1
00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,280
Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from

2
00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:13,840
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always

3
00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,279
Speaker 1: by my trusted colleague West and Hodkowitz. We're coming to

4
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,599
Speaker 1: you Hear from our studios at lambeau Field to talk

5
00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,759
Speaker 1: about Packers playoff Football West. It's the NFC Divisional Round.

6
00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:27,640
Speaker 1: The Packers are headed West to face the number one

7
00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,400
Speaker 1: seed in the NFC, the San Francisco forty nine Ers.

8
00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,560
Speaker 1: It will be a seven to fifteen pm Central Time

9
00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,560
Speaker 1: kickoff from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. Short week here

10
00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,720
Speaker 1: for the Packers. It's already Thursday, which is actually Friday,

11
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:45,000
Speaker 1: and the plane leaves Friday, which is actually Saturday in

12
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,520
Speaker 1: the football world. But however, you want to shake it out.

13
00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,600
Speaker 1: This game is coming up soon. It's almost here already.

14
00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:52,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, and for me it feels like Monday right now.

15
00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,320
Speaker 2: Trying to get your bearings with all this. Ay, listen,

16
00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,520
Speaker 2: I mean, it's been one of these weeks where you

17
00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,240
Speaker 2: can celebrate quickly, but you have to flip the page.

18
00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,200
Speaker 2: And I think listening to the guys on Wednesday discussed this.

19
00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,160
Speaker 2: I mean, there is this US against the world mentality.

20
00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,480
Speaker 2: I think guys are excited about this opportunity. And I

21
00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,920
Speaker 2: mean it goes without saying Mike, but when you won

22
00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,600
Speaker 2: four games in a row and you went into Dallas

23
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,000
Speaker 2: and toppled the Cowboys the way you did, I not

24
00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,200
Speaker 2: to there's never going to be an issue with overconfidence

25
00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,280
Speaker 2: with this team. But I just think there's a swagger

26
00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,480
Speaker 2: that they needed to get back, and it's been reinstilled

27
00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,280
Speaker 2: in that locker room and something they're hoping can really

28
00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,240
Speaker 2: catapult them towards another massive upset here against the forty

29
00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:37,960
Speaker 2: nine ers. Yeah.

30
00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,679
Speaker 1: The way that I've felt about this team, and I

31
00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,160
Speaker 1: felt the same way last week going into the Dallas game,

32
00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,759
Speaker 1: is they are perfectly aware of what they're up against.

33
00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,120
Speaker 1: That these opponents, the Dallas Cowboys last week, the forty

34
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,560
Speaker 1: nine Ers this week, these opponents are better than the

35
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,360
Speaker 1: ones that they played towards the tail end of the

36
00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:57,840
Speaker 1: regular season. I talked last week the Dallas Cowboys would

37
00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,520
Speaker 1: be the best team the Packers were going to play

38
00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,120
Speaker 1: since the and the City Chiefs came to lambeau Field

39
00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,480
Speaker 1: on Sunday Night football. These guys are perfectly aware of

40
00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,320
Speaker 1: what they're up against, but they are fully confident in

41
00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,120
Speaker 1: if they play their own game, if they do what

42
00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,160
Speaker 1: they know they're capable of doing, there's no reason to

43
00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,359
Speaker 1: be intimidated or to actually feel like underdogs. That they're

44
00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,240
Speaker 1: letting other people talk about the whole underdog underdog thing's

45
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,040
Speaker 1: and that's fine. That's not how they feel about their

46
00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:26,520
Speaker 1: own team.

47
00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,720
Speaker 2: No, I think listening to guys discuss this too, they

48
00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,320
Speaker 2: respect everybody, but they realize that they are one of

49
00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,840
Speaker 2: eight left in this thing, and they have they are

50
00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:38,760
Speaker 2: one of the eight with the chance to win the

51
00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:44,480
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four Lombardi Trophy. Yeah, so San Francisco is

52
00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,920
Speaker 2: in the complete opposite situation a Green Bay. They practically

53
00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,280
Speaker 2: were able to rest their starters the last six quarters

54
00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,079
Speaker 2: of the season. They had the bye last week, and

55
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,680
Speaker 2: it's come up a couple times in my coverage and

56
00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,680
Speaker 2: with other writers mentioning, you know, this is the complete

57
00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,880
Speaker 2: inverse of what happened two years ago with San Francisco

58
00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,919
Speaker 2: coming in here as a six seed after beating Dallas

59
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,520
Speaker 2: and trying to knock off the number one seed at

60
00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,480
Speaker 2: Green Bay Packers. They have nothing to lose, they have

61
00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,480
Speaker 2: everything to gain. And if you want to mention the

62
00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,400
Speaker 2: trying to exercise some of these postseason dmons with the

63
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,400
Speaker 2: forty nine ers. I'm sure that'll be something people want

64
00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,680
Speaker 2: to talk about too, But by and large, it's riding

65
00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,560
Speaker 2: this Jordan Love train and this wave of momentum and

66
00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,960
Speaker 2: hoping that maybe, just maybe with another victory, you can

67
00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,200
Speaker 2: step one step closer to achieving something special.

68
00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. Well, you look at this forty nine

69
00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:41,840
Speaker 1: ers season. They were twelve and five. As you said,

70
00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,720
Speaker 1: they had the bye, so we just have all of

71
00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,680
Speaker 1: the regular season to review here. They lost three straight

72
00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,880
Speaker 1: games in October when they lost both Deebo Samuel and

73
00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:56,800
Speaker 1: Trent Williams to injury, their star receiver, slasher running back

74
00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:58,840
Speaker 1: whatever you want to call Debo, and then obviously the

75
00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,200
Speaker 1: all pro left tackle in Williams. Three straight losses. But

76
00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,360
Speaker 1: when they got healthy, they got rolling again. Since then,

77
00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,839
Speaker 1: they've only lost two games. One was when they took

78
00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,640
Speaker 1: it on the chin from Baltimore, a really hot Baltimore

79
00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,960
Speaker 1: Ravens team that went into Santa Clara. Believe that was

80
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,440
Speaker 1: on Christmas Night if I'm not mistaken, and really took

