Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I and Mike Spofford, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my trusted colleague Weston Hodkoits for coming to you
Speaker 1: here from socially distant locations at lambeau Field and west
Speaker 1: We now know that the NFC Divisional playoff game at
Speaker 1: lambeau Field will be the Packers against the Los Angeles Rams, Saturday,
Speaker 1: three pm Central Time kickoff in the Rams, the number
Speaker 1: six seed in the NFC, got to this stage by
Speaker 1: knocking off the Seahawks in Seattle, and they did it
Speaker 1: with defense, and they did it with navigating some difficult
Speaker 1: injury situations as well. They really did Mike in this game,
Speaker 1: I thought, really taught you exactly what the Los Angeles
Speaker 1: Rams are all about. Sean McVeigh is a fantastic NFL coach.
Speaker 1: He's a brilliant offensive line. But the Rams have had
Speaker 1: to win with their defense this year, and that was
Speaker 1: another example of how dominating l A can be when
Speaker 1: they have to. Aaron Donald ended up suffering that rib
Speaker 1: cartilage injury, but you saw how impactfully was had, like
Speaker 1: back to back sacks on plays Jalen Ramsey their big
Speaker 1: acquisition a couple of years ago, one of the best
Speaker 1: shutdown cornerbacks in the league, you know, and then even
Speaker 1: Darius Williams too. I mean, they have all these guys
Speaker 1: that they can throw at you and really complicate things.
Speaker 1: And then on the other side of it, John Wolford
Speaker 1: goes down with the stinger. You have Jared Goff playing
Speaker 1: twelve days after the thumb surgery. It needed to be
Speaker 1: cam Akers, and it was cam Akers, that Seattle defense.
Speaker 1: We talked about it all year, Mike, they really aren't
Speaker 1: the Seattle defensive. Old cam Akers made them pay for it.
Speaker 1: And even though you know it was one of those
Speaker 1: you know, rough and ready NFC self duels, this was
Speaker 1: our excuse me, NFC West duels. This was the type
Speaker 1: of game I thought where the Los Angeles Rams showed
Speaker 1: why they deserve to be a playoff team and why
Speaker 1: exactly can't be a team that you sleep on. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's interesting when you think just a few weeks ago,
Speaker 1: maybe a month ago, less than a month ago, this
Speaker 1: is a Rams team that lost to the New York Jets,
Speaker 1: and you just wonder, was that, you know, sort of
Speaker 1: the wake up call that they needed and they've been
Speaker 1: dealing with injuries, you know, with when Goff went down
Speaker 1: with the thumb, they weren't really sure, you know, how
Speaker 1: things were gonna go. They were going with Wolford as
Speaker 1: the backup quarterback to start the playoff game. But he
Speaker 1: gets hit by Jamal Adams pretty early. Goff has to
Speaker 1: go in. He's got the you know, the pins in
Speaker 1: his thumb and all of that. He actually ends up
Speaker 1: completing less than fifty of his passes. But you said it.
Speaker 1: Cam Akers was the guy that Seattle Seahawks defense did
Speaker 1: not have an answer for him. His running the ball,
Speaker 1: catching passes out of the backfield, and then combined with
Speaker 1: that Rams defense, which even without Aaron Donald still really
Speaker 1: controlled things in the second half. And then also of
Speaker 1: course in the first half, got that pick six by
Speaker 1: Darius Darius Williams. Did I say that right? Um? On
Speaker 1: the on the wide receiver screen. So um, this, uh,
Speaker 1: this really sets up Saturday afternoon at lambeau Field as
Speaker 1: as a whale of a matchup. And there are a
Speaker 1: number of storylines we can try to touch on here
Speaker 1: in the limited time we have. But you have the
Speaker 1: number one scoring offense in the league with the Packers
Speaker 1: against the number one scoring defense in the league. In
Speaker 1: the Rams, you have the longtime connection, the friendship between
Speaker 1: Matt Lafleur and Sean McVeigh. They coached for four years
Speaker 1: together with Washington, then also for a year when McVeigh
Speaker 1: first got the job with the Ramsey hired Lafleur as
Speaker 1: as offensive coordinator. You have the Davante Adams versus Jalen
Speaker 1: Ramsey matchup on the perimeter. You have Aaron Donald against
Speaker 1: Corey Lindsley and others on the end. Here, those are
Speaker 1: those four guys I just mentioned, all first team All
Speaker 1: pros in the NFL in I don't know where you
Speaker 1: want to start west, but go ahead, my friend. When
Speaker 1: you have the reigning defensive Player of the Year and
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald, a guy that you know, it's so funny
Speaker 1: when you go back and think about that draft six
Speaker 1: seven years ago. They were worried about his size. Size
Speaker 1: doesn't matter, thirteen and a half sacks, size doesn't at
Speaker 1: or You'll just take those numbers every day of the week.
