WEBVTT - #758 Packers Unscripted: Big win, bigger game awaits

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty four. A happy new year out there from

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<v Speaker 1>Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always

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<v Speaker 1>by my trusted colleague Weston Hodkowitz. Coming to you hear

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<v Speaker 1>from our studios at Lambeufield and West here to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about a big victory for the Green Bay Packers. It

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<v Speaker 1>came on Sunday Night football at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

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<v Speaker 1>Thirty three to ten was the final score over the Vikings.

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<v Speaker 1>And the bottom line is this. The Packers have gotten

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<v Speaker 1>themselves to eight and eight. They are in a position

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<v Speaker 1>where it is win to get in to the postseason.

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<v Speaker 1>And when this team was two and five, when this

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<v Speaker 1>team was three and six, when this team was six

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<v Speaker 1>and eight, this situation is the best you could possibly

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<v Speaker 1>ask for. That the Packers got themselves back in the race,

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<v Speaker 1>they got the help they needed, and now it's in

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<v Speaker 1>their hands.

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<v Speaker 2>I was looking over the Internet before I popped in

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<v Speaker 2>here to shoot on scripted. We do that sometimes from

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<v Speaker 2>time to time, as my former colleague Pete Doherty say,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm going to read the Internet for a minute, and

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<v Speaker 2>what I saw was NFL bringing up the graphic of

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<v Speaker 2>the AFC playoff picture and the NFC playoff picture and

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<v Speaker 2>to see the green Bay Packers back into that number

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<v Speaker 2>seven spot after everything they went through. I think Matt

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<v Speaker 2>Lafleur had some very poetic words after that win over

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<v Speaker 2>the Carolina Panthers in the locker room. He mentioned how

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<v Speaker 2>they all count the same and you have to keep

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<v Speaker 2>yourself alive. Green Bay did. That was not their best

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<v Speaker 2>performance in Carolina, but conversely to some of their poorer

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<v Speaker 2>performances this season, they got the win and how quickly

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<v Speaker 2>things can change over a one week span of time.

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<v Speaker 2>They going into US Bank Stadium and Michael if I

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<v Speaker 2>would have closed my eyes at several moments of that game,

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<v Speaker 2>other than the fact that there was tons of fans

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<v Speaker 2>around me with the open air press box, in some

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<v Speaker 2>ways almost felt like a game at lambeau Field. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>the energy in there after the first quarter, The way

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<v Speaker 2>the Packers performed probably pound for pound, the best game

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<v Speaker 2>Green Bay has played this season. It was not perfect,

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<v Speaker 2>but when you look at how efficient the offense was

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<v Speaker 2>fourner and seventy yards, you look at the defense getting

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<v Speaker 2>two takeaways in the first half and converting those into

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<v Speaker 2>thirteen points. I felt like the Green Bay Packers made

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<v Speaker 2>a statement that we are very much still alive in

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<v Speaker 2>this thing, and with getting a little bit of help

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<v Speaker 2>from the Pittsburgh Steelers, now are in control their own destiny. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>It truly is a week to week league, and that

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<v Speaker 1>just gets proven over and over again. As you said,

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<v Speaker 1>everybody was wondering, Okay, just where is this Packers team?

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<v Speaker 1>The offense is doing all right, but the defense seems

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<v Speaker 1>kind of shaky. You barely escape Carolina, the team that

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<v Speaker 1>would have the number one draft pick next season if

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<v Speaker 1>not for the fact that they already traded it to

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<v Speaker 1>the Bears. And then, as we talked about last week,

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<v Speaker 1>you're thinking the Rams and the Buccaneers are the two

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<v Speaker 1>teams really on the rise here in the end, and

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<v Speaker 1>the Buccaneers completely fall flat in a big division game

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<v Speaker 1>for them, and the Rams nearly get beat on the

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<v Speaker 1>road against a Giants team, a Giants team that beat

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<v Speaker 1>the Packers about a month ago, and and the Rams

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<v Speaker 1>would have lost that game if a former Packers kicker,

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<v Speaker 1>Mason Crosby had been able to make a kick, or

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<v Speaker 1>if the Giants could have just gotten him a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit closer instead, of leaving him with a fifty four yarder.

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<v Speaker 1>But all that aside, this game against the Vikings really,

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<v Speaker 1>for me, it just it showed that Jordan Love is

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<v Speaker 1>not done taking steps forward. I thought he, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>for the venue, you know, primetime, under the lights, what

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<v Speaker 1>was at stake for the Packers. I thought Jordan Love

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<v Speaker 1>was absolutely outstanding in this game. I mean he still, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>he had a couple of throws he would like to

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<v Speaker 1>have back, you always do, but one hundred and twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five passer rating, three touchdowns. I believe now his passer

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<v Speaker 1>rating over the last seven games is approaching one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and ten. It's like one away or one o nine,

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<v Speaker 1>something like that. And he was absolutely masterful in this game.

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<v Speaker 1>And actually, my what you might have Missed piece that

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<v Speaker 1>is now up on the Packers' website has a handful

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<v Speaker 1>of clips of just of how Jordan Love was getting

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<v Speaker 1>all the information you needed at the line of scrimmage,

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<v Speaker 1>getting you know, the right protection calls and everything to

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<v Speaker 1>set everything up for the Packers to succeed. And it

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<v Speaker 1>just it felt like maybe other than you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>missed fourth and one throw to bow Melton, which was

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<v Speaker 1>really really close, it felt like after the initial three

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<v Speaker 1>and out in this game, the Packers offense was just

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<v Speaker 1>in a rhythm and wasn't going to be stopped.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and it's funny even that Melton play. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>he had a little bit of pass rush in his face,

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<v Speaker 2>kind of an off platform throw, and after that happened,

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<v Speaker 2>I was sort of thinking to myself and it was funny.

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<v Speaker 2>In the locker room after its bow, Melton was lamenting

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that he still didn't catch that he felt

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<v Speaker 2>like he still could have gotten that ball.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I thought. I thought that was one where yes,

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<v Speaker 1>the throw could have been better, it also could have

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<v Speaker 1>been caught. You know, it was. It was one of

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<v Speaker 1>those that kind of goes both ways.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, But what I was thinking about efforts, I'm like,

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<v Speaker 2>you watch an average NFL game, and I watched a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of football this weekend while waiting for this one

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<v Speaker 2>quarterback play doesn't look as efficient on a week two

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<v Speaker 2>week basis as Jordan Love made it look in that

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<v Speaker 2>much pressure in Minnesota, both figuratively and literally.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, he saw a lot in this game, and yet

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<v Speaker 2>he made the throws he needed to make, and he

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<v Speaker 2>did it routinely. It's not a situation now where well,

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<v Speaker 2>there's too many incompletions or why is he throwing these

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<v Speaker 2>deep balls? It's starting to turn into more Oh wow,

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<v Speaker 2>how many consecutive completions were there? How many plays has

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<v Speaker 2>he made? And particularly you know, I wrote that story

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<v Speaker 2>last week about the goal to goal situations and the

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<v Speaker 2>way that he commands the line of scrimmage when there's

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<v Speaker 2>points on the line is probably something that I think

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<v Speaker 2>has really impressed me this year. Him having thirty touchdown

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<v Speaker 2>passes thirty four scores on the season. That's not an anomaly.

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<v Speaker 2>This guy knows how to put points on the board.

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<v Speaker 2>And in a game like this against the Minnesota Vikings,

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<v Speaker 2>who were starting a rookie fifth round pick at quarterback,

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<v Speaker 2>Jordan Love really did look like the veteran and his

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<v Speaker 2>team played like that.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think I think Love's touchdown pass total is

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<v Speaker 1>now up to like third in the league, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>right now. There's a lot to be said for that.