81
00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 1: it to the forty nine Ers, and you know, quite

82
00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,960
Speaker 1: frankly gave brock Purty his worst the worst game of

83
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,560
Speaker 1: his of his young career at quarterback. And then they

84
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,000
Speaker 1: also lost in Week eighteen when they were resting everybody

85
00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,320
Speaker 1: because they had the number one seed wrapped up. But

86
00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,240
Speaker 1: these guys wes. They've outscored their opponents by almost two

87
00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,640
Speaker 1: hundred total points over the course of the year four

88
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,839
Speaker 1: ninety one to two ninety eight. Brock Purty has a

89
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,480
Speaker 1: one thirteen passer rating, thirty one touchdowns, eleven interceptions, sixty

90
00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:52,400
Speaker 1: nine percent completion ratio. And I think you had brought

91
00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,720
Speaker 1: up a statistic in one of our written pieces from

92
00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,720
Speaker 1: earlier in the week. His passer rating is like one

93
00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,320
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty over the second half of the season,

94
00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,080
Speaker 1: and that actually includes the four interception game in Baltimore,

95
00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,640
Speaker 1: So that one Baltimore game being the outlier where the

96
00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,800
Speaker 1: where the Ravens were just all over them from the jump,

97
00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:14,960
Speaker 1: brock Purty's been playing some really, really good football.

98
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:16,840
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, if brock Purdy was a number one

99
00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:18,839
Speaker 2: overall draft pick a couple of years ago, people would

100
00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,480
Speaker 2: be talking about how wow, I mean, the forty nine

101
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,040
Speaker 2: ers really knocked this one out of the park. I've

102
00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:29,000
Speaker 2: said this many times. I don't understand why there's so

103
00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:33,000
Speaker 2: much hate with the guy. I think when certain anomalies

104
00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:37,880
Speaker 2: form and come out of nowhere to sort of captivate

105
00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,240
Speaker 2: a fan base, and galvanis a football team, people just

106
00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:43,760
Speaker 2: try to find ways to knock it. They did that

107
00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,200
Speaker 2: for years with Lamar Jackson too, even though he was

108
00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,279
Speaker 2: the first round pick thirty second overall. People just didn't

109
00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,360
Speaker 2: quite understand why it was working and needed to find

110
00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,320
Speaker 2: a reason to belittle it. Yeah, brock Purty has kind

111
00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,000
Speaker 2: of been in that spot, and honestly, Michael, if it

112
00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,640
Speaker 2: wasn't for that one game against Baltimore, probably in the

113
00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,839
Speaker 2: conversation with Jackson for the MVP this year, Yep.

114
00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,160
Speaker 1: Totally, I think that I think that game, quite frankly

115
00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,920
Speaker 1: on Christmas Night, might have decided the regular season MVP

116
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:09,640
Speaker 1: in the NFL.

117
00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he's he's been mostly lights out and for

118
00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,560
Speaker 2: him to be able to navigate this offense with all

119
00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,640
Speaker 2: these litany of name players in playmakers when you have

120
00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,440
Speaker 2: George Kittle has probably one of the quietest thousand yard

121
00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:24,560
Speaker 2: seasons you've ever heard of from a tight end. Yeah,

122
00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,279
Speaker 2: Deebo Samuel missed some time but still finished with over

123
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,880
Speaker 2: eight hundred total or eight hundred receiving yards and many

124
00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,880
Speaker 2: more total yards. Christian McCaffrey two thousand total yards. Brandon Ayuk,

125
00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:35,479
Speaker 2: who we've known for years, is going to be a

126
00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,440
Speaker 2: really special receiver in this league. He gets over thirteen

127
00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:40,800
Speaker 2: hundred reception thirteen hundred receiving yards for the first time

128
00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,880
Speaker 2: his career, but also as averaging almost eighteen yards per catch.

129
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,560
Speaker 2: This is an explosive, dangerous San Francisco offense, and ultimately

130
00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:50,520
Speaker 2: it starts in the hands of rock Perty. Yeah.

131
00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,080
Speaker 1: And when I look at you look at this San

132
00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,320
Speaker 1: Francisco team, and you know, statistically, you know the total

133
00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,480
Speaker 1: points and everything, they were awfully close to the Dallas

134
00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:04,200
Speaker 1: Cowboys in terms of the point total for the regular season.

135
00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,960
Speaker 1: What for me separates the San Francisco forty nine ers

136
00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,440
Speaker 1: from the Cowboys is we spent so much time last

137
00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,800
Speaker 1: week talking about Ceedee Lamb, and yes, there was Brandon Cooks,

138
00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,679
Speaker 1: and they're Jake Ferguson and Tony Pollard. But it felt

139
00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,160
Speaker 1: like for the Cowboys there was Ceede Lamb and then

140
00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,520
Speaker 1: there were a bunch of other guys. Right with the

141
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,280
Speaker 1: San Francisco forty nine ers. It's like there's all these

142
00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,559
Speaker 1: guys that are kind of up on the same level.

143
00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,280
Speaker 1: There's McCaffrey, as you said, over two thousand total yards

144
00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,360
Speaker 1: over twenty touchdowns this season. You have George Kittle, a

145
00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,120
Speaker 1: thousand yard tight end. You have Deebo Samuel over eleven

146
00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:40,840
Speaker 1: hundred total yards and twelve touchdowns despite missing some games

147
00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,000
Speaker 1: with injury. And then Brandon Iyuk is right up there

148
00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,040
Speaker 1: as well, thirteen hundred yards on just seventy five receptions,

149
00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:52,400
Speaker 1: as you noted, eighteen yards per catch, seven touchdowns. These

150
00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:59,560
Speaker 1: guys have a you know, stable of weapons that they're

151
00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,840
Speaker 1: really isn't a hierarchy amongst them, and I think that's

152
00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,040
Speaker 1: what that's what makes these guys so challenging to not

153
00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:08,760
Speaker 1: only prepare for, but then obviously to play against out

154
00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:09,320
Speaker 1: on the field.

155
00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,720
Speaker 2: Well in the way they've built them over the years.

