as they've been, I think they're minus 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:01.920 two in the turn over margin this year. You know, 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:05.079 end up credit largely goes to toa on that there 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:07.200 haven't been a lot of giveaways. You know, three of 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.880 their what do they have fifteen? Yeah, fifteen giveaways this here. 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.360 Three of those came from Teddy Bridgewater in his appearances. 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.080 So it's been an offense and a defense that have 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:21.680 played together, but necessarily defensively haven't been you know, an 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:26.080 inspiring unit. Also a statistic that Larry Mcaron brought up 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.079 to me when we were doing our three Things video yesterday. 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.840 That I was not aware of is the fact that 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:34.680 the Dolphins are right near the bottom of the league 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:39.480 and kickoff return yardage allowed in terms of you know, average, 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.840 So there's a potential opportunity there for Keishaw Nixon as well. 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:45.160 The whole point, and I'm trying to draw with this 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.880 is the Dolphins are a very good football team. They 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:51.439 are dynamic, they can shut teams down, they can win 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:54.360 in multiple ways, and they're very creative with Mike McDaniel 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:58.880 at the helm. But it is not an insurmountable hill 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:00.880 to climb. And I think that's why is the week 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:03.080 is sort of progressed and the Packers have been healthier, 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:06.800 you know, the tide has slowly turned a little bit 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.000 back into I think maybe the Packers getting more of 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.600 an opportunity and seen as having a shot in this game. 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:14.920 But ultimately, Mike, I think it ultimately does come down 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:18.040 to the mono explosive plays that the Dolphins generate offensively, 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:21.439 and how many of those are running through hill and waddle. Yeah. Absolutely, 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:24.600 I want to get to uh some keys to victory 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:26.560 and go into more detail on that in a minute, 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.680 But first some sponsored business. Serious x M NFL Radio 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:32.760 delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:37.000 news that true football fanatics need seven three six, And 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.360 at Cousin Subs, we have something for everyone like our 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.920 Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.360 all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:50.280 Cousin Subs fifty years of better. All right, well, you 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.319 you hinted at it already as far as a key 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.240 to victory here, and I do think it absolutely comes 0:11:55.280 --> 0:12:00.240 down to limiting the explosive plays that this my emmy 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:03.560 offense is going to generate. And I think not the 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.760 only factor, but one of the key factors in limiting 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:09.760 explosive place for this Packers defense is going to be tackling. 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:15.120 You're not necessarily going to be able to prevent Jalen 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.440 Waddle and Tyree Hill from getting the football. Mike McDaniel 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:21.720 is is creative enough, savvy enough, he's going to find 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:25.280 a way to get his guys the ball one way 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.080 or another. But we saw what happened in Philadelphia when 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:30.720 the Packers didn't tackle, well, they had twenty plus miss 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:35.080 tackles in that that primetime game out in Philly and 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:37.960 play you know, plays that were you know, four or five, six, 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:41.480 seven yard plays were rupturing into twenty and twenty five 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.960 yard games for Jalen Hurts and company. There the real 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:49.080 danger with these guys is miss tackles can turn a 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.800 five yard play into a touchdown from anywhere on the 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.400 field because as soon as they get loose and they 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:58.000 get up to top speed, it's almost impossible to catch them. 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:01.480 So the tackling, I think is is going to is 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.120 going to be key. The Packers certainly have tackled much 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:07.320 better since the Philadelphia game, which was the big let 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:10.040 down in that category, and it needs to continue and 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:14.600 perhaps reach you know, its peak level against weapons like this. Yeah, 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:17.720 and and it is. It's an interesting mix with what 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:21.480 Miami brings to the table because as dynamic as those 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:25.440 two receivers are, and that's what the offense largely runs through. Uh, 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:28.560 you know, both Wilson since he jumped on board in 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.080 Miami and Mostart have had their moments too as runners. 