WEBVTT - #388 Packers Unscripted: Rough ending 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:21.319 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:24.560 I am Mike Spofford, sitting alongside my partner in crime, 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.840 Wes Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.600 at lambeau Field and West. The Packers wrapped up their 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.920 two thousand eighteen season on Sunday at lambeau Field, and 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:37.400 to be brutally honest, it just wasn't pretty. Thirty one 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.479 to nothing a loss to the Detroit Lions. The Packers 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:43.280 finished the season six nine and one. It's one of 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:46.600 these games that started poorly and just continue to get worse. 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:49.720 Aaron Rodgers leaves with a concussion, backup quarterback to Shaun 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.480 Kaiser already in a fourteen to nothing hole, isn't able 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:56.920 to get anything going offensively, and the Lions just kind 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.800 of kept tacking on some points here and there, and 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.600 the result was actually the Lions first shutout of the 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:07.640 Packers at lambeau Field since nineteen seventy if you can 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:10.520 believe that. Yeah, actually I looked that up after the 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:14.679 game last night. So um, yeah, just a rough way 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:18.319 to end what had been a rough season for Green Bay. Yeah, 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:20.360 there's no if fans or butts about it, Mike, and 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:22.680 not the performance the Packers were looking for, I said, 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:25.360 and Saturday's inbox and I mentioned it on Friday. You 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:27.920 wanted to finish strong. It was a pretty simple mindset. 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:30.880 You built some momentum winning two of their last three. 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:33.679 It was a small moral victory, but yet you got 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:35.800 the wins that you were looking to get. They just 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:37.840 were not able to carry it over. And once Aaron 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.880 Rodgers left the ball game. I'm not saying that that 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:44.880 took anything out of the team or anything or it, 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:46.480 but it did, you know, I mean, you could just 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:48.680 see there was a deflating kind of aspect to it. 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.240 To Rogers credit, and Corey Linsley spoke about this in 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:57.280 the locker room afterwards. Rogers was was very emotional when 0:01:57.320 --> 0:01:59.200 he got taken out of the game and had to 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:02.919 go back to get the concussion protocol to start that process, 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:06.320 and Lindsley said, I mean that really spoke volumes about 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.960 him and in some extent this Packers season, and that 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:13.600 the game was meaningless other than really draft position. That 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.000 was the one thing. You're trying to build some moral victories, 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:17.720 You're trying to get some you know, give you something 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:19.760 to feel good about going in the off season, but 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:21.080 at the end of the day in the win lost 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:23.920 column and had no bearing on what things are gonna 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.160 look like today, whether or not the Packers wanted lost 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:28.800 that game. Aaron Rodgers though, it was more than that 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:30.720 to him. He wanted to finish this thing on a 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.520 high note. It made David Bakti want to stay on 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.480 the field. Corey Lindsley played every offensive snap. Those guys 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:38.840 were motivated to be out there. But at the end 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:40.400 of the day, you have to be able to play well. 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:41.799 You have to be able to win the game, and 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:44.640 the Packers just not did not do that against the Lions. Yeah, 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:46.880 there's just a lot of a lot of disappointment in 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.000 terms of how this game went, and not not just 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.840 that Rogers left with a concussion. We haven't really been 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:55.600 given any updates on on that um in the concussion protocol, 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.799 Rogers doesn't speak to the media and and there haven't 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:03.320 haven't been any discussions of of how he's doing. But 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:05.240 when you look on the defensive side of the ball, 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.160 you know, we've talked about it, Wes. It just it 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.000 seemed like it seemed like this defense under Mike Petton 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:12.840 was was showing a lot of strides on a lot 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:14.760 of progress. And granted, they're playing with a lot of 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:17.320 young guys out there, a lot of backups, you know, 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:19.600 reaching into the depth, but so were the Detroit Lions 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:22.480 on on both sides of the ball, quite frankly, and 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:25.639 it just it felt like even the defensive side, which 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:28.359 I thought was was really the uptick for the Packers 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.840 this season in took a step backward as well. We 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:35.400 were seeing miss tackles and and just you know runs 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.360 by you know, let's face it, a number three running 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:40.800 back in Zach Center that he's just kind of pushing 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:43.040 the pile and the Packers can't get him on the ground. 