156
00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,680
Speaker 2: And you know, they had a multitude of really successful

157
00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:18,320
Speaker 2: running backs. The Packers saw a good one and Raheem

158
00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,200
Speaker 2: Mostered a couple of years ago in the postseason. But

159
00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,000
Speaker 2: give credit to John Lynch, give credit to that coaching staff.

160
00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,360
Speaker 2: They realize that Christian McCaffrey, a player of his caliber,

161
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,520
Speaker 2: was sort of the missing piece for them. It's not

162
00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:34,520
Speaker 2: just him. We saw what the offense looked like when

163
00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:35,679
Speaker 2: Diebo was unavailable.

164
00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:36,120
Speaker 1: Yep.

165
00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,040
Speaker 2: There are different guys that function into this, but when

166
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,120
Speaker 2: all those playmakers are together and playing together as one,

167
00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,320
Speaker 2: there's a reason why they've they've been able to blow

168
00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,400
Speaker 2: out as many teams as they have. They've been able

169
00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,480
Speaker 2: to sustain this consistency throughout the course of the season.

170
00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,559
Speaker 2: But to give you that shining light, that that hope

171
00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:58,280
Speaker 2: is that there is a path forward it but it

172
00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:02,760
Speaker 2: is largely base. Then be an opportunistic and the few

173
00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,000
Speaker 2: opportunities you're going to get to get a takeaway, you

174
00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,600
Speaker 2: need to take advantage of them. Yep. When you are

175
00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,320
Speaker 2: able to stop Christian McCaffrey, like happened during that three

176
00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,319
Speaker 2: game skid when he didn't have over one hundred and

177
00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,920
Speaker 2: fifty yards in three games total, they were able to

178
00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,360
Speaker 2: teams were able to find ways for a victory. That's

179
00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:22,719
Speaker 2: what Green Bay has to do, and they have to

180
00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,200
Speaker 2: be prepared to do it for four quarters because forty

181
00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:27,800
Speaker 2: nine ers come out swinging and they do not stop.

182
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,880
Speaker 1: Well, we'll take a look at the defensive side of

183
00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:32,400
Speaker 1: the ball as well, and then we'll get to our

184
00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,320
Speaker 1: keys to victory. But defensively two numbers stand out above

185
00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,840
Speaker 1: all else. Forty eight sacks from this defense on the season,

186
00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,960
Speaker 1: as well as twenty two interceptions. These guys get after you.

187
00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,440
Speaker 1: Nick Bosa ten and a half sacks, Javon Hargrave seven sacks.

188
00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,800
Speaker 1: Eric Armstead, who it appears they are getting back from

189
00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,880
Speaker 1: injury the way it looks based on the practice reports

190
00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,959
Speaker 1: and whatnot, he had five sacks this season. They added

191
00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:03,080
Speaker 1: Chase Young yep, former number two overall draft pick by Washington.

192
00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,760
Speaker 1: They added him to that defensive front. He's had two

193
00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,160
Speaker 1: and a half sacks since he came to the forty

194
00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:10,680
Speaker 1: nine ers.

195
00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:11,199
Speaker 2: This is.

196
00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:16,160
Speaker 1: We've been talking in recent weeks, obviously about how much

197
00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,240
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones has meant to the Packers offense and getting

198
00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,480
Speaker 1: the running game going and what that means, not only

199
00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,800
Speaker 1: not only for the guys up front, the Packers' offensive

200
00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,600
Speaker 1: line and establishing the line of scrimmage and being able

201
00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:29,880
Speaker 1: to run the ball that's where an offensive line really

202
00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:34,760
Speaker 1: asserts its potential dominance, but in opening up the play

203
00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,480
Speaker 1: action and everything else that goes along with being able

204
00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,840
Speaker 1: to run the football. The San Francisco forty nine Ers

205
00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:42,839
Speaker 1: a much better run defense than the Dallas Cowboys. I

206
00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,240
Speaker 1: think everybody knew, based on how teams had beaten the

207
00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,120
Speaker 1: Cowboys during the season, that running the ball against them

208
00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,440
Speaker 1: was going to be paramount and was going to be

209
00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:54,520
Speaker 1: very doable. The forty nine Ers third in the league

210
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:59,160
Speaker 1: this season against the run. Defensively, this is the stat

211
00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,640
Speaker 1: that jump doubt at me, though, Wes And when you

212
00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:05,120
Speaker 1: talk about trying to find the paths forward the forty

213
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,200
Speaker 1: nine Ers, though they were third in the league against

214
00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,520
Speaker 1: the run, as far as rushing yards giving up, they

215
00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,920
Speaker 1: were fourteenth in the league and yards per carry. That's

216
00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,880
Speaker 1: an indication obviously that they were winning so many games

217
00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:20,320
Speaker 1: by such large scores that in the second half of

218
00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,000
Speaker 1: games teams were out of their running game. They had

219
00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:25,520
Speaker 1: to throw, they had to play catch up. The forty

220
00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:27,880
Speaker 1: nine Ers took teams out of their running game early,

221
00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,360
Speaker 1: just based on how things went on the scoreboard, and

222
00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,360
Speaker 1: so the total yards rushing that this defense gave up

223
00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:38,520
Speaker 1: was one of the lowest in the league. Fourteenth in

224
00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:43,560
Speaker 1: yards per carry means that if you can hang in there,

225
00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,240
Speaker 1: if you don't fall behind by too much, and you

226
00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:50,120
Speaker 1: stick to the run and keep after these guys, you

227
00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,920
Speaker 1: can keep yourself in favorable down in distance with the

228
00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,680
Speaker 1: running game, and I think that's something that could be

229
00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:58,959
Speaker 1: a real key for the Packers here on Saturday night.

230
00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, because when you are getting into these type of blowouts,

231
00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:04,839
Speaker 2: it's not just about oh, you can't run the ball.

232
00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:06,800
Speaker 2: It said teams can't get into what they want to do.

