WEBVTT - #354 Packers Unscripted: Finding a way to finish 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:20.280 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:24.400 I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz. 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.120 Were coming to you here from our studios at lambeau 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:30.479 Field and West. I don't normally like to start back 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:33.880 to back shows with exactly the same topic, but after 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.880 hearing Mike McCarthy's news conference on Monday, it's very hard 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:41.080 not to start this show talking about the fourth quarter, 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.080 because I think Mike McCarthy said the phrase fourth quarter 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:46.360 in that news conference at least a half a dozen 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:48.800 somewhere between a half a dozen and a dozen times. 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:54.160 Because this team's issue right now is the failure to 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:57.520 finish games. Yeah, you have to. We discussed this and 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.160 it's been a big topic here, not just this week, 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:01.720 but you know, you can look back at the Rams 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:03.720 game and some of the you know, where they came 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:08.839 up short against Detroit. It's finishing drives, it's finishing defensive possessions, 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.520 it's getting takeaways and clutch situations, and the Packers have 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:16.200 just not been able to to dring that together consistently. 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:19.680 The question I have, and I think everybody has, is 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:21.240 what do you have to do to accomplish that. What 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:23.920 does it come down to. And you know, in meetings 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:26.119 this week and and all the things that they're gonna 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:28.600 be sitting down and discussing, it's gonna be trying to 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:30.559 figure that out. Because now you're taking out a Miami 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:33.600 Dolphins team that's been pretty well conditioned for fourth quarter situations. 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.360 They've had some pretty close games two here to be 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.760 five and four this part of the season. Packers have 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.160 to respond. Yeah, And I don't want to beat a 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:43.120 dead horse here, but I tell you, when you start 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:45.399 to think about all of the plays and all of 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.280 the regrets in the fourth quarter of the last couple 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:51.560 of weeks, you know, the sack by Aaron Donald on 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.680 third down for the Rams, the fumble on the kickoff, 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:58.480 the three yard run by Todd Gurley on third and 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:00.680 six when you had a chance to to make that 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:02.880 actually what could have been a fairly tough field goal 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:06.480 for Greg's airline go to New England, fumbled by Aaron Jones, 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:11.280 another sack on a third down that leads to a 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.000 three and out, the defense gets caught on a trick play, 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:17.440 a mistackle on the Josh Gordon play. All of these 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:19.679 things happening in the fourth quarter. Now, that's not to 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:22.639 say there aren't mistakes in the first three quarters. The 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.120 Packers certainly have their things to overcome there as well. 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.240 But when they start to pile up like that in 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:29.480 the fourth quarter, man, they make it just it just 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.280 makes it so hard to overcome. Well, you have to 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:33.560 buckle down because you're going up against the clock at 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:35.760 that point in time. Yeah, you can make mistakes earlier 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:37.440 in the game, and the Packers made a handful of 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.200 those against New England, but you had time on your side, 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.560 you had opportunities to respond. But when you're playing Tom Brady, 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:45.120 as we said all week long, Mike, you're just not 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.720 gonna get a lot of opportunities to be able to 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:50.840 have a lapse or a misq. You have to, you know, 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.000 be on top of your game throughout that to put 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.320 yourself in a position to win that football game. And 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.280 here's the thing. The Packers are going to come up 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:01.919 on a stretch here and you got we'll see exactly 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:03.880 who's gonna start a quarterback. It sounds I could probably 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:07.440 still be brock Osweiler with this capsule injury that you know, 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:10.360 Ryan Tannehill's dealing with but you got him coming up, 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:13.359 you have Russell Wilson, and you got Kirk Cousins again. Um, 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:16.320 all those guys are very capable. Wilson has played at 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:19.200 the highest point of this game. But it is gonna 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:21.639 be interesting to see what the Packers can do against them, because, Okay, 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:25.040 you're no longer facing Golf and Brady, who are get 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:28.200 the ball