WEBVTT - #573 Packers Unscripted: Christmas clash 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:14.760 Hi, everybody. Welcome to a Christmas Eve edition of Packers 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:18.000 unscripted from Packers dot Com. I and Mike Spofford, joined 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:21.040 as always by my partner in crime, West hod Kuwitz, 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:24.320 were coming to you here from socially distant locations at 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:27.520 lambeau Field. Merry Christmas, everybody. Merry Christmas to you, Weston, 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.600 Merry Christmas to you, Michael. I hope you get everything 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.640 that you want from the family. I know for myself, 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:36.199 just happy to have my health, happy to have a 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:38.519 healthy family, and Mike, most importantly, I'm happy to have 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:42.640 you absolutely well. We are certainly looking forward to getting 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.680 into a new year as well during this holiday season 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.880 with everything that has brought. But there is some business 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:51.160 to take care of here in the NFL, and it's 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:56.400 Week sixteen Packers and Titans, Sunday night football under the 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:59.960 lights at lambeau Field and West This is really an 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:02.760 interesting Not very often this late in the season do 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:06.080 you get two teams both with double digit victories from 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:09.480 different conferences going at it here. But we saw when 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:13.840 this schedule came out in the spring, Packers Titans Week sixteen, 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:17.240 a couple of nights after Christmas at lambeau Field, You're 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:18.920 kind of like, well, these are the two teams that 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:22.800 lost in the conference championship games the previous season, they 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:25.640 were the conference runners up, and uh, sure enough, here 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:27.520 we are. This is a pretty big ball game. Yeah, 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:28.920 that might have been the first thing that came to 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:30.480 mind for you, Mike. The first thing that came to 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:32.320 mind for me was why the heck are the Packers 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.840 playing the Titans in Week sixteen? Like, what is the 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:38.319 point of this? But as I joked about an insider inbox, 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.160 so the fact that this game was not moved out 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:42.800 of the Sunday night football time slot tells you everything 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.160 you need to know about the fact that this is 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:47.440 once again two teams that made it to the final 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:49.600 four last year and have stayed right at the cream 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.320 of the crop in their respective conference this season and 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.880 to be able to make another run at this thing. Certainly, 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:57.400 the storyline there of Matt Laflour being the former offensive 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.680 coordinator for Mike Vrabel and Tennessee Uh has been something 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.480 that you know this week. Lafleur has been very complementary 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:06.200 of that season that he spent there and also complimentary 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:08.200 of the time that he was able to learn from 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:10.160 Rabel a little bit before moving on to his own 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.400 head coaching post, And from Rabel's perspective, it's he's a 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:15.799 young man in the coaching profession, only forty five, but 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.560 already developing a coaching tree. Both of these teams have 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.240 been very successful this season, but if you look at 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:23.240 the way they've done it, very different in their paths 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:26.000 to how they've gotten to this point. Yeah, I think both. 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.560 I think from the outside, you know, fans, analysts, pundits 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:32.320 are looking at this game as saying, Okay, which one 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.280 of these teams is going to make a statement so 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.560 to speak on Sunday Night that you know they're ready 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.079 for the playoffs, They're going to be playoff tested all 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.680 of that. Personally, I think both of these teams are 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:45.640 Super Bowl contenders. Regardless of what happens on Sunday Night. 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.639 There is going to be a perception though with with 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:51.280 regard to the result of this game, how the game looks, 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:53.880 how it unfolds, as far as what a lot of 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:57.359 people are going to think about these teams heading into January, 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.760 don't you think it does? And I think, especially from 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.119 the Tennessee Titans point of view, now that they're still 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.120 in a competition with the Colts trying to win that 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:07.160 division title. Certainly get a home playoff game to start 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.840 this thing off in a very tightly contested a f 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:13.440 C race right now, even though Pittsburgh's fallen off, you 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:16.359 still have Kansas City up there. You can't really take 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.400 any of these games for granted. If you're the Titans 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:21.400 on the NFC side of things, Green Bay, it's pretty 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:23.640 cut and dry for them at this point. As I 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.280 keep saying over and over again, they're one thirty two 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:29.160 minute flight away, uh, you know, going to Chicago away 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:30.959 from being able to to run this thing all the 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.320 way to the Super Bowl at lambeau Field if they're 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:37.000 able to keep winning. So that's a massive advantage. But 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.040 but like I mentioned earlier, I mean the fact that 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:41.400 both of these teams, whether it was the Derrick hun 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:45.520 Henry rushing offense, uh, paired with the play action game 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:48.720 that Tennessee runs, a defense that well has given up 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.120 a lot of yards, has been very opportunistic in their 