WEBVTT - #740 Packers Unscripted: Visit from the Vikings 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:10.399 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:13.680 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.600 by my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you, 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:19.599 Hear from our studios at Lambeufield here to talk about 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:23.840 Packers Vikings. It will be a noon Central Time kickoff 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:27.760 on Sunday at Lambeufield. The Packers back at home. Work 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:30.680 wise for us, we're back in the noontime slot, which 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.720 just makes life a little bit easier and allows us 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:37.200 to get some more sleep. But all of that aside, West, 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.240 Let's talk about this Minnesota Vikings team in twenty twenty 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:45.519 three because there's a lot of personnel overhaul in the 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:49.000 off season, a very slow start where they were zero 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.279 and three out of the gate, but they've now won 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:56.080 three of their last four games to get to three 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.640 and four, and it's been an interesting progression because the 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:02.800 two wins of the season were against the Panthers and 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.520 against the Bears, and everybody was like, Okay, yeah, the 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.400 Vikings started zero to three, you know, lost a couple 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:10.720 of tough games, but they should probably beat the Panthers 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:13.600 and they should probably beat the Bears, so nobody, you know, 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:18.560 they weren't, you know, creating any ripples in the NFL landscape. Well, lo, 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:21.560 and behold Monday night, the San Francisco forty nine ers 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.520 come into US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, and the Vikings 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:28.640 knocked them off. And not some kind of like a 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:31.240 fluke or a lucky bounce or anything. That was a 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:35.560 very strong performance by the Vikings on both sides of 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:38.959 the ball from start to finish in that game. And 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:41.560 the Vikings are starting to feel pretty good about themselves, 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:44.240 and for good reason. That was an impressive victory. And 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:46.240 now they're going to be looking to build on that 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.000 as they come into lambeau Field on Sunday. 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:50.560 Well, like I said to you a couple of weeks ago, 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.640 I mean, the Vikings had to figure out offensively, what 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.280 was the next step without justin Jefferson here. They certainly 0:01:57.320 --> 0:01:59.560 did that. You could see how much stuff they drew 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:01.600 up for TJ. Hockinson, who now is dealing with the 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.160 foot injury. We'll have to see what's going to be 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.600 his situation this week. But in terms of the explosive plays, 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:11.000 Jordan Addison became that outlet for Kirk Cousins and they 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:12.919 made some great plays when they had to make them 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:15.520 in that game against San Francisco. I think what has 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:17.919 probably impressed me most about the Vikings so far though, 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:19.960 because you know what you're getting in Kirk Cousins. We'll 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.120 talk about in your second but he's a consistent, steady 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.440 force for them. But defensively there's been a huge uptick. 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.760 As much as the offense has had to rally without Jefferson, 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:32.960 what the defense has done without Marcus Davenport. The season 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.280 that Daniel Hunter is off to back to back weeks 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:38.720 where they win the NFC Defensive Player of the Week 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:42.320 award with Jordan Hicks after the Chicago game and then 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:45.280 Cameron buying them last this past week against the forty 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:48.480 nine ers. Guys are making plays and when you make plays, Mike, 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:49.400 you win in this league. 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:52.400 Yeah. I want to touch on one thing with regard 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:56.240 to the offense, because you said it. Jordan Addison had 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:59.880 his true breakout game on the national stage Monday nights. 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:02.960 Evan catches one hundred and twenty three yards two touchdowns, 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:05.640 including that sixty yarder at the end of the first 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:08.960 half that where he stole the deep ball from Jimmy Ward. 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:12.040 It looked like an interception and then turned into a 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:17.760 sixty yard TD. Interestingly, though, the Vikings offense looked like 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:23.200 a really tough slog in its first game without Jefferson 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:26.000 because that game at Soldier Field in Chicago, they were searching, 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:29.160 they were trying to find something, and they probably don't 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:31.840 win that game in Chicago if not for Jordan hicks 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:35.640 defensive touchdown on the scoop and score, which is what 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:39.360 got him helped to get him the NFC Defensive Player 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:41.720 of the Week. But then from one week to the next, 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:44.120 when they're trying to figure out, Okay, what's this offense 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:47.080 going to look like without Justin Jefferson, then suddenly on 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:50.920 the Monday night, Jordan Addison goes off and has a 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:55.640 has a tremendous game for them Defensively. I wrote about this, 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.760 there's a story. I know. We've had issues with content 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.240 and when things have gotten there's a lot of stuff 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:02.480 on our website folks. 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.480 People thought I got let go on Instagram. 