WEBVTT - #696 Packers Unscripted: Fight to the finish 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:10.160 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.080 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by my 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:15.760 partner in crime, West Hodkowits for coming to you here 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:20.080 from our studios at lambeau Field to preview Packers Vikings. 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:24.239 It is week seventeen, West and the kickoff will be 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:29.479 at three pm Sunday at lambeau Field. Obviously, the Packers 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:33.479 haven't seen the Vikings since Week one at US Bank Stadium, 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:37.200 and the irony of that game, if that's the right word, 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.440 is the Vikings beat the Packers by two touchdowns that day. 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.360 They have not beaten anybody else this season by more 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:48.479 than eight points. Yet they are twelve and three because 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:54.200 they have won eleven one possession games. This is a 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:58.000 team that wins games late, that plays well in the 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:00.720 fourth quarter. If you're going to beat them, you have 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:03.760 to beat them for all four quarters. Doing it for 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:06.320 three quarters won't be good enough. And no lead is safe. 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:09.360 I mean, we learned that with the Indianapolis calls. There 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:12.039 is so many people out there, and I get it. 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:14.959 I saw what the Vegas lines are on this game. 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:17.760 There are so many people that are quick to disrespect 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:22.800 the Minnesota Vikings, and I've stopped short of doing that 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.280 because what stands out to me the most, Mike is 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.160 you can talk about the one score wins, you can 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.480 talk about the comebacks, you can talk about the greatest 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:35.000 comeback in NFL history, But what you need to pay 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.160 homage to with this Minnesota Vikings team is they got 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.679 five more wins and the Green Bay Packers, however they 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:43.360 got there, However they did that. The quality of opponents, 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:45.320 the strength of schedule, whatever you want to talk about, 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:49.600 they did it. They're the NFC North champions. They will 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:53.400 be playing in the playoffs, and the Green Bay Packers 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.520 are trying to make that journey with them. This is 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:59.640 the biggest game of the Green Bay Packers season. And 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.280 as much as people want to talk about fun playoffs 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.440 scenarios and you know, the running the table two point 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:08.480 oh and all that, all that can end if you 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:10.400 don't take care of business, if you don't take this 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.640 team seriously. I go back to Week one, Mike. I 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:16.080 think about that game against Minnesota, the fact that they 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:21.440 did have a multiple score win, what Justin Jefferson did defensively, 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.920 what they accomplished, the areas of the game, in which 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:27.640 Minnesota executed in green Bay did not. So many people 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:29.400 want to talk about the rookie not being able to 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:32.320 catch that seventy yard touchdown right off the bat. Wasn't 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.960 about that. I think so many people use it as 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:36.880 sort of a sin eating sort of thing of Okay, 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:40.040 well that that's where else. No, the Packers didn't execute 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.320 in so many different other areas of that game too. 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:44.880 You have to get the job done. It sounds like 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.080 it's going to be a beautiful day, beautiful night at 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:49.200 lambeau Field. So I don't know if we're gonna have 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:52.840 your traditional January football game. But all that being said, 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:54.200 the Packers are at home and they got to take 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:57.360 care of business. Yeah, they absolutely do. And the games 0:02:57.440 --> 0:02:59.760 just keep getting bigger for this Green Bay team, right 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:02.160 we after week, and now you're playing the team your 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:04.760 division rival, the team that has already clinched the division. 