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.840 ability to take the football away, which has contributed to 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.240 the Titans being tied for the league lead right now 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.120 and turnover differential at plus twelve and then you can 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.880 firstly or that with Green Bay that can run, can pass, 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:05.960 can own time of possession and has been really efficient 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:08.520 at getting on the scoreboard right away. I mean they're 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:10.960 in a historic streak, Mike. We haven't really talked about 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.760 it that much, but they're opening possessions scoring I think 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:16.200 now ten or eleven of them to this point. They've 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:18.280 been able to set the temple in these games, and 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:20.720 I think a lot of times that's really dictated where 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:23.880 things have gone in the three quarters after that. Yeah, absolutely, 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:26.120 And as we get into before we get into some 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:28.200 more of those details about the Keys to Victory, I 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:30.520 will take care of our sponsored business here during the 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:34.919 holiday season. Serious XM NFL Radio Channel eight is the 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:38.360 only radio outlet dedicated to the National Football League seven 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.320 days a week, three hundred sixty five days a year, 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.160 and Packers fans score up to five dollars for your 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:47.320 devotion to the pack when you open a Packers checking 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:51.120 account from Associated Bank. Learn more at Associated bank dot com. 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:55.640 Backslash Packers well West Keys to Victory here. Maybe we'll 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:59.000 start in reverse because there's been so much talk obviously 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:03.240 about Derrick Henry coming into lambeau Field He's the reigning 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:06.479 rushing champion in the NFL, having won the rushing title 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:09.960 in twenty nineteen. He is nearly two hundred yards ahead 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:13.720 of anybody else in the NFL in going for back 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.880 to back rushing crowns. Here, so a lot of focus 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:19.320 on the Packers defense and what it's going to take 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.200 to contain Derrick Henry, and not just Henry, but this 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:26.480 entire Titans offense, which has been pretty darn explosive both 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.680 in the run and the past. How do you see 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:32.599 this matchup for Green Bay's defense? One thing that I 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:35.120 look at with this matchup, Mike is going to be 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.799 Derrick Henry, but not just him as a ball carrier, 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:41.040 him as an overall football player. And the fact that 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:43.640 if you look at how the Tennessee Titans have performed 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.240 this season, there has only been four games where he 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.000 has not touched the ball more than twenty times, and 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.279 in those games they are one in three this season. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.080 He and and it's not just a direct, you know, 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.800 reflection of what he does when he does have the football. 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.719 It also shows you how if he does get doesn't 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.200 get normal amount of carries that he usually gets, it 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:04.440 is going to take them out of their offensive rhythm. 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:08.280 Everything is predicated on establishing the run early and building 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:11.400 the play action passing game off of that. Late Corey 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:14.440 Davis A. J. Brown to the top young receivers in 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:18.080 this league deep ball threats. They pair up very nicely 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:21.520 with the constant threat that Henry provides in that backfield. 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.480 But from Green Bay's defensive standpoint, I think it comes 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.120 down to early on making him work for those yards. 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:30.600 It's going to be almost nearly impossible to keep him 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:33.720 underneath fifty sixty yards. It's only happened I think twice 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.599 this season that he's been under seventy. He's going to 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.760 get his production, But how many times does he have 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.400 to carry that ball in order to do it. The 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:44.840 more times he carries it, the fewer yards that he's 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.720 able to mass off of it. That's what can disrupt 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:49.880 the Titans. And that's where the Packers have to win 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.240 this ball game, because you know, at the end of 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.600 the day, the breakdowns type of you know, the explosive place, 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:58.920 that's where they're gonna want to challenge you. So if 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.640 you're able to curtails some of that early momentum, I 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:03.880 think that's going to really be what helps push this 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:06.400 thing in the Packers favor. Yeah. I mean we talked 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.920 sometimes about, Okay, is there a magic number to hold 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:12.520 a big running back to We've had fans ask us 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:14.760 an insider in box welcome the Packers hold them under 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:16.800 a hundred yards, And I don't know if there's a 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:19.160 magic number in that respect. I don't think the Packers 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:21.840 have to hold Derrick Henry under a hundred yards in 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:24.160 order to win this game. But I'm with the US. 