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.240 Yeah, a lot of stuff on our website folks that 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:10.880 has gone up in the last I would say, you know, 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:14.840 fifteen to sixteen hours because of a shutdown that was 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:19.320 beyond our Control on Wednesday, so some content is piled 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:22.240 up and there are some things worth checking out. One 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:25.159 of those is a story I wrote about the Vikings 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:29.880 defense and Brian Flores, the new defensive coordinator there. He 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:34.359 is playing an aggressive brand of defense. The Vikings have 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:38.320 a blitz rate, according to Pro Football Reference, of fifty 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:42.520 six percent, and a blitz being defined as sending more 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:46.120 than four pass rushers on a given pass play. The 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.400 number two team in the league in that category is 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:50.440 at forty two percent, so for them to be at 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:53.880 fifty six percent, it tells you how outside the norm 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:59.279 they are. A couple of interesting things about that, though. 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:04.159 It seems that the biggest beneficiary as far as the 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:07.480 pass rush goes with all of the blitzing has been 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:11.039 Daniel Hunter. I think the blitzing has created a lot 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:13.520 of one on ones for Daniel Hunter, and he's very 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:16.279 difficult to block one on one. The Vikings have nineteen 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:19.920 sacks this year, nine of them from Daniel Hunter. He 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.159 is the guy who is getting to the quarterback. And 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.920 I think it's Brian Flores, his style of defense that 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:26.640 is creating those opportunities for you. 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.080 Yeah, and Hunter has to be pleased about this. Too, 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.520 because the way they're utilizing him, I mean he's lining 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:33.760 up over the center at times, you know, he's working 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:37.120 off the edges. I mean his I think more than 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:39.599 any and Mike Zimmer is a great defensive mind. But 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:42.279 the way they've sort of opened the box here on 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:43.880 Hunter and Mike, I'll be honest with you, I had 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.080 a lot of questions because when you hear you know, 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:49.640 five ten years ago, you hear next surgeries and things 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:52.279 of that nature, you really wonder, hey, what does that 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:55.359 mean for a player's long term prognosis and viability in 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:58.080 this league? And Daniel Hunter has come back and been 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:01.400 a force for them this year. They made some significant 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.960 changes with that defense. A Darius Smith goes down to 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:07.400 the Cleveland Browns, they kind of said, hey, we're going 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.440 to bring in Marcus Davenport, but a lot of this 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:11.360 is going to be on Hunter to be our lead guy. 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:13.920 And he's done that. But you know, one of the 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:16.080 big reasons too. And I haven't been able to really 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:17.960 do anything with this yet this week, but it's just 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:21.680 from watching the Vikings this year. I think, as much 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:23.960 as they blitz and as much pressure as they bring, 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.080 how can you oftentimes get away with that. It's because 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.599 you're getting really good safety play. You have a guy 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:31.840 like Harrison Smith there who's been doing this now for 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:34.479 eleven years at a really high level. You look at 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:36.360 his stats this year at Loan Mike, you don't even 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:41.560 have to watch the film, force fumble, sacks, takeaways. The 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:43.800 guy just gets the job done. And then you have 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:45.960 a young guy like buying him now too that's making plays. 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:49.479 A fourth rowne pick from twenty twenty one, that was 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:51.719 a big hiccup here at the last stage of the 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:53.800 Mike zimomer eras they just I think they just they 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:56.600 lost a lot of their depth defensively. I think you've 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:58.839 slowly seen them build that back while still having some 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.119 of those staples that we've known for so long. Yeah. 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:04.200 Absolutely, I think the I think what the Vikings, what 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:08.440 the Vikings have hit on with with cam bynam As 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:11.440 that partner at safety with Harrison Smith is really something 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:15.120 not you know, buying them actually, as you mentioned, gets 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:17.640 the NFC Defensive Player of the Week. He has the 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:22.080 interceptions too in the fourth quarter on San Francisco's two 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:25.320 possessions as they were trying to rally to to steal 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:27.400 that game back. Away from the Vikings. We saw it 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:30.360 a few years ago. The Vikings got a really good 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:34.280 season from Andrews Anddejo next to Harrison Smith, but then 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:37.760 he got a nice free agent contract elsewhere and off 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.239 he went. And then the Vikings were looking for another 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:43.200 partner for Harrison Smith again. So they seem to have 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:44.200 coming back. 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:46.840 I think at that he ended up coming back, if. 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:48.760 I remember that, right, Yeah, you may you may be right. 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:52.480 But now they seem to have they seem to have 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:56.119 found one with buying them. You know, we we talked 0:07:56.160 --> 0:08:00.480 so much over the years about uh, you know Eric 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:05.200 Kendricks and Anthony barr as those two you know linebacker 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:08.440 mainstays for Minnesota. Well, now Jordan Hicks is the guy 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:12.160 who's who's getting a lot of attention and playing pretty well. 