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<v Speaker 1>And what's impressed me the most about Love as well

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<v Speaker 1>when you look at how things have gone the last

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<v Speaker 1>couple of months, is he is making it work no

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<v Speaker 1>matter who is out there. The Packers have had injuries

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<v Speaker 1>at the perimeter positions running back, tight end, wide receiver

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<v Speaker 1>all throughout the season, and there were a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>struggles early. But now that Jordan Love has hit his

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<v Speaker 1>stride and really gotten this offense into a groove, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it didn't matter that Dontavian Wicks was a late scratch.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, they were hoping maybe he'd be available, but

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<v Speaker 1>then he wasn't. You know, Christian Watson's been out for

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<v Speaker 1>multiple weeks now. Jaden Reid has been in and out

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<v Speaker 1>of the lineup with injuries. Luke Musgrave the Packers are

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<v Speaker 1>still maybe hoping to get him back, but he's not

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<v Speaker 1>back yet. It hasn't mattered because Jordan Love makes it

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<v Speaker 1>work with whoever whoever's out there. Read before he had

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<v Speaker 1>to leave the game at halftime with what appears to

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<v Speaker 1>be kind of a recurrence of the chest injury or

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<v Speaker 1>something got reaggravated there. He catches two touchdowns. He breaks

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<v Speaker 1>Sterling Sharp's rookie record for receptions, a record that had

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<v Speaker 1>stood around here for thirty five years. Bo Melton thrice

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<v Speaker 1>elevated now from the practice squad to the active roster,

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<v Speaker 1>and now he's been signed to the active roster. He

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<v Speaker 1>becomes the first Packers receiver with a one hundred yard game,

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<v Speaker 1>catches the deep shot from Sean Clifford at the end

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<v Speaker 1>there to get over one hundred, and then the little

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<v Speaker 1>engine that could, so to speak, as we talked about

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<v Speaker 1>last week, Aaron Jones is in the backfield, just crank

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<v Speaker 1>it out yards one hundred and twenty rushing yards again.

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<v Speaker 1>The Packers went into the game in Carolina with not

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<v Speaker 1>a single one hundred yard rushing or one hundred yard

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<v Speaker 1>receiving performance this season, and now in the last two

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<v Speaker 1>games they have three of them. Jones has been over

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred yards rushing twice and now Melton goes over

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred yards receiving. The guys that are around Jordan

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<v Speaker 1>Love have elevated their games right along with Loves. In Jones' case,

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<v Speaker 1>it was a matter of getting healthy. We've seen Aaron

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<v Speaker 1>Jones do all this before. But all those other guys,

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<v Speaker 1>their games are you know, their arrows are pointing up

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<v Speaker 1>the same way. Jordan Loves is well.

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<v Speaker 2>And just like I wrote a story because spoiler alert,

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<v Speaker 2>the tight Ends are going to be featured on the

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<v Speaker 2>Game Day program on Sunday. I wrote this story on

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<v Speaker 2>Josiah Deguara and the tight Ends and you know Tucker

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<v Speaker 2>Kraft everything he's done over three hundred yards receiving now

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<v Speaker 2>in the season, two touchdowns that all happened, and really

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<v Speaker 2>this whole second half of the season too, since you

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<v Speaker 2>know Luke Musgrave got hurt and believe that was the

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<v Speaker 2>Chargers game right at the last rated kidney. And now

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<v Speaker 2>you suddenly have the stat that Tom Fanning from our

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<v Speaker 2>communications staff was pumping out about how Craft is now

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<v Speaker 2>what the seventh rookie tight end since nineteen seventy to

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<v Speaker 2>have four straight games of forty four plus catches and

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<v Speaker 2>forty five plus receiving yards. Yeah, I mean, just uncommon production, Mike.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't always get that from NFL tight ends period,

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<v Speaker 2>regardless of whether or not you're a rookie. But bringing

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<v Speaker 2>it back to your initial point there, one, if you're

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<v Speaker 2>gonna be down all these receivers, if you're gonna be

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<v Speaker 2>down all these playmakers, Aaron Jones is the guy you need,

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<v Speaker 2>and he's been that guy back to back games. First time.

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<v Speaker 2>He's had one hundred plus rushing yards and back to

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<v Speaker 2>back games since the end of the twenty nineteen season.

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<v Speaker 2>The offense just typically isn't structured like that, but they've

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<v Speaker 2>needed to feed Jones the last couple of weeks, and

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<v Speaker 2>they did it again on Sunday. Aj Dillon has to

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<v Speaker 2>go out with the stinger. That meant more Aaron Jones

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<v Speaker 2>late in the four minute offense situations. I thought he

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<v Speaker 2>thrived in that. But the last thing before I turn

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<v Speaker 2>it back over to you is bow Melton. Because I've

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<v Speaker 2>written about it, I've talked about it. I know you

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<v Speaker 2>and I have had discussions about this. I have so

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<v Speaker 2>much respect for this young man and you saw the

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<v Speaker 2>way he carried himself when he came in the building

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<v Speaker 2>line last year, just looking for an opportunity. Really super

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<v Speaker 2>quick guy, little bit undersized, right, but kind of in

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<v Speaker 2>that same sort of area as Jaden Reid in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of his measurables. He doesn't make the roster. The Packers

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<v Speaker 2>do draft three receivers. A lot of questions there about okay, well,

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<v Speaker 2>where exactly a you're going to fit into this thing?

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<v Speaker 1>Right?

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<v Speaker 2>He stuck around. He stayed on the practice squad. He

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<v Speaker 2>wasn't active for the first two and a half months

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<v Speaker 2>of the year, and then in a situation like this

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<v Speaker 2>where not only does he have to be a starter

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<v Speaker 2>for the first time, his career. Not only is he

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<v Speaker 2>a part of the offense when they lose Jayden Reid,

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<v Speaker 2>he was one of their biggest playmakers in the second half,

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<v Speaker 2>just moving the chains, not even explosive plays. That's what

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<v Speaker 2>this thing's all about. And when you hear guys like

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<v Speaker 2>Aaron Jones and Adam Stenovitch, the offensive coordinator, talk about

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<v Speaker 2>how deep this room is, the fact they've done that

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<v Speaker 2>in a complete overhaul in the last two years, that's remarkable.

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<v Speaker 1>Michael, Yeah, it absolutely is. You look at what Melton

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<v Speaker 1>has done. As you say, he was an inactive on

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<v Speaker 1>game day, on the practice squad for the bulk of

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<v Speaker 1>the season, and now here the Packers are in a

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<v Speaker 1>playoff push and Jordan Love is looking for bow Melton

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<v Speaker 1>on third down. He's looking for bo Melton when the

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<v Speaker 1>blitz is in his face because he knows where Melton's

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<v Speaker 1>route is going to be, and he's going to put

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<v Speaker 1>the ball out there and let him go get it.

0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:20.800
<v Speaker 1>Melton also gets his first NFL touchdown, and you actually

0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:25.439
<v Speaker 1>had the list in your Insider Inbox column on Tuesday.

0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:30.760
<v Speaker 1>Seven players this season have caught their first NFL touchdown

0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:35.720
<v Speaker 1>from Jordan Love. I mean, that's remarkable in itself. I

0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:37.960
<v Speaker 1>can't even I don't even know how you put together

0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:40.400
<v Speaker 1>or how you figure out the list or whether that's

0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:44.960
<v Speaker 1>some kind of a record or not. But where the

0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:48.320
<v Speaker 1>Packers are and we'll see what happens this week. Obviously,

0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:50.840
<v Speaker 1>you know they were running some tests on Jaden Reid

0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:52.960
<v Speaker 1>with him having to leave the game, and he was

0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:55.280
<v Speaker 1>obviously on his way to one hundred yards receiving. He

0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:58.120
<v Speaker 1>had eighty nine with two touchdowns at halftime. You know

0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.480
<v Speaker 1>he was going to get his one hundred yard game,

0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.560
<v Speaker 1>but unfortunately had to leave. We'll see what his status is.