out, quick type up tempo offenses. Now you're 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:31.560 gonna see a little bit more traditional stuff. So I 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:33.040 think they need to take some of the lessons they 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.200 learned because there were positives to be drawn from these games, 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:38.960 But now can you incorporate that to beat some teams 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:40.880 that I think the Green Bay Packers at the beginning 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.560 of two thousand eight team, when they were laying out 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.800 the schedule, felt that they could be Yeah, I agree 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:50.040 with you. I agree with you entirely. The other thing 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.240 we need to definitely talk about with regards to Mike 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:56.280 McCarthy's news conference is the injury update. Um, it sounds 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:59.760 as though right tackle Brian Bulaga has avoided anything so 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:04.080 serious with the knee injury, but his evaluation is ongoing. 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:06.960 His availability for this week at this point is is 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:10.120 certainly in question. Jason Spriggs stepped in for him at 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:13.120 right tackle for the remainder of the Patriots game and 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:17.960 would presumably be that guy again. Not such good news though. 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:21.960 On Geronimo Allison, it sounds like his groin injury that 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:24.680 he sustained in practice last week that kept him out 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:26.960 of the New England game, it sounds like it's a 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:30.520 pretty big deal, potentially a real core muscle thing that 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:34.040 could require a procedure, so he could be out for 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:40.560 several weeks. On the defensive side, um Blake Martinez um amazing, 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.480 quite frankly, that he came back in the game after 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:45.760 the ankle injury. He turned his ankle when he was 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:49.120 chasing after Tom Brady on that one play. He did 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:52.320 come back in. Now there's a lot of swelling apparently 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:54.800 that he's dealing within that ankle, So again he's going 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:58.240 to be another another wait and C situation. And then 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.640 Kevin King with the hand string injury, Mike McCarthy labeled 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.400 him as being hard pressed to be able to play 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.080 this week. And you know, we all know whether you're 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.520 talking grin injury, hamstring injury, those types of things usually 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.600 those are not just one week deals, though, nothing's been 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:18.200 announced that that that anything with King is as serious 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:21.040 as it is with Alison. So what do you make 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.600 of all of that news? Because the Packers came out 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:25.440 of the bye week as healthy as can be, and 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.120 now here we are talking about a long list of injuries. 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:30.359 With the exception of Blaga, We're gonna put him as 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:33.479 an outlier right now because it sounds like whatever the situation, 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:35.279 maybe for Sunday, it's not going to be long term. 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.760 But let's look at the other three individuals. When you 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.440 have Allison, when you have King, and you have Martinez, 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:43.279 who are the next men up at those positions for 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.280 the most part their rookies, It's your Orn berks Is, 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:49.440 it's your Marquise Valdo's Scantlings, and is your Josh Jacksons. 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:51.440 Josh Jackson was the one that subbed in for King 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.280 last week. I think going into this game and again, 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:56.240 we're gonna have to see how this injury report plays out. 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:59.680 There's three practices between now and Sunday, but this could 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:02.520 pretend actually be the most important game I believe in 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:05.359 the season for that rookie class and what could potentially 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.919 be asked of them. I do tip my cap to 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.200 Antonio Morrison. I thought Morrison played a pretty good ball game, 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.279 considering he wasn't even in the game at the beginning. 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:17.320 It was Orn Burke's who started. Then Jermaine Whitehead goes in, 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:20.800 and then Morrison ends up being the signal caller, you know, 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:23.800 the communicator in the second half during the stretch that 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.039 like Martinez was gone and he and he may hold 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:27.919 that job this week. Not to cut you off, but 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:30.839 with the Dolphins and how they like to feed Frank 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:32.960 Gore and what you're trying to do with their running game, 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.760 maybe Antonio Morrison does play a much bigger role this week. 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:39.120 But I said an inbox too much. I think that 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:41.920 this could potentially with the understanding that sounds like King 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:44.880 won't go, this could be a huge game for Josh Jackson. 