Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford. He is my partner in crime
Speaker 1: West Hodko. It's We're coming to you here from our
Speaker 1: studios at lambeau Field West. It's our midweek show. Normally
Speaker 1: we dedicate this show to taking a look at the opponent.
Speaker 1: But I want to get to that later in the
Speaker 1: show because first off, on Tuesday evening, the NFL announced
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl selections, the original Pro Bowl selections for nineteen.
Speaker 1: There will be a lot of changes to these Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl rosters between now and when the game is played.
Speaker 1: Two Packers make it. Aaron Rodgers Davante Adams, certainly, congratulations
Speaker 1: in order there. I believe it's the seventh Pro Bowl
Speaker 1: selection for Aaron Rodgers, which he second in Packer's history
Speaker 1: behind Brett Farve. I think you had nine Pro Bowl selections,
Speaker 1: but the first original Pro Bowl selection for wide receiver
Speaker 1: Davante Adams. We talked about it all season long. Very
Speaker 1: well deserving, and we're very curious to see just how
Speaker 1: his season finishes up here with two games to go,
Speaker 1: probably is well deserved of an original balloting Pro Bowl
Speaker 1: selection of anybody. I can think of in recent memory
Speaker 1: for the Green Bay Packers. Here's what I love about
Speaker 1: Davante Adams and his selection to the Pro Bowl. I
Speaker 1: believe I was talking to our one of our social
Speaker 1: media gurus here, Ryan Hartwig. I believe Adams was I
Speaker 1: want to say ninth on the Pro Bowl voting is
Speaker 1: in the fans in that final week leading up to
Speaker 1: the balloting, and that's good enough. It's a third fans,
Speaker 1: third coaches, third players. But I think the fact that
Speaker 1: he got in and on the initial ballot speaks to
Speaker 1: what the league thought of him. It's not like there
Speaker 1: was the ballot was just stuffed in his favor by,
Speaker 1: you know, the the outside Packer fans. Everything the league
Speaker 1: has caught up to the Davante Adams phenomenon and for him,
Speaker 1: a hundred catches, hundred and fifteen yards I believe it is.
Speaker 1: And then obviously the twelve touchdowns as impressive as a
Speaker 1: season as I can remember, honestly, truly, when you look
Speaker 1: at the amount of contested catches he's had on a
Speaker 1: big plays he's had for Davante Adams, first time since
Speaker 1: two thousand, ten and eleven, a Packers receiver gonna be
Speaker 1: making back to back Pro Bowl appearances, but also the
Speaker 1: fact that he was getting that respect now obviously well deserved. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and when it comes to those statistics, and we've talked
Speaker 1: about it a lot already, you said he's got the
Speaker 1: hundred catches thirteen more in these last two games, he
Speaker 1: will break Sterling Sharp's franchise record for a single season
Speaker 1: of a hundred and twelve and with hundred and fifteen yards,
Speaker 1: he needs two hundred and five yards to surpass Jordy
Speaker 1: Nelson's single season Packers record of fifteen nineteen. So be
Speaker 1: interesting to see if he can get those. And hats
Speaker 1: off to Adams, as you said, his uh, second straight.
Speaker 1: It'll be a second straight Pro Bowl appearance, but he
Speaker 1: was an injury replacement last year, so he goes in
Speaker 1: right away this time. But of course, as always with
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl selections, you have to talk about the snubs
Speaker 1: and um for the Green Bay Packers, it's really hard
Speaker 1: for me to swallow that David baktr E is not
Speaker 1: an original Pro Bowl selection here this year. And I'll
Speaker 1: say this West, I know there are only three offensive
Speaker 1: tackles selected in the NFC. That's how it goes. No
Speaker 1: problem with Tyrone Smith from the Cowboys. No problem with
Speaker 1: Ron Armstead from the New Orleans Saints. But to see
Speaker 1: David bak Try not make it above Trent Williams from
Speaker 1: the Washington Redskins. I just think bok Tr is a
Speaker 1: better player. I think if you asked the vast majority
Speaker 1: of gms and scouts around the league if they would
Speaker 1: want David Baktieri at left tackle or Trent Williams, I
Speaker 1: think they'd say David bok Tr And I think it's
Speaker 1: unfortunate that that box tr didn't get it this year.
Speaker 1: So here's the thing, Michael, and it's gonna be very
Speaker 1: interesting what's gonna happen here in a couple of weeks
Speaker 1: because the AP will be announcing it's All Pro team,
Speaker 1: which picks two players at every position as it relates
Speaker 1: to the offensive line. So you got a left tackle
Speaker 1: that will be first team, a left tackle that will
Speaker 1: be second team. David Bakti in the eyes of fifty
Speaker 1: voters in the AP, guys that are following the league,
Speaker 1: and ladies that are following the league every single week. Dave,
Speaker 1: the last two years, I've considered him among the best
Speaker 1: two left tackles that he's been second team All Pro
Speaker 1: two years in a row. The fact that he cannot
Speaker 1: be among the top three tackles in the NFC, it's
Speaker 1: just it's incredible to me, and especially this year. I
Speaker 1: wrote about him last Friday First Store on our website.