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:08.200 Vikings are fighting for playoff seeding. There you know, right 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:11.000 in the mix. You know they're they're they're essentially the 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:13.120 front runner for the two seed right now. They would 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:19.959 rather not, uh let that go clearly. Um, But back 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:22.600 to your original point about having to give this team respect, 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:26.360 You absolutely have to twelve and three. You don't you 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.960 don't win twelve games in the NFL, twelve out of 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.840 fifteen because of some kind of fluke. Yes, an insider 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.720 inbox reader sent in a statistic and they weren't disparaging 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:39.200 the Vikings that they were just stating effect, Minnesota has 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:41.000 had the lead at the end of the third quarter 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:44.120 only six times this season, if they're games. This was 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:48.160 the sort of his comment or hers. I apologize because 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.040 I can't remember the name of the individual. If the 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.680 Minnesota Vikings games were forty five minutes long instead of sixty, 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.040 they'd be six and nine right now, you know, But 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:01.560 the games are sixty minutes long, these guys, and this 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.200 is it's not exactly the same thing, but to me, 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:08.960 there's a similarity too. The Packers and Matt Lafleur's first 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:13.160 season in twenty nineteen. Because the Packers won a bunch 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:15.400 of close games that year, there were a lot of 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:19.680 people that didn't necessarily respect Green Bay. It was like, oh, well, 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.120 you had Carolina at home and you only beat them 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:24.640 by eight points, or you had you know whoever, and 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:26.400 you know you had to pull it out in the 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:28.880 last you know, three minutes or five minutes or something 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.159 like that. Well, you know, guess what, the Green Bay 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:33.400 Packers were one of the last two teams standing in 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:35.919 the NFC that year, for all the disrespect that was 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:39.360 thrown at them in nineteen, just because they were winning 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.279 close games. And yes, a lot of games in the 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.680 NFL can go either way, but we saw it with 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:47.120 the Packers in nineteen, and I think it's the same 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:51.240 thing that's happening with the Vikings in two. When you 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:55.240 start to win those close games, you learn how to win, 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:58.000 You learn what it takes that crunch time. A team 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:01.960 develops a belief that somehow, some way, when the game 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.440 is close at the end, they're going to find a way. 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.880 And just like the Packers in twenty nineteen, not every 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:13.560 single time, but the Minnesota Vikings in two are finding 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:16.000 a way more often than not. And you have to 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:17.880 give him a ton of credit for that because they've 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.920 earned exactly where they are. Yeah, and the fact that 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:24.039 that Kevin O'Connell is a first year head coach has 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.719 been able to keep his team's head in it as 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.080 well as he has into those second halfs, into those 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:32.040 fourth quarters. Yeah, I look at that game against Indianapolis. 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:36.240 And I won't say who the representative was of the 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.480 Green Bay Packers that said this to me, but it 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:41.480 was thirty three to nothing and half to him like, wow, 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:43.560 I mean Minnesota has just fallen apart. I mean this 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:45.320 is a terror. This is gonna be a terrible loss. 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.120 And someone was like, no, I mean it's not over yet. 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:50.560 There's still thirty minutes left. We've seen enough of this 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:53.560 with them this year. And then sure enough, low and behold, 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:56.839 look what happened. I Uh, I look at this in 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.000 a lot of different dimensions, Mike. The first one being 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:03.280 is that the Vikings in a lot of ways, Uh, 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:05.960 they're just so good at knowing what they are and 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.480 what they need to accomplish to win. And I think 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.440 that's a combination of a lot of returning veterans on 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:14.240 both sides of the ball, and also I think an 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:17.240 offensive minded head coach that has sort of instilled a 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:21.360 new kind of swagger with with those veterans. I mean, Minnesota, 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.600 when you look at their box score this season, Michael, 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:26.720 it is what it is. Kirk Cousins is the quarterback. 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:28.960 He's gonna have a couple of turnovers, but I still 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:30.839 think he does a tremendous job of taking care of 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:33.440 the football. I think he's I mean, I think there's 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:36.760 almost no question he's having the best season of his career, right, 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:38.960 I mean, And it's not just the wins and losses. 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:42.240 It's like when you watch him, like Kirk Kirk Cousins 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.120 absolutely fully passes the eye test this year as a 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:48.640 winning quarterback, and the numbers back it up. And obviously 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:50.360 the wins and losses are there to prove it, yea. 