Speaker 1: Yeah, hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my trusted colleague
Speaker 1: West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field and West. It's almost here Sunday night
Speaker 1: football Packers Chief's Arrowhead Stadium in prime time in week
Speaker 1: eight and our final show of the week that means
Speaker 1: keys to victory. So where do you want to start
Speaker 1: with this one? What do the Green Bay Packers need
Speaker 1: to do to come back seven and one? Well, so
Speaker 1: much has been made this week of the quarterback situation,
Speaker 1: whether it'll be Patrick Mahomes or what it'll be Matt Moore.
Speaker 1: At the end of the day, the weapons are the
Speaker 1: weapons and the Chief's offense though, and you have to
Speaker 1: account for them. So whether it's Sammy Watkins, Tyreek hill,
Speaker 1: Um Hardman, the rook you know, Travis Kelsey again having
Speaker 1: a phenomenal season, or even the Shawn McCoy now really
Speaker 1: stepping his game up as you know, taking the reins
Speaker 1: as kind of their lad running back. There's so many
Speaker 1: different people that you have to stop. So even if
Speaker 1: it is Matt Moore in this game, the thing that
Speaker 1: I like about what Kansas City offers offensively is there's
Speaker 1: a lot of things that they can do to make
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks life easier, and you need to be able
Speaker 1: to eliminate those weapons. So, you know, my biggest key
Speaker 1: for this thing is one being able to stop McCoy,
Speaker 1: not allowing Damian Williams to get going. He's you know,
Speaker 1: he's had a rough goal of it here the first
Speaker 1: six seven weeks of the season. You gotta, you know,
Speaker 1: keep him stymied. But if you're allowed, if you're able
Speaker 1: to actually stop McCoy and make this thing one dimensional
Speaker 1: and allow your safeties in in in cornerbacks to play
Speaker 1: to their strengths, that's gonna go a long way. Because,
Speaker 1: as I'm sure something we'll be talking about the fact
Speaker 1: that Darnell Savage was uh practicing in pads on Thursday.
Speaker 1: It wasn't just that it was a walk through on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: allowed him to be out there. He was good to
Speaker 1: go and clear to be in that padded practice Thursday.
Speaker 1: So that signals that he's probably looking towards a return
Speaker 1: here to have them back and Adrian Amos and you know,
Speaker 1: being able to defend the middle of the field there
Speaker 1: is going to be critical, especially when you have weapons
Speaker 1: like Hill and Kelsey that really the Kansas City is
Speaker 1: really looking to take advantage of. Yeah, we've been talking
Speaker 1: about those weapons for Kansas City, and a lot of
Speaker 1: it is built on speed. Obviously, Travis Kelsey not a
Speaker 1: speed burner, but for a tight end is about as
Speaker 1: fast and athletic as it gets. And then you have
Speaker 1: your Tyreek Hills and you're Sammy Watkins. I think on
Speaker 1: the defensive side of this ball, what I point to
Speaker 1: for this game is to tackle, because I think the
Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs they're gonna look to make explosive plays
Speaker 1: by making guys miss and generating big gains off of
Speaker 1: yards after the catch and things like that. And I
Speaker 1: think the Packers need to be on their p's and
Speaker 1: queues with the tackling because Andy Reid is going to
Speaker 1: be able to scheme things up to get the ball
Speaker 1: to the guys that he wants to have the ball
Speaker 1: in their hands. But if you limit those catches to
Speaker 1: where the ball is caught and not let those turn
Speaker 1: into the explosive gains that are hurt the Packers a
Speaker 1: lot over the last few weeks. I think the Packers
Speaker 1: defense can can stay in here and hold their own
Speaker 1: regardless of whether it's Matt Moore or Patrick Mahomes. And
Speaker 1: the most the more I looked at the last month
Speaker 1: here and some of these games that they played tight,
Speaker 1: the games have been tighter because they didn't allow the
Speaker 1: Chiefs to extend those plays. So, whether it's Mahomes just
Speaker 1: in the pocket or whether it's a guy like Hill
Speaker 1: with the ball now that he's back from the shoulder injury,
Speaker 1: you know, being able to work through those type of
Speaker 1: things is going to be you know critical that you know,
Speaker 1: if it isn't the first guy tackling that you're at
Speaker 1: least getting a helmet there and allowing the rest of
Speaker 1: the group to come and charge. And you know, it
Speaker 1: doesn't always have to be twenty five solo tackles. It's
Speaker 1: you know, group tackles. You know count the same in
Speaker 1: the grand scheme of things, But you cannot allow them
Speaker 1: to break to the second level. That was one of
Speaker 1: the issues they have with Josh Jacobs last week is
Speaker 1: that he just when he got to that second level,
Speaker 1: he's so hard to take down a lot of those
Speaker 1: guys between those you know, the chains there, that's where
Speaker 1: they'll receive the ball. That's where they start to do
Speaker 1: their damage because of how they can get the yards
Speaker 1: after catch. So that I agree with you whole hardly.