Speaker 1: One of maybe arguably pound for pound, the strongest players
Speaker 1: to ever put on NFL pads, and he's been a
Speaker 1: problem for teams all season long. But the other side
Speaker 1: of it, as you mentioned, this isn't one specific guy,
Speaker 1: it isn't one specific thing that makes them go. It's
Speaker 1: a it's a sum of the whole for them. And
Speaker 1: I think when you look at this matchup for Green Bay,
Speaker 1: the Packers, top scoring offense in the league against the
Speaker 1: top scoring defense in the league, in terms of what
Speaker 1: they prevented this season, it really shows you what the
Speaker 1: NFL postseason is all about. I wrote about this an
Speaker 1: Insider Inbox this week. These are the eight best teams
Speaker 1: left in the National Football League, and they've all done
Speaker 1: it in different ways. You have McVeigh and you have
Speaker 1: thea Fleur, who come from the same coaching tree. But
Speaker 1: you see how different their offenses look, how different their
Speaker 1: teams haven't been built, how differently they win games. But
Speaker 1: they both were still among the top and time of
Speaker 1: possession in the league this year. They both have been
Speaker 1: able to win at times with all three phases of
Speaker 1: this game. So I think when this game comes down
Speaker 1: to it, you're looking at probably a twenty degree night
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field, the atmosphere being able to have six
Speaker 1: thousand fans back in attendance. That's where This game really
Speaker 1: tilts towards Green Bay's advantage, and it's the reason why Mike.
Speaker 1: Ever since Mike Vrabel said it, I'm going to continue
Speaker 1: to say it. Games in which the Packers protect the football,
Speaker 1: they win those games. This is a game that I
Speaker 1: think that's what it's gonna come down to. It doesn't
Speaker 1: matter what the health situation is of Donald, it doesn't
Speaker 1: matter what things are going on with Jared Goff's thumb.
Speaker 1: The Packers need to protect the football and they need
Speaker 1: to use this atmosphere, this thing that they've owned, that
Speaker 1: they've earned, being able to get home field advantage at
Speaker 1: Lambeau Field, that has to be towards their benefit. Yeah
Speaker 1: it At this point, it doesn't sound like Mother Nature
Speaker 1: is going to make this one of these crazy January
Speaker 1: games at Lambeau. It's sounding like a high temperature of
Speaker 1: around thirty degrees, but with a three thirty kickoff, you
Speaker 1: know by halftime the temperature will be starting to drop.
Speaker 1: I'm guessing it's going to be mostly in the twenties
Speaker 1: for the for the bulk of the games, So nothing,
Speaker 1: nothing crazy cold. We'll have to see if maybe there's
Speaker 1: a yeah, maybe we'll have to see maybe if there's
Speaker 1: a if there's a chance of snow. I did actually
Speaker 1: go back and check every single one of the Rams
Speaker 1: games this year and what the kickoff temperature was. The
Speaker 1: Rams did not play a game with a kickoff temperature
Speaker 1: of less than sixty degrees until Week sixteen against Seattle
Speaker 1: it was forty five degrees. Then this past week in
Speaker 1: Seattle it was thirty nine degrees. Those are the two
Speaker 1: coldest games they played. The Packers this year have played
Speaker 1: seven games with the temperature at thirty eight degrees or less.
