WEBVTT - #255 Packers Unscripted: Reflections and forecasts 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:20.799 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.520 I am Mike Spofford, sitting next to my colleague West Hodkowitz, 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:27.520 and we're coming to you here from our studios at 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.480 lambeau Field and West to follow up a little bit 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:33.159 on our previous show. We talked a lot about Mike 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:36.720 McCarthy season ending press conference and in the previous shows 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:41.120 about Ted Thompson and the decision there to step aside 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.680 and transition into a new role in the organization. One 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:48.000 thing we haven't really touched on to any extent yet 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.479 is collectively, what is now really the end of an 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.240 era in terms of this twelve year partnership between head 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:59.600 coach Mike McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson and um, you know, 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:03.160 really the length of it alone is somewhat unprecedented in 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:07.120 the league. The level of success nine total playoff appearances, 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:10.400 I believe, four trips to the NFC Championship Game, one 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:12.720 trip to the Super Bowl. That level of success certainly 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:16.200 ranks up there. If you were to pick a characteristic 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:19.959 or two of them as a due of their partnership, 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.759 that that sort of defines it or what you'll remember 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.920 it for what would you say unity. I think it's 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:27.360 the thing that stands out to me. And then that 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:31.440 that's not to say, you know, every marriage has its fights, right, 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:33.400 I mean, it's not to say that it was just 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:37.120 all sunshines and rainbows for eleven years. I mean, there's 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:39.080 gonna be times where guys are gonna butt heads. That's 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.880 only natural. But they always had the same path. It 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.800 was never a question about I'm gonna go this way, 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:48.520 you're going to go that way. They had discussions and 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.160 then they pressed forward, they pressed on, and I think 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.960 that was the number one characteristic I thought made this 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:57.400 really this one to punch work for the Packers. If 0:01:57.440 --> 0:01:58.920 you go back, Mike and I did a story in 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.680 December of two thousand six team looking at McCarthy's offenses 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.600 and and looking at you know, the history there of 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:08.880 of Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy. There aren't a lot 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.880 of personnel executives in a head coach that got on 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:13.600 a run as long as they did, and they were 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.800 one of the most successful pairings in NFL history in 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.959 doing that together. Yeah, guys have different motivations, the life 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:23.080 takes some different directions, but for them to stay on 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.840 that same path for twelve years. I think it just 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:29.440 says a lot about the relationship that they built and 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.280 exactly you know, the the the kind of foundation they 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:35.880 were able to forge with this football team. Yeah. And 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:38.360 if there's a characteristic that comes to mind for me, 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:41.079 and it's similar to the unity term that you brought 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:43.720 up for me, what I always think of his mutual 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:48.040 respect because, as you know, I've been the editor of 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:50.800 the Packers Yearbook for a number of years, and a 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.760 while back, I don't remember exactly what year it was, 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:56.639 but I did a story for the Packers Yearbook, a 0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:00.520 rather lengthy feature story about the relationship between the two 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:03.239 of them, how they work together. And if there was 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:09.240 one element that very overwhelmingly came out of the discussions 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:11.200 that I had with both of them about how they 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:14.280 worked together, it was about the level of mutual respect 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:17.799 in that Mike McCarthy is the coach of the team, 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.720 Ted Thompson runs the roster, and they let each other 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:23.760 do their jobs and as you say, not to say 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:26.960 there wouldn't be disagreements sometimes, but Mike McCarthy is not 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.200 going to tell Ted Thompson, I need that guy in 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.079 the draft, or I need that player in free agency. 