Speaker 1: That's going to be one of the big critical points
Speaker 1: of emphasis for this game for Green Bay because the
Speaker 1: thing about Matt Moore is I'm not trying to say
Speaker 1: that he's a He's not a prototype of homes by
Speaker 1: any means, but he's played in this league for a
Speaker 1: long time, with over a thousand passes thrown, you know,
Speaker 1: and in the number of you know, starts that he
Speaker 1: had both in Carolina and Miami, the moment is not
Speaker 1: going to be too big for him. So I mean,
Speaker 1: if you allow him to get if let's say it
Speaker 1: is more, and you allow him to feel good and
Speaker 1: confident back in a swing of things early on, that
Speaker 1: can really be a recipe for disaster. And you mentioned
Speaker 1: earlier that the Packers looks like they're gonna get Darnell
Speaker 1: Savage back at safety in the back end. Here, the
Speaker 1: rookie first round pick out of Maryland, and he's fast,
Speaker 1: and the best answer for speed on the offensive side
Speaker 1: is to have your own speed on the defensive side.
Speaker 1: And j R. Alexander. We're expecting him probably to get
Speaker 1: his share of Tyreek Hill. But Darnell Savage is one
Speaker 1: of these guys that if he's if he's playing in
Speaker 1: the deep middle, playing center field, he's gonna have to
Speaker 1: chase the ball down. He's gonna have to chase down
Speaker 1: these uh, these speedy weapons for the Chiefs, and as
Speaker 1: I said before, just prevent those big plays. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: this is a much better matchup for Green Bay than
Speaker 1: it would have been a couple of years ago. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think that they are conditioned to match speed for speed. Now,
Speaker 1: there were some years where it was like that that
Speaker 1: could be a really big problem. But I think you've
Speaker 1: seen even with some of these explosives they've had in
Speaker 1: recent weeks that they've allowed. You've seen JayR Alexander, you
Speaker 1: know running down uh, you know receivers. You've seen Will
Speaker 1: Redmond being able to come back and make a play.
Speaker 1: They have the athleticism and talent to to stay stride
Speaker 1: for stride for them. The big key for this game
Speaker 1: is going to be being back and getting on your technique,
Speaker 1: being able to know where your leverage is in playing
Speaker 1: within the scheme so you don't allow those big, gashing plays.
Speaker 1: But afterwards, I mean, certainly they have the speed and
Speaker 1: the side to side, sideline to sideline speed to be
Speaker 1: able to account for a lot of the things that
Speaker 1: Kansas City's gonna throw at them. Yeah. Well, on the
Speaker 1: offensive side of the ball for the Packers, I know
Speaker 1: we're coming off of this game with Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 1: the maximum passer rating one point three, But to me,
Speaker 1: this matchup and the venue Arrowhead Stadium, and everything that
Speaker 1: goes into that, this game to me just screams run
Speaker 1: the ball, protect the ball. And we talked earlier in
Speaker 1: the week about Kansas City's run defense. They're allowing about
Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty yards a game on the ground,
Speaker 1: about five point zero yards per carry, both of those
Speaker 1: figures in the bottom quarter of the league. As far
Speaker 1: as run defense, I think with the Packers and there
Speaker 1: one to punch with Jones and Williams, they've got to
Speaker 1: get that going. They need to establish that and take
Speaker 1: advantage of that weakness in Kansas City defense. And then really,
Speaker 1: anytime you're on the road, especially but in an environment
Speaker 1: like this prime time Sunday night football Arrowhead Stadium. A
Speaker 1: team that went to the A f C Championship Game
Speaker 1: last year. Uh, there's no faster way to to lose
Speaker 1: momentum than to turn the ball over. And the Packers
Speaker 1: have done a good job obviously protecting the football for
Speaker 1: the most part this year. That really needs to continue
Speaker 1: in this game. I say that also because whether it's
Speaker 1: Matt Moore or a limited or compromised Patrick Mahomes, in
Speaker 1: some way, I think the Packers have a significant edge
Speaker 1: at quarterback in this game with Aaron Rodgers. And to me,
Speaker 1: anytime you have a significant edge at quarterback, if you
Speaker 1: protect the football and don't lose that turnover battle, you
Speaker 1: have a really really good chance to win. And it's
Speaker 1: funny too much because you can go back and you
Speaker 1: want to look at all the different defenses and and
Speaker 1: strategies and players at the Packers have had over Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers career as a starting quarterback now twelve years into
Speaker 1: this thing, is that it's taking the football away. When
Speaker 1: the Packers take the football away. With the way that
Speaker 1: Rogers takes care of it, it's been a recipe for victories.