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:46.120 And Detroit was really just controlling the line of scrimmage. 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:48.880 And it was the it was the kind of defensive 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.800 effort that we really hadn't seen because of the progress 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:54.120 that had been made, and and just everything kind of 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:56.200 took a step backward in this final game. I don't 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.600 want to disrespect anybody, because these guys are going out there, 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:00.839 they're laying it on the line. There was a young, 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.320 hungry players that were trying to prove themselves in this atmosphere, 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:09.240 but realistically, Mike and really the last forty five minutes 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:11.520 of regulation that ballgame, it almost seemed more like a 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:15.800 preseason game to me, just with the you know, the 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:18.599 guys that are being rotated in and you know, again, 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:21.480 I give credit to Capri Bibbs, I give credit to 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:23.960 a lot of these guys that have just been came 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:25.880 in within the last couple of weeks and have been 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:30.080 you know, thrust on the field. But that isn't the 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:32.920 way that this team was set up back in September, 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:36.280 back in August, and unfortunately for them, just so many 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:39.839 different dominoes happened. Now, No, don't get me wrong, Packers 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:42.159 didn't play well. There's six nine and one. Because they 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:45.919 didn't play well. I I'm not gonna you know, think that, 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.279 oh just because you know, fifteen guys ended up on 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:49.800 I R and they went through all these things. This 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:52.400 is why they were Yeah, does it affect you, absolutely, 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:54.599 But it's a hundred percent injury rate, as everyone always 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:56.720 likes to say, every team deals with. The Packers were 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:00.080 not able to respond to it this season, but it 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:01.800 is I mean I looked at that defensive front. You 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:03.960 tip your cap to Tyler Lancaster, You tip your cap 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:07.000 to Dean Lowry. Those guys stepped their game up. Lowry 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:08.839 had the best year of his career in my estimation, 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.440 but they weren't the starting defensive alignment at the beginning 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:15.120 of the year. Kyler Facral stepped up, but you didn't 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:17.760 have Nick Perry. It's just it's one of those things 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.160 where it was a trick. It was a war of 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:23.000 an attrition for Packers this season, and in losing thirty 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:24.800 one and nothing in the end result in what the 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:26.960 product looked like in the players that were available in 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:31.160 that last one. Unfortunately for the Packers, it it was almost, 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.479 i think, to some extent of self fulfilling prophecy. Yeah, 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:37.200 and even from a statistical standpoint, a big letdown finding 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.320 out ninety minutes before kickoff that Davante Adams would not 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.479 be able to suit up for this week's seventeen game. 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:45.920 We had talked about it for, you know, all week long, 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:48.239 coming off the Jets game when he had eleven catches. 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:50.480 He needed two catches in a hundred and thirty four 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:53.720 yards to set a couple of single season franchise records. 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.960 Certainly the opportunity would have been there, but the knee 0:05:57.000 --> 0:06:00.719 injury from the Jets game just never, I don't know 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:02.800 what you want to call it. Never loosened up ever. 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:05.599 You know, the sore net didn't go away. Obviously, the 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.480 medical staff decided it was just, uh, there was too 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:10.720 much risk to put Davantae Adams out there in this 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:12.599 final game, as much as I'm sure he would have 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:15.040 wanted to play and finish this thing out and try 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.359 to get those records and uh. And that was just 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:22.839 another certainly disappointing footnote that that Davante Adams wasn't able 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:26.479 to finish a remarkable season for him in the way 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.840 that he would have wanted. Yeah, it was unfortunate because actually, 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:30.400 you know, Adams when he was talking to his locker 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:32.960 on Wednesday, I mean, everybody's gonna say they're gonna try 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:35.640 to play and they're optimistic, but Adams legitimately seemed like 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:36.920 he thought he was gonna be able to get through 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.840 this and be out there. Ye I, you gotta give 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.840 a lot of credit to Pat mackenzie and you know, uh, 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:45.680 Brian Angle, everybody on the training staff side of things. 