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:34.760 Ted Thompson is not going to tell Mike McCarthy, that's 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:37.200 my second round pick, you have to play him. You know, 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:40.040 that's not how that how it worked at all. As 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.240 you said, they would discuss things, they would reach some 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:46.280 sort of an agreement, and they would forge ahead and 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.720 they and I'm not saying that they operated completely in silos, 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:52.800 but it's that the one guy respected the other guy 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.920 and respected his job enough that they didn't they didn't 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:00.360 tread into somebody else's territory. And I think that's it 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.440 led to the longevity and how it worked for so long. 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:05.600 I look at this as a restaurant. I usually a 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.920 restaurant that restaurant. Analogy here, um and that is that 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.000 Mike McCarthy has been the chef of this restaurant now 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:17.120 for twelve years. Ted Thompson was like the proprietor, right. 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:19.800 I mean, he's the one going out getting the ingredients, 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:23.360 getting everything that Mike McCarthy needs to make the dinner, 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:27.040 to make the menu come to life. And that's not 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:28.839 to say if you're not gonna have communication between the 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:31.280 two sides, but they both understood that what they do, 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.559 they do well and Mike McCarthy coming in. I remember 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:37.159 I asked him this a number of years ago. Uh, 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.560 but when he got when he got hired in Green Bay, 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:42.440 if he knew that the draft and development thing it 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:44.160 was going to be as rigid as it was. This 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:45.880 is like two thousand and twelve, two thousand and thirteen 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:47.960 where the Packers weren't signing any free agents. It was 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.800 their guys, and then it was their draft picks, and 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:52.360 then it was maybe a couple of guys here and there. 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.320 And he said, you know, it's about the process. It's 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:58.440 about buying into the process. And you know, Ted Thompson 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:01.800 was so upfront with what his vision was for building 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:04.640 the football team. And there was some ways around that too. 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:06.360 I mean he when he needed Charles Woodson, he went 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:08.760 and got Charles Woodson, needed Ryan Picketty, got Ryan Pickett. 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:12.040 I mean there definitely was room for that. But at 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:15.640 its core, that draft and developed style. Thompson was just 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:17.600 so honest with guys about that. I think that's something 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:20.599 McCarthy always appreciated, you know, right from day one, is 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:23.080 that he knew what the vision was and from there, 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.000 when you have that kind of vision your front office, 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.880 it makes it as a head coach that much easier 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:30.560 to really lay down your vision for what your team 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:32.360 is going to look like. I agree with you, McCarthy 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.200 said many times publicly one of the things he appreciated 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.080 the most about Ted Thompson was his consistency. He always 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:41.919 knew where he was coming from. He always understood what 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:43.960 his vision was. As you said, and I think it 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.760 was a two way street, and that Ted Thompson really 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:50.040 respected Mike McCarthy's consistency as a head coach, the way 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:53.520 he ran the football team, um, the way he delivered 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:55.479 messages in front of the football team, the way he 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:58.560 coached at every single Sunday that you know, and and 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:00.920 again that goes back to the mutual respect. I really 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:03.800 think they both had a tremendous amount of respect for 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:06.039 how the other guy went about his job and it 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:07.960 led to a lot of success. In the next segment, Mike, 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:09.360 we're gonna look at some of the things that they 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:11.880 did together, some of their their biggest moments. But one 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:13.919 thing I do want to add into that is McCarthy 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:15.760 always talks about he never when he steps to the 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:17.719 point him he doesn't want to create questions for a 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.400 locker room. I think that's something that Thompson also did 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:22.400 really well. He doesn't want to say anything, he doesn't 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.360 say anything, but also through his actions, he never put 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.520 himself in the spotlight when things are going well. He 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:30.280 didn't put himself in front of the spot like he 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:33.279 was the same guy, regardless of it was a difficult 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.600 win or they just won the Super Bowl. In that 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:37.760 type of consistency, I think it makes it a lot 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:40.320 easier when you're trying to build a corporation, when you're 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.200 trying to build any kind of you know, business in 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.560 life more than a restaurant, more than a restaurant, that 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:48.760 that you have that kind of consistency in place, because 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:50.080 it does go a long way. It's a lot a 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:51.599 lot of people like to hoot and holler and like 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.440 to release tooth their own horn. Thompson never did that. Well, 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:56.719 now that you're talking about restaurants, I'm getting hungry. So 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.320 let's go to a break back with moreen Packers Unscripted. 