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:47.279 I think we've been talking about this young man and 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.440 getting opportunities and being able to get out there. The 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.760 Packers have used him six different ways from Sunday right now. 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.360 He was even playing that hybrid linebacker spot a little 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:59.239 bit after Jermaine white had left in that dime pseudo package. 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.680 So I'm very interested to see him. I think he's 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:04.240 done some really good things at this point in the 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:06.480 season and it's just been mostly about trying to find 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:08.320 an opportunity for him to get on the field. But 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.760 Shad Bryland started the other's opposite corner last week. He's 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:14.040 back in the fold. He said, he feels like he'll 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:15.680 benefit from being able to kind of get his feet 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.120 underneath him in that game against New England. The Packers 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:20.960 have felt good about their depth at with the secondary 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.000 for a while, and it's not just one or two 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:24.680 players deep. They feel like they can go deep in 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.000 multiple spots. They very well may have to test that 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:29.480 going into Sunday against the Dolphins. Yeah. Well, we've certainly 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.880 seen over the course of the last several weeks what 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:35.400 Marquez Veldes Scantling can do when his number is called. 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:37.640 We talked about it on the show yesterday. Three catches 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:39.400 for a hunter in one yards. They happen to all 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:42.040 come in the third quarter of that game. But with 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:46.440 Alison's injury sounding like it could be multiple weeks, Valdes 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:48.640 Scantling is going to get a lot of snaps and 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:52.160 based based on how he's performed, Aaron Rodgers certainly has 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.000 shown confidence in him. I think he's as much as 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:57.200 Rogers has talked about wanting to get the ball more 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:00.640 to Adams and not forgetting about Adams, even when maybe 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.200 the defenses are are trying to do some things to 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:06.960 take him away. If Valda Scantling is getting open, he's 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:09.200 he's becoming a tough cover because if you want to 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:13.640 devote extra attention to Davante Adams or Jimmy Graham, Valde 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:15.760 Scantling is tough to cover one on one because he's 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:18.640 got the combination of size and speed. Yeah he does. 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:20.720 And that's actually what stands out to me the most 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:24.240 right now is that you knew what you're getting four 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:26.680 point three seven speed or whatever it was him coming 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:28.840 out of the combine. You knew what his size and 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.800 his measurables and his length look like. But it really 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:34.280 until you take that individual and put them on the 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:37.599 field with Aaron Rodgers, there's just so many unknowns. I 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:39.680 think over these last five games, what we've learned about 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:42.840 Marquis Valda Scantling is the scene the lights are not 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.160 too bright for him. He's going to be able to 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:47.199 go in there and operate within the offense and make 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.559 the necessary adjustments, and yeah, is he gonna be able 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:51.520 to run the rout tree like Davante Adams right now. 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:54.000 Absolutely not, But I think the Packers have done a 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:56.200 really good job of scheming stuff that works for him. 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:59.000 And actually, I think he's demonstrated really good footwork off 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:01.120 the line of scrimmage that he doesn't always have to 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:04.679 rely on his speeds. He gained separation downfield. He's a 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:07.840 legit playmaker. The fact that I tweeted this yesterday twenty 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.240 two point one or twenty one point two, I forget 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.520 what it is. His average yards per catch right now 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:15.400 second in the league to DeShawn Jackson, among you know, 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:18.959 qualifying receivers with enough snaps and in playing time. So 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:21.240 I've been really impressed with them, and if they have 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:23.000 to proceed here for a number of weeks with Marcus 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:25.480 Valdes scantling, is that pseudo three or whatever you wanna 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:27.520 call it. I think he's shown in these past few 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:30.080 games that you know, he's up for that task. Yeah. 