Speaker 1: It's been on what has allowed the Packers to, you know,
Speaker 1: be one of the league's most consistently winning franchises, you know,
Speaker 1: during Aaron Rodgers tenure as a as a you know,
Speaker 1: quarterback here in the NFL. This matchup is interesting to
Speaker 1: me on a number of different levels because Mahomes sort
Speaker 1: of everyone always says Mahomes reminds it reminds everyone of
Speaker 1: Rogers a lot, and it does. But he also has
Speaker 1: some of those you know, Brett Farve qualities too. He's
Speaker 1: not afraid to be a gun slinger. He's really smart
Speaker 1: with what he does. Um, but you know he is
Speaker 1: going to be prone to a couple more mistakes. And
Speaker 1: I would say Rodgers is a lot of times the
Speaker 1: thing that's gonna be really interesting about this matchup. Okay,
Speaker 1: let's just say Mahomes ends up playing in this. Again.
Speaker 1: I've stated in my opinion on this, there's a lot
Speaker 1: for this young man to play for, and there's a
Speaker 1: lot that Kansas City is playing for in the season.
Speaker 1: I would think it wouldn't be the smartest of measures.
Speaker 1: But let's say that's the route they take. I I
Speaker 1: very easily could see this being a shootout. I very
Speaker 1: easily could see this be a game where the Packers
Speaker 1: defense still plays really well. Um, just because of how
Speaker 1: this game is set up and how things are are
Speaker 1: looking offensively, though, I think where the Packers truly get
Speaker 1: the edge is their run game. I think with Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones and Jamal Williams and the performance that they're coming
Speaker 1: off of for the last few weeks when it's had
Speaker 1: to be both of them, when it's had to be
Speaker 1: one of them, the way that they've stepped up and
Speaker 1: risen to the occasion has been sort of that difference maker.
Speaker 1: And when I think, getting back to my main point here,
Speaker 1: the best years Aaron Rodgers head is when that running
Speaker 1: game is at its best. And I think that's what
Speaker 1: when you talk about all the different factors and things
Speaker 1: that went right for the Packers and things that went wrong.
Speaker 1: But realistically, when I think of six and one, I
Speaker 1: think of how the offense has found an equalirium, has
Speaker 1: found a balance, and it's a credit to Aaron Jones
Speaker 1: and Jamal Williams, and I think those two guys don't
Speaker 1: let up. Yeah. When I say, and I just want
Speaker 1: to be clear when I say I think the Packers
Speaker 1: are going to have a significant quarterback advantage in this game.
Speaker 1: That's if Patrick Mahomes plays. I don't think we're going
Speaker 1: to see the m v P Patrick Mahomes. We're not
Speaker 1: going to see the guy who can scramble all the
Speaker 1: way out to the right boundary and throw the ball
Speaker 1: back to the left. Hash. We're not going to see
Speaker 1: the guy who can roll to his left and then
Speaker 1: open up and throw back across his body at some
Speaker 1: weird arm angle on the move and hit somebody like
Speaker 1: Tyreek Hill and stride cutting back across the other way.