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:20.480 Right after this Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.640 in this chair, Wes Hodkowitz in that one, and West 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:27.120 continuing our discussion from the last segment about the McCarthy 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:31.720 Thompson a dozen year partnership. We saw these guys. They 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:35.200 were the ones who had to navigate what obviously was 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:37.720 a rocky transition in two thousand and eight from Brett 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:40.080 Farve to Aaron Rodgers. They came out the other end 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:42.440 a couple of years later, won a Super Bowl in 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:46.080 the midst of obviously a run of consecutive playoff appearances 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:49.760 that reached eight before it ended this year. When you 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:51.960 look back on on some of this stuff, I know 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:54.440 there are a lot of accomplishments to look at, um, 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:56.720 but aside from the obvious, you know, the call of 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.000 Rogers and and winning the Super Bowl. Not to diminish 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.360 those by any means, but what what kind of stuff 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:04.280 are you going to remember? Well, I think it has 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:06.320 to start in two thousand and eight. Uh and and 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.640 certainly you give Thompson credit for what the what they 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:11.800 built and the fact that in McCarthy credit for that 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:13.360 they were able to get in the NFC title Game 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.560 in two thousand seven, only two years into their partnership, 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:18.400 three years into Thompson taking over as GM, and you know, 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:20.480 coming off of four and twelve season his first year, 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:23.720 But that two thousand and eight summer um. There's so 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:26.040 many layers that I talked on yesterday's show about how 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:29.400 I think that that is still going to be his 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.240 ultimate accomplishment because it takes an enormous amount of trust 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:36.080 and your scouting department, a normalist amount of trust in 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:40.360 yourself to not waiver there because he put his career 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:42.240 on the line. Let's just be honest. I mean, if 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:45.000 if Aaron Rodgers doesn't work out and they let Brett 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:47.320 Fave walk out the door for a third round draft pick, 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:49.360 it would have been tough for him to come back 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:53.880 from that. But Mike McCarthy in investing two years into 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:57.560 Aaron Rodgers and his development and and it just doesn't 0:08:57.600 --> 0:08:59.600 happen this way anymore. You see it. My guys and 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:01.400 teams they want to talk about, you know, we want 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:03.560 to give a guy time to develop. And how many 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.240 times is it four weeks into the season when the 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:07.800 team's one in four, one in three, one and five, 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:11.040 two and four, everyone's calling for the backup quarterback, everyone's 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:13.800 calling for the rookie. Packers were fortunate in that way 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:15.319 that they didn't really have to do that because the 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:18.480 quarterback was Brett Farve. It's such a you see it 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.319 in small burst right now of when teams are able 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:24.520 to accomplish that. But that long road, playing the long 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:26.880 game with Aaron Rodgers in the development that two thousand 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:29.280 and eight season, I think it's such a testament to 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.880 Thompson and McCarthy and how they developed this team and 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:34.160 really setting themselves up for the future with the development 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.640 of number twelve. Yeah, in many ways they staked their 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.559 legacy on Aaron Rodgers because of that decision they had 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:41.280 to make and the fact that in two thousand and 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:43.640 eight the team went six and ten. Things did not 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:45.880 go as planned. There was a five game losing streak 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.480 late in the year after when the team was you know, 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:51.959 around five hundred or so after ten games, and then 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:55.480 you know, McCarthy made a wholesale change of the defensive 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:57.800 coaching staff, you know, brought in Dom Caper's the whole 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:00.520 new scheme and all that. It's interest