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:35.120 Uh Wilson a couple of weeks ago was the lead 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.360 back had over a hundred yards. Last week, Mostard had 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:39.840 hit his best game of the season when Wilson was 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.319 out with the hip injury. Yeah, they relied on him 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:44.480 in that in that cold and Buffalo and he delivered 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:46.559 for him and Mike. If there was every you bring 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.600 up the point of of the tackling issue, if there 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:51.800 was ever a player that the Green Bay Packers are 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:54.319 going to face that it reminds you that how much 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:55.880 you need to be disciplined, how much you need to 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:58.160 put a hat on a hat. It is Raheem Moster 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:01.400 who had, you know, the biggest game in his career 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:03.640 against Green Based several years ago, the thing that kind 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.560 of put him on the map after He's not just 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.440 a guy in that Kyle Shanahan offense. This is a 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:13.360 legitimate number one type back. So Packers can't take any 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.040 of this for granted. What I'm most fascinated to see, 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:17.560 and you can call it a key to victory, you 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:19.880 can call it a three thing, whatever you want, is 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:22.600 the decisions the Packers are going to have to make 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:26.000 in this game on how they defend Miami. How much 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:29.360 resources are spent to the two you know, you know 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:33.680 receivers Jr. Alexander can obviously shadow somebody if you need 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.520 them to you, you know, can mix up the zone coverages. 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:38.800 That's all gonna be up to Joe Berry and Jerry 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:40.720 Gray and how they want to approach it. But you 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:43.880 can't be so overcommitted to that that it then leaves 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:45.720 you light in the box against that running game. They 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:47.680 can hurt you either ways. There's gonna be some I 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:50.880 candy that that McDaniel's offense is gonna throw at him. 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.160 That ultimately, I think when you look at keys to victory, 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:54.520 when you look at how do the Packers win this 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:58.000 game defensively, it starts there. Yeah, and it will be 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.360 interesting to see how the Packers go about to fending 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:03.160 things because I still think as as as great a 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.560 season as two has had, he's still he's still a 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.880 young quarterback. And generally the approach against young quarterbacks is 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.800 too is to constantly be mixing up, mixing up coverage. 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.320 You don't want to get into certain patterns, you know, 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.040 and and and in the process of mixing up coverages, 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:20.600 you don't want to always be playing, you know the 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:22.920 same thing on third and six. You know, you don't 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:24.800 you don't want to get into into those kind of 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:29.240 patterns that that he can decipher that being said, lots 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.920 of teams have tried lots of things against this offense, 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:34.960 and and uh and and Ta has has sliced and 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:38.280 diced a lot of a lot of defenses on the 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:41.480 offensive side of the ball. I think it just it 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:46.480 just comes down to efficiency, because the Packers are going 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:49.480 to need to put up a good number of points, 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.440 I believe, in order to win this game. But by 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.040 the same token, you don't necessarily want it to become 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:59.800 a shootout. UM, So it comes down it comes down 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.120 to being efficient offensively where you're getting the points you 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:06.480 need to make, but potentially shortening the game at the 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.720 same time. You you had talked on our last show 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.320 about over the last couple of games, how the Packers 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:16.240 have had numerous scoring drives of ten plus eleven plus plays. 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:18.880 Those are the kinds of drives the Packers need to continue. 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.120 They need they need to finish them and punch them 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:22.920 all into the end zoner as many of them as 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.560 they can. But those are the kinds of drives that 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.760 the Packers need because if you get into you get 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:30.160 into a game, you get into a game with the 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.800 Dolphins where you're upwards of you know, fourteen fifteen sixteen 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.680 possessions over the course of four quarters. Against these guys, 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.320 they're gonna be really really hard to keep up with. 