WEBVTT - #679 Packers Unscripted: Work in Washington 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:11.160 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:14.159 Packers dot Com. I am like Spofford Heat is the 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:16.440 one on only Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:20.320 from our studios at Lambele Field. Ready to talk Green 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.560 Bay and Washington. Packers and Commanders will kick off at 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:28.440 FedEx Field, UM Sunday noon Central, one o'clock Eastern for 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:30.000 those of us who will be out there. And when 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:34.319 you talk about this Washington team West, it starts with 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:40.400 that defensive front. Because Jonathan Allen Monte sweat Deron Payne. 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.159 That's quite the group. And Chase Young, who's probably the 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.199 best and the highest of the high draft picks in 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.879 that group, hasn't even rejoined it yet. Um. This Washington 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:53.840 defensive front is really the crux of the team. It 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:56.440 is one of the most impressive units I think I've 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:58.760 seen in terms of how they've built up, you know, 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.400 the defensive side of the ball. Certainly, offensively, there's been 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:05.400 a lot to be desired there, especially with their production 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:09.560 earlier this season. But defensively, we've seen it time and 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:14.039 time again during this Jonathan Allen Duran Pain era. They 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.560 can win up front, they can push the line of 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.240 scrimmage and going back to one of the biggest old 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:21.920 adages of all Mike, if you don't give up points, 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.000 if you don't give up yards, your team is going 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:26.680 to be in the football game. In the Washington football 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.640 team that is now the Commanders, I should say, uh, 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.240 when they've been successful under Ron Rivera here the last 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:34.039 three years, it's been when they've been able to win 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:38.240 tight in hotly contested games and every single time, you know, 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:40.560 with that defensive front on the field, it gives their 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.600 team a chance. Yeah, And last Thursday was certainly one 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.880 of those for Washington. It was sort of the typical 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.960 what's been the typical ugly Thursday night football game here 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:54.480 in the NFL in two but Washington was able to 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.200 hold the Bears to seven points, hold them off on 0:01:57.800 --> 0:01:59.920 the last play of the game as the Bears completed 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.120 past but came up just inches shy of the goal 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:05.200 line in Washington gets a twelve to seven victory to 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.280 snap a four game losing streak. The Commanders had won 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:11.480 their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, then lost four 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.760 in a row. Now got to win over the Bears. 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:20.160 Sitting at two and four and with this this defensive front. 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:24.680 Five different guys have at least three sacks on this 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:27.240 Washington defense so far this year. And when you're looking 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.080 at the Packers, the performance the offensive line is coming 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.440 off of last week and some potential changes. We'll see 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:36.040 what happens with regard to the offensive line, if some 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:39.959 guys are gonna be moving around, shuffling to some different spots, 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:43.919 whatever the case might be. The uh, the key to 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:47.359 victory almost screams at you right that this that it's 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.720 it's this Packers offensive line and whatever transition or flux 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.680 that it's in against the absolute strength of the opponent 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.160 in Washington, that defensive front, that's where this game is 0:02:57.200 --> 0:02:59.120 going to be one or loss. Yeah, the Packers have 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.680 actually played walk, it feels like, quite a few times 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:04.160 the past few seasons. And you know, we don't need 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:06.120 to go into chapter and verse again about what kind 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:08.720 of player Jonathan Allen is. But I'm gonna throw these 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:10.320 stats that you, Mike. I mean, this is for a 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:14.360 defensive tackle in this league, just quite remarkable. Twenty four 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:19.040 combined tackles, seven quarterback hits, three and a half sacks, 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.400 six I should say six quarterback kicks second, seven tackles 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:26.600 for a loss, three passes defense, a force fumble, and 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:29.880 an interception this season. I haven't seen the film of 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:33.120 the interception, but that's a big man picking off passes 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.560 and and that's just the beginning. Even a guy like 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:38.320 James Smith Williams, the former seventh round pick, who's kind 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:39.480 of been the guy that's had to go into the 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:43.280 lineup now without Chase Young, he has two sacks this season. 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.360 I mean, it's a culture that they developed on that 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:47.880 side of the ball, and it's gonna be something that 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:49.760 Green Bay is really gonna have to contest with because, 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.800 as we've talked about, Mike, I don't care what shape 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:54.840 the offensive line looks like. We know you're gonna have 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.480 David Botieri left tackle. You know it's gonna be Josh 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.240 Meyers at center. The rest is left to be scene. 