to me because 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:02.600 when I when I think of, you know, the acquisition 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.240 of the players and then coaching of the players in 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:07.240 terms of in terms of the partnership, a couple of 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.320 things come to mind. One for me was two thousand seven, 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:12.800 at the end of training camp the Packers didn't have 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:15.040 a running back. I'm On Green had left after a 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:17.560 successful two thousand six season, left as a free agent 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.160 to go to Houston. Some guys the Packers were counting 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.200 on were injured through the preseason. There was really nobody 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.320 to necessarily turn to immediately as the number one running back, 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.360 Ted Thompson makes a trade and brings in Ryan Grant 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:32.839 from the New York Giants. Trades a low round draft 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.720 pick to bring him in. Yeah, and you fast forward 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.199 to the end of that season. It's snow one out 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:41.880 here at lambau Field in the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:44.800 and Ryan Grant fumbles two times and Seattle takes a 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:48.400 fourteen nothing lead five minutes into the game. Mike McCarthy's 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:50.640 game plan that day was to run the ball on 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:53.360 the Seattle Seahawks, and a lot of coaches after two 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.520 fumbles in the first five minutes and a fourteen nothing 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:59.080 deficit would have yanked that guy. Mike McCarthy stuck with 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.720 him and Ryan at Rusha's for two one yards and 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:05.560 three touchdowns. That right there, that late training camp, end 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:07.840 of training camp acquisition and then that guy being a 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:10.680 playoff hero when he could have been a playoff goat 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.040 that that timeline right there, and that being in the 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:17.520 second year of their partnership together. That to me says 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.600 a lot about about just how things can come together 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:23.040 and work when when two guys respect each other the 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:24.640 way they die. And so much was made over the 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.200 years about Ted Thompson and free agency and didn't attack 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:29.320 those things enough, but it was interesting. He did have 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:32.400 a really interesting He was able to keep always a 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:35.120 temperature on the state of his team and when they 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.120 needed a Ryan Grant type player to come in. I 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:39.720 even think of that two thousand ten season and and 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.760 you know, Eric Walden, that's the next that's the next one. 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:44.760 I was going to mention Howard Green when they needed 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.320 another guy on the defensive line and you know, picked 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.120 him up off the street and and the Packers coaching 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:53.080 staff in the hotel before his first game, you know, 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:56.240 a road game, they're setting up chairs in the conference room, 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.480 you know, as like the XS and os and teaching 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:00.600 him certain alignments and stuff just so they can get 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:02.360 him a few snaps in the next game because they're 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:05.280 gonna need him. That's what that that's the combination of 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:07.360 you bring the player in and the other guys coach 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.600 him up and get him ready to go and uh, 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:11.320 and they made it work a lot of times. Yeah, 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.480 And it's just that that was such a big thing 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.600 in that run because they had so many guys get injured. 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:17.880 And what do we talk about yesterday, Mike, That really 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:19.800 trying to close the gap between your young players and 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.760 your veterans when injuries occur. That two thousand ten team, 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:27.120 they put together a four level class on what it 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:30.120 takes to make that happen with with Walden coming in, 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:32.920 with Howard Green, even with all those injuries they had 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:36.400 to navigate that season and Charlie Pepper stepping up the 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:39.000 way he did. I mean, they just they got contributions 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:41.880 from everywhere. Pepper was a waiver claim in two thousand 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:44.600 and six, if I'm not mistaken, Ted Thompson claimed him 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:46.599 off off waivers from the Giants, and then you know, 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:50.280 Trumont Williams has a tremendous postseason former practice squad player. 