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:26.400 I think it is about how many carries is it 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:29.320 going to take him to get that production? And so 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:31.600 maybe it's the it's the yards per carry, it's that 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:34.480 per carry. The average might be the key statistic in 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:37.120 this game. You look at the Packers run defense. We've 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.200 talked about, how ever, since right off the bat in 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.360 that Chicago game a month ago, when David Montgomery ripped 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:46.360 off that fifty seven yard run, we've talked about how 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:50.360 the Packers run defense has vastly improved since then. They've 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:52.880 only allowed since that fifty seven yard run. Over the 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:55.320 last four games, they've only allowed two hundred and sixty 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.320 eight rushing yards. I believe is the number, and the 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:00.600 yards per carry is right at four point zero. I 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:04.160 think if the Packers run defense can actually limit Derrick 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:07.120 Henry to four point zero, I think that would be 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:10.239 a big win for the Packers. That you know, that means, Okay, 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:12.120 if he's gonna get a hunter and twenty yards, it's 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:14.120 gonna take him thirty carries to get there. That goes 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.480 along with the point you were just making. I think 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:20.280 it's numbers like that that might mean more than what 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:23.400 that final whatever the rushing total is going to be 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:25.160 for him at the end of this game. And not 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.840 wearing down They're going to challenge you early on with Henry, 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:30.720 He's going to be just running up the gut and 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.080 he's going to try to wear down that defense and 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.560 that defensive front seven. It's being up to that task 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:38.880 where Green Bay needs to really rise to the occasion 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.040 and keep themselves their feet underneath them for four quarters 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.320 and not allowed him to break into the second level 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:47.719 of this defense. Like, the huge part of this I 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:49.560 don't think a lot of people have talked about is 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:52.800 when you have a running back like Henry, it's the 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:55.800 mental side that he yet he challenges you, not just 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:59.040 the physical side, because you know exactly what you're facing. 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:01.480 You can watch the film all week. These are professional athletes. 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:05.280 They're gonna see what he presents. It's mentally being up 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:07.680 to that challenge of wanting to stop him. And I 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:09.480 was listening to Kenny Clark and you can kind of 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:12.560 hear the excitement in his voice about where this run 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:14.960 defense is at and this being the perfect time to 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:18.360 get a test like Derrick Henry. Dean Lowry, a guy 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:20.440 that I think earlier this season was kind of off 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:23.400 to a slow start. Kenny even talked about it. There's 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:25.800 been something different about Dean the last few weeks. He 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:28.559 hasn't been thinking as much. He's been playing more instinctively. 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.080 And that reminds me a lot of that Dean Lowry 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:33.480 that finished the seventeen season as strong as he did, 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:35.840 and the Dean Lowry that really brought it for sixteen 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:38.839 games in two thousand and eighteen. When those two guys 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:41.760 are working in chemistry. Mike Rabel even went out of 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:44.559 his way to talk about how fundamentally sound those guys are. 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:47.880 When they're filling their gaps, everything becomes a lot easier 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.640 for everybody else around them. You need to get the 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:52.880 rotation going, no question about it. You can't have them 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.120 playing of the snaps in a game like this, but 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:57.760 that is going to be the first defense that the 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:00.199 Titans are gonna see on Sunday. And if they can 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:02.400 hold up, if they can force a three and out 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:05.600 or a punt early on, that's where the Titans can 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:08.200 start to doubt themselves a little bit, and maybe, just 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:10.880 maybe Green Bay can sees the momentum of this thing 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:14.199 and reduce those amount of offensive touches that that Derrick 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.200 Henry is gonna see. Yeah. Well, if there are two 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:19.360 things that we've heard repeatedly from the Packers side this 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:23.080 week and discussing Derrick Henry, One is the concept of 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:26.280 gang tackling. It's about getting a lot of different helmets 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.840 to the football because here, this is the bottom line West, 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.400 If only one guy is going to beat his block 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:34.840 on a running play and be the lone guy with 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:37.439 a chance to tackle Derrick Henry and end the play, 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.040 Derrick Henry is gonna win that battle. More often than not. 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:43.040 It's gonna be it's gonna be incumbent upon two and 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:45.800 three and four guys to beat their block, to beat 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.560 their guy on a number of plays and to get 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:51.160 those multiple hats to the football. The other thing is 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:55.400 about taking the proper angle on Derrick Henry because he's 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:58.680 deceptively fast. He's a big guy, and you don't think 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:01.960 he's got this beat of say like an Eric Dickerson 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.440 from back in the you know, a long legged, bigger guy. 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:06.880 But when Eric Dickerson was in the open field man 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:10.000 he could really go. And Derrick Henry is the same way. 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.720 It's hard to take the proper angle because of that deception. 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:18.199 For me, this for this Packers defense, I think what 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:22.360 we've seen here over the last two seasons is these 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:25.200 big games come down to the Packers defense being able 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:29.360 to make one or two key stops throughout the course 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:32.720 of the game. The big one, obviously against Carolina was 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.280 Chris Barnes slapping the ball out at the goal line 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.320 on the quarterback sneak. That was the play defensively that 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:42.080 completely changed the complexion of the game. Now, would it 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:44.960 will it have to be something that dramatic against Tennessee. 