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:32.800 My favorite catch of his maybe so far this season, 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.400 was the one he made. It was two plays before 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.319 the end of the third quarter in New England, and hey, 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:40.760 I take nothing away from the great move off the 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.600 line of scrimmage for the forty yard touchdown against the Rams, 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:46.559 and that ball on the crossing route against the Patriots 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:49.520 just a pinpoint throw by Rogers right on the fingertips, 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:52.880 really really solid catch. But the third down play right 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.760 before that one kind of a broken play a little 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:58.400 bit and Valdes scantling is down the sideline and Rodgers 0:09:58.440 --> 0:09:59.880 puts it up there and gives him a chance to 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.880 could play, you know, contested ball down the sideline. He's 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:05.920 got to he's got to fight the cornerback for it 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:08.400 and keep his feet in bounds and make the play. 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:10.360 And those are the types of plays that that can 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:12.720 flip things. That's the play that got the Packers going 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.360 on that drive, even though that was the one the 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.440 drive that ended with with the Aaron Jones fumble. But man, 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.000 you make contested catches like that, there is no better 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.360 way to earn confidence from your quarter. I mean, that's 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:26.199 what Geronimo Alison did. I mean, that's what Randall Cobb did. 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:28.640 It's certainly what Davante Adams did to get to this 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.120 point in his career. And Dude, this thing that happened 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.120 in this game against the Patriots, the amount of attention 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.880 they put on Adams with having Gilmour trail him and 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:38.840 covers the entire time and shadow him. Uh, that's going 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.600 to continue happening. Defenses are going to continue to put 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:44.240 a premium on being able to limit his opportunities. I 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:45.839 get what Aaron Rodgers was saying. You still want to 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.160 get him the football, but it's going to be incumbent 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.440 on the Marcus Valdes Scantlings and even the Jimmy Graham's too, 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:54.280 if they get opportunities, if they get single man defense 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:56.839 against them, you gotta catch the ball and you gotta produce. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.199 And to fail that Scantlings credit, he's done that. Yeah, 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:02.120 you gotta make the play, no doubt about it, very quickly. West. 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.600 Packers fans, you probably have noticed these Quick Trip Cruba 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:07.960 Coffee cups we've had on the set here for the 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:09.960 last few shows. But to be sure to stop in 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:12.360 at your local Quick Trip pick up your Packers cup 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:16.160 today eight nine cent refills on your Cafe Cruba coffee 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.319 all season long. You and I had some free Cafe 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:21.120 Cruba coffee last week's right, we did pretty tasty. He said, 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:23.760 that was that was all right? That was all right, Hey, West, 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.120 I'm gonna throw a loaded question at you. Oh yes, 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.040 let's do it. Um. We heard from Aaron Rodgers after 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:33.080 Sunday night's game, very critical of himself, certainly taking his 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:36.240 share of the responsibility in terms of not playing up 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.480 to his own standards and as such, the offense not 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.760 clicking in the way that he would like it too, 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:45.800 in the way it's been expected to. So I want 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.959 to throw this question out at you. How much of 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:51.559 what's going on here with the Packers can get fixed 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:56.680 if Aaron Rodgers simply starts playing better. I think quite 0:11:56.720 --> 0:12:00.640 a bit. I mean, he's your leader, he's your you know, 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:03.520 your colonel. I mean, he is the guy that the 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.120 rest of the team is gonna beat to his drum. 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.199 I mean, he just is the player that I think 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.000 when you look at an MVY two time m v 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:12.920 P that's won a Super Bowl, that's done the things 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:17.160 that Rogers has done throughout his career. The defense, the offense, 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:21.439 they really do, you know, kind of radiate to him 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:24.079 in terms of where they draw their energy from. And 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:26.040 I went back and I mentioned this in inbox and 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:28.800 Tuesday's inbox because somebody had asked about you know, there's 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.600 no relax or run the table phrases yet and it 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:33.959 wasn't really a phrase. In two thousand and sixteen, I 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.199 you and I left FedEx Field, we had this conversation. 