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:52.800 They just the contributions were from everywhere. And I thought 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:56.000 a really interesting thing was Mike McCarthy. The last question 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.959 he was really asked in his news conference on Thursday 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.160 was about you know what his memories are going to 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.200 be A Ted Thompson and and he said, you know 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:07.200 them standing on that stage all awkward with him Mark 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:10.600 Murphy Thompson trying to pass around the Lombardi Trophy, kind 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:14.480 of enjoying and reveling in that moment. Such a unique 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:17.480 man and obviously still gonna be around the organization. But 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:20.560 it's those type of memories and the first time you 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:22.960 touch Lombardi Trophy and it's a little heavier than you expect. 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:25.720 It's those type of memories that I think, ultimately for 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:27.959 everybody involved, are going to be the things that when 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:29.719 you look back at your coaching career, when you look 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:31.840 back at your GM career, the job you did in 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:33.679 Green Bay are gonna be the first thing that come 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:36.079 to mind. Yeah. Absolutely. With that, let's go to a 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:38.520 break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. 0:13:56.280 --> 0:13:59.240 Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this chair, 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:03.520 Wes Hodko in that one West. It's wild Card weekend 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:07.040 in the NFL coming up here. Um, let's uh start 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:09.240 with the two a f C games. You have, one 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:11.400 on Saturday and one on Sunday. I believe the game 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:15.920 on Saturday is Tennessee at Kansas City. I think around 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:18.400 the middle of December, when Tennessee was starting to slide, 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:20.680 it didn't look like they were going to make the playoffs, 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:23.880 but they did beat a pretty good Jacksonville team, another 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.000 playoff team that we'll talk about in a minute. To 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:28.760 get into the playoffs. The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:31.480 this game. Looked like the world beaters in the first 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:33.480 month and a half of the season. Alex Smith was 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.840 League MVP in mid October. Then they you know, hit 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.280 the skids a little bit, but Andy Reid got that 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.240 team playing pretty well again down the stretch, and uh, 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:45.400 you know, Kansas City. I would imagine there's a lot 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.880 of confidence in Kansas City playing at Arrowhead in the 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:49.920 playoffs that they can win this one. Hats off to 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.480 Andy Reid because that thing could have just gotten completely 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:55.960 out of control in Kansas City when you start that 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.560 hot and go through such a difficult mid season stretch. 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:00.680 I mean, Mike McCarthy says it all the time, every season, 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:03.880 you're gonna be faced with adversity. Did that stretch cost 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.160 them a chance at a first round by absolutely, I 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:07.840 mean it gave him you know, took away that home 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:10.440 field advantage type of thing that I think was out 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:12.440 there for them when the Patriots were kind of struggling 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.760 a little bit early on, but they were able to 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.200 get the horses corralled. This is an interesting matchup. It's 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.200 funny you talked a little bit about college football. You 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:21.480 remember a few years ago. I think it was what 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:24.040 Northern Illinois is probably going back like five six years 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:26.680 they got into like an FBS game. Yeah, that a 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:29.280 great year. This is what the a f C Playoffs 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:30.560 kind of feel like to me, where you got a 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:32.240 bunch of these teams that sort of came out of 0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:34.440 nowhere and you're not sure what to make of them. 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:36.680 I don't know what to make out of the Tennessee Titans. 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:39.080 I do know what to I know what's at stake here. 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:41.960 I know what Kansas City, what they look like when 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.280 they played to the best of their abilities, and I'm 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:47.000 sure they're obviously gonna be prepared for this. But Tennessee 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.240 is just such an outlier right now, just trying to 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:51.160 see exactly what they're gonna be able to do, especially 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.520 without de Marco Murray in this game with a knee injury. 