233
00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,520
Speaker 2: I mean, look at what happened against Dallas. Yeah, Dallas

234
00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:12,960
Speaker 2: put up some yards late and they got some points,

235
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,880
Speaker 2: but it was after they scrapped everything they were trying

236
00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,439
Speaker 2: to do offensively in the first half, at least through

237
00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,720
Speaker 2: the first quarter. Same situation with San Francisco and the

238
00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:23,400
Speaker 2: teams that they've had to face this season. And I

239
00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,800
Speaker 2: think that's why if I'm Adam Stenovich and Matt Lafloor

240
00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,839
Speaker 2: and those offensive coaching staff members reiterating to your guys

241
00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,360
Speaker 2: this week, this is why you run the football. This

242
00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,400
Speaker 2: is why you run the football. Against Dallas. When you

243
00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,080
Speaker 2: get twenty five yards on the first seven carries, you

244
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,320
Speaker 2: keep chipping away, you keep trying to work up that

245
00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,760
Speaker 2: hill because if you don't, that's where the pass rushers

246
00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,240
Speaker 2: get going. And I give Steve Wilkes a lot of credit.

247
00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:49,400
Speaker 2: They've had some injuries this year, but he's been very

248
00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,640
Speaker 2: multiple and how they've been able to generate pressures. Sixteen

249
00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,240
Speaker 2: different guys I believe had sacks for them this season.

250
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,600
Speaker 2: It's not like it was just oh, Nick Bosa had

251
00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,360
Speaker 2: twenty and then everybody else filled in. Now Nick the

252
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,160
Speaker 2: way there ten and a half thirty five quarterback hits.

253
00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:05,679
Speaker 2: But it's it's the sum of the hole from that

254
00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:09,760
Speaker 2: vantage point, and then it also does help Mike. It

255
00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,600
Speaker 2: doesn't matter if the year is twenty fourteen or twenty

256
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,800
Speaker 2: twenty four if you're talking about San Francisco football, if

257
00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,920
Speaker 2: you're talking about the forty nine ers, they have stellar

258
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,520
Speaker 2: inside linebacker play. It is a tail as old as time.

259
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,040
Speaker 2: And Fred Warner, in my estimation, they've had some good ones.

260
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:29,599
Speaker 2: I'd put him up there as the very best. His longevity,

261
00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,640
Speaker 2: his durability, and his ability to perform at a high level.

262
00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,280
Speaker 2: You know, Drake Greenlaw, these other guys that have come in.

263
00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,280
Speaker 2: It takes a team, it's all eleven. But Fred Warner

264
00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,040
Speaker 2: has been the quarterback of that defense for years now,

265
00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,320
Speaker 2: and I think is when you talk about, well, why

266
00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,040
Speaker 2: are they able to be so successful year in a

267
00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:48,200
Speaker 2: year out, I think it starts with him.

268
00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's It's funny when you look at it because back,

269
00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:54,600
Speaker 1: you know, whatever you want to call it, roughly a

270
00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,240
Speaker 1: decade ago, let's say it just for round numbers sake,

271
00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,080
Speaker 1: they had Patrick Willis and Navarro bow As, those two

272
00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:04,680
Speaker 1: linebackers just commanding the middle of the field on that defense.

273
00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,360
Speaker 1: And you watch that defense and you go, man like,

274
00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,439
Speaker 1: you know, how is anybody ever going to find another

275
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,400
Speaker 1: tandem like this? Well, the forty nine ers now have

276
00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:18,880
Speaker 1: Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw and and I think you're right.

277
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:22,960
Speaker 1: I mean, as much as I, you know, admired Patrick Willis,

278
00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,720
Speaker 1: and I think you know he's he's getting deserved Hall

279
00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:31,200
Speaker 1: of Fame consideration. Fred Warner might be better than Patrick Willis.

280
00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,920
Speaker 1: And you know, a decade ago, I wouldn't have said

281
00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,240
Speaker 1: that that the forty nine ers might ever find another

282
00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,880
Speaker 1: another middle linebacker inside linebacker as good as Willis.

283
00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,640
Speaker 2: So funny though the game changed, like when you talk

284
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,720
Speaker 2: about twenty tens, early twenty tens, Willis was the man

285
00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:49,960
Speaker 2: like he he is a bona fide Hall of Famer.

286
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,160
Speaker 1: Oh yeah yeah.

287
00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,520
Speaker 2: But it's like even as the inside linebacker position evolved

288
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:56,800
Speaker 2: in these defenses changed to the pass heavy nature of

289
00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,000
Speaker 2: the league. Then you have somebody like Warner who popped.

290
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:01,880
Speaker 2: And I remember the first couple of times Aaron Rodgers

291
00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:02,800
Speaker 2: was hip to this well.

292
00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:04,560
Speaker 1: Before I was just I was just going to bring

293
00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:08,040
Speaker 1: that up. Aaron Rodgers was talking about how good Fred

294
00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,360
Speaker 1: Warner was before Fred Warner ever got an All Pro

295
00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:16,080
Speaker 1: vote of any kind. Quite frankly, and as usually happens,

296
00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:21,360
Speaker 1: the outside recognition comes after, you know, a little while

297
00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:26,040
Speaker 1: after a guy actually establishes himself and buts as much

298
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,840
Speaker 1: as Fred Warner maybe wasn't a household name a handful

299
00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:30,800
Speaker 1: of years ago. The teams that were playing against the

300
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,920
Speaker 1: forty nine ers, they absolutely knew about Warner out.

301
00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,000
Speaker 2: How funny is it though, too? You know, Chris Borland

302
00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,760
Speaker 2: walked away from the game, but they found Chris Borland too,

303
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,080
Speaker 2: Like yeah, it's not like, yeah, we talk about oh,

304
00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,040
Speaker 2: the first round pick. Fred Warner was a third round pick.