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:03.800 But the communication of this thing is going to be 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:07.440 so important because the Washington commanders are going to look 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:09.720 at that film last week, the issues that Green Bay 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:11.960 had picking up the stunts, being able to, you know, 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.760 get some penetration on Aaron Rodgers. They're going to take 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:18.560 some cues from that as they dial up their schemes 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:22.279 for this week, and I expect a very multiple varied 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:26.440 pass rush against green Bay. In addition to the fact 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:28.919 that when you have that much that that much beef 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.080 on the offensive or defensive line, it's not the easiest 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:37.200 group to run against either. So momentum, rhythm, tempo is 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.320 going to be so critical for green Bay in this game. 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.080 And as Aaron Rodgers said when you talked to the 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:43.840 media on Wednesday, when the ball he doesn't care about 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:46.200 what happens with the offensive line. When the ball comes 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:48.800 out of his hands quicker, that's when the offense is 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:52.040 in its most best rhythm, and ultimately, I think that's 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.240 gonna be their best key to victory in this game, 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:56.360 is being able to get the ball out quickly and 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.039 run and take advantage of the opportunities that the that 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.560 the commanders give you well, and you mentioned it earlier. 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.600 On the offensive side of the ball, Washington has had 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:07.440 its struggles. Carson Wentz has been the quarterback. He now 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:11.320 has a fractured finger and is going to be out 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.880 for several weeks, so Taylor Heineke is stepping in. Heinek 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.320 ended up starting the bulk of the games for Washington 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:22.880 last year due to UH the quarterback situate, the quarterback 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:26.479 injury situation. He won seven games. Last year. He played 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.839 in the game at Lambeau Field here which the Packers won. 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:33.279 But obviously what stood out from that game his Taylor 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:36.280 Heineke was the game's leading rusher with ninety five yards. 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:41.240 The Packers did not handle his his scrambling ability very well, 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.200 so that's something the Packers will need to be on 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:48.560 alert for. But here's here's some statistics to ponder going 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.560 into this one. Washington has not run the ball very 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.160 well this year at all nine yards per game on 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:59.159 the ground through six games. Not very impressive there. But 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:04.159 Terry mclau and is a legitimate threat at wide receiver 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:06.120 at any time. He had a hundred and twenty two 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.160 yards including a forty yard touchdown against the Packers at 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.880 Lambeau last season. He is averaging sixteen point seven yards 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:15.880 per catch this year. He is their big play guy, 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.160 um and that is the guy that Taylor Heinek is 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:22.320 looking for. What maybe a little different with Heineke as 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:25.119 opposed to wins at quarterback is Heinek might be looking 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:27.000 for him when he gets out of the pocket and 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:30.359 the scrambles, the extended plays, the busted plays, whatever you 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:32.840 wanna call it. Mclauren is going to be the guy 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:37.000 he's watching for. But on balance, this Washington offense has 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.120 struggled the most early in games. Washington has been outscored 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:44.520 seventy five to thirty four in the first half of games. 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.920 Now that in some senses bodes well for the Packers, 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:51.760 because defensively, the Packers have been better early in games 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.279 than later in games recently. Obviously, Green Bay is trying 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:59.760 to put together that that more complete game defensively, But 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.400 this is an opportunity for the Packers defense to once 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:06.560 again start fast and if the offense can get some 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:09.479 things going, you can potentially take control of this game, 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:13.120 which is which is what was happening to Washington during 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.320 its four game losing streak. Yeah, and and to kind 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:19.280 of go off that point too. I mean, Washington also 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:24.120 is outscoring its opponent to sixty in the second half, 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:26.520 So being able to establish some momentum early is going 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:28.800 to be critical. Being able to get production. Yeah, they've 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:30.880 scored twice as many points in the second half as 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:32.640 they have in the first half through the first six 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.800 games the year, and the thing about McLaurin that is 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.680 going to be most fascinating for me. Again, Matt Lafleur 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.840 was not biting on the hey, is Taylor Heineke actually 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.560 a worst matchup than Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz and McLaurin 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.440 had had a hard time kind of finding their rhythm 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:51.200 early this season. McLaren, as you said, sixteen points seven 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.120 yards per catch, but he only has twenty two on 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.040 this catches on the season so far. McLaurin was the 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.640 go to target for Heineke last season. He was one 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:02.000 of the re s. That's why that McLaren kind of 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.440 broke onto the national scale was the scent, you know, 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:06.680 kind of the synergy and the chemistry that they have together. 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:09.760 They do have weapons, though, as you mentioned, mclauren can 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:13.080 hurt you. Curtis Samuel has had a renaissance this season 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.200 in this offense as a kind of a gadget player, 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:18.080 being able to use them in a multitude of different ways. 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:20.720 He's a guy that coming out I was incredibly high 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:22.640 on when he started his career, I think in Carolina. 