0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:07.680
<v Speaker 1>We'll see don Tavian Wis, We'll see about Christian Watson

0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:11.640
<v Speaker 1>and Luke Musgrave here in this must win game coming

0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:15.280
<v Speaker 1>up against the Bears. But and this is this is

0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:19.679
<v Speaker 1>what I wrote about on the bus ride slash plane

0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.840
<v Speaker 1>ride back after the game for my rapid reaction piece,

0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:25.520
<v Speaker 1>because the question you and I are getting the most

0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.840
<v Speaker 1>is what is the difference between the Packers being in

0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.439
<v Speaker 1>that must win game in Week eighteen at home against

0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:34.559
<v Speaker 1>the division rival last year where it was Detroit and

0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:37.440
<v Speaker 1>they were playing well, and now it's the same situation

0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:40.440
<v Speaker 1>this year another division rival in Chicago, who is playing well.

0:12:40.480 --> 0:12:42.800
<v Speaker 1>And we'll talk more about the Bears on our on

0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.840
<v Speaker 1>our next episode. So what's what's the difference? And to me,

0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:49.640
<v Speaker 1>the difference is where the Packers offense is and it's

0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:53.319
<v Speaker 1>what Jordan Love is doing. Last year, yes, the Packers

0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.920
<v Speaker 1>got on a run late in the season, but the

0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:58.720
<v Speaker 1>red zone problems, the gold to go problems were not

0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:01.280
<v Speaker 1>fixed the Packers where they were getting a bunch of

0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:04.600
<v Speaker 1>turnovers on defense, but then the offense was still kicking

0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.280
<v Speaker 1>field goals. You know, the Packers' special teams got the

0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:11.720
<v Speaker 1>touchdown against Minnesota on the Nixon return and a pick

0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.080
<v Speaker 1>six by Darnell Savage. They were racking up a bunch

0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.800
<v Speaker 1>of points. It wasn't the offense that was doing it.

0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:21.680
<v Speaker 1>And those problems on the Packers offense last year reared

0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:24.120
<v Speaker 1>their ugly head when the season was on the line

0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:26.920
<v Speaker 1>against the Lions. This Packers offense in twenty twenty three

0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:31.880
<v Speaker 1>is in a completely different place with completely different personnel

0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:34.400
<v Speaker 1>than the Packers had a year ago. And so for

0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.199
<v Speaker 1>me like that, that's what makes going into this game

0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:39.839
<v Speaker 1>feel so different from Week eighteen last year.

0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:42.360
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and you I mean you hit it. That's the

0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:44.800
<v Speaker 2>one A one b That is the biggest part. I

0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:46.920
<v Speaker 2>think when you talk about the offense and where things

0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:49.280
<v Speaker 2>are at, the only thing I will build off of that.

0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.439
<v Speaker 2>I'll just say this. The Packers in twenty twenty two

0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.800
<v Speaker 2>were a more veteran team that got better as the

0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:57.280
<v Speaker 2>season were on. They got better in the month of December.

0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:02.720
<v Speaker 2>They played more like a teamment football. This Packers team

0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:06.560
<v Speaker 2>in twenty twenty three is better because of progression and

0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:08.959
<v Speaker 2>because of players that were in roles early on that

0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.600
<v Speaker 2>maybe they weren't quite ready for in the first couple

0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:15.280
<v Speaker 2>of weeks of the season now being catalysts to their

0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.760
<v Speaker 2>specific phase. And then much like all these seasons. I

0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:21.000
<v Speaker 2>know we'll pivot here shortly into the defense, I'm sure,

0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.800
<v Speaker 2>but you look at a guy like Corey Ballentine and

0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:28.080
<v Speaker 2>go back to Rasseul Douglas and these guys, and again

0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:31.240
<v Speaker 2>going back to bow Melton. These guys that maybe when

0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:33.080
<v Speaker 2>you had your first fifty three at the beginning of

0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:34.880
<v Speaker 2>the year you were set in your depth charts at

0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:36.640
<v Speaker 2>home or trying to figure out, okay, what is going

0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:38.920
<v Speaker 2>to be the chain of command With the way these

0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.520
<v Speaker 2>things are schemed up. They aren't the guys that you

0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.800
<v Speaker 2>were really having written down and sharpie as Okay, these

0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:47.840
<v Speaker 2>are the core players. But over the course of a season,

0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.640
<v Speaker 2>when your roster is fifty three players, when you can

0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.160
<v Speaker 2>only dress forty eight on game days, you have guys

0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:57.720
<v Speaker 2>that are suddenly thrust into positions. They could be a rookie,

0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.440
<v Speaker 2>they could be a fifty year player, but they own

0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:04.480
<v Speaker 2>that and they become invaluable to what you're doing. And

0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:08.400
<v Speaker 2>that's ultimately what you need. Michael. It's progression, veteran and

0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:09.360
<v Speaker 2>young player alike.

0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:12.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Well, on the defensive side of the ball, you

0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:16.000
<v Speaker 1>brought up you brought up Corey Ballentine, and the Packers

0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:21.240
<v Speaker 1>also went with Carrington Valentine, those two who were integral

0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:25.239
<v Speaker 1>to the Packers, you know, kind of getting things going defensively.

0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.960
<v Speaker 1>In November, they ended up being the guys on Sunday

0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:32.040
<v Speaker 1>Night in Minneapolis because j R. Alexander was suspended for

0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.560
<v Speaker 1>the one game and then Eric Stokes had a recurrence

0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:39.200
<v Speaker 1>of his hamstring injury prior to the trip to Minneapolis

0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:41.760
<v Speaker 1>and he was placed on injured reserve. His season is over,

0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:47.840
<v Speaker 1>So the Packers went back to CV and CB as

0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:51.200
<v Speaker 1>they are known in the locker room, you know, against

0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:56.560
<v Speaker 1>Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and kJ Osbourne and you

0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:59.520
<v Speaker 1>know what ends up happening. Justin Jefferson is held to

0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:02.880
<v Speaker 1>five just for fifty nine yards. Jordan Addison has a

0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:06.040
<v Speaker 1>twenty yard reception but that's about all that he does,

0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:10.040
<v Speaker 1>and kJ Osborne doesn't even catch a pass snaps. Yeah, now,

0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.440
<v Speaker 1>a lot of that, A lot of that is, you know,

0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:17.000
<v Speaker 1>was the Vikings problems at quarterback, and you know they

0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.760
<v Speaker 1>made the move to go to Jaren Hall, the rookie

0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.640
<v Speaker 1>fifth round pick. He was going to make his second

0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:26.640
<v Speaker 1>NFL start. Kevin O'Connell just desperate to find a quarterback

0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:30.640
<v Speaker 1>who is going to protect the football. And as you

0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.400
<v Speaker 1>mentioned much earlier in the show, the Packers end up

0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:35.920
<v Speaker 1>getting two turnovers in the first half. Both of those

0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.560
<v Speaker 1>get turned into touchdowns. The first one, I thought, in

0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:42.560
<v Speaker 1>particular was was just enormous. It was an off target

0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.880
<v Speaker 1>throw to the tight end kind of underneath, and because

0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.080
<v Speaker 1>it was off target, the tight end deflected with his

0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:51.840
<v Speaker 1>hands and Ballentine was there to get the pick and

0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.720
<v Speaker 1>just whatever it was a player two later, boom, Jayden

0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:57.000
<v Speaker 1>Reid is in the end zone and the Packers turn

0:16:57.040 --> 0:16:59.080
<v Speaker 1>a three to nothing game into attend to nothing game

0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:03.720
<v Speaker 1>and all these questions suddenly are on the Minnesota sideline, like, oh,

0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:06.040
<v Speaker 1>maybe this guy can't protect the football either. We just

0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.359
<v Speaker 1>had another turnover led to points for the other team.

0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:11.880
<v Speaker 1>There was a real shift I felt in the building

0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.000
<v Speaker 1>and just in the field of things, which is what

0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.680
<v Speaker 1>I thought would happen if they could get a turnover

0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:19.000
<v Speaker 1>early from Jaron Hall and it played out that way.