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:48.640 They're doing the right thing for the player. You want 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:50.960 to protect him. There's a bigger picture and play here, 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:53.920 it's it's not you know, as far as win loss, 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.360 there's no implications there, I'll be honest, though, I still 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.440 wanted to see a quick wide receiver screen on the 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.320 first play and get him out of there if he 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:02.960 didn't have to catch the ball, and now he could 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:04.760 just whip it out of bounce right away after he 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:07.360 caught it and pull himself out for a hundred and twelve. 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:09.560 But um, now, I mean, they're they're not going to 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:11.640 cheat the system. If he's good to play, he's gonna play. 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.360 If he's not, he's not. What a heck of a 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:18.320 season though for him a hundred eleven catches, six yards, 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:22.239 thirteen touchdowns. Um, I think if you asked Davante Adams 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:24.040 and he wasn't in the final locker room session that 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:25.120 you and I were just a part of. But I 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.160 think if you ask him, I'm guessing he's not sweating 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.280 this because I think in his heart of hearts, he 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:32.400 thinks next year he's gonna come back and actually top 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:34.640 that record, maybe all three of them. Yeah, I mean, 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:37.520 who knows that the sky's the limit for this guy 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:41.240 in his career. Certainly another statistical note definitely worth pointing 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:45.000 out Kyler Factral gets the sack that puts him in 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:47.560 the double digit category, and we finished the season with 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.840 ten and a half sacks, and um, you know, again, 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:52.960 as we've talked about throughout the year, a tip of 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:56.520 your cap to this guy. Because the fan base was 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.240 down on him, a lot of people outside the building 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:02.040 were down on him. He showed up in his third season. 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.600 A couple of three sack games certainly contributes a lot 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.200 towards a double digit sack season. But hey, anybody who 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.920 finishes with ten and a half, that's uh, that's something 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.680 to be proud of. And and hopefully it's just the start, 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:14.680 just the tip of the iceberg, as they say, maybe 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:16.720 for Kyler Facula. Yeah, he said we were. I was 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:18.680 talking with him in the locker room the final locker 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:21.160 room session. Uh. Yeah, he wants to do it again 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:23.480 next season. That's already his goal. He wants to sustain 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:25.520 that success. He wants to get better against the run. 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.280 Those are the challenges for him. There's a standard as 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:31.280 far as the pass rush he has to set, and 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:34.200 he knows that that getting better against the run is 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:36.000 is one of those things. On the gold I do 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.439 think he actually improved fastly in that capacity. This year. 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:41.720 You can tell he was stronger. He held the edge. 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.160 I mean, there's only you know Nick Perry. To me, 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:46.040 I think it is still the gold standard when he 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.960 comes to holding the edge when he's healthy in that capacity. 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.559 Because he's just such a big, powerful guy, it's hard 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:53.319 to move him off the spot. But I think Facral 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:56.040 at his size with what he brings also as a 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:58.480 zone dropper, he talked about that. I mean, one of 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:00.360 the things that I think rarely gets talked about with 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:03.080 Kyler Facral's game is he might be the most natural 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:07.199 zone zone dropping outside linebacker they've had. I mean, he's 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.080 in the same breath I think with Clay Matthews in 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:13.000 that capacity when that's required of him to fulfill that assignment. 