Speaker 1: So that this is, as you said, this is what
Speaker 1: the Packers have earned, This is what they're built for.
Speaker 1: This is what they were born for, is to play
Speaker 1: playoff games at lambau Field in January, and they certainly
Speaker 1: hope that they can. They can take advantage of it.
Speaker 1: And you just wonder, from an injury standpoint, how close
Speaker 1: will Donald be to what will the Rams do at quarterback?
Speaker 1: If Wolford is ready to go? Are they more comfortable
Speaker 1: with him than try to have a guy with a
Speaker 1: surgically repaired thumb in the cold trying to make passes.
Speaker 1: All of those kinds of things. Those are the storylines
Speaker 1: we're gonna be watching. Here is the week unfold. Well,
Speaker 1: the number one storyline to me on the offensive side
Speaker 1: of the ball is cam Akers because the Los Angeles
Speaker 1: Rams defense was excuse me, offense was different in the
Speaker 1: second half of the year when they committed to Acres
Speaker 1: as they're back now, certainly Henderson, Malcolm Brown. They have
Speaker 1: a three headed approach. There in different guys that can
Speaker 1: handle it. They all know the offense, but Acres is
Speaker 1: the difference maker. He's the guy that they drafted. That's
Speaker 1: the guy they wanted to build this thing around after
Speaker 1: Todd Gurley was let go, and when he has been right,
Speaker 1: when he's been healthy, it's made an impact on everything.
Speaker 1: Wolford is an interesting guy because I know so many
Speaker 1: people made a big deal about, well, he hasn't played
Speaker 1: in an NFL game before, he's not going to be
Speaker 1: able to do this when he had to go into
Speaker 1: that postseason matchup with Golf injured. But the thing is
Speaker 1: is that if you go back and look at it,
Speaker 1: he's had a lot of pelts on the wall. It
Speaker 1: hasn't been at the NFL level, but he's played a
Speaker 1: lot of football. And Sean McVeigh has said all along
Speaker 1: that this is a guy that's really impressed him, and
Speaker 1: I think when push comes to shove, he can manage
Speaker 1: the offense. So if he's able to go, it would
Speaker 1: be interesting to see him get that nod. Conversely, Goff
Speaker 1: is gonna be one week better knowing what he has
Speaker 1: to do to compensate for that thumb. He said, it's
Speaker 1: not a It's still gonna be something he has to
Speaker 1: deal with, but it is fixed. I mean he got
Speaker 1: it surgically repaired. Now the question is just getting the
Speaker 1: comfort back. If you watch that game last week, there
Speaker 1: are a couple of moments where you just sort of
Speaker 1: saw him shot put the ball, just not get his
Speaker 1: full throwing motion into it. He's going to be able
Speaker 1: to lean back on all those experiences if he does
Speaker 1: get the start here against green Bay and be able
Speaker 1: to make the adjustments. Jared Goff's a good enough quarterback.
Speaker 1: He's gonna be able to do that. But you have
Speaker 1: to go back to the running game, and if green
Speaker 1: Bay can do what it's done for the better part
Speaker 1: of six weeks now, containing Acres or whoever the Rams
Speaker 1: throw at him, that's going to be the difference maker,
Speaker 1: because then it changes the complexion of mcveigh's offense. Yeah. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: And you certainly feel much better about the way the
Speaker 1: Packers are defending the run al than they were at
Speaker 1: the tail end of last season where you were you
Speaker 1: were seeing the cracks in the in the defense and
Speaker 1: obviously it uh, you know, it bit the Packers in
Speaker 1: the postseason in San Francisco where they just could not
Speaker 1: contain the running game. That's where I think on the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball, that's where the Packers are
Speaker 1: in so much better shape for this postseason than they
Speaker 1: were last postseason. As the way they're defending the run,
Speaker 1: and then on the offensive side of the ball, it's
Speaker 1: a it's about the balance and it's about the explosiveness.
Speaker 1: I mean, as I mentioned, this team has played a
Speaker 1: ton of cold weather games this year, yet it led
Speaker 1: the league in scoring at thirty one plus points per game.