0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:20.359
<v Speaker 1>Then they get another one at the end of the

0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:23.200
<v Speaker 1>first half, turned that into another touchdown, and suddenly you're

0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:24.520
<v Speaker 1>up twenty points at halftime.

0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:26.720
<v Speaker 2>And here's the thing that was really important about that

0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:30.360
<v Speaker 2>opening sequence too. No disrespect to what the Vikings did,

0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:32.640
<v Speaker 2>because I understand it. You have a rookie fifth round

0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:34.639
<v Speaker 2>pick out there. You're not going to dial up a

0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.720
<v Speaker 2>lot of exotic stuff. You want to get him comfortable, right, Well,

0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.560
<v Speaker 2>what happened. It was the sixteen year old that's out

0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.000
<v Speaker 2>there for his first driver's ED class. I guess he'd

0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:45.399
<v Speaker 2>be fifteen year old. Yeah, and you're driving ten miles

0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:48.359
<v Speaker 2>an hour and you back into the pole. That's what happened.

0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.960
<v Speaker 2>Because that Johnny Mont passed. That was about as basic

0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.119
<v Speaker 2>as it gets. They tried to get a little tricky

0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.159
<v Speaker 2>because they saw the Packers had their base personnel. They

0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.520
<v Speaker 2>tried to motion it into an empty set, but that's

0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.600
<v Speaker 2>just the basic underneath, brought basically to the tight end

0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:04.520
<v Speaker 2>and it sales high to him and Corey Balentine made

0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:09.320
<v Speaker 2>a fantastic, fantastic play on that because it's those ones

0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.000
<v Speaker 2>that look so simple, Mike, that oftentimes will fall through

0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:14.879
<v Speaker 2>defensive back's hands. They put their hands on their helmet and.

0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.400
<v Speaker 1>You go on to second down the old tip drill, right,

0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:19.680
<v Speaker 1>It's like you have to be able to react, keep

0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:21.680
<v Speaker 1>your eyes on the ball, you know, keep your wits

0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.879
<v Speaker 1>about you. And and Balentine was able to get his his.

0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:28.560
<v Speaker 2>First which I thought this was important too because he

0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:30.199
<v Speaker 2>gets that first pick. This is a guy that's been

0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:32.040
<v Speaker 2>in the National Football League. This is his fifth season

0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:34.879
<v Speaker 2>in some shape or form, with four different clubs. He

0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:38.119
<v Speaker 2>gets his first pick. You talk about a confidence boost

0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.280
<v Speaker 2>for a young guy that found out on Saturday that

0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:44.040
<v Speaker 2>he'd be starting because of the injury to the hamstring

0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:47.639
<v Speaker 2>issue with Eric Stokes, right, you're drawing Justin Jefferson. He

0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:50.840
<v Speaker 2>gets that pick early. He's playing physical, he's jamming at

0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:53.760
<v Speaker 2>the line of scrimmage. He gets two pass deflections while

0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:57.920
<v Speaker 2>Jefferson is in his coverage the Packers, I thought, when

0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.919
<v Speaker 2>you talk about marrying your pass rush with your secondary,

0:19:01.520 --> 0:19:05.760
<v Speaker 2>fourteen quarterback hits and four sacks, seven passes defense including

0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:09.439
<v Speaker 2>the interception, Packers finally played complimentary on both sides that

0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:11.520
<v Speaker 2>they had to weather some injuries to do it. Yeah,

0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:13.600
<v Speaker 2>but my goodness, Michael, I thought that that was an

0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:14.960
<v Speaker 2>encouraging performance as well.

0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:19.440
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the fourteen quarterback hits was really pretty astounding, and

0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:23.120
<v Speaker 1>I believe it was nine different nights, nine different players.

0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:25.159
<v Speaker 2>I lied to Presston after the game, I said it

0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:27.880
<v Speaker 2>was thirteen. It was nine. Oops.

0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:33.520
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well, that's still pretty remarkable. And the Vikings did

0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:36.239
<v Speaker 1>end up switching quarterbacks. Haul got benched at halftime. They

0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.399
<v Speaker 1>went with Nick Mullins. The other really big key moment

0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.480
<v Speaker 1>for the defense was that opening possession for the Vikings

0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:45.080
<v Speaker 1>in the second half. The score is twenty three to three.

0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:47.960
<v Speaker 1>Mullins is taking the Vikings down the field, and you

0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:51.520
<v Speaker 1>could tell immediately he just had so much better feel

0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:53.960
<v Speaker 1>for the timing of the Vikings offense. You know, he

0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:57.040
<v Speaker 1>hits Jefferson, he hits Addison like they're on the move

0:19:58.119 --> 0:19:59.920
<v Speaker 1>and they're looking to get a touchdown, which would have

0:19:59.920 --> 0:20:02.320
<v Speaker 1>been the score twenty three to ten. Middle of the

0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:05.199
<v Speaker 1>third quarter. The game is far from over at that point,

0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:08.600
<v Speaker 1>but the Packers get him in fourth and four from

0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:12.000
<v Speaker 1>the nine yard line, and you know, O'Connell passes on

0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.040
<v Speaker 1>the field goal like twenty three to six. He's not

0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:15.720
<v Speaker 1>interested in that. He wants to get this game to

0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:21.160
<v Speaker 1>twenty three to ten. And the Packers defense, you know, interestingly,

0:20:21.760 --> 0:20:24.719
<v Speaker 1>you know, in my opinion, for as aggressive as we

0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:28.080
<v Speaker 1>saw them in various situations like the slot blitz with

0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:31.160
<v Speaker 1>Keishaw Nixon on first and twenty, they threw a six

0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:34.919
<v Speaker 1>man pressure at Jaren Hall on just a basic like

0:20:35.040 --> 0:20:37.720
<v Speaker 1>second and six call, you know, and that's when Kuay

0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.520
<v Speaker 1>Walker gets his sack. When he makes ty Chandler with

0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:43.639
<v Speaker 1>on the blitz pick up the fourth and four at

0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:46.960
<v Speaker 1>the nine yard line. Packers just played it straight four

0:20:47.000 --> 0:20:50.320
<v Speaker 1>man rush, you know, man to man coverage, safety help,

0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:53.160
<v Speaker 1>which turns into a very effective double team on Justin

0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:56.520
<v Speaker 1>Jefferson and Quay Walker is spying Nick Mullins to where

0:20:56.520 --> 0:20:59.800
<v Speaker 1>when Mullens steps up, he's got nowhere to go. Walker

0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:02.440
<v Speaker 1>is a shoulder into him that makes that throw really

0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:04.520
<v Speaker 1>tough and the defense gets off the field. The score

0:21:04.560 --> 0:21:06.800
<v Speaker 1>is still twenty three to three. I thought that was

0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:10.440
<v Speaker 1>a big moment there, because in that building, that touchdown

0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:12.640
<v Speaker 1>happens middle of the third quarter and it's twenty three

0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:14.680
<v Speaker 1>to ten. A lot of things could have looked different.

0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:16.840
<v Speaker 2>I mean, you just had to listen. I mean, the

0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:19.520
<v Speaker 2>Vikings fans at that point were just looking for a

0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:22.920
<v Speaker 2>reason to cheer, and they got it. And I looked

0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:25.000
<v Speaker 2>at the clock, I'm like, okay, fourteen and change left.

0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:28.280
<v Speaker 2>Stranger things have happened. But it was at that point

0:21:28.280 --> 0:21:31.359
<v Speaker 2>that then the Packers' offense locks back down. Thirteen plays

0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:33.800
<v Speaker 2>ninety one yards, they eight eight minutes off the clock

0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:35.639
<v Speaker 2>in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, it was

0:21:35.680 --> 0:21:38.800
<v Speaker 2>the thirteen plays fifty four yards and eight seven to

0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:39.840
<v Speaker 2>fifty five off the clock.

0:21:39.920 --> 0:21:40.800
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, for a field goal.