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.240 Not necessarily, but it's about, you know, maybe you're gonna 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.760 have one of those third and two's where everybody knows 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.040 Derrick Henry is getting the ball and the Packers rise 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:55.240 up and get the stop. Maybe it's going to be 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:57.680 in the fourth quarter, you know, a key third and 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:00.520 seven or third and eight, Just one of those key 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.400 moment type series where the Packers win the battle and 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:05.040 get off the field and get the ball back to 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:07.160 Aaron Rodgers. I think that's what this game could come 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:10.040 down to. Yeah, and the other aspect of that that 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:12.600 you have to look back on that Carolina game. I 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:14.880 know the third quarter did not go how the Packers 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.760 wanted it to go, but after that takeaway, in the 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.000 fact the Packers were able to generate a touchdown off 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:23.400 of it at three. As much as there was some 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:25.640 adversity of Green Bay had to face in the second half, 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.280 it never really felt like the game was in jeopardy 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:30.800 for them, at least on the defensive side of the ball. 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:33.520 They just were able to find those answers and just 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:35.559 they seem to have a little bit of swagger there 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:37.839 after they got that key takeaway and being able to 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.319 do their d Train celebration in the end zone and whatnot. 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:42.960 That was a big moment I felt, not only in 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.320 that game, but something that can really launch them forward 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.040 here because you're seeing I talked about Laurie and Clark, 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:49.880 but You're seeing a lot of guys start to really 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.760 amp up here during this final stretch. Preston Smith has 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:54.640 had a number of sacks the last few weeks after 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.559 quiet first half of the season. Adrian Amos is playing 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:01.240 everywhere in this defense. Had three pass deflection in that game. Uh, 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:03.760 Darnell Savage looks a lot more comfortable in the back end. 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:06.160 And you don't need me to go into exactly everything 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:09.080 that goes into why JayR Alexander has been the player 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.839 he's been this season. So with Chris Barnes being able 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:13.760 to shake through and appears that eye injury is not 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:16.280 an issue. He was a full participant in practice this week, 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:18.240 He's able to be on the field as a key 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:21.600 communicator and able to rotate those inside backers. I just 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:24.360 think that they have the horses to be able to 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:27.280 stop Henry. The challenge is going to be if he 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.360 does break one early, and I'm not saying it has 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:31.440 to be a seventy five yard could be twenty yards, 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.200 being able to come back the next play and understand 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.360 that you need to be able to get back to 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.160 where you're at, because that's naturally just something that could 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:42.600 happen when you're facing someone of Henry's caliber. Yeah, absolutely, 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.280 So many times, defensive football is about responding to the 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.440 explosive play against you and either rising up and forcing 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:52.319 a field goal or even after an explosive play, getting 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.760 a stop and getting the ball back. Those those are 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.840 the momentum shifts that really matter on the offensive side 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.840 for Green Bay. You know, we talked about it West. 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:03.040 This Packers team has made a pretty good habit. Now, 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:05.040 they fell short last week, but they made a pretty 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:08.440 good habit of scoring thirty plus points per game this 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.520 season ten out of fourteen games. And this is this 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.520 is the statistic that sticks with me, is that the 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:17.880 Packers have only lost once this season when they've scored 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.760 thirty plus points and that was in an overtime game 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:25.560 in Indianapolis when that occurred. So, you know, Aaron Rodgers, 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:28.120 he's going to be taking the field here with you know, 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.800 another one of those m VP candidate type guys on 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:33.560 the other side in Derrick Henry. And this is the 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:37.200 Titans defense that has struggled, particularly against the past, particularly 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.920 with the big play and with allowing a lot of 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:43.120 points in in some games. I think the Packers offense 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.720 really needs to to rise to that occasion this year, 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:48.600 it does need to be complimentary football. If the defense 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:51.160 does get the stop, the offense has got to respond 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:53.680 and put points on the board. And uh and I 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:56.520 just I think that thirty plus number is really going 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.760 to be key for Green Bay in this game Sunday night. 