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:27.400 Brian Robinson returned last week during that Thursday night football game. Obviously, 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:29.800 if you know the story with him was shot before 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:32.560 the season, ends up having to miss the first month 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:34.319 of the year, and now he's back. And this was 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:36.079 a guy that I think a lot of people expected 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:40.120 to really usurp Antonio Gibson as the premier back, the 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:43.480 primary back in this offense. This season. A slower start 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:44.800 for him. I think it was only like three and 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:47.239 about what was at three point two yards per carry. 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:49.280 It wasn't like he torched the world there in the 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:51.920 first game back. But he's a guy that Washington felt 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:54.800 really good about before that incident. Going into the season. 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:57.840 There are guys that they're going to be able to 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:01.120 move the football with the key, as Kenny Clark talked about, 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.079 and a lot of these players on the Packers defenses 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:07.920 being smart with how you approach Heineke. He's a guy 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:09.520 that if you keep him in the pocket, you're going 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.080 to have a good chance to be able to stop him. 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:16.200 If you are getting undisciplined in your rush lanes, that's 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.600 where he's going to hurt you, not only because he 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:20.839 can look downfield, but if he needs to, he will 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.040 pull the ball down and tuck it himself. I thought 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:26.679 it was very interesting Mike three rushing yards last year 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.240 for him, five of them in that game against Green Bay. 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.720 That was in sixteen games, fifteen starts. Thirty percent of 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:36.640 his rushing yards for the entire season came against Green Bay. 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.200 It just shows you that he is a gamer. I 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:41.840 said that last season Taylor Heineke might not be the 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.120 type of quarterback that a team is going to ride 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.560 as their starter, not going to have any competition during 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:51.600 training camp. But he is the quintessential NFL number two, reliable, 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.720 I will win you a football game backup quarterback, and 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:57.240 that's what Washington needs right now. Ron Rivera has won 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:00.640 sixteen games as the Commander's head coach. Seven of them 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:03.360 have come when Heineke is a starting quarterback. And if 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:05.920 you want to know how much of a gamer Heineke is, 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:07.640 all you have to do is think back to two 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:11.800 years ago when he had taken over at quarterback late 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:14.880 in the season and Washington was playing in the wild 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:19.319 card round against Tampa Bay, the eventual Super Bowl champion, 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:23.000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And it was Taylor Heineke against Tom 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.080 Brady in the wild card round and that was a 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:27.720 two point game after three quarters, it was a five 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:31.040 point game with five minutes to go. Taylor Heineke gave 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.760 Washington a heck of a chance to pull that upset 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:37.200 there against Tampa Bay when nobody was giving them a 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:41.160 chance to knock off the Buccaneers in that game. From 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.920 the Keys to victory standpoint, we already mentioned obviously, the 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:47.880 Packers offensive line against this defensive front of Washington. I'm 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:52.120 also wondering based on what we saw last week where 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:57.280 Jaire Alexander pretty much took Garrett Wilson, the rookie wide 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:59.760 receiver from Ohio, stayed out of the game for the Jets, 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:01.720 only one catch for eight yards, and it was not 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:06.200 against Alexander. I wonder how much we're going to see 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:10.439 Alexander against McLaurin. Do you think the Packers match him 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:14.760 up against that guy just because and to take nothing 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.280 away from Curtis Samuel, but when you look at when 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:21.080 you look at the statistics and the big play possibility, 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:23.440 McLaurin is the guy who can really hurt you. And 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:25.679 Samuel is not a guy you can match anyway, because 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:27.680 he's gonna move around in so many different areas and 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:29.640 he's and he's gonna he's gonna play behind the line 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:31.480 of scrimmage a lot as well. Yeah, so, I mean 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:33.240 he's he's just going to be a problem that the 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.920 defense as a whole, all eleven guys, all you know, 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:38.000 six seven, eight guys in the secondary are going to 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:40.240 have to make sure they know where he's at. I 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:42.920 think this game, Mike, maybe more than any other game 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.319 this season, makes the most sense to have Jr. Alexander 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:48.200 plastering him because not only is he your your best 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:50.440 option press man coverage, he's the guy that can run 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:53.400 with him the longest. And you know, Mike, when we 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:55.880 talk about it all the time with Aaron Rodgers and 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:59.760 you know, third downs, who's he looking to Randall Cobb 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:03.960 as granble drill, what's he looking for Robert Tunyan, Alan Lazard. 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:08.199 That's that's that's McLaurin in this offense, especially with Heineke 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.160 as the starting quarterback right now. My biggest thing for 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:14.640 this game, Mike, again, I will never, ever, ever, ever 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:16.880 ever say a game is a must win in October. 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:18.920 I don't believe it. The game these seasons too long 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:23.840 at this point. But defensively, this is the get right opportunity. 