0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:43.480
<v Speaker 2>They just didn't blink. Yeah, And I thought that was

0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:48.679
<v Speaker 2>so critical because Mike, that's where again people were ripping us, me,

0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:52.000
<v Speaker 2>everyone a couple of weeks ago, a week ago about

0:21:52.040 --> 0:21:54.720
<v Speaker 2>the Matt Lafleur stepp into the podium in Carolina and

0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:58.080
<v Speaker 2>taking ownership for the offense going three and out twice

0:21:58.119 --> 0:21:59.800
<v Speaker 2>in the fourth quarter at the time in which Screen

0:21:59.840 --> 0:22:02.440
<v Speaker 2>Bay defense was really struggling. Yeah, people like, why is

0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:05.120
<v Speaker 2>he throwing the offense under the bus. Because one, he's

0:22:05.160 --> 0:22:07.440
<v Speaker 2>the play caller, that's the part that he's overseeing. That's

0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:09.399
<v Speaker 2>kind of accountability. I can spell it for if you

0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:12.239
<v Speaker 2>need me to. But the fact is is that you

0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:15.680
<v Speaker 2>can when you have answers and you give up points,

0:22:15.760 --> 0:22:18.680
<v Speaker 2>whether it be an advisory, you know, adversity defense situation,

0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:21.480
<v Speaker 2>you get up, you you're able to eat eight minutes

0:22:21.520 --> 0:22:23.440
<v Speaker 2>off the clock as opposed to turning the ball over

0:22:23.520 --> 0:22:27.280
<v Speaker 2>fifty five seconds later to the defense to the opposition,

0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:30.560
<v Speaker 2>that's what makes all the difference in these games. It's

0:22:30.600 --> 0:22:32.920
<v Speaker 2>when you pick each other up. Yeah it was a

0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:36.520
<v Speaker 2>muff punt. Yeah, mistakes were made. The offense came right

0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:39.840
<v Speaker 2>back and responded. Green Bay never let the momentum get

0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:43.000
<v Speaker 2>back in Minnesota's favor, And Michael, that's an important lesson

0:22:43.040 --> 0:22:45.320
<v Speaker 2>to learn. If not for this winning you're in game

0:22:45.359 --> 0:22:48.480
<v Speaker 2>on Sunday against Chicago, once you get into the postseason,

0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:50.920
<v Speaker 2>if you're so lucky, those are the type of things

0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:52.840
<v Speaker 2>that in your mind as a team, as a coach,

0:22:52.880 --> 0:22:55.919
<v Speaker 2>as a player, you have to be respect respective to

0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:59.960
<v Speaker 2>responsive to and trying to you know, have a response

0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:00.760
<v Speaker 2>in those moments.

0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:04.119
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well we'll take a look at that playoff picture

0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:06.600
<v Speaker 1>here in a moment. But first, some sponsor business Serius

0:23:06.720 --> 0:23:10.359
<v Speaker 1>XMNFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the

0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:13.520
<v Speaker 1>minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four

0:23:13.560 --> 0:23:16.359
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0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:19.320
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0:23:19.400 --> 0:23:21.879
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0:23:21.880 --> 0:23:24.320
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0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:28.600
<v Speaker 1>fifty years of better. All right, the playoff picture. The

0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:32.960
<v Speaker 1>reason this became a win to get in game for

0:23:33.119 --> 0:23:38.119
<v Speaker 1>the Packers, they actually before the game kicked off in Minneapolis,

0:23:38.400 --> 0:23:41.520
<v Speaker 1>the Packers knew that they were, you know, two wins

0:23:41.560 --> 0:23:43.480
<v Speaker 1>to get in. Beat the Vikings, beat the Bears in.

0:23:43.480 --> 0:23:43.760
<v Speaker 2>You're in.

0:23:44.640 --> 0:23:49.399
<v Speaker 1>Because the Pittsburgh Steelers went to Seattle out on the

0:23:49.440 --> 0:23:52.359
<v Speaker 1>West Coast and played a whale of a game against

0:23:52.359 --> 0:23:55.600
<v Speaker 1>the Seahawks and cooled off what had looked like potentially

0:23:55.800 --> 0:23:58.160
<v Speaker 1>a surging Seahawks team, or at least a Seahawks team

0:23:58.200 --> 0:24:01.760
<v Speaker 1>that was pulling off these fourth quarter comeback and potentially

0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:05.560
<v Speaker 1>building some momentum there. The Steelers get that win, it

0:24:05.600 --> 0:24:10.040
<v Speaker 1>puts the Packers back in control of a wild card spot.

0:24:10.119 --> 0:24:12.200
<v Speaker 1>So now the Packers get to win over the Vikings.

0:24:12.240 --> 0:24:14.760
<v Speaker 1>Now they need they need to win over the Bears,

0:24:15.200 --> 0:24:19.360
<v Speaker 1>and the possibilities are. The possibilities are essentially this and

0:24:19.920 --> 0:24:22.919
<v Speaker 1>possibly as soon as tomorrow. At some point later this week,

0:24:23.280 --> 0:24:25.679
<v Speaker 1>I will have a path to the Playoffs piece on

0:24:25.760 --> 0:24:30.200
<v Speaker 1>the website laying out as legibly as I can all

0:24:30.200 --> 0:24:34.400
<v Speaker 1>the different possibilities here for the Packers. But the simplest

0:24:34.440 --> 0:24:36.880
<v Speaker 1>way to look at it is this. The Packers, if

0:24:36.920 --> 0:24:39.879
<v Speaker 1>they win, they can get either the six or the

0:24:39.960 --> 0:24:44.000
<v Speaker 1>seven seed, and they would be going to either Detroit,

0:24:44.200 --> 0:24:49.399
<v Speaker 1>Philadelphia or Dallas. So it's two possible seeds, three possible destinations.

0:24:49.680 --> 0:24:51.680
<v Speaker 1>That's where things sit with one game to go.

0:24:51.760 --> 0:24:53.720
<v Speaker 2>If you'd be so kind, and I am putting you

0:24:53.760 --> 0:24:56.080
<v Speaker 2>on the spot, okay, if you want to tell me, Wes,

0:24:56.320 --> 0:24:58.639
<v Speaker 2>it's not the time for that, would you be willing

0:24:58.640 --> 0:25:01.440
<v Speaker 2>to explain why exactly Green Bay at eight and eight

0:25:01.560 --> 0:25:03.600
<v Speaker 2>holds the advantage for the seven seed because you have

0:25:03.640 --> 0:25:06.360
<v Speaker 2>two other teams sitting in that spot right now. Seattle

0:25:06.480 --> 0:25:08.480
<v Speaker 2>is the eighth seed, and then the ninth seed is

0:25:08.520 --> 0:25:11.440
<v Speaker 2>New Orleans. That's simple enough because I think between them all,

0:25:12.000 --> 0:25:14.600
<v Speaker 2>Seattle and Green Bay are both what is it six

0:25:14.640 --> 0:25:17.199
<v Speaker 2>and five in the conference? New Orleans is five and

0:25:17.280 --> 0:25:20.679
<v Speaker 2>six correct? Common opponents are both three and three between

0:25:20.720 --> 0:25:21.560
<v Speaker 2>Green Bay and Seattle.

0:25:21.680 --> 0:25:22.040
<v Speaker 1>Correct.

0:25:22.160 --> 0:25:23.800
<v Speaker 2>Where did the Packers have the edge there?

0:25:24.000 --> 0:25:26.960
<v Speaker 1>The tiebreaker? The reason the Packers have the edge is

0:25:27.000 --> 0:25:31.960
<v Speaker 1>the tiebreaker is down to strength of victory. So I

0:25:32.000 --> 0:25:33.760
<v Speaker 1>can give you those numbers if you like, and when

0:25:33.800 --> 0:25:36.160
<v Speaker 1>you get and when you get this late in the season,

0:25:36.760 --> 0:25:40.320
<v Speaker 1>it's very difficult for the strength of victory to shift

0:25:40.680 --> 0:25:44.199
<v Speaker 1>as significantly as it would need to shift for the

0:25:44.240 --> 0:25:48.639
<v Speaker 1>Packers to get overtaken in that regard. So that's what

0:25:48.720 --> 0:25:53.080
<v Speaker 1>it comes down to, is the packer's strength of victory, which,

0:25:53.440 --> 0:25:55.440
<v Speaker 1>by the way, I'll just say this, that's how they

0:25:55.600 --> 0:25:58.239
<v Speaker 1>got in on the tiebreaker in twenty ten when they

0:25:58.240 --> 0:26:01.159
<v Speaker 1>got the number six seed. But we'll save that story

0:26:01.200 --> 0:26:02.440
<v Speaker 1>press another day.