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:52.720 And I think you look what happened when Washington let 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.240 him walk and what happened in Minnesota. Minnesota has won 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:57.880 a lot of games during the Kirk Cousins era, for 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.080 as much pressure as he's been under. Dustin Jefferson is 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:04.520 the pre eminent young receiver in this league receiving yards. 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:07.800 Dalvin Cook has kind of shifted Mike in my mind. 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:09.800 He went from this guy that when his first couple 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.240 of seasons he always struck me as like this big 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:13.960 home run threat and a guy that you know is 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:16.640 explosive and everything. And you can see over the years 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:19.680 he's just turned himself into a smarter running back, a 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:22.760 more complete running back, and that he's been the face 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:24.600 of it for them this year. They go as he 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:28.040 goes um, the offensive line will see what happens. Defensively, 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:30.840 they've been going through some struggles as of late, but 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:33.440 at the end of the day, with what Cousins and 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:36.600 Jefferson and Cook have done offensively, along with throwing in t. J. 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:40.559 Hackinson into the equation, Minnesota has a plenty of ways 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:42.560 in which they can beat you, and honestly, in these 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:45.440 twelve victories this season, they've used basically all of them 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:47.560 in order to do it. Yeah, the Vikings, I mean 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:50.160 right away, starting in Week one against the Packers, they 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:53.280 showed Kevin O'Connell with this offense and Cousins, they showed 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:55.280 they're going to be very creative with how they're going 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.520 to use Justin Jefferson. They were gonna devise ways for 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:01.800 him to get open, for him to eat coverages to uh, 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.320 they were always going to have a counter for what 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.800 you're doing coverage wise in order to get Justin Jefferson open. 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:10.800 And as you said, he's got over sure receiving yards. 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:12.360 With two games to go, he's had a hundred and 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:15.320 twenty three catches. You know, just if he sticks sort 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.520 of with his his average numbers, so to speak. He's 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.480 gonna have, you know, a hundred and forty catches in 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.240 two thousand yards. When when this thing is all said 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:29.240 and done, Dalvin Cook, He's he's over even yards rushing. 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:32.000 He strikes me. You you said complete running back, and 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.040 and I agree. He can. He can catch the ball 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.200 out of the backfield. But he can he can also 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:40.640 be either the pounder or the game breaker, right, I 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:43.079 mean he can. He can grind out the yards between 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:46.440 the tackles. But then part of their big comeback in Buffalo, 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:49.000 he rips off an eight yard touchdown run right to 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:52.040 get them right back into into that game. And when 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:55.199 he's in the open field, he's not He's not easy 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:57.520 to bring down. They pick up t J. Hockenson from 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:00.199 the Lions at the trading deadline. Mid Sea is in. 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.280 His production is continuing to grow to the point that 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:08.760 he had two touchdown catches last week UM against the 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.160 New York Giants. Kirk Cousins is the one who's uh, 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.280 who's calling all of it. Packers had a rough time 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:18.199 with Justin Jefferson in Week one. He had the hundred 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:22.680 and eighty some yards whatever it was. The uh, the 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:25.560 coverage is broke down quite frankly, I thought the Packers 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:28.199 secondary looked lost in terms of what they were trying 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:31.720 to do. There's a combination here where I think I 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:35.079 think the Packers will come up with some different plans, 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.839 but regardless of whatever plan they devise for Justin Jefferson, 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:42.679 the players have to execute it. And there there was 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:46.360 a complete lack of execution in Week one at Minnesota. 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:48.640 So this is this is this is a two way 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:50.840 street here. This is this is about coming up with 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:53.719 some coming up with some variety, coming up some with 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:56.240 some better plans, but also the players executing it to 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.319 not let Justin Jefferson completely take over this football game. 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:01.800 And I think some humility to write. I think the 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.120 Packers defensively went into the season really hard, charging and 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.199 just thinking we're gonna roll the ball out there and dominate. Uh. 