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:40.160 Something felt different. Even though it was a loss. It 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:42.599 felt like they found something in that game. Whether it 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:45.480 was Jared Cook or whatever it was, they found something 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:47.080 that they were going to be able to grab onto 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.920 and build momentum from. The Packers need that now. Davante 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:51.960 Adams said that after the game too. They need a 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:53.920 game and they need a winning streak, Mike, is what 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:55.920 they really need. You need to be able to put 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:58.680 together two straight victories and know what that feels like. Again, 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:00.400 I know it was kind of a punch line in 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:03.199 Bowl Durham, but it's true. I should say it was 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.719 actually a major league It's true. You get you get 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.400 on a winning streak. Every the water taste better, the 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.680 air is cleaner, you just feel good about yourself. That's 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:13.320 where they're at right now, and getting back to the 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:17.120 Rogers point sixty nine whatever is completion percentage is right now. 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.400 The thing I look for is that when those completion 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:23.480 percentages higher, not just Aaron Rodgers NFL quarterbacks, it signals 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.760 efficiency in the offense. I don't think it's it's a 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:28.880 red herring or anything like that. I think it's just 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:32.280 a representation that the efficiency hasn't been where it's need 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:35.160 to be. There haven't been a completed catch after completed catch, 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:37.120 and that's what the Packers are looking for now going 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.920 into Miami. Yeah, I'll say this about Aaron Rodgers because 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:41.960 he does. He does need to play better, and he's 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:44.360 admitted it. He's not playing up to his own standards. 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.160 What Aaron Rodgers does for this team is he gives 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.800 the entire team a bigger margin for error. I rattled 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.480 off earlier in the show all of the fourth quarter 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:56.640 mistakes that have happened over the last two weeks that 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:58.480 have cost the Packers a couple of games that they 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:02.720 very well could have won. The only one really that 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.360 is on Rogers was the one we actually talked about 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:10.000 in yesterday's show, where he admitted on the failed pass 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.040 to e Q should have held the ball and taken 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:14.320 the deep shot to Davante Adams and maybe that's the 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:16.720 play that flips the game in the fourth quarter, and 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:19.960 it didn't happen. He took responsibility for that. The other 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:23.000 mistakes that we've seen from Aaron Rodgers the other regrets, 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:25.200 most of those have really been in the earlier parts 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:28.080 of the game. And that's where I say it's Rogers 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.880 that if he's playing better, he'll give this team a 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.840 greater margin for error, because nobody's going to play a 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.080 perfect fourth quarter, and the Packers have had too many 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.080 mistakes in the fourth quarter. But he's the guy who 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.520 will give them a chance to overcome a fourth quarter 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:48.520 mistake because of maybe some fewer errors earlier on that 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:51.440 that he's taken responsibility for. I I hope I've made 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:54.360 some sense. No, I know what you're saying, because here's 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:57.480 the thing. Everybody wants to know why the offense hasn't 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.400 been clicking the way they wanted to click and doing 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:01.360 the things that they felt they were capable of doing. 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.760 And it's not one player. I think Rogers, if if 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:07.960 he plays well, everybody plays up to that that level. 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:09.880 I think that's the point we're trying to make, and 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:11.760 there just hasn't been enough of that. There hasn't been 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.480 enough playmaking. There hasn't been enough you know, guys coming 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.960 up clutch in a key situation to turn a football game. 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.200 Packers have won some football games. They want a game 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.360 very convincingly. But it's been the games when you look 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:25.640 at the difference. You go to Washington, Mike, you go 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:28.440 to Detroit, and you look at those last two victories, 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:31.000 those last two defeats. I guess in that case with 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:34.080 the Rams and the Patriots, all those teams, when they 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:37.000 needed to put the foot on your throat, so to speak, 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:39.000 they did it. They did. That's where the Packers are 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:40.680 trying to get right now. That's where you get away 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:42.960 from the heart attack games. That's where you get away from, 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:44.840 you know, having to to go down to the sixty 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:47.240 minute wire. You want to play sixty minutes, but you 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:49.080 also want to be able to put this thing away too. 