Speaker 1: When you factor in what he's played through to make
Speaker 1: four teen starts, what he's done, and how he's diversified
Speaker 1: his game not just the best pass blocker in the
Speaker 1: league anymore, has become a really effective run blocker, especially
Speaker 1: in space, not easy for a three twenty pound guy
Speaker 1: to do. And now for him in this season with
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers dealing with with what he dealt with with
Speaker 1: the knee injury, having to, you know, raise his game
Speaker 1: even more. One of the biggest travesties I think I've
Speaker 1: seen during my time on the beat. And it took
Speaker 1: a while for Josh Sitton to get there, it took
Speaker 1: a while for t J. Lang to get there. But
Speaker 1: the fact, Michael, that we now in my eighth season
Speaker 1: covering the team here, the fact that the only I
Speaker 1: shouldn't say only because Sitton eventually got in, but the
Speaker 1: fact that you have you have bok tr In, Corey
Speaker 1: Lindsley have yet to be voted into a Pro Bowl,
Speaker 1: but Jeff Saturday was in two thousand and twelve, of
Speaker 1: the same week in which he was bench for Evan Smith.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying that tells you everything you need to
Speaker 1: know about the Pro Bowl, but it's just it's tough
Speaker 1: because it's written to contracts with language, with bonuses and
Speaker 1: things of that nature. It's unfortunate that box Are again
Speaker 1: is on the outside looking in, and Lindsley for that
Speaker 1: matter as well. Yeah, and I don't want to over
Speaker 1: analyze it here too much, but you mentioned it guys
Speaker 1: like sitting and laying how they eventually in time got
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl recognition, and it's almost, you know, with
Speaker 1: botr getting his initial second team All Pro selection in ten,
Speaker 1: then you think, okay, the Pro Bowl stuff is definitely
Speaker 1: going to start to come after that. Well, now, the
Speaker 1: last two years the Packers have been out of the playoffs,
Speaker 1: you know, and I'm sure that that factors. Whether it's
Speaker 1: whether right or wrong, I don't know, and I don't
Speaker 1: know all the machinations that go into all this Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl voting, but you just wonder in some respects if
Speaker 1: if that has hurt him that when he kind of
Speaker 1: became his time. Now the Packers suddenly are not a
Speaker 1: postseason team, whereas Ron Smith from the Dallas Cowboys they're
Speaker 1: headed to the playoffs this year. The UM, as I said,
Speaker 1: Toron Armstead from the New Orleans Saints, they're headed to
Speaker 1: the playoffs. That's where to me when I yeah, that's
Speaker 1: that's why when I look at it, I'm like, how
Speaker 1: does David Fiery not make it ahead of Trent Williams.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I just I don't get that. Now on
Speaker 1: the defensive side, and you mentioned Corey Lindsley as well,
Speaker 1: Now there are only two centers. Lindley played better than
Speaker 1: Alex Mack this year, though unequivocally Alex Mack is a
Speaker 1: is a really good center in this league. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: a perennial Pro Bowl type player. But I think if
Speaker 1: you look at the some of the issues that the
Speaker 1: Falcons have had over the course of this season, the
Speaker 1: fact that the run games had the issues they've had,
Speaker 1: I thought that to me was kind of a travesty,
Speaker 1: but it is what it is. Yeah, So Lindsley unfortunately
Speaker 1: doesn't make it. UM he is an alternate or astern yet,
Speaker 1: so it's going to take a couple of substitutions for
Speaker 1: them to get to get the phone call. But so
Speaker 1: Lindsley and bok tr are alternates. Another alternate is Kenny
Speaker 1: Clark on the defensive side. Now Here as much respect
Speaker 1: as I have for Clark and the season that he
Speaker 1: has had three interior defensive linemen selected for the NFC,
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald from the Rams, let Your Cox from the Eagles,
Speaker 1: and a Chem Hicks from the Bears. I have a
Speaker 1: heck of a lot of respect for the year that
Speaker 1: Kenny Clark has put together, but it be pretty hard
Speaker 1: to make an argument to leave off one of those
Speaker 1: three that did get picked. This one made sense. The
Speaker 1: offensive line I thought was, you know, a travesty of justice.
Speaker 1: But Kenny Clark is twenty three years old. You look
Speaker 1: at this season, basically, I think it comes down to
Speaker 1: him or Hicks. They both played really well, but Hicks.
Speaker 1: You when you look at it, their numbers are almost identical.