Speaker 1: I mean, in the snow against Tennessee, the Packers put
Speaker 1: up forty points. This is this is an offense that
Speaker 1: when it is balanced, when it has the running game,
Speaker 1: when it has the play action, you have Davantae Adams
Speaker 1: and Robert Tounyan. This this this offense is as good
Speaker 1: as it gets right now in the NFL, and you
Speaker 1: can't ask for a better matchup here than this offense
Speaker 1: against Eli's defense. No, and then also that the aspect
Speaker 1: of Davante Adams versus Jalen Ramsey. We got a very
Speaker 1: small appetizer of that back in two thousand six team,
Speaker 1: which I think might have been Jalen Ramsey's first NFL game.
Speaker 1: He got a little bit of a taste of what
Speaker 1: it's like to match up with Adams before Davante Adams
Speaker 1: became the four time pro bowler that we know him
Speaker 1: to be now. And seeing where both of these guys
Speaker 1: have adapted, adjusted and grown in their game is really
Speaker 1: interesting to watch because they're both all pros now, they're
Speaker 1: both top of their position. But the cat and mouse
Speaker 1: game that Lafleur tries to play with Adams is gonna
Speaker 1: be really interesting to watch. We saw him move around
Speaker 1: a little bit more of these last few weeks, being
Speaker 1: able to work him into the slot and those type
Speaker 1: of things, being able to really expand his his resume there,
Speaker 1: his repertoire, and and that's worked to Green Bay's advantage
Speaker 1: in a lot of times. So you go back to
Speaker 1: what you do well this time of the year and
Speaker 1: for Green Bay, it's been a multifaceted running game approach,
Speaker 1: and it's by finding ways to get Davante Adams the ball.
Speaker 1: I think this game is very much the same in
Speaker 1: that way, and seeing exactly how Green Bay can adapt
Speaker 1: to what l A is giving them, Because it's going
Speaker 1: to be a strong defense, you know what's going to be.
Speaker 1: You have to protect the football and when you do
Speaker 1: get opportunities, it's going to be imperative that green Bay
Speaker 1: capitalizes them and turns them into explosive plays. Yeah. Absolutely, Well,
Speaker 1: I do want to review a little bit of what
Speaker 1: else went on wild Card weekend. Super wild Card weekend
Speaker 1: in the NFL. But first serious x M. NFL radio
Speaker 1: channel is the only radio outlet dedicated to the National
Speaker 1: Football League seven days a week, sixty five days a year. Okay.
Speaker 1: On the other half of the NFC bracket, we have
Speaker 1: an NFC South Showdown. New Orleans will be hosting the
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They will be meeting for the third
Speaker 1: time in The Saints won the first two meetings. The
Speaker 1: second of those was an absolute blowout thirty eight to
Speaker 1: three on National TV. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, you talk,
Speaker 1: you talk, about an offense that is hot with the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers, the Buccaneers and Tom Brady. That is
Speaker 1: an offense that since they had their by in week
Speaker 1: thirteen in a very late bye week, but since that
Speaker 1: by in week thirteen, nobody has really been able to
Speaker 1: slow down this Buccaneer's offense. And that includes a Washington
Speaker 1: defensive front that, regardless of Washington's record, that was a
Speaker 1: really really good defensive front and a passengers that really
Speaker 1: had no impact on the Buccaneers offense. Tampa Bay controlled
Speaker 1: that game in the trenches and uh, you tip your
Speaker 1: you tip your hat to Taylor Heineck. My goodness, what
Speaker 1: an effort to keep Washington in that game. But Tampa
Speaker 1: Bay was just too good. Yeah, first and foremost for
Speaker 1: a guy that was signed onto the practice squad, had
Speaker 1: been going for think for his engineering degree, had kind
Speaker 1: of been away from the game to come in in
Speaker 1: the middle of December on the practice squad and then
Speaker 1: end up playing in a in a postseason game with
Speaker 1: meaningful ramifications for Washington with everything they've had to weather
Speaker 1: this year, I mean, just the craziest of two thousands
Speaker 1: and twenties. Alex Smith coming back and being a great
Speaker 1: story ron Rivera and his cancer battle. They've had to
Speaker 1: deal with so many different aspects of this thing. And
Speaker 1: for it to come down to Taylor Heineke, you got
Speaker 1: to give credit that this was even a ball game
Speaker 1: that being said. As cool of a story as Taylor
Speaker 1: Heinek was, as many interesting throws that he made in
Speaker 1: that game, the reason why Washington was in this position
Speaker 1: was their defense, and the defense just didn't show up.