Speaker 1: I just if Mahomes plays, I just think it's going
Speaker 1: to be a compromise Mahomes, It's not going to be
Speaker 1: the m v P Mahomes. And that's where I you know,
Speaker 1: run the ball and protect the ball. I think that's
Speaker 1: what wins this game. Yeah, and that's why. And again
Speaker 1: we're going to find out probably ninety minutes before this
Speaker 1: game begins on Sunday night. But I just don't see why,
Speaker 1: other than suf refuge and all those you know, different
Speaker 1: kind of sleight of hands that Kansas City could be
Speaker 1: trying to use, I don't see why you do it.
Speaker 1: I don't see why you go that direction, especially considering
Speaker 1: Matt Moore actually looked pretty good last week. I felt,
Speaker 1: I mean, he's not Patrick Mahomes, but he also didn't
Speaker 1: look out of place there. He looked like he could
Speaker 1: have effectively run this offense. And considering he wasn't on
Speaker 1: this roster two months ago today, I think that actually,
Speaker 1: you know, speaks pretty well of him and what he's
Speaker 1: brought to the table. Yeah. Well, a couple other things
Speaker 1: to touch on here with regards to we've been speaking
Speaker 1: all week about the venue and Arrowhead Stadium and everything
Speaker 1: like that. A couple of things to keep in mind. One,
Speaker 1: the Chiefs are five and two, but you know what
Speaker 1: they're two losses are both at Arrowhead Stadium, which you
Speaker 1: would think when looking at things on paper, But it's true.
Speaker 1: They lost back to back home games too. I believe
Speaker 1: it was the Colts and the Texans, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 1: So kind of strange in the sense that the team
Speaker 1: that was the number one seed in the a f
Speaker 1: C and had the home field in the playoffs and
Speaker 1: everything throughout last year has already lost to home games
Speaker 1: this year. On the other side of that, for the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers, you look at the last quarter century
Speaker 1: of Packers history and if you were to rank the
Speaker 1: you know, top five or six regular seasons, the Packers
Speaker 1: have had in that time. One of them, would two
Speaker 1: of them, I should say, would definitely be two thousand eleven,
Speaker 1: And and those both happened to be years that the
Speaker 1: Packers lost at Arrowhead Stadium, even though it was one
Speaker 1: of the better seasons in recent history for this franchise.
Speaker 1: So a couple of things with regards to this location
Speaker 1: and the recent history and the history in the past
Speaker 1: and everything going on that that make this a little
Speaker 1: more interesting. Was the quarterback in ninety was that Alviskerback?
Speaker 1: It wasn't Joe Montana was already done. No, Montana was
Speaker 1: gone by then. It might have been Gerback. I have
Speaker 1: to look it up for sure, but you're probably right
Speaker 1: on that. But it is funny. I mean, as a kid,
Speaker 1: I remember that game a little bit, and I remember,
Speaker 1: you know, because obviously you see Arrowhead and you just
Speaker 1: have the bright red colors and and and certainly that
Speaker 1: was a you know, demoralizing day for a little west
Speaker 1: Hot quits. But um no, I mean, and you go
Speaker 1: back to two thousand eleven, I can actually tell you
Speaker 1: where I was. I wasn't watching the game in two
Speaker 1: thousand eleven. I was at a local fabric shop with
Speaker 1: my wife. She was trying to put together this project
Speaker 1: for school, and I remember following it on my phone
Speaker 1: for fantasy football reasons and just to see how the
Speaker 1: game was going. You certainly were there, and like it
Speaker 1: was just one of those things where those type of games,
Speaker 1: you get that feeling in the first half, like Okay,
Speaker 1: it's a slow start, and then you get into the
Speaker 1: third quarter, it's like, Okay, this isn't a slow start anymore.
Speaker 1: In the fourth quarter, it's so, this is getting kind
Speaker 1: of dangerous. And I think one of the things, and
Speaker 1: a lot was made out of that, the two shell,
Speaker 1: some of the adjustments that Romeo Cornell made that you know,
Speaker 1: some defenses down the line end up exploiting for a minute.