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:15.680 And it's all being combined with this, with this new 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:20.120 this new approach, the new style that that Brian Flores 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:25.760 has employed. Interestingly, though, when you look at when you 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:28.440 look at this the statistics overall, for as much as 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:33.040 the Vikings blitz, you know, nineteen sacks is a decent number. 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:36.120 As I said, nine of them by daneil Hunter, nineteen 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.160 sacks is tied for tenth in the league. But opposing 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:42.280 quarterbacks are still completing seventy four percent of their passes 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.199 against the Vikings, and the overall passer rating for opposing 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:49.600 quarterbacks against Minnesota is around one hundred and two. So 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.120 it's not as though defensively the Vikings are just are 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:56.760 are dictating everything and dominating or whatever. Like, you know, 0:08:56.760 --> 0:09:00.000 their blitzes have been beaten, they've taken they've taken some chances. 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:04.240 They paid the price in certain respects, but Brian Flores 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.480 is sticking with this style. This is this is who 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.480 the Vikings are. This is who they're going to be, 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:12.600 and they're going to you know, ride or die with it, 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:16.880 so to speak. It presents a really, really interesting challenge 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:20.360 for the Packers, not only because Jordan Love is a 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:23.040 first year starter at quarterback he hasn't really faced a 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:26.800 defense like this before, but the Packers up front with 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:31.600 their offensive line, the pass protection, I thought was maybe 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.560 the biggest strength of the offense through the first three 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:37.280 weeks of the season, even when things were you know, 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:39.800 went south for a while in the New Orleans game 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:41.600 in Week three, and then the Packers came back and 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:44.680 won those first three games. The Packers pass protection was 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:48.400 quite good. The next three games, the pass protection hasn't 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.440 been so good. And now here come the Vikings with 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:52.800 this blitz happy package. 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.560 Yeah, and that's really going to be. Where can the 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:58.640 Packers try to take advantage of that. It's the screen game, 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:01.160 it's some of the short games of the quick game stuff. 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:03.959 Getting to a rhythm, something that Jordan Love talked about, 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.439 you know, making sure that you find when the opportunities 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:08.920 are there and you're in a good spot, getting the 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:12.040 most yards out of those plays, explosive plays. It was 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:14.320 a big, you know, buzzword too in the locker room 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.680 on Wednesday. Guys just looking to make bigger things happen. 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:22.840 The thing that's interesting about the Vikings is that pretty 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:25.320 much they're they're fifteen across the board, like I mean, 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:29.439 they're just they're right there. Sacks, total yards, passing, everything's 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.959 just kind of right there, takeaways, all that right in 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:34.559 the middle. The Packers have to find a way to 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.560 get them on their heels the way in which they 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.120 were on their heels earlier this season. Maybe that doesn't happen. 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:42.080 Maybe enough young guys have stepped up. Maybe you have 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:43.600 a guy like Hicks in the middle of that defense, 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.600 who's kind of had a revitalization of his career. People 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:48.880 kind of forget like Arizona kind of shipped him out 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.679 at the end of that run there, and he resurfaces 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:53.560 with the Vikings has played really good ball for them 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:55.520 because the fix has been around for what probably eight 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:58.679 nine years already in the NFL. But at the end 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:01.760 of the day, Green needs to be able to maximize 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:04.800 the chances that they're presented with that blitz game, whether 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:07.400 that's getting the run game established or the screen game. 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:11.160 Just Jordan Lovefield like himself again. But Mike, you are 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.720 right the Packers offensive line, that was seen as one 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:15.319 of the big strengths of this unit going into the 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:17.920 year when you had David Baktiari and Elton Jenkins standing there. 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:22.199 You don't have that combination anymore. How is the adjustments 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:23.880 going to be made throughout the course of the season 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:26.160 to make sure that they talk about time and time 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:29.199 again the efforts there, but the execution is so pivotable, 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.280 not only to love but also with that run game. 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:33.600 Yeah. Absolutely, I want to get a little bit more 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:36.760 into Keys to Victory here in a minute, West, But 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:39.560 first I'll take care of some sponsor business. 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They can help turn 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:21.199 the tide. You know. They jump start the offense, they 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:23.520 get things going, they put the defense on its heels. 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:28.920 This strikes me from and just watching watching San Francisco 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:33.320 have so many fits and starts offensively against this Vikings defense. 