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:27.720 Washington has the fourth fewest points scored this season. There 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.800 has been issues trying to find a rhythm with you know, 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:33.880 this kind of rotating door of quarterbacks they've gone through. 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.199 Remember last year, Taylor Heineke wasn't supposed to be the 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:38.800 starting right back. It was gonna be Ryan Fitzpatrick, and 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:42.520 Heineke ended up starting fifteen out of seventeen games. So 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.319 and actually, and he wasn't eve supposed se the backup. 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.720 I think what was it? Um Kyle Allen was supposed 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:49.120 to be the backup before he got hurt. So a 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.760 lot of different things going to orbit there. For me, 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:55.680 it's this defense doing what it needs to do against 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:57.839 this offense. Packers offense is gonna be in for a 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.200 rough day. It's gonna be a tough assignment. Not saying 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.040 they can't win it, not saying they can't score points, 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.880 not saying they can't beat that defensive front. Washington only 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:06.920 has the seventeenth ranked defense in the league. It's not 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:10.360 like this is the number one ranked unit. But defensively, 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.120 this thing for Green Bay, I think that's the thing 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:16.440 that people haven't talked enough about. Yes, they're having issues 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:19.080 right now, taken away the football, Washington's kind of had 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:22.200 those issues too. They've been able to, you know, play 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:24.920 really good stretches in the first half. Second half has 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:28.040 been a different, different situation. But you need to look 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.120 at what Green Bay has done well that points this year. 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:32.360 They've been good on third downs, They've been able to 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:35.080 limit the passing game, and they aren't going up against 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.040 a world beater running back like they have the last 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.280 few weeks. For the Packers defense, I feel like this 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:41.800 is the one where Joe Barry needs to sit his 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.160 guys down, give them the game plan, and tell them, 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:46.560 you guys need to have the confidence in yourselves right 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:48.760 now that you can be the dominating unit that everyone 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.280 believed you to be, because this is the perfect dance 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:55.200 partner to do that against. Yeah, I think I would expect, 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.400 even even with the Packers coming off of these back 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.520 to back losses, I would expect we're going to see 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:05.160 a very confident Packers team on Sunday, because here's the thing. 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:09.400 As as frustrating as these last two losses are, six 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.160 quarters ago, this was a Packers team that was three 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.560 and one with a ten point halftime lead in London. 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:17.679 The whole the whole season. Doesn't just suddenly go up 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.080 and smoke because of a rough game and a half, right, 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:24.680 I mean this, this Packers team, they know, they know 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:26.960 what they know what they're capable of. They know they 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.000 haven't lived up to it in the last game and 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:32.320 a half, and this is you know, and and maybe 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:35.040 I don't want to get into a whole discussion about, 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:37.560 you know, the booing at lambeau Field and everything like that, 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:40.600 but maybe playing on the road isn't the worst thing 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:42.480 in the world for this team right now as it 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.560 tries to straighten itself out. Three straight road games is 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.960 no easy task. But maybe with what this team is 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:51.840 going through, you get that US against the world mentality 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.040 when you go on the road. Maybe that's maybe that's 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:56.080 what this team needs. Yeah, I agree with you, Mike, 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.760 because this Washington game next week against Buffalo is going 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:02.400 to be as road games go, that's gonna be as 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.360 difficult as Green Bay's gonna see all season. Washington. There 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:07.080 might be some friendlies, you know, a couple of years 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:08.880 ago when we're there, there were some friendlies in terms 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:12.320 of how that that crowd balanced out. But at the 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.880 same time, we gotta understand where Washington is at right now. 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:18.400 I don't want to call it a neutral site game. 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:20.520 It's not that it will be a road matchup for them, 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:23.360 but this is a This is as good of an 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:25.720 opportunity as any to get right with a road game, 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:28.280 and I just feel like, for the Packer's sake, they 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:31.320 have to understand right now, Okay, we technically had sort 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.480 of a three game homestand certainly that was a very 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:37.600 favorable crowd for them in London. Now you get three 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.160 straight weeks in a row where you're gonna have the 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:43.840 Commanders Buffalo who's riding high in the Detroit Lions, whose 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:46.080 fan base is energies. You hear about the sellouts that 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:48.000 they've had there, despite the fact that they've gone one 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.680 and four to start this season. There is a lot 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:54.280 of motivation here for Green Bay to find its way 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.440 here before coming back home for those two games in 0:15:56.480 --> 0:16:00.520 five days. This is the stretch, Mike, This is the gauntlet. 