305
00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:45,920
Speaker 2: I think Borlan might have been a fourth round I mean,

306
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,560
Speaker 2: when you you look at the Packers offensive side of

307
00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,800
Speaker 2: the ball right now with Dontavian Wicks, and when you

308
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,400
Speaker 2: find real talent in the middle rounds of the draft, Yeah,

309
00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,320
Speaker 2: that's how you fill out a football team. You don't

310
00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,600
Speaker 2: do it in March and free agency, Yeah, you do

311
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,320
Speaker 2: it in April and yeah, I mean, I can't say

312
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:06,440
Speaker 2: enough about him because it's been impressive. It is, so

313
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:08,040
Speaker 2: this all came up for me. Not to take this

314
00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,640
Speaker 2: off on a tangent, but you're not on social media,

315
00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,280
Speaker 2: but I got a lot of my social media stuff

316
00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,600
Speaker 2: that gets kicked back to me. One. By the way,

317
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:17,920
Speaker 2: today was I believe nine years to the day that

318
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,040
Speaker 2: we were in Seattle when the Packers played the Seahawks

319
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,320
Speaker 2: and the NFC championship game. Not to bring up bad memories,

320
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,000
Speaker 2: but a week ago it was eleven years of the

321
00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:31,080
Speaker 2: day that we were in Candlestick for the NFC Divisional

322
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:36,400
Speaker 2: playoff game against the forty nine ers. And you talk

323
00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,680
Speaker 2: about blue bloods. I know Colin Coward had this on

324
00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:41,200
Speaker 2: his show a couple days. This is what the NFL

325
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,520
Speaker 2: is about. The coaching staff's change. The players definitely change,

326
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,480
Speaker 2: but it's those mentalities that are kind of woven into

327
00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,840
Speaker 2: the fabric of organizations and that's why it's really exciting.

328
00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:53,960
Speaker 2: I can't wait for Saturday. I just wish it could

329
00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:54,600
Speaker 2: be here already.

330
00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,000
Speaker 1: Honesty, it's wild when you think about it. The Packers

331
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,520
Speaker 1: and Cowboys last week played their ninth postseason game against

332
00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,320
Speaker 1: one another for those two franchises, Packers forty nine ers.

333
00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,760
Speaker 1: This is now the tenth postseason game between these two teams.

334
00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:10,639
Speaker 1: I want to get to want to get to our

335
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,640
Speaker 1: keys to victory for Green Bay, but I don't want

336
00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,840
Speaker 1: to forget about our sponsor business. So serious XM NFL

337
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,960
Speaker 1: Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute

338
00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,040
Speaker 1: NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven,

339
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:24,840
Speaker 1: three sixty five. And at Cousin Subs, we have something

340
00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,840
Speaker 1: for everyone like our Wisconsin cheese curds, mac and cheese,

341
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,240
Speaker 1: golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite

342
00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,960
Speaker 1: sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs fifty years

343
00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,280
Speaker 1: of better. All right, I want to mention this before

344
00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,800
Speaker 1: we get into more specific keys to victory because this

345
00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:41,560
Speaker 1: is sort of like the obvious one. When you're the

346
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,800
Speaker 1: seventh seed going up against the one seed you're looking for.

347
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,080
Speaker 1: You know, you have to give yourself a chance at

348
00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:50,320
Speaker 1: the victory, right, you have to put yourself in position,

349
00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,600
Speaker 1: give yourself a chance at the end. And here's here's

350
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,159
Speaker 1: the interesting thing that I found. You know, as I

351
00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,560
Speaker 1: mentioned the forty nine. Ers have outscored their opponents this

352
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,679
Speaker 1: year by amost two hundred total points in their twelve victories.

353
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,159
Speaker 1: Only one of those victories was by one score. It

354
00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,040
Speaker 1: was a seven point victory early in the season. There

355
00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,200
Speaker 1: are other eleven wins have all been by multiple scores.

356
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,120
Speaker 1: And it just makes me wonder because last week, all

357
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,399
Speaker 1: the pressure was on the Dallas Cowboys and you know,

358
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,480
Speaker 1: the seas everything and all these slogans that they had,

359
00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,560
Speaker 1: and you know Jerry Jones saying he thought they had

360
00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,240
Speaker 1: a team that could win it all all that pressure

361
00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,920
Speaker 1: that lied in Dallas, and the Packers were the Packers

362
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,280
Speaker 1: were were the outsiders coming in. There's a lot of

363
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,880
Speaker 1: pressure on San Francisco here. They've been a really good

364
00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,399
Speaker 1: team for a long time, whether you're talking about the

365
00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,800
Speaker 1: Harbaugh years or now the the Shanahan years as a

366
00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,960
Speaker 1: head coach, but they still have yet to win that championship.

367
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,119
Speaker 1: For as good as they've been, for as long as

368
00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:51,320
Speaker 1: they've been, there's a lot of pressure on that other side.

369
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:55,320
Speaker 1: And this team only won one game this year that

370
00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:57,879
Speaker 1: was decided by one score. If you can keep this

371
00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,239
Speaker 1: thing close, how much pressure is going to ratchet up

372
00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,399
Speaker 1: on those guys in the fourth quarter if it's a

373
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,760
Speaker 1: tight game. That's where I think that That's where I

374
00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:11,320
Speaker 1: think just maybe, just maybe the whole seven seed versus

375
00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:13,480
Speaker 1: one thing could work for green Bay if they can

376
00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:14,720
Speaker 1: be there at the end.

377
00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,520
Speaker 2: And winning on third downs and getting making this be

378
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,199
Speaker 2: where brock Purdy has to make some plays. And I

379
00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,320
Speaker 2: know there's some comments made about pressure this week, and

380
00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:26,040
Speaker 2: brock Purty has been extraordinary against the Blitz this year,

381
00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,560
Speaker 2: but you need to be able to generate pressure with

382
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,480
Speaker 2: four though two yes, And that's where I feel like

383
00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:33,760
Speaker 2: you're going to need to give your coverage guys some

384
00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:35,879
Speaker 2: leeway there. You're gonna need to allow those guys to

385
00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,120
Speaker 2: be able to adapt and learn from what they're seeing

386
00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:39,840
Speaker 2: from San Francisco, because they're going to see it all.

387
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,320
Speaker 2: They're going to get the book thrown at them. With

388
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:43,919
Speaker 2: them aunt of weapons they have in the way that

389
00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,080
Speaker 2: they can utilize them, it's going to be a very

390
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,119
Speaker 2: like It's going to be a really fun game to

391
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,119
Speaker 2: watch in terms of the athleticism, the skill and I

392
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,480
Speaker 2: really believe the scheme from both sides. But for Green Bay,

393
00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:57,639
Speaker 2: the one thing you cannot lose sight of is the

394
00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,560
Speaker 2: fact that Brock Purty still is a second year quarterback.