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.960 I was asking him though about this because he mentioned 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:18.560 I've kind of sort of become the beat writer for 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:20.680 these Mike Petton writing down your goal things at the 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:23.480 beginning of the season, and it came up again. Facral 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:25.679 actually did have on his goal sheet for this year 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:28.080 what he talked about with Petton for double digit sacks, 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:31.320 and Bill Huber and I from Packer Report, we asked him, like, 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.920 you really thought that was an attainable goal. Uh, you 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:36.760 know you only had three and a half the year 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:38.559 before you had to I think the year before that 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.080 you thought that that was He's like absolutely, He's like, 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:43.200 that's why their goals. You want to set something up 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:46.199 for yourself that you want to strive for, regardless you 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.120 know of whether or not it's realistic, that's what you're 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:51.520 looking to achieve. So, while it was a very difficult 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.200 game on Sunday and very disappointing and disheartening to end 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:57.480 it on that note, Fatral said that that sack, when 0:09:57.520 --> 0:09:59.800 he got it there, that held a lot of meaning 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:01.920 for him because it meant that he achieved that one 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.280 individual goal that he had for the season, and whether 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:06.400 or not he wants to admit it, he did silence 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.760 a lot of doubters and critics and skeptics who some 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:10.880 were clamoring trying to say he shouldn't even be on 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.880 the fifty three this year. Imagine what happens if Brian 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.520 Gooda Kunston that coaching staff doesn't have the faith that 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:19.160 they did in Facral to be there. He ended up 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.120 being their leading soccer in two thousand and eighteen and 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:23.040 one of only four guys Mike, I thought this was 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.240 a crazy stat. Only one of the four individuals over 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.360 the last decade that's had double digit sacks for this defense. Yeah, yeah, 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:31.480 the list, the list isn't that long. I mean some 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.360 of those guys with the double digit sacks, like Clay 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.320 Matthews and others have done it multiple times. And that's 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:40.000 the new challenge now for Kyler Facral to add himself 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:42.440 to that list of guys who not just do it once, 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:46.240 but but potentially do it again. Um quickly, here West 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:48.840 before I forget, the Green Bay Packers get ready for 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:52.560 game day with the powerful noise canceling technology of Bo's 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:57.120 Quiet Comfort thirty five headphones. To learn more at www 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.240 dot bows dot com, Slash Packers, Bows the off shell 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:03.920 headphones of the Green Bay Packers, and at Homer. Here 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:05.920 in the stands, we all know that Green Bay fans 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.400 give it their all and that takes a lot of energy. 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.800 So grab a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:14.959 meaty goodness fuels the greatness of Packers. Fans everywhere tried 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:19.360 the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. Just visit your local 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:23.000 supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky Soup official sup partner 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:24.560 of the Green Bay Packers, and I actually have a 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:26.960 cup of that soup on my desk for you. For me, 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.760 it's still there. I received it for my birthday, but 0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:31.800 I'm willing to, you know, regift it if if it's 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:33.600 something that you want to have. Now you've got me 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:37.160 excited for lunch, so it's waiting for you, all right. Well. 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:39.959 As the Packers head into the offseason West, the big 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:43.840 story over the next several weeks will be the new 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.040 head coach and and the coaching search. We are going 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:51.480 to essentially table that discussion until a head coach is hired, 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:54.959 because we aren't going to hear from Mark Murphy and 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:58.400 or Brian Goudakun until that happens. It's a lot of 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.640 news reports out there about quest for interviews and guys 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:03.600 that the Packers want to talk to. I think you 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.960 and I have talked before. They might interview twelve fourteen, 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.960 fifteen guys here throughout this process before it's all said 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:13.920 and done. So um, those will be discussions for another day. 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:15.520 But I do want to get your thoughts on just 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:18.840 exactly what went down in Week seventeen in the NFL 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.760 with these last couple of playoff spots we saw in 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:26.840 the NFC, Um, my prediction was wrong. I thought the 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:29.320 Minnesota Vikings, We're gonna find a way to steal that 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:33.120 number six seed. But boy, that that Chicago Bears defense 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:37.240 went into US Bank Stadium completely throttled that Vikings offen. 