Speaker 1: I mean, it just didn't have an answer for Tom Brady.
Speaker 1: It wasn't able to pressure him. They kind of fell
Speaker 1: into this pattern where they were just sort of stuck.
Speaker 1: And for the Buccaneers why they're so dangerous, Yes, it
Speaker 1: is Brady. It's he makes a massive difference. He's protecting
Speaker 1: the ball better than Jameis Winston did and and the
Speaker 1: Buccaneers had a good defensive year ago and they've gotten
Speaker 1: better this season. But it really comes down to the
Speaker 1: fact that Leonard for Nett ends up being called into action,
Speaker 1: the guy that they acquired in season, because now Ronald
Speaker 1: Jones was down in this game, it becomes down to
Speaker 1: Antonio Brown for as much as is people make the
Speaker 1: off the field situations, and we can debate that and
Speaker 1: talk about and everything. He's on the Buccaneers roster and
Speaker 1: he made an impact in this game, and he's been
Speaker 1: a really good compliment to what they're doing with Mike Evans,
Speaker 1: who's been throwing, been playing through some injuries of his own.
Speaker 1: They are dynamic and they've found themselves now this game,
Speaker 1: this one coming up. I know we're not previewing, but
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers and the Saints, that's what this comes down to.
Speaker 1: It's a division that has been powerful this year. It's
Speaker 1: two teams that I think have been at the top
Speaker 1: of the NFC heat and now they're going to score
Speaker 1: off with each other, with the best one being able
Speaker 1: to get to the NFC title game. Yea and Brady
Speaker 1: and Breeze. That's certainly one that that people will look
Speaker 1: forward to in the playoffs. We've seen it already twice
Speaker 1: in the regular season. Go in New Orleans way, We'll
Speaker 1: see about that whole You know, can you beat a
Speaker 1: team three times in in one season? I don't know
Speaker 1: about you. I just don't take much out of the
Speaker 1: Saints wildcard victory at the Bears really didn't put up
Speaker 1: much of a fight. It felt like Chicago defensively was
Speaker 1: hanging in the game for quite a while. They were
Speaker 1: making some things difficult on Drew Brees and the Saints.
Speaker 1: But offensively, Chicago was just trying to protect mitzch Drubisky
Speaker 1: from making a mistake and you just you you can't
Speaker 1: go out and win a playoff game that way. Um,
Speaker 1: So it felt inevitable in the second half that New
Speaker 1: Orleans would start to run away with it. That being said,
Speaker 1: I do think New Orleans has a really sound defense.
Speaker 1: I'm curious to see how that defense matches up with
Speaker 1: Brady and the Buccaneers a third time. But it's really
Speaker 1: hard to It's really hard to get a feel for
Speaker 1: just where the Saints are right now because frankly, they
Speaker 1: didn't get that big of a challenge last weekend. Yeah,
Speaker 1: to me, it came down to the Saints kind of
Speaker 1: playing with their food a little bit. Uh. This game
Speaker 1: really shouldn't have been as close as it ended up being,
Speaker 1: especially in the first half. They just they weren't able
Speaker 1: to really find the rhythm. But once they did, I mean,
Speaker 1: the decision was at hand. For me, it came down
Speaker 1: to two things. The Bears stopped being able to run
Speaker 1: the ball. That was the reason they had the resurgence.
Speaker 1: David Montgomery and in Green Bay kind of had a
Speaker 1: blueprint for that, for what they wanted to do to
Speaker 1: defend them and the Saints and how powerful their defense
Speaker 1: has been this season. Uh, they followed that to a t.