395
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,879
Speaker 2: He still is a young dude. And there were no

396
00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,800
Speaker 2: two quarterbacks hotter during the final eight games of the

397
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,080
Speaker 2: regular season than Brock Purdy and Jordan Love. It's not

398
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,400
Speaker 2: a joke. It's not a coincidence that these teams got

399
00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:18,600
Speaker 2: to this point. No, it starts with quarterback play. And

400
00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,080
Speaker 2: I love the way that Jordan Love is playing right now.

401
00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:23,399
Speaker 2: Not to boil it down to well, Love has to

402
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:25,439
Speaker 2: have a better passer rating than Perdier, he needs to

403
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,520
Speaker 2: throw for more yards than Perdier, have more touchdowns. But

404
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,640
Speaker 2: the way that Jordan Love is playing right now, if

405
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,000
Speaker 2: he can solve this riddle, that is the Steve Wilkes defense.

406
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,840
Speaker 2: I love green bays chances in this game because even

407
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,399
Speaker 2: though they're nine to eight, the reason you play all

408
00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,280
Speaker 2: these games, the reason why they don't just wrap it

409
00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,840
Speaker 2: up after Halloween and say all right, time for the playoffs,

410
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,439
Speaker 2: right is because of the masturation that happens with these

411
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,880
Speaker 2: football teams. San Francisco is the juggernaut. They've been doing

412
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,600
Speaker 2: it since day one. They were doing it well before

413
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,359
Speaker 2: this season began. Green Bay, in a lot of ways,

414
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,800
Speaker 2: is more of the start but I think when you

415
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,200
Speaker 2: look at the ceiling and where this thing is rising

416
00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,680
Speaker 2: for Green Bay, the trajectory that they're on. I threw

417
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,240
Speaker 2: the line in an insider inbox, you had to edit it.

418
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:11,320
Speaker 1: It.

419
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,560
Speaker 2: To me, it really does remind me of a marathon.

420
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,159
Speaker 2: It reminds me of a race. It reminds me of

421
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,600
Speaker 2: a thirty two hundred meter run where packers have had

422
00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:20,960
Speaker 2: a really good kick here in these last four weeks

423
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,720
Speaker 2: of the season, and now this is the litmus test

424
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 2: to see if you can catch who's been the front

425
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:26,240
Speaker 2: runner in the NFC.

426
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, the analogy that I used in insider Inboxes, I

427
00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,720
Speaker 1: actually took things back to the Olympics with speed skating.

428
00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,840
Speaker 1: To me, the regular season in the NFL now is

429
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:40,119
Speaker 1: the long track, those long distance whatever five thousand meters,

430
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,679
Speaker 1: ten thousand meters, the guys with the long strides and everything.

431
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,080
Speaker 1: You go through this marathon to put yourself in position.

432
00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,320
Speaker 1: And after the marathon, a whole bunch of teams are eliminated,

433
00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:53,280
Speaker 1: and then there's a set of teams that are moving on.

434
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:55,879
Speaker 1: Then they go from the long track with the speed

435
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,600
Speaker 1: skating to the short track and they fire another starting

436
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,960
Speaker 1: gun and off they go. And you know, and it's

437
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,840
Speaker 1: you know, guys slide, you know, you make you make

438
00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,240
Speaker 1: one mistake in the postseason, you slide off the track.

439
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:10,639
Speaker 1: You're done because it's short track, right, And that's what

440
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:14,120
Speaker 1: that's that's that's what the playoffs, that's what the playoffs

441
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,959
Speaker 1: are like. We talked about running the ball and what

442
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,320
Speaker 1: that means to this offense. We talked about, you know,

443
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:22,879
Speaker 1: obviously being in a close game, seeing how the forty

444
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:24,800
Speaker 1: nine Ers react if they're in a close game with

445
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,360
Speaker 1: the pressure that's on them. Offensively, the Packers have done

446
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,080
Speaker 1: such a good job at finishing drives lately. They move

447
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 1: the ball, they get it into the red zone, They're

448
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,040
Speaker 1: putting that ball in the end zone more often than not.

449
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,080
Speaker 1: All of that is going to be paramount when I

450
00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,120
Speaker 1: look at things on the defensive side of the ball

451
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,680
Speaker 1: for the Packers, it all comes down to tackling this

452
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,080
Speaker 1: forty nine Ers, as we talk about, with all of

453
00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,040
Speaker 1: those weapons, all the different guys that Perdy can get

454
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:55,000
Speaker 1: the ball to, they scheme things up to get their

455
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:59,439
Speaker 1: guys into open space, into one on one matchups in

456
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:03,280
Speaker 1: the open field. This is a very difficult offense to

457
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,159
Speaker 1: rally to the ball. And get a whole bunch of

458
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,800
Speaker 1: guys to the ball to make tackles. You are forced

459
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,760
Speaker 1: to make one on one tackles against McCaffrey, against Samuel,

460
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 1: against you know, Brandon Ayuk, against all these guys in

461
00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,520
Speaker 1: the open field. You cannot miss tackles against these guys

462
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,040
Speaker 1: because that's where the six and seven yard gains rupture

463
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,560
Speaker 1: into twenty six and twenty seven yard gains. The Packers

464
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:28,720
Speaker 1: have to be on their p's and q's with tackling

465
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:30,760
Speaker 1: in this game, and I think that's what's going to

466
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,880
Speaker 1: give them the opportunities to get the forty nine ers

467
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 1: into third downs and see if they can get off

468
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:37,280
Speaker 1: the field.

469
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,760
Speaker 2: What did you make of the forecast out there? I

470
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:41,919
Speaker 2: touched on this an inbox. I was curious see what

471
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,000
Speaker 2: your thoughts were on Yeah, I mean I've scattered shower basically.

472
00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:47,520
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've been hearing different I've been hearing different things.