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:41.200 I mean, I'll say this, the Packers offense playing on 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:44.080 the road at Soldier Field looked like it had a 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.600 much better shot to beat the Bears than that Vikings 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:49.840 offense that was in Minneapolis yesterday. Yeah. Absolutely, I do 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:51.640 want to point out I think I actually was right 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:54.679 on my prediction the Philadelphia Eagles squeaking into the playoffs. 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:56.920 You did, you called it? The Eagles get in, they 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.800 take care of business against Washington, shut them out to 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.480 be for nothing or whatever it was. And uh, the 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:04.720 Eagles and Nick Foles, they are the six seed in 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.440 Minnesota's on the outside looking at. So obviously these are 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:09.320 professional football players, and I want to talk about the 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:11.840 Bears here in for a second. We'll get back to that. Um, 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:13.360 I'm kind of taking this thing off the rails a 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:15.480 little bit, but it's the end of the season. That fun. 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.080 Did you see the thing about so Nick Foles ended 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:19.439 up getting kind of banged up. He had to with 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.080 like a rib injury or something. Right, it sounds like 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.040 he's gonna be okay, but he had to come out 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:27.679 for a little bit. He had a clause in his contract, 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:30.959 again citing reports here, if he played thirty three of 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.640 the offensive snaps for the season, he got like a 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:37.000 one million dollar bonus. Now, hey, nick Foles is being paid. Well, 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.120 I'm not trying to you know, no tears here or anything. 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:42.079 He was he had to go out of the game. 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:46.960 He was four snaps away, four kneel downs away from 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:49.800 being able to to get that to get that to 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:53.760 trigger that clause, and it is unfortunate, but hey, kudos 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.920 to him. He gets a playoff bonus. Now anyway, yeah, 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.960 you know, here's an extra grant to enjoy yourself, go create. 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:03.200 But yeah, I mean, Foles did what he does and 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.040 he's by far going to be the most intriguing free 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:09.840 agent this officer because there were some questions you know, 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:11.880 the season and go quite how they wanted to out 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:13.839 of the gate. It made it pretty clear that when 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:15.480 Carson Wentz was back, he was going to be the 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.680 guy again. But Nick Foles is reminding everybody that there's 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:20.920 still some magic left in those beans. So I mean, 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.080 I'm I'm excited to see what can happen for him, 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:25.920 especially in what is going to be a quarterback star 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:27.280 of market. There's gonna be a lot of teams that 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.360 are looking for guys um, so that'll be fun to 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:30.680 watch to see where he can take this team in 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.720 the offseason. Going back to the Bears, hey man, I'll 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.000 tell you what. They remind me a lot of the 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.000 Raiders from two years ago. I know the parallels there 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:40.960 with Kalio Mack, it makes sense, but when the Raiders 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:43.000 went twelve and four, this Bears team reminds me a 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:46.040 lot of that. Now. Mitchell Trobinsky still has some room 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.320 to grow. He still has to protect the football, but 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:50.960 they're getting the running game going now. They are getting 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:53.560 their pass rush going now. And to go in there, 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:55.720 you and I have been in that environment. To go 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:59.120 in there and just extract all the energy out of 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.560 that building and dominate the way they did. I know 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:05.040 there's a lot of angry Packer fans out there rightfully, 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.320 so I get it their division rival, but the Bears 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:09.600 are playing some really entertaining football right now. Yeah, the 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:11.560 Bears are playing some good football and that's gonna be 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:14.680 a really good wild card matchup at Soldier Field against 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.080 the Philadelphia Eagles. Quickly on the a f C side 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:20.720 of things, really entertaining the way this thing wrapped up 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:22.920 in the a f C North, because as I was 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.640 sitting at my desk working on our coverage on the 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:29.080 website post game after the loss to Detroit, I've got 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:31.320 my phone set up next to my computers, you know, 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:35.360 so I'm