Speaker 1: Hicks has a couple more forced fumbles. So I mean
Speaker 1: I understand that you look, you know, Fletcher Cox and
Speaker 1: and uh, Aaron Donald, They're they're in another tier right now. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there are people talking about Aaron Donald being in the
Speaker 1: league m v P conversation, although now that the Rams
Speaker 1: have lost a couple of games, that's calmed down a
Speaker 1: little bit. But it's incredible the fact that he has
Speaker 1: fourteen sacks at that position, that's insane. But but yeah,
Speaker 1: Kenny Clark is a young guy though, and it's a
Speaker 1: position that I think, you know, also with the offensive line,
Speaker 1: when you get more towards your mid to late twenties,
Speaker 1: that's where you're really coming into your prime at those physical,
Speaker 1: powerful position. So Kenny Clark, there's a lot of upside
Speaker 1: there for him. The one thing that's unfortunate, we'll have
Speaker 1: to see how everything shuffles out with the elbow injury.
Speaker 1: It's very possible some of those defensive linemen are going
Speaker 1: to drop off here if one of them makes the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Everyone who makes the Super Bowl, uh, you know, you know,
Speaker 1: with all those different possibilities, But you know, then it
Speaker 1: becomes a question of whether or not Clark can actually
Speaker 1: play in the game with the elbow. All things will
Speaker 1: have to figure out. But it was at least nice
Speaker 1: to see his name added to the alternates, to see
Speaker 1: him finally starting to maybe break that that glass ceiling.
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Speaker 1: actually running a little short on time, but we do
Speaker 1: need to talk about the New York Jets here and
Speaker 1: it starts with quarterback Sam Donald, number one first round
Speaker 1: draft pick for the Jets this year. I guess you'd
Speaker 1: say having a typical rookie season for a high draft
Speaker 1: pick who's thrown into the fire some games where he's
Speaker 1: shown a lot of promise. And yes, this is the
Speaker 1: guy in the future, and then some games where you go, boy,
Speaker 1: he is still a rookie. And it's kind of just
Speaker 1: what the Jets have been dealing with. It sounds like
Speaker 1: they're going to be moving on from their head coach
Speaker 1: in the off season. Some the New York media throwing
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy's name into the mix that the Jets should
Speaker 1: be giving him a call to see what he could
Speaker 1: do with Sam Donald and developing him for the future there.
Speaker 1: But that's a story for another day. Right now, it
Speaker 1: is going to be Donald against the Packers on Sunday
Speaker 1: in New Jersey. Yeah, Donald's numbers are not going to
Speaker 1: impress when you look at them on the surface. He
Speaker 1: obviously had an injury as well there that he missed
Speaker 1: some time with. But he's kind of coming off one
Speaker 1: of his better games of the season against Houston last
Speaker 1: week twenty four or thirty eight, no interceptions, two fifty
Speaker 1: three yards, two touchdowns, and there is some scrambling ability
Speaker 1: there with him as well, though not as uh, you know,
Speaker 1: prevalent as you see with maybe at Josh Allen. It's
Speaker 1: very strange schedule for the Packers this season that they
Speaker 1: ended up matching up with all these rookie quarterbacks, um,
Speaker 1: you know, three of the top four that were taken
Speaker 1: in this draft minus Baker Mayfield. So the big thing
Speaker 1: for me with this matchup, Mike, I mean, when you're
Speaker 1: looking at Keys the victory, things will will cone in
Speaker 1: on later this week. Sam Donald has found Robbie Anderson
Speaker 1: in this offense. Last year, Robby Anderson became the best
Speaker 1: friend of Josh McCown and what ended up being a
Speaker 1: pretty surprising season for the Jets, and he almost tipped
Speaker 1: the thousand yards. Receiving had really been quiet most of
Speaker 1: the year, but these last two games, specifically, Donald's been
Speaker 1: connecting with him. So that's a matchup the Packers are
Speaker 1: and have to make sure they're aware of because Anderson's
Speaker 1: an explosive threat. I think you look at him, but
Speaker 1: he has the potential to be a perennial receiver just
Speaker 1: with how much he can take a top off a defense.
Speaker 1: So for me, it starts there. They've had some issues
Speaker 1: with their backfield. Isaiah Crowwell has been placed on injured reserve.
Speaker 1: They still have Blah Powell um, but it's been more
Speaker 1: of a work you know, work in progress for them offensively,
Speaker 1: Big thing for me, like a lot of these matchups
Speaker 1: with these rookie quarterbacks, you have to get after Donald,
Speaker 1: you have to pressure him, you have to make them uncomfortable. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I think when you bring up Robby Anderson, he
Speaker 1: is the one guy that adds some explosiveness to this Jett.