Speaker 1: And Cornell was at the time, right because because Todd
Speaker 1: was it Todd Haley had already been fired. Yeah, the
Speaker 1: Chiefs were going through a transition there, and UH and
Speaker 1: the Packers obviously we're thirteen and oh and and the
Speaker 1: winning street came to a winning streak that was actually
Speaker 1: nineteen games going back to UH to the finish to
Speaker 1: two thousand ten that ended with the championship. The Packers
Speaker 1: had won nineteen games in a row. And that streak
Speaker 1: ended at Arrowhead. Yeah. And the thing that stands out
Speaker 1: to me, other than the fact that the adjust was
Speaker 1: that Kernell made in you know, very game Kansas City team,
Speaker 1: was when even when we were down season like that,
Speaker 1: how much that crowd ended up ultimately getting behind them
Speaker 1: because of what it meant and the run of the
Speaker 1: Packers had been on at that point. Mike I was
Speaker 1: in the locker room for every home game running quotes,
Speaker 1: and I just remember every single week and Clay Matthews,
Speaker 1: to his credit, often said, you know, the next one
Speaker 1: is only as good as the last one, so we
Speaker 1: gotta keep winning for this to matter. But there was
Speaker 1: a public sentiment nationally that Okay, this is a team
Speaker 1: that's just going to run through everybody, and then Kansas
Speaker 1: City very humbly reminded them that now and any given
Speaker 1: day the NFL in that day, that venue, that day.
Speaker 1: That was my lasting takeaway. It was just how rocking
Speaker 1: it was by what was sort of a cataclysmic upset. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: in the big picture here and now for the Green
Speaker 1: Bay Packers, they need to win to get to seven
Speaker 1: and one and stay alone in first place in the
Speaker 1: NFC North because on Thursday Night football, the Minnesota Vikings
Speaker 1: took care of business. Not the prettiest game in the world,
Speaker 1: but a win is a win as a win. As
Speaker 1: they say, nineteen to nine, the Vikings are six and
Speaker 1: two at the halfway point. So the Packers if they
Speaker 1: want to remain by themselves the top the NFC North,
Speaker 1: they need to get to seven and one. Your thoughts
Speaker 1: on the Thursday night game. Unfortunate for the Redskins and
Speaker 1: for Packers fans who were rooting for Washington to to
Speaker 1: pull the upset. When Case Keena went out of the
Speaker 1: game and Dwayne Haskins went in, the rookie out of
Speaker 1: Ohio State, it just for whatever Washington had going on offense,
Speaker 1: it all kind of disappeared. And for his valiant and effort,
Speaker 1: I guess I would say as Washington's defense put up
Speaker 1: against a Minnesota offense that was lighting people up the
Speaker 1: last few weeks, Washington's defense kept him in the game,
Speaker 1: but their offense just couldn't do enough. Yeah, and it's
Speaker 1: unfortunate too, because I don't know if you remember, the
Speaker 1: player that jumps off to my mind right at the
Speaker 1: top of my head is Steve Smith here and I'll
Speaker 1: tell you what I'm trying to get at um. Right
Speaker 1: at the beginning of his career, I remember correctly. I
Speaker 1: think Carolina was actually working through some stuff. They were
Speaker 1: trying to find their quarterback, and you know, you kind
Speaker 1: of get those players every once in a while, those
Speaker 1: skill position players were It's like, Okay, this guy is
Speaker 1: pretty good. If you could just get him to somebody
Speaker 1: to throw on the ball, man. I really get that
Speaker 1: feeling with Washington's Terry mcclaughlin McLaren. Gosh, that kid is
Speaker 1: explosive and yeah, he's really come on the scene, hasn't he. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and if he could just get him somebody to consistently
Speaker 1: deliver him a football, I think that guy is gonna
Speaker 1: be really special for Washington. You know, part of me too,
Speaker 1: after watching that game the highlights back. I also think
Speaker 1: too that a guy like Adrian Peterson, he used to
Speaker 1: always talk about how he wanted to play to forty
Speaker 1: and then I highly doubted that for a while, especially
Speaker 1: when he was like the third string running back in
Speaker 1: New Orleans. But the way he's running now, yeah, he
Speaker 1: doesn't have the explosive speed anymore, but he still has
Speaker 1: the power to move piles. So the point I'm trying
Speaker 1: to make your is Washington has some players, they just
Speaker 1: don't have a quarterback, and then case Keenum maybe could
Speaker 1: have potentially been able to keep them in the game
Speaker 1: to to win a close one, he ends up leaving
Speaker 1: with the concussion. Well, Keenum was Keenum was moving the
Speaker 1: ball for this offense early on managing they kept getting
Speaker 1: into gold and ghost situations and they couldn't get the
Speaker 1: ball in the end zone and they were settling for