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.479 And the Packers are trying to find that happy media. 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.680 All right, quickly, West, It's time to enter the Cousins 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:56.920 Subs Best Seats in the House promotion. You and a 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:58.800 guest could win a chance to kick back on the 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.880 fifty yard line in Aisle. Two pairs of lucky Packers 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:04.400 fans will be chosen prior to each home game for 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.160 this v I P experience. Enter daily now through December 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:10.800 sixteen by completing the entry form and submitting For complete 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:14.200 rules and eligibility, go to Packers dot com slash best 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:19.360 Seats cousin subs we believe in better. Okay, we will 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.760 talk about the Dolphins and where things are with that 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.720 team in tomorrow show. Our Wednesday show usually is the 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:28.680 is the focus on the opponent with where this Packers 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:31.400 team is right now, And we started the show talking 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:35.080 about the fourth quarter. Very frustrating to see, I think, 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:39.920 especially on the defensive side, after a really pretty respectable 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.680 effort against Tom Brady through three quarters, the way things 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.840 kind of fell apart in that fourth quarter. I really 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:49.360 thought that that goal line stand in the third quarter 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.360 in New England was going to be the thing that 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:55.360 just that that really lifted up this defense and and 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.520 potentially was was going to be the you know, the 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:02.440 signature moment. It didn't happen that way, but that goal 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:04.880 line stand, I think is still something for this defense 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:06.280 to build on because they're going to be in that 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:08.840 situation again. And yeah, they're not always going to go 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:11.240 for it on fourth down, but man, you get gold 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.479 to go inside the five yard line, you know, one 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:15.359 or two times here down the stretch West. If the 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:17.520 Packers defense can hold a team to a field goal 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:19.960 in that situation, it could change a game. Yeah, And 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.200 the nice thing about that play too is that they 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:24.240 held and then J. K. Scott had one of his 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:26.399 best points of the season out of his own end 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:28.159 zone for forty eight yards and then you got a 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.480 holding penalty. Completely flipped the field position battle. I think 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:33.800 during this this little whatever you wanna call it, dull drums, 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:36.119 losing streak, whatever, one of the things that Packers have 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:38.920 really been struggling with is the controlling the field position battle. 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:41.840 It's ultimately what played into them sort of probably, you know, 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.720 coming up short against Los Angeles. So yeah, that that 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:46.800 was a huge moment because not only did the defense 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:48.960 feel good about itself being able to hold its ground, 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.719 you know, the half yard line, but it also flipped 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.240 the field position in addition to keeping points off the board. 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:56.880 The biggest thing for the defense I think right now 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.520 is the fact that exactly what you predicted, you had 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.040 a guy like Mike Daniel step up make some plays 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.200 when a little bit more attention was going to Kenny Clark. 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:06.640 You still are working on the pass rush. We knew 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:08.600 that was going to be an outlier against the Patriots 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.200 because of just how quickly Brady gets the ball out. 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:13.080 In the times in which he does hold onto the football, 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:15.720 he finds a receiver in the vicinity of a ball 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:17.520 and is able to throw it away from the pocket. 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:21.120 So that being said, these last two weeks have been tough. 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:23.000 They've been hard, but you've also played two of the 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:24.720 top offenses in the league. You've played a Hall of 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:27.639 Fame quarterback, you played some guy that might end up 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:29.880 being the m v P this season depending on how 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.560 things work out for Patrick Mahomes, and I'm speaking about 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:36.120 Todd Gurley. So that being said, now you get the Dolphins. 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:39.680 Now you get a more grindy, gritty type football team. 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:41.879 They're just trying to move the chains right now with 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.119 what they're doing with Frank Gore. Yeah, you gotta keep 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:47.240 in mind Kenny Stills, but I think this is the defense. 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:50.040