Speaker 1: I think that's the one that's the biggest thing that
Speaker 1: this Jet's offense is lacking, and Anderson is the one
Speaker 1: guy who brings that to the table. Now, if the Packers,
Speaker 1: obviously they're not in the playoff funt. If they were
Speaker 1: still in the playoff funt, obviously everybody was looking at
Speaker 1: if the Packers google to Chicago and beat the Bears,
Speaker 1: You've got the Jets and the Lions the last two games.
Speaker 1: The Packers could win those games and maybe sneak into
Speaker 1: the playoffs. But regardless of the Packers situation here, you
Speaker 1: look at that game last week, the Jets against the Texans.
Speaker 1: This game was not going to be a gimme for
Speaker 1: the Packers by any stretch of imagination because Houston, one
Speaker 1: of the hottest, one of the best teams in the
Speaker 1: a f C, had a two score lead, multi score
Speaker 1: lead on the Jets. Donald brought the Jets back, got
Speaker 1: him into the lead in the fourth quarter, and then
Speaker 1: the Texans had to rally at the end for a
Speaker 1: couple of scores in order to win that game. I
Speaker 1: think that one surprised a lot of people, but again,
Speaker 1: it was another one of those performances where you look
Speaker 1: at Sam Donald and go, that's why they drafted him
Speaker 1: where they did. That's why this guy is the quarterback
Speaker 1: of the future, and he's certainly capable of that on
Speaker 1: any given day. And the Packers defense is going to
Speaker 1: be have to be on its p's and ques as
Speaker 1: they say, because this kid's got talent. Yeah, And I
Speaker 1: think if you know, Matt Arvin up in the control
Speaker 1: room went back to our some of our pre draft,
Speaker 1: uh you know, discussions on unscripted. I actually had Donald
Speaker 1: for a long time as my top quarter back in
Speaker 1: that draft. I thought he would fit well there with
Speaker 1: Cleveland in the direction they wanted to, and there were
Speaker 1: other draft analysts that did think he might go number one.
Speaker 1: But certainly John Dorsey knows a lot more than I do.
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfields turned out just fine there in Cleveland, but
Speaker 1: they still feel really good about this kid and what
Speaker 1: he's going to be able to do in the long term. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's just it's been a challenging year on a number
Speaker 1: of fronts for them. I mean, they they've had to
Speaker 1: go through a number of different maschinations of this roster. Again,
Speaker 1: like McGuire now has been their leading rusher. He carried
Speaker 1: the ball eighteen times last week. You lose Darren Lee
Speaker 1: to the suspension. Um, you know, you have Jamal Adams,
Speaker 1: There's some talent there on the defensive side of the ball,
Speaker 1: But overall, I think it's just been kind of a
Speaker 1: dearth of playmakers for them, and the result has been
Speaker 1: what it's been. Yeah, it seems like I didn't take
Speaker 1: too close a look at their defensive statistics, but a
Speaker 1: defense that seems to have struggled, particularly later in the seasons.
Speaker 1: On average. Uh, this second half of the year, they've
Speaker 1: been giving up you know, in that twenty seven twenty
Speaker 1: eight points per game range, which certainly makes it tough
Speaker 1: on a rookie quarterback. What stands out to you about
Speaker 1: their Teachermaine Johnson. Uh, they you know, they ponied up
Speaker 1: the cash to get him this offseason. A lot of
Speaker 1: people he became a very popular Uh. You know guy
Speaker 1: in this league and in terms of free agents and considered,
Speaker 1: you know, of a pretty deep class of cornerbacks. Was
Speaker 1: considered one of the top ones there with the Rams
Speaker 1: for a long time right before going Yeah, for six years.
Speaker 1: Uh three interceptions in the last three games, two of
Speaker 1: which came against Buffalo in that victory that they had
Speaker 1: over the Bills. So a guy that I think will
Speaker 1: be interesting to see him match up probably a little
Speaker 1: bit with uh Davante Adams, but I mean Jamal Adams.
Speaker 1: They finally looks like they you know, after a couple
Speaker 1: of swings at the plate and missing, they did finally
Speaker 1: get their safety the future. Ninety four tackles on the year,
Speaker 1: three and a half sacks, one interception, twelve passes defense
Speaker 1: in three fource fumbles. So a guy is is from
Speaker 1: that strong safety position that can make plays all over
Speaker 1: the field, and you're gonna see him probably make an
Speaker 1: impact against the run as well. So another guy that
Speaker 1: the Packers are gonna have to account for. Yeah, Adams,
Speaker 1: a high draft pick out of l s U which
Speaker 1: they as they like to say in the SEC D
Speaker 1: b U uh the the Louisiana State Tigers crank out
Speaker 1: a lot of defensive backs. But we'll get to more
Speaker 1: on the Jets with our last couple of shows this week.
Speaker 1: But we do have to go for right now, so
Speaker 1: we'll call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted.
Speaker 1: Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
Speaker 1: team on Packers dot com on Twitter, He's at west
Speaker 1: Hot I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account.
Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.