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:37.160 I don't know if you can just drop back and 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:39.840 try to push the ball down the field against this 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.640 Vikings defense. With the way Bidam is playing at safety, 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:44.800 you're gonna have Harrison Smith back there with the way 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:48.839 they blitz doesn't always allow for a lot of downfield 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:54.520 routes to develop. But the Vikings, because of their pressure scheme, 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:58.360 they put themselves in some vulnerable positions where if you 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:02.040 can break one tackle that might create an explosive game, 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:04.520 that might turn a six yard play into a twenty 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:07.800 six yard play because they're compromise based on how they 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:11.400 come after the quarterback. The San Francisco forty nine Ers 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:13.440 got back into that game on Monday night with a 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:18.240 quick little slip pass to Christian McCaffrey. They had two 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:21.240 guys that got blocked, one guy missed the tackle, and boom, 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:23.720 McCaffrey was gone for a thirty five yard touchdown, and 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:27.079 suddenly that game changed and the forty nine ers were 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.000 potentially on the verge of pulling off a comeback there. 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:32.640 I think the explosive plays, if the Packers are going 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:36.400 to get them, they're going to come from getting players 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.760 the ball in space and trying to make somebody miss, 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:43.679 not so much forcing the ball downfield against the defense 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:46.040 that I don't know if necessarily is going to allow 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:47.000 that very easily. 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:48.600 Well, and then that's where it kind of ties into 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:50.079 what my biggest key is going to be and I'm 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:52.479 sure it's gonna be something we'll be talking about, hopefully 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:54.600 maybe not after Sunday if it works out the way 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:57.440 it does is taking the ball away and not being 0:13:57.440 --> 0:13:59.559 the team that blinks first. Because you go back, you 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:03.040 think about that game against Denver. Packers played really clean 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:08.160 offensively until the final series. Denver Broncos never turned over 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:10.880 the football in that game. So while it is just 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:13.240 one interception late when they are trying to push the 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.959 ball down field, how much does that one turnover change 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.280 the course of a football game. Now, maybe they get 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.080 the ten yard pickup and then maybe they end up 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.200 not having any completion whatever. But if you're not going 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:26.440 to get the takeaways, you need to protect the football. 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.280 And for the Green Bay Packers, they need to get 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:33.120 more movement on those two sides of things. And I 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:35.760 think defensively for the Packers having as strong of a 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:37.920 showing as they did against Chicago. Now, mind you, Bears 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:40.880 are going through some big transition points in that Week 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:43.760 one game, but that was their only fumble recovery of 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:46.680 the season. In that game, two of the interceptions if 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.040 my memory serves correctly, and they only are sitting on 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:52.720 five takeaways at this point. Now going into week eight, they. 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.480 Have the only takeaways since week one are the two 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:58.920 Rudy Ford interceptions against the Lions and against the Raidings. 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:03.040 Actually the interception Quay had the interception and unfortunately Quay 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:05.440 dropped the one against the Falcons. 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:08.240 Yeah, and job miss went against the Falcons as well. 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:10.040 And then yeah, they've kind of not the opportunities haven't 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:12.760 been there. Yeah, So I mean you have to be 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.560 able to create yourselves opportunities. And for Agreement to start 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:17.920 the way they did, I would have never thought, you know, 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:19.680 sitting here in week eight now they'd be tied for 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:21.560 the bottom of the league right now in terms of 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:24.680 you know, where they're at and generating turnovers. 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.520 Yeah, and that's always that's always a tough one because obviously, 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.200 as the old saying goes, and Larry mccaerron said it 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.240 on our Three Things video that we shot on Wednesday, 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:37.480 that you know, turnovers can come in bunches, and that's 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:39.720 what happened for this defense last year. I mean that 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:41.480 four game winning streak at the end of the year 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:44.920 that that got the Packers back in the wild card hunt. 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:49.680 That was very much fueled by turnovers defensively opponent, the 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:51.880 Packers were taking the ball away, doing it on a 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:56.240 regular basis, and it it really provided the you know, 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:00.160 the rocket boost to what became a four game winning streak. 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:03.400 You always have to be careful though, right because because 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.080 if you're if you're trying to force the issue too 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.440 much with regard to turnovers, that's when tackles get missed. 