Speaker 1: They couldn't break anything on the ground and when it
Speaker 1: is put in Mitchell Robinski's hands, and I don't mean
Speaker 1: a dog on the guy. We've talked about him at nauseum,
Speaker 1: but it just wasn't gonna work out for the Bears.
Speaker 1: So here they are. I mean now that the Saints
Speaker 1: took care of business there the number two seed, it
Speaker 1: was exactly what the two verse seven matchups should look like,
Speaker 1: and now are in the divisional round. So uh, it
Speaker 1: is one of those things where I think the Saints
Speaker 1: are gonna have to find themselves a little bit. You know,
Speaker 1: if Michael Thomas gets going again, you know Camara certainly
Speaker 1: you have the Taysom Hill factor. But it just kind
Speaker 1: of feels like they've been sort of you know, they've
Speaker 1: had moments and they've had setbacks. Now can they get
Speaker 1: back into that offensive rhythm that everybody's known about and
Speaker 1: can they turn back of Tampa Bay defense that's been
Speaker 1: pretty darn good all season long. Well, on the a
Speaker 1: f C side of things, your two divisional round matchups
Speaker 1: will have the Kansas City Chiefs the top seed, hosting Cleveland,
Speaker 1: and on the other side, Baltimore traveling to Buffalo. Both
Speaker 1: of those really interesting from the standpoint of Cleveland just
Speaker 1: puts up a boatload of points against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Speaker 1: to win the wild Card game, and then on the
Speaker 1: other side, Buffalo and Baltimore both playing getting pretty solid efforts.
Speaker 1: I would say on both sides of the ball, I
Speaker 1: thought maybe if I were to pick one team out
Speaker 1: of all of the wild card participants over the weekend
Speaker 1: that looked the most impressive to me on both sides
Speaker 1: of the ball, I think I'd have to say Baltimore.
Speaker 1: They fell behind, tend to nothing, and then just completely
Speaker 1: dominated and controlled the Tennessee Titans the rest of the
Speaker 1: way in that game. What it's impressed me about Baltimore
Speaker 1: this year is last year they had the m v P.
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson was an enigma, no one knew how to
Speaker 1: defend him, and they won a lot of games on
Speaker 1: his shoulders. This year, it hasn't been that way. Teams
Speaker 1: have had a counter they've had a plan for Jackson,
Speaker 1: but over the course of the year, Baltimore has learned
Speaker 1: how to win, uh not in spite of him. He's
Speaker 1: still a very talented quarterback, but they've had to learn
Speaker 1: how to win as a team again. And I think
Speaker 1: that's where when you look at the final stretch of
Speaker 1: the year, when you want to build to a crescendo,
Speaker 1: when you want to be able to be an impactful unit,
Speaker 1: that's where Baltimore is. And defensively, they've had some really
Speaker 1: strong performances. Obviously a big challenge with Derrick Henry there,
Speaker 1: but you know, being able to get Mark Andrew's going
Speaker 1: again and in their running game and those type of things.
Speaker 1: I just feel like when you look at a three
Speaker 1: phase approach, Baltimore is heading the direction that they want
Speaker 1: to head in. And and obviously a huge win over
Speaker 1: a Tennessee team that looked good early on in that matchup,
Speaker 1: it just so happened that that the Ravens were kind
Speaker 1: of able to outlast them. Yeah, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: bitterness between those two teams, I guess to put it mildly,
Speaker 1: and um, those uh there were a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of bad blood you could say, on the field
Speaker 1: and uh in Nashville there, but Baltimore ends up getting
Speaker 1: the win and moving on and the Ravens now back
Speaker 1: to the stage they were last year where they flamed
Speaker 1: out in the division around as the one seed with
Speaker 1: the by uh you know when Tennessee beat them. So
Speaker 1: now the Ravens are going to try to be the
Speaker 1: road Warriors to to make that run at a Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: One other topic that I want to get to here
Speaker 1: West before we sign off for today. Didn't get to
Speaker 1: it last week and that's my fault. But a big
Speaker 1: congratulations to go out to two of the best defensive
Speaker 1: backs to ever put on a Packers uniform. Charles Woodson
Speaker 1: and Leroy Butler were officially announced as finalists for Pro
Speaker 1: Football Hall of Fame induction. The class one day will
Speaker 1: find out the night before the Super Bowl if they
Speaker 1: are going into Canton. And while I believe it's pretty
Speaker 1: much a given that Charles Woodson is going to get
Speaker 1: in in his first year of eligibility, we'll have to
Speaker 1: see what happens with Butler. He's he's in a tough spot,
Speaker 1: but he's gotten back to this finalist stage. Now he's
Speaker 1: been there before, and you know, if you can kind
Speaker 1: of keep getting on this role, however many years it takes.