Speaker 1: field goals, and so you're thinking, Okay, if they can
Speaker 1: keep moving the ball and then eventually cash in, they'll
Speaker 1: stay right there and maybe have a chance to pull
Speaker 1: the upset. And then the second half Keenum's out of
Speaker 1: the game. They say he's in the concussion protocol, and
Speaker 1: U really, Washington just didn't have a chance, even though
Speaker 1: Minnesota's offense, while efficient when you look at all the numbers,
Speaker 1: was not the explosive, piling up the touchdowns unit that
Speaker 1: it had been the last few weeks. Yeah, there's a
Speaker 1: part of me too that wonders if Washington kind of
Speaker 1: did this to themselves, because I mean, they were talking
Speaker 1: all week long about, Okay, Keenyan is going to be
Speaker 1: the starter. We're gonna have Haskins as the number two
Speaker 1: because he's the future, And a part of me is
Speaker 1: kind of like, I just, I mean, if Colt McCoy
Speaker 1: is in that situation, you wonder. Certainly he's coming back
Speaker 1: from a significant injury, and I know things didn't go
Speaker 1: great for him for the first game back when he
Speaker 1: had to play. But yeah, I just Haskins looks like
Speaker 1: he's out of place right now. But you know, we
Speaker 1: got to talk about Minnesota for a little bit to
Speaker 1: be at a position now that there's six and two
Speaker 1: and working through some of the stuff that they've worked through,
Speaker 1: our game winning streak after a two and to start,
Speaker 1: a lot of people questioning what was going on in Minnesota,
Speaker 1: including some people in their own locker room ing there
Speaker 1: questioning what was going on there at two and two
Speaker 1: after the loss in Chicago when their offense just did
Speaker 1: not look like it had anything going for it. And
Speaker 1: but a different story now in Minneapolis a month later. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's why I ended up saying the insider in box
Speaker 1: yesterday and one of my posts that we make so
Speaker 1: much out of, you know, Mike Simmers defense, but Mike
Speaker 1: Simmer the head coach is pretty darn good too, and
Speaker 1: for him to be able to rally the troops at
Speaker 1: a time in which it seemed like this because all
Speaker 1: fallen apart. And I know I myself personally, I was wondering, oh, man,
Speaker 1: if this doesn't go the way they needed to, what
Speaker 1: does this mean for Zimmer? And here they are now
Speaker 1: sitting six and two and still in the thick of
Speaker 1: this thing. And you know, looking at how their schedule lines,
Speaker 1: there's some tough matchups on there, but there is an
Speaker 1: element of controlling their own destiny too, with that slate
Speaker 1: of NFC North games to close out the season. Well,
Speaker 1: and I think Zimmer has learned some lessons over the
Speaker 1: years two in terms of that leadership and in terms
Speaker 1: of directing the ship, so to speak, because I remember
Speaker 1: a few years ago the Vikings were five and oh,
Speaker 1: they went to Philadelphia. Their offensive line kind of fell apart.
Speaker 1: Sam Bradford got sacked a whole bunch of times. It
Speaker 1: was their first loss of the year. They were five
Speaker 1: and one, and Zimmer went to the podium after the
Speaker 1: game and completely ripped his offensive line. You know, there
Speaker 1: was a leadership question there, because the Viking season did
Speaker 1: fall apart, they ended up eight and eight, and you wonder,
Speaker 1: you know, I just I I agree with you. I
Speaker 1: think I think Zimmer is a really good head coach
Speaker 1: and what he's doing with this team now. But this
Speaker 1: is also a little bit different Mike Zimmer head coach
Speaker 1: than from a few years ago when when I think
Speaker 1: he made some mistakes. I agree with you on that.
Speaker 1: I also would say I don't think the words mattered
Speaker 1: ultimately with that offense. That offensive line was bad. I mean,
Speaker 1: that was no bad offensive line, but you're right, but
Speaker 1: they were. But they were five. They were five and oh,
Speaker 1: they were five and oh, and they had lost one game,
Speaker 1: and those guys were sitting there saying, our head coach
Speaker 1: just completely threw us under the bus and we're five
Speaker 1: and one, Like what do you want? Zimmer was way
Speaker 1: too emotional. But it was funny because I remember watching
Speaker 1: them earlier in that season when they were five and oh,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, oh, man, there's five and note despite
Speaker 1: that offensive line, and then things started going the wrong
Speaker 1: direction from they were older. They need to make some adjustments,
Speaker 1: but a credit to Rick Spielman, they did. I still
Speaker 1: think there's some room to grow for that offensive front there,
Speaker 1: but they're they're playing the way Mike Zimmer wants to play,
Speaker 1: which is to have a running game that is very reliable.