0:26:03.080 --> 0:26:04.760
<v Speaker 2>Maybe Seattle could just lose it. We don't even have

0:26:04.800 --> 0:26:05.399
<v Speaker 2>to worry about it.

0:26:05.480 --> 0:26:08.239
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but but yes, it gets it gets pretty It

0:26:08.240 --> 0:26:11.160
<v Speaker 1>gets pretty deep into the end of the tiebreaker situation

0:26:11.320 --> 0:26:14.480
<v Speaker 1>where where the Packers are in control. There is a

0:26:14.520 --> 0:26:18.160
<v Speaker 1>scenario whereby the Packers could lose to the Bears and

0:26:18.400 --> 0:26:22.200
<v Speaker 1>still get the number seven seed. But you don't want

0:26:22.200 --> 0:26:24.320
<v Speaker 1>to hang your hat on that because it's it's like

0:26:24.440 --> 0:26:27.280
<v Speaker 1>a whole bunch of games, a handful of games that

0:26:27.320 --> 0:26:29.399
<v Speaker 1>would have to go the other way. I'm just saying,

0:26:29.480 --> 0:26:33.760
<v Speaker 1>I'm just saying, Okay, but yes, it's strength, it's strength.

0:26:33.800 --> 0:26:36.800
<v Speaker 2>You can put the playoffs about that.

0:26:36.800 --> 0:26:38.720
<v Speaker 1>It'll be It'll be in there. Yeah, it'll be in there.

0:26:38.880 --> 0:26:41.280
<v Speaker 1>Just so every just so everybody knows, I will say this.

0:26:41.840 --> 0:26:44.280
<v Speaker 1>It's literally the Packers are going to need at least

0:26:44.320 --> 0:26:48.560
<v Speaker 1>three other games to go their way in order to

0:26:48.600 --> 0:26:50.600
<v Speaker 1>get in if they lose to the Bears. The most

0:26:50.640 --> 0:26:52.560
<v Speaker 1>important thing is if you beat the Bears, you don't

0:26:52.560 --> 0:26:55.320
<v Speaker 1>have to scoreboard, watch it all done. That's where you're at.

0:26:55.400 --> 0:26:58.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And and to go back to the original thesis

0:26:58.040 --> 0:27:00.600
<v Speaker 2>statement of this episode, the fact that Green Bay has

0:27:00.600 --> 0:27:03.120
<v Speaker 2>got itself back in this position again, Mike, a team

0:27:03.160 --> 0:27:05.800
<v Speaker 2>that was what two and five, three and six a

0:27:05.800 --> 0:27:08.080
<v Speaker 2>lot of times. I mean, they traded Rasul Douglas. You're

0:27:08.080 --> 0:27:10.960
<v Speaker 2>really wondering exactly which direction this season's going to turn.

0:27:11.560 --> 0:27:14.520
<v Speaker 2>And they found momentum. They got their two biggest wins

0:27:14.520 --> 0:27:16.720
<v Speaker 2>of the season back to back with the Lions and

0:27:16.760 --> 0:27:20.240
<v Speaker 2>the Chiefs. They tripped after that, they had to reset

0:27:20.280 --> 0:27:22.199
<v Speaker 2>a little bit, but to be able to get the

0:27:22.240 --> 0:27:24.720
<v Speaker 2>wins over Carolina and then come back and go into

0:27:24.760 --> 0:27:26.800
<v Speaker 2>Minnesota and do that back to back on the road.

0:27:26.840 --> 0:27:29.160
<v Speaker 2>I don't care what Carolina's record is. It's still tough

0:27:29.160 --> 0:27:31.600
<v Speaker 2>to play in a different road environment and to be

0:27:31.640 --> 0:27:34.520
<v Speaker 2>at eight and eight with a young football team I

0:27:34.560 --> 0:27:37.320
<v Speaker 2>think at one point the youngest maybe still the youngest

0:27:37.359 --> 0:27:37.520
<v Speaker 2>in the.

0:27:37.560 --> 0:27:39.200
<v Speaker 1>National Football League, I would imagine.

0:27:39.240 --> 0:27:41.240
<v Speaker 2>So that's a real testament I think to the job

0:27:41.280 --> 0:27:43.560
<v Speaker 2>that Matt Lafleur does, and that spins me into my

0:27:43.640 --> 0:27:45.480
<v Speaker 2>last point I wanted to make about this game because

0:27:45.480 --> 0:27:48.120
<v Speaker 2>I wrote about an insider inbox. He will never take

0:27:48.160 --> 0:27:50.879
<v Speaker 2>credit for this, he would probably hate me even talking

0:27:50.880 --> 0:27:54.360
<v Speaker 2>about it, But I thought Matt Lafleur had an absolutely

0:27:54.840 --> 0:27:59.160
<v Speaker 2>exceptional day calling plays against Minnesota. In the first half

0:27:59.240 --> 0:28:01.800
<v Speaker 2>when the Packers to get into a rhythm, he did it.

0:28:02.000 --> 0:28:03.919
<v Speaker 2>In the second half when they need to concoct some

0:28:04.200 --> 0:28:07.680
<v Speaker 2>twelve minute offensive plays, it seemed like they were able

0:28:07.720 --> 0:28:11.560
<v Speaker 2>to do it. And for Green Bay, you talk about

0:28:11.560 --> 0:28:14.160
<v Speaker 2>coaches or players all the time, but coaches too. Everybody

0:28:14.160 --> 0:28:16.720
<v Speaker 2>wants to peek here when you get into the postseason.

0:28:16.880 --> 0:28:19.359
<v Speaker 2>So or in that final run, I should say, so,

0:28:19.800 --> 0:28:21.439
<v Speaker 2>it was an exciting game to be a part of.

0:28:21.480 --> 0:28:23.520
<v Speaker 2>And now, as we'll preview later this week, taking down

0:28:23.520 --> 0:28:25.800
<v Speaker 2>the Chicago Bears, trying to make this thing really count

0:28:26.080 --> 0:28:28.280
<v Speaker 2>because if you don't get a job done there and

0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:29.480
<v Speaker 2>we just wasted a lot of breath.

0:28:29.560 --> 0:28:32.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's and that's exactly what Matt Lafleur. In fact,

0:28:32.080 --> 0:28:35.520
<v Speaker 1>he said it twice at the podium in between he

0:28:35.600 --> 0:28:40.000
<v Speaker 1>was interrupted by the eleven o'clock hour, where about somebody,

0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:42.760
<v Speaker 1>a bunch of people in a nearby room were like

0:28:42.840 --> 0:28:45.080
<v Speaker 1>watching the ball drop in New York City or whatever,

0:28:45.080 --> 0:28:47.600
<v Speaker 1>and they were counting down like three two, like Matt

0:28:47.640 --> 0:28:51.520
<v Speaker 1>Laflour's in the middle of a press conference answer. But

0:28:51.600 --> 0:28:55.840
<v Speaker 1>he said twice in that press conference that it doesn't

0:28:55.880 --> 0:28:58.600
<v Speaker 1>mean anything if the Packers can't take care of business

0:28:58.640 --> 0:29:00.400
<v Speaker 1>on Sunday and beat the Bears in it in and

0:29:01.000 --> 0:29:04.520
<v Speaker 1>take advantage of this opportunity, an opportunity that they did

0:29:04.560 --> 0:29:07.560
<v Speaker 1>not get last year. They did not, excuse me, an

0:29:07.560 --> 0:29:10.480
<v Speaker 1>opportunity they did not cash in on us last year.