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:11.240 They were humbled the middle of this season through injuries, 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:15.400 through inconsistency, through miscommunications, and honestly, I feel like where 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:17.880 they're at and how they've kind of peaked here at 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:21.959 the end of the season and especially in that second ay, 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:24.679 I just feel like there's a lot more awareness. I 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:27.320 don't know what Joe Berry is going to devise for 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:30.120 going up against Jefferson. But I will say I will 0:10:30.160 --> 0:10:34.040 say this seasons on the line here. If it's me, 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:37.800 I want to see as much Jaire Alexander over Jefferson 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:42.640 as possible. I just again, I understand you're gonna mix coverages. 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:45.160 You can't just be trailing guys when you're doing zone concepts. 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:49.559 But I want their best to beat our best if 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:51.640 that's what it's going to come down to. And I 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:53.839 just felt like when we got out of that game 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:57.400 in Minnesota, They're just you just didn't feel like you 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:02.160 saw the best effort against what certainly was a fantastic 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.480 performance from the Vikings offense. So I'm very curious to 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:07.440 see how they handle that. And then conversely, I know 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:09.880 this will be your next transition point here, but how 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.079 the Packers perform in the other phases of this thing, 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.000 how they attack this defense at Donnitell's defense that's been 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:19.280 struggling as of late special teams. I mean ken A Wongu, 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:22.640 I mean he is. It's right there with Keishaw Nixon 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.040 as far as the most dynamic kickoff returners in the league. 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:27.559 As much as we're gonna talk about Cousins in the 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:30.200 headlines are gonna be about Cousins and the Packers defense 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:33.560 and Jefferson. A three phase football game, and the Packers 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:34.800 are gonna have to win each one of them in 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:36.920 order to come out there with the w. Yeah. Absolutely. 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:39.000 I mean on the on the injury side of things, 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:41.680 we're still waiting to see, you know, with regard to 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:45.400 Keishan Nixon, he did not practice on Wednesday. Christian Watson 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:48.200 with the hip injury, did not practice Wednesday. Aaron Rodgers 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:52.080 miss practice with a knee injury from uh from a 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.400 sack in the Miami game, but he said, you know, 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:57.320 he expects to be practicing Thursday. Good to go for 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.199 the week. It's not gonna going to affect his availability. 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:03.800 We did see David bak Try returned to practice at 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:06.320 left tackle on a limited basis for the first time 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:10.199 since his appendectomy. And josh Naiman, who left the Dolphins 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.720 game with a shoulder injury. Sounds like that was just 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.680 a shoulder stinger, not so much a you know, like 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:19.960 some sort of structural shoulder injury. He was back at 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.959 practice on Wednesday, so um so a good sign there. 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:27.200 We'll see exactly what the Packers lineup is going to 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:32.040 be from a health perspective, but um, this this Vikings defense, 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.720 it it, it just it just strikes me as so curious. 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:39.000 Was because you look at things. You've got Zadarius Smith 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:42.360 and Danil Hunter both in double digits and sacks. You 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:45.000 still have Harrison Smith patrolling in the back end. You've 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:47.839 got Patrick Peterson on one of the corners. You've got 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.480 Eric Kendricks in the middle of all this thing. Those 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.960 are some awfully big names on the defensive side of 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:57.280 the ball, yet six of Minnesota's last seven opponents have 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:01.240 put up four hundred plus yards on these guys. Their defense, 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:03.719 their defense is struggling. They haven't been able to put 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:07.440 it together yet. They haven't figured it out, I think 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:09.920 for the Packers. And we'll get into more specifics as 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:11.880 far as some keys to victory here in a minute, 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:16.120 but it just feels like, especially with the Packers coming 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:18.400 off of the Miami game where they were just two 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:20.440 for five in the red zone, only two for four 0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:23.520 in goal to go situations. Now you're facing a defense 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:26.120 that has given up yards and let people drive up 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.400 and down the field on them for the last two months. 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.320 This game might come down to can the Packers finished drives, 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:34.440 you get inside the twenty, you get in goal to go. 