Speaker 1: They've got two runs. I mean, Dalvin Cook is spectacular,
Speaker 1: and then Madison, the rookie as their number two, is
Speaker 1: pretty darn solid as well. And the other thing I
Speaker 1: want to just point out too before we wrap this
Speaker 1: thing up is that when they did sign are Cousins,
Speaker 1: there was also like there was this understanding that we
Speaker 1: have to protect this guy. So, I mean, with the
Speaker 1: shifts that they've made in the investments they've made in
Speaker 1: the line, and the young group that I think is
Speaker 1: growing together, and then you know, regardless of how the
Speaker 1: passing game has gone for them, they've been able to
Speaker 1: run the football consistently each week. That's a credit to
Speaker 1: the line, that's obviously a credit to Dalvin Cook, and
Speaker 1: it's a credit to the fact that Minnesota, even though
Speaker 1: they had to work through some stuff even the season,
Speaker 1: is still very much in this divisional race. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: we shall see what else happens in the NFC North.
Speaker 1: Here the Lions are playing the Giants, the Bears trying
Speaker 1: to write the ship as well. They are playing the Chargers,
Speaker 1: which is who are Green Bay's opponent the following week.
Speaker 1: So a lot to keep an eye on here, But yeah,
Speaker 1: you kind of start to feel like the Lions and
Speaker 1: the Bears they need to get things turned around here
Speaker 1: if they want to stay in this with the with
Speaker 1: the Packers and the Vikings, because you know, the worst
Speaker 1: case scenario for the Packers is six and two. The
Speaker 1: Vikings are already six and two at the midway point,
Speaker 1: and these other these other teams can't fall too much further.
Speaker 1: But the lines have to win this against the Giants.
Speaker 1: They just have to. There's no way fans or butts
Speaker 1: around it. I mean, you look at where the Giants
Speaker 1: are right now. They certainly look like they found a quarterback,
Speaker 1: the quarterback they can build around, but that team has
Speaker 1: a lot of holes, most of them on defense. Detroit,
Speaker 1: if they are the team that they think they are,
Speaker 1: that they can put up the signs saying that they
Speaker 1: got you know, messed out of that that win against
Speaker 1: Green Bay. You need to ultimately beat these teams because
Speaker 1: you didn't get the job done last week, and now
Speaker 1: you've got a Giants team that can be explosive staring
Speaker 1: at you in the face and then with the Bears,
Speaker 1: I think that's just such an interesting game, as we
Speaker 1: talked about earlier this week, because Chicago I think still
Speaker 1: has potential to be better than a team. As you
Speaker 1: even said, I mean, the Chargers are not a two
Speaker 1: and five teams and somebody's gonna walk out of Soldier
Speaker 1: Field feeling pretty bad about themselves. So yeah, that's that's
Speaker 1: a critical game in this thing. And um, yeah, there's
Speaker 1: a lot of gut check games this week. Philadelphia having
Speaker 1: to go to Buffalo, you know, that's a good it's
Speaker 1: it's it's a win that Buffalo I think needs to
Speaker 1: have to prove that they are six and one team.
Speaker 1: But there's Philadelphia not wanting to follow two games below five.
Speaker 1: So yeah, there's throughout the league this week a lot
Speaker 1: of intriguing matchups with some pretty big implications going into
Speaker 1: the midpoint of the season. Yeah, and with that we'll
Speaker 1: call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscript.
Speaker 1: Would be sure to follow all of our coverage of
Speaker 1: the team and of everything going on Sunday night at
Speaker 1: Arrowhead Stadium on Packers dot com. You can subscribe to
Speaker 1: us like us on iTunes and other podcast services on Twitter,
Speaker 1: he's at West hot I met Mike Spofford at Packers
Speaker 1: for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We'll
Speaker 1: see you next time.