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:56.600 It's gonna be very interesting to watch. Yeah, big moment 0:15:56.640 --> 0:16:00.240 for Marcus Mario, absolutely his first getting his first playoff games, 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:03.320 something that, even if things don't necessarily go well against 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:05.720 the Chiefs, could set the table here for the for 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:08.040 the Tennessee Titans, because they do believe they have their 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:12.560 franchise quarterback. Fast forward here to Sunday. The Buffalo Bills 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:16.760 in the playoffs for the first time. Since we're watching that, 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:18.960 one of the TVs here in the office the other 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:22.400 day was replaying the Music City Miracle when the Buffalo 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.680 Bills their last playoff appearance in nine they lost on 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:29.280 the lateral kickoff return Frank why check to Kevin Dyson 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:33.160 in Nashville, Tennessee won that game. Buffalo goes on the 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:36.840 road here to Jacksonville, a team with um a very 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:41.840 impressive defense, but questions at quarterback as far as the consistency. 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.720 Blake Bordles in the playoffs for the first time. Obviously, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.440 just about everybody for the Buffalo Bills except maybe Micah 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:50.280 Hyde in the playoffs for the first time. How do 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.440 you see this one? You know, this is an interesting one, Mike. 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:54.000 I'm trying to bring up the stats right now for 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.880 how Buffalo ranks against the run this season. Uh, if 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:00.920 I'm if, honestly, if I'm the Jaguars, if Leonard for 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:03.920 Nette's ankles, okay, I think this is a game where 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.520 he has to touch the ball thirty times. I really do. 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.840 Because you looked at how banged up the Jacksonville Jaguars 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:13.359 are with their perimeter weapons. In the fact that Blake 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.679 Bortles has had as difficult of a time as he 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:18.959 has had trying to protect the football this year, I 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:21.479 think that that is their their their avenue to a victory. 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.159 The Bills are interesting. It sounds like Shady McCoy is 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.520 gonna be okay for this game. He doesn't think the 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:28.080 ankle is gonna be as big of an issue as 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:29.920 they thought it was going to be earlier this week. 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:33.440 But at the same time, they also have some questions 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:36.639 at quarterback as well. Um. I think Tyrod Taylor is 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:39.520 a more veteran. He obviously has had success there in 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:41.560 the past. He does protect the football, but he's not 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:45.600 incredibly dynamic. So seeing how this game plays out, and 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.000 the fact that one of these teams that have gone 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.880 through some really difficult times here in the last ten 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:52.879 years is actually going to be making into the divisional 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:54.920 round of the playoffs. Is the reason why I will 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:56.760 be sitting down and watching this game on Sunday. This 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:58.720 is my must watch game this week. All right, should 0:17:58.760 --> 0:17:59.960 be a good one. I want to get to the 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:03.200 NFC games. But before that, West picture this, You and 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.120 a friend are sitting v I P and plush leather 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:07.479 recliners watching the Packers on the fifty yard line at 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:09.920 lambeau Field. Nice picture, isn't it. Well. If you enter 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.040 Cousin Subs Best Seats in the House promotion, you and 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:13.639 a guest could win a chance to kick back on 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:15.720 the fifty yard line in style. Two pairs of lucky 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.360 Packers fans will be chosen prior to each home game 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:21.240 for this v I P experience. For complete rules and eligibility, 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:24.119 go to Packers dot com, slash Best Seats, Cousin Subs, 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:26.960 We believe in Better back with more and Packers Unscripted 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:47.400 right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:49.720 alongside West, Hoggwitz and West. We've got to get to 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:53.480 these NFC games before we go here. Both NFC games 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:58.200 getting the prime TV slots Saturday Night and late Sunday afternoon. First, 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:01.160 you've got the Atlanta Falcons get in as the sixth seed. 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:03.960 They have a shot to defend their NFC title from 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:06.680 a year ago. They play at the Los Angeles Rams 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:10.200 and then on Sunday on NFC South rematch third meeting 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.399 this year between the Carolina Panthers in New Orleans Saints. 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:16.520 The first two one by the Saints pretty convincingly actually 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:18.359 in both games, but now they have to try to 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:20.919 beat Carolina for a third time. Yeah, And and really, 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:23.280 to me, Mike, the biggest storyline, I mean, there's a 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:25.679 lot of things to look at in these postseason runs. 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:28.240 New Orleans, the way they're able to renovate themselves and 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:30.880 make themselves a contender again. To me, it comes back 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.119 to Julius Peppers. He is now sixteen years into his 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.399 NFL career, had another phenomenal season, I think, end up 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:39.800