473
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,080
Speaker 1: So I've heard that supposedly it's going to rain all

474
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,400
Speaker 1: day on Saturday. Other things I've heard said it it's

475
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 1: going to rain Saturday night, but it might start not

476
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,240
Speaker 1: start raining until the second half of the game, like

477
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,680
Speaker 1: you know, further into the evening. I don't know. It's

478
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:07,760
Speaker 1: if you're asking me, you know, does does A does

479
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,760
Speaker 1: a wet potentially wet, sloppy or slow track? You know,

480
00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:15,399
Speaker 1: favor favor one team over the other. I'd be okay

481
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:17,560
Speaker 1: with a little bit of a wet sloppy track just

482
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,680
Speaker 1: because of because I think it. I think it would

483
00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 1: potentially throw the forty nine ers off more than it

484
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:23,840
Speaker 1: would throw the Packers off.

485
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, and not that I think both teams are built

486
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 2: athletically and to speed. Green Bays, I'm much is probably

487
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:31,919
Speaker 2: the fastest receiving core they add in my time on

488
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:35,239
Speaker 2: the beat, yep. But San Francisco. I don't know how

489
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,240
Speaker 2: many of those kind of mutter games they've played in

490
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:39,439
Speaker 2: this year, but Green Bay's played through some interesting elements

491
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,359
Speaker 2: throughout the course of the season. I'm curious see what happens.

492
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,960
Speaker 2: Like I told people in inbox, you can't formulate the

493
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 2: game plan on it, but it's stuff you have to

494
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 2: be prepared for.

495
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:49,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

496
00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:51,640
Speaker 2: And to tie this back to the point I want

497
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,520
Speaker 2: to make we you know so much gets made out

498
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,879
Speaker 2: of Christian McCaffrey and absolutely deserves every bit of that credit.

499
00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,800
Speaker 2: But probably the most underrated running back during that same

500
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,560
Speaker 2: entire time has been Aaron Jones. He got one Pro

501
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,400
Speaker 2: Bowl nod, but for the most part he's been more

502
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,959
Speaker 2: of a locally appreciated running back rather than the nationwide accolades.

503
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,200
Speaker 2: And at twenty nine years old, he's running as well

504
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,919
Speaker 2: as he's ran his entire career in terms of the

505
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:20,520
Speaker 2: consistency of it. I think at four straight hundred yard games,

506
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,920
Speaker 2: twenty plus touches and all these matchups, I've ran through

507
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,560
Speaker 2: all the statistics before on how the Packers fare when

508
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,520
Speaker 2: he gets over one hundred total yards. I honestly believe

509
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,720
Speaker 2: when you're talking about keys the victory, the biggest one

510
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:35,680
Speaker 2: probably comes back to the stat that you threw out

511
00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,159
Speaker 2: there about the yards per carry aloud by San Francisco

512
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,560
Speaker 2: this season. If you're able to keep within arm's reach

513
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 2: of them, what is possible? Go back to two years

514
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,680
Speaker 2: ago they kind of fell out of that. Aaron Jones

515
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,040
Speaker 2: had a ton of receiving yards, but they weren't able

516
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:55,400
Speaker 2: to establish that. Can you crack that egg and being

517
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,480
Speaker 2: able to sustain that throughout an entire football game regardless

518
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:00,600
Speaker 2: of what the canis may be.

519
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, and I think it is regardless of what

520
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:06,359
Speaker 1: the conditions may be, it's going to be what are

521
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,720
Speaker 1: what are the numbers on the scoreboard and how is

522
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,480
Speaker 1: that going to How is that going to impact how

523
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:15,160
Speaker 1: you're calling the game in the second half in particular,

524
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,240
Speaker 1: as things go along, can you can you stick with

525
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,639
Speaker 1: the game plan or does the game get into a

526
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,359
Speaker 1: situation where you know you you you have to you

527
00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,119
Speaker 1: have to throw some things out because you need to

528
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,439
Speaker 1: operate more quickly, you need to try to score quickly.

529
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,439
Speaker 1: I think that's that's what this could come down to.

530
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:33,960
Speaker 2: And that's where San Francisco and it's twenty two interceptions

531
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,400
Speaker 2: come into play. Tabarious Ward with five, that entire defense

532
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,280
Speaker 2: with twenty two, which is tied for the most of

533
00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 2: the NFL this year with Chicago, and how do they

534
00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:45,400
Speaker 2: solve that riddle against the Bears? They got the run

535
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:46,600
Speaker 2: game going with Aaron j Yeah.

536
00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 1: Absolutely well. Before we go, some quick thoughts on the

537
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:54,800
Speaker 1: other games uh NFC Divisional playoff weekend. In the NFC,

538
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:58,760
Speaker 1: it's Tampa Bay at Detroit. In the AFC, you have

539
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:03,359
Speaker 1: Kansas City at Buffalo. Remarkably the first non Super Bowl

540
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,160
Speaker 1: postseason game that will be on the road. For Patrick

541
00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:10,160
Speaker 1: Mahomes in his career. Right, Yeah, he's played, whether it's wildcard,

542
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:14,280
Speaker 1: divisional conference championship, he has always played at Arrowhead Stadium

543
00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,719
Speaker 1: except for the Super Bowls. He has to go on

544
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:18,600
Speaker 1: the road now to Buffalo, which is sort of the

545
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 1: thirteen second revenge game from that, you know, the game

546
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,320
Speaker 1: with the whole thirteen second thing and the field goal

547
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 1: that sent the playoff game a couple of years ago

548
00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:31,399
Speaker 1: to overtime. And then Houston at Baltimore and you know,

549
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,440
Speaker 1: another really interesting quarterback matchup, Lamar Jackson against c. J. Stroud.

550
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:39,439
Speaker 1: Doesn't doesn't get much more, much more, any entertaining than that.

551
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,080
Speaker 1: Your thoughts on any of those three ball games?

552
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:43,840
Speaker 2: Did you see The Dark Knight? I don't know. If

553
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,119
Speaker 2: you're a big movie guy, did.

554
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,040
Speaker 1: You I saw it a long time ago. My friend.

555
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 2: The Kansas City and Buffalo reminds me the Jokers line

556
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,240
Speaker 2: of like we are just destined to do this forever.