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.200 But that being said, you only can worry about the 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:05.720 team in front of you, and right now, as it stands, 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:08.880 they got Washington. You need to be able to beat 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:11.280 that football team. Yeah, as much as as much as 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:13.400 the Packers fans, you want you want to see the 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.440 Packers get back on the right track. You want to 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.480 put this two game losing streak in the rear view mirror. 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.000 But the bottom line is you can't. You can't have 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:23.480 a two game or a three game winning streak this week. 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:25.720 All you can do is win one game and try 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.240 to get things going back in the right direction. That's 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:30.480 the objective. Did you see that stat not to and again, 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:32.560 Packers gotta win football games, no question about. But did 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:34.600 you see that stat about the Giants now? About how 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:37.560 they've erased three ten point deficits now in the second 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:39.920 half to win games this season? While I mean I 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:42.120 saw that they did it again against Baltimore, they had 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:43.920 done it, they had done it earlier year as well. 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:45.880 I don't know which opponent, but five wins this season 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:47.400 and three of them they've come back in the second 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:50.040 half from ten plus points behind to be able to 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:53.800 to win it. Yeah, that's that says something. They're there, 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:56.200 there are teams that there are teams out there that 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:58.960 that show their grittiness. But it's also it's a really 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:00.720 long season. You never know how things are going to 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.040 unfold over the course of four long months. Some sponsor 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:07.320 business here West Serious x M NFL Radio delivers hard 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.400 hitting analysis and up to the NFL news that true 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.919 football fanatics need seven three and at Cousin Subs, we 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:17.600 have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.399 and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:23.200 your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousins Subs 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:29.080 fifty years of better. Alright, looking at the rest of 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:33.359 Week seven, there's actually not a whole lot that interests me, 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:36.359 quite frankly. But I say that because three teams that 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.480 we normally talk about quite a bit in this segment 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:41.600 of the show. The Minnesota Vikings, who are on top 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.480 of the NFC North at five and one, the Philadelphia Eagles, 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.080 who have the best record in football at six and oh, 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.119 and the Los Angeles Rams, the defending Super Bowl champions. 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:52.760 All three of those teams on a by this week 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:56.919 not playing from the Packers perspective, sorry, including the Packers 0:17:57.000 --> 0:18:00.200 next opponent, Buffalo, right but and Buffalo is also yeah, 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:03.040 buf Buffalo is also on a buy. So from the 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.200 Packers perspective, either you win this game and you get 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:10.280 within one and a half of Minnesota, or you lose 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:12.600 and you fall two and a half back. Right now, 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:15.200 it's obviously a two game deficit at with the five 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:18.520 and one, three and three records. Two games that I 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:22.760 am looking at though with some interest. Detroit you mentioned 0:18:22.800 --> 0:18:24.840 off to a one in four start, the Lions coming 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:27.600 off there by week traveling to Dallas, and it sounds 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:31.960 like Dallas might be getting Dak Prescott back at quarterback. Obviously, 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:34.159 we know the Cowboys are coming to lambeau Field in 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:36.479 a few weeks, so that will be interesting. And the 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:38.480 other one I have my eye on is Kansas City 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.960 at San Francisco. Kansas City coming off of a home 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.439 loss to the Buffalo Bills having to go on the 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:49.520 road to the West Coast, and San Francisco, a team 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:53.160 that of course reached the NFC Championship Game a year ago, 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:56.280 sitting at three and three, just like the Packers with 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.879 a very very tough matchup, um to try to have 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.240 way falling below fire at three and four out there 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:05.159 in the NFC West. Just any thoughts you have on 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:07.000 those couple of games. This is what I was just 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.800 saying about Washington. The Packers are three and three, I 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:12.320 get it. Fans want to be four and to five 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:17.400 and one, seven and oh if they could, right San 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:23.240 Francisco forty Niners three and three onto their old starting 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:26.240 quarterback that became their backup that almost got traded. But 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:28.359 now as they're starting quarterback again because the one of 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:32.159 the futures out for the season going up against Kansas City, 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:34.760 and you have to imagine Kansas City is going to 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:36.959 be motivated for this game, not only because of what 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:38.720 it means going out on the road, but also coming 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:41.680 off the loss against the Bills. That's a tough assignment, right. 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:44.600 That's why again I point towards this game for Green Bay, 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:47.960 the situation the table can look a lot differently for them. Otherwise. 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:51.600 The other matchup that I think is very interesting is 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:56.120 Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears going to New England. Obviously, 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:58.680 there's the implications there for the division, as there always are, 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:01.040 But you want to talk, Mike, how a three and 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:04.720