0:29:11.520 --> 0:29:13.560
<v Speaker 1>A couple other things just to talk about with regard

0:29:13.560 --> 0:29:17.120
<v Speaker 1>to the playoff picture, the number one seeds and the

0:29:17.160 --> 0:29:21.760
<v Speaker 1>first round bys in each conference are clinched. San Francisco

0:29:21.880 --> 0:29:24.160
<v Speaker 1>forty nine Ers are the one seed in the NFC,

0:29:24.240 --> 0:29:27.480
<v Speaker 1>the Baltimore Ravens are the one seed in the AFC.

0:29:27.560 --> 0:29:30.080
<v Speaker 1>Those clubs will get will have the first weekend of

0:29:30.120 --> 0:29:34.240
<v Speaker 1>the playoffs off and to themselves as far as the

0:29:34.240 --> 0:29:38.520
<v Speaker 1>rest of the NFC goes. The Packers kind of jousting

0:29:38.560 --> 0:29:41.520
<v Speaker 1>with the Rams for the six and seven spots. The

0:29:41.600 --> 0:29:46.200
<v Speaker 1>Rams are in and if they win their game against

0:29:46.200 --> 0:29:48.000
<v Speaker 1>the forty nine ers, and who knows what the forty

0:29:48.040 --> 0:29:50.120
<v Speaker 1>nine ers are going to do personnel wise, because it's

0:29:50.200 --> 0:29:54.560
<v Speaker 1>essentially an exhibition game for them. But if the Rams win,

0:29:54.640 --> 0:29:57.280
<v Speaker 1>they get the six and then the seven is the

0:29:57.280 --> 0:30:01.920
<v Speaker 1>only one excuse me, let to be determined. Dallas and

0:30:01.960 --> 0:30:05.920
<v Speaker 1>Philadelphia is still battling each other for the UH for

0:30:06.000 --> 0:30:11.600
<v Speaker 1>the NFC East. And here's what I figured out, Wes.

0:30:13.280 --> 0:30:16.360
<v Speaker 1>As long as the Dallas has the tiebreaker right now

0:30:16.360 --> 0:30:18.520
<v Speaker 1>on the Eagles, they have the same record. Dallas has

0:30:18.560 --> 0:30:21.400
<v Speaker 1>the tiebreaker based on this record.

0:30:21.520 --> 0:30:24.480
<v Speaker 2>That sorry, I said Dallas is also good.

0:30:24.600 --> 0:30:28.320
<v Speaker 1>Yes, they're they're they're quite good, and Philadelphia is not

0:30:28.360 --> 0:30:29.600
<v Speaker 1>playing very well right now.

0:30:29.880 --> 0:30:31.840
<v Speaker 2>That was kind of the subtle thing I was gonna.

0:30:31.760 --> 0:30:36.120
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the the Cowboys and Eagles are tied, Dallas has

0:30:36.160 --> 0:30:40.000
<v Speaker 1>the tiebreaker as long as either the Eagles or the

0:30:40.080 --> 0:30:43.880
<v Speaker 1>Cowboys win this week. The winner of the NFC East

0:30:43.920 --> 0:30:46.400
<v Speaker 1>is the two seed, and the loser drops to the five.

0:30:46.560 --> 0:30:48.640
<v Speaker 1>The runner up in the NFC East is getting the

0:30:48.680 --> 0:30:50.520
<v Speaker 1>five seed. It will be a wild card going on

0:30:50.560 --> 0:30:55.200
<v Speaker 1>the road regardless. The Detroit Lions are pretty close in

0:30:55.240 --> 0:30:58.000
<v Speaker 1>a sense to being locked into the three seed, except

0:30:58.080 --> 0:31:00.680
<v Speaker 1>there is one scenario where the Lions jump up to

0:31:00.720 --> 0:31:03.880
<v Speaker 1>the two, and that is that if the Cowboys and

0:31:03.920 --> 0:31:07.040
<v Speaker 1>the Eagles both lose and the Lions beat the Vikings,

0:31:07.520 --> 0:31:09.920
<v Speaker 1>then the Lions would actually vault to the two the

0:31:10.080 --> 0:31:13.560
<v Speaker 1>NFC East winner, which in that case would be Dallas.

0:31:13.600 --> 0:31:16.840
<v Speaker 1>If the Eagles and Cowboys both lose, Dallas would be

0:31:16.880 --> 0:31:20.880
<v Speaker 1>the three seed and then the Eagles would be the five.

0:31:21.000 --> 0:31:24.560
<v Speaker 1>So those are the various permutations. Obviously, whoever wins the

0:31:24.680 --> 0:31:28.480
<v Speaker 1>NFC South, which could be any of three teams, the Buccaneers,

0:31:28.520 --> 0:31:30.680
<v Speaker 1>the Saints, and the Falcons all have a path. The

0:31:30.720 --> 0:31:33.480
<v Speaker 1>Buccaneers are the ones in control, but they all have

0:31:33.560 --> 0:31:36.080
<v Speaker 1>a path to winning the NFC South, which would be

0:31:36.520 --> 0:31:43.400
<v Speaker 1>the four seed and the Buccaneers and Saints. Whoever doesn't

0:31:43.800 --> 0:31:46.720
<v Speaker 1>win the NFC South is still looking for a bunch

0:31:46.800 --> 0:31:48.840
<v Speaker 1>of help to maybe get a wild card. But again

0:31:48.920 --> 0:31:51.720
<v Speaker 1>that's where when you're the Packers, you're looking at it

0:31:51.760 --> 0:31:55.040
<v Speaker 1>as we are the ones in control. Just win your

0:31:55.040 --> 0:31:56.959
<v Speaker 1>game and get in and it doesn't matter what all

0:31:57.000 --> 0:31:58.280
<v Speaker 1>those teams in the NFC South.

0:31:58.520 --> 0:32:00.680
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and we'll preview those matchups soon enough, but I

0:32:00.680 --> 0:32:04.520
<v Speaker 2>mean Tampa would need almost like a well we'll see

0:32:04.520 --> 0:32:05.800
<v Speaker 2>how it goes. But I mean I think they got

0:32:05.840 --> 0:32:07.920
<v Speaker 2>Carolina this week, right, I mean they do try to

0:32:07.960 --> 0:32:09.120
<v Speaker 2>take care of business there.

0:32:09.000 --> 0:32:12.200
<v Speaker 1>They do. Their quarterback has some sore ribs though apparently

0:32:12.200 --> 0:32:14.920
<v Speaker 1>oh so, yeah, Baker Mayfield not one hundred.

0:32:14.600 --> 0:32:16.720
<v Speaker 2>Percent, So Kyle Trask is the backup?

0:32:16.760 --> 0:32:18.840
<v Speaker 1>There might be Yeah, I haven't looked at it.

0:32:18.880 --> 0:32:21.440
<v Speaker 2>But to get back to this past weekend though, we'll

0:32:21.480 --> 0:32:23.920
<v Speaker 2>have plenty of time to preview. I mean, it was interesting.

0:32:23.960 --> 0:32:26.880
<v Speaker 2>I was sitting in my room on Sunday afternoon, I'm like, man,

0:32:26.920 --> 0:32:29.520
<v Speaker 2>the Packers aren't getting much help. The Bears were pretty

0:32:29.600 --> 0:32:31.360
<v Speaker 2>much the only ones that wanted to play ball there

0:32:31.360 --> 0:32:33.320
<v Speaker 2>in the early half of things, and obviously we were

0:32:33.360 --> 0:32:35.160
<v Speaker 2>going to see them Sunday. With how talented they are

0:32:35.200 --> 0:32:38.440
<v Speaker 2>and where they've been sort of building towards a much

0:32:38.440 --> 0:32:40.880
<v Speaker 2>better team than the Atlanta Falcons without a doubt. It

0:32:40.880 --> 0:32:42.960
<v Speaker 2>doesn't matter if it was a snow game Shoulder Field.