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:01.680 The defense pick ed up this team last week to 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:03.760 be able to close out that a point victory the 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:06.040 way they did. But this week, the offense needs to 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:08.520 be the ones that that really stand up to this 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:10.120 because the defense is going to be in for a 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:11.720 long night. That's just the way it is. I don't 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:13.520 care if your ranked number one or your ranked number 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:16.040 thirty two, The Titans are going to stress you out 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:18.560 so offensively. You look at these numbers that they're going 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:21.480 to be facing. The Titans are twenty seven in total yards, 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:24.280 they are twenty nine against the past, They are dead 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.200 last in third down defense, and they are thirtieth in 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:30.040 red zone defense. What does that tell you? You You need 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.720 to be able to move the football, take advantage of 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.560 explosive plays, and once you do get in the gold zone, 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:38.800 you need to be able to get the gold You 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:41.040 have to be able to turn that into points. Have 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.880 to be able to turn that into touchdowns. That opportunity 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.400 is going to be there. And I keep mentioning this point, 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:49.560 but you know, Davante Adams in weeks in which he 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:53.520 has been quiet more often than not, particularly this season, 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.280 he has bounced back with a big game. I think 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.760 Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, Robert Tonyan, I think all of 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.640 the classics here for Aaron Rodgers need to be in play. 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.280 And when it all boils down to it, the guy 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:09.440 that very well could be the National Football League m 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:11.680 VP in a couple of weeks, he needs to be 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.960 at his absolute zenith. This is going to be a challenge. 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:17.400 There are going to be momentum swings. There's gonna be 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:19.360 times where the Packers are moving the ball at will, 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:21.280 and there's gonna be times where they need to respond 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:23.320 to that adversity and make sure that if you do 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.520 have a three not you bounce right back and you 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:28.320 find a way to get back downfield. I think long drives, 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:30.960 time of possession, and more than anything else, ball security 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:33.240 is going to be the pre eminent emphasis in this 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.880 matchup in order to win against the Titans. Yeah, it's 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:38.280 interesting A lot of people talk about this, this type 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:40.520 of game as as a playoff tune up because of 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.280 the caliber of opponent you're playing. In some ways, it's 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.760 almost like mentally it's more important to have that playoff 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:49.360 tune up. And what I mean by that is what 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:53.040 you just said about momentum swings and handling those, because 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:56.360 playoff games are all about the momentum going back and 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:59.200 forth and who can respond in the key moments, who 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:01.800 who who can stem the tide when things are going wrong, 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:04.800 who can seize the momentum when things are going right. 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.680 Playoff games always have that kind of feel to them, 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.159 and perhaps this game on Sunday night will have that 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:12.399 kind of feel as well. Yeah, and if there's an 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.240 opportunity for special teams, you know, with Tavon Austin getting 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:17.879 more comfortable on punt returns, or even if it's j 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.920 K Scott having a timely punt, they just need different 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.280 areas to kind of be able to pick themselves up. 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:25.760 Because when you're facing a ten win team that does 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.320 have Super Bowl aspirations, that was one game away from 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:31.080 it last year and returned most of those players, you 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:33.720 have to be able to to find different guys that 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:36.199 are going to step up. As I mentioned, Rogers is 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.120 the key, He's the kingpin. He's the guy that has 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.359 to be able to bring it. But it's going to 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:42.520 be the the Alan Lazard. It's catching a twenty two 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:45.040 yard cross, or Mason Crosby making a fifty one yard 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:48.000 field goal, or even Chris Barnes finding a way to 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.360 get a deflection at the goal line, and undrafted rookie 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:53.000 with a big momentum turning play. All of those reasons 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:54.680 are why they won a week ago, and they need 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:58.520 more of those type of moments in this game against Tennessee. Yeah. Well, 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.440 as far as the playoff pictures concerned, I'll repeat where 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:04.240 the scenario stands. As we had talked about on our 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:08.240 last show. The Seattle Seahawks will face the Los Angeles 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:12.200 Rams late Sunday afternoon, and if the Rams are able 0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:14.760 to knock off the Seahawks, then the Packers will take 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.160 the field on Sunday night with a chance to clinch 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:21.159 the number one seed in the NFC. If the Seahawks 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.879 beat the Rams, the Packers will not be able to 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:27.360 clinch on Sunday night, and the number one seed will 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:30.320 come down to all the activity amongst several teams in 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:33.600 week seventeen. So with that in mind, West, I just 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:35.640 want to get your thoughts on this one other game 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.280 that is obviously very important in the Packers playoff picture, 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:41.600 the Rams and the Seahawks. Seattle is one game up 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.040 on the Rams in the NFC West. The Rams took 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:48.240 that surprise loss to the previously winless New York Jets 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:51.800 the previous week. The Seahawks had actually had a game 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:56.240