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:37.960 For the season, the Packers have only been about fifty 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:42.440 red zone goal to go. Both of those not where 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:45.959 the Packers have been under Matt Lafleur and and historically 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:51.160 really not where the Packers have been. If if Green 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.880 Bay can finish drives in this game and not play 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.680 to that fifty percent in close profile, um, I think 0:13:57.679 --> 0:13:59.520 the Packers can put up enough points to win this 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:01.960 I think that's the biggest difference from Week one. I 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.559 just think the way that this offense has matured and 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.320 and the getting stuffed at the goal line in Week 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:09.680 one was sort of the start of you know, all 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:13.440 the start of what is now fifteen games in and 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:16.080 you're sitting at and goal to go and red zone. 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.839 It all started against the Vikings back in Week one. Yeah, 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.640 and now certainly you look at last week and there 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:23.680 was points left out there. They had to rely on, 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:25.760 you know, Mason's Crosby's foot, probably a little bit more 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:28.120 than they wanted to to win that game. But all 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.800 that being said, I just feel like the identity of 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.280 this team is so much more cemented than it was 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:35.920 in Week one, and Week one when you look at 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:38.240 that pass to Watson, I just felt like that was 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.960 an offense trying to find something to to sort of 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.120 build on earlier in the season, and the Green Bay 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:48.160 really struggled with that through injuries, through some of the inconsistency, 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.560 and obviously the if you look at the structurally, there's 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:53.080 a lot of changes right now with this unit then 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:56.280 there was sixteen weeks ago. The other aspect of this 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:58.880 too that's gonna be very fascinating to watch is to see, Okay, 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:01.960 first and for most Christian Watson, how's he doing with 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:04.000 the hip? Can he be out there? If he is 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.160 out there, how much is he gonna be available? Those 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:07.880 are things Green Bay is gonna have to figure out. 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:11.360 But you know, Romeo Dobbs getting back involved in this thing. 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:13.880 I thought Romeo, the way he's bounced back from that 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:17.960 ankle injury, he looks strong, he looks confident, he looks 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:21.840 like a guy that has really began to find his 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:25.640 niche in this offense and kind of what his jigsaw 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:29.160 pieces to this whole puzzle right there. He hasn't had 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:30.800 these numbers, He hasn't had a you know, a hundred 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:33.280 fifty yard games since he came back, but it's just 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.280 his accountability. Both of these last two games, he's he's 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:38.440 made some of the biggest plays that Green Bay has 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:42.720 needed to win. UM that impresses me. Alan Lazar doing 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.080 all the little things once again, so much of the 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:48.440 wide receiver one is hung on. Okay, what are the stats. Well, 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.120 you look at last week he had a forty yard 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.440 catch down the sideline and he also had a block 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:56.520 that level three people. That's this Packers offense, Mike. When 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.480 you think back to two thousand, nineteen and twenty, that's 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.760 how they built this reputation up. Yes, Davante Adams is 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:06.000 an exceptional Hall of Fame caliber player, but he wasn't 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.560 the only skill position player out there. It was the 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.520 contributions they were getting from the other spots too. That 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:14.080 is what is different right now. I feel than in 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:15.960 week one, when it was like, Okay, well we got 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.160 Aaron Jones and a J. Dillon, who's going to be 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:19.920 the next guy to step up? I just feel like 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.560 the identity is much more established than this one. Yeah, 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:24.440 I think I think that. I think the place that 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:27.240 they're they're struggling to find their identity is what are 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:29.320 they going to hang their hat on when they getting close? 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:31.600 What is that? What? What are the go to calls 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:35.560 when it's first lewis that's all you gotta do? What? 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:37.560 What are the go to calls when it's first intent 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:39.560 from the seventeen yard line? What are the go to 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:42.000 calls when it's first and goal from the six yard line? 