Speaker 1: I think Larroy doesn't really care. He just wants it
Speaker 1: to happen at some point, right. It's it's so funny.
Speaker 1: I even wrote this an inbox. I think I care
Speaker 1: more about Leroy being a modern era UH inductee into
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame than he does. He said it
Speaker 1: time and time again, and all the interviews I've done
Speaker 1: with him, going back to my days at the Press Becausette.
Speaker 1: He just wants to get in. It doesn't matter to
Speaker 1: him which rope. But the realistic thing is Mike, because
Speaker 1: he has five more years to make it as a
Speaker 1: modern era nominee. I want to see the Pro Football
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame voters do that give him that honor,
Speaker 1: because he deserves it. I was listening to to Ron
Speaker 1: Wolf on Mark Daniel's show on Monday night, and you know,
Speaker 1: Wolf said, when you go back to it, he said
Speaker 1: this before, but it always really rings true to me,
Speaker 1: is that when he was looking at that team and
Speaker 1: what they were accomplishing in nineties six and ninety seven,
Speaker 1: he thought about it. He's like, we have multiple Hall
Speaker 1: of famers on this team. And he wasn't just talking
Speaker 1: about Brett Farvan, Reggie White. He was talking about Leroy
Speaker 1: Butler and on this on this medium, on unscripted. I've
Speaker 1: stated his case before, I've been angry before. I'm trying
Speaker 1: to take a new approach, at least until the votes
Speaker 1: come down next month, and saying that this is a
Speaker 1: guy that deserves this honor. Again, the only guy first
Speaker 1: team offense or defense from the All Decade nineties team
Speaker 1: that is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: a team that was selected by the Pro Football Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame voters. I want to see them right that wrong.
Speaker 1: John Lynch also up for it, and Ronde Barber, a
Speaker 1: first time nominee, a guy that I think really should
Speaker 1: here have his case heard as well. It's not Lynch's fault,
Speaker 1: it's not Butler's fault, it's not Barber's fault. It wasn't
Speaker 1: Steve Atwater's fault. For a lot of years, the Pro
Speaker 1: Football Hall of Fame really neglected the safety position, and
Speaker 1: kind of like your mail getting bunched up, if you
Speaker 1: don't get that all streamline, there's gonna be kind of
Speaker 1: a log jam there so you have to be able
Speaker 1: to usher these things in. I think the Pro Football
Speaker 1: of Fame has done a good job that the last
Speaker 1: three or four years. But at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: we have five more years here, Mike, this is how
Speaker 1: I worded it in my tweet. We have five more
Speaker 1: years to write a really big wrong. I know it's
Speaker 1: a big class. I understand that it's very difficult to
Speaker 1: get multiple players of positions unless you're first ballot nominees
Speaker 1: into the Hall of Fame the same year. But I
Speaker 1: really hope they take a long, deep look at at
Speaker 1: Butler's candidacy and understand that this isn't just about a
Speaker 1: guy that had some cool numbers. It's about how he
Speaker 1: changed the defense in green Bay and really is one
Speaker 1: of the most beloved Packers players on an era in
Speaker 1: which is one of the most dominant times in the NFL.