0:32:42.960 --> 0:32:45.280
<v Speaker 2>I think they win that one anywhere, Yeah, just based

0:32:45.320 --> 0:32:46.240
<v Speaker 2>on where Atlanta's at.

0:32:46.320 --> 0:32:48.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and they beat them by twenty. Yeah, that was

0:32:48.560 --> 0:32:49.480
<v Speaker 1>a convincing victory.

0:32:49.560 --> 0:32:50.840
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was really something else. I think there was

0:32:50.880 --> 0:32:53.160
<v Speaker 2>we want justin chance afterwards at Soldier Field. I mean,

0:32:53.200 --> 0:32:56.000
<v Speaker 2>people were psyched up for it, the NFL, E, NFC

0:32:56.080 --> 0:32:58.760
<v Speaker 2>East other than McCarthy, and what they did on Saturday

0:32:58.800 --> 0:33:02.040
<v Speaker 2>night was just tripping itself. An embarrassing weekend for them.

0:33:02.080 --> 0:33:04.680
<v Speaker 2>I mean the Giants, I mean, people want to put

0:33:04.680 --> 0:33:07.160
<v Speaker 2>that thing at Mason's foot, Fine, no pun intended, but

0:33:07.240 --> 0:33:10.040
<v Speaker 2>like everything New York did in the final five minutes,

0:33:10.080 --> 0:33:13.520
<v Speaker 2>that game was just a head scratcher. Philadelphia completely falls

0:33:13.600 --> 0:33:16.240
<v Speaker 2>apart in a Also, they have a.

0:33:16.240 --> 0:33:20.200
<v Speaker 1>Two touchdown lead at home against the Arizona Cardinals with

0:33:20.520 --> 0:33:23.520
<v Speaker 1>so much to play, for the division title, the playoff seeding,

0:33:23.560 --> 0:33:27.480
<v Speaker 1>all of it, and their defense just completely falls apart

0:33:28.240 --> 0:33:31.880
<v Speaker 1>against against the Cardinals. Kyler Murray goes nuts, James Connor

0:33:31.960 --> 0:33:35.680
<v Speaker 1>goes nuts, and the Eagles get the winning touchdown with

0:33:35.840 --> 0:33:38.040
<v Speaker 1>thirty seconds on the clock or whatever it was. And

0:33:38.080 --> 0:33:40.959
<v Speaker 1>the Eagles take an absolutely devastating loss. A team that

0:33:41.080 --> 0:33:44.240
<v Speaker 1>was ten to one and looking like it was headed

0:33:44.280 --> 0:33:47.080
<v Speaker 1>for the one seed in the first round by is

0:33:47.200 --> 0:33:51.120
<v Speaker 1>now possibly going to be relegated to the five seed

0:33:51.160 --> 0:33:52.880
<v Speaker 1>and going on the road for the wild card run.

0:33:52.960 --> 0:33:55.280
<v Speaker 2>And they played like that. I mean, everyone wants to

0:33:55.280 --> 0:33:58.120
<v Speaker 2>talk about this much maligned defense, but the offense hasn't

0:33:58.120 --> 0:33:59.120
<v Speaker 2>really been you know.

0:33:59.440 --> 0:34:03.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeahckers no and and And you're right about that because,

0:34:03.120 --> 0:34:07.080
<v Speaker 1>as I say, a two touchdown lead at halftime against

0:34:07.160 --> 0:34:09.560
<v Speaker 1>the Cardinals, one of those touchdowns was a ninety nine

0:34:09.640 --> 0:34:12.279
<v Speaker 1>yard pick six by the Eagles defense. So you're right

0:34:12.320 --> 0:34:15.120
<v Speaker 1>in that the Eagles offense was not exactly setting the

0:34:15.120 --> 0:34:15.520
<v Speaker 1>world up.

0:34:15.640 --> 0:34:17.759
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. So I mean, we'll see what all becomes of that,

0:34:17.840 --> 0:34:20.080
<v Speaker 2>but yeah, fortunately for Green Bay, it all came down

0:34:20.080 --> 0:34:25.000
<v Speaker 2>to Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin sent of a nice box at cheese. Maybe,

0:34:25.120 --> 0:34:27.840
<v Speaker 2>uh some what is it wedding gifts.

0:34:27.880 --> 0:34:29.960
<v Speaker 1>Well, did you did you see did you see the

0:34:29.960 --> 0:34:33.919
<v Speaker 1>note from your from your junior reporter friend that Yeah,

0:34:34.000 --> 0:34:35.840
<v Speaker 1>I put I put it in. I put it in

0:34:35.840 --> 0:34:40.360
<v Speaker 1>an insider inbox on Monday morning. Your junior reporter friend

0:34:40.360 --> 0:34:42.920
<v Speaker 1>from Pittsburgh missed that one. He lived, He and his

0:34:42.960 --> 0:34:47.080
<v Speaker 1>family like, they live near Mike Tomlin, and they prior

0:34:47.120 --> 0:34:50.279
<v Speaker 1>to the Steelers trip to Seattle, they delivered a box

0:34:50.320 --> 0:34:55.200
<v Speaker 1>of chocolates to Tomlin's house, essentially asking h asking them,

0:34:55.320 --> 0:34:58.080
<v Speaker 1>asking the Steelers to beat the Seahawks for the Packers

0:34:58.120 --> 0:35:02.840
<v Speaker 1>lo and behold. Anyway, the note in the insider inbox

0:35:02.920 --> 0:35:06.080
<v Speaker 1>was for you, because you know the young man. But

0:35:06.200 --> 0:35:09.040
<v Speaker 1>I felt compelled to post it in my column because

0:35:09.080 --> 0:35:10.040
<v Speaker 1>it really struck.

0:35:09.719 --> 0:35:11.480
<v Speaker 2>A Well, here's the other thing. I was going on

0:35:11.520 --> 0:35:13.520
<v Speaker 2>about three hours of sleep, and I probably missed that

0:35:13.560 --> 0:35:15.880
<v Speaker 2>one while I was paging through the column on Tuesday.

0:35:15.719 --> 0:35:19.239
<v Speaker 2>But either as Monday, I don't even know what day

0:35:19.280 --> 0:35:20.320
<v Speaker 2>the week is anymore, Michael.

0:35:20.320 --> 0:35:23.080
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, these night games get to us at.

0:35:23.000 --> 0:35:26.160
<v Speaker 2>I've been struggling with it. But hey, I'll tell you what, Pittsburgh,

0:35:26.160 --> 0:35:28.720
<v Speaker 2>you know, I hope them they can make a run here. Obviously,

0:35:28.760 --> 0:35:30.560
<v Speaker 2>they got a tough challenge coming up this weekend, but

0:35:31.080 --> 0:35:34.160
<v Speaker 2>the Green Bay Packers bottom line got back to where

0:35:34.200 --> 0:35:36.000
<v Speaker 2>they need to get to and now we'll see what

0:35:36.000 --> 0:35:36.680
<v Speaker 2>they can do with it.

0:35:36.960 --> 0:35:40.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. We will preview this Packers Bears Week eighteen showdown

0:35:40.640 --> 0:35:43.080
<v Speaker 1>on our next episode, but for now we'll call it

0:35:43.120 --> 0:35:45.920
<v Speaker 1>a rap. On this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure

0:35:45.960 --> 0:35:48.439
<v Speaker 1>to follow all of our coverage of the team, all

0:35:48.480 --> 0:35:52.200
<v Speaker 1>the playoff news and scenarios and possibilities, everything you want,

0:35:52.239 --> 0:35:54.680
<v Speaker 1>reviewing the Vikings game, previewing the Bears. We've got it

0:35:54.719 --> 0:35:58.080
<v Speaker 1>all for you on Packers dot com. For Wes, I'm Miike.

0:35:58.160 --> 0:36:00.480
<v Speaker 1>Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will see you

0:36:00.520 --> 0:36:00.960
<v Speaker 1>next time.