557
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 2: It seems like no matter what, we always get Kansas

558
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,200
Speaker 2: City in Buffalo, it's just rinse and repeat. With that matchup.

559
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:01,920
Speaker 2: We'll see what the result this. We won't be able

560
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:03,679
Speaker 2: to watch it. I doubt I'll watch any of it.

561
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:05,840
Speaker 2: But Houston versus Baltimore, I think is gonna be worth

562
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:08,840
Speaker 2: the price fed mission. Yep. Again in a lot of ways,

563
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:13,560
Speaker 2: it's very much similar to the Packers going into Santa Cilara.

564
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,560
Speaker 2: Houston has had a remarkable turnaround this year. C J.

565
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:21,120
Speaker 2: Stroud has infused life into that organization that I don't

566
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,520
Speaker 2: think has been there in probably fifteen years. I mean,

567
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:27,959
Speaker 2: there was some okay runs with with Watson, but nothing

568
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,200
Speaker 2: like this. I mean where they think, you know, you

569
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,639
Speaker 2: got Nico Collins is playing so well right now. You know,

570
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,080
Speaker 2: Devin Singletary I think has shown that he can be

571
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:38,120
Speaker 2: a back in this league, and when he had some

572
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:40,040
Speaker 2: fits and starts in Buffalo.

573
00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:42,800
Speaker 1: And Demiko Ryans, quite frankly, has put together kind of,

574
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:45,440
Speaker 1: you know, kind of a no name defense that that

575
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,520
Speaker 1: is pretty darn good. I mean, you don't you don't

576
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,600
Speaker 1: have JJ Watt, you don't have that headliner on the

577
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,640
Speaker 1: Houston Texans defense anymore. But Demico Ryans, you know, has

578
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,560
Speaker 1: has put together a pretty good unit on that side

579
00:28:57,560 --> 00:28:57,880
Speaker 1: of the ball.

580
00:28:57,960 --> 00:28:59,720
Speaker 2: You know. And honestly, we talked so much about Stroud

581
00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 2: but and since been a good pick for them too.

582
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,000
Speaker 2: I mean it looks like he has plenty in front

583
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 2: of him that how often a number two overall pick

584
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:08,440
Speaker 2: can get overlooked just because of the number one pick

585
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 2: was being probably the offensive rookie of the year. That'll

586
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,080
Speaker 2: be a fun matchup. But let's be honest, Mike, we

587
00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:15,440
Speaker 2: don't care about Houston, we don't care about Baltimore. We

588
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:17,920
Speaker 2: don't care about what's going on in AFC West and

589
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,880
Speaker 2: the AFC East. Tampa Bay is going to go into

590
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,760
Speaker 2: to Detroit and either that game is going to mean

591
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,440
Speaker 2: everything to the Packers or it's going to mean nothing

592
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,520
Speaker 2: to the Packers. Yeah, and I am very curious to

593
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:33,440
Speaker 2: see a Tampa Bay team that has had imperfections this year.

594
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,000
Speaker 2: But then last week you saw what they did against Philadelphia,

595
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,440
Speaker 2: a Philadelphia team that was just kind of begging to

596
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,480
Speaker 2: get knocked out and they threw the blows in the

597
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:42,479
Speaker 2: second half to do it.

598
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:43,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, they did.

599
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 2: Against the Detroit team that not only did they get

600
00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,880
Speaker 2: that win finally in the playoffs, but they had to

601
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:50,800
Speaker 2: win it the hard way against the Rams. That was

602
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,480
Speaker 2: a knockdown, dragou battle in a postseason.

603
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:57,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Lions started. The Lions started fast in that game.

604
00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,240
Speaker 1: They got three touchdowns in the first half. Then in

605
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 1: the second half, they only had like eighty six yards

606
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,040
Speaker 1: of total offense, and as I mentioned on our last show,

607
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,760
Speaker 1: their defense just kept stopping the Rams in the red zone,

608
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,080
Speaker 1: making them kick field goals, and they were able to

609
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:13,120
Speaker 1: hang on. You know, they just hung on for that

610
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,800
Speaker 1: one point victory, whereas the you know, the the Buccaneers

611
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,120
Speaker 1: in some respects were the opposite where it was. You know,

612
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,080
Speaker 1: they were slugging it out a little bit with the Eagles,

613
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,320
Speaker 1: but then as you said, in the second half, they

614
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,480
Speaker 1: threw the haymakers and pulled away. So the way those

615
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,120
Speaker 1: two teams got to this point through wild card weekend

616
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:31,880
Speaker 1: was very different.

617
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's great. I love the way the playoffs

618
00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:37,760
Speaker 2: lined up this year. I think there's a lot of

619
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,680
Speaker 2: exciting different variables to this and whether it's the storyline

620
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,719
Speaker 2: with the Lions or seeing what the Packers can do

621
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 2: with this late season rally. I liked one of the

622
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,680
Speaker 2: big comments that Matt lufford this week is we are

623
00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,160
Speaker 2: going to come out swinging. Kenny Clark said it in

624
00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,160
Speaker 2: the locker room after the game. We are going to fight.

625
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:57,880
Speaker 2: That is the one thing we are going to do.

626
00:30:57,920 --> 00:30:59,640
Speaker 2: We are not going to guarantee victories, but we are

627
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 2: going to and it was good enough for winning Dallas,

628
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:05,480
Speaker 2: and now the Packers have to decide whether or not

629
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,040
Speaker 2: it's gonna be good enough to take care of business

630
00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:07,720
Speaker 2: in California.

631
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, well it's gonna be. It's gonna be a whale

632
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,200
Speaker 1: of a ball game. Can't wait for it to get here.

633
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,719
Speaker 1: As you said, With that, we will sign off on

634
00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 1: this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all

635
00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:19,920
Speaker 1: of our coverage of the team and all of our

636
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,200
Speaker 1: coverage from Saturday nights NFC Divisional playoff game. We will

637
00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,320
Speaker 1: be there at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara with all

638
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,960
Speaker 1: of that for you, for Wes, I am Mike, thank

639
00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,760
Speaker 1: you for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.