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.280 That's when you know, a short pass con rupt you 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:15.480 into into a big gain, that kind of thing. So 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:18.200 there's there's always there's always a fine line there, but 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.960 it really is about the entire the entire defense, because 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:26.360 turnovers are forced by pressuring the quarterback, by making him uncomfortable, 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:28.560 you know, all those things. So a lot of times 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:32.000 interceptions are as much the result of the pass rush 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.560 leading to a bad throw as the guy in the 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.120 back end, you know, making a great a great play 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.520 on his own. So it all goes hand in hand 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.440 and uh and teamwork wise, the Packers have to find 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:45.080 a way to start getting some takeaways because they have 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:45.960 been hard to come by. 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:48.880 The best example of this entire season is the Raiders game. 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.880 I mean, the Las Vegas Raiders did not chase anything 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:55.320 in that game, it was deflected passes turning interceptions. It 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.720 was a timely pick at the end of the game. 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.600 I mean that that's where these things come from. I'll 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.080 be honest with you, I'm actually still kind of shocked 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.880 the Packers haven't had a strip sack yet other than 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:09.160 Kenny's at the start of the season. Like that part 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:11.040 of it has really been surprising to me, just with 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:13.240 the way that Shaun Garry has rushed the passer and 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:14.840 the amount of force that he's been going into guys. 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:16.439 That's a credit to the quarterbacks to be able to 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:19.520 hold onto that thing. But yeah, it's right there for them, 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:21.840 and they have to make these things happen, especially against 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.359 Kirk Cousins. I mean, you and I have talked about 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:25.840 this all week long, Mike. He has one hundred and 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:28.080 five career passer rating against Green Bay. He's five and 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:32.520 five all time against them. You like that, one and five, 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:34.520 five and one. Sorry to get that correct. 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:35.960 There was the one tie in there. 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:39.360 But go back to what was the most probably dominant 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:42.160 performance green Bay had against him. It was last December. Yeah, 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:44.600 and it was their biggest win of that season while 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.000 the Vikings were basically getting ready for a playoff run. 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:49.639 Yeah, that was. That was by far Kirk Cousins worst 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:53.160 game as a as a quarterback against the Packers. He had, 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:57.160 you know, through three interceptions. The Vikings offense never really 0:17:57.160 --> 0:17:59.359 got going until the game was well out of hand. 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.240 Even his his statistics in that game were somewhat misleading 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:06.840 because until the Vikings you know got you know, got 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:11.239 some some points late that didn't really matter. It was. 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:14.080 It was a really really awful day for Minnesota's offense. 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:16.639 I mean, can can the Packers somehow do that to 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:19.959 the Vikings offense again? We'll see. I mean Justin Jefferson's 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:23.159 not out there. Jordan Addison is going to be a 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:25.360 big part of this thing, and TJ. Hockinson is going 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:27.040 to be a big part of this thing too. Either. 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:30.680 There's some major challenges for green Bay even though Justin 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:32.240 Jefferson is on ir. 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:34.440 Yep, No, it's going to be a real challenge. And 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:36.560 that's why green Bay, like we said last week, going 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:39.800 into Denver, you cannot take any of these games for 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.159 granted at this point because Michael, it does not get 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:45.320 any easier than the stretch. You're getting three or four 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:47.560 at home, you're playing all these things at noon games, 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:49.720 and then on the other side of it, you're looking 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:51.879 at Detroit and Kansas City, so you have to be 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:52.960 able to get some wins here. 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.719 Yeah, when you look at things from the Vikings perspective too, 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:57.880 they're like, you know, as we mentioned at the top 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.400 of the show, they started out zero to three at 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:03.119 this as, okay, we can come into lambeau Field. If 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:05.680 we can beat the Packers, get to four and four, 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:08.439 then it's almost like they're starting over. They get a 0:19:08.440 --> 0:19:11.800 clean slate, they get back to five hundred. That's what 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:14.520 the Packers were hoping for with Denver. If the Packers 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:16.800 could have gotten the win in Denver, you're three and three, 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:19.159 you know, and kind of you throw everything out the 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:21.040 window and try to move forward, and then but you 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:24.159 don't get that victory, and now you're still you're still chasing, 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:27.000 you're still building. So the Packers are trying to do that. 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:29.760 The Packers are trying to prevent the Vikings from, you know, 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:33.760 from getting to that restart point at five hundred. Two teams, 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:36.560 you know, very for you know, what still counts as 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:40.359 an early season game. Two teams that are that are 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:42.880 still very much trying to find exactly what direction they're 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:43.320 going to go. 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:47.080 Here and what a victory does in the National Football League. 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:48.480 I mean, this is kind of a topic that I 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:51.160 know Aaron Rodgers touched on with Pat McAfee this week. 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:54.240 One win changes everything. I mean, you look at the 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:57.040