Speaker 1: When you look at what green Bay did over those
Speaker 1: three seasons. Yeah, absolutely, Well, you know me, West, I'm
Speaker 1: kind of a math guy. I look at the numbers
Speaker 1: a lot, and this is what I've continued to say.
Speaker 1: Not that I don't want Leroy Butler to get into
Speaker 1: the Pro Football Hall of Fame as soon as possible,
Speaker 1: and I am all with you that he is. He
Speaker 1: is absolutely deserving and he he was a Hall of
Speaker 1: Famer on those back to back Super Bowl teams for
Speaker 1: the Packers in the nineties. But if Charles Woodson, Peyton
Speaker 1: Manning and and uh Megatron the wide receiver for the Lions,
Speaker 1: if they all get in as first ballot Hall of
Speaker 1: Famers this year out of the fifteen finalists, that leaves
Speaker 1: only two other spots in this year's class for the
Speaker 1: other twelve finalists. And so that's why I say, I'm
Speaker 1: just not sure if this is really the year that
Speaker 1: that Butler can you know, can can crack that from
Speaker 1: a math perspective, you know, if you say, wait another
Speaker 1: year and if you can become a finalist again, if
Speaker 1: there's only one maybe first ballot guy that's going to
Speaker 1: get in, then suddenly there's four spots open for fourteen
Speaker 1: other finalists. You know, four out of fourteen is better
Speaker 1: odds than two out of twelve. That's just the way
Speaker 1: I look at it. So, UM, I do I really
Speaker 1: do hope Llroy Butler gets in, And I'm with you,
Speaker 1: I hope he doesn't have to wait for the senior
Speaker 1: can Itty? I hope he can do it in the
Speaker 1: in the modern error process. But we'll we'll just have
Speaker 1: to wait and see it. When you look at the
Speaker 1: last two Packers defensive backs to get into the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame, you're talking about her bad Early and Willie
Speaker 1: wood from the Lombardi Packers, and now the Packers have
Speaker 1: two others from defensive secondary and Charles Woodson and the
Speaker 1: Roy Butler who are both up for the Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame the same year. It's a pretty special time no
Speaker 1: matter how it shakes out. Well, even though Mike, everybody
Speaker 1: tells me I look like Steve KORNACKI I am not
Speaker 1: a numbers guy. I am not a math guy. I
Speaker 1: am just a guy that goes by the seat of
Speaker 1: his pants just by emotion, Mike, and my emotion tells me,
Speaker 1: I don't care if there was four people that are
Speaker 1: gonna be first ballot Hall of Famers this year. I
Speaker 1: don't care if it's gonna be three. Leroy Butler deserves
Speaker 1: to get his case hurt. And I will say this
Speaker 1: without any argument whatsoever. The other two guys, let's say
Speaker 1: Megatron is a first ballot I have no doubt about
Speaker 1: um Manning and Woodson. I'm guessing Megatron also is. His
Speaker 1: numbers are just too good for the air in which
Speaker 1: he played. But whoever, those other two are gonna be
Speaker 1: really interesting names because there is kind of a log jam.
Speaker 1: There are multiple guys that have been up numerous years.
Speaker 1: And then, by the way, Clay Matthews Jr. Also in
Speaker 1: his last year of eligibility, finally becomes first time a finalist.
Speaker 1: Now that doesn't necessarily bode well for him making it,
Speaker 1: but that probably does suggest there will be you know,
Speaker 1: if he doesn't get in the uh, senior senior nominee,
Speaker 1: I'm losing my mind nose senior nominee the next year.
Speaker 1: So there are options here, but those two other guys,
Speaker 1: If those other three get in, it's gonna be really
Speaker 1: interesting names to watch. Hopefully one of them is little
Speaker 1: Royal Butler. Yeah, well, we will have to wait until
Speaker 1: Super Bowl weekend to find out for sure. But uh,
Speaker 1: with that, we will call it a wrap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers Unscripted. You should follow all of our
Speaker 1: coverage of the team here during Divisional playoff week all
Speaker 1: week long on Packers dot com for Wes, I am Mike.
Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will see you
Speaker 1: next time.