watching UM. I was watching Bears and Vikings 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:37.160 for a while, and then I flipped it to watch 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:41.760 the end of the Ravens Browns game and the Steelers 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:43.600 who need to win, and they need the Browns to 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:45.200 beat the Ravens in order to win the a f 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:47.080 C North to get in. The Steelers win on a 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.720 walk off field goal, and then they're showing these clips 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.520 of the Steelers players at Hines Field. They don't leave 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:55.720 the field, they don't go to the locker room. They're 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:58.480 out there standing on the sideline anywhere on the field 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.680 with the fans why ching on the JumboTron as the 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.440 as the Browns and Ravens game comes to a close, 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.440 the Browns are down by two. They have the ball, 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:11.800 they get across midfield, a couple of replay reviews on 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:15.440 receptions catch no catch kind of stuff go, both of 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.960 them go Cleveland's way, and they're about five to six 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:22.600 yards away from a legitimate long field goal shot to 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:25.320 win the game by one point. And it comes down 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:28.040 to a fourth and ten. There's just a little too 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.080 far for the field goal. They had to go for it. 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.920 The Ravens end up getting the stop, so Baltimore wins. 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:36.160 The a f C North Pittsburgh is is out of 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:39.560 the playoffs. The drama there to me, you know, and 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.360 people talk about wanting to expand the playoffs and let 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:44.840 more teams in or whatever. The way that finished for 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:46.760 the a f C. Other than having the Ravens and 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:49.040 Steelers go head to head for the division title, it 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.080 doesn't get any better than that. I thought it was 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:54.200 a fantastic I thought it was a fantastic finish to 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.440 uh two week seventeen in the a f C. Well, 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:57.960 and the thing I love about it too is so 0:16:58.000 --> 0:16:59.640 many fans we dealt with this a lot in in 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:01.880 bout We're talking about what's the point of trying to 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.600 win out this stretch? Look at what the Browns did 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:06.360 the last month of the season. They're going to get 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:08.359 a new head coach, it appears. I mean, I guess 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.879 Greig Williams is still in that conversation, but that franchise 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:13.960 right now, Man, they are not going in next year 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.720 with winning aspirations they have are going in with playoff 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:21.479 you know, run aspirations, no estructure. They're gonna be fired up. 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:23.760 The question I guess I have for you the watching 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:27.399 this game is what Lamar Jackson doing? Is that tenable? 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:29.280 Do you think? Because I mean he's carrying the ball 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:32.280 twenty times a week right now, He's getting more carries 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.399 than the average NFL running back that's starting in the 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.960 NFL right now. Yeah, I mean that's the thing. If 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:41.840 you want, if you want Lamar Jackson to have a 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:44.720 quote unquote long career in the NFL, I just don't 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:47.520 see how you can continue to play. Maybe it works 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:49.960 right now when he's a rookie and he's young, but 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.200 by the same token West, we all saw what happened 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.240 with r G three. He was playing the same way 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:59.439 he's on the rest and yeah, but suffered, you know, 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:03.199 in new horble injuries after getting the Redskins to the 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:05.240 playoffs his rookie year, and he was the talk of 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:07.840 the town in d C. And Washington was back and 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:10.119 all this kind of stuff, but then health wise it 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.560 didn't work out. I mean, there's a there's a huge 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:15.560 risk to playing this way. Right now, Baltimore is playing 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:17.639 this way and they're gonna take their best shot because 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.120 they have a running quarterback, they have a defense that's 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:21.720 as good as any in the league, if not the 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:24.280 best in the league, and they're gonna take their chances 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:25.880 and see what happened. And I'll tell you what, man, 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:29.320 there is no better mid major college offense right now 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:31.680 than what the Ravens are doing. I mean, it is 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.399 forty seven carries yesterday for Twitter at ninety six yards. 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:38.960 You had Gus Edwards and Kenneth Dixon both had twelve 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:41.680