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:44.720 Those kinds of things to be able to finish drives 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:48.480 because because I mean we talked about how you know, 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:50.440 the Packers took a knee on the one yard line 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.520 against the Rams to close that game out, or they 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:54.080 would have you know, you punched that in for a 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.000 touched on your over thirty points. They scored twenty six 0:16:57.040 --> 0:17:00.600 in Miami, certainly had plenty of opportunities to get above 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:04.040 thirty points. This team, this team is right there. This 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:07.240 team is right there where you you almost feel like, okay, 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:09.800 you know, unless they're playing you know, one of the 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:12.480 top defenses in the league, so to speak, this is 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:14.840 a team that should be able to put up thirty points. 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.520 You know, if you've got Christian Watson in the game, 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:19.720 if you've got your guys healthy, and we have to 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:22.080 see how that plays out. But it feels like and 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.040 I get the sense from you know, the way Aaron 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:28.040 Rodgers talks at his locker. He senses the offense is 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:30.680 playing better, but it's still not quite there. But the 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:34.679 point totals, the point totals are almost there. And and 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:36.920 and this is the game where hey, if, if, if 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:39.600 you can, you can hit that thirty point mark, score 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.400 thirty three, thirty five or thirty six, something like that, 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:46.040 you're gonna put yourself in a great position to uh 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:48.720 to potentially make the playoffs. You know, the most bizarre 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.000 thing about the red zone issues this year is that 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:53.080 in the past, when Green Bay was really good at it, 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:56.360 they still didn't necessarily run the ball overly well, especially 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:58.600 on the goal line. This year, I actually think they 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:01.600 seemly really found more in that area with a J. 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.000 Dillon feels a lot more confidence, you know, if they're 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.160 inside the five yard line. But now it's been kind 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.679 of the passing game where you're trying to catch up again. 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:11.679 It's a there's only so many wooden pegs you have. 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:13.520 Trying to figure out which holes to put them in 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:16.399 is always the challenge. Um And this is gonna be 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:19.520 an interesting matchup against Minnesota because as much as I 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:22.080 think explosive plays could play a role in this based 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:24.760 on what Minnesota's put on film the last month. A 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:26.879 lot of times it does come down to, okay, first 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:30.199 and fifteen, first and ten from the fifteen, what are 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:32.800 you gonna come up with here to punch that thing in? Yeah, well, 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:36.399 we've seen as far as the in the keys to 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:39.399 Victory category, I mentioned the offense needing to finish drives. 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:41.119 On the defensive side of the ball, this is a 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:44.160 Packers defense that over the last during this three game 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:48.520 winning streak, generated eight takeaways in the three game winning streak. 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:52.439 But we've also seen the defense give up the explosive plays. 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.399 Um even in you know, the games in Chicago, the 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:57.760 game in Chicago, the game in Miami. The Packers still 0:18:57.800 --> 0:19:02.160 managed to win those games. So on the defensive side, 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.720 what do you see as the biggest key to winning 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.959 this football game. You have to do something to disrupt 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:13.159 Kirk cousins rhythm. You know, Kirk Cousins man. Again, as 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:14.760 I talked about earlier, I think there's a lot of 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:16.760 Packers fans out there that don't really give him the 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:19.119 credit he deserves because they've played him nine times in 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.119 the regular season. They've only beat him three of those. 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:25.879 I mean between Washington and Minnesota, he only has thrown 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:29.879 five picks in nine regular season games, hundred and eleven 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.879 passer rating career against Green Bay. And this guy's had 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:35.239 a lot of success. And I'm telling you what I know. 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:37.919 The personnel changes defensively, but all of that is in 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:39.720 the back of his mind as he steps onto the 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:42.360 field on Sunday that I've been here, I've done that, 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:45.560 and I have something to prove with trying to take 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:48.080 this Minnesota team into the playoffs and actually, you know, 0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:50.480 get some wins and make a run. So I think 0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:52.520