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.760 But if you can, if you have some longer drives, 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.240 limit the number of possessions, shorten the game in that 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.520 sense a little bit, then umum, you know, then I 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:49.800 like the Packers chances to to hang around and give 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.280 themselves a shot. That's probably why I fell so much 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.720 in love with that performance against the Rams. It wasn't 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:56.920 about the opponent, it wasn't about the fact that Packers 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:59.200 need to win that game. It was that that finally 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.920 felt like Matte floor football again. That the Rams only 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.800 ran forty five offensive places. Uh, you know, and the 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:07.760 Packers have been on the other side of that Cole 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.520 times where you're you're you're looking at the offensive film 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:12.919 and you're going, we only we only ran fifty plays. Well, 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.000 no wonder, this guy only had this many touches and 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.160 this guy only had this many because we didn't run 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:19.800 enough plays. Yeah, and thirty seven minutes over thirty seven 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:21.720 minutes in terms of their time of possession to run 0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:25.600 out the clock. It was quintessential Packers football. This matchup 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:28.800 I look at well, first off, getting a J. Dillon 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.560 back is a huge side of relief because it sounds 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:33.560 like even you know, Aaron Jones dealing with some stuff 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:35.600 right now with the knee. So at least to have 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:37.480 both of those guys available so it doesn't have to 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:39.720 fall on one specific guy. You tip your cap to 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:42.280 Patrick Taylor the way he finished that game for Green Bay, 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.760 but the way that you know AJ has been running 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:47.080 the ball, specifically in the red zone these last few weeks, 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.919 these last few games, has been very encouraging. But I 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:54.520 look towards the Christian Watson thing. I look towards Alan Lazard. 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:58.000 I looked towards this this sort of you know, weaponry 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:00.080 that Green Bay has built throughout the course of the 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:02.840 season too to come up big in this thing. Watson 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:07.399 changes the way defenses attack this offense, and there's a 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:09.240 multitude of ways to use them. And I know there's 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.600 some some film buffs out there that we're already putting 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:13.440 out film talking from the last game of here were 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.159 opportunities where Watson could have been even more involved, if 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:18.640 he would have been the primary target, if he would 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.240 have been the hot read on things that that's the 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:23.720 exciting thing to me, and how they want to use things. 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:26.200 You know, the ultimate credit to this young man is 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.359 how much Jalen Ramsey was covering him, you know last week. 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:33.680 I mean, teams have taken notice and offensively for the Packers, 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:35.840 I think with Aaron Rodgers feeling a little bit better, 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.399 this is feeling like the green Bay Packers offensive old again. 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:42.200 They're still trying to get back to that thirty point threshold. 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:44.240 Aaron Jones had kind of smirk on his face after 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:46.399 the game when talking about being that close to it. 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.600 But you know, they're right there. So that if you know, 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:53.560 you do have some offensive success on Miami side, green 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:56.440 Bay could potentially be able to match that firepower. Yeah, 0:18:56.480 --> 0:19:00.880 you mentioned that matchup with Ramsey against Watson Monday night 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:03.240 against the Rams. So I'm curious what you think do 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:06.560 the do the Dolphins put Howard on Watson and and 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:08.800 and and let that let that go one. I mean, 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:11.560 there are different ways you can do this, right because 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:13.960 because some teams take the approach of yep, we're putting 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:16.400 our number one guy on their number one guy. Other 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.600 teams take the approach when you're talking about man coverage. Essentially, 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:23.080 zon zone is a whole different idea. But other teams 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:25.240 take the approach of you know, no, we're gonna put 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:28.239 our number two guy on the number one guy and 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:30.760 have the safety help over the top most of the time, 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:33.600 and then put our number one guy on their number 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:36.119 two guy and ask him to cover that guy without 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.919 any help at all and be the shutdown guy on 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:41.040 the other side of the field. So there are different 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:42.960 ways to go about it, and I'm curious to see 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.040 with with a an all pro talent like Xavian Howard 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:50.920 and an emerging star in Christian Watson, how the how 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:53.560 the Miami Dolphins go about this. Yeah, I am too, 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:55.720 because the thing about Howard is he's been one of 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:58.080 the best corners of this league for the last three years, 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:00.640 but he's also